when this momentous discussion was finished, as usual owen preachedbefore the king, expounding the scriptures and taking for his subjectthe duty of faith. as he went back to his hut he saw that the snakewhich john had killed had been set upon a pole in that part of thegreat place which served as a market, and that hundreds of nativeswere gathered beneath it gesticulating and talking excitedly.
"see the work of hokosa," he thought to himself. "moses set up aserpent to save the people; yonder wizard sets up one to destroythem."that evening owen had no heart for his labours, for his mind was heavyat the prospect of the trial which lay before him. not that he caredfor his own life, for of this he scarcely thought; it was theprospects of his cause which troubled him. it seemed much to expectthat heaven again should throw over him the mantle of its especialprotection, and yet if it did not do so there was an end of hismission among the people of fire. well, he did not seek this trial--hewould have avoided it if he could, but it had been thrust upon him,and he was forced to choose between it and the abandonment of the workwhich he had undertaken with such high hopes and pushed so far towardsuccess. he did not choose the path, it had been pointed out to him towalk upon; and if it ended in a precipice, at least he would have donehis best.
as he thought thus john entered the hut, panting.
"what is the matter?" owen asked.
"father, the people saw and pursued me because of the death of thataccursed snake. had i not run fast and escaped them, i think theywould have killed me.""at least you have escaped, john; so be comforted and return thanks.""father," said the man presently, "i know that you are great, and cando many wonderful things, but have you in truth power over lightning?""why do you ask?""because a great tempest is brewing, and if you have not we shallcertainly be killed when we stand yonder on the place of fire.""john," he said, "i cannot speak to the lightning in a voice which itcan hear. i cannot say to it 'go yonder,' or 'come hither,' but he whomade it can do so. why do you tempt me with your doubts? have i nottold you the story of elijah the prophet and the priests of baal? didelijah's master forsake him, and shall he forsake us? also this iscertain, that all the medicine of hokosa and his wizards will not turna lightning flash by the breadth of a single hair. god alone can turnit, and for the sake of his cause among these people i believe that hewill do so."thus owen spoke on till, in reproving the weakness of another, he felthis own faith come back to him and, remembering the past and how hehad been preserved in it, the doubt and trouble went out of his mindto return no more.
the third day--the day of trial--came. for sixty hours or more theheat of the weather had been intense; indeed, during all that time thethermometer in owen's hut, notwithstanding the protection of a thickhatch, had shown the temperature to vary between a maximum of 113 anda minimum of 101 degrees. now, in the early morning, it stood at 108.
"will the storm break to-day?" asked owen of nodwengo, who came tovisit him.
"they say so, messenger, and i think it by the feel of the air. if so,it will be a very great storm, for the heaven is full of fire. alreadyhokosa and the doctors are at their rites upon the plain yonder, butthere will be no need to join them till two hours after midday.""is the cross ready?" asked owen.
"yes, and set up. it is a heavy cross; six men could scarcely carryit. oh! messenger, i am not afraid--and yet, have you no medicine? ifnot, i fear that the lightning will fall upon the cross as it fellupon the pole and then----""listen, nodwengo," said owen, "i know a medicine, but i will not useit. you see that waggon chain? were one end of it buried in the groundand the other with a spear blade made fast to it hung to the top ofthe cross, we could live out the fiercest storm in safety. but i saythat i will not use it. are we witch doctors that we should takerefuge in tricks? no, let faith be our shield, and if it fail us, thenlet us die. pray now with me that it may not fail us."*****it was afternoon. all round the field of fire were gathered thousandsupon thousands of the people of the amasuka. the news of this duelbetween the god of the white man and their god had travelled far andwide, and even the very aged who could scarcely crawl and the littleones who must be carried were collected there to see the issue. norhad they need to fear disappointment, for already the sky was halfhidden by dense thunder-clouds piled ridge on ridge, and the hush ofthe coming tempest lay upon the earth. round about the meteor stonewhich they called a god, each of them stirring a little gourd ofmedicine that was placed upon the ground before him, but uttering noword, were gathered hokosa and his followers to the number of twenty.
they were all of them arrayed in their snakeskin dresses and otherwizard finery. also each man held in his hand a wand fashioned from ahuman thigh-bone. in front of the stone burned a little fire, whichnow and again hokosa fed with aromatic leaves, at the same timepouring medicine from his bowl upon the holy stone. opposite thesymbol of the god, but at a good distance from it, a great cross ofwhite wood was set up in the rock by a spot which the witch-doctorsthemselves had chosen. upon the banks of the stream, in the placeapart, were the king, his councillors and the regiment on guard, andwith them owen, the prince nodwengo and john.
