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diff --git a/old/21768-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/21768-h.htm.2021-01-25 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f10218e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/21768-h.htm.2021-01-25 @@ -0,0 +1,6790 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + A Desert Drama, by A. Conan Doyle + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Desert Drama, by A. Conan Doyle + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Desert Drama + Being The Tragedy Of The "Korosko" + +Author: A. Conan Doyle + +Illustrator: S. Paget + +Release Date: June 8, 2007 [EBook #21768] +Last Updated: March 6, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DESERT DRAMA *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + A DESERT DRAMA + </h1> + <h3> + BEING + </h3> + <h2> + The Tragedy of the <i>Korosko</i> + </h2> + <h3> + BY + </h3> + <h2> + A. CONAN DOYLE + </h2> + <h3> + WITH THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS BY S. PAGET + </h3> + <h4> + PHILADELPHIA <br /> J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 1898 + </h4> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/frontispiece078.jpg" alt="Frontispiece P78 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/titlepage.jpg" alt="Titlepage " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h4> + TO MY FRIEND JAMES PAYN IN TOKEN OF MY AFFECTION AND ESTEEM + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_ILL"> ILLUSTRATIONS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <big><b>A DESERT DRAMA</b></big> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_ILL" id="link2H_ILL"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>Illustrations</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0001"> Frontispiece P78 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0002"> Titlepage </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0003"> So You Will Carve Your Names Also P26 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0004"> The Soudanese Escort Filed Along P54 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0005"> He Pointed up With his Donkey-whip P66 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0006"> A Silence Fell Upon the Little Company P72 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0007"> Long String of Red-turbaned Riders, + Frontispiece P78 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0008"> You Do No Good by Exposing Yourself P86 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0009"> He Struck at the Snarling Savages P 94 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0010"> Fell Suddenly Upon his Face P97 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0011"> The Party Streamed Into Sight Again P103 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0012"> Don't Miss Your Grip of It P111 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0013"> Looking for Some Landmark P124 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0014"> He Rolled over on to his Side P130 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0015"> Norah, Darling, Keep Your Heart up P135 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0016"> They Haven't Hurt You, Norah, Have They P139 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0017"> Hour of Arab Prayer P142 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0018"> The Old Soldier Fell Forward Gasping P145 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0019"> Certain That I Would Not Leave You Here P152 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0020"> The Creature, Stood Still P171 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0021"> The Great Caravan Route P 174 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0022"> Sword in his Hand P184 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0023"> Grimy Bodies Lay Senseless Under the + Palm-trees P188 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0024"> Took a Large, Shining Date out of the + Moolah's Beard P210 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0025"> Stand Up! Cried Mansoor P214 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0026"> Don't Fret, John! Cried his Wife P217 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0027"> The Colonel Was the Winner of This Terrible + Lottery P222 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0028"> Good-bye, Little Sadie P229 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0029"> On This Pinnacle Stood a Motionless Figure + P242 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0030"> The Colonel Leaned Forward With his Pistol + P247 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0031"> You Haven't Got Such a Thing As A Cigar P253 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0032"> Not a Word! Not A Word! P255 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0033"> Arabs Were Caught Between Two Fires P261 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0034"> He Delivered Them from Their Distress P273 + </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + This book has been materially enlarged and altered since its appearance in + serial form + </p> + <p> + A. Conan Doyle + </p> + <p> + October 17, 1897 + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + A DESERT DRAMA + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <p> + The public may possibly wonder why it is that they have never heard in the + papers of the fate of the passengers of the __Korosko__. In these days of + universal press agencies, responsive to the slightest stimulus, it may + well seem incredible that an international incident of such importance + should remain so long unchronicled. Suffice it that there were very valid + reasons, both of a personal and political nature, for holding it back. The + facts were well known to a good number of people at the time, and some + version of them did actually appear in a provincial paper, but was + generally discredited. They have now been thrown into narrative form, the + incidents having been collated from the sworn statements of Colonel + Cochrane Cochrane, of the Army and Navy Club, and from the letters of Miss + Adams, of Boston, Mass. These have been supplemented by the evidence of + Captain Archer, of the Egyptian Camel Corps, as given before the secret + Government inquiry at Cairo. Mr. James Stephens has refused to put his + version of the matter into writing, but as these proofs have been + submitted to him, and no correction or deletion has been made in them, it + may be supposed that he has not succeeded in detecting any grave + misstatement of fact, and that any objection which he may have to their + publication depends rather upon private and personal scruples. + </p> + <p> + The __Korosko__, a turtle-bottomed, round-bowed stern-wheeler, with a + 30-inch draught and the lines of a flat-iron, started upon the 13th of + February, in the year 1895, from Shellal, at the head of the first + cataract, bound for Wady Haifa. I have a passenger card for the trip, + which I hereby produce: + </p> + <p> + S. W. “<i>Korosko</i>,” February 13TH. + </p> + <p> + PASSENGERS. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Colonel Cochrane Cochrane London + + Mr. Cecil Brown London + + John H. Headingly Boston, USA + + Miss Adams Boston, USA + + Miss S. Adams Worcester, Mass, USA + + Mons Fardet Paris + + Mr. and Mrs. Belmont Dublin + + James Stephens Manchester + + Rev. John Stuart Birmingham + + Mrs. Shlesinger, nurse and child Florence +</pre> + <p> + This was the party as it started from Shellal with the intention of + travelling up the two hundred miles of Nubian Nile which lie between the + first and the second cataract. + </p> + <p> + It is a singular country, this Nubia. Varying in breadth from a few miles + to as many yards (for the name is only applied to the narrow portion which + is capable of cultivation), it extends in a thin, green, palm-fringed + strip upon either side of the broad coffee-coloured river. Beyond it there + stretches on the Libyan bank a savage and illimitable desert, extending to + the whole breadth of Africa. On the other side an equally desolate + wilderness is bounded only by the distant Red Sea. Between these two huge + and barren expanses Nubia writhes like a green sandworm along the course + of the river. Here and there it disappears altogether, and the Nile runs + between black and sun-cracked hills, with the orange drift-sand lying like + glaciers in their valleys. Everywhere one sees traces of vanished races + and submerged civilisations. Grotesque graves dot the hills or stand up + against the sky-line: pyramidal graves, tumulus graves, rock graves,—everywhere, + graves. And, occasionally, as the boat rounds a rocky point, one sees a + deserted city up above,—houses, walls, battlements, with the sun + shining through the empty window squares. Sometimes you learn that it has + been Roman, sometimes Egyptian, sometimes all record of its name or origin + has been absolutely lost, You ask yourself in amazement why any race + should build in so uncouth a solitude, and you find it difficult to accept + the theory that this has only been of value as a guard-house to the richer + country down below, and that these frequent cities have been so many + fortresses to hold off the wild and predatory men of the south. But + whatever be their explanation, be it a fierce neighbour, or be it a + climatic change, there they stand, these grim and silent cities, and up on + the hills you can see the graves of their people, like the port-holes of a + man-of-war. It is through this weird, dead country that the tourists smoke + and gossip and flirt as they pass up to the Egyptian frontier. + </p> + <p> + The passengers of the <i>Korosko</i> formed a merry party, for most of + them had travelled up together from Cairo to Assouan, and even Anglo-Saxon + ice thaws rapidly upon the Nile. They were fortunate in being without the + single disagreeable person who in these small boats is sufficient to mar + the enjoyment of the whole party. On a vessel which is little more than a + large steam launch, the bore, the cynic, or the grumbler holds the company + at his mercy. But the <i>Korosko</i> was free from anything of the kind. + Colonel Cochrane Cochrane was one of those officers whom the British + Government, acting upon a large system of averages, declares at a certain + age to be incapable of further service, and who demonstrate the worth of + such a system by spending their declining years in exploring Morocco, or + shooting lions in Somaliland. He was a dark, straight, aquiline man, with + a courteously deferential manner, but a steady, questioning eye; very neat + in his dress and precise in his habits, a gentleman to the tips of his + trim fingernails. In his Anglo-Saxon dislike to effusiveness he had + cultivated a self-contained manner which was apt at first acquaintance to + be repellant, and he seemed to those who really knew him to be at some + pains to conceal the kind heart and human emotions which influenced his + actions. It was respect rather than affection which he inspired among his + fellow-travellers, for they felt, like all who had ever met him, that he + was a man with whom acquaintance was unlikely to ripen into a friendship, + though a friendship when once attained would be an unchanging and + inseparable part of himself. He wore a grizzled military moustache, but + his hair was singularly black for a man of his years. He made no allusion + in his conversation to the numerous campaigns in which he had + distinguished himself, and the reason usually given for his reticence was + that they dated back to such early Victorian days that he had to sacrifice + his military glory at the shrine of his perennial youth. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cecil Brown—to take the names in the chance order in which they + appear upon the passenger list—was a young diplomatist from a + Continental Embassy, a man slightly tainted with the Oxford manner, and + erring upon the side of unnatural and inhuman refinement, but full of + interesting talk and cultured thought. He had a sad, handsome face, a + small wax-tipped moustache, a low voice and a listless manner, which was + relieved by a charming habit of suddenly lighting up into a rapid smile + and gleam when anything caught his fancy. An acquired cynicism was + eternally crushing and overlying his natural youthful enthusiasms, and he + ignored what was obvious while expressing keen appreciation for what + seemed to the average man to be either trivial or unhealthy. He chose + Walter Pater for his travelling author, and sat all day, reserved but + affable, under the awning, with his novel and his sketch-book upon a + campstool beside him. His personal dignity prevented him from making + advances to others, but if they chose to address him, they found him a + courteous and amiable companion. + </p> + <p> + The Americans formed a group by themselves. John H. Headingly was a New + Englander, a graduate of Harvard, who was completing his education by a + tour round the world. He stood for the best type of young American,—quick, + observant, serious, eager for knowledge, and fairly free from prejudice, + with a fine ballast of unsectarian but earnest religious feeling, which + held him steady amid all the sudden gusts of youth. He had less of the + appearance and more of the reality of culture than the young Oxford + diplomatist, for he had keener emotions though less exact knowledge. Miss + Adams and Miss Sadie Adams were aunt and niece, the former a little, + energetic, hard-featured Bostonian old-maid, with a huge surplus of unused + love behind her stern and swarthy features. She had never been from home + before, and she was now busy upon the self-imposed task of bringing the + East up to the standard of Massachusetts. She had hardly landed in Egypt + before she realised that the country needed putting to rights, and since + the conviction struck her she had been very fully occupied. The + saddle-galled donkeys, the starved pariah dogs, the flies round the eyes + of the babies, the naked children, the importunate begging, the ragged, + untidy women,—they were all challenges to her conscience, and she + plunged in bravely at her work of reformation. As she could not speak a + word of the language, however, and was unable to make any of the + delinquents understand what it was that she wanted, her passage up the + Nile left the immemorial East very much as she had found it, but afforded + a good deal of sympathetic amusement to her fellow-travellers. No one + enjoyed her efforts more than her niece, Sadie, who shared with Mrs. + Belmont the distinction of being the most popular person upon the boat. + She was very young,—fresh from Smith College,—and she still + possessed many both of the virtues and of the faults of a child. She had + the frankness, the trusting confidence, the innocent straightforwardness, + the high spirits, and also the loquacity and the want of reverence. But + even her faults caused amusement, and if she had preserved many of the + characteristics of a clever child, she was none the less a tall and + handsome woman, who looked older than her years on account of that low + curve of the hair over the ears, and that fulness of bodice and skirt + which Mr. Gibson has either initiated or imitated. The whisk of those + skirts, and the frank incisive voice and pleasant, catching laugh were + familiar and welcome sounds on board of the <i>Korosko</i>. Even the rigid + Colonel softened into geniality, and the Oxford-bred diplomatist forgot to + be unnatural with Miss Sadie Adams as a companion. + </p> + <p> + The other passengers may be dismissed more briefly. Some were interesting, + some neutral, and all amiable. Monsieur Fardet was a good-natured but + argumentative Frenchman, who held the most decided views as to the deep + machinations of Great Britain and the illegality of her position in Egypt. + Mr. Belmont was an iron-grey, sturdy Irishman, famous as an astonishingly + good long-range rifle-shot, who had carried off nearly every prize which + Wimbledon or Bisley had to offer. With him was his wife, a very charming + and refined woman, full of the pleasant playfulness of her country. Mrs. + Shiesinger was a middle-aged widow, quiet