Negore, the Coward
HE had followed the trail of his fleeing people for eleven days,and his pursuit had been in itself a flight; for behind him he knewfull well were the dreaded Russians, toiling through the swampylowlands and over the steep divides, bent on no less than theextermination of all his people. He was travelling light. Arabbit-skin sleeping-robe, a muzzle-loading rifle, and a few poundsof sun-dried salmon constituted his outfit. He would havemarvelled that a whole people - women and children and aged - couldtravel so swiftly, had he not known the terror that drove them on.It was in the old days of the Russian occupancy of Alaska, when thenineteenth century had run but half its course, that Negore fledafter his fleeing tribe and came upon it this summer night by thehead waters of the Pee-lat. Though near the midnight hour, it wasbright day as he passed through the weary camp. Many saw him, allknew him, but few and cold were the greetings he received."Negore, the Coward," he heard Illiha, a young woman, laugh, andSun-ne, his sister's daughter, laughed with her.Black anger ate at his heart; but he gave no sign, threading hisway among the camp-fires until he came to one where sat an old man.A young woman was kneading with skilful fingers the tired musclesof his legs. He raised a sightless face and listened intently asNegore's foot crackled a dead twig."Who comes?" he queried in a thin, tremulous voice."Negore," said the young woman, scarcely looking up from her task.Negore's face was expressionless. For many minutes he stood andwaited. The old man's head had sunk back upon his chest. Theyoung woman pressed and prodded the wasted muscles, resting herbody on her knees, her bowed head hidden as in a cloud by her blackwealth of hair. Negore watched the supple body, bending at thehips as a lynx's body might bend, pliant as a young willow stalk,and, withal, strong as only youth is strong. He looked, and wasaware of a great yearning, akin in sensation to physical hunger.At last he spoke, saying:"Is there no greeting for Negore, who has been long gone and hasbut now come back?"She looked up at him with cold eyes. The old man chuckled tohimself after the manner of the old."Thou art my woman, Oona," Negore said, his tones dominant andconveying a hint of menace.She arose with catlike ease and suddenness to her full height, hereyes flashing, her nostrils quivering like a deer's."I was thy woman to be, Negore, but thou art a coward; the daughterof Old Kinoos mates not with a coward!"She silenced him with an imperious gesture as he strove to speak."Old Kinoos and I came among you from a strange land. Thy peopletook us in by their fires and made us warm, nor asked whence or whywe wandered. It was their thought that Old Kinoos had lost thesight of his eyes from age; nor did Old Kinoos say otherwise, nordid I, his daughter. Old Kinoos is a brave man, but Old Kinoos wasnever a boaster. And now, when I tell thee of how his blindnesscame to be, thou wilt know, beyond question, that the daughter ofKinoos cannot mother the children of a coward such as thou art,Negore."Again she silenced the speech that rushed up to his tongue."Know, Negore, if journey be added unto journey of all thyjourneyings through this land, thou wouldst not come to the unknownSitka on the Great Salt Sea. In that place there be many Russianfolk, and their rule is harsh. And from Sitka, Old Kinoos, who wasYoung Kinoos in those days, fled away with me, a babe in his arms,along the islands in the midst of the sea. My mother dead tellsthe tale of his wrong; a Russian, dead with a spear through breastand back, tells the tale of the vengeance of Kinoos."But wherever we fled, and however far we fled, always did we findthe hated Russian folk. Kinoos was unafraid, but the sight of themwas a hurt to his eyes; so we fled on and on, through the seas andyears, till we came to the Great Fog Sea, Negore, of which thouhast heard, but which thou hast never seen. We lived among manypeoples, and I grew to be a woman; but Kinoos, growing old, took tohim no other woman, nor did I take a man."At last we came to Pastolik, which is where the Yukon drownsitself in the Great Fog Sea. Here we lived long, on the rim of thesea, among a people by whom the Russians were well hated. Butsometimes they came, these Russians, in great ships, and made thepeople of Pastolik show them the way through the islandsuncountable of the many-mouthed Yukon. And sometimes