He lowered the axe, and a shout went up from the
pavilion:--
"Kill him! Kill him!"
He lifted the axe again, and a silence like the hush of death fell upon
the shouting audience. Again Max hesitated, and I distinctly heard
Yolanda, who was still upon her knees, whisper:--
"Kill him! Kill him!"
Then came the shouts of a thousand voices, thrilling me to the marrow:--
"Kill him! Kill him!" and I knew that if I were standing in Max's shoes,
Calli would die within a moment. I also remember wondering in a flash of
thought if Max were great enough to spare him. Again the battle-axe came
slowly down, and the din in the pavilion was deafening:--
"Kill him! Kill him!"
Again the battle-axe rose; but after a pause, Max let it fall to the
ground behind him; and, turning toward the girl, lifted her with his
mailed hands to her feet. When she had risen Max looked into her face,
and, falling back a step, exclaimed in a voice hushed by wonder:--
"Yolanda!"
His words coming to the girl's ears, like a far-away sound, from the
cavernous recesses of his helmet, frightened her.
"No, no, my name is not Yolanda. You are mistaken. You do not know me.
I--I am the princess. You do not know me."
Her words were prompted by two motives: she wished to remain unknown to
Max, and she feared lest her father should come to know that a great
part of her life was spent as a burgher girl. Her hands were clasped at
her breast; her face was as pale as a gray dawn; her breath came in
feeble gusts, and her words fell haltingly from her lips.
Pages:
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293