The Last of the Legions and Other Tales of Long Ago Page 9

  IX

  THE RED STAR

  The house of Theodosius, the famous eastern merchant, was in the bestpart of Constantinople at the Sea Point which is near the church ofSaint Demetrius. Here he would entertain in so princely a fashion thateven the Emperor Maurice had been known to come privately from theneighbouring Bucoleon palace in order to join in the revelry. On thenight in question, however, which was the fourth of November in the yearof our Lord 630, his numerous guests had retired early, and thereremained only two intimates, both of them successful merchants likehimself, who sat with him over their wine on the marble verandah of hishouse, whence on the one side they could see the lights of the shippingin the Sea of Marmora, and on the other the beacons which marked out thecourse of the Bosphorus. Immediately at their feet lay a narrow straitof water, with the low, dark loom of the Asiatic hills beyond. A thinhaze hid the heavens, but away to the south a single great red starburned sullenly in the darkness.

  The night was cool, the light was soothing, and the three men talkedfreely, letting their minds drift back into the earlier days when theyhad staked their capital, and often their lives, on the ventures whichhad built up their present fortunes. The host spoke of his long journeysin North Africa, the land of the Moors; how he had travelled, keepingthe blue sea ever upon his right, until he had passed the ruins ofCarthage, and so on and ever on until a great tidal ocean beat upon ayellow strand before him, while on the right he could see the high rockacross the waves which marked the Pillars of Hercules. His talk was ofdark-skinned bearded men, of lions, and of monstrous serpents. ThenDemetrius, the Cilician, an austere man of sixty, told how he also hadbuilt up his mighty wealth. He spoke of a journey over the Danube andthrough the country of the fierce Huns, until he and his friends hadfound themselves in the mighty forest of Germany, on the shores of thegreat river which is called the Elbe. His stories were of huge men,sluggish of mind, but murderous in their cups, of sudden midnight broilsand nocturnal flights, of villages buried in dense woods, of bloodyheathen sacrifices, and of the bears and wolves who haunted the forestpaths. So the two elder men capped each other's stories and awoke eachother's memories, while Manuel Ducas, the young merchant of gold andostrich feathers, whose name was already known all over the Levant, satin silence and listened to their talk. At last, however, they calledupon him also for an anecdote, and leaning his cheek upon his elbow,with his eyes fixed upon the great red star which burned in the south,the younger man began to speak.

  "It is the sight of that star which brings a story into my mind," saidhe. "I do not know its name. Old Lascaris the astronomer would tell meif I asked, but I have no desire to know. Yet at this time of the year Ialways look out for it, and I never fail to see it burning in the sameplace. But it seems to me that it is redder and larger than it was.

  "It was some ten years ago that I made an expedition into Abyssinia,where I traded to such good effect that I set forth on my return withmore than a hundred camel-loads of skins, ivory, gold, spices, and otherAfrican produce. I brought them to the sea-coast at Arsinoe, and carriedthem up the Arabian Gulf in five of the small boats of the country.Finally, I landed near Saba, which is a starting-point for caravans,and, having assembled my camels and hired a guard of forty men from thewandering Arabs, I set forth for Macoraba. From this point, which is thesacred city of the idolaters of those parts, one can always join thelarge caravans which go north twice a year to Jerusalem and thesea-coast of Syria.

  "Our route was a long and weary one. On our left hand was the ArabianGulf, lying like a pool of molten metal under the glare of day, butchanging to blood-red as the sun sank each evening behind the distantAfrican coast. On our right was a monstrous desert which extends, so faras I know, across the whole of Arabia and away to the distant kingdom ofthe Persians. For many days we saw no sign of life save our own long,straggling line of laden camels with their tattered, swarthy guardians.In these deserts the soft sand deadens the footfall of the animals, sothat their silent progress day after day through a scene which neverchanges, and which is itself noiseless, becomes at last like a strangedream. Often as I rode behind my caravan, and gazed at the grotesquefigures which bore my wares in front of me, I found it hard to believethat it was indeed reality, and that it was I, I, Manuel Ducas, wholived near the Theodosian Gate of Constantinople, and shouted for theGreen at the hippodrome every Sunday afternoon, who was there in sostrange a land and with such singular comrades.

