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CHAPTER XVIII - THE OTHER BENITA
At irregular times, when he had nothing else to do, Jacob went on with
his man-shooting, in which Mr. Clifford joined him, though with less
effect. Soon it became evident that the Matabele were very much
annoyed by the fatal accuracy of this fire. Loss of life they did not
mind in the abstract, but when none of them knew but that their own
turn might come next to perish beneath these downward plunging
bullets, the matter wore a different face to them. To leave their camp
was not easy, since they had made a thorn /boma/ round it, to protect
them in case the Makalanga should make a night sally; also they could
find no other convenient spot. The upshot of it all was to hurry their
assault, which they delivered before they had prepared sufficient
ladders to make it effective.
At the first break of dawn on the third day after Mr. Clifford's
attempt at mesmerism, Benita was awakened by the sounds of shouts and
firing. Having dressed herself hastily, she hurried in the growing
light towards that part of the wall from below which the noise seemed
to come, and climbing it, found her father and Jacob already seated
there, their rifles in hand.
"The fools are attacking the small gate through which you went out
riding, Miss Clifford, the very worst place that they could have
chosen, although the wall looks very weak there," said the latter. "If
those Makalanga have any pluck they ought to teach them a lesson."
Then the sun rose and they saw companies of Matabele, who carried
ladders in their hands, rushing onwards through the morning mist till
their sight of them was obstructed by the swell of the hill. On these
companies the two white men opened fire, with what result they could
not see in that light. Presently a great shout announced that the
enemy had gained the fosse and were setting up the ladders. Up to this
time the Makalanga appeared to have done nothing, but now they began
to fire rapidly from the ancient bastions which commanded the entrance
the impi was striving to storm, and soon through the thinning fog they
perceived wounded Matabele staggering and crawling back towards their
camp. Of these, the light now better, Jacob did not neglect to take
his toll.
Meanwhile, the ancient fortress rang with the hideous tumult of the
attack. It was evident that again and again, as their fierce war-
shouts proclaimed, the Matabele were striving to scale the wall, and
again and again were beaten back by the raking rifle fire. Once a
triumphant yell seemed to announce their success. The fire slackened
and Benita grew pale with fear.
"The Makalanga cowards are bolting," muttered Mr. Clifford, listening
with terrible anxiety.
But if so their courage came back to them, for presently the guns
cracked louder and more incessant than before, and the savage cries of
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" dwindled and died away. Another five minutes and
the Matabele were in full retreat, bearing with them many dead and
wounded men upon their backs or stretched out on the ladders.
"Our Makalanga friends should be grateful to us for those hundred
rifles," said Jacob as he loaded and fired rapidly, sending his
bullets wherever the clusters were thickest. "Had it not been for them
their throats would have been cut by now," he added, "for they could
never have stopped those savages with the spear."
"Yes, and ours too before nightfall," said Benita with a shudder, for
the sight of this desperate fray and fear of how it might end had
sickened her. "Thank Heaven, it is over! Perhaps they will give up the
siege and go away."
But, notwithstanding their costly defeat, for they had lost over a
hundred men, the Matabele, who were afraid to return to Buluwayo
except as victors, did nothing of the sort. They only cut down a
quantity of reeds and scrub, and moved their camp nearly to the banks
of the river, placing it in such a position that it could no longer be
searched by the fire of the two white men. Here they sat themselves
down sullenly, hoping to starve out the garrison or to find some other
way of entering the fortress.
Now Meyer's shooting having come to an end for lack of men to shoot
at, since the enemy exposed themselves no more, he was again able to
give his full attention to the matter of the treasure hunt.
As nothing could be found in the cave he devoted himself to the
outside enclosure which, it may be remembered, was grown over with
grass and trees and crowded with ruins. In the most important of these
ruins they began to dig somewhat aimlessly, and were rewarded by
finding a certain amount of gold in the shape of beads and ornaments,
and a few more skeletons of ancients. But of the Portuguese hoard
there was no sign. Thus it came about that they grew gloomier day by
day, till at last they scarcely spoke to each other. Jacob's angry
disappointment was written on his face, and Benita was filled with
despair, since to escape from their gaoler above and the Matabele
below seemed impossible. Moreover, she had another cause for anxiety.
