"And she has held it since against every woman in the world!" murmured his wife, with another of those resistless glances, and a bright flush.

"Is it not so? Keep me not in the agony of suspense. Let me have the king's word for my great happiness, and swear, by the head of Nisroch, to grant me my desire!"

"I must hear first what it is," said the old warrior playfully; but observing the tears start to her eyes, he added in fond haste, "Nay, nay, beloved, the queen's pet.i.tion shall be granted, whatever it be, even to the half of mine empire."

"It is more than that!" exclaimed Semiramis, with a smile as ready as her tears. "It is the whole empire I desire! I would fain sit in the seat of my lord the king, but only for a day."

Ninus shook his head. "You are like your boy," said he fondly. "Do you not remember when we took Ninyas for the first time to hunt the lion outside the walls, and the lad must needs ride Samiel, the wild war-horse, that bent to no hand but mine? By the blood of Merodach, he wept like a maid, and I had not the heart to refuse him; but when he was fairly in the saddle the tears soon dried on his cheek, for the horse broke away with him like the wind of the desert, from which he took his name. I tell you, while I stood there dismounted, I must have felt what men call fear! I never knew how I prized the boy, till my horse brought him back to me unhurt. Samiel loved not to be far distant from his lord; and now Samiel is dead, and his rider worn-out, and the queen--what was it the queen asked? That she too should ride a steed she cannot control? Does she know the pride of the a.s.syrian people, the turbulence of the crowd, the daily clamour for sluices to be opened and granaries unbarred, the craft of the priests, the false witness borne at the seat of judgment, and the weight of the royal word, which may not be recalled?"

But for the last consideration, the heart of Semiramis might have been softened towards one who, with all his crimes and cruelties, had yet been tender and loving in his home. The thought, however, of Sarchedon's doom, ratified and rendered inevitable by those fatal words, "The king hath spoken," swept all other considerations to the winds, and she never looked truer, fairer, fonder than now, while she answered in a tender whisper:

"My lord granted his request to our son at the sight of his wet eyes.

Shall he withhold from the mother her soul's desire, because she cannot weep save when she fears to lose her place in the heart of the Great King?"

His head sank on his breast; he was soon weary now, withering, as it seemed, more hopelessly in the confinement of a palace than in the freer atmosphere of a camp. "Name it," said he--"it is granted: the king hath spoken."

Her eyes blazed with triumph, and the rich crimson mantled in her cheek.

"I have in my possession the signet of the Great King. I ask to keep it until to-morrow at noon."

"I have said it," was the reply. "But what use will my queen make of a toy that has often c.u.mbered my hand more wearily than ever did bridle, spear, or shield?"

"I will but use it to my lord's advantage," answered Semiramis calmly.

"Is not to-day the feast of Baal, and shall not the Great King go up at nightfall into the cedar house on the roof to burn sacrifices, and pour out drink-offerings before his G.o.d? There will be long procession of priests, much leaping, howling, and gashing of themselves at the altars; the prophets of the groves too must pa.s.s before my lord, bearing earth and water, fir-cones, caskets, gold, frankincense, and gifts. My lord is weary even now. Let him take his rest undisturbed to strengthen him for the tedious labours of the night. Meanwhile I hold the signet of the Great King and his authority. I will provide for the safety of the nation, and for our own."

He was getting drowsy, and his eyes were already half-closed.

"You have my signet," he murmured. "Send to Arbaces, and advise with the chief captain for setting of the watch. And that presumptuous spearman"--here he blazed up with an expiring flame--"see that he be led forth at dawn. I have spoken, and he who dared to cross the queen's path must die before the rise of another day."

"Before the rise of another day!" she repeated mechanically; adding, as she gathered her robes about her to depart, "I thank him that his handmaiden hath found favour in his sight. I cover the feet of my lord the king, and I take my leave."