"the storm will be fierce," said the king uneasily, glancing at thewestern sky, upon whose bosom the blue lightnings played with anincessant flicker. then he bade those about him stand back, andcalling owen and the prince to him, said: "messenger, my son tells methat your wisdom knows a plan whereby you may be preserved from thefury of the tempest. use it, i pray of you, messenger, that your lifemay be saved, and with it the life of the only son who is left to me.""i cannot," answered owen, "for thus by doubting him i should tempt mymaster. still, it is not laid upon the prince to accompany throughthis trial. let him stay here, and i alone will stand beneath thecross.""stay, nodwengo," implored the old man.
"i did not think to live to hear my father bid me, one of the royalblood of the amasuka, to desert my captain in the hour of battle andhide myself in the grass like a woman," answered the prince with abitter smile. "nay, it may be that death awaits me yonder, but nothingexcept death shall keep me back from the venture.""it is well spoken," said the king; "be it as you will."now the company of wizards, leaving their medicine-pots upon theground, formed themselves in a treble line, and marching to where theking stood, they saluted him. then they sang the praises of their god,and in a song that had been prepared, heaped insult upon the god ofthe white man and upon the messenger who preached him. to all of thisowen listened in silence.
"he is a coward!" cried their spokesman; "he has not a word to say. heskulks there in his white robes behind the majesty of the king. lethim go forth and stand by his piece of wood. he dare not go! he thinksthe hillside safer. come out, little white man, and we will show youhow we manage the lightnings. ah! they shall fly about you like spearsin battle. you shall throw yourself upon the ground and shriek interror, and then they will lick you up and you shall be no more, andthere will be an end of you and the symbol of your god.""cease your boastings," said the king shortly, "and get you back toyour place, knowing that if it should chance that the white manconquers you will be called upon to answer for these words.""we shall be ready, o king," they cried; and amidst the cheers of thevast audience they marched back to their station, still singing theblasphemous mocking song.
now to the west all the heavens were black as night, though theeastern sky still showed blue and cloudless. nature lay oppressed withsilence--silence intense and unnatural; and so great was the heat thatthe air danced visibly above the ironstone as it dances about aglowing stove. suddenly the quietude was broken by a moaning sound ofwind; the grass stirred, the leaves of the trees began to shiver, andan icy breath beat upon owen's brow.
"let us be going," he said, and lifting the ivory crucifix above hishead, he passed the stream and walked towards the wooden cross. afterhim came the prince nodwengo, wearing his royal dress of leopard skin,and after him, john, arrayed in a linen robe.
as the little procession appeared to their view some of the soldiersbegan to mock, but almost instantly the laughter died away. rude asthey were, these savages understood that here was no occasion fortheir mirth, that the three men indeed seemed clothed with a curiousdignity. perhaps it was their slow and quiet gait, perhaps a sense ofthe errand upon which they were bound; or it may have been the strangeunearthly light that fell upon them from over the edge of the stormcloud; at the least, as the multitude became aware, their appearancewas impressive. they reached the cross and took up their stationsthere, owen in front of it, nodwengo to the right, and john to theleft.
now a sharp squall of strong wind swept across the space, and with itcame a flaw of rain. it passed by, and the storm that had beenmuttering and growling in the distance began to burst. the greatclouds seemed to grow and swell, and from the breast of them swiftlightnings leapt, to be met by other lightnings rushing upwards fromthe earth. the air was filled with a tumult of uncertain wind and ahiss as of distant rain. then the batteries of thunder were opened,and the world shook with their volume. down from on high the flashesfell blinding and incessant, and by the light of them the fire-doctorscould be seen running to and fro, pointing now here and now there withtheir wands of human bones, and pouring the medicines from theirgourds upon the ground and upon each other. owen and his twocompanions could be seen also, standing quietly with clasped hands,while above them towered the tall white cross.