The ill-health which had been threatening her father for a long while
now fell upon him in earnest, so that of a sudden he became a very old
man. His strength and energy left him, and his mind was so filled with
remorse for what he held to be his crime in bringing his daughter to
this awful place, and with terror for the fate that threatened her,
that he could think of nothing else. In vain did she try to comfort
him. He would only wring his hands and groan, praying that God and she
would forgive him. Now, too, Meyer's mastery over him became
continually more evident. Mr. Clifford implored the man, almost with
tears, to unblock the wall and allow them to go down to the Makalanga.
He even tried to bribe him with the offer of all his share of the
treasure, if it were found, and when that failed, of his property in
the Transvaal.
But Jacob only told him roughly not to be a fool, as they had to see
the thing through together. Then he would go again and brood by
himself, and Benita noticed that he always took his rifle or a pistol
with him. Evidently he feared lest her father should catch him
unprepared, and take the law into his own hands by means of a sudden
bullet.
One comfort she had, however: although he watched her closely, the Jew
never tried to molest her in any way, not even with more of his
enigmatic and amorous speeches. By degrees, indeed, she came to
believe that all this was gone from his mind, or that he had abandoned
his advances as hopeless.
A week passed since the Matabele attack, and nothing had happened. The
Makalanga took no notice of them, and so far as she was aware the old
Molimo never attempted to climb the blocked wall or otherwise to
communicate with them, a thing so strange that, knowing his affection
for her, Benita came to the conclusion that he must be dead, killed
perhaps in the attack. Even Jacob Meyer had abandoned his digging, and
sat about all day doing nothing but think.
Their meal that night was a miserable affair, since in the first place
provisions were running short and there was little to eat, and in the
second no one spoke a word. Benita could swallow no food; she was
weary of that sun-dried trek-ox, for since Meyer had blocked the wall
they had little else. But by good fortune there remained plenty of
coffee, and of this she drank two cups, which Jacob prepared and
handed to her with much politeness. It tasted very bitter to her, but
this, Benita reflected, was because they lacked milk and sugar. Supper
ended, Meyer rose and bowed to her, muttering that he was going to
bed, and a few minutes later Mr. Clifford followed his example. She
went with her father to the hut beneath the tree, and having helped
him to remove his coat, which now he seemed to find difficulty in
doing for himself, bade him good-night and returned to the fire.
It was very lonely there in the silence, for no sound came from either
the Matabele or the Makalanga camps, and the bright moonlight seemed
to people the place with fantastic shadows that looked alive. Benita
cried a little now that her father could not see her, and then also
sought refuge in bed. Evidently the end, whatever it might be, was
near, and of it she could not bear to think. Moreover, her eyes were
strangely heavy, so much so that before she had finished saying her
prayers sleep fell upon her, and she knew no more.
Had she remained as wakeful as it was often her fate to be during
those fearful days, towards midnight she might have heard some light-
footed creature creeping to her tent, and seen that the moon-rays
which flowed through the gaping and ill-closed flap were cut off by
the figure of a man with glowing eyes, whose projected arms waved over
her mysteriously. But Benita neither heard nor saw. In her drugged
rest she did not know that her sleep turned gradually to a magic
swoon. She had no knowledge of her rising, or of how she threw her
thick cloak about her, lit her lamp, and, in obedience to that
beckoning finger, glided from the tent. She never heard her father
stumble from his hut, disturbed by the sound of footsteps, or the
words that passed between him and Jacob Meyer, while, lamp in hand,
she stood near them like a strengthless ghost.
"If you dare to wake her," hissed Jacob, "I tell you that she will
die, and afterwards you shall die," and he fingered the pistol at his
belt. "No harm shall come to her--I swear it! Follow and see. Man,
man, be silent; our fortunes hang on it."
Then, overcome also by the strange fierceness of that voice and gaze,
he followed.
On they go to the winding neck of the cavern, first Jacob walking
backwards like the herald of majesty; then majesty itself in the shape
of this long-haired, death-like woman, cloaked and bearing in her hand
the light; and last, behind, the old, white-bearded man, like Time
following Beauty to the grave. Now they were in the great cavern, and
now, avoiding the open tombs, the well mouth and the altar, they stood
beneath the crucifix.
