westward ho-第101节

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vice　to　the　queen；　the　salvation　of　heathens；　and　the　certainty　that；　if　successful；　they　should　win　honor　and　wealth　and　everlasting　fame；　beyond　that　of　Cortez　or　Pizarro；　till　the　men；　sulky　at　first；　warmed　every　moment；　and　one　old　Pelican　broke　out　with

〃Yes；　sir！　we　didn't　go　round　the　world　with　you　for　naught；　and　watched　your　works　and　ways；　which　was　always　those　of　a　gentleman；　as　you　arewho　spoke　a　word　for　a　poor　fellow　when　he　was　in　a　scrape；　and　saw　all　you　ought　to　see；　and　naught　that　you　ought　not。　　And　we'll　follow　you；　sir；　all　alone　to　ourselves；　and　let　those　that　know　you　worse　follow　after　when　they're　come　to　their　right　mind。〃

Man　after　man　capped　this　brave　speech；　the　minority；　who；　if　they　liked　little　to　go；　liked　still　less　to　be　left　behind；　gave　in　their　consent　perforce；　and；　to　make　a　long　story　short；　Amyas　conquered；　and　the　plan　was　accepted。

〃This；〃　said　Amyas；　〃is　indeed　the　proudest　day　of　my　life！　　I　have　lost　one　brother；　but　I　have　gained　fourscore。　　God　do　so　to　me　and　more　also；　if　I　do　not　deal　with　you　according　to　the　trust　which　you　have　put　in　me　this　day！〃

We；　I　suppose；　are　to　believe　that　we　have　a　right　to　laugh　at　Amyas's　scheme　as　frantic　and　chimerical。　　It　is　easy　to　amuse　ourselves　with　the　premises；　after　the　conclusion　has　been　found　for　us。　　We　know；　now；　that　he　was　mistaken：　but　we　have　not　discovered　his　mistake　for　ourselves；　and　have　no　right　to　plume　ourselves　on　other　men's　discoveries。　　Had　we　lived　in　Amyas's　days；　we　should　have　belonged　either　to　the　many　wise　men　who　believed　as　he　did；　or　to　the　many　foolish　men；　who　not　only　sneered　at　the　story　of　Manoa；　but　at　a　hundred　other　stories；　which　we　now　know　to　be　true。　　Columbus　was　laughed　at：　but　he　found　a　new　world；　nevertheless。　　Cortez　was　laughed　at：　but　he　found　Mexico。　　Pizarro：　but　he　found　Peru。　　I　ask　any　fair　reader　of　those　two　charming　books；　Mr。　Prescott's　Conquest　of　Mexico　and　his　Conquest　of　Peru；　whether　the　true　wonders　in　them　described　do　not　outdo　all　the　false　wonders　of　Manoa。