at length the storm was straight over head. slowly it advanced in itsawe-inspiring might as flash after flash, each more fantastic andhorrible than the last, smote upon the floor of ironstone. it playedabout the shapes of the doctors, who in the midst of it looked likedevils in an inferno. it crept onwards towards the station of thecross, but--/it never reached the cross/.
one flash struck indeed within fifty paces of where owen stood. thenof a sudden a marvel happened, or something which to this day thepeople of fire talk of as a marvel, for in an instant the rain beganto pour like a wall of water stretching from earth to heaven, and thewind changed. it had been blowing from the west, now it blew from theeast with the force of a gale.
it blew and rolled the tempest back upon itself, causing it to returnto the regions whence it had gathered. at the very foot of the crossits march was stayed; there was the water-line, as straight as if ithad been drawn with a rule. the thunder-clouds that were pressedforward met the clouds that were pressed back, and together theyseemed to come to earth, filling the air with a gloom so dense thatthe eye could not pierce it. to the west was a wall of blacknesstowering to the heavens; to the east, light, blue and unholy, gleamedupon the white cross and the figures of its watchers.
for some seconds--twenty or more--there was a lull, and then it seemedas though all hell had broken loose upon the world. the wall ofblackness became a wall of flame, in which strange and ardent shapesappeared ascending and descending; the thunder bellowed till themountains rocked, and in one last blaze, awful and indescribable, theskies melted into a deluge of fire. in the flare of it owen thoughtthat he saw the figures of men falling this way and that, then hestaggered against the cross for support and his senses failed him.
*****when they returned again, he perceived the storm being drawn back fromthe face of the pale earth like a pall from the face of the dead, andhe heard a murmur of fear and wonder rising from ten thousand throats.
*****well might they fear and wonder, for of the twenty and one wizardseleven were dead, four were paralysed by shock, five were flying intheir terror, and one, hokosa himself, stood staring at the fallen, avery picture of despair. nor was this all, for the meteor stone with ahuman shape which for generations the people of fire had worshipped asa god, lay upon the plain in fused and shattered fragments.
the people saw, and a sound as of a hollow groan of terror went upfrom them. then they were silent. for a while owen and his companionswere silent also, since their hearts were too full for speech. then hesaid:--"as the snake fell harmless from the hand of paul, so has thelightning turned back from me, who strive to follow in his footsteps,working death and dismay among those who would have harmed us. mayforgiveness be theirs who were without understanding. brethren, let usreturn and make report to the king."now, as they had come, so they went back; first owen with thecrucifix, next to him nodwengo, and last of the three john. they drewnear to the king, when suddenly, moved by a common impulse, thethousands of the people upon the banks of the stream with one accordthrew themselves upon their knees before owen, calling him god andoffering him worship. infected by the contagion, umsuka, his guard andhis councillors followed their example, so that of all the multitudehokosa alone remained upon his feet, standing by his dishonoured andriven deity.
"rise!" cried owen aghast. "would you do sacrilege, and offer worshipto a man? rise, i command you!"then the king rose, saying:--"you are no man, messenger, you are a spirit.""he is a spirit," repeated the multitude after him.
"i am /not/ a spirit, i am yet a man," cried owen again, "but thespirit whom i serve has made his power manifest in me his servant, andyour idols are smitten with the sword of his power, o ye sons of fire!
hokosa still lives, let him be brought hither."they fetched hokosa, and he stood before them.
"you have seen, wizard," said the king. "what have you to say?""nothing," answered hokosa, "save that victory is to the cross, and tothe white man who preaches it, for his magic is greater than ourmagic. by his command the tempest was stayed, and the boasts we hurledfell back upon our heads and the head of our god to destroy us.""yes," said the king, "victory is to the cross, and henceforth thecross shall be worshipped in this land, or at least no other god shallbe worshipped. let us be going. come with me, messenger, lord of thelightning."