and soothing, with her thoughts + all taken up by her six-year-old child, as a mother's thoughts are likely + to be in a boat which has an open rail for a bulwark. The Reverend John + Stuart was a Non-conformist minister from Birmingham,—either a + Presbyterian or a Congregationalist,—a man of immense stoutness, + slow and torpid in his ways, but blessed with a considerable fund of + homely humour, which made him, I am told, a very favourite preacher and an + effective speaker from advanced radical platforms. + </p> + <p> + Finally, there was Mr. James Stephens, a Manchester solicitor (junior + partner of Hickson, Ward, and Stephens), who was travelling to shake off + the effects of an attack of influenza. Stephens was a man who, in the + course of thirty years, had worked himself up from cleaning the firm's + windows to managing its business. For most of that long time he had been + absolutely immersed in dry, technical work, living with the one idea of + satisfying old clients and attracting new ones, until his mind and soul + had become as formal and precise as the laws which he expounded. A fine + and sensitive nature was in danger of being as warped as a busy city man's + is liable to become. His work had become an engrained habit, and, being a + bachelor, he had hardly an interest in life to draw him away from it, so + that his soul was being gradually bricked up like the body of a mediæval + nun. But at last there came this kindly illness, and Nature hustled James + Stephens out of his groove, and sent him into the broad world far away + from roaring Manchester and his shelves full of calf-skin authorities. At + first he resented it deeply. Everything seemed trivial to him compared to + his own petty routine. But gradually his eyes were opened, and he began + dimly to see that it was his work which was trivial when compared to this + wonderful, varied, inexplicable world of which he was so ignorant. Vaguely + he realised that the interruption to his career might be more important + than the career itself. All sorts of new interests took, possession of + him; and the middle-aged lawyer developed an after-glow of that youth + which had been wasted among his books. His character was too formed to + admit of his being anything but dry and precise in his ways, and a trifle + pedantic in his mode of speech; but he read and thought and observed, + scoring his “Baedeker” with underlinings and annotations as he had once + done his “Prideaux's Commentaries.” He had travelled up from Cairo with + the party, and had contracted a friendship with Miss Adams and her niece. + The young American girl, with her chatter, her audacity, and her constant + flow of high spirits, amused and interested him, and she in turn felt a + mixture of respect and of pity for his knowledge and his limitations. So + they became good friends, and people smiled to see his clouded face and + her sunny one bending over the same guide-book. + </p> + <p> + The little <i>Korosko</i> puffed and spluttered her way up the river, + kicking up the white water behind her, and making more noise and fuss over + her five knots an hour than an Atlantic liner on a record voyage. On deck, + under the thick awning, sat her little family of passengers, and every few + hours she eased down and sidled up to the bank to allow them to visit one + more of that innumerable succession of temples. The remains, however, grow + more modern as one ascends from Cairo, and travellers who have sated + themselves at Gizeh and Sakara with the contemplation of the very oldest + buildings which the hands of man have constructed, become impatient of + temples which are hardly older than the Christian era. Ruins which would + be gazed upon with wonder and veneration in any other country are hardly + noticed in Egypt. The tourists viewed with languid interest the half-Greek + art of the Nubian bas-reliefs; they climbed the hill of <i>Korosko</i> to + see the sun rise over the savage Eastern desert; they were moved to wonder + by the great shrine of Abou-Simbel, where some old race has hollowed out a + mountain as if it were a cheese; and, finally, upon the evening of the + fourth day of their travels they arrived at Wady Haifa, the frontier + garrison town, some few hours after they were due, on account of a small + mishap in the engine-room. The next morning was to be devoted to an + expedition to the famous rock of Abousir, from which a great view may be + obtained of the second cataract. At eight-thirty, as the passengers sat on + deck after dinner, Mansoor, the dragoman, half Copt half Syrian, came + forward, according to the nightly custom, to announce the programme for + the morrow. + </p> + <p> + “Ladies and gentlemen,” said he, plunging boldly into the rapid but broken + stream of his English, “to-morrow you will remember not to forget to rise + when the gong strikes you for to compress the journey before twelve + o'clock. Having arrived at the place where the donkeys expect us, we shall + ride five miles over the desert, passing a very fine temple of Ammon-ra + which dates itself from the eighteenth dynasty upon the way, and so reach + the celebrated pulpit rock of Abou-sir. The pulpit rock is supposed to + have been called so because it is a rock like a pulpit. When you have + reached it you will know that you are on the very edge of civilisation, + and that very little more will take you into the country of the Dervishes, + which will be obvious to you at the top. Having passed the summit, you + will perceive the full extremity of the second cataract, embracing wild + natural beauties of the most dreadful variety. Here all very famous people + carve their names,—and so you will carve your names also.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p026.jpg" alt="So You Will Carve Your Names Also P26 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Mansoor waited expectantly for a titter, and bowed to it when it arrived. + “You will then return to Wady Haifa, and there remain two hours to suspect + (sp.) the Camel Corps, including the grooming of the beasts, and the + bazaar before returning, so I wish you a very happy good-night.” There was + a gleam of his white teeth in the lamplight, and then his long, dark + petticoats, his short English cover-coat, and his red tarboosh vanished + successively down the ladder. The low buzz of conversation which had been + suspended by his coming broke out anew. + </p> + <p> + “I'm relying on you, Mr. Stephens, to tell me all about Abousir,” said + Miss Sadie Adams. “I do like to know what I am looking at right there at + the time, and not six hours afterwards in my state-room. I haven't got + Abou-Simbel and the wall pictures straight in my mind yet, though I saw + them yesterday.” + </p> + <p> + “I never hope to keep up with it,” said her aunt. “When I am safe back in + Commonwealth Avenue, and there's no dragoman to hustle me around, I'll + have time to read about it all, and then I expect I shall begin to enthuse + and want to come right back again. But it's just too good of you, Mr. + Stephens, to try and keep us informed.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought that you might wish precise information, and so I prepared a + small digest of the matter,” said Stephens, handing a slip of paper to + Miss Sadie. She looked at it in the light of the deck lamp, and broke into + her low, hearty laugh. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Re</i> Abousir,” she read; “now, what <i>do</i> you mean by '<i>re</i>,' + Mr. Stephens? You put '<i>re</i> Rameses the Second' on the last paper you + gave me.” + </p> + <p> + “It is a habit I have acquired, Miss Sadie,” said Stephens; “it is the + custom in the legal profession when they make a memo.” + </p> + <p> + “Make what, Mr. Stephens?” + </p> + <p> + “A memo a memorandum, you know. We put <i>re</i> so-and-so to show what it + is about.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose it's a good short way,” said Miss Sadie, “but it feels queer + somehow when applied to scenery or to dead Egyptian kings. '<i>Re</i> + Cheops,'—doesn't that strike you as funny?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I can't say that it does,” said Stephens. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder if it is true that the English have less humour than the + Americans, or whether it's just another kind of humour,” said the girl. + She had a quiet, abstracted way of talking as if she were thinking aloud. + “I used to imagine they had less, and yet, when you come to think of it, + Dickens and Thackeray and Barrie, and so many other of the humourists we + admire most, are Britishers. Besides, I never in all my days heard people + laugh so hard as in that London theatre. There was a man behind us, and + every time he laughed auntie looked round to see if a door had opened, he + made such a draught. But you have some funny expressions, Mr. Stephens!” + </p> + <p> + “What else strikes you as funny, Miss Sadie?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, when you sent me the temple ticket and the little map, you began + your letter, 'Enclosed, please find,' and then at the bottom, in brackets, + you had '2 enclo.'” + </p> + <p> + “That is the usual form in business.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, in business,” said Sadie, demurely, and there was a silence. + </p> + <p> + “There's one thing I wish,” remarked Miss Adams, in the hard, metallic + voice with which she disguised her softness of heart, “and that is, that I + could see the Legislature of this country and lay a few cold-drawn facts + in front of them, I'd make a platform of my own, Mr. Stephens, and run a + party on my ticket. A Bill for the compulsory use of eyewash would be one + of my planks, and another would be for the abolition of those Yashmak veil + things which turn a woman into a bale of cotton goods with a pair of eyes + looking out of it.” + </p> + <p> + “I never could think why they wore them,” said Sadie; “until one day I saw + one with her veil lifted. Then I knew.” + </p> + <p> + “They make me tired, those women,” cried Miss Adams, wrathfully. “One + might as well try to preach duty and decency and cleanliness to a line of + bolsters. Why, good land, it was only yesterday at Abou-Simbel, Mr. + Stephens, I was passing one of their houses,—if you can call a + mud-pie like that a house,—and I saw two of the children at the door + with the usual crust of flies round their eyes, and great holes in their + poor little blue gowns! So I got off my donkey, and I turned up my + sleeves, and I washed their faces well with my handkerchief, and sewed up + the rents,—for in this country I would as soon think of going ashore + without my needle-case as without my white umbrella, Mr. Stephens. Then as + I warmed on the job I got into the room,—such a room!—and I + packed the folks out of it, and I fairly did the chores as if I had been + the hired help. I've seen no more of that temple of Abou-Simbel than if I + had never left Boston; but, my sakes, I saw more dust and mess than you + would think they could crowd into a house the size of a Newport + bathing-hut. From the time I pinned up my skirt until I came out, with my + face the colour of that smoke-stack, wasn't more than an hour, or maybe an + hour and a half, but I had that house as clean and fresh as a new + pine-wood box. I had a <i>New York Herald</i> with me, and I lined their + shelf with paper for them. Well, Mr. Stephens, when I had done washing my + hands outside, I came past the door again, and there were those two + children sitting on the stoop with their eyes full of flies, and all just + the same as ever, except that each had a little paper cap made out of the + <i>New York Herald</i> upon his head. But, say, Sadie, it's going on to + ten o'clock, and tomorrow an early excursion.” + </p> + <p> + “It's just too beautiful, this purple sky and the great silver stars,” + said Sadie. “Look at the silent desert and the black shadows of the hills. + It's grand, but it's terrible, too; and then when you think that we really + <i>are</i>, as that dragoman said just now, on the very end of + civilisation, and with nothing but savagery and bloodshed down there where + the Southern Cross is twinkling so prettily, why, it's like standing on + the beautiful edge of a live volcano.” + </p> + <p> + “Shucks, Sadie, don't talk like that, child,” said the older woman, + nervously. “It's enough to scare any one to listen to you.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, but don't you feel it yourself, Auntie? Look at that great desert + stretching away and away until it is lost in the shadows. Hear the sad + whisper of the wind across it! It's just the most solemn thing that ever I + saw in my life.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm glad we've found something that will make you solemn, my dear,” said + her Aunt. “I've sometimes thought—— Sakes alive, what's that?” + </p> + <p> + From somewhere amongst the hill shadows upon the other side of the river + there had risen a high shrill whimpering, rising and swelling, to end in a + long weary wail. + </p> + <p> + “It's only a jackal, Miss Adams,” said Stephens. “I heard one when we went + out to see the Sphinx by moonlight.” + </p> + <p> + But the American lady had risen, and her face showed that her nerves had + been ruffled. + </p> + <p> + “If I had my time over again I wouldn't have come past Assouan,” said she. + “I can't think what possessed me to bring you all the way up here, Sadie. + Your mother will think that I am clean crazy, and I'd never dare to look + her in the eye if anything went wrong with us. I've seen all I want to see + of this river, and all I ask now is to be back at Cairo again.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, Auntie,” cried the girl, “it isn't like you to be faint-hearted.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I don't know how it is, Sadie, but I feel a bit unstrung, and that + beast caterwauling over yonder was just more than I could put up with. + There's one consolation, we are scheduled to be on our way home to-morrow, + after we've seen this one rock or temple, or whatever it is. I'm full up + of rocks and temples, Mr. Stephens. I shouldn't mope if I never saw + another. Come, Sadie! Good-night!” + </p> + <p> + “Good-night! Good-night, Miss Adams!” and the two ladies passed down to + their cabins. + </p> + <p> + Monsieur Fardet was chatting, in a subdued voice, with Headingly, the + young Harvard graduate, bending forward confidentially between the whiffs + of his cigarette. + </p> + <p> + “Dervishes, Mister Headingly!” said he, speaking excellent English, but + separating his syllables as a Frenchman will. “There are no Dervishes. + They do not exist.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, I thought the woods were full of them,” said the American. + </p> + <p> + Monsieur Fardet glanced across to where the red core of Colonel Cochrane's + cigar was glowing through the darkness. + </p> + <p> + “You are an American, and you do not like the English,” he whispered. “It + is perfectly comprehended upon the Continent that the Americans are + opposed to the English.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Headingly, with his slow, deliberate manner, “I won't say + that we have not our tiffs, and there are some of our people—mostly + of Irish stock—who are always mad with England; but the most of us + have a kindly thought for the mother country. You see, they may be + aggravating folk sometimes, but after all they are our <i>own</i> folk, + and we can't wipe that off the slate.” + </p> + <p> + “<i>Eh bien!</i>” said the Frenchman. “At least I can say to you what I + could not without offence say to these others. And I repeat that there <i>are</i> + no Dervishes. They were an invention of Lord Cromer in the year 1885.” + </p> + <p> + “You don't say!” cried Headingly. + </p> + <p> + “It is well known in Paris, and has been exposed in <i>La Patrie</i> and + other of our so well-informed papers.” + </p> + <p> + “But this is colossal,” said Headingly. