The Scarlet Banner Page 10

  CHAPTER IX

  Meanwhile King Gelimer was moving forward with all his power topreparations for the threatening conflict. He found much, very much, tobe done. The King, assuming the chief direction, and working whereverhe was needed, had given Zazo charge of the fleet and Gibamund that ofthe army.

  One sultry August evening he received their reports. The three brothershad met in the great throne-room and armory of the palace, into whichGelimer had now moved; the open windows afforded a magnificent view ofthe harbors and the sea beyond them; the north wind brought arefreshing breath from the salt tide.

  This portion of the ancient citadel had been rebuilt by the Vandalkings, changed to suit the necessities of life in a German palace. Theround column of the Greeks had been replaced, in imitation of the woodused in the construction of the German halls, by huge square pillars ofbrown and red marble, which Africa produced in the richest variety. Theceiling was wainscoted with gayly painted or burned wood, and, on bothstone and timber, besides the house-mark of the Asdings,--an Atransfixed by an arrow,--many another rune, even many a short motto,was inscribed in Gothic characters. Costly crimson silk hangings wavedat the open arched windows; the walls were set with slabs of polishedmarble in the most varied contrast of often vivid colors, for theBarbarian taste loved bright hues. The floor was composed of polishedmosaic, but it was rough and not well fitted. Genseric had simplybrought whole shiploads of the brightest hues he could drag from thepalaces of plundered Rome, with statues and bas-reliefs, which were puttogether here with little choice.

  Opposite to the side facing the sea, rose, at the summit of five steps,a stately structure, the throne of Genseric. The steps were very broad;they were intended to accommodate the King's enormous train, thePalatines and Gardings, the leaders of the thousands and hundreds,stationed according to their rank and the ruler's favor. In their richfantastic costumes and armor, a combination of German and Roman taste,they often gathered closely around the sovereign and stood crowdingtogether; the scarlet silk Vandal banners fluttered above them, and agolden dragon swung by a rope from the tent-like canopy of the loftypurple throne. When from this throne, at whose feet, as a symbolicaltribute from conquered Moorish princes, lion and tiger skins lay pileda foot high, the mighty sea-king arose, swinging around his head withangry, threatening words the seven-lashed scourge (a gift from hisfriend Attila), many an envoy of the Emperor forgot the arrogant speechhe had prepared.

  The wonderful splendor of this hall fairly bewildered the eye; but itsrichest ornament was the countless number of weapons of every variety,and of every nation, principally German, Roman, and Moorish; but alsofrom all the other coasts and islands which the sea-king's corsairships could visit. They covered all the pillars and walls; nay, theshields and breastplates were even spread over the entire ceiling.

  A strange, dazzling light now poured over all this bronze, silver, andgold, as the slanting rays of the setting sun streamed from thenorthwest into the hall. A broad white marble table was completelycovered with parchment and papyrus rolls, containing lists of thebodies of troops, by thousands and hundreds, drawings of ships, maps ofthe Vandal kingdom, charts of the Bay of Gades and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

  "You have accomplished more than the possible during the weeks I havebeen in the west, trying to bring the Vandals thence to Carthage," saidthe King, laying down a wax tablet on which he had been computingfigures. "True, we are far, far from possessing the numbers or thestrength of the ships which formerly bore 'the terror of the Vandals'to every shore. But these hundred and fifty will be amply sufficient,and more than sufficient, to defend our own coast and to prevent alanding, if behind the fleet there stands a body of foot soldiers onthe shore."

  "No, do not sigh, my Gibamund," cried Zazo. "Our brother knows it is nofault of yours that the army is not--cannot accomplish what--"

  "Oh," exclaimed Gibamund, wrathfully, "it is all in vain! No matterwhat I do, they will not drill. They want to drink and bathe andcarouse and ride and see the games in the Circus, indulge in everythingthat consumes a man's marrow in that accursed grove of Venus."

  "But that abomination ended yesterday," said the King.

  "Much you know about it, O Gelimer," said Zazo, shaking his head. "Youhave accomplished miracles since you wore this heavy crown; but tocleanse the grove of Venus--"

  "Not cleanse; close!" replied the King, sternly. "It has been closedsince yesterday."

