Chapter VII: Act FIVE

_SCENE ONE--A street in the village. Low thatched cottages,_
_with deep, wide eaves overhanging the street, stand in a
dark mass. To the left, a little way from the others and
back a few paces from the street, is a small house, the_
_home of Jardin. Through a window in the room on the right
side comes a faint light as from a low-burning lamp. To the
left of the window, one feels that there is a door, though,
either on account of intervening bushes or perhaps because
of a porch that makes it darker there, one does not see
it. Out in the yard where the light from the window falls
upon the bushes near the casement, the glistening of the
leaves shows that it has been raining. The windows of the
other houses, like vacant eyes under deep brows, are dark,
and there are no signs of life anywhere. Over the roofs and
through the great trees that rise up behind them flows a
greyness that emphasizes the quiet of the hour. About the
street lie several limbs that were broken off by the storm
during the night._

_TIME--Sunday morning. Day is just beginning to break._

A CRY-- (_Far to the left, full or terror and anguish._)
Haro! Haro! (_Drawing nearer._)
Wake, people! Help, oh, help!

(_After a pause._)

Will no one hear? Will no one hear? (_Near by._)
O men of God! Dear men of God! (_A pause._) Oh, run,
Run to the mountains, men!

(_Pierre enters half on a run, breathless. There is
a wild light in his eyes and his thin frame
is shaken with sobs._)

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

(_He glances toward the lighted window as though in
doubt whether or not to rouse the inmates of
the house. Then, as though to make up even
for the moment he has lost, he hurries along
the goes out, right._)

People! Christian people!

(_The light in the window grows dimmer and suddenly
disappears, leaving the house in total
darkness._)

Will no one hear?
Will no one hear? Wake! Oh, wake! (_In the distance._)
Haro!

VOICE-- (_To the left._)
Jules!

SECOND VOICE--(_Nearer._) Ho?

FIRST VOICE-- Who is it?

SECOND VOICE-- Some brother.

(_Jules Bacqueur enters._) Pierre.

FIRST VOICE-- The abbey's
Blown down, perhaps.

HUGH CAPET--(_Entering._) Where are all the people?

JULES BACQUEUR--At special mass for Jardin.

(_He glances back toward the house where, at
that moment, the door opens and the light
appears._)

HUGH CAPET--(_Hurrying on after Pierre._) Come on.

JULES BACQUEUR-- Wait.
Let's hear how the Bailiff is.

(_Hugh Capet returns to the corner of the cottages
that are flush with the street and the men
look back to where two figures, one after
the other, appear in the lighted doorway
of Jardin's house, a man who comes out and_
_an old woman with a white cap on who carries
a small lamp. A little later the door is
closed._)

HUGH CAPET-- Who is it, Jacques?

JULES BACQUEUR--He spent the night there.

HUGH CAPET-- What a night it was!
Just see these limbs.

JULES BACQUEUR-- And there's some fellow's hat.

HUGH CAPET--The roof's off Pirot's barn, and Lisette--

JULES BACQUEUR-- Here.

(_He comes forward to the edge of the street._)

HUGH CAPET-- (_Following him._)
And Lisette found a big bird in her yard
With a broken wing, blown in here miles and miles,
From the Holy Land or Joppa or some sea.

JULES BACQUEUR-- (_Pointing right._)
Look at those yew trees in the church yard there.
Bless God, they've pulled up dead mens' skulls. (_A pause._)

HUGH CAPET--And those men there--?

BACQUEUR-- Are filling up the graves.
And where's the cross? (_A pause._)

HUGH CAPET-- Not on the steeple? Say,
That monk--There's something up. When dead men's bones
Are thundered over in the night, and graves
Ungorge like that with wind, strange birds, and things--

VOICE-- (_Left._)
Who is that shouting?

HUGH CAPET-- Don't know.

BACQUEUR-- How's Jardin?

JACQUES--(_Entering._) Eh?

HUGH CAPET--He didn't hear you.

JACQUES-- What's he shouting for?

BACQUEUR--The storm tore up the dead last night.

HUGH CAPET-- The abbey's
Blown down, perhaps, or-- Come on. Hurry, men.

BACQUEUR--How is the Bailiff? (_Distant thunder._)

HUGH CAPET--- (_Hurrying out right._)
Going to have another'n.

JACQUES--The soldier had a bad night. In his fever
He picks the sheets, mumbling: "Saints, send him down,"
And: "Listen, men!" and things like that. And once,
Jumps him clean out of bed and cries out: "There!"
As he had run the woodman through and through,
And wipes his sword like on his pants, and then,
As though he felt his wound, falls back and pop!
The wind or something blows the light out and
We hear the banshee singing in the storm,
Wild--wild. I fear the bell with toll 'fore night.

(_They go out._)

_SCENE TWO--The open space in front of the church. In the
corner of the fence, left, the top of the poplar tree,_
_broken off by the wind during the night, hangs out in the_
_street almost brushing the ground. To the right of the_
_steps is a large wooden cross which was blown from the_
_steeple. It lies sidewise, hazing been split off at the
bottom. The gate into the church yard is slightly ajar, as_
_though some one had lately passed through, and against the
dark grass the taller of the white grave markers lean as
though the wind had been among them. Over the low fences
where one looks back into the church yard on the one side
and into an open space on the other, is seen yellow light
from the side windows of the church, pouring out into the
gloom. From within, comes the sound of the service._

CONGREGATION--His spear was lifted over Acre, Lord,
And his right arm hath made the heathen quail.

FATHER BENEDICT--And he hath spread thy glory through the East.

CONGREGATION--And he hath spread thy glory through the East.

FATHER BENEDICT--Let not the flags be draped that fluttered high
Above the strongholds of the Infidel.

CONGREGATION--Let not the flags be draped that fluttered high
Above the strongholds of the Infidel.