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to tell me, Monsieur Fardet, that the siege of Khartoum and + the death of Gordon and the rest of it was just one great bluff?” + </p> + <p> + “I will not deny that there was an emeute, but it was local, you + understand, and now long forgotten. Since then there has been profound + peace in the Soudan.” + </p> + <p> + “But I have heard of raids, Monsieur Fardet, and I've read of battles, + too, when the Arabs tried to invade Egypt. It was only two days ago that + we passed Toski, where the dragoman said there had been a fight. Is that + all bluff also?” + </p> + <p> + “Pah, my friend, you do not know the English. You look at them as you see + them with their pipes and their contented faces, and you say, 'Now, these + are good, simple folk who will never hurt any one.' But all the time they + are thinking and watching and planning. 'Here is Egypt weak,' they cry. '<i>Allons!</i>' + and down they swoop like a gull upon a crust. 'You have no right there,' + says the world. 'Come out of it!' But England has already begun to tidy + everything, just like the good Miss Adams when she forces her way into the + house of an Arab. 'Come out,' says the world. 'Certainly,' says England; + 'just wait one little minute until I have made everything nice and + proper.' So the world waits for a year or so, and then it says once again, + 'Come out.' 'Just wait a little,' says England; 'there is trouble at + Khartoum, and when I have set that all right I shall be very glad to come + out.' So they wait until it is all over, and then again they say, 'Come + out.' 'How can I come out,' says England, 'when there are still raids and + battles going on? If we were to leave, Egypt would be run over.' 'But + there are no raids,' says the world. 'Oh, are there not?' says England, + and then within a week sure enough the papers are full of some new raid of + Dervishes. We are not all blind, Mister Headingly. We understand very well + how such things can be done. A few Bedouins, a little backsheesh, some + blank cartridges, and, behold—a raid!” + </p> + <p> + “Well, well,” said the American, “I'm glad to know the rights of this + business, for it has often puzzled me. But what does England get out of + it?” + </p> + <p> + “She gets the country, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + “I see. You mean, for example, that there is a favourable tariff for + British goods?” + </p> + <p> + “No, monsieur; it is the same for all.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, she gives the contracts to Britishers?” + </p> + <p> + “Precisely, monsieur.” + </p> + <p> + “For example, the railroad that they are building right through the + country, the one that runs alongside the river, that would be a valuable + contract for the British?” + </p> + <p> + Monsieur Fardet was an honest man, if an imaginative one. + </p> + <p> + “It is a French company, monsieur, which holds the railway contract,” said + he. + </p> + <p> + The American was puzzled. + </p> + <p> + “They don't seem to get much for their trouble,” said he. “Still, of + course, there must be some indirect pull somewhere. For example, Egypt no + doubt has to pay and keep all those red-coats in Cairo.” + </p> + <p> + “Egypt, monsieur! No, they are paid by England.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I suppose they know their own business best, but they seem to me to + take a great deal of trouble, and to get mighty little in exchange. If + they don't mind keeping order and guarding the frontier, with a constant + war against the Dervishes on their hands, I don't know why any one should + object. I suppose no one denies that the prosperity of the country has + increased enormously since they came. The revenue returns show that. They + tell me, also, that the poorer folks have justice, which they never had + before.” + </p> + <p> + “What are they doing here at all?” cried the Frenchman, angrily. “Let them + go back to their island. We cannot have them all over the world.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, certainly, to us Americans who live all in our own land it does + seem strange how you European nations are for ever slopping over into some + other country which was not meant for you. It's easy for us to talk, of + course, for we have still got room and to spare for all our people. When + we start pushing each other over the edge we shall have to start annexing + also. But at present just here in North Africa there is Italy in + Abyssinia, and England in Egypt, and France in Algiers——” + </p> + <p> + “France!” cried Monsieur Fardet. “Algiers belongs to France. You laugh, + monsieur. I have the honour to wish you a very good-night.” He rose from + his seat, and walked off, rigid with outraged patriotism, to his cabin. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <p> + The young American hesitated for a little, debating in his mind whether he + should not go down and post up the daily record of his impressions which + he kept for his home-staying sister. But the cigars of Colonel Cochrane + and of Cecil Brown were still twinkling in the far corner of the deck, and + the student was acquisitive in the search of information. He did not quite + know how to lead up to the matter, but the Colonel very soon did it for + him. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Headingly,” said he, pushing a camp-stool in his direction. + “This is the place for an antidote. I see that Fardet has been pouring + politics into your ear.” + </p> + <p> + “I can always recognise the confidential stoop of his shoulders when he + discusses <i>la haute politique</i>” said the dandy diplomatist. “But what + a sacrilege upon a night like this! What a nocturne in blue and silver + might be suggested by that moon rising above the desert. There is a + movement in one of Mendelssohn's songs which seems to embody it all,—a + sense of vastness, of repetition, the cry of the wind over an interminable + expanse. The subtler emotions which cannot be translated into words are + still to be hinted at by chords and harmonies.” + </p> + <p> + “It seems wilder and more savage than ever to-night,” remarked the + American. “It gives me the same feeling of pitiless force that the + Atlantic does upon a cold, dark, winter day. Perhaps it is the knowledge + that we are right there on the very edge of any kind of law and order. How + far do you suppose that we are from any Dervishes, Colonel Cochrane?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, on the Arabian side,” said the Colonel, “we have the Egyptian + fortified camp of Sarras about forty miles to the south of us. Beyond that + are sixty miles of very wild country before you would come to the Dervish + post at Akasheh. On this other side, however, there is nothing between us + and them.” + </p> + <p> + “Abousir is on this side, is it not?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. That is why the excursion to the Abousir Rock has been forbidden for + the last year. But things are quieter now.” + </p> + <p> + “What is to prevent them from coming down on that side?” + </p> + <p> + “Absolutely nothing,” said Cecil Brown, in his listless voice. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing, except their fears. The coming, of course, would be absolutely + simple. The difficulty would lie in the return. They might find it hard to + get back if their camels were spent and the Haifa garrison with their + beasts fresh got on their track. They know it as well as we do, and it has + kept them from trying.” + </p> + <p> + “It isn't safe to reckon upon a Dervish's fears,” remarked Brown. “We must + always bear in mind that they are not amenable to the same motives as + other people. Many of them are anxious to meet death, and all of them are + absolute, uncompromising believers in destiny. They exist as a <i>reductio + ad absurdum</i> of all bigotry,—a proof of how surely it leads + towards blank barbarism.” + </p> + <p> + “You think these people are a real menace to Egypt?” asked the American. + “There seems from what I have heard to be some difference of opinion about + it. Monsieur Fardet, for example, does not seem to think that the danger + is a very pressing one.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not a rich man,” Colonel Cochrane answered, after a little pause, + “but I am prepared to lay all I am worth that within three years of the + British officers being withdrawn, the Dervishes would be upon the + Mediterranean. Where would the civilisation of Egypt be? where would the + hundreds of millions be which have been invested in this country? where + the monuments which all nations look upon as most precious memorials of + the past?” + </p> + <p> + “Come now, Colonel,” cried Headingly, laughing, “surely you don't mean + that they would shift the pyramids?” + </p> + <p> + “You cannot foretell what they would do. There is no iconoclast in the + world like an extreme Mohammedan. Last time they overran this country they + burned the Alexandrian library. You know that all representations of the + human features are against the letter of the Koran. A statue is always an + irreligious object in their eyes. What do these fellows care for the + sentiment of Europe? The more they could offend it the more delighted they + would be. Down would go the Sphinx, the Colossi, the Statues of + Abou-Simbel,—as the saints went down in England before Cromwell's + troopers.” + </p> + <p> + “Well now,” said Headingly, in his slow, thoughtful fashion, “suppose I + grant you that the Dervishes could overrun Egypt, and suppose also that + you English are holding them out, what I'm never done asking is, what + reason have you for spending all these millions of dollars and the lives + of so many of your men? What do you get out of it, more than France gets, + or Germany, or any other country, that runs no risk and never lays out a + cent?” + </p> + <p> + “There are a good many Englishmen who are asking themselves that + question,” remarked Cecil Brown. “It's my opinion that we have been the + policemen of the world long enough. We policed the seas for pirates and + slavers. Now we police the land for Dervishes and brigands and every sort + of danger to civilisation. There is never a mad priest or a witch doctor, + or a firebrand of any sort on this planet, who does not report his + appearance by sniping the nearest British officer. One tires of it at + last. If a Kurd breaks loose in Asia Minor, the world wants to know why + Great Britain does not keep him in order. If there is a military mutiny in + Egypt, or a Jehad in the Soudan, it is still Great Britain who has to set + it right. And all to an accompaniment of curses such as the policeman gets + when he seizes a ruffian among his pals. We get hard knocks and no thanks, + and why should we do it? Let Europe do its own dirty work.” + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said Colonel Cochrane, crossing his legs and leaning forward with + the decision of a man who has definite opinions, “I don't at all agree + with you, Brown, and I think that to advocate such a course is to take a + very limited view of our national duties. I think that behind national + interests and diplomacy and all that there lies a great guiding force,—a + Providence, in fact,—which is for ever getting the best out of each + nation and using it for the good of the whole. When a nation ceases to + respond, it is time that she went into hospital for a few centuries, like + Spain or Greece,—the virtue has gone out of her. A man or a nation + is not here upon this earth merely to do what is pleasant and profitable. + It is often called upon to carry out what is unpleasant and unprofitable; + but if it is obviously right, it is mere shirking not to undertake it.” + </p> + <p> + Headingly nodded approvingly. + </p> + <p> + “Each has its own mission. Germany is predominant in abstract thought; + France in literature, art, and grace. But we and you,—for the + English-speakers are all in the same boat, however much the <i>New York + Sun</i> may scream over it,—we and you have among our best men a + higher conception of moral sense and public duty than is to be found in + any other people. Now, these are the two qualities which are needed for + directing a weaker race. You can't help them by abstract thought or by + graceful art, but only by that moral sense which will hold the scales of + Justice even, and keep itself free from every taint of corruption. That is + how we rule India. We came there by a kind of natural law, like air + rushing into a vacuum. All over the world, against our direct interests + and our deliberate intentions, we are drawn into the same thing. And it + will happen to you also. The pressure of destiny will force you to + administer the whole of America from Mexico to the Horn.” + </p> + <p> + Headingly whistled. + </p> + <p> + “Our Jingoes would be pleased to hear you, Colonel Cochrane,” said he. + “They'd vote you into our Senate and make you one of the Committee on + Foreign Relations.” + </p> + <p> + “The world is small, and it grows smaller every day. It's a single organic + body, and one spot of gangrene is enough to vitiate the whole. There's no + room upon it for dishonest, defaulting, tyrannical, irresponsible + Governments. As long as they exist they will always be centres of trouble + and of danger. But there are many races which appear to be so incapable of + improvement that we can never hope to get a good Government out of them. + What is to be done, then? The former device of Providence in such a case + was extermination by some more virile stock. An Attila or a Tamerlane + pruned off the weaker branch. Now, we have a more merciful substitution of + rulers, or even of mere advice from a more advanced race. That is the case + with the Central Asian Khanates and with the protected States of India. If + the work has to be done, and if we are the best fitted for the work, then + I think that it would be a cowardice and a crime to shirk it.” + </p> + <p> + “But who is to decide whether it is a fitting case for your interference?” + objected the American. “A predatory country could grab every other land in + the world upon such a pretext.” + </p> + <p> + “Events—inexorable, inevitable events—will decide it. Take + this Egyptian business as an example. In 1881 there was nothing in this + world further from the minds of our people than any interference with + Egypt; and yet 1882 left us in possession of the country. There was never + any choice in the chain of events. A massacre in the streets of + Alexandria, and the mounting of guns to drive out our fleet—which + was there, you understand, in fulfilment of solemn treaty obligations—led + to the bombardment. The bombardment led to a landing to save the city from + destruction. The landing caused an extension of operations—and here + we are, with the country upon our hands. At the time of trouble we begged + and implored the French or any one else to come and help us to set the + thing to rights, but they all deserted us when there was work to be done, + though they are ready enough to scold and to impede us now. When we tried + to get out of it, up came this wild Dervish movement, and we had to sit + tighter than ever. We never wanted the task; but, now that it has come, we + must put it through in a workmanlike manner. We've brought justice into + the country, and purity of administration, and protection for the poor + man. It has made more advance in the last twelve years than since the + Moslem invasion in the seventh century. Except the pay of a couple of + hundred men, who spend their money in the country, England has neither + directly nor indirectly made a shilling out of it, and I don't believe you + will find in history a more successful and more disinterested bit of + work.” + </p> + <p> + Headingly puffed thoughtfully at his cigarette. + </p> + <p> + “There is a house near ours, down on the Back Bay at Boston, which just + ruins the whole prospect,” said he. “It has old chairs littered about the + stoop, and the shingles are loose, and the garden runs wild; but I don't + know that the neighbours are exactly justified in rushing in, and stamping + around, and running the thing on their own lines.” + </p> + <p> + “Not if it were on fire?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + Headingly laughed, and rose from his camp-stool. + </p> + <p> + “Well, it doesn't come within the provisions of the Monroe Doctrine, + Colonel,” said he. “I'm beginning to think, that modern Egypt is every bit + as interesting as ancient, and that Rameses the Second wasn't the last + live man in the country.” + </p> + <p> + The two Englishmen rose and yawned. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it's a whimsical freak of fortune which has sent men from a little + island in the Atlantic to administer the land of the Pharaohs. We shall + pass away and never leave a trace among the successive races who have held + the country, for it is an Anglo-Saxon custom to write their deeds upon + rocks. I dare say that the remains of a Cairo drainage system will be our + most permanent record, unless they prove a thousand years hence that it + was the work of the Hyksos kings,” remarked Cecil Brown. “But here is the + shore party come back.” + </p> + <p> + Down below they could hear the mellow Irish accents of Mrs. Belmont and + the deep voice of her husband, the iron-grey rifleshot. Mr. Stuart, the + fat Birmingham clergyman, was thrashing out a question of piastres with a + noisy donkey-boy, and the others were joining in with chaff and advice. + Then the hubbub died away, the party from above came down the ladder, + there were “good-nights,” the shutting of doors, and the little steamer + lay silent, dark, and motionless in the shadow of the high Haifa bank. And + beyond this one point of civilisation and of comfort there lay the + limitless, savage, unchangeable desert, straw-coloured and dream-like in + the moonlight, mottled over with the black shadows of the hills. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <h3> + “Stoppa! Backa!” cried the native pilot to the European engineer. + </h3> + <p> + The bluff bows of the stern-wheeler had squelched into the soft brown mud, + and the current had swept the boat alongside the bank. The long gangway + was thrown across, and the six tall soldiers of the Soudanese escort filed + along it, their light-blue, gold-trimmed zouave uniforms and their jaunty + yellow and red forage caps showing up bravely in the clear morning light. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p054.jpg" alt="The Soudanese Escort Filed Along P54 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Above them, on the top of the bank, was ranged the line of donkeys, and + the air was full of the clamour of the boys. In shrill, strident voices + each was crying out the virtues of his own beast, and abusing that of his + neighbour. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Cochrane and Mr. Belmont stood together in the bows, each wearing + the broad white puggareed hat of the tourist. Miss Adams and her niece + leaned against the rail beside them. + </p> + <p> + “Sorry your wife isn't coming, Belmont,” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “I think she had a touch of the sun yesterday. Her head aches very badly.” + </p> + <p> + His voice was strong and thick like his figure. + </p> + <p> + “I should stay to keep her company, Mr. Belmont,” said the little American + old maid; “but I learn that Mrs. Shlesinger finds the ride too long for + her, and has some letters which she must mail to-day, so Mrs. Belmont will + not be lonesome.” + </p> + <p> + “You're very good, Miss Adams. We shall be back, you know, by two + o'clock.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that certain?” + </p> + <p> + “It must be certain, for we are taking no lunch with us, and we shall be + famished by then.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I expect we shall be ready for a hock and seltzer, at any rate,” + said the Colonel. “This desert dust gives a flavour to the worst wine.” + </p> + <p> + “Now, ladies and gentlemen!” cried Mansoor, the dragoman, moving forward + with something of the priest in his flowing garments and smooth, + clean-shaven face. “We must start early that we may return before the + meridial heat of the weather.” He ran his dark eyes over the little group + of his tourists with a paternal expression. “You take your green glasses, + Miss Adams, for glare very great out in the desert. Ah, Mr. Stuart, I set + aside very fine donkey for you,—prize donkey, sir, always put aside + for the gentleman of most weight. Never mind to take your monument ticket + to-day. Now, ladies and gentlemen, if <i>you</i> please!” + </p> + <p> + Like a grotesque frieze the party moved one by one along the plank gangway + and up the brown crumbling bank. Mr. Stephens led them, a thin, dry, + serious figure, in an English straw hat. His red “Baedeker” gleamed under + his arm, and in one hand he held a little paper of notes, as if it were a + brief. He took Miss Sadie by one arm and her aunt by the other as they + toiled up the bank, and the young girl's laughter rang frank and clear in + the morning air as “Baedeker” came fluttering down at their feet. Mr. + Belmont and Colonel Cochrane followed, the brims of their sun-hats + touching as they discussed the relative advantages of the Mauser, the + Lebel, and the Lee-Metford. Behind them walked Cecil Brown, listless, + cynical, self-contained. The fat clergyman puffed slowly up the bank, with + many gasping witticisms at his own defects. “I'm one of those men who + carry everything before them,” said he, glancing ruefully at his + rotundity, and chuckling wheezily at his own little joke. Last of all came + Headingly, slight and tall, with the student stoop about his shoulders, + and Fardet, the good-natured, fussy, argumentative Parisian. + </p> + <p> + “You see we have an escort to-day,” he whispered to his companion. + </p> + <p> + “So I observed.” + </p> + <p> + “Pah!” cried the Frenchman, throwing out his arms in derision; “as well + have an escort from Paris to Versailles. This is all part of the play, + Monsieur Headingly. It deceives no one, but it is part of the play. + </p> + <p> + <i>Pourquoi ces drôles de militaires, dragoman, hein?</i>” + </p> + <p> + It was the dragoman's <i>rôle</i> to be all things to all men, so he + looked cautiously round before he answered to make sure that the English + were mounted and out of earshot. + </p> + <p> + “<i>C'est ridicule, monsieur!</i>” said he, shrugging his fat shoulders. “<i>Mais + que voulez-vous? C'est l'ordre officiel Egyptien.</i>” + </p> + <p> + “<i>Egyptien! Pah, Anglais, Anglais—toujours Anglais!</i>” cried the + angry Frenchman. + </p> + <p> + The frieze now was more grotesque than ever, but had changed suddenly to + an equestrian one, sharply outlined against the deep-blue Egyptian sky. + Those who have never ridden before have to ride in Egypt, and when the + donkeys break into a canter, and the Nile Irregulars are at full charge, + such a scene of flying veils, clutching hands, huddled swaying figures, + and anxious faces is nowhere to be seen. Belmont, his square figure + balanced upon a small white donkey, was waving his hat to his wife, who + had come out upon the saloon-deck of the <i>Korosko</i>. Cochrane sat very + erect with a stiff military seat, hands low, head high, and heels down, + while beside him rode the young Oxford man, looking about him with + drooping eyelids as if he thought the desert hardly respectable, and had + his doubts about the Universe. Behind them the whole party was strung + along the bank in varying stages of jolting and discomfort, a brown-faced, + noisy donkey-boy running after each donkey. Looking back, they could see + the little lead-coloured stern-wheeler, with the gleam of Mrs. Belmont's + handkerchief from the deck. Beyond ran the broad, brown river, winding + down in long curves to where, five miles off, the square, white + block-houses upon the black, ragged hills marked the outskirts of Wady + Haifa, which had been their starting-point that morning. + </p> + <p> + “Isn't it just too lovely for anything?” cried Sadie, joyously. “I've got + a donkey that runs on casters, and the saddle is just elegant. Did you + ever see anything so cunning as these beads and things round his neck? You + must make a memo, <i>re</i> donkey, Mr. Stephens. Isn't that correct legal + English?” + </p> + <p> + Stephens looked at the pretty, animated, boyish face looking up at him + from under the coquettish straw hat, and he wished that he had the courage + to tell her in her own language that she was just too sweet for anything. + But he feared above all things lest he should offend her, and so put an + end to their present pleasant intimacy. So his compliment dwindled into a + smile. + </p> + <p> + “You look very happy,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Well, who could help feeling good with this dry, clear air, and the blue + sky and the crisp, yellow sand, and a superb donkey to carry you. I've + just got everything in the world to make me happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Everything?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, everything that I have any use for just now.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose you never know what it is to be sad?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, when I <i>am</i> miserable I am just too miserable for words. I've + sat and cried for days and days at Smith's College, and the other girls + were just crazy to know what I was crying about, and guessing what the + reason was that I wouldn't tell, when all the time the real true reason + was that I didn't know myself. You know how it comes like a great dark + shadow over you, and you don't know why or wherefore, but you've just got + to settle down to it and be miserable.” + </p> + <p> + “But you never had any real cause?” + </p> + <p> + “No, Mr. Stephens, I've had such a good time all my life, that I don't + think, when I look back, that I ever had any real cause for sorrow.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Miss Sadie, I hope with all my heart that you will be able to say + the same when you are the same age as your Aunt. Surely I hear her + calling!” + </p> + <p> + “I wish, Mr. Stephens, you would strike my donkey-boy with your whip if he + hits the donkey again,” cried Miss Adams, jogging up on a high, raw-Boned + beast. “Hi, dragoman, Mansoor, you tell this boy that I won't have the + animals ill used, and that he ought to be ashamed of himself. Yes, you + little rascal, you ought! He's grinning at me like an advertisement for a + tooth paste. Do you think, Mr. Stephens, that if I were to knit that black + soldier a pair of woollen stockings he would be allowed to wear them? The + poor creature has bandages round his legs.” + </p> + <p> + “Those are his putties, Miss Adams,” said Colonel Cochrane, looking back + at her. “We have found in India that they are the best support to the leg + in marching. They are very much better than any stocking.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you don't say! They remind me mostly of a sick horse. But it's + elegant to have the soldiers with us, though Monsieur Fardet tells me + there's nothing for us to be scared about.” + </p> + <p> + “That is only my opinion, Miss Adams,” said the Frenchman, hastily. “It + may be that Colonel Cochrane thinks otherwise.” + </p> + <p> + “It is Monsieur Fardet's opinion against that of the officers who have the + responsibility of caring for the safety of the frontier,” said the + Colonel, coldly. “At least we will all agree that they have the effect of + making the scene very much more picturesque.” + </p> + <p> + The desert upon their right lay in long curves of sand, like the dunes + which might have fringed some forgotten primeval sea. Topping them they + could see the black, craggy summits of the curious volcanic hills which + rise upon the Libyan side. On the crest of the low sand-hills they would + catch a glimpse every now and then of a tall, sky-blue soldier, walking + swiftly, his rifle at the trail. For a moment the lank, warlike figure + would be sharply silhouetted against the sky. Then he would dip into a + hollow and disappear, while some hundred yards off another would show for + an instant and vanish. + </p> + <p> + “Wherever are they raised?” asked Sadie, watching the moving figures. + “They look to me just about the same tint as the hotel boys in the + States.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought some question might arise about them,” said Mr. Stephens, who + was never so happy as when he could anticipate some wish of the pretty + American. “I made one or two references this morning in the ship's + library. Here it is—<i>re</i>—that's to say, about black + soldiers. I have it on my notes that they are from the 10th Soudanese + battalion of the Egyptian army. They are recruited from the Dinkas and the + Shilluks—two negroid tribes living to the south of the Dervish + country, near the Equator.” + </p> + <p> + “How can the recruits come through the Dervishes, then?” asked Headingly, + sharply. + </p> + <p> + “I dare say there is no such very great difficulty over that,” said + Monsieur Fardet, with a wink at the American. + </p> + <p> + “The older men are the remains of the old black battalions. Some of them + served with Gordon at Khartoum and have his medal to show. The others are + many of them deserters from the Mahdi's army,” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Well, so long as they are not wanted, they look right elegant in those + blue jackets,” Miss Adams observed. “But if there was any trouble, I guess + we would wish they were less ornamental and a bit whiter.” + </p> + <p> + “I am not so sure of that, Miss Adams,” said the Colonel. “I have seen + these fellows in the field, and I assure you that I have the utmost + confidence in their steadiness.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I'll take your word without trying,” said Miss Adams, with a + decision which made every one smile. + </p> + <p> + So far their road had lain along the side of the river, which was swirling + down upon their left hand deep and strong from the cataracts above. Here + and there the rush of the current was broken by a black shining boulder + over which the foam was spouting. Higher up they could see the white gleam + of the rapids, and the banks grew into rugged cliffs, which were capped by + a peculiar, outstanding, semicircular rock. It did not require the + dragoman's aid to tell the party that this was the famous landmark to + which they were bound. A long, level stretch lay before them, and the + donkeys took it at a canter. At the farther side were scattered rocks, + black upon orange; and in the midst of them rose some broken shafts of + pillars and a length of engraved wall, looking in its greyness and its + solidity more like some work of Nature than of man. The fat, sleek + dragoman had dismounted, and stood waiting in his petticoats and his + cover-coat for the stragglers to gather round him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p066.jpg" alt="He Pointed up With his Donkey-whip P66 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “This temple, ladies and gentlemen,” he cried, with the air of an + auctioneer who is about to sell it to the highest bidder, “very fine + example from the eighteenth dynasty. Here is the cartouche of Thotmes the + Third,” he pointed up with his donkey-whip at the rude, but deep, + hieroglyphics upon the wall above him. “He live sixteen hundred years + before Christ, and this is made to remember his victorious exhibition into + Mesopotamia. Here we have his history from the time that he was with his + mother, until he return with captives tied to his chariot. In this you see + him crowned with Lower Egypt, and with Upper Egypt offering up sacrifice + in honour of his victory to the God Ammon-ra. Here he bring his captives + before him, and he cut off each his right hand. In this corner you see + little pile—all right hands.” + </p> + <p> + “My sakes, I shouldn't have liked to be here in those days,” said Miss + Adams. + </p> + <p> + “Why, there's nothing altered,” remarked Cecil Brown. “The East is still + the East. I've no doubt that within a hundred miles, or perhaps a good + deal less, from where you stand—” + </p> + <p> + “Shut up!” whispered the Colonel, and the party shuffled on down the line + of the wall with their faces up and their big hats thrown backwards. The + sun behind them struck the old grey masonry with a brassy glare, and + carried on to it the strange black shadows of the tourists, mixing them up + with the grim, high-nosed, square-shouldered warriors, and the grotesque, + rigid deities who lined it. The broad shadow of the Reverend John Stuart, + of Birmingham, smudged out both the heathen King and the god whom he + worshipped. + </p> + <p> + “What's this?” he was asking in his wheezy voice, pointing up with a + yellow Assouan cane. + </p> + <p> + “That is a hippopotamus,” said the dragoman; and the tourists all + tittered, for there was just a suspicion of Mr. Stuart himself in the + carving. + </p> + <p> + “But it isn't bigger than a little pig,” he protested. “You see that the + King is putting his spear through it with ease.” + </p> + <p> + “They make it small to show that it was a very small thing to the King,” + said the dragoman. “So you see that all the King's prisoners do not exceed + his knee—which is not because he was so much taller, but so much + more powerful. You see that he is bigger than his horse, because he is a + king and the other is only a horse. The same way, these small women whom + you see here and there are just his trivial little wives.