The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-18


Doubt me if you will, lady At
least, you cannot doubt your own eyes.
Look. His road runs beneath this rock.
Come from the tomb and take your
stand upon it, and you shall see him
pass; yes, and should you wish to
speak with him in farewell. that you
may be sure that it is he, and alive.
Further, 1 swear to you by my head
and honor that no finger shall be laid
upon you till he is gone by, and that
no pursuit of him shall be attempted.
Now choose"
Again there was silence for awhile.
Then ELISA spoke. in broken voice:
King Ithobal, have chosen. Trust
ing to your honor, l will stand upon the
rock. and when I have seen the Prince
Aziel go by in safety, then. since you
desire it, you shall put your arms
about me and bear me whittier you
VIII. You have conquered me, King
lthobal: henceforward | am yours and
no other mans. Give the signal, pray
you. and 1 will come forth from the
tomb
or air. awaiting death and glad to die
because he was sure ELISA had re-
fused to purchase his life at the price
OF her own surrender. There he hung,
while the eagles swept past him. max
ing his. prayer TO heaven and waiting
the end, till presently, from the oppo-
site cliff. came the sound of a horn
blown thrice. Then. while he wondered
what this might mean, the cage in
which he Law was drawn gently over
the edge of the precipice and carried
down the sleeps of the granite hill
as 1t had been carried up them. At
the foot of the hill the covering was
taken from it. and he saw before him
caravan of camels, and seated on
each camel one of his own comrades
But one camel had no rider, and
Metem led it by a rope
The servants of Ithobal took him
from the cage and set him upon the
camel. though they did not loosen the
bonds about his wrists.
This is the command of the king"
said the captain to Metem. that the
arms OF the prince Aziel should re-
main bound until you have travelled
for six hours. Begone in safety, fear
ing nothing"
What happens now, Metem.' asked
Aziel, as the camels strobe forward,
and why am l set free who was ex-
pecting death? Is this some artifice
of yours, or has the Lady Elisa"
and he ceased.
Upon the word of an honest mer-
chant, I cannot tell you. prince. Yes
terday as was forced, / gave the mes
sage OF King Ithobal TO the Lady
ELISA yonder in the tomb, and she
would answer me only one thing: that
If we could escape we should do so,
and that you must have no fear for
her, since she also had found a means
of escape from Ithobal, and would GER
tainly join us upon the road
AS Metem spoke the camels passed
round the hill on to the path that
ran beneath the tomb of Baaltis, and
there, standing upon the rock, some so
feet above them, was ELISA, and with
her, but at a distance, Ithobal, the
king.
Halt. Prince ARIEL" she called in
clear voice. and hearken to my fare
well. l have bought your life and the
lives of your companions and you are
free, for the road is clear and nothing
can overtake the II swiftest camels in
Zimboe. Go. therefore. and be happy,
forgetting no word that has passed
my lips, for all my words are true.
even to a certain promise which I
made you lately by the mouth Of
Metem and which 7 now fulfll-tha {
l would join you on your road less
you should deem me faithless to the
troth which 1 have so often sworn to
you. King Ithobal. this shape is yours:
come now and take your prize. Prince
AZiel, my soul is yours, in life it shall
companion you and in death await
you. Prince AZiel, l come to YOU,
and with one swift spring she hurled
herself from the stiff edge to fall
crushed upon the road beneath.
Aziel saw, and in his agony strained
so fiercely at the bonds which held
him that they burst like rushes. Then
he leaped from the camel and knelt
beside her She was not yet dead, for
her eyes were open and her lips
stirred.
II have kept faith" she murmured,
and her spirit passed.
Aziel rose from beside the corpse
and looked upward here upon the
edge of the rock above him, leaning
forward. his eyes set wide in horror.
stood Ithobal the king. Aziel saw
him and a fury entered into his heart
that this man. whose evil doing had
bred such woe and caused the death
of his beloved, should still live upon
the earth. BY him was Metem. who.
for once. had no words, and from his
hand he snatched a bow and set an
arrow on the string.
This gift, King Ithobal, from AZiel.
the Israelite,' he cried, as the shaft
rushed upward. 1t rushed upward, it
smote Ithobal between the joints of
his harness, so that the point of it
sunk through his neck. For mo-
ment the great man stood still, then
d
sudden plunged downward, falling
with a crash on the roadway. where
he lay dead at the side of dead ELISA.
THE play is played and the fate full
filed" cried Metem. See, the Serv-
ants of the king speed yonder with
their evil tidings- Let us away, lest
we bide here with these two forever"
THAT is my desire said Aziel.
"A desire that cannot he fulfilled"
CT
we cannot go without you, and surely
you do not wish to sacrifice the lives
of all of us as an offering to the great
spirit of the LADY who is dead. for it
is one that she would not seek"
Then Aziel knelt down and kissed
the brow of the dead ELISA, and went
his way, saving no word.
That night when the darkness fell.
the sky behind them grew red with
"Behold. the end Of the golden
city," said Metem. "Issachar was a
prophet indeed. who foretold that it
should be So
Aziel bowed his head, remembering
that Issachar also had foretold that
for ELISA and for him there was
hope beyond the grave, and as he
murmur in his ear:
BE of good courage. beloved, there
is hope"
And so ne set his face toward the
sea of life. and passed it, and long
ago. at his appointed hour. gained the
further shore, to be welcomed there by
her who watched for him.
And thus, because of the loves of
Aziel, the prince, and ELISA, the
daughter of Saxon, 5000 years ago,
fell the ancient city of Zimboe at the
hand of King Ithobal and his tribes,
so that today there remains of it moth
Of stnrn nd he