FATHER BENEDICT--Let not the scorners from the mountain tops
Look down and see the dark procession go;
But lift him up and lift up trembling, Lord.

CONGREGATION--Let not the scorners from the mountain tops
Look down and see the dark procession go;
But lift him up and lift up trembling, Lord.

FATHER BENEDICT--Keep death off, Lord, until the gates of death
Receive the accursed hand that laid him low.

CONGREGATION--Keep death off, Lord, until the gates of death
Receive the accursed hand that laid him low.

FATHER BENEDICT--Let not thine enemies triumph over thee.
Thunder it, brethren, so that God may hear.

CONGREGATION--Let not thine enemies triumph over thee.

FATHER BENEDICT--The mountains are afraid of thee, O Lord.
Shake their wild tops and shake the heathen down.

CONGREGATION--The mountains are afraid of thee, O Lord.
Shake their wild tops and shake the heathen down.

FATHER BENEDICT--So shall thy Church with loud hosannas ring.

CONGREGATION--So shall thy Church with loud hosannas ring.

FATHER BENEDICT--World without end.

CONGREGATION-- World without end.

FATHER BENEDICT-- Amen.

PIERRE--(_Far to the left._) Haro! haro!

FATHER BENEDICT--Accept, O eternal Father, the offering that is
here made to Thee by Thy minister, in the name of us all here
present. It is as yet only bread and wine, but by a miracle of
Thy power and grace will shortly become the body and blood--

PIERRE--(_Drawing nearer._) Help, help! Oh, help!

FATHER BENEDICT--(_After a pause, as though he had heard the cry._)

--the body and blood of Thy beloved Son. He is our high priest
and He is our victim. By Him and--

PIERRE--O men of God! Dear men of God!

(_There is a hush in the church._)

_Will_ you not help? _Will_ you not--

(_He enters with his hands to his head, fearful
lest he has disturbed the service._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Resuming._)
He is our high priest and He is our victim.

(_Pierre throws himself down upon the steps,
sobbing._)

By Him and through
Him, we desire to approach--Sit down, men! (_A pause._)
Women! Men! Sit down!

(_The noise in the church increases._)

A VOICE-- Sit down, brethren!
Don't desecrate the Lord's house!

FATHER BENEDICT--(_Shouting._) You hear me?

A WOMAN'S VOICE--Husband!

FATHER BENEDICT--(_Enraged._) Malediction!

(_The church door is jerked open, and the people
come pouring out with anxious faces lest
something terrible has happened. Back in the
church, above the heads of the people, is
seen the altar ablaze with lights, and high_
_behind it a colossal cross with a beautiful
carven Christ upon it. The wound in the side
shows red and over the thorn-crowned brow
is an arch bearing in golden letters the
inscription: FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT
WHAT THEY--The DO has never been put on._)

PIERRE-- (_Staggering up from the steps._)
Run, run to the mountains, men!
Quick! quick!
They're dragging him off! They're dragging him off!
O run, run, run, run, run!

CRIES--What--where--who is it?

PIERRE--Yonder! yonder!
Oh, get torches,
Get torches and run
And kindle fires on the mountain tops
So he may see his way!
No, that won't help! Oh, that won't help!
But he can hear, though!
Call, call to him!
Search all the places where the blind may be!
Run shouting "Oswald! Oswald!" through the woods!
Find him, oh, find him before Satan comes!
Before the storm breaks!
They'll track him by the blood drops!
They'll tear his body on the mountains!
O men, dear men-- (_A clap of thunder. Pierre dodges._)
What--what was that?
Oh, God said something! God said something!

(_Pointing up at the sky._)

He knows! He knows!
Lord Jesus knows that it was not his fault!
And He will pay--oh, He will bless you, men!
Do, do, do run!

FATHER BENEDICT--Make way!

PIERRE--O Father! Father!

(_In his snow-white chasuble, the priest appears
pushing his way through the throng about the
door. In his hand he has a silver communion
plate with the bread upon it._)

FATHER BENEDICT--Why all this clamor?
This is the Sabbath and the hour of mass.

PIERRE--It's done! It's done!

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Descending the steps._)
How dare you cry out on this holy morn?

PIERRE--Oh, last night, Father, last night in the dark
White angels, oh, white angels in the storm--It
tore their wings and blew them from the sky,
And then--and then--O father, then the fiends--He
saw them in the stones and--screamed and--Oh,
They did a deed of horror in the dark!

(_He presses his hands into his eyes as if to
shut out the sight of it._)

Oh! Oh! Oh!

FATHER BENEDICT--What is this?

PIERRE-- (_Bending up and down._)
Oh! Oh! Oh!

FATHER BENEDICT--Pierre! (_A pause._)
Pierre, if Hell hath done
Some wild deed in the night, be sure that God
Will right it.

PIERRE--Will He, oh, will He, Father, make him to see--
See the blue sky again?

FATHER BENEDICT--Who is it Hell hath blinded in the night?

PIERRE-- (_With his hands to his eyes, sobbing._)
Brother--brother--

FATHER BENEDICT--Pierre!

PIERRE--O, Oswald! Oswald!

(_With a cry, Madam Bacqueur falls fainting upon
the steps. The women about her take her child
from her arms and support her back into the
church. The crowd stands silent._)

PIERRE-- (_Bending up and down._)
Say something! say something!

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Almost overcome._)
Can this be true? Can this be true, Pierre?

PIERRE--Oh! Oh! Oh!

FATHER BENEDICT--Swift fly the avenging angels from the Throne.
Guilt like a red cloud passes from the sky,
And day looks in and sees where eyes have been.

PIERRE-- (_As though his heart would break._)
Brother! brother! brother!

