Page:Dumas - Tales of Strange adventure (Methuen, 1907).djvu/137

Rh "Shimindra raised her head.

"'Ah!' she murmured, 'then he loves me a little still.'

"'Oh! oh!' exclaimed the Bonze, ' 'tis the blue bezoar, the true and genuine bezoar of the ape.'

"'Yes, the true and genuine; I can answer for it, as I took it myself. But lose no time; look at your patient,' and I pointed to Shimindra, who was writhing in the agonies of imminent death.'

"'Oh! have no fear now,' he said, ' we have time enough.'

"'But,' I insisted, 'in five minutes the girl will be dead.'

"'Yes, if in three minutes she is not saved.'

"So saying, the Bonze set to work grating the bezoar into a glass of water as calmly as he might have done with a bit of sugar. Instantly the water turned a beautiful blue, then gradually changed to opal with flashes of gold through it.

"No doubt this was the proper moment for administering the drug; signing to me to raise Shimindra's head, the Bonze inserted between her teeth, by this time convulsively clenched, the edge of the glass, which she all but broke.

"But at the first drops the dying woman swallowed her muscles relaxed, her head rested naturally on her shoulders, her stiffened arms fell back by her sides, the rattle in her throat ceased, and a slight moisture beaded her parched brow.

"Shimindra emptied the glass; then, 'Oh, God,' she exclaimed, 'it is life you have given me to drink.'

"Presently, throwing me a last look, thanking me with a last smile, trying to give me a last caress, she heaved a sigh, shut her eyes, and sank into a lethargy. But this caused us no alarm; life was being renewed under this semblance of death.

"I could not leave her under Vanly-Ching's roof, and I had not the least wish to remain there myself; my house was only fifty yards from where we were. I took Shimindra in my arms and sallied out, accompanied by the Bonze. I shut and locked the door, and handing the key to the holy man, begged him to take it at once to the judge of the High Court, successor of Vanly-Ching's last husband but one, and tell him everything he had seen. Meantime I carried home Shimindra, who only required, so the doctor assured me, a good, long, quiet sleep. Then, after laying Shimindra on her bed, I went and lay down too.

"To tell you all that passed through my mind, once the light was put out, as worn out with fatigue, I lay in that dreamy state that is neither sleeping nor waking, would be impossible. My four wives seemed to have agreed to assemble at the foot of my bed. There was NahiNava-Nahina, there was Donna Inez, there was Amaru, there was Vanly-Ching, all claiming me, snatching and disputing more like incarnate furies than tender wives; while poor Shimindra, to whom the nearness of death seemed to have given wings, hovered over me and did what she could to defend me, fighting against them and chasing them away. But, driven out by the door, the endless series of my wives came back by the windows, swooped down on my bed and fought for me. I felt myself being torn in pieces, and expected every moment to lose an arm to one, a leg to another.

"Suddenly the door opened, and there appeared on the threshold a ghostlike veiled figure, before which my four Eastern wives vanished and fled. The newcomer approached, and waving Shimindra away with an imperative gesture, calmly lay down beside me.

"Well, upon my word! this last arrival was doing me so great a service that I took refuge in her arms and, after some minutes more of wakefulness, dropped asleep there.

"Next morning the first beams of daylight striking right in my face awoke me. I opened my eyes and gave vent to a cry of wonder. I was in bed with the Buchold.

"But so pale, so changed a Buchold, that I had not the heart to chide her for coming; she struck me as having but a short time left to live. Besides, I could not forget the service she had rendered me in the night.

"'What, is it you?' I said.

"'Yes, it is I; ill as I am, I have not hesitated to come in person, in order to bring you a piece of good news.'

"'Ah! yes, you are a mother again,' I said.

"'Yes, it is a girl, a charming little girl; I promised you I would call her Margaret, and I have done so.'

"'And who is the godfather this time?'

"'Oh, you will be glad and proud, my