  "Now and then, far out at sea, we caught sight of the white triangularsails of the boats which these people use, but as they are all pirates,we were very glad to be safely upon shore. Once or twice, too, by thewater's edge we saw dwarfish creatures--one could scarcely say if theywere men or monkeys--who burrow for homes among the seaweed, drink thepools of brackish water, and eat what they can catch. These are thefish-eaters, the Ichthyophagi, of whom old Herodotus talks--surely thelowest of all the human race. Our Arabs shrank from them with horror,for it is well known that, should you die in the desert, these littlepeople will settle on you like carrion crows, and leave not a boneunpicked. They gibbered and croaked and waved their skinny arms at us aswe passed, knowing well that they could swim far out to sea if weattempted to pursue them; for it is said that even the sharks turn withdisgust from their foul bodies.

  "We had travelled in this way for ten days, camping every evening at thevile wells which offered a small quantity of abominable water. It wasour habit to rise very early and to travel very late, but to halt duringthe intolerable heat of the afternoon, when, for want of trees, we wouldcrouch in the shadow of a sandhill, or, if that were wanting, behind ourown camels and merchandise, in order to escape from the insufferableglare of the sun. On the seventh day we were near the point where oneleaves the coast in order to strike inland to Macoraba. We had concludedour midday halt, and were just starting once more, the sun still beingso hot that we could hardly bear it, when, looking up, I saw aremarkable sight. Standing on a hillock to our right there was a manabout forty feet high, holding in his hand a spear which was the sizeof the mast of a large ship. You look surprised, my friends, and you cantherefore imagine my feelings when I saw such a sight. But my reasonsoon told me that the object in front of me was really a wandering Arab,whose form had been enormously magnified by the strange distortingeffects which the hot air of the desert is able to cause.

  "However, the actual apparition caused more alarm to my companions thanthe imagined one had to me, for with a howl of dismay they shranktogether into a frightened group, all pointing and gesticulating as theygazed at the distant figure. I then observed that the man was not alone,but that from all the sandhills a line of turbaned heads was gazing downupon us. The chief of the escort came running to me, and informed me ofthe cause of their terror, which was that they recognised, by somepeculiarity in their headgear, that these men belonged to the tribe ofthe Dilwas, the most ferocious and unscrupulous of the Bedouin, who hadevidently laid an ambuscade for us at this point with the intention ofseizing our caravan. When I thought of all my efforts in Abyssinia, ofthe length of my journey and of the dangers and fatigues which I hadendured, I could not bear to think of this total disaster coming upon meat the last instant and robbing me not only of my profits, but also ofmy original outlay. It was evident, however, that the robbers were toonumerous for us to attempt to defend ourselves, and that we should bevery fortunate if we escaped with our lives. Sitting upon a packet,therefore, I commended my soul to our blessed Saint Helena, while Iwatched with despairing eyes the stealthy and menacing approach of theArab robbers.

  "It may have been our own good fortune, or it may have been the handsomeoffering of beeswax candles--four to the pound--which I had mentallyvowed to the Blessed Helena, but at that instant I heard a great outcryof joy from among my own followers. Standing up on the packet that Imight have a better view, I was overjoyed to see a long caravan--fivehundred camels at least--with a numerous armed guard, coming along theroute from Macoraba. It is, I need not tell you, the custom of allcaravans to comb
ine their forces against the robbers of the desert, andwith the aid of these new-comers we had become the stronger party. Themarauders recognised it at once, for they vanished as if their nativesands had swallowed them. Running up to the summit of a sandhill, I wasjust able to catch a glimpse of a dust-cloud whirling away across theyellow plain, with the long necks of their camels, the flutter of theirloose garments, and the gleam of their spears breaking out from theheart of it. So vanished the marauders.