the men theytook to show them the way never came back, till the people becameangry and planned a great plan."So, when there came a ship, Old Kinoos stepped forward and said hewould show the way. He was an old man then, and his hair waswhite; but he was unafraid. And he was cunning, for he took theship to where the sea sucks in to the land and the waves beat whiteon the mountain called Romanoff. The sea sucked the ship in towhere the waves beat white, and it ground upon the rocks and brokeopen its sides. Then came all the people of Pastolik, (for thiswas the plan), with their war-spears, and arrows, and some fewguns. But first the Russians put out the eyes of Old Kinoos thathe might never show the way again, and then they fought, where thewaves beat white, with the people of Pastolik."Now the head-man of these Russians was Ivan. He it was, with histwo thumbs, who drove out the eyes of Kinoos. He it was who foughthis way through the white water, with two men left of all his men,and went away along the rim of the Great Fog Sea into the north.Kinoos was wise. He could see no more and was helpless as a child.So he fled away from the sea, up the great, strange Yukon, even toNulato, and I fled with him."This was the deed my father did, Kinoos, an old man. But how didthe young man, Negore?"Once again she silenced him."With my own eyes I saw, at Nulato, before the gates of the greatfort, and but few days gone. I saw the Russian, Ivan, who thrustout my father's eyes, lay the lash of his dog-whip upon thee andbeat thee like a dog. This I saw, and knew thee for a coward. ButI saw thee not, that night, when all thy people - yea, even theboys not yet hunters - fell upon the Russians and slew them all.""Not Ivan," said Negore, quietly. "Even now is he on our heels,and with him many Russians fresh up from the sea."Oona made no effort to hide her surprise and chagrin that Ivan wasnot dead, but went on:"In the day I saw thee a coward; in the night, when all men fought,even the boys not yet hunters, I saw thee not and knew thee doublya coward.""Thou art done? All done?" Negore asked.She nodded her head and looked at him askance, as though astonishedthat he should have aught to say."Know then that Negore is no coward," he said; and his speech wasvery low and quiet. "Know that when I was yet a boy I journeyedalone down to the place where the Yukon drowns itself in the GreatFog Sea. Even to Pastolik I journeyed, and even beyond, into thenorth, along the rim of the sea. This I did when I was a boy, andI was no coward. Nor was I coward when I journeyed, a young manand alone, up the Yukon farther than man had ever been, so far thatI came to another folk, with white faces, who live in a great fortand talk speech other than that the Russians talk. Also have Ikilled the great bear of the Tanana country, where no one of mypeople hath ever been. And I have fought with the Nuklukyets, andthe Kaltags, and the Sticks in far regions, even I, and alone.These deeds, whereof no man knows, I speak for myself. Let mypeople speak for me of things I have done which they know. Theywill not say Negore is a coward."He finished proudly, and proudly waited."These be things which happened before I came into the land," shesaid, "and I know not of them. Only do I know what I know, and Iknow I saw thee lashed like a dog in the day; and in the night,when the great fort flamed red and the men killed and were killed,I saw thee not. Also, thy people do call thee Negore, the Coward.It is thy name now, Negore, the Coward.""It is not a good name," Old Kinoos chuckled."Thou dost not understand, Kinoos," Negore said gently. "But Ishall make thee understand. Know that I was away on the hunt ofthe bear, with Kamo-tah, my mother's son. And Kamo-tah fought witha great bear. We had no meat for three days, and Kamo-tah was notstrong of arm nor swift of foot. And the great bear crushed him,so, till his bones cracked like dry sticks. Thus I found him, verysick and groaning upon the ground. And there was no meat, norcould I kill aught that the sick man might eat."So I said, 'I will go to Nulato and bring thee food, also strongmen to carry thee to camp.' And Kamo-tah said, 'Go thou to Nulatoand get food, but say no word of what has befallen me. And when Ihave eaten, and am grown well and strong, I will kill this bear.Then will I return in honor to Nulato, and no man may laugh and sayKamo-tah was undone by a bear.'"So I gave heed to my brother's