But　what　reason　was　there　to　think　them　false？　　One　quarter；　perhaps；　of　America　had　been　explored；　and　yet　in　that　quarter　two　empires　had　been　already　found；　in　a　state　of　mechanical；　military；　and　agricultural　civilization　superior；　in　many　things；　to　any　nation　of　Europe。　　Was　it　not　most　rational　to　suppose　that　in　the　remaining　three…quarters　similar　empires　existed？　　If　a　second　Mexico　had　been　discovered　in　the　mountains　of　Parima；　and　a　second　Peru　in　those　of　Brazil；　what　right　would　any　man　have　had　to　wonder？　　As　for　the　gold　legends；　nothing　was　told　of　Manoa　which　had　not　been　seen　in　Peru　and　Mexico　by　the　bodily　eyes　of　men　then　living。　　Why　should　not　the　rocks　of　Guiana　have　been　as　full　of　the　precious　metals　（we　do　not　know　yet　that　they　are　not）　as　the　rocks　of　Peru　and　Mexico　were　known　to　be？　　Even　the　details　of　the　story；　its　standing　on　a　lake；　for　instance；　bore　a　probability　with　them。　　Mexico　actually　stood　in　the　centre　of　a　lakewhy　should　not　Manoa？　　The　Peruvian　worship　centred　round　a　sacred　lakewhy　not　that　of　Manoa？　　Pizarro　and　Cortez；　again；　were　led　on　to　their　desperate　enterprises　by　the　sight　of　small　quantities　of　gold　among　savages；　who　told　them　of　a　civilized　gold…country　near　at　hand；　and　they　found　that　those　savages　spoke　truth。　　Why　was　the　unanimous　report　of　the　Carib　tribes　of　the　Orinoco　to　be　disbelieved；　when　they　told　a　similar　tale？　　Sir　Richard　Schomburgk's　admirable　preface　to　Raleigh's　Guiana　proves；　surely；　that　the　Indians　themselves　were　deceived；　as　well　as　deceivers。　It　was　known；　again；　that　vast　quantities　of　the　Peruvian　treasure　had　been　concealed　by　the　priests；　and　that　members　of　the　Inca　family　had　fled　across　the　Andes；　and　held　out　against　the　Spaniards。　　Barely　fifty　years　had　elapsed　since　then；what　more　probable　than　that　this　remnant　of　the　Peruvian　dynasty　and　treasure　still　existed？　　Even　the　story　of　the　Amazons；　though　it　may　serve　Hume　as　a　point　for　his　ungenerous　and　untruthful　attempt　to　make　Raleigh　out　either　fool　or　villain；　has　come　from　Spaniards；　who　had　with　their　own　eyes　seen　the　Indian　women　fighting　by　their　husbands'　sides；　and　from　Indians；　who　asserted　the　existence　of　an　Amazonian　tribe。　　What　right　had　Amyas；　or　any　man；　to　disbelieve　the　story？　　The　existence　of　the　Amazons　in　ancient　Asia；　and　of　their　intercourse　with　Alexander　the　Great；　was　then　an　accredited　part　of　history；　which　it　would　have　been　gratuitous　impertinence　to　deny。　　And　what　if　some　stories　connected　these　warlike　women　with　the　Emperor　of　Manoa；　and　the　capital　itself？　　This　generation　ought　surely　to　be　the　last　to　laugh　at　such　a　story；　at　least　as　long　as　the　Amazonian　guards　of　the　King　of　Dahomey　continue　to　outvie　the　men　in　that　relentless　ferocity；　with　which　they　have　subdued　every　neighboring　tribe；　save　the　Christians　of　Abbeokuta。　　In　this　case；　as　in　a　hundred　more；　fact　not　only　outdoes；　but　justifies　imagination；　and　Amyas　spoke　common　sense　when　he　said　to　his　men　that　day

〃Let　fools　laugh　and　stay　at　home。　　Wise　men　dare　and　win。　　Saul　went　to　look　for　his　father's　asses；　and　found　a　kingdom；　and　Columbus；　my　men；　was　called　a　madman　for　only　going　to　seek　China；　and　never　knew；　they　say；　until　his　dying　day；　that　he　had　found　a　whole　new　world　instead　of　it。　　Find　Manoa？　　God　only；　who　made　all　things；　knows　what　we　may　find　beside！〃

So　underneath　that　giant　ceiba…tree；　those　valiant　men；　reduced　by　battle　and　sickness　to　some　eighty；　swore　a　great　oath；　and　kept　that　oath　like　men。　　To　search　for　the　golden　city　for　two　full　years　to　come；　whatever　might　befall；　to　stand　to　each　other　for　weal　or　woe；　to　obey　their　officers　to　the　death；　to　murmur　privately　against　no　man；　but　bring　all　complaints　to　a　council　of　war；　to　use　no　profane　oaths；　but　serve　God　daily　with　prayer；　to　take　by　violence　from　no　man；　save　from　their　natural　enemies　the　Spaniards；　to　be　civil　and　merciful　to　all　savages；　and　chaste　and　courteous　to　all　women；　to　bring　all　booty　and　all　food　into　the　common　stock；　and　observe　to　the　utmost　their　faith　with　the　adventurers　who　had　fitted　out　the　ship；　and　finally；　to　march　at　sunrise　the　next　morning　toward　the　south；　trusting　in　God　to　be　their　guide。

