I bowed to her and drank.I suppose the fluid was water, but to me it tasted more like strong champagne, dashed with Chateau Yquem.It was delicious.More, its effects were distinctly peculiar.Something quick and subtle ran through my veins;something that for a few moments seemed to burn away the obscureness which blurs our thought.I began to understand several problems that had puzzled me, and then lost their explanations in the midst of light, inner light, I mean.
Moreover, of a sudden it seemed to me as though a window had been opened in the heart of that Glittering Lady who stood beside me.
At least I knew that it was full of wonderful knowledge, wonderful memories and wonderful hopes, and that in the latter two of these I had some part; what part I could not tell.Also Iknew that my heart was open to her and that she saw in it something which caused her to marvel and to sigh.
In a few seconds, thirty perhaps, all this was gone.Nothing remained except that I felt extremely strong and well, happier, too, than I had been for years.Mutely I asked her for more of the water, but she shook her head and, taking the cup from me, filled it again and gave it to Bickley, who drank.He flushed, seemed to lose the self-control which was his very strong characteristic, and said in a rather thick voice:
"Curious! but I do not think at this moment there is any operation that has ever been attempted which I could not tackle single-handed and with success."Then he was silent, and Bastin's turn came.He drank rather noisily, after his fashion, and began:
"My dear young lady, I think the time has come when I should expound to you--" Here he broke off and commenced singing very badly, for his voice was somewhat raucous:
From Greenland's icy mountains,From India's coral strand,Where Afric's sunny fountainsRoll down their golden sand.
Ceasing from melody, he added:
"I determined that I would drink nothing intoxicating while Iwas on this island that I might be a shining light in a dark place, and now I fear that quite unwittingly I have broken what Ilook upon as a promise."
Then he, too, grew silent.
"Come," said Yva, "my father, the Lord Oro, awaits you."We crossed the court of the Water of Life and mounted steps that led to a wide and impressive portico, Tommy frisking ahead of us in a most excited way for a dog of his experience.
Evidently the water had produced its effect upon him as well as upon his masters.This portico was in a solemn style of architecture which I cannot describe, because it differed from any other that I know.It was not Egyptian and not Greek, although its solidity reminded me of the former, and the beauty and grace of some of the columns, of the latter.The profuseness and rather grotesque character of the carvings suggested the ruins of Mexico and Yucatan, and the enormous size of the blocks of stone, those of Peru and Baalbec.In short, all the known forms of ancient architecture might have found their inspiration here, and the general effect was tremendous.
"The palace of the King," said Yva, "whereof we approach the great hall."We entered through mighty metal doors, one of which stood ajar, into a vestibule which from certain indications I gathered had once been a guard, or perhaps an assembly-room.It was about forty feet deep by a hundred wide.Thence she led us through a smaller door into the hall itself.It was a vast place without columns, for there was no roof to support.The walls of marble or limestone were sculptured like those of Egyptian temples, apparently with battle scenes, though of this I am not sure for Idid not go near to them.Except for a broad avenue along the middle, up which we walked, the area was filled with marble benches that would, I presume, have accommodated several thousand people.But they were empty--empty, and oh! the loneliness of it all.
Far away at the head of the hall was a dais enclosed, and, as it were, roofed in by a towering structure that mingled grace and majesty to a wonderful degree.It was modelled on the pattern of a huge shell.The base of the shell was the platform; behind were the ribs, and above, the overhanging lip of the shell.On this platform was a throne of silvery metal.It was supported on the arched coils of snakes, whereof the tails formed the back and the heads the arms of the throne.
On this throne, arrayed in gorgeous robes, sat the Lord Oro, his white beard flowing over them, and a jewelled cap upon his head.In front of him was a low table on which lay graven sheets of metal, and among them a large ball of crystal.
There he sat, solemn and silent in the midst of this awful solitude, looking in very truth like a god, as we conceive such a being to appear.Small as he was in that huge expanse of buildings, he seemed yet to dominate it, in a sense to fill the emptiness which was accentuated by his presence.I know that the sight of him filled me with true fear which it had never done in the light of day, not even when he arose from his crystal coffin.
Now for the first time I felt as though I were really in the presence of a Being Supernatural.Doubtless the surroundings heightened this impression.What were these mighty edifices in the bowels of the world? When came this wondrous, all-pervading and translucent light, whereof we could see no origin? Whither had vanished those who had reared and inhabited them? How did it happen that of them all, this man, if he were a man; and this lovely woman at my side, who, if I might trust my senses and instincts, was certainly a woman, alone survived of their departed multitudes?
The thing was crushing.I looked at Bickley for encouragement, but got none, for he only shook his head.Even Bastin, now that the first effects of the Life-water had departed, seemed overwhelmed, and muttered something about the halls of Hades.
Only the little dog Tommy remained quite cheerful.He trotted down the hall, jumped on to the dais and sat himself comfortably at the feet of its occupant.
"I greet you," Oro said in his slow, resonant voice."Daughter, lead these strangers to me; I would speak with them."