  "I must complain, accuse many," Gibamund went on, "especially thenobles. They refuse to fight on foot, to take part in the drill of thefoot soldiers. You know how much we need them. They appeal to theprivileges bestowed by weak Sovereigns; they say they are no longerobliged to enter the ranks of the foot soldiers! Hilderic permittedevery Vandal to buy freedom from it, if he would hire in his place twoMoorish or other mercenaries."

  "I have abolished these privileges."

  "Oh, yes. And during your absence there was open rebellion; bloodflowed on that account in the streets of Carthage. But the worst thingis, that these effeminate nobles and the richer citizens _can_ nolonger fight on foot. They say--and unfortunately it is true--that theycan no longer bear the weight of the heavy helmets, breastplates,shields, and spears, no longer hurl the lances which I had brought outagain from Genseric's arsenal."

  "They are of course required to arm themselves," said Zazo. "So why--"

  "Because most have sold the ancient weapons or exchanged them forjewels, wine, dainties, or female slaves; or else for arms that aremere ornaments and toys. I allow no one to enter the army with thisrubbish; and before they are properly equipped, the victory and theEmpire might be lost. But it is true: they can no longer carryGenseric's armor. They would fall in a short time. They are swearingbecause we are now in the very hottest months."

  "Are we to tell the enemy that the Vandals fight only in the winter?"cried Zazo, laughing.

  "Therefore to fill the ranks of our foot soldiers I have alreadyobtained many thousand Moorish mercenaries," the King replied. "Ofcourse these sons of the desert, variable, impetuous, changeful, likethe sands of their home, are a poor substitute for German strength. ButI have gained twenty chiefs with about ten thousand men."

  "Is Cabaon, the graybeard of countless years, among them?" askedGibamund.

  "No, he delays his answer."

  "It is a pity. He is the most powerful of them all! And his propheticrenown extends far beyond his tribe," observed Zazo.

  "Well, we shall have better assistants than the Moorish robbers," saidGibamund, consolingly. "The brave Visigoths in Spain."

  "Have you yet received an answer from their king?"

  "Yes and no! King Theudis is shrewd and cautious. I urged upon himearnestly (I wrote the letter myself; I did not leave it to Verus) thatConstantinople was not threatening us Vandals solely; that the imperialtroops could easily cross the narrow straits from Ceuta, if we wereonce vanquished. I offered him an alliance. He answered evasively: hemust first be sure of what we could accomplish in the war."

  "What does he mean by that?" cried Zazo, angrily. "I suppose he wantsto wait till the end of the conflict. Whether we conquer or arevanquished, we shall no longer need him!"

  "I wrote again, still more urgently. His answer will soon come."

  "But the Ostrogoths?" asked Gibamund, eagerly. "What do they reply?"

  "Nothing at all."

  "That is bad," said Gibamund.

  "I wrote to the Regent: I stated that I was innocent of Hilderic'sshameful deed. I warned her against Justinian, who was threatening herno less than us; I reminded her of the close kinship of our nations--"

  "You have not yet stooped to entreaties?" asked Zazo, indignantly.

  "By no means. I besought nothing. I merely requested, as our justright, that the Ostrogoths at least would not aid our foes. As yet Ihave had no answer. But worse than the lack of allies, the mostperilous thing is the utter, foolish undervaluation of the enemy amongour own people," added the King.

  "Yes! They
say, Why should we weary ourselves with drilling and arming?The little Greeks won't dare to attack us! And if they really do come,the grandsons of Genseric will destroy the grandsons of Basiliscus justas Genseric destroyed him."

  "But we are no longer Genseric's Vandals!" Gelimer lamented. "Gensericbrought with him an army of heroes, brave, trained by twenty years ofwarfare with other Germans and with the Romans in the mountains ofSpain, simple, plain in tastes, rigid in morals. He closed the housesof Roman pleasure in Carthage; he compelled all women of light fame tomarry or enter convents."

  "But how that suited the husbands and the other nuns is not told,"replied Zazo, laughing.

  "And now, to-day, our youths are as corrupt as the most profligateRomans. To the cruelty of the fathers"--the King sighed deeply--"isadded the dissipation, the intemperance, the effeminate indolence ofthe sons. How can such a nation endure? It must succumb."