words; and when I was come toNulato, and the Russian, Ivan, laid the lash of his dog-whip uponme, I knew I must not fight. For no man knew of Kamo-tah, sick andgroaning and hungry; and did I fight with Ivan, and die, then wouldmy brother die, too. So it was, Oona, that thou sawest me beatenlike a dog."Then I heard the talk of the shamans and chiefs that the Russianshad brought strange sicknesses upon the people, and killed our men,and stolen our women, and that the land must be made clean. As Isay, I heard the talk, and I knew it for good talk, and I knew thatin the night the Russians were to be killed. But there was mybrother, Kamo-tah, sick and groaning and with no meat; so I couldnot stay and fight with the men and the boys not yet hunters."And I took with me meat and fish, and the lash-marks of Ivan, andI found Kamo-tah no longer groaning, but dead. Then I went back toNulato, and, behold, there was no Nulato - only ashes where thegreat fort had stood, and the bodies of many men. And I saw theRussians come up the Yukon in boats, fresh from the sea, manyRussians; and I saw Ivan creep forth from where he lay hid and maketalk with them. And the next day I saw Ivan lead them upon thetrail of the tribe. Even now are they upon the trail, and I amhere, Negore, but no coward.""This is a tale I hear," said Oona, though her voice was gentlerthan before. "Kamo-tah is dead and cannot speak for thee, and Iknow only what I know, and I must know thee of my own eyes for nocoward."Negore made an impatient gesture."There be ways and ways," she added. "Art thou willing to do noless than what Old Kinoos hath done?"He nodded his head, and waited."As thou hast said, they seek for us even now, these Russians.Show them the way, Negore, even as Old Kinoos showed them the way,so that they come, unprepared, to where we wait for them, in apassage up the rocks. Thou knowest the place, where the wall isbroken and high. Then will we destroy them, even Ivan. When theycling like flies to the wall, and top is no less near than bottom,our men shall fall upon them from above and either side, withspears, and arrows, and guns. And the women and children, fromabove, shall loosen the great rocks and hurl them down upon them.It will be a great day, for the Russians will be killed, the landwill be made clean, and Ivan, even Ivan who thrust out my father'seyes and laid the lash of his dog-whip upon thee, will be killed.Like a dog gone mad will he die, his breath crushed out of himbeneath the rocks. And when the fighting begins, it is for thee,Negore, to crawl secretly away so that thou be not slain.""Even so," he answered. "Negore will show them the way. Andthen?""And then I shall be thy woman, Negore's woman, the brave man'swoman. And thou shalt hunt meat for me and Old Kinoos, and I shallcook thy food, and sew thee warm parkas and strong, and make theemoccasins after the way of my people, which is a better way thanthy people's way. And as I say, I shall be thy woman, Negore,always thy woman. And I shall make thy life glad for thee, so thatall thy days will be a song and laughter, and thou wilt know thewoman Oona as unlike all other women, for she has journeyed far,and lived in strange places, and is wise in the ways of men and inthe ways they may be made glad. And in thine old age will shestill make thee glad, and thy memory of her in the days of thystrength will be sweet, for thou wilt know always that she was easeto thee, and peace, and rest, and that beyond all women to othermen has she been woman to thee.""Even so," said Negore, and the hunger for her ate at his heart,and his arms went out for her as a hungry man's arms might go outfor food."When thou hast shown the way, Negore," she chided him; but hereyes were soft, and warm, and he knew she looked upon him as womanhad never looked before."It is well", he said, turning resolutely on his heel. "I go nowto make talk with the chiefs, so that they may know I am gone toshow the Russians the way.""Oh, Negore, my man! my man!" she said to herself, as she watchedhim go, but she said it so softly that even Old Kinoos did nothear, and his ears were over keen, what of his blindness.Three days later, having with craft ill-concealed his hiding-place,Negore was dragged forth like a rat and brought before Ivan - "Ivanthe Terrible" he was known by the men who marched at his back.Negore was armed with a miserable bone-barbed spear, and he kepthis rabbit-skin robe wrapped