But she turned at the great gate for one last look at the sleeping form, mighty even in its ruin, and formidable in the abandonment of its repose.

Proceeding from the palace, Semiramis paused to whisper a few words in the ear of Arbaces. The chief captain seemed surprised, and even discomposed by the purport of her communication; but there was no appeal from a command backed by the royal signet, and placing her hand, with the jewel in it, against his forehead, he prostrated himself and withdrew. Had he remained, his discomfiture might have been even greater to observe the queen in deep consultation with a.s.sarac, while Sargon, the king's shield-bearer, remained, as if in waiting, a few paces off.

The eunuch's head was erect and his face bright with triumph; he wore the air of a man on the eve of some great enterprise requiring skill, courage, and intellect, but having at the same time perfect confidence in his own power to carry it through.

"Is all ready?" asked Semiramis in a hollow whisper, while her cheek paled, and a strange fire shone in her dark eyes.

"All is ready," answered the priest, in composed and measured accents, as of one who states the details of a duty satisfactorily fulfilled.

"Double guards have been placed at the city gates; fifty thousand archers, and as many spearmen, are mustered under arms. Not a strained shaft nor a frayed bowstring amongst them, and every man with his hand on his weapon, devoted to the queen's interest for life and death!"

"We shall scarcely need them," was her reply. "I have commanded Arbaces to remove his own especial power without the walls. Has my son gone forth, and have you taken order for bestowing him in safety to-night?"

"A company of spearmen will escort him," said the eunuch, "and will guard the child and its new toy on the road to his refuge at Ascalon.

The king's signet will insure the obedience of such warriors as are required to force the palace of Arbaces, and if the chief captain resists with the strong hand, his blood be on his own head!"

"More slaughter!" exclaimed the queen sorrowfully. "O that the road to power were not mired so deep with blood! But it is too late to turn back now. Your life, my own, that poor condemned spearman of the guard--all are at stake to-night; and we must not, we _dare_ not, stop. Is Sargon to be trusted? Yonder he stands, waiting for his orders even now."

"a.s.sarac glanced to where that warrior was stationed, a few paces off, silent, erect, immovable, with the scowl of undying hatred on his brow.

The priest smiled--and the queen thought his smile more fearful than the shield-bearer's frown--while he replied:

"A captive in the dungeon longs for light, and a gourd in the garden for water; but what is their desire to a father's thirst for vengeance on one who has shed the blood of his child?"

CHAPTER XVI

CRUEL AS THE GRAVE

The queen pa.s.sed on a few paces without speaking, yet glanced towards a.s.sarac, who walked respectfully at her side, as though she had something of importance on her mind. At last she observed carelessly, "That spearman who has incurred the displeasure of my lord the king. Is it not the messenger who brought me the royal signet from the camp?

These guards are all somewhat alike; yet I seemed to recognise his face as he fell so untowardly at my feet."

"The same," answered a.s.sarac, in his calm unmeaning tones. "A goodly youth, and a stout warrior enough, by name Sarchedon. He has been bestowed in the temple of Baal under my authority, safe at least till nightfall. Nor can he escape, though guard and priest are out of call; for there is no egress from the last chamber in the painted gallery on the upper story where I have placed him, and whence he could scarcely fly were he to borrow all the wings of Nisroch, whose image stands over against the entrance to his stronghold. But it is not of him I would speak," continued the priest, keenly noting, though he never seemed to raise his eyes above the hem of her garment, the queen's burning cheeks and air of breathless interest. "From sunset to sunrise have I watched and waited for the decree of the Seven Stars, poring over the scroll of fire they unrolled for me, till my brain was giddy and mine eyes were dim. Great Queen, there are no secrets in the future for him who has learned to read the book of heaven. It teaches me that in the darkness of this night shall dawn unclouded glory for the land of Shinar, and supreme empire for her who is fairest and bravest among women. As the G.o.ddess Ashtaroth is Queen of Heaven above, so shall the great Semiramis be Queen of Earth below. The Seven Stars have spoken it, and they cannot lie!"