  "But we Asdings," said Gibamund, drawing himself up to his full height,while his eyes sparkled and a noble look transfigured his whole face,"we are unsullied by such stains."

  "What sins have we--you and we two committed," Zazo added, "that wemust perish?"

  Again the King sighed heavily, his brow clouded, he lowered his eyes.

  "We? Do we not bear the curse which--But hush! Not a word of that! Itis the last straw of my hope that I, the King, at least wear this crownwithout guilt. Were I obliged to accuse myself of that, woe betide me!Oh--whose is this cold hand? You, Verus? You startled me."

  "He steals in noiselessly, like a serpent," Zazo muttered in his beard.

  The priest--he had retained, even as chancellor, the ecclesiasticalrobe--had entered unobserved; how long before, no one knew. His eyeswere fixed intently upon Gelimer, as he slowly withdrew the hand he hadlaid upon his friend's bare arm.

  "Yes, my sovereign, keep this anxiety of conscience. Guard your soulfrom guilt. I know your nature; it would crush you."

  "You shall not make my brother still more gloomy," cried Zazo,indignantly.

  "Gelimer and guilt!" exclaimed Gibamund, throwing his arm around theKing's neck.

  "He is only too conscientious, too much given to pondering," Zazo wenton. "Really, Gelimer, you, too, are no longer like Genseric's Vandals.You are infected also; not by Roman vices, but by Roman or Greek orChristian brooding over subtle questions. To put it more courteously:gnosticism, theosophy, or mysticism? I know nothing about it, cannoteven think of it. How glad I am that our father did not send me to beeducated by the priests and philosophers! He soon discovered thatZazo's hard skull was fit only for the helmet, not to carry a reedbehind the ear. But you! I always felt as though I were going into adungeon when I visited you in your gloomy, high-walled monastery, inthe solitude of the desert. Many, many years you dreamed away thereamong the books--lost."

  "Not lost!" replied Gibamund. "He found time to become the chief heroof his people. On him rests the hope of the Vandals."

  "On the whole House of the Asdings! We are not degenerates," answeredthe King. "But can a single family--even though it is the reigningone--stay the sinking of a whole nation? Uplift one that has fallen solow?"

  "Hardly," said Verus, shaking his head. "For who can say of himselfthat he is free from sin? And," he added slowly, suddenly raising hiseyes and fixing them full upon Gelimer, "the sins of the fathers--"

  "Stay," exclaimed the King, groaning aloud, as if in anguish. "Not thatthought now--when I must act, create, accomplish. It will paralyze me."He pressed his hand over his eyes and brow.

  "Even at the present time," the priest continued, "sin is dominanteverywhere among the people. It cries aloud to Heaven for vengeance.Just now I was obliged, to comfort a dying man--"

  "Even as Chancellor of the Kingdom, he does not forget the duties ofthe priest," said Gelimer, turning to his brothers.

  "To go near the southern gate. Again, from that grove devoted to everyvice, there fell upon my ear the uproar, the infernal jubilee of evilrevel. Those shameless songs--"

  "What?" cried the King, wrathfully, striking the marble table with hisclinched fist. "Do they dare? Did I not order, before my departure forHippo, that all these games and festivals should cease? Did I not fixyesterday as the final limit, after which the grove must be cleared andall its houses closed? I sent three hundred lancers to see that mycommands were obeyed. What are they doing?"

  "Those who are no longer dancing and drinking are asleep, weary ofcarousing, full of wine, which they drank, like all who were there. Isaw a little group snoring under the archway of the gate."

  "I will give them a terrible awakening," cried the King. "Must sinactually devour us?"

  "That grove is beyond cure," said Zazo.

  "What the sword cannot do, the flames will," exclaimed the King,threateningly. "I will sweep through them like the wrath of God! Up,follow me, my brothers!" He rushed out of the room.

  "Order the hundreds of horsemen to mount, Gibamund," said Zazo, as theycrossed the threshold,--"the household troop, under faithful Markomer.For the Vandals no longer obey the King's word unless at the same timethey see the glitter of the King's sword."

  The archdeacon, muttering softly to himself and shaking his head,slowly followed the three Asdings.