FATHER BENEDICT--_Praise be to God!_
The tempest shaketh showers upon the grass;
The storm wind cooleth the low violet;
But the proud pine I shatter, saith the Lord.
He shall go down and toss his boughs in hell.
The coffin-worm shall slime him. He shall not
Mock me upon the mountains, saith the Lord.
_Praise be to God!_

(_Pierre glances up at the priest and then, as from
something infernal, falls flat and hides his
face against the ground._)

The lights are out in Babylon the Proud,
And the Lord God in blackness sitteth there
Among the ruins, dealing judgment.

(_The rising wind blows shut the door of the
church and leaves the scene enveloped in the
half-light of early morning._)

My scales are hung in heaven, saith the Lord.
I weigh them in the darkness of the night.
They balance with the Dragon on one side.
_Glory be to God in the highest!_

(_Shouting off demoniacally in the direction of the
abbey._)

Lift up thy head, O Lucifer, in hell,
And see what God hath written on the sky
In letters that burn through thy broken panes.

(_With his finger as though tracing the letters._)

"Weighed and found wanting!
I am the Lord God.
In Me the moon goes down; in Me the sun
Rises; I am the night and day.
If over any man a light break forth
And make his brow bright, let him not think
It shines for him alone, and be puffed up
Because of it, and speak
Bitterly, saying: 'See what pure prayers can do.'
For when his lungs are empty, saith the Lord,
Then I will give him flesh unto the dogs.
I will put out the light that kindles pride,
Saith the Lord God, and with the light the eyes." (_In a wild chant._)
_Praise be to God who doeth all things well._
Shinar hath seen the glory of the Lord.
Nimrod, who piled up Babel to the stars,
Lies sprawling under it, and the thunders laugh.

(_Shouting in the direction of the abbey._)

Who lieth under Babel?--Up, Pierre;
I have a message. Rise, for you
Must bear it to your sainted abbot.

(_Pierre rises and, with his head thrown back and
his hands covering his face, without waiting,
goes straight out, left._)

"Benedict to his brother in Christ,
Greeting:
Who lieth under Babel? You were right
In saying that the storm would shake the world.
It hath indeed played havoc. Certain trees
In the churchyard tore the graves up, and the dead
Have shaken roofs and spires in the town.
We lost our cross.
I hear you, too, lost somewhat. Gables though
Can be repaired.
We should both thank our Lord he hath not let
A lamb he careth for be scathed.
Who lieth under Babel?"

(_Coming out in the street and shouting after
Pierre._)

And to the brother, the dear ward of God,
Convey felicitations!
Ask him to
Tell you the color of the abbot's hair
This morning.
Wake him!
Say:
"The stars are flying in and out the clouds;
The mountain tops are tinging;
Night passes;
Rouse up, and behold the Dawn
Pouring her beautiful gold upon the world!"
Tell him to
Run down and see the print the bishop John
Sent me from Rome.
Blind Samson's head, who pulled the pillars down,
Under a dog's paws in the Gaza streets.
And in his car, as a salutation for the Sabbath,
Bark this from Benedict, from Benedict, the dog:
"Pride is a wind that from the shores of light
Bloweth far off where neither sun nor moon
Nor stars shine nor shall shine forevermore."
God hath heard one prayer. Come in, men.

(_He enters the church. After a silence the
men about the steps begin to talk among
themselves in undertones._)

ONE OF THEM-- (_Calling through the door._)
Father!

ANOTHER--If he don't let us go, let's go ourselves.

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Reappearing._)
Who called? (_A pause._)
What is it?

A MAN--Before you come out, Father, the monk spoke
Like as how the chase was on.

ANOTHER--"Run to the mountains, men!"

ANOTHER-- "Quick! quick!"

ANOTHER--Said we should find him before Satan comes.

ANOTHER--That was before you came out.

FIRST MAN--Spoke like as how the dogs were on his trail.

FATHER BENEDICT--Run, some one, and fetch Pierre back.

(_Two men dart out, left._)

He did not tell me this. (_A pause._)
Arm yourselves, men.

(_In a mass the men hurry out, left, a confused hum
of voices rising for a moment, then dying
away in the distance. The scene has grown
darker. A gust of wind blows to the door of
the church._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Alone upon the steps._)
This is the day. (_A pause._)
Inscrutable are the ways of God. Dark, dark,
Unfathomable the sea in which He moves.
He changeth as the waters change, and yet
The mountains strike their roots in Him and stand.

(_Thunder right. The priest comes down from the
steps and out into the street, where he
stands looking up at the sky._)

Thy ways are not our ways. Thy voice is heard
Abroad upon the firmament. The stars
That should have been put out an hour ago
Burn bright upon the edges of the storm.
Satan hath laid his hand upon the sun,
And the day gropes, feeling her way far off
As doth the blind. But yesterday the morn
Walked beautiful on the mountains, with her lamp
Kindled as for the Resurrection.
This is the Sabbath, yet Golgotha's gloom
Hangs o'er the Sepulcher, and like a torch
Thrown down upon the mountains burns the dawn
A scant blue flame far down behind the world.

(_A pause._)

God shall not call in vain.

(_Looking left._)

I will forgive
The bitter words. The lost shall be reclaimed.

(_He walks briskly back and climbs the steps and
enters the church. A man with a shovel on
his shoulder appears coming from back in the
churchyard. He stops by the fence and looks
about._)

THE MAN--Don't see them.

A VOICE-- (_From back in the churchyard._)
Someone's moaning in the church.

(_Another man appears with a shovel. They listen.
Faint shouting, left._)

FIRST MAN--Let's leave our shovels here.

(_They put down their shovels and get over the low
fence into the open space before the church
and start, left. Pierre is heard returning._)

PIERRE--But it was not his fault.

(_Between the two men he enters wringing his
hands._)

It was the fiends that did it.
'Twas his hand but-- (_Starting back._)
They're hiding--they're hiding back of there!

(_He points to the broken top of the poplar tree
that hangs out in the street. The men from
the churchyard come from behind it._)

Oh, they've been by the graves!