"Be seated," said Meyer, and the entranced Benita sat herself down
upon the steps at the foot of the cross, placing the lamp on the rock
pavement before her, and bowing her head till her hair fell upon her
naked feet and hid them. He held his hands above her for a while, then
asked:
"Do you sleep?"
"I sleep," came the strange, slow answer.
"Is your spirit awake?"
"It is awake."
"Command it to travel backwards through the ages to the beginning, and
tell me what you see here."
"I see a rugged cave and wild folk dwelling in it; an old man is dying
yonder," and she pointed to the right; "and a black woman with a babe
at her breast tends him. A man, it is her husband, enters the cave. He
holds a torch in one hand, and with the other drags a buck."
"Cease," said Meyer. "How long is this ago?"
"Thirty-three thousand two hundred and one years," came the answer,
spoken without any hesitation.
"Pass on," he said, "pass on thirty thousand years, and tell me what
you see."
For a long while there was silence.
"Why do you not speak?" he asked.
"Be patient; I am living through those thirty thousand years; many a
life, many an age, but none may be missed."
Again there was silence for a long while, till at length she spoke:
"They are done, all of them, and now three thousand years ago I see
this place changed and smoothly fashioned, peopled by a throng of
worshippers clad in strange garments with clasps upon them. Behind me
stands the graven statue of a goddess with a calm and cruel face, in
front of the altar burns a fire, and on the altar white-robed priests
are sacrificing an infant which cries aloud."
"Pass on, pass on," Meyer said hurriedly, as though the horror of that
scene had leapt to his eyes. "Pass on two thousand seven hundred years
and tell me what you see."
Again there was a pause, while the spirit he had evoked in the body of
Benita lived through those ages. Then slowly she answered:
"Nothing, the place is black and desolate, only the dead sleep beneath
its floor."
"Wait till the living come again," he commanded; "then speak."
"They are here," she replied presently. "Tonsured monks, one of whom
fashions this crucifix, and their followers who bow before the Host
upon the altar. They come, they go--of whom shall I tell you?"
"Tell me of the Portuguese; of those who were driven here to die."
"I see them all," she answered, after a pause. "Two hundred and three
of them. They are ragged and wayworn and hungry. Among them is a
beautiful woman, a girl. She draws near to me, she enters into me. You
must ask her"--this was spoken in a very faint voice--"I am I no
more."
Mr. Clifford attempted to interrupt, but fiercely Meyer bade him to be
silent.
"Speak," he commanded, but the crouching figure shook her head.
"Speak," he said again, whereon another voice, not that of Benita,
answered in another tongue:
"I hear; but I do not understand your language."
"Great Heaven!" said Meyer, "it is Portuguese," and for a while the
terror of the thing struck him dumb, for he was aware that Benita knew
no Portuguese. He knew it, however, who had lived at Lorenço Marquez.
"Who are you?" he asked in that tongue.
"I am Benita da Ferreira. I am the daughter of the Captain da Ferreira
and of his wife, the lady Christinha, who stand by you now. Turn, and
you will see them."
Jacob started and looked about him uneasily.
"What did she say? I did not catch it all," asked Mr. Clifford.
He translated her words.
"But this is black magic," exclaimed the old man. "Benita knows no
Portuguese, so how comes she to speak it?"
"Because she is no longer our Benita; she is another Benita, Benita da
Ferreira. The Molimo was right when he said that the spirit of the
dead woman went with her, as it seems the name has gone," he added.
"Have done," said Mr. Clifford; "the thing is unholy. Wake her up, or
I will."
"And bring about her death. Touch or disturb her, and I tell you she
will die," and he pointed to Benita, who crouched before them so white
and motionless that indeed it seemed as though already she were dead.
"Be quiet," he went on. "I swear to you that no hurt shall come to
her, also that I will translate everything to you. Promise, or I will
tell you nothing, and her blood be on your head."
Then Mr. Clifford groaned and said:
"I promise."
"Tell me your story, Benita da Ferreira. How came you and your people
here?"
"The tribes of Monomotapa rose against our rule. They killed many of
us in the lower land, yes, they killed my brother and him to whom I
was affianced. The rest of us fled north to this ancient fortress,
hoping thence to escape by the river, the Zambesi. The Mambo, our
vassal, gave us shelter here, but the tribes besieged the walls in
thousands, and burnt all the boats so that we could not fly by the
water. Many times we beat them back from the wall; the ditch was full
of their dead, and at last they dared to attack no more.