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, now!” cried Miss Adams, indignantly. “If they had sculped that + King's soul it would have needed a lens to see it. Fancy his allowing his + wives to be put in like that.” + </p> + <p> + “If he did it now, Miss Adams,” said the Frenchman, “he would have more + fighting than ever in Mesopotamia. But time brings revenge. Perhaps the + day will soon come when we have the picture of the big, strong wife and + the trivial little husband—<i>hein?</i>” + </p> + <p> + Cecil Brown and Headingly had dropped behind, for the glib comments of the + dragoman, and the empty, light-hearted chatter of the tourists jarred upon + their sense of solemnity. They stood in silence watching the grotesque + procession, with its sun-hats and green veils, as it passed in the vivid + sunshine down the front of the old grey wall. Above them two crested + hoopoes were fluttering and calling amid the ruins of the pylon. + </p> + <p> + “Isn't it a sacrilege?” said the Oxford man, at last. + </p> + <p> + “Well, now, I'm glad you feel that about it, because it's how it always + strikes me,” Headingly answered, with feeling. “I'm not quite clear in my + own mind how these things should be approached,—if they are to be + approached at all,—but I am sure this is not the way. On the whole, + I prefer the ruins that I have not seen to those which I have.” + </p> + <p> + The young diplomatist looked up with his peculiarly bright smile, which + faded away too soon into his languid, <i>blasé</i> mask. + </p> + <p> + “I've got a map,” said the American, “and sometimes far away from anything + in the very midst of the waterless, trackless desert, I see 'ruins' marked + upon it—or 'remains of a temple,' perhaps. For example, the temple + of Jupiter Ammon, which was one of the most considerable shrines in the + world, was hundreds of miles from anywhere. Those are the ruins, solitary, + unseen, unchanging through the centuries, which appeal to one's + imagination. But when I present a check at the door, and go in as if it + were Barnum's show, all the subtle feeling of romance goes right out of + it.” + </p> + <p> + “Absolutely!” said Cecil Brown, looking over the desert with his dark, + intolerant eyes. “If one could come wandering here alone—stumble + upon it by chance, as it were—and find one's self in absolute + solitude in the dim light of the temple, with these grotesque figures all + around, it would be perfectly overwhelming. A man would be prostrated with + wonder and awe. But when Belmont is puffing his bulldog pipe, and Stuart + is wheezing, and Miss Sadie Adams is laughing——” + </p> + <p> + “And that jay of a dragoman speaking his piece,” said Headingly; “I want + to stand and think all the time, and I never seem to get the chance. I was + ripe for manslaughter when I stood before the Great Pyramid, and couldn't + get a quiet moment because they would boost me on to the top. I took a + kick at one man which would have sent <i>him</i> to the top in one jump if + I had hit meat. But fancy travelling all the way from America to see the + pyramid, and then finding nothing better to do than to kick an Arab in + front of it!” + </p> + <p> + The Oxford man laughed in his gentle, tired fashion. + </p> + <p> + “They are starting again,” said he, and the two hastened forwards to take + their places at the tail of the absurd procession. + </p> + <p> + Their route ran now among large, scattered boulders, and between stony, + shingly hills. A narrow, winding path curved in and out amongst the rocks. + Behind them their view was cut off by similar hills, black and fantastic, + like the slag-heaps at the shaft of a mine. A silence fell upon the little + company, and even Sadie's bright face reflected the harshness of Nature. + The escort had closed in, and marched beside them, their boots scrunching + among the loose black rubble. Colonel Cochrane and Belmont were still + riding together in the van. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0006" id="linkimage-0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p072.jpg" + alt="A Silence Fell Upon the Little Company P72 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Do you know, Belmont,” said the Colonel, in a low voice, “you may think + me a fool, but I don't like this one little bit.” + </p> + <p> + Belmont gave a short gruff laugh. + </p> + <p> + “It seemed all right in the saloon of the <i>Korosko</i>, but now that we + are here we <i>do</i> seem rather up in the air,” said he. “Still, you + know, a party comes here every week, and nothing has ever yet gone wrong.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't mind taking my chances when I am on the war-path,” the Colonel + answered. “That's all straightforward and in the way of business. But when + you have women with you, and a helpless crowd like this, it becomes really + dreadful. Of course, the chances are a hundred to one that we have no + trouble; but if we should have—well, it won't bear thinking about. + The wonderful thing is their complete unconsciousness that there is any + danger whatever.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I like the English tailor-made dresses well enough for walking, Mr. + Stephens,” said Miss Sadie from behind them. “But for an afternoon dress, + I think the French have more style than the English. Your milliners have a + more severe cut, and they don't do the cunning little ribbons and bows and + things in the same way.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel smiled at Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “<i>She</i> is quite serene in her mind, at any rate,” said he. “Of + course, I wouldn't say what I think to any one but you, and I dare say it + will all prove to be quite unfounded.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I could imagine parties of Dervishes on the prowl,” said Belmont. + “But what I cannot imagine is that they should just happen to come to the + pulpit rock on the very morning when we are due there.” + </p> + <p> + “Considering that our movements have been freely advertised, and that + every one knows a week beforehand what our programme is, and where we are + to be found, it does not strike me as being such a wonderful coincidence.” + </p> + <p> + “It is a very remote chance,” said Belmont, stoutly, but he was glad in + his heart that his wife was safe and snug on board the steamer. + </p> + <p> + And now they were clear of the rocks again, with a fine stretch of firm + yellow sand extending to the very base of the conical hill which lay + before them. “Ay-ah! Ayah!” cried the boys, and whack came their sticks + upon the flanks of the donkeys, which broke into a gallop, and away they + all streamed over the plain. It was not until they had come to the end of + the path which curves up the hill that the dragoman called a halt. + </p> + <p> + “Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are arrived for the so famous pulpit rock + of Abousir. From the summit you will presently enjoy a panorama of + remarkable fertility. But first you will observe that over the rocky side + of the hill are everywhere cut the names of great men who have passed it + in their travels, and some of these names are older than the time of + Christ.” + </p> + <p> + “Got Moses?” asked Miss Adams. + </p> + <p> + “Auntie, I'm surprised at you!” cried Sadie. + </p> + <p> + “Well, my dear, he was in Egypt, and he was a great man, and he may have + passed this way.” + </p> + <p> + “Moses's name very likely there, and the same with Herodotus,” said the + dragoman, gravely. “Both have been long worn away. But there on the brown + rock you will see Belzoni. And up higher is Gordon. There is hardly a name + famous in the Soudan which you will not find, if you like. And now, with + your permission, we shall take good-bye of our donkeys and walk up the + path, and you will see the river and the desert from the summit of the + top.” + </p> + <p> + A minute or two of climbing brought them out upon the semicircular + platform which crowns the rock. Below them on the far side was a + perpendicular black cliff, a hundred and fifty feet high, with the + swirling, foam-streaked river roaring past its base. The swish of the + water and the low roar as it surged over the mid-stream boulders boomed + through the hot, stagnant air. Far up and far down they could see the + course of the river, a quarter of a mile in breadth, and running very deep + and strong, with sleek black eddies and occasional spoutings of foam. On + the other side was a frightful wilderness of black, scattered rocks, which + were the <i>débris</i> carried down by the river at high flood. In no + direction were there any signs of human beings or their dwellings. + </p> + <p> + “On the far side,” said the dragoman, waving his donkey-whip towards the + east, “is the military line which conducts Wady Haifa to Sarras. Sarras + lies to the south, under that black hill. Those two blue mountains which + you see very far away are in Dongola, more than a hundred miles from + Sarras. The railway there is forty miles long, and has been much annoyed + by the Dervishes, who are very glad to turn the rails into spears. The + telegraph wires are also much appreciated thereby. Now, if you will kindly + turn round, I will explain, also, what we see upon the other side.” + </p> + <p> + It was a view which, when once seen, must always haunt the mind. Such an + expanse of savage and unrelieved desert might be part of some cold and + burned-out planet rather than of this fertile and bountiful earth. Away + and away it stretched to die into a soft, violet haze in the extremest + distance. In the foreground the sand was of a bright golden yellow, which + was quite dazzling in the sunshine. Here and there in a scattered cordon + stood the six trusty negro soldiers leaning motionless upon their rifles, + and each throwing a shadow which looked as solid as himself. But beyond + this golden plain lay a low line of those black slag-heaps, with yellow + sand-valleys winding between them. These in their turn were topped by + higher and more fantastic hills, and these by others, peeping over each + other's shoulders until they blended with that distant violet haze. None + of these hills were of any height,—a few hundred feet at the most,—but + their savage, saw-toothed crests and their steep scarps of sun-baked stone + gave them a fierce character of their own. + </p> + <p> + “The Libyan desert,” said the dragoman, with a proud wave of his hand. + “The greatest desert in the world. Suppose you travel right west from + here, and turn neither to the north nor to the south, the first houses you + would come to would be in America. That make you homesick, Miss Adams, I + believe?” + </p> + <p> + But the American old maid had her attention drawn away by the conduct of + Sadie, who had caught her arm by one hand and was pointing over the desert + with the other. + </p> + <p> + “Well, now, if that isn't too picturesque for anything!” she cried, with a + flush of excitement upon her pretty face. “Do look, Mr. Stephens! That's + just the one only thing we wanted to make it just perfectly grand. See the + men upon the camels coming out from between those hills!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/frontispiece078.jpg" + alt="Long String of Red-turbaned Riders, Frontispiece P78 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + They all looked at the long string of red-turbaned riders who were winding + out of the ravine, and there fell such a hush that the buzzing of the + flies sounded quite loud upon their ears. Colonel Cochrane had lit a + match, and he stood with it in one hand and the unlit cigarette in the + other until the flame licked round his fingers. Belmont whistled. The + dragoman stood staring with his mouth half-open, and a curious slaty tint + in his full, red lips. The others looked from one to the other with an + uneasy sense that there was something wrong. It was the Colonel who broke + the silence. + </p> + <p> + “By George, Belmont, I believe the hundred-to-one chance has come off!” + said he. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <p> + “What's the meaning of this, Mansoor?” cried Belmont, harshly. “Who are + these people, and why are you standing staring as if you had lost your + senses?” + </p> + <p> + The dragoman made an effort to compose himself, and licked his dry lips + before he answered. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know who they are,” said he, in a quavering voice. “I did not + expect to see any Arabs in this part.” + </p> + <p> + “Who they are?” cried the Frenchman. “You can see who they are. They are + armed men upon camels, Ababdeh, Bishareen—Bedouins, in short, such + as are employed by the Government upon the frontier.” + </p> + <p> + “By Jove, he may be right, Cochrane,” said Belmont, looking inquiringly at + the Colonel. “Why shouldn't it be as he says? why shouldn't these fellows + be friendlies?” + </p> + <p> + “There are no friendlies upon this side of the river,” said the Colonel, + abruptly; “I am perfectly certain about that. There is no use in mincing + matters. We must prepare for the worst.” + </p> + <p> + But in spite of his words, they stood stock-still, in a huddled group, + staring out over the plain. Their nerves were numbed by the sudden shock, + and to all of them it was like a scene in a dream, vague, impersonal, and + unreal. The men upon the camels had streamed out from a gorge which lay a + mile or so distant on the side of the path along which they had travelled. + Their retreat, therefore, was entirely cut off. It appeared, from the dust + and the length of the line, to be quite an army which was emerging from + the hills, for seventy men upon camels cover a considerable stretch of + ground. Having reached the sandy plain, they very deliberately formed to + the front, and then at the harsh call of a bugle they trotted forward in + line, the parti-coloured figures all swaying and the sand smoking in a + rolling yellow cloud at the heels of their camels. At the same moment the + six black soldiers doubled in from the front with their Martinis at the + trail, and snuggled down like well-trained skirmishers behind the rocks + upon the haunch of the hill. Their breech-blocks all snapped together as + their corporal gave them the order to load. + </p> + <p> + And now suddenly the first stupor of the excursionists passed away, and + was succeeded by a frantic and impotent energy. They all ran about upon + the plateau of rock in an aimless, foolish flurry, like frightened fowls + in a yard. They could not bring themselves to acknowledge that there was + no possible escape for them. Again and again they rushed to the edge of + the great cliff which rose from the river, but the youngest and most + daring of them could never have descended it. The two women clung one on + each side of the trembling Mansoor, with a feeling that he was officially + responsible for their safety. When he ran up and down in his desperation, + his skirts and theirs all fluttered together. Stephens, the lawyer, kept + close to Sadie Adams, muttering mechanically, “Don't be alarmed, Miss + Sadie. Don't be at all alarmed!” though his own limbs were twitching with + agitation. Monsieur Fardet stamped about with a guttural rolling of r's, + glancing angrily at his companions, as if they had in some way betrayed + him, while the fat clergyman stood