(_He covers his face with his hands and bends up
and down, sobbing hysterically._)

ONE OF THE MEN-- What has he done?

(_With a great shining crucifix upon a staff, the
priest appears in the doorway and comes
hurriedly down the steps._)

FATHER BENEDICT--Pierre, in the name of God, all-hail!
I greet you as one having holy lips,
Since God hath chosen you to set on fire
With one bright word all days to be. Pierre,
Which way hath he gone? God is waiting.
The seraphim--Nay, fear me not, for I
Have been baptized with fire that hath fallen
Suddenly from heaven. Which way hath he gone?
To the high places fly the seraphim
And banners flash and fade among the clouds.
The Lord of Life into my power hath given
The life of him who spoke--I will forgive
The bitter words. This is the day of days.
Within I shine, though round about the storm
Spreadeth her gloom. Even my hands are dark.
The thunder peals the muster of the dead.

(_Faint shouts, left._)

PIERRE-- (_Falling upon his knees._)
They've bitten him! they've bitten him! Pray! pray! pray!

FATHER BENEDICT--Nay, Pierre, these are shouts of them whose mouths
Shall sing upon the mountains when my hand
Shall rend the hound and pluck the blind from death.
His breath is in the hollow of my hand,
And though he taunted me and though I might--

(_He blows in his palm._)

The dream shall be fulfilled. Throughout all time
All dreams shall hail this dream a holy thing
That hath chosen from all days this holy day
To wake and run. While from the Sepulcher
God rolls the stone back, the dream opens hell
And slips the dogs while angels have the world.
Henceforth the Angel of the Resurrection,
Hand in hand with the hunter's dream, shall run
With fiery feet over the ages leaving
Luminous the eyes of holy men.
For me this is a great day. From the clouds
The purposes of God, in fold on fold,
Fall round and mantle me with light. Pierre,
In what dread shape came Blindness through the halls
Of the abbey, feeling for the brother's eyes
In the darkness? What did he say when God
With one blow blotted out the moon and sun
Forever, and the faces of his friends?
Forgiveness did he cry for, for the things--
But that is past. I have been and shall be,
Yesterday and to-morrow, Benedict.
To-day, as nameless as the stars of heaven,
Forgetful of all injuries like the winds,
I rush about the earth and, like the lightning,
Will strike where God shall throw me. Like the rain,
I shall fall mercifully on hot eyes that lit
But a few hours before with pride and scorn
But now are dark forever.

PIERRE-- Oh! Oh! Oh!

FATHER BENEDICT--I will not say that. God in his power can make
The blind earth fill the sockets of the blind
With balls as bright as orbs of seraphim,
Or without eyes can fill the soul with light.
Your brother, Pierre, fell upon the dark--
_My_ brother; I will say it and forgive--
Our brother fell on darkness not last night,
But long since turned his shining face away
From light, and gradually as the sun
Sinks, sank low down where sun and moon and stars
Say, "Vanity!" and the grave is over all.

(_The sobbing of Pierre is heard._)

But he shall rise. I thank God for this power.
It shall be to my glory that for hate
I returned love. Vengeance is His, and I
Simply a wind to blow and do His will.
God shall have praise, but I shall have praise, too.
Names shall be written high and lamps shall burn
Under them, so that all the saints may see.

(_He comes out in the street and stands looking in
the direction in which the men went, talking
to himself._)

Then some who with high heads walked this low earth--
'Tis not my prayer, but if God so decide--
What a day will bring forth no man can--

(_Turning back._)

Pierre,
Did he speak of me when the blow fell? Did he say,
"I wronged that holy man"? Did he say that?
With what word bade he farewell to the stars?
Did not remorse--Why do you look at me
With eyes of horror?

PIERRE-- (_Shuddering._)
Out into the dark
As if to--

(_He presses his hands into his eyes._)

FATHER BENEDICT--With no word?

PIERRE-- "The dogs! the dogs!"

FATHER BENEDICT--And called, then, I suppose, upon the dwarf.
Did he appear and give him back his eyes?
I judge not, from these tears that trickle down.
And did no sinner's wail go up to God?
God, Pierre, will plant eyes in his blind soul.
With what cry hoisted he sail for the dark land?

PIERRE-- (_Between sobs._)
"Father--Woden!"

FATHER BENEDICT--Ha, and he saw him, then!
Cried to the Father that the heathen god
Was putting out his eyes! 'Tis well. In that
Last flash God showed him whence the darkness came.

(_One of the men who came back with Pierre whispers
to the Priest._)

PIERRE--Lord Jesus knows that it was not his fault.

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Amazed._)
Did he do that, Pierre, did he do that?

PIERRE--'Twas not his fault.

FATHER BENEDICT-- _Put out his eyes himself!_

PIERRE--Oh, in his fever--

FATHER BENEDICT-- What will sin not do!

PIERRE--And someone--

FATHER BENEDICT-- Rather than look upon my face!
By this deed he admits the charge I made.

PIERRE--And someone--someone told him of the dream,
How that the dogs should tear him--

FATHER BENEDICT-- Stop right there!
You come down here to cast his blood on me?
I see the hand inside this hellish glove.

(_He turns and comes straight out into the street._)

PIERRE-- (_Timidly._)
'Twas that that did it.

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Lifting his hand and shouting aloud._)
Go back, men, go back!
We will stay here! This I will _not_ forgive.

(_He returns toward the church and climbs the
steps. On top he stops, stands for a moment,
then sets his crucifix in the doorway and
comes back down. Pierre, fearing he is about
to be attacked, draws back. The priest follows_
_him._)

I know who sent you down here and I know
Why. (_Shaking his finger._)
Pierre, had this word not been distilled
Under old fangs and put in your young mouth,
This sting should cost you something. As it is,
In you I overlook it.