"Then we began to starve and they won the first wall. We went on
starving and they won the second wall, but the third wall they could
not climb. So we died; one by one we laid ourselves down in this cave
and died, till I alone was left, for while our people had food they
gave it to me who was the daughter of their captain. Yes, alone I
knelt at the foot of this crucifix by the body of my father, praying
to the blessed Son of Mary for the death that would not come, and
kneeling there I swooned. When I awoke again the Mambo and his men
stood about me, for now, knowing us to be dead, the tribes had gone,
and those who were in hiding across the river had returned and knew
how to climb the wall. They bore me from among the dead, they gave me
food so that my strength came back; but in the night I, who in my
wickedness would not live, escaped from them and climbed the pillar of
black rock, so that when the sun rose they saw me standing there. They
begged of me to come down, promising to protect me, but I said 'No,'
who in the evil of my heart only desired to die, that I might join my
father and my brother, and one who was dearer to me than all. They
asked of me where the great treasure was hidden."
At these words Jacob gasped, then rapidly translated them, while the
figure before them became silent, as though it felt that for the
moment the power of his will was withdrawn.
"Speak on, I bid you," he said, and she continued, the rich, slow
voice dropping word after word from the lips of Benita in the alien
speech that this Benita never knew.
"I answered that it was where it was, and that if they gave it up to
any save the one appointed, then that fate which had befallen my
people would befall theirs also. Yes, I gave it into their keeping
until I came again, since with his dying breath my father had
commanded me to reveal it to none, and I believed that I who was about
to die should never come again.
"Then I made my last prayer, I kissed the golden crucifix that now
hangs upon this breast wherein I dwell," and the hand of the living
Benita was lifted, and moving like the hand of a dead thing, slowly
drew out the symbol from beneath the cloak, held it for a moment in
the lamplight, and let it fall to its place again. "I put my hands
before my eyes that I might not see, and I hurled myself from the
pinnacle."
Now the voice ceased, but from the lips came a dreadful sound, such as
might be uttered by one whose bones are shattered upon rocks, followed
by other sounds like those of one who chokes in water. They were so
horrible to hear that Mr. Clifford nearly fainted, and even Jacob
Meyer staggered and turned white as the white face of Benita.
"Wake her! For God's sake, wake her!" said her father. "She is dying,
as that woman died hundreds of years ago."
"Not till she has told us where the gold is. Be quiet, you fool. She
does not feel or suffer. It is the spirit within her that lives
through the past again."
Once more there was silence. It seemed as though the story were all
told and the teller had departed.
"Benita da Ferreira," said Meyer at length, "I command you, tell me,
are you dead?"
"Oh! would that I were dead, as my body is dead!" wailed the lips of
Benita. "Alas! I cannot die who suffer this purgatory, and must dwell
on here alone until the destined day. Yes, yes, the spirit of her who
was Benita da Ferreira must haunt this place in solitude. This is her
doom, to be the guardian of that accursed gold which was wrung from
the earth by cruelty and paid for with the lives of men."
"Is it still safe?" whispered Jacob.
"I will look;" then after a pause, "I have looked. It is there, every
grain of it, in ox-hide bags; only one of them has fallen and burst,
that which is black and red."
"Where is it?" he said again.
"I may not tell you; never, never."
"Is there anyone whom you may tell?"
"Yes."
"Whom?"
"Her in whose breast I lie."
"Tell her then."
"I have told her; she knows."
"And may she tell me?"
"Let her guard the secret as she will. O my Guardian, I thank thee. My
burden is departed; my sin of self-murder is atoned."
"Benita da Ferreira, are you gone?"
No answer.
"Benita Clifford, do you hear me?"
"I hear you," said the voice of Benita, speaking in English, although
Jacob, forgetting, had addressed her in Portuguese.
"Where is the gold?"
"In my keeping."
"Tell me, I command you."
But no words came; though he questioned her many times no words came,
till at last her head sank forward upon her knees, and in a faint
voice she murmured:
"Loose me, or I die."
Content of CHAPTER XVIII - THE OTHER BENITA [H. Rider Haggard's novel: Benita]
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