Alroy Part 21

'Who spoke?' exclaimed Ha.s.san Subah.

'I!' answered a voice. A female form stood in the portico of the temple, with uplifted arms.

'And who art thou?' enquired Ha.s.san Subah, not a little disconcerted.

'Thine evil genius, Seljuk!'

Ha.s.san Subah, pale as his ivory battle-axe, did not answer; every man within hearing shuddered; still the dread woman remained immovable within the porch of the temple.

'Woman, witch, or G.o.ddess,' at length exclaimed Ha.s.san Subah, 'what wouldst thou here?'

'Seljuk! behold this star. 'Tis a single drop of light, yet who even of thy wild band can look upon it without awe? And yet thou worse than Sisera, thou comest to combat against those for whom even "the stars in their courses fought."'

'A Jewish witch!' exclaimed the Seljuk.

'A Jewish witch! Be it so; behold, then, my spell falls upon thee, and that spell is Destruction.

'Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song; arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam!'

Immediately the sky appeared to darken, a cloud of arrows and javelins broke from all sides upon the clevoted Seljuks: immense ma.s.ses of stone and marble were hurled from all directions, horses were stabbed by spears impelled by invisible hands, and riders fell to the ground without a struggle, and were trampled upon by their disordered and affrighted brethren.

'We are betrayed,' exclaimed Ha.s.san Subah, hurling a javelin at the merchant, but the merchant was gone. The Seljuks raised their famous war cry.

'Oglu, regain the desert,' ordered the chieftain.

But no sooner had the guard without the walls heard the war cry of their companions, than, alarmed, for their safety, they rushed to their a.s.sistance. The retreating forces of Subah, each instant diminis.h.i.+ng as they retreated, were baffled in their project by the very eagerness of their auxiliaries. The unwilling contention of the two parties increased the confusion; and when the Seljuks, recently arrived, having at length formed into some order, had regained the gate, they found to their dismay that the portal was barricadoed and garrisoned by the enemy.

Uninspired by the presence of their commander, who was in the rear, the puzzled soldiers were seized with a panic, and spurring their horses, dispersed in all directions of the city. In vain Ha.s.san Subah endeavoured to restore order. The moment was past. Das.h.i.+ng with about thirty men to an open ground, which his quick eye had observed in his progress down the street, and dealing destruction with every blow, the dreaded Governor of Hamadan, like a true soldier, awaited an inevitable fate, not wholly despairing that some chance might yet turn up to extricate him from his forlorn situation.

And now, as it were by enchantment, wild armed men seemed to arise from every part of the city. From every ma.s.s of ruin, from every crumbling temple and mouldering mansion, from every catacomb and cellar, from behind every column and every obelisk, upstarted some desperate warrior with a b.l.o.o.d.y weapon. The ma.s.sacre of the Seljuks was universal. The hors.e.m.e.n dashed wildly about the ruined streets, pursued by crowds of footmen; sometimes, formed in small companies, the Seljuks charged and fought desperately; but, however stout might be their resistance to the open foe, it was impossible to withstand their secret enemies. They had no place of refuge, no power of gaining even a moment's breathing time.

If they retreated to a wall it instantly bristled with spears; if they endeavoured to form, in a court, they sank under the falling ma.s.ses which were showered upon them. Strange shouts of denunciation blended with the harsh braying of horns, and the clang and clash of cymbals and tambours sounded in every quarter of the city.

'If we could only mount the walls, Ibrahim, and leap into the desert!'

exclaimed Ha.s.san Subah to one of his few remaining comrades; ''tis our only chance. We die here like dogs! Could I but meet Alroy!'

Three of the Seljuks dashed swiftly across the open ground in front, followed by several Hebrew hors.e.m.e.n.

'Smite all, Abner. Spare none, remember Amalek,' exclaimed their youthful leader, waving his b.l.o.o.d.y scimitar.

'They are down; one, two, there goes the third. My javelin has done for him.'

'Your horse bleeds freely. Where's Jabaster?'

'At the gates; my arm aches with slaughter. The Lord hath delivered them into our hands. Could I but meet their chieftain!'

'Turn, bloodhound, he is here,' exclaimed Ha.s.san Subah.

'Away, Abner, this affair is mine.'

'Prince, you have already slain your thousands.'

'And Abner his tens of thousands. Is it so? This business is for me only. Come on, Turk.'

'Art thou Alroy?'

'The same.'

'The slayer of Alschiroch?'

'Even so.'

'A rebel and a murderer.'

'What you please. Look to yourself.'

The Hebrew Prince flung a javelin at the Seljuk. It glanced from the breastplate; but Ha.s.san Subah staggered in his seat. Recovering, he charged Alroy with great force. Their scimitars crossed, and the blade of Ha.s.san s.h.i.+vered.

'He who sold me that blade told me it was charmed, and could be broken only by a caliph,' said Ha.s.san Subah. 'He was a liar.'

'As it may be,' said Alroy, and he cut the Seljuk to the ground. Abner had dispersed his comrades. Alroy leaped from his fainting steed, and, mounting the ebon courser of his late enemy, dashed again into the thickest of the fight.

The shades of night descended, the clamour gradually decreased, the struggle died away. A few unhappy Moslemin who had quitted their saddles and sought concealment among the ruins, were occasionally hunted out, and brought forward and ma.s.sacred. Long ere midnight the last of the Seljuks had expired.[56]

The moon shed a broad light upon the street of palaces crowded with the acc.u.mulated slain and the living victors. Fires were lit, torches illumined, the conquerors prepared the eager meal as they sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving.

A procession approached. Esther the prophetess, clas.h.i.+ng her cymbals, danced before the Messiah of Israel, who leant upon his victorious scimitar, surrounded by Jabaster, Abner, Scherirah, and his chosen chieftains. Who could now doubt the validity of his mission? The wide and silent desert rang with the acclamations of his enthusiastic votaries.

Heavily the anxious hours crept on in the Jewish quarter of Hamadan.

Again and again the venerable Bostenay discussed the chances of success with the sympathising but desponding elders. Miriam was buried in constant prayer. Their most sanguine hopes did not extend beyond the escape of their Prince.

A fortnight had elapsed, and no news had been received of the progress of the expedition, when suddenly, towards sunset, a sentinel on a watch-tower announced the appearance of an armed force in the distance.

The walls were instantly lined with the anxious inhabitants, the streets and squares filled with curious crowds. Exultation sat on the triumphant brow of the Moslemin; a cold tremor stole over the fluttering heart of the Hebrew.

'There is but one G.o.d,' said the captain of the gate.

'And Mahomed is His prophet,' responded a sentinel.

'To-morrow we will cut off the noses of all these Jewish dogs.'

'The sceptre has departed,' exclaimed the despairing Bostenay.

'Lord, remember David!' whispered Miriam, as she threw herself upon the court of the palace, and buried her face in ashes.

The Mollahs in solemn procession advanced to the ramparts, to shed their benediction on the victorious Ha.s.san Subah. The Muezzin ascended the minarets to watch the setting sun, and proclaim the power of Allah with renewed enthusiasm.

'I wonder if Alroy be dead or alive,' said the captain of the gate.

'If he be alive, he will be impaled,' responded a sentinel.