(_Hoarse with wrath._)

The old snake!
God shall pass judgment between me and him.
The seraphim shall burn his mouth with coals.
Accursed envy! He beneath the wreck
Of Babel lies and thence looks out and sees
Me in white garments on the mount of God
Going toward glory, and it rankles in him.

(_Women appear in the doorway._)

And so he seeks to terrify my soul
With: "Hide from the lightning! God is in it!"
As though I went toward Ramoth-Gilead
With Ahab's hand smoking with prophets' blood.
That is why he told you to tell me this.
But I will not be terrified by him.

(_Pierre backs out._)

Accursed envy! And you tell him so.
Much rather would he see the brother lost--

(_The women press too close and the crucifix
tumbles down the steps._)

What is it you do? Go back in there! God's curse--

(_Looking after Pierre._)

On any man who would much rather see
A dear son lost than see me glorified.
Tell _him_ to hide. The wind that curls these clouds
Is the same wind that blew last night. Does he
With black mouth cry to me my hand is red?
If it be, if he think so, you tell him to stand
On his wrecked gable and watch Benedict
Walk right straight up to God with this red hand
And take the crown and leave no finger marks.

(_On tiptoe, Madam Valmy steals down the steps to
recover the crucifix._)

As for his charge that I have done this deed,
Tell him it smells of Hell.--Go back in there!

(_Madam Valmy goes back up the steps and the women
withdraw from the door._)

Daunted shall I be by lying lips?
Shall Belial reign? Shall God call twice and thrice?
I will not leave my cup of glory stand
Untouched because the old snake cannot drink;
Because he, having wormwood on his lips,
Cries: "God boils in the wine upon the heights!"
I will drink it.

(_Armed and with Jacques Sar at their head, the
men enter silent, their faces showing
disappointment. In the disorder in which they
enter, there are traces of three lines into
which they had been drawn up._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- We will go, men.

(_The men brighten up and become turbulent, and the
three lines immediately reappear. The priest
walks back toward the church._)

Pick up--

(_A man goes toward the crucifix that lies on the
ground. The Priest steps upon the steps and
turns, facing the men. While he speaks,
Jacques Sar marches the lines right and
wheels them around so as to face left, the_
_direction in which Pierre came and went. For
others who keep coming in, he finds places in
the lines and, examining weapons and moving
the men about, goes up and down with the air
of an old commander._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- Men,
This is the grandest day that ever mixed
Her golden hair with banners. The hunter's dream,
That flashed and vanished in the night, after
Lying like our Lord three days in darkness,
Bursts like a shining angel upon the world

(_He receives the crucifix._)

And dazzles. We see not clearly, for the light
Blinds as the darkness doth. All night the earth
Tumbled as a man in fever. Saints on fire
Walked grandly on the mountain combs and called,
And the graves opened, and the silent ones--
What can it mean that of the churchyard dead
Only the soldiers rose? And that, too, when
Hell's hand was heavy on the brother? Men,
At midnight riding down the mountain, I
Saw wonders and heard things I dare not tell.
What the hounds are I know not, but I know
One up there hath a snare laid for them. And I--
I see my name in fire on those clouds.
These winds shall blow it luminous, and all
The world shall see it, and all time. Then some
Who now accuse me will come round with smiles.
For I will not be terrified by him.

(_He says something under his breath and comes
quickly down the steps and out into the
street where he shouts after Pierre._)

Tell the old man I go upon this chase
Out of no love for him or for his monk.
For I despise them both. You
Tell him just what I say and why I go.
Tell him the storm hath spoken to me. Say
I saw a hand of fire in the night
Beckon, and heard a trumpet peal in heaven.
He thinks I am a coward. So I am;
I fear to disobey the voice of God,
And therefore go. Listen to me, Pierre!
You tell him this: Had Heaven not delivered
Its orders to me, by the throne of God,
Not a spear--Hear me?--not a single spear
Should redden in the rescue of this monk.
As for his charge that I have done this deed,
Tell him it smells of Hell.

(_Thunder right. The priest turns and for a time
contemplates the sky in silence._)

One of you men
Run and ask Pierre which way hath he gone,
For there are trails and trails.

(_A man darts out, left._)

JACQUES SAR-- Fly fast now, Noel.

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Rapt, looking off at the sky, right._)
Why should the storm move that way, if the chase--

(_Turning left._)

Lies yon way? We will wait.

(_Aloud._)

God seems to call
Up yonder where the lightning cracks the sky.

(_After a silence, with his eyes upon the heavens._)

Like golden links your names shall hang to mine
And dangle down the ages. Men shall say:
"This man and that man were with Benedict
Up in the glory of the Lord that day
When heathendom went tumbling down to hell."
Oh, you shall live forever envied men!

(_He walks about buried in his thought.
Occasionally he stops for a moment in
meditation, then resumes his pace. Old
Jacques, hesitatingly and stopping whenever
the priest stops, follows him about as though
he wished to communicate something, but was
uncertain whether to break his revery. The
men watch them in silence._)

FATHER BENEDICT--

(_Approaching the lines, his chin still upon
his breast._)

Something I have to tell you, hitherto,
For his own good, religiously concealed.
For adulation maketh pride to swell
And man becomes an idol. (_Looking up._)
Years ago
A prophesy went sounding down the south
That sent a thrill through Christendom. From Rome
The echo came to us. The rumor ran
That in the Saxon forest lived a boy
Through whom the North should come contrite to God:
A shepherd as was Moses and therefore
Prepared to lead his people. Friar Paul
Was sent to flash the light upon his way
And win him unto Christ, to make his staff
Put forth green Christian buds. With what result
I need not tell you. Few, few men can bear
Honor and the favor of the Most High. He,
Moses himself could not. "Watch Moses now;"
And struck the rock. And then God: "Now watch Me;"
And gave his staff to Joshua. And here
I find a lesson, this: Glory shall pass
From the proud man to the humble man. To-day
I take that prophesy up in _my_ hands
And with it seek the mountains of our God,
And Heathendom shall fall like Jerich--

THE MAN--(_Returning._) Says
He don't know which way. Lost him in the dark.

