I.
AMMON EMBARKS ON A MISSION
Ammon was the Napoleon of the western hemisphere. One trembles to think what a man of such power might have done, had he used it for his own aggrandizement, instead of converting souls. He was a king's son, and though not the eldest, he was chief among his brothers, for his name is always mentioned first.
During a brilliant and careless youth, the whole course of his life had been metamorphosed by a miracle. Thenceforth he consecrated his life to the work of the Lord, beside which a mere earthly kingdom sank into insignificance.
When Mosiah, king of the Nephites, waxed old, there was no one to take his place as his four sons had elected to go as missionaries to the Lamanites. His death marked the beginning of the reign of the judges.
Heavily armed, the missionaries departed into the wilderness. Their weapons were not designed for their fellow man, but for wild game that they should kill for food. That they went hungry was not due to their lack of prowess, for they often chose to fast that the spirit of the Lord would be with them. Nor was their sacrifice without effect, for the Lord promised them that if they made examples of their lives that they should be instruments in his hands unto the salvation of many souls.
It was characteristic of Ammon that he should separate from his companions and go up to the land of Ishmael alone. Here, skirting the woods, he was captured by the Lamanites, and, like every Nephite caught on their borders, was taken before their king.
Lamoni was in a good humor. He had just returned from the hunt where he had killed the silver fox. As he threw himself back on his divan, he took in the points of the prisoner with the keen eye of a connoisseur. With discriminating approval, he noted the swelling muscles beneath the loose garments of the white man, but with black suspicion, demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"I was entering your country when I was violently assaulted and bound with thongs of buckskin." Ammon looked ruefully, down at his chafed ankles.
"May I ask what you were entering the country for?"
"I came here to live."
"You came here to live!" repeated the king stupidly.
"Yes, and I may stay until I die."
"Which may be soon, judging by the fate that your last two countrymen, that encroached on my borders, met. What crime did you commit in Zarahemla that makes you an outcast?"
"None. I came here of choice, not of necessity."
"Then you are a merchant?"
"No. I am a king's son and need nu money."
Lamoni looked puzzled. Clearly he could not understand this man, yet his words carried conviction.
"I am a missionary," explained Ammon simply. "I have come here to preach the gospel of righteousness."
"I know that your people have preserved some remnants of the truth that we have lost. You say that you have relinquished your father's kingdom to come and live among us?" he asked incredulously, obviously flattered.
"What is that compared with the salvation of souls? Who knows but what if we come to one belief that these bloodthirsty wars between our two peoples shall cease?"
"Cut this man's bonds," ordered Lamoni, pleased with his new guest.
Like a hound loosed from leash, Ammon shook off his fetters and stood forth majestically.
Lamoni opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly his jaw dropped and the utterance died on his lips. A woman's laugh, shrill and taunting, came from the terrace and recalled his chief trouble to the king. His brow puckered. His daughter, Alla, was the trial of his life. She kept the court in a continuous uproar. Not the least of her faults was that she was an incorrigible flirt and kept the nobles in continual hot water with her coquetries. It would not have been so bad if she had confined her operations to the nobility, but she showed a democratic predilection for commoners that was at least alarming. More than once, he had tried to marry her off but his and the princess' choice had never fallen on the same person. Only three days before, she had lured two young men into an embroglio with the result that one carried his arm in a sling while the other had lost the temporary use of an eye. When openly charged with encouraging them, Alla had shamelessly confessed that she led men on to see what they would do under certain circumstances. Hers was a woman's insatiate curiosity, which, deprived of books, read people in lieu thereof.
Lamoni was seized with a sudden inspiration. "Tell Alla to come here."
The servant sped out, but Ammon was not prepared for the apparition that presently appeared.
"You wanted me, father?" Of strong rather than beautiful features as she stood there in regal robes she was every inch a princess. She was dressed with the care bred of the knowledge that every detail was dear to the heart of a man. Yet Alla did not make her conquests at first sight. They were wrought out of the diabolical cunning of her brain, but once she got her grip on a man—she did not let go.
"This is Ammon, son of King Mosiah. Since he purposes to dwell among us I shall give him you for a wife," announced Lamoni. Turning to the man he continued, "That you may appreciate the honor I confer upon you, I will add that the hand of my daughter has been sought by every noble in the kingdom." He did not explain that a decision in any one's favor would probably precipitate civil war and that he was pawning her off on the newcomer to gain peace for himself.
"I do not know him," interposed Alla.
"The women of our country choose their own husbands," abetted Ammon. "Moreover, missionaries do not marry. They cannot divide their attention between their work and a woman."
"Then you refuse her," repeated the king dully. The humor of the situation burst on him. "Alla, there is one man who will not have you."
With one look at Ammon, she tossed her head and swept out.
"She will make you regret it," remarked Lamoni with a twinkle in his eye, "No one ever offends Alla with impunity."
"I meant no offense to the princess. Under the circumstances what else could I say?"
"Since you have refused to become the king's son-in-law, may I ask what you propose to do?"
"No work is too humble for my new calling. Let me be your servant," he suggested with enthusiasm.
"The training of a king's son seldom fits a man for labor. What can you do?"
"I have herded cattle and I love the open."
"Then a cattle herder you shall be."
He clapped his hands. To the servant that appeared he ordered, "Take this man and give him a place among the herders. Provide him with all necessities." To Ammon he said, "If there is anything I can do for you let me know. I shall see you again." They were dismissed and with a sigh of relief he sank back among his cushions.