〃It　is　a　great　oath；　and　a　hard　one；〃　said　Brimblecombe；　〃but　God　will　give　us　strength　to　keep　it。〃　　And　they　knelt　all　together　and　received　the　Holy　Communion；　and　then　rose　to　pack　provisions　and　ammunition；　and　lay　down　again　to　sleep　and　to　dream　that　they　were　sailing　home　up　Torridge　streamas　Cavendish；　returning　from　round　the　world；　did　actually　sail　home　up　Thames　but　five　years　afterwards〃with　mariners　and　soldiers　clothed　in　silk；　with　sails　of　damask；　and　topsails　of　cloth　of　gold；　and　the　richest　prize　which　ever　was　brought　at　one　time　unto　English　shores。〃

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The　Cross　stands　upright　in　the　southern　sky。　　It　is　the　middle　of　the　night。　　Cary　and　Yeo　glide　silently　up　the　hill　and　into　the　camp；　and　whisper　to　Amyas　that　they　have　done　the　deed。　　The　sleepers　are　awakened；　and　the　train　sets　forth。

Upward　and　southward　ever：　but　whither；　who　can　tell？　　They　hardly　think　of　the　whither；　but　go　like　sleep…walkers；　shaken　out　of　one　land　of　dreams；　only　to　find　themselves　in　another　and　stranger　one。　　All　around　is　fantastic　and　unearthly；　now　each　man　starts　as　he　sees　the　figures　of　his　fellows；　clothed　from　head　to　foot　in　golden　filigree；　looks　up；　and　sees　the　yellow　moonlight　through　the　fronds　of　the　huge　tree…ferns　overhead；　as　through　a　cloud　of　glittering　lace。　　Now　they　are　hewing　their　way　through　a　thicket　of　enormous　flags；　now　through　bamboos　forty　feet　high；　now　they　are　stumbling　over　boulders；　waist…deep　in　cushions　of　club…moss；　now　they　are　struggling　through　shrubberies　of　heaths　and　rhododendrons；　and　woolly　incense…trees；　where　every　leaf；　as　they　brush　past；　dashes　some　fresh　scent　into　their　faces；　and


　　　　　〃The　winds；　with　musky　wing；　　　　　　　About　the　cedarn　alleys　fling　　　　　　　Nard　and　cassia's　balmy　smells。〃


Now　they　open　upon　some　craggy　brow；　from　whence　they　can　see　far　below　an　ocean　of　soft　cloud；　whose　silver　billows；　girdled　by　the　mountain　sides；　hide　the　lowland　from　their　sight。

And　from　beneath　the　cloud　strange　voices　rise；　the　screams　of　thousand　night…birds；　and　wild　howls；　which　they　used　at　first　to　fancy　were　the　cries　of　ravenous　beasts；　till　they　found　them　to　proceed　from　nothing　fiercer　than　an　ape。　　But　what　is　that　deeper　note；　like　a　series　of　muffled　explosions；arquebuses　fired　within　some　subterranean　cavern；the　heavy　pulse　of　which　rolls　up　through　the　depths　of　the　unseen　forest？　　They　hear　it　now　for　the　first　time；　but　they　will　hear　it　many　a　time　again；　and　the　Indian　lad　is　hushed；　and　cowers　close　to　them；　and　then　takes　heart；　as　he　looks　upon　their　swords　and　arquebuses；　for　that　is　the　roar　of　the　jaguar；　〃seeking　his　meat　from　God。〃

But　what　is　that　glare　away　to　the　northward？　　The　yellow　moon　is　ringed　with　gay　rainbows；　but　that　light　is　far　too　red　to　be　the　reflection　of　any　beams　of　hers。　　Now　through　the　cloud　rises　a　column　of　black　and　lurid　smoke；　the　fog　clears　away　right