(_The crowd stands silent, not knowing which way to
go. A woman appears in the doorway._)

WOMAN--Madam Bacqueur in her swoon hath thrice cried out:
"O keep from the mountains! Look! See there!
The fire of God falls on the hills. See! See!"

FATHER BENEDICT--The voice of Hell that fears our coming. Woman,
Baths her entranced brows with holy water.

(_The woman goes back in the church. Jacques speaks
to the Priest._)

A MAN-- (_After a pause, from the rear line._)
Let's go toward the abbey.

ANOTHER-- (_In the front line, pointing right._)
This way.

ANOTHER-- (_Shaking his head, as though fearing the storm._)
No.

SECOND MAN-- (_Shouting, left._)
Jules!

(_He walks on a few paces and, frowning with
impatience, beckons in with his arm._)

FATHER BENEDICT--This is a sudden beam on the dark web.

JACQUES SAR--And his blood shed down yonder by the
bridge.

FATHER BENEDICT--And the storm moving toward that mountain top.

(_To the men._)

Jacques tells me that our honored bailiff lies
His martial limbs half hanging in the grave.

JACQUES SAR--I fear the bell will toll 'fore night.

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_deeply moved._)
The dead
Soldiers are up to meet their sergeant.

(_He walks quietly back and climbs the steps._)

Men,
Wing and wing this terrible morning, fly
Two avenging angels toward one mountain top.
One in his hand two bloody eyeballs bears;
The other, an old man's picture with a wound
Swollen and with Death's finger in it. Fixed
On two eyes are their four eyes. Toward one man
Four wings and two bright swords are on their way.
They light! They beckon me! I see it all!
From two wounds two red trails converge in one!
The hounds that have their noses on the track
Of the brother, had their tongues in Jardin's blood!
_The big white talbot is Canzler!_

(_There is a moment's silence so intense that the
wind is heard whistling among the white
crosses in the churchyard. Then a terrible
shout goes up._)

SHOUTS--Down with him!
To Hell with the hounds!
Lead us! Lead us!

(_Jacques strikes with his sword and the lines
move swiftly to the left, the direction of
the abbey._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_To himself._)
God's purposes begin where man's prayers end.

JACQUES SAR-- (_On fire._)
Right about! Face the heathen and face God!

(_The lines wheel and face right, the direction in
which the storm is moving._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Transported._)
This is most wonderful. Men, Hell hath here
Packed all her seeds in one infernal bloom.
And who knew till this beam fell where to turn?
Henceforth let no man say he knows the way
That God will move on the morrow, for in a flash
The hem of his great garment passeth by.

(_Bacqueur enters with an armful of swords and
spears. On his left shoulder hangs a great
shield._)

JACQUES SAR--Here's two men have none.

CRIES-- Here, Jules!
Hand me one!

FATHER BENEDICT--(_Half to himself, his face upturned to_
_the sky._)
What have I done that Thou shouldst honor me
With glory such as no man ever--Nay,
'Tis not for me this glory is prepared,
For I have ever labored for another.
Thou movest in her and she in me and I
Am but a cloud upon her gale and storm.
Let no man move a foot. I know my time.
You see me but you see not what I see.
God hath arranged to bring us face to face.
This is no combat between merely men.
All Heathendom gives chase in this big hound.
Our brother stands for all men lost to God.
And my hand is the hand of Christendom.

(_Bacqueur offers him a sword._)

Nay, I have weapons that ye know not of.

(_Looking off at the storm._)

The lightnings whip the foothills and the clouds
Sag with the weight of the wrath of the Lord of Hosts.

(_His face becomes luminous._)

Who hears what I hear? Speak out. Then be still.

(_With an old scarlet flag, amid the folds of which
sections of a white cross are seen, Hugh
Capet comes running in. Seeing the priest
entranced upon the steps and the men hushed
with awe, he checks himself._)

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Lifting his hand, without turning._)
If any man moves I will call down fire. (_A silence._)
To-day the last great tower of Hell goes down.

(_He comes down the steps._)

JACQUES SAR-- (_His voice quivering with emotion._)
This banner once waved over Acre, men.

HUGH CAPET--And we will plant it on Jerusalem.

SHOUTS--God's with us! God's with us!

FATHER BENEDICT-- (_Lifting his hand._)
Hear my last word.

JACQUES SAR-- Silence!

FATHER BENEDICT-- Let there be
No shouting or any noise. Let us go
Quietly as befits the Sabbath day.
The vales blow white. Yonder the mountains stand
Like quiet altars waiting sacrifice.
You, with the holy banner of God, stand here.
Now if there be among you one who hath
Guilt, looking upon this storm let him step
Out, lay his spear down and stay here and not
Tempt the wrath of God. For soon upon the heights
The heavens shall blacken and there shall be a loud
Burst of His power and the shining glory of God.
I pause a moment. Let that man step out
Now. (_A pause._)
Then you have naught to fear. The innocent
Are safe. God's shield is over them. Come.

JACQUES SAR--The signal, Father.

FATHER BENEDICT-- The signal shall be this:

JACQUES SAR--Attention, men!

FATHER BENEDICT-- I shall uplift the Christ.

(_He raises the crucifix._)

And God, burning the clouds to ashes, will throw
Lightning upon Antichrist. Then you
Charge. (_A roll of thunder._)
The trumpets of the heavenly host.

JACQUES SAR-- Now, men!
Up with your spears.

FATHER BENEDICT-- There shall be wonders done.

(_He starts right, the lines following him._)

In years to come, men, tell your children this:
When God crowned Benedict upon the heights
It was not Benedict but the Church He crowned.