with his umbrella up, staring stolidly + with big, frightened eyes at the camel-men. Cecil Brown curled his small, + prim moustache, and looked white but contemptuous. The Colonel, Belmont, + and the young Harvard graduate were the three most cool-headed and + resourceful members of the party. + </p> + <p> + “Better stick together,” said the Colonel. “There's no escape for us, so + we may as well remain united.” + </p> + <p> + “They've halted,” said Belmont. “They are reconnoitring us. They know very + well that there is no escape from them, and they are taking their time. I + don't see what we can do.” + </p> + <p> + “Suppose we hide the women,” Headingly suggested. “They can't know how + many of us are here. When they have taken us, the women can come out of + their hiding-place and make their way back to the boat.” + </p> + <p> + “Admirable!” cried Colonel Cochrane. “Admirable! This way, please, Miss + Adams. Bring the ladies here, Mansoor. There is not an instant to be + lost.” + </p> + <p> + There was a part of the plateau which was invisible from the plain, and + here in feverish haste they built a little cairn. Many flaky slabs of + stone were lying about, and it did not take long to prop the largest of + these against a rock, so as to make a lean-to, and then to put two + side-pieces to complete it. The slabs were of the same colour as the rock, + so that to a casual glance the hiding-place was not very visible. The two + ladies were squeezed into this, and they crouched together, Sadie's arms + thrown round her aunt. When they had walled them up, the men turned with + lighter hearts to see what was going on. As they did so there rang out the + sharp, peremptory crack of a rifleshot from the escort, followed by + another and another, but these isolated shots were drowned in the long, + spattering roll of an irregular volley from the plain, and the air was + full of the phit-phit-phit of the bullets. The tourists all huddled behind + the rocks, with the exception of the Frenchman, who still stamped angrily + about, striking his sun-hat with his clenched hand. Belmont and Cochrane + crawled down to where the Soudanese soldiers were firing slowly and + steadily, resting their rifles upon the boulders in front of them. + </p> + <p> + The Arabs had halted about five hundred yards away, and it was evident + from their leisurely movements that they were perfectly aware that there + was no possible escape for the travellers. They had paused to ascertain + their number before closing in upon them. Most of them were firing from + the backs of their camels, but a few had dismounted and were kneeling here + and there,—little shimmering white spots against the golden + background. Their shots came sometimes singly in quick, sharp throbs, and + sometimes in a rolling volley, with a sound like a boy's stick drawn + across iron railings. The hill buzzed like a bee-hive, and the bullets + made a sharp, crackling sound as they struck against the rocks. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p086.jpg" alt="You Do No Good by Exposing Yourself P86 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “You do no good by exposing yourself,” said Belmont, drawing Colonel + Cochrane behind a large jagged boulder, which already furnished a shelter + for three of the Soudanese. + </p> + <p> + “A bullet is the best we have to hope for,” said Cochrane, grimly. “What + an infernal fool I have been, Belmont, not to protest more energetically + against this ridiculous expedition! I deserve whatever I get, but it <i>is</i> + hard on these poor souls who never knew the danger.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose there's no help for us?” + </p> + <p> + “Not the faintest.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't you think this firing might bring the troops up from Haifa?” + </p> + <p> + “They'll never hear it. It is a good six miles from here to the steamer. + From that to Haifa would be another five.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, when we don't return, the steamer will give the alarm.” + </p> + <p> + “And where shall we be by that time?” + </p> + <p> + “My poor Norah! My poor little Norah!” muttered Belmont, in the depths of + his grizzled moustache. + </p> + <p> + “What do you suppose that they will do with us, Cochrane,” he asked after + a pause. + </p> + <p> + “They may cut our throats, or they may take us as slaves to Khartoum. I + don't know that there is much to choose. There's one of us out of his + troubles, anyhow.” + </p> + <p> + The soldier next them had sat down abruptly, and leaned forward over his + knees. His movement and attitude were so natural that it was hard to + realise that he had been shot through the head. He neither stirred nor + groaned. His comrades bent over him for a moment, and then, shrugging + their shoulders, they turned their dark faces to the Arabs once more. + Belmont picked up the dead man's Martini and his ammunition-pouch. + </p> + <p> + “Only three more rounds, Cochrane,” said he, with the little brass + cylinders upon the palm of his hand. “We've let them shoot too soon, and + too often. We should have waited for the rush.” + </p> + <p> + “You're a famous shot, Belmont,” cried the Colonel. “I've heard of you as + one of the cracks. Don't, you think you could pick off their leader?” + “Which is he?” + </p> + <p> + “As far as I can make out, it is that one on the white camel on their + right front. I mean the fellow who is peering at us from under his two + hands.” + </p> + <p> + Belmont thrust in his cartridge and altered the sights. “It's a shocking + bad light for judging distance,” said he. “This is where the low + point-blank trajectory of the Lee-Metford comes in useful. Well, we'll try + him at five hundred.” He fired, but there was no change in the white camel + or the peering rider. + </p> + <p> + “Did you see any sand fly?” + </p> + <p> + “No; I saw nothing.” “I fancy I took my sight a trifle too full.” “Try him + again.” Man and rifle and rock were equally steady, but again the camel + and chief remained unharmed. The third shot must have been nearer, for he + moved a <i>few</i> paces to the right, as if he were becoming restless. + </p> + <p> + Belmont threw the empty rifle down with an exclamation of disgust. + </p> + <p> + “It's this confounded light,” he cried, and his cheeks flushed with + annoyance. “Think of my wasting three cartridges in that fashion! If I had + him at Bisley I'd shoot the turban off him, but this vibrating glare means + refraction. What's the matter with the Frenchman?” + </p> + <p> + Monsieur Fardet was stamping about the plateau with the gestures of a man + who has been stung by a wasp. “<i>S'cré nom! S'cré nom!</i>” he shouted, + showing his strong white teeth under his black waxed moustache. He wrung + his right hand violently, and as he did so he sent a little spray of blood + from his finger-tips. A bullet had chipped his wrist. Headingly ran out + from the cover where he had been crouching, with the intention of dragging + the demented Frenchman into a place of safety, but he had not taken three + paces before he was himself hit in the loins, and fell with a dreadful + crash among the stones. He staggered to his feet, and then fell again in + the same place, floundering up and down like a horse which has broken its + back. “I'm done!” he whispered, as the Colonel ran to his aid, and then he + lay still, with his china-white cheek against the black stones. When, but + a year before, he had wandered under the elms of Cambridge, surely the + last fate upon this earth which he could have predicted for himself would + be that he should be slain by the bullet of a fanatical Mohammedan in the + wilds of the Libyan desert. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the fire of the escort had ceased, for they had shot away their + last cartridge. A second man had been killed, and a third —who was + the corporal in charge—had received a bullet in his thigh. He sat + upon a stone, tying up his injury with a grave, preoccupied look upon his + wrinkled black face, like an old woman piecing together a broken plate. + The three others fastened their bayonets with a determined metallic rasp + and snap, and the air of men who intended to sell their lives dearly. + </p> + <p> + “They're coming!” cried Belmont, looking over the plain. + </p> + <p> + “Let them come!” the Colonel answered, putting his hands into his + trouser-pockets. Suddenly he pulled one fist out, and shook it furiously + in the air. “Oh, the cads! the confounded cads!” he shouted, and his eyes + were congested with rage. + </p> + <p> + It was the fate of the poor donkey-boys which had carried the + self-contained soldier out of his usual calm. During the firing they had + remained huddled, a pitiable group, among the rocks at the base of the + hill. Now upon the conviction that the charge of the Dervishes must come + first upon them, they had sprung upon their animals with shrill, + inarticulate cries of fear, and had galloped off across the plain. A small + flanking-party of eight or ten camel-men had worked round while the firing + had been going on, and these dashed in among the flying donkey-boys, + hacking and hewing with a cold-blooded, deliberate ferocity. One little + boy, in a flapping Galabeeah, kept ahead of his pursuers for a time, but + the long stride of the camels ran him down, and an Arab thrust his spear + into the middle of his stooping back. The small, white-clad corpses looked + like a flock of sheep trailing over the desert. + </p> + <p> + But the people upon the rock had no time to think of the cruel fate of the + donkey-boys. Even the Colonel, after that first indignant outburst, had + forgotten all about them. The advancing camel-men had trotted to the + bottom of the hill, had dismounted, and, leaving their camels kneeling, + had rushed furiously onward. Fifty of them were clambering up the path and + over the rocks together, their red turbans appearing and vanishing again + as they scrambled over the boulders. Without a shot or a pause they surged + over the three black soldiers, killing one and stamping the other two down + under their hurrying feet. So they burst on to the plateau at the top, + where an unexpected resistance checked them for an instant. + </p> + <p> + The travellers, nestling up against one another, had awaited, each after + his own fashion, the coming of the Arabs. The Colonel, with his hands back + in his trouser-pockets, tried to whistle out of his dry lips. Belmont + folded his arms and leaned against a rock, with a sulky frown upon his + lowering face. So strangely do our minds act that his three successive + misses and the tarnish to his reputation as a marksman was troubling him + more than his impending fate. Cecil Brown stood erect, and plucked + nervously at the upturned points of his little prim moustache. Monsieur + Fardet groaned over his wounded wrist. Mr. Stephens, in sombre impotence, + shook his head slowly, the living embodiment of prosaic law and order. Mr. + Stuart stood, his umbrella still over him, with no expression upon his + heavy face or in his staring brown eyes. Headingly lay with that + china-white cheek resting motionless upon the stones. His sun-hat had + fallen off, and he looked quite boyish with his ruffled yellow hair and + his unlined, clean-cut face. The dragoman sat upon a stone and played + nervously with his donkey-whip. So the Arabs found them when they reached + the summit of the hill. + </p> + <p> + And then, just as the foremost rushed to lay hands upon them, a most + unexpected incident arrested them. From the time of the first appearance + of the Dervishes the fat clergyman of Birmingham had looked like a man in + a cataleptic trance. He had neither moved nor spoken. But now he suddenly + woke at a bound into strenuous and heroic energy. It may have been the + mania of fear, or it may have been the blood of some Berserk ancestor + which stirred suddenly in his veins; but he broke into a wild shout, and, + catching up a stick, he struck right and left among the Arabs with a fury + which was more savage than their own. One who helped to draw up this + narrative has left it upon record that of all the pictures which have been + burned into his brain, there is none so clear as that of this man, his + large face shining with perspiration, and his great body dancing about + with unwieldy agility, as he struck at the shrinking, snarling savages. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p094.jpg" alt="He Struck at the Snarling Savages P 94 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Then a spear-head flashed from behind a rock with a quick, vicious upward + thrust, the clergyman fell upon his hands and knees, and the horde poured + over him to seize their unresisting victims. Knives glimmered before their + eyes, rude hands clutched at their wrists and at their throats, and then, + with brutal and unreasoning violence, they were hauled and pushed down the + steep, winding path to where the camels were waiting below. The Frenchman + waved his unwounded hand as he walked. “Vive le Khalifa! Vive le Madhi!” + he shouted, until a blow from behind with the butt-end of a Remington beat + him into silence. + </p> + <p> + And now they were herded in at the base of the Abousir Rock, this little + group of modern types who had fallen into the rough clutch of the seventh + century,—for in all save the rifles in their hands there was nothing + to distinguish these men from the desert warriors who first carried the + crescent flag out of Arabia. The East does not change, and the Dervish + raiders were not less brave, less cruel, or less fanatical than their + forebears. They stood in a circle, leaning upon their guns and spears, and + looking with exultant eyes at the dishevelled group of captives. They were + clad in some approach to a uniform, red turbans gathered around the neck + as well as the head, so that the fierce face looked out of a scarlet + frame; yellow, untanned shoes, and white tunics with square, brown patches + let into them. All carried rifles, and one had a small, discoloured bugle + slung over his shoulder. Half of them were negroes—fine, muscular + men, with the limbs of a jet Hercules; and the other half were Baggara + Arabs—small, brown, and wiry, with little, vicious eyes, and thin, + cruel lips. The chief was also a Baggara, but he was a taller man than the + others, with a black beard which came down over his chest, and a pair of + hard, cold eyes, which gleamed like glass from under his thick, black + brows. They were fixed now upon his captives, and his features were grave + with thought. Mr. Stuart had been brought down, his hat gone, his face + still flushed with anger, and his trousers sticking in one part to his + leg. The two surviving Soudanese soldiers, their black faces and blue + coats blotched with crimson, stood silently at attention upon one side of + this forlorn group of castaways. + </p> + <p> + The chief stood for some minutes, stroking his black beard, while his + fierce eyes glanced from one pale face to another along the miserable line + of his captives. In a harsh, imperious voice he said something which + brought Mansoor, the dragoman, to the front, with bent back and + outstretched, supplicating palms. To his employers there had always seemed + to be something comic in that flapping skirt and short cover-coat above + it; but now, under the glare of the mid-day sun, with those faces gathered + round them, it appeared rather to add a grotesque horror to the scene. The + dragoman salaamed like some ungainly, automatic doll, and then, as the + chief rasped out a curt word or two, he fell suddenly upon his face, + rubbing his forehead into the sand, and flapping upon it with his hands. