All eyes were turned to the wall, and darted on it fiery rays. They hoped and believed, that it would soon be falling and open out a new world, and in their blind belief began already to see the stones rock, the stone serpent, which had battened on the blood and brains of men, tremble from top to bottom. Maybe it was the tremble of the tears in our eyes, which we mistook for the trembling of the wall—and still more piercing was our cry. Anger and exultation at the near approach of victory resounded in it.
V
But this is what happened then. High upon a rock there stood a gaunt old woman, her parched cheeks fallen in, her long locks uncombed like the grey mane of a starving old wolf. Her clothing was in rags, and exposed her yellow, bony shoulders, and her emaciated breasts, which had supported the life of many and been exhausted with maternity. She stretched forth her hands to the wall, and all eyes followed them. She began to speak, and in her voice was so much suffering, that the despairing moans of the starving man were silenced for very shame.
“Give me back my child!” cried the woman.
And we all kept silence, with a smile of fury upon our lips, and waited for the answer of the wall. The brains of him the woman called “her child” stood out upon the wall in grey patches, streaked with red, and we awaited impatiently and austerely the answer of the dastardly murderess. So still was it that we could hear the rustling of the thunderclouds passing over our heads, and dark night locked up her groans within her breast, only spitting out with a slight sibilant sound the fine burning sand, which ate into our wounds. Then once more resounded the stern, bitter demand:
“Cruel one! give me back my child.” Ever more stern and furious grew our smile, but the dastardly wall was silent.
And then from the speechless crowd there came forth an old man handsome and austere, and took his stand by the woman.
“Give me back my son,” said he.
How terrible it was, and withal how joyous! A cold shivering went down my spine, and my muscles contracted with the influx of an unknown threatening strength; but my companion nudged me in the side with chattering teeth, and a fœtid breath in a broad spurning wave issued from his decomposing mouth.
Then there came out from the crowd another person, who said “Give me back my brother!” And yet another who cried “Give me back my daughter!”
And then men and women, old and young, began to come forth, and stretching out their hands, shouted their implacable, bitter demand:
“Give me back my child!”
And then I too, the leper, feeling within me strength and hardihood, stepped forward in my turn, and cried loud and threateningly:
“Murderess! Give me back my Self!”
But she—was silent. So false and dastardly was she, that she made as though she heard not, and my seamed cheeks contracted with malignant laughter, and a mad rage filled our sickened hearts. But she, stupidly unconcerned, remained silent!
Then the woman angrily stretched out her lean yellow hands, and yelled implacably:
“Then, be thou damned! Thou slayer of my child.”
And the austere handsome old man repeated:
“Be thou damned!”
And the whole earth repeated with resonant thousand-throated groan:
“Be thou damned! damned! damned!”
VI
And the black night sighed deeply: and, like a sea upheaved by a hurricane, dashed in all its heavy roaring mass upon the cliffs: the whole visible world rocked and swayed, and with a thousand tense and furious breasts beat against the wall. High to the heavily rolling thunderclouds was splashed the bloodstained foam, and stained them with red so that they became fiery and terrible, and cast a blood-red reflection down below to where there thundered and roared a low, but wondrously multitudinous, black, and savage Something. With an expiring groan, full of unspoken pain, it rolled back—but the wall stood immovable and silent. But there was no timidity or shame in her silence. Lowering and threateningly calm was the glance of her baleful eyes, and proudly, like a queen, she let fall from her shoulders her purple mantle all adrip with blood, and trailed it amid mutilated corpses.
But dying as we were every second, we were immortal, like the gods.
And once more a mighty stream of human bodies broke out into a roar, and with all their strength hurled themselves against the wall. And again, and over and over again it was rolled back, until fatigue supervened, and a deathlike sleep, and stillness. But I, the leper, was close to the wall, and saw that it began to quake—the proud queen—and that the fear of falling ran in a shudder through its stones.
“It is falling. Brothers! it is falling,” I cried.
“Thou art mistaken, leper,” replied my brothers.
And then I began to question them:
“Supposing it does stand, what then? Is not every corpse a step towards the top? We are many, and our lives a burden. Let us strew the ground with corpses; upon them let us heap yet other corpses; and so mount to the top. And if there be left but one—he will see a new world.”
And I gave a cheerful glance of hope around—and there met it only backs, indifferent, fat and weary. The quartette circled round in endless dance, advancing and retiring, and black night, like an invalid, spat out its moist sand, and the wall stood firm in its indestructible massiveness.
“Brothers!” I entreated; “Brothers!”
But my voice was hideous, and my breath fœtid, and no one would listen to me, the leper.
Woe! woe! woe!