(_They go out silent. The scene has become darker
and the wind is heard whistling among the
white crosses in the churchyard. Back in the
church through the open door is seen the
beautifully carven Christ with overhead in_
_golden letters the inscription: FORGIVE THEM_
_FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY--. The DO has
never been put on._)

_SCENE THREE--The mountain side, as in Scene one of the
third Act. There is heard a steady roar as of wind over
vast forests, and all about are signs of an approaching_
_storm. At intervals an unnatural, ghastly light as from
rifted clouds swiftly driving overhead passes across the
scene. In a moment the gloom has returned and the trees are
racing back into the shadow._

_Back upon the ledge, his long yellow hair tossing in the_
_wind, stands Rudolph watching the gathering of the storm._

RUDOLPH-- (_To himself._)
Flying on starless wings the Powers of night
Keep back the bird of morning till the Norns
Have traced the lines of guilt and set the snare.

(_A moment later Canzler appears coming down the
sheep-path._)

CANZLER--What was that shouting down the mountain for?

RUDOLPH-- (_Turning quickly._)
The whirling of the wheel!

CANZLER-- The wheel?

RUDOLPH-- (_Hurrying forward._)
Look there
Where the vast felly flies! Far out it swings
And sways the forests. Look at it, Canzler!
For miles around below the mountain heads
The storm goes racing in a wheel whose hub
Turns on the village spire.

(_Canzler follows him back along the ledge._)

Awhile ago,
Divinely guided through the mountain ways,
A common cloud, afloat upon the dark,
Blotted the stars that glimmered in the tarn
And whirled into a wheel. Around the rim
Flows the white cloud-wool, and a thread is drawn
Under the hills. The distaffs of the Norns
Grow big with fate, and, sitting there in silence,
Their withered fingers from this flying skein
Loop off the lives of men. Val-father takes
In his almighty hand the reins of things
And drives them either way through earth and air.

(_Shouting far down the mountain._)

CANZLER--I heard that far up on the mountain tops.

RUDOLPH--In some procession honoring their god.

CANZLER--But louder now.

RUDOLPH-- And nearer.

CANZLER-- Where is Fritz?

RUDOLPH--Rounding the sheep up. (_Shouting again._)
They have crossed the bridge.

CANZLER-- (_Turning and looking at Rudolph._)
Honoring their god upon the mountain side?

RUDOLPH--'Tis the great dragon crawling through the hills.

CANZLER--No wonder darkness fills the valley.

(_After a pause_.)

And in a storm like this!

RUDOLPH-- Hunger.

CANZLER-- No doubt.
And there is hunger in the heavens, too.

RUDOLPH--And the two face. (_They listen._)
The Asas all night long
Were loud above the mountains as though some
Vast purpose long pent up were finding way.

CANZLER--And Selma heard it like a river flow
Washing the peaks and down the wooded slopes
Into the valley where the dragon lies.

(_Shouts still afar but growing nearer._)

That belly levels all things in the plain. (_Thunder._)

RUDOLPH--Val-father's voice from out the clouds mid-air
Meets with the dragon's voice and devours it. Hark!

CANZLER--It may lay hands on Fritz.

(_He goes back along the ledge and starts down the
mountain._)

RUDOLPH-- Be careful, chief!
The wheel moves this way.

CANZLER-- It is following them.

RUDOLPH--Here he comes running up the mountain!

CANZLER-- Where?

RUDOLPH--Wait till the lightning shows the slopes again.

(_They listen. The shouts draw nearer._)

CANZLER--The Bailiff's blood has roused them.

RUDOLPH-- With that blood
Val-father has enticed it from its lair
To tempt the mountains and to seek for more.

(_Lightning._)

Up here! Coming up here!

CANZLER--(_Shouting._) Fritz!

RUDOLPH-- The dark bloom,
Whose scattered roots the years have fed, at last
Unfolds its petals to the sun. The North
In all her graves is waiting for the dawn.
To-day Val-father lays his shadow by.

CANZLER--Go up the rocks and blow the battle horn.

(_Rudolph goes leaping up the rocks._)

And let the battle cry be "Dachtelfeld"!

RUDOLPH--The peaks are tipped with day!

(_He disappears up the rocks._)

VOICE OF SELMA--(_Above._) Where are you, Father?

(_Lightning._)

CANZLER--Stay from the timber! Don't get near the trees!

(_Thunder._)

Stay in the open, Selma!

(_The form of Canzler, who stands back upon the
ledge, disappears in the gathering gloom._)

VOICE OF SELMA-- Father!

VOICE OF FRITZ--(_Down the mountain._) Chief!

(_There is heard, at first scarcely audible but
rising more and more, low music as of spirit
voices. Above, just where the sheep-path
enters the bushes, Selma appears coming_
_hurriedly down. Hearing the music, she stops
and, listening, becomes as one entranced._)

SELMA-- (_Almost in a whisper._)
Father!

(_Canzler comes forward into view. The girl, still
transported and more like a being of the air,
has come further down the path._)

Oh, hear them!

CANZLER-- Go back, go back, child!
They shall not harm you. (_She rushes to him._)
They will not come up here.

(_The girl lays her hand on his arm. They listen._)

Only Val-father's voice along the storm.

VOICE OF FRITZ--Chief!

CANZLER-- It is Fritz.

SELMA--- The trees--the trees are singing.
The wild vines and the mountain flowers--Oh!
O Father, see!

CANZLER-- What ails you, child?

SELMA--The elves--the storm elves gather in the air,
And up the mountain there--
Hear them, Father! Hear the fairies calling!
Oh, the white flakes! The dog-wood blooms are falling!

(_She runs wildly up the path._)

He's coming, Father! Oswald's coming!