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p097.jpg" alt="Fell Suddenly Upon his Face P97 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “What's that, Cochrane?” asked Belmont. “Why is he making an exhibition of + himself?” + </p> + <p> + “As far as I can understand, it is all up with us,” the Colonel answered. + </p> + <p> + “But this is absurd,” cried the Frenchman, excitedly; “why should these + people wish any harm to me? I have never injured them. On the other hand, + I have always been their friend. If I could but speak to them, I would + make them comprehend. Hola, dragoman, Mansoor!” + </p> + <p> + The excited gestures of Monsieur Fardet drew the sinister eyes of the + Baggara chief upon him. Again he asked a curt question, and Mansoor, + kneeling in front of him, answered it. + </p> + <p> + “Tell him that I am a Frenchman, dragoman. Tell him that I am a friend of + the Khalifa. Tell him that my countrymen have never had any quarrel with + him, but that his enemies are also ours.” + </p> + <p> + “The chief asks what religion you call your own,” said Mansoor. “The + Khalifa, he says, has no necessity for any friendship from those who are + infidels and unbelievers.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell him that in France we look upon all religions as good.” + </p> + <p> + “The chief says that none but a blaspheming dog and the son of a dog would + say that all religions are one as good as the other. He says that if you + are indeed the friend of the Khalifa, you will accept the Koran and become + a true believer upon the spot. If you will do so, he will promise on his + side to send you alive to Khartoum.” + </p> + <p> + “And if not?” + </p> + <p> + “You will fare in the same way as the others.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you may make my compliments to monsieur the chief, and tell him that + it is not the custom for Frenchmen to change their religion under + compulsion.” + </p> + <p> + The chief said a few words, and then turned to consult with a short, + sturdy Arab at his elbow. + </p> + <p> + “He says, Monsieur Fardet,” said the dragoman, “that if you speak again he + will make a trough out of you for the dogs to feed from. Say nothing to + anger him, sir, for he is now talking what is to be done with us.” + </p> + <p> + “Who is he?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “It is Ali Wad Ibrahim, the same who raided last year, and killed all of + the Nubian village.” + </p> + <p> + “I've heard of him,” said the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “He has the name of being one of the boldest and the most fanatical of all + the Khalifa's leaders. Thank God that the women are out of his clutches.” + </p> + <p> + The two Arabs had been talking in that stern, restrained fashion which + comes so strangely from a southern race. Now they both turned to the + dragoman, who was still kneeling upon the sand. They plied him with + questions, pointing first to one and then to another of their prisoners. + Then they conferred together once more, and finally said something to + Mansoor, with a contemptuous wave of the hand to indicate that he might + convey it to the others. + </p> + <p> + “Thank Heaven, gentlemen, I think that we are saved for the present time,” + said Mansoor, wiping away the sand which had stuck to his perspiring + forehead. “Ali Wad Ibrahim says that though an unbeliever should have only + the edge of the sword from one of the sons of the Prophet, yet it might be + of more profit to the beit-el-mal at Omdurman if it had the gold which + your people will pay for you. Until it comes you can work as the slaves of + the Khalifa; unless he should decide to put you to death. You are to mount + yourselves upon the spare camels and to ride with the party.” + </p> + <p> + The chief had waited for the end of the explanation. Now he gave a brief + order, and a negro stepped forward with a long, dull-coloured sword in his + hand. The dragoman squealed like a rabbit who sees a ferret, and threw + himself frantically down upon the sand once more. + </p> + <p> + “What is it, Cochrane?” asked Cecil Brown,—for the Colonel had + served in the East, and was the only one of the travellers who had a + smattering of Arabic. + </p> + <p> + “As far as I can make out, he says there is no use keeping the dragoman, + as no one would trouble to pay a ransom for him, and he is too fat to make + a good slave.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor devil!” cried Brown. “Here, Cochrane, tell them to let him go. We + can't let him be butchered like this in front of us. Say that we will find + the money amongst us. I will be answerable for any reasonable sum.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll stand in as far as my means will allow,” cried Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “We will sign a joint bond or indemnity,” said, the lawyer. “If I had a + paper and pencil I could throw it into shape in an instant, and the chief + could rely upon its being perfectly correct and valid.” + </p> + <p> + But the Colonel's Arabic was insufficient, and Mansoor himself was too + maddened by fear to understand the offer which was being made for him. The + negro looked a question at the chief, and then his long black arm swung + upwards and his sword hissed over his shoulder. But the dragoman had + screamed out something which arrested the blow, and which brought the + chief and the lieutenant to his side with a new interest upon their + swarthy faces. The others crowded in also, and formed a dense circle + around the grovelling, pleading man. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel had not understood this sudden change, nor had the others + fathomed the reason of it, but some instinct flashed it upon Stephens's + horrified perceptions. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you villain!” he cried, furiously. + </p> + <p> + “Hold your tongue, you miserable creature! Be silent! Better die—a + thousand times better die!” + </p> + <p> + But it was too late, and already they could all see the base design by + which the coward hoped to save his own life. He was about to betray the + women. They saw the chief, with a brave man's contempt upon his stern + face, make a sign of haughty assent, and then Mansoor spoke rapidly and + earnestly, pointing up the hill. At a word from the Baggara, a dozen of + the raiders rushed up the path and were lost to view upon the top. Then + came a shrill cry, a horrible, strenuous scream of surprise and terror, + and an instant later the party streamed into sight again, dragging the + women in their midst. Sadie, with her young, active limbs, kept up with + them as they sprang down the slope, encouraging her aunt all the while + over her shoulder. The older lady, struggling amid the rushing white + figures, looked with her thin limbs and open mouth like a chicken being + dragged from a coop. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p103.jpg" alt="The Party Streamed Into Sight Again P103 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The chief's dark eyes glanced indifferently at Miss Adams, but gazed with + a smouldering fire at the younger woman. Then he gave an abrupt order, and + the prisoners were hurried in a miserable, hopeless drove to the cluster + of kneeling camels. Their pockets had already been ransacked, and the + contents thrown into one of the camel-food bags, the neck of which was + tied up by Ali Wad Ibrahim's own hands. + </p> + <p> + “I say, Cochrane,” whispered Belmont, looking with smouldering eyes at the + wretched Mansoor, “I've got a little hip revolver which they have not + discovered. Shall I shoot that cursed dragoman for giving away the women?” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “You had better keep it,” said he, with a sombre face. “The women may find + some other use for it before all is over.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <p> + The camels, some brown and some white, were kneeling in a long line, their + champing jaws moving rhythmically from side to side, and their gracefully + poised heads turning to right and left in a mincing, self-conscious + fashion. Most of them were beautiful creatures, true Arabian trotters, + with the slim limbs and finely turned necks which mark the breed; but + amongst them were a few of the slower, heavier beasts, with un-groomed + skins, disfigured by the black scars of old firings. These were loaded + with the doora and the water-skins of the raiders, but a few minutes + sufficed to redistribute their loads and to make place for the prisoners. + None of these had been bound with the exception of Mr. Stuart,—for + the Arabs, understanding that he was a clergyman, and accustomed to + associate religion with violence, had looked upon his fierce outburst as + quite natural, and regarded him now as the most dangerous and enterprising + of their captives. His hands were therefore tied together with a plaited + camel-halter, but the others, including the dragoman and the two wounded + blacks, were allowed to mount without any precaution against their escape, + save that which was afforded by the slowness of their beasts. Then, with a + shouting of men and a roaring of camels, the creatures were jolted on to + their legs, and the long, straggling procession set off with its back to + the homely river, and its face to the shimmering, violet haze, which hung + round the huge sweep of beautiful, terrible desert, striped tiger-fashion + with black rock and with golden sand. + </p> + <p> + None of the white prisoners with the exception of Colonel Cochrane had + ever been upon a camel before. It seemed an alarming distance to the + ground when they looked down, and the curious swaying motion, with the + insecurity of the saddle, made them sick and frightened. But their bodily + discomfort was forgotten in the turmoil of bitter thoughts within. What a + chasm gaped between their old life and their new! And yet how short was + the time and space which divided them! Less than an hour ago they had + stood upon the summit of that rock and had laughed and chattered, or + grumbled at the heat and flies, becoming peevish at small discomforts. + Headingly had been hypercritical over the tints of Nature. They could not + forget his own tint as he lay with his cheek upon the black stone. Sadie + had chattered about tailor-made dresses and Parisian chiffons. Now she was + clinging, half-crazy, to the pommel of a wooden saddle, with suicide + rising as a red star of hope in her mind. Humanity, reason, argument,—all + were gone, and there remained the brutal humiliation of force. And all the + time, down there by the second rocky point, their steamer was waiting for + them,—their saloon, with the white napery and the glittering + glasses, the latest novel, and the London papers. The least imaginative of + them could see it so clearly: the white awning, Mrs. Shlesinger with her + yellow sun-hat, Mrs. Belmont lying back in the canvas chair. There it lay + almost in sight of them, that little floating chip broken off from home, + and every silent, ungainly step of the camels was carrying them more + hopelessly away from it. That very morning how beneficent Providence had + appeared, how pleasant was life!—a little commonplace, perhaps, but + so soothing and restful, And now! + </p> + <p> + The red head-gear, patched jibbehs, and yellow boots had already shown to + the Colonel that these men were no wandering party of robbers, but a troop + from the regular army of the Khalifa. Now, as they struck across the + desert, they showed that they possessed the rude discipline which their + work demanded. A mile ahead, and far out on either flank, rode their + scouts, dipping and rising among the yellow sand-hills. Ali Wad Ibrahim + headed the caravan, and his short, sturdy lieutenant brought up the rear. + The main party straggled over a couple of hundred yards, and in the middle + was the little, dejected clump of prisoners. No attempt was made to keep + them apart, and Mr. Stephens soon contrived that his camel should be + between those of the two ladies. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be down-hearted, Miss Adams,” said he. “This is a most indefensible + outrage, but there can be no question that steps will be taken in the + proper quarter to set the matter right. I am convinced that we shall be + subjected to nothing worse than a temporary inconvenience. If it had not + been for that villain Mansoor, you need not have appeared at all.” + </p> + <p> + It was shocking to see the change in the little Bostonian lady, for she + had shrunk to an old woman in an hour. Her swarthy cheeks had fallen in, + and her eyes shone wildly from sunken, darkened sockets. Her frightened + glances were continually turned upon Sadie. There is surely some wrecker + angel which can only gather her best treasures in moments of disaster. For + here were all these worldlings going to their doom, and already frivolity + and selfishness had passed away from them, and each was thinking and + grieving only for the other. Sadie thought of her aunt, her aunt thought + of Sadie, the men thought of the women, Belmont thought of his wife,—and + then he thought of something else also, and he kicked his camel's shoulder + with his heel until he found himself upon the near side of Miss Adams. + </p> + <p> + “I've got something for you here,” he whispered. “We may be separated + soon, so it is as well to make our arrangements.” + </p> + <p> + “Separated!” wailed Miss Adams. + </p> + <p> + “Don't speak loud, for that infernal Mansoor may give us away again. I + hope it won't be so, but it might. We must be prepared for the worst. For + example, they might determine to get rid of us men and to keep you.” + </p> + <p> + Miss Adams shuddered. + </p> + <p> + “What am I to do? For God's sake, tell me what I am to do, Mr. Belmont! I + am an old woman. I have had my day. I could stand it if it was only + myself. But Sadie—I am clean crazed when I think of her. There's her + mother waiting at home, and I——” She clasped her thin hands + together in the agony of her thoughts. + </p> + <p> + “Put your hand out under your dust-cloak,” said Belmont, sidling his camel + up against hers. “Don't miss your grip of it. There! Now hide it in your + dress, and you'll always have a key to unlock any door.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p111.jpg" alt="Don't Miss Your Grip of It P111 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Miss Adams felt what it was which he had slipped into her hand, and she + looked at him for a moment in bewilderment. Then she pursed up her lips + and shook her stern, brown face in disapproval. But she pushed the little + pistol into its hiding-place, all the same, and she rode with her thoughts + in a whirl. Could this indeed be she, Eliza Adams, of Boston, whose + narrow, happy life had oscillated between the comfortable house in + Commonwealth Avenue and the Tremont Presbyterian Church? Here she was, + hunched upon a camel, with her hand upon the butt of a pistol, and her + mind weighing the justifications of murder. Oh, life, sly, sleek, + treacherous life, how are we ever to trust you? Show us your worst and we + can face it, but it is when you are sweetest and smoothest that we have + most to fear from you. + </p> + <p> + “At the worst, Miss Sadie, it will only be a question of ransom,” said + Stephens, arguing against his own convictions. “Besides, we are still + close to Egypt, far away from the Dervish country. There is sure to be an + energetic pursuit. You must try not to lose your courage, and to hope for + the best.