  "Presently I found, however, that I had only exchanged one danger foranother. At first I had hoped that this new caravan might belong to someRoman citizen, or at least to some Syrian Christian, but I found that itwas entirely Arab. The trading Arabs who are settled in the numeroustowns of Arabia are, of course, very much more peaceable than theBedouin of the wilderness, those sons of Ishmael of whom we read in HolyWrit. But the Arab blood is covetous and lawless, so that when I sawseveral hundred of them formed in a semi-circle round our camels,looking with greedy eyes at my boxes of precious metals and my packetsof ostrich feathers, I feared the worst.

  "The leader of the new caravan was a man of dignified bearing andremarkable appearance. His age I would judge to be about forty. He hadaquiline features, a noble black beard, and eyes so luminous, sosearching, and so intense that I cannot remember in all my wanderings tohave seen any which could be compared with them. To my thanks andsalutations he returned a formal bow, and stood stroking his beard andlooking in silence at the wealth which had suddenly fallen into hispower. A murmur from his followers showed the eagerness with which theyawaited the order to fall upon the plunder, and a young ruffian, whoseemed to be on intimate terms with the leader, came to his elbow andput the desires of his companions into words.

  "'Surely, oh Reverend One,' said he, 'these people and their treasurehave been delivered into our hands. When we return with it to the holyplace, who of all the Koraish will fail to see the finger of God whichhas led us?'

  "But the leader shook his head. 'Nay, Ali, it may not be,' he answered.'This man is, as I judge, a citizen of Rome, and we may not treat him asthough he were an idolater.'

  "'But he is an unbeliever,' cried the youth, fingering a great knifewhich hung in his belt. 'Were I to be the judge, he would lose not onlyhis merchandise, but his life also, if he did not accept the faith.'

  "The older man smiled and shook his head. 'Nay, Ali; you are toohot-headed,' said he, 'seeing that there are not as yet three hundredfaithful in the world, our hands would indeed be full if we were to takethe lives and property of all who are not with us. Forget not, dear lad,that charity and honesty are the very nose-ring and halter of the truefaith.'

  "'Among the faithful,' said the ferocious youth.

  "'Nay, towards every one. It is the law of Allah. And yet'--here hiscountenance darkened, and his eyes shone with a most sinisterlight--'the day may soon come when the hour of grace is past, and woe,then, to those who have not hearkened! Then shall the sword of Allah bedrawn, and it shall not be sheathed until the harvest is reaped. Firstit shall strike the idolaters on the day when my own people and kinsmen,the unbelieving Koraish, shall be scattered, and the three hundred andsixty idols of the Caaba thrust out upon the dung-heaps of the town.Then shall the Caaba be the home and temple of one God only who brooksno rival on earth or in heaven.'

  "The man's followers had gathered round him, their spears in theirhands, their ardent eyes fixed upon his face, and their dark featuresconvulsed with such fanatic enthusiasm as showed the hold which he hadupon their love and respect.

  "'We shall be patient,' said he; 'but some time next year, the yearafter, the day may come when the great angel Gabriel shall bear me themessage that the time of words has gone by, and that the hour of thesword has come. We are few and weak, but if it is His will, who canstand against us? Are you of Jewish faith, stranger?' he asked.

  "I answered that I was not.

  "'The better for you,' he answered, with the same furious anger in hisswarthy face. 'First shall the idolaters fall, and then the Jews, inthat they have not known those very prophets whom they had themselvesforetold. Then last will come the turn of the Christians, who followindeed a true Prophet, greater than Moses or Abraham, but who havesinned in that they have confounded a creature with the Creator. To eachin turn--idolater, Jew, and Christian--the day of reckoning will come.'

  "The ragamuffins behind him all shook their spears as he spoke. Therewas no doubt about their earnestness, but when I looked at theirtattered dresses and simple arms, I could not help smiling to think oftheir ambitious threats, and to picture what their fate would be uponthe day of battle before the battle-axes of our Imperial Guards, or thespears of the heavy cavalry of the Armenian Themes. However, I need notsay that I was discreet enough to keep my thoughts to myself, as I hadno desire to be the first martyr in this fresh attack upon our blessedfaith.