closely about him, and though the daywas warm he shivered as with an ague. He shook his head that hedid not understand the speech Ivan put at him, and made that he wasvery weary and sick, and wished only to sit down and rest, pointingthe while to his stomach in sign of his sickness, and shiveringfiercely. But Ivan had with him a man from Pastolik who talked thespeech of Negore, and many and vain were the questions they askedhim concerning his tribe, till the man from Pastolik, who wascalled Karduk, said:"It is the word of Ivan that thou shalt be lashed till thou diestif thou dost not speak. And know, strange brother, when I tellthee the word of Ivan is the law, that I am thy friend and nofriend of Ivan. For I come not willingly from my country by thesea, and I desire greatly to live; wherefore I obey the will of mymaster - as thou wilt obey, strange brother, if thou art wise, andwouldst live.""Nay, strange brother," Negore answered, "I know not the way mypeople are gone, for I was sick, and they fled so fast my legs gaveout from under me, and I fell behind."Negore waited while Karduk talked with Ivan. Then Negore saw theRussian's face go dark, and he saw the men step to either side ofhim, snapping the lashes of their whips. Whereupon he betrayed agreat fright, and cried aloud that he was a sick man and knewnothing, but would tell what he knew. And to such purpose did hetell, that Ivan gave the word to his men to march, and on eitherside of Negore marched the men with the whips, that he might notrun away. And when he made that he was weak of his sickness, andstumbled and walked not so fast as they walked, they laid theirlashes upon him till he screamed with pain and discovered newstrength. And when Karduk told him all would he well with him whenthey had overtaken his tribe, he asked, "And then may I rest andmove not?"Continually he asked, "And then may I rest and move not?"And while he appeared very sick and looked about him with dulleyes, he noted the fighting strength of Ivan's men, and noted withsatisfaction that Ivan did not recognize him as the man he hadbeaten before the gates of the fort. It was a strange followinghis dull eyes saw. There were Slavonian hunters, fair-skinned andmighty-muscled; short, squat Finns, with flat noses and roundfaces; Siberian half-breeds, whose noses were more like eagle-beaks; and lean, slant-eyed men, who bore in their veins the Mongoland Tartar blood as well as the blood of the Slav. Wildadventurers they were, forayers and destroyers from the far landsbeyond the Sea of Bering, who blasted the new and unknown worldwith fire and sword and clutched greedily for its wealth of fur andhide. Negore looked upon them with satisfaction, and in his mind'seye he saw them crushed and lifeless at the passage up the rocks.And ever he saw, waiting for him at the passage up the rocks, theface and the form of Oona, and ever he heard her voice in his earsand felt the soft, warm glow of her eyes. But never did he forgetto shiver, nor to stumble where the footing was rough, nor to cryaloud at the bite of the lash. Also, he was afraid of Karduk, forhe knew him for no true man. His was a false eye, and an easytongue - a tongue too easy, he judged, for the awkwardness ofhonest speech.All that day they marched. And on the next, when Karduk asked himat command of Ivan, he said he doubted they would meet with histribe till the morrow. But Ivan, who had once been shown the wayby Old Kinoos, and had found that way to lead through the whitewater and a deadly fight, believed no more in anything. So whenthey came to a passage up the rocks, he halted his forty men, andthrough Karduk demanded if the way were clear.Negore looked at it shortly and carelessly. It was a vast slidethat broke the straight wall of a cliff, and was overrun with brushand creeping plants, where a score of tribes could have lain wellhidden.He shook his head. "Nay, there be nothing there," he said. "Theway is clear."Again Ivan spoke to Karduk, and Karduk said:"Know, strange brother, if thy talk be not straight, and if thypeople block the way and fall upon Ivan and his men, that thoushalt die, and at once.""My talk is straight," Negore said. "The way is clear."Still Ivan doubted, and ordered two of his Slavonian hunters to goup alone. Two other men he ordered to the side of Negore. Theyplaced their guns against his breast and waited. All waited. AndNegore knew, should one arrow fly, or one spear be flung, that