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I am not scared, Mr. Stephens,” said Sadie, turning towards him a + blanched face which belied her words. “We're all in God's hands, and + surely He won't be cruel to us. It is easy to talk about trusting Him when + things are going well, but now is the real test. If He's up there behind + that blue heaven——” + </p> + <p> + “He is,” said a voice behind them, and they found that the Birmingham + clergyman had joined the party. His tied hands clutched on to his Makloofa + saddle, and his fat body swayed dangerously from side to side with every + stride of the camel. His wounded leg was oozing with blood and clotted + with flies, and the burning desert sun beat down upon his bare head, for + he had lost both hat and umbrella in the scuffle. A rising fever flecked + his large, white cheeks with a touch of colour, and brought a light into + his brown ox-eyes. He had always seemed a somewhat gross and vulgar person + to his fellow-travellers. Now, this bitter healing draught of sorrow had + transformed him. He was purified, spiritualised, exalted. He had become so + calmly strong that he made the others feel stronger as they looked upon + him. He spoke of life and of death, of the present, and their hopes of the + future; and the black cloud of their misery began to show a golden rift or + two. Cecil Brown shrugged his shoulders, for he could not change in an + hour the convictions of his life; but the others, even Fardet, the + Frenchman, were touched and strengthened. They all took off their hats + when he prayed. Then the Colonel made a turban out of his red silk + cummerbund, and insisted that Mr. Stuart should wear it. With his homely + dress and gorgeous head-gear, he looked like a man who has dressed up to + amuse the children. + </p> + <p> + And now the dull, ceaseless, insufferable torment of thirst was added to + the aching weariness which came from the motion of the camels. The sun + glared down upon them, and then up again from the yellow sand, and the + great plain shimmered and glowed until they felt as if they were riding + over a cooling sheet of molten metal. Their lips were parched and dried, + and their tongues like tags of leather. They lisped curiously in their + speech, for it was only the vowel sounds which would come without an + effort. Miss Adams's chin had dropped upon her chest, and her great hat + concealed her face. + </p> + <p> + “Auntie will faint if she does not get water,” said Sadie. “Oh, Mr. + Stephens, is there nothing we could do?” + </p> + <p> + The Dervishes riding near were all Baggara with the exception of one + negro,—an uncouth fellow with a face pitted with smallpox. His + expression seemed good-natured when compared with that of his Arab + comrades, and Stephens ventured to touch his elbow and to point to his + water-skin, and then to the exhausted lady. The negro shook his head + brusquely, but at the same time he glanced significantly towards the + Arabs, as if to say that, if it were not for them, he might act + differently. Then he laid his black forefinger upon the breast of his + jibbeh. + </p> + <p> + “Tippy Tilly,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “What's that?” asked Colonel Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + “Tippy Tilly,” repeated the negro, sinking his voice as if he wished only + the prisoners to hear him. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “My Arabic won't bear much strain. I don't know what he is saying,” said + he. + </p> + <p> + “Tippy Tilly. Hicks Pasha,” the negro repeated. + </p> + <p> + “I believe the fellow is friendly to us, but I can't quite make him out,” + said Cochrane to Belmont. “Do you think that he means that his name is + Tippy Tilly, and that he killed Hicks Pasha?” + </p> + <p> + The negro showed his great white teeth at hearing his own words coming + back to him. “Aiwa!” said he. “Tippy Tilly—Bimbashi Mormer—Bourn!” + </p> + <p> + “By Jove, I got it!” cried Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “He's trying to speak English. Tippy Tilly is as near as he can get to + Egyptian Artillery. He has served in the Egyptian Artillery under Bimbashi + Mortimer. He was taken prisoner when Hicks Pasha was destroyed, and had to + turn Dervish to save his skin. How's that?” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel said a few words of Arabic and received a reply, but two of + the Arabs closed up, and the negro quickened his pace and left them. + </p> + <p> + “You are quite right,” said the Colonel. “The fellow is friendly to us, + and would rather fight for the Khedive than for the Khalifa. I don't know + that he can do us any good, but I've been in worse holes than this, and + come out right side up. After all, we are not out of reach of pursuit, and + won't be for another forty-eight hours.” + </p> + <p> + Belmont calculated the matter out in his slow, deliberate fashion. + </p> + <p> + “It was about twelve that we were on the rock,” said he. “They would + become alarmed aboard the steamer if we did not appear at two.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” the Colonel interrupted, “that was to be our lunch hour. I remember + saying that when I came back I would have——Oh, Lord, it's best + not to think about it!” + </p> + <p> + “The reis was a sleepy old crock,” Belmont continued; “but I have absolute + confidence in the promptness and decision of my wife. She would insist + upon an immediate alarm being given. Suppose they started back at + two-thirty, they should be at Haifa by three, since the journey is down + stream. How long did they say that it took to turn out the Camel Corps?” + </p> + <p> + “Give them an hour.” + </p> + <p> + “And another hour to get them across the river. They would be at the + Abousir Rock and pick up the tracks by six o'clock. After that it is a + clear race. We are only four hours ahead, and some of these beasts are + very spent. We may be saved yet, Cochrane!” + </p> + <p> + “Some of us may. I don't expect to see the padre alive to-morrow, nor Miss + Adams either. They are not made for this sort of thing, either of them. + Then, again, we must not forget that these people have a trick of + murdering their prisoners when they think that there is a chance of a + rescue. See here, Belmont, in case you get back and I don't, there's a + matter of a mortgage that I want you to set right for me.” They rode on + with their shoulders inclined to each other, deep in the details of + business. + </p> + <p> + The friendly negro who had talked of himself as Tippy Tilly had managed to + slip a piece of cloth soaked in water into the hand of Mr. Stephens, and + Miss Adams had moistened her lips with it. Even the few drops had given + her renewed strength, and, now that the first crushing shock was over, her + wiry, elastic, Yankee nature began to reassert itself. + </p> + <p> + “These people don't look as if they would harm us, Mr. Stephens,” said + she. “I guess they have a working religion of their own, such as it is, + and that what's wrong to us is wrong to them.” + </p> + <p> + Stephens shook his head in silence. He had seen the death of the + donkey-boys, and she had not. + </p> + <p> + “Maybe we are sent to guide them into a better path,” said the old lady. + “Maybe we are specially singled out for a good work among them.” + </p> + <p> + If it were not for her niece her energetic and enterprising temperament + was capable of glorying in the chance of evangelising Khartoum, and + turning Omdurman into a little well-drained, broad-avenued replica of a + New England town. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know what I am thinking of all the time?” said Sadie. “You + remember that temple that we saw,—when was it? Why, it was this + morning.” + </p> + <p> + They gave an exclamation of surprise, all three of them. Yes, it had been + this morning; and it seemed away and away in some dim past experience of + their lives, so vast was the change, so new and so overpowering the + thoughts which had come between them. They rode in silence, full of this + strange expansion of time, until at last Stephens reminded Sadie that she + had left her remark unfinished. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes; it was the wall picture on that temple that I was thinking of. + Do you remember the poor string of prisoners who are being dragged along + to the feet of the great king,—how dejected they looked among the + warriors who led them? Who could,—who <i>could</i> have thought that + within three hours the same fate should be our own? And Mr. Headingly——,” + she turned her face away and began to cry. + </p> + <p> + “Don't take on, Sadie,” said her aunt; “remember what the minister said + just now, that we are all right there in the hollow of God's hand. Where + do you think we are going, Mr. Stephens?” + </p> + <p> + The red edge of his Baedeker still projected from the lawyer's pocket, for + it had not been worth their captor's while to take it. He glanced down at + it. + </p> + <p> + “If they will only leave me this, I will look up a few references when we + halt. I have a general idea of the country, for I drew a small map of it + the other day. The river runs from south to north, so we must be + travelling almost due west. I suppose they feared pursuit if they kept too + near the Nile bank. There is a caravan route, I remember, which runs + parallel to the river, about seventy miles inland. If we continue in this + direction for a day we ought to come to it. There is a line of wells + through which it passes. It comes out at Assiout, if I remember right, + upon the Egyptian side. On the other side, it leads away into the Dervish + country,—so, perhaps——” + </p> + <p> + His words were interrupted by a high, eager voice which broke suddenly + into a torrent of jostling words, words without meaning, pouring + strenuously out in angry assertions and foolish repetitions. The pink had + deepened to scarlet upon Mr. Stuart's cheeks, his eyes were vacant but + brilliant, and he gabbled, gabbled, gabbled as he rode. Kindly mother + Nature! she will not let her children be mishandled too far. “This is too + much,” she says; “this wounded leg, these crusted lips, this anxious, + weary mind. Come away for a time, until your body becomes more habitable.” + And so she coaxes the mind away into the Nirvana of delirium, while the + little cell-workers tinker and toil within to get things better for its + home-coming. When you see the veil of cruelty which nature wears, try and + peer through it, and you will sometimes catch a glimpse of a very homely, + kindly face behind. + </p> + <p> + The Arab guards looked askance at this sudden outbreak of the clergyman, + for it verged upon lunacy, and lunacy is to them a fearsome and + supernatural thing. One of them rode forward and spoke with the Emir. When + he returned he said something to his comrades, one of whom closed in upon + each side of the minister's camel, so as to prevent him from falling. The + friendly negro sidled his beast up to the Colonel, and whispered to him. + </p> + <p> + “We are going to halt presently, Belmont,” said Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + “Thank God! They may give us some water. We can't go on like this.” + </p> + <p> + “I told Tippy Tilly that, if he could help us, we would turn him into a + Bimbashi when we got him back into Egypt. I think he's willing enough if + he only had the power. By Jove, Belmont, do look back at the river.” + </p> + <p> + Their route, which had lain through sand-strewn khors with jagged, black + edges,—places up which one would hardly think it possible that a + camel could climb,—opened out now on to a hard, rolling plain, + covered thickly with rounded pebbles, dipping and rising to the violet + hills upon the horizon. So regular were the long, brown pebble-strewn + curves, that they looked like the dark rollers of some monstrous + ground-swell. Here and there a little straggling sage-green tuft of + camel-grass sprouted up between the stones. Brown plains and violet hills,—nothing + else in front of them! Behind lay the black jagged rocks through which + they had passed with orange slopes of sand, and then far away a thin line + of green to mark the course of the river. How cool and beautiful that + green looked in the stark, abominable wilderness! On one side they could + see the high rock,—the accursed rock which had tempted them to their + ruin. On the other the river curved, and the sun gleamed upon the water. + Oh, that liquid gleam, and the insurgent animal cravings, the brutal + primitive longings, which for the instant took the soul out of all of + them! They had lost families, countries, liberty, everything, but it was + only of water, water, water, that they could think. Mr. Stuart, in his + delirium, began roaring for oranges, and it was insufferable for them to + have to listen to him. Only the rough, sturdy Irishman rose superior to + that bodily craving. That gleam of river must be somewhere near Haifa, and + his wife might be upon the very water at which he looked. He pulled his + hat over his eyes, and rode in gloomy silence, biting at his strong, + iron-grey moustache. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p124.jpg" alt="Looking for Some Landmark P124 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Slowly the sun sank towards the west, and their shadows began to trail + along the path where their hearts would go. It was cooler, and a desert + breeze had sprung up, whispering over the rolling, stone-strewed plain. + The Emir at their head had called his lieutenant to his side, and the pair + had peered about, their eyes shaded by their hands, looking for some + landmark. Then, with a satisfied grunt, the chiefs camel had seemed to + break short off at its knees, and then at its hocks, going down in three + curious, broken-jointed jerks until its stomach was stretched upon the + ground. As each succeeding camel reached the spot it lay down also, until + they were all stretched in one long line. The riders sprang off, and laid + out the chopped tibbin upon cloths in front of them, for no well-bred + camel will eat from the ground. In their gentle eyes, their quiet, + leisurely way of eating, and their condescending, mincing manner, there + was something both feminine and genteel, as though a party of prim old + maids had foregathered in the heart of the Libyan desert. + </p> + <p> + There was no interference with the prisoners, either male or female, for + how could they escape in the centre of that huge plain? The Emir came + towards them once, and stood combing out his blue-black beard with his + fingers, and looking thoughtfully at them out of his dark, sinister eyes. + Miss Adams saw with a shudder that it was always upon Sadie that his gaze + was fixed. Then, seeing their distress, he gave an order, and a negro + brought a water-skin, from which he gave each of them about half a + tumblerful. It was hot and muddy and tasted of leather, but, oh, how + delightful it was to their parched palates! The Emir said a few abrupt + words to the dragoman and left. + </p> + <p> + “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mansoor began, with something of his old + consequential manner; but a glare from the Colonel's eyes struck the words + from his lips, and he broke away into a long, whimpering excuse for his + conduct. + </p> + <p> + “How could I do anything otherwise,” he wailed, “with the very knife at my + throat?” + </p> + <p> + “You will have the very rope round your throat if we all see Egypt again,” + growled Cochrane, savagely. “In the meantime—” + </p> + <p> + “That's all right, Colonel,” said Belmont. “But for our own sakes we ought + to know what the chief has said.” + </p> + <p> + “For my part I'll have nothing to do with the blackguard.” + </p> + <p> + “I think that that is going too far. We are bound to hear what he has to + say.” + </p> + <p> + Cochrane shrugged his shoulders. Privations had made him irritable, and he + had to bite his lip to keep down a bitter answer. He walked slowly away, + with his straight-legged military stride. + </p> + <p> + “What did he say then?” asked Belmont, looking at the dragoman with an eye + which was as stern as the Colonel's. + </p> + <p> + “He seems to be in a somewhat better manner than before. He said that if + he had more water you should have it, but that he is himself short in + supply. He said that tomorrow we shall come to the wells of Selimah, and + everybody shall have plenty—and the camels too.” + </p> + <p> + “Did he say how long we stopped here?” + </p> + <p> + “Very little rest, he said, and then forwards! Oh, Mr. Belmont——” + </p> + <p> + “Hold your tongue!” snapped the Irishman, and began once more to count + times and distances. If it all worked out as he expected, if his wife had + insisted upon the indolent reis giving an instant alarm at Haifa, then the + pursuers should be already upon their track. The Camel Corps or the + Egyptian Horse would travel by moonlight better and faster than in the + daytime. He knew that it was the custom at Haifa to keep at least a + squadron of them all ready to start at any instant. He had dined at the + mess, and the officers had told him how quickly they could take the field. + They had shown him the water-tanks and the food beside each beast, and he + had admired the completeness of the arrangements, with little thought as + to what it might mean to him in the future. It would be at least an hour + before they would all get started again from their present halting-place. + That would be a clear hour gained. Perhaps by next morning—— + </p> + <