  "It was now evening, and it was decided that the two caravans shouldcamp together--an arrangement which was the more welcome as we were byno means sure that we had seen the last of the marauders. I had invitedthe leader of the Arabs to have supper with me, and after a longexercise of prayer with his followers, he came to join me, but myattempt at hospitality was thrown away, for he would not touch theexcellent wine which I had unpacked for him, nor would he eat any of mydainties, contenting himself with stale bread, dried dates, and water.After this meal we sat alone by the smouldering fire, the magnificentarch of the heavens above us of that deep, rich blue with thosegleaming, clear-cut stars which can only be seen in that dry desert air.Our camp lay before us, and no sound reached our ears save the dullmurmur of the voices of our companions and the occasional shrill cry ofa jackal among the sandhills around us. Face to face I sat with thisstrange man, the glow of the fire beating upon his eager and imperiousfeatures and reflecting from his passionate eyes. It was the strangestvigil, and one which will never pass from my recollection. I have spokenwith many wise and famous men upon my travels, but never with one wholeft the impression of this one.

  "And yet much of his talk was unintelligible to me, though, as you areaware, I speak Arabian like an Arab. It rose and fell in the strangestway. Sometimes it was the babble of a child, sometimes the incoherentraving of a fanatic, sometimes the lofty dreams of a prophet andphilosopher. There were times when his stories of demons, of miracles,of dreams, and of omens, were such as an old woman might tell to pleasethe children of an evening. There were others when, as he talked withshining face of his converse with angels, of the intentions of theCreator, and the end of the universe, I felt as if I were in the companyof some one more than mortal, some one who was indeed the directmessenger of the Most High.

  "There were good reasons why he should treat me with such confidence. Hesaw in me a messenger to Constantinople and to the Roman Empire. Even asSaint Paul had brought Christianity to Europe, so he hoped that I mightcarry his doctrines to my native city. Alas! be the doctrines what theymay, I fear that I am not the stuff of which Pauls are made. Yet hestrove with all his heart during that long Arabian night to bring meover to his belief. He had with him a holy book, written, as he said,from the dictation of an angel, which he carried in tablets of bone inthe nose-bag of a camel. Some chapters of this he read me; but, thoughthe precepts were usually good, the language seemed wild and fanciful.There were times when I could scarce keep my countenance as I listenedto him. He planned out his future movements, and indeed, as he spoke, itwas hard to remember that he was only the wandering leader of an Arabcaravan, and not one of the great ones of the earth.

  "'When God has given me sufficient power, which will be within a fewyears,' said he, 'I will unite all Arabia under my banner. Then I willspread my doctrine over Syria and Egypt. When this has been done, I willturn to Persia, and give them the choice of the true faith or the sword.Having taken Persia, it will be easy then to overrun Asia Minor, and soto make our way to Constantinople.'

  "I bit my lip to keep from laughing. 'And how long will it be beforeyour victorious troops have reached the Bosphorus?'
I asked.

  "'Such things are in the hands of God, whose servants we are,' said he.'It may be that I shall myself have passed away before these things areaccomplished, but before the days of our children are completed, allthat I have now told you will come to pass. Look at that star,' headded, pointing to a beautiful clear planet above our heads. 'That isthe symbol of Christ. See how serene and peaceful it shines, like Hisown teaching and the memory of His life. Now,' he added, turning hisoutstretched hand to a dusky red star upon the horizon--the very one onwhich we are gazing now--'that is my star, which tells of wrath, of war,of a scourge upon sinners. And yet both are indeed stars, and each doesas Allah may ordain.'

  "Well, that was the experience which was called to my mind by the sightof this star to-night. Red and angry, it still broods over the south,even as I saw it that night in the desert. Somewhere down yonder thatman is working and striving. He may be stabbed by some brother fanaticor slain in a tribal skirmish. If so, that is the end. But if he lives,there was that in his eyes and in his presence which tells me thatMahomet the son of Abdallah--for that was his name--will testify in somenoteworthy fashion to the faith that is in him."