(_She disappears among the bushes. In the rear
Fritz is seen climbing up the mountain._)

FRITZ-- (_Who goes leaping on up the rocks._)
Chief!

CANZLER--Here I am.

(_Fritz leaps back down to the ledge and comes
hurrying forward._)

FRITZ-- (_Out of breath._)
They've killed--they've killed the sheep!
Like hungry dogs. It's us they're after, though.
Dashed in and slashed them with their swords. Hear that!

(_Wild shouting below._)

That's for our blood. (_They listen._)
If we don't arm, chief,--
CANZLER-- Hark!

FRITZ-- (_After a pause._)
If we don't arm--

(_Up the mountain sounds the battle horn._)

To have lived to see this day!

(_He hurries up the path and disappears._)

CANZLER--Val-father's winds have blown them here to die.

(_He goes up the path. The music is now distinctly
heard above the noise of the storm. A flash
of lightning reveals, in the rear, the dwarf
climbing up the mountain, leading Oswald
by the hand. Instantly loud and prolonged_
_shouting bursts up from about a hundred feet_
_below. The two come hurrying forward along
the ledge. Oswald's face is streaked with
blood and from the end of its black cord, his
silver crucifix, likewise stained, dangles
almost to his knees. Gradually it slips lower
and lower till it finally falls and lies upon
the grass. Having reached the path, they make
their way up and are soon lost to view. That
peculiar light which one sometimes sees when
clouds are rifted during a storm illumines
the scene and makes the green grass and trees
show almost like flame. Below, voices are
heard, and soon, climbing up the mountain,
Father Benedict appears, his face pale, his
eyes set before him. Upon the skirt of his
snow-white chasuble there is seen, slanting_
_down, a red streak as though he had pressed
against a bloody sword-blade. Behind him,
scattered, come, first, Hugh Capet with the
great flag blown straight out in the wind,
then Jules Bacqueur and Jacques Sar, their
swords dripping, and, after them, the other
villagers._)

JULES BACQUEUR--Straight ahead. Father! Straight ahead!

A VOICE-- (_From below._)
See them, Hugh?

JACQUES SAR--You come on; we'll find them.

(_Instead of coming forward to the path, which the
bushes and bowlders hide from their view,
they go pushing straight on up the rocks._)

HUGH CAPET--Come on, men!

JACQUES SAR--Stay together, men! (_A pause._)
Hold her low, Phil!

(_Up the mountain sounds the battle-horn._)

CRIES--Hear that! Hear that!

JACQUES SAR--Don't get scared, men!

CRIES--Don't get scared! Don't get scared!

A VOICE--God's with us!

ALL--God's with us! God's with us!

HUGH CAPET--Come on, men!

JACQUES SAR--Wait for the signal! Wait for the signal, men!

(_All look to the priest._)

Now then.

JULES BACQUEUR--Now, Father.

A VOICE--Now. (_A pause._)

HUGH CAPET--Signal! signal!

(_Above, sounds the battle-horn, this time nearer._)

JACQUES SAR--Now!

JULES BACQUEUR--Now then!

CRIES--Now! Now! NOW!

(_Slowly the priest lifts the crucifix._)

ALL--God's with us! God's with us!

(_They go springing up the mountain. A flash of
lightning strikes the uplifted crucifix
and clings for a moment like a wreath of
blue fire round the brow of the priest whose_
_face shows white as chalk. The crucifix slips
from his fingers and he reels and falls
backwards._)

CRIES--Men! Men! Men!

(_As the men turn and see the priest, whom Jules
has caught in his arms, borne backward down
the slope, some of them throw down their
arms and flee terror-stricken down the
mountain. There is a loud crash of thunder_
_followed, above, by the shouts of the Saxons
who come charging down upon them. Attempting
to rescue the priest's body, before which
Bacqueur has thrown his great shield, the
villagers receive the shock and are driven
back fighting down the mountain, Fritz hacking_
_at Hugh Capet's head-with his battle ax,
Rudolph charging old Jacques, while Canzler
with one slash of his magic sword slices in
two Bacqueur's great shield which falls like
paper from his hands. Even after they have_
_disappeared, from down the mountain can still
be heard the voice of old Jacques calling to
his men in God's name to stand. Up the slope,
caught in the bushes where it fell, hangs the
crucifix, the figure of which is tarnished
and melted by the lightning. On the ledge_
_just below, outstretched upon the grass,
his fingers bent as though still clutching
the crucifix, lies the body of the priest.
The scene gradually becomes darker and the_
_thunder is still heard reverberating through
the mountains._)

_SCENE FOUR--A forest on the mountain tops. Untouched by the
storm, which has swept the lower slopes, the trees here
stand calm and motionless. Flowers are everywhere. Far off,
between the innumerable trunks, is seen a space of dark sky
rifted near the horizon and bright with the red and gold of
the new dawn. From the left, into this forest stillness,
silent as the scene itself, comes the dwarf leading Oswald
by the hand. There is now no blood upon the latter's
face which, slightly upturned, is lighted as with a soul
conscious of a great crisis and hearing its approach in the
least noise. Suddenly, from far to the right, the voice of
Selma is heard. Instantly the dwarf vanishes. Oswald starts
and stands as one in a dream._

SELMA--

(_At first afar, then drawing nearer and nearer
until at last she rushes in gleefully. She
is dressed, as in the first Act, in green,
and upon her head she wears a coronet of_
_wild-flowers._)

Oswald! Oswald! Oswald! Oswald! Oswald!

(_She starts, and throws herself at his feet,
covering her face with her hands. The disc of
the sun, emerging above the line of clouds,
shoots its myriad golden needles through the
wood. Revealed in the light, like things seen
in a mirage, a number of fairies are discerned_
_watching the two. From far down the mountain
comes the sound of a bell tolling._)

Transcriber's Notes:

Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors were
silently corrected.

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Anachronistic and non-standard spellings retained as printed.

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