hisdeath would come upon him. The two Slavonian hunters toiled upwardtill they grew small and smaller, and when they reached the top andwaved their hats that all was well, they were like black specksagainst the sky.The guns were lowered from Negore's breast and Ivan gave the orderfor his men to go forward. Ivan was silent, lost in thought. Foran hour he marched, as though puzzled, and then, through Karduk'smouth, he said to Negore:"How didst thou know the way was clear when thou didst look sobriefly upon it?"Negore thought of the little birds he had seen perched among therocks and upon the bushes, and smiled, it was so simple; but heshrugged his shoulders and made no answer. For he was thinking,likewise, of another passage up the rocks, to which they would sooncome, and where the little birds would all be gone. And he wasglad that Karduk came from the Great Fog Sea, where there were notrees or bushes, and where men learned water-craft instead of land-craft and wood-craft.Three hours later, when the sun rode overhead, they came to anotherpassage up the rocks, and Karduk said:"Look with all thine eyes, strange brother, and see if the way beclear, for Ivan is not minded this time to wait while men go upbefore."Negore looked, and he looked with two men by his side, their gunsresting against his breast. He saw that the little birds were allgone, and once he saw the glint of sunlight on a rifle-barrel. Andhe thought of Oona, and of her words: "And when the fightingbegins, it is for thee, Negore, to crawl secretly away so that thoube not slain."He felt the two guns pressing on his breast. This was not the wayshe had planned. There would be no crawling secretly away. Hewould be the first to die when the fighting began. But he said,and his voice was steady, and he still feigned to see with dulleyes and to shiver from his sickness:"The way is clear."And they started up, Ivan and his forty men from the far landsbeyond the Sea of Bering. And there was Karduk, the man fromPastolik, and Negore, with the two guns always upon him. It was along climb, and they could not go fast; but very fast to Negorethey seemed to approach the midway point where top was no less nearthan bottom.A gun cracked among the rocks to the right, and Negore heard thewar-yell of all his tribe, and for an instant saw the rocks andbushes bristle alive with his kinfolk. Then he felt torn asunderby a burst of flame hot through his being, and as he fell he knewthe sharp pangs of life as it wrenches at the flesh to be free.But he gripped his life with a miser's clutch and would not let itgo. He still breathed the air, which bit his lungs with a painfulsweetness; and dimly he saw and heard, with passing spells ofblindness and deafness, the flashes of sight and sound againwherein he saw the hunters of Ivan falling to their deaths, and hisown brothers fringing the carnage and filling the air with thetumult of their cries and weapons, and, far above, the women andchildren loosing the great rocks that leaped like things alive andthundered down.The sun danced above him in the sky, the huge walls reeled andswung, and still he heard and saw dimly. And when the great Ivanfell across his legs, hurled there lifeless and crushed by a down-rushing rock, he remembered the blind eyes of Old Kinoos and wasglad.Then the sounds died down, and the rocks no longer thundered past,and he saw his tribespeople creeping close and closer, spearing thewounded as they came. And near to him he heard the scuffle of amighty Slavonian hunter, loath to die, and, half uprisen, borneback and down by the thirsty spears.Then he saw above him the face of Oona, and felt about him the armsof Oona; and for a moment the sun steadied and stood still, and thegreat walls were upright and moved not."Thou art a brave man, Negore," he heard her say in his ear; "thouart my man, Negore."And in that moment he lived all the life of gladness of which shehad told him, and the laughter and the song, and as the sun wentout of the sky above him, as in his old age, he knew the memory ofher was sweet. And as even the memories dimmed and died in thedarkness that fell upon him, he knew in her arms the fulfilment ofall the ease and rest she had promised him. And as black nightwrapped around him, his head upon her breast, he felt a great peacesteal about him, and he was aware of the hush of many twilights andthe mystery of silence.
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