He wondered at her preoccupation, contrasting with the attention she had lately shown her present listlessness and apparent indifference to the splendid destiny thus prophesied. Something almost of scorn pa.s.sed over his brow, while he reflected, that if the mighty engine of ambition failed to move her intellect, he had yet a subtler instrument with which to touch her heart.

Presently she roused herself to ask, "Did the stars promise only that I should be great, or will they permit me also to be happy?"

"The queen's greatness," answered a.s.sarac, "like her beauty, is inseparable from her very being. Her happiness, like the robe that covers it, can be put on or off at will."

"You are right," she exclaimed, while the resolute look he knew so well pa.s.sed over her beautiful face down to the very chin. "And she who stands panting at a fountain were indeed a fool not to stoop and drink.

Tell me, then, their behests. What the stars bid me, that will I do."

"The Great Queen cannot read from the book of heaven so readily as a humble priest, the lowest of her slaves, though this lore, too, will I aspire to teach her at some future time; but there lies in the temple, fairly writ out in the a.s.syrian character and plain as the flight of an arrow through the air, a scroll that teaches us poor servants of Baal the rudiments of those mysteries into which the ruler of a mighty empire must needs inquire. It is to be found in a secure chamber of the painted gallery under the winged image of Nisroch our G.o.d."

While he spoke, not the slightest curl of his lip, the faintest inflection of his voice, betrayed a hidden motive, another meaning from that which the plain straightforward words seemed to convey. Yet the queen glanced very keenly in his face, while she stopped short in her walk and turned towards the temple, observing only--

"It is not yet near sunset. I shall have light to read the scroll."

Then she dismissed Kalmim and her women, desiring that she might be attended only by the priest of Baal, in whose steps, nevertheless, Sargon followed like his shadow.

Arrived within the porch of the temple, she gave a great sigh of relief, as though she luxuriated in the refreshing coolness of those s.p.a.cious halls, with their smooth shining floors, their countless columns, their vast shadowy recesses, that spoke of calm and secrecy and repose. She had not gone far, ere a.s.sarac stopped and prostrated himself at her feet.

"Let not the queen be wroth with the lowest of her servants," said the wily eunuch, "if he ask permission to be relieved for a brief s.p.a.ce from attendance on her person. There is so much to be prepared for the feast of Baal, so many details to arrange for the sacrifice of to-night, that I must neglect my duties no longer. The scroll lies where all who pa.s.s may read, and when the Great Queen has studied it enough, if, standing in this spot, she will but clap her hands thus, those shall be within call who can summon me to her presence without delay."

Semiramis frowned, though the frown did but mask a smile.

"It is scarce a royal reception," said she; "nevertheless, be it so. I am content to breathe this cool and grateful air for a s.p.a.ce, ere I return with Kalmim and the women to my palace across the river. You are dismissed."

He rose and retired, making a sign to Sargon, who watched his every movement, that caused the shield-bearer to follow him forthwith.

Clear of the queen's presence, a.s.sarac pointed to a table on which stood a golden flagon and drinking-cups of the same metal.

"Not even to-day?" said he, while the other shook his head in token of dissent. "Trust me, Sargon, you will be faint and athirst before all is done."

"Not a drop of wine shall cross my lips," answered the shield-bearer in a fierce determined whisper, "till I have dipped my hands in the blood of him who has injured me. I have sworn it by the splendour of Nisroch.

It is the oath of the Great King!"

"Is your vengeance, then, so deadly?" asked the eunuch, in a tone of pity that obviously chafed and aggravated the pa.s.sion it seemed to commiserate. "Surely ten score of sheep, five yoke of oxen, a hundred camel-loads of barley, or a talent of gold should absolve the shedder of blood from farther reparation. In our land of Shinar the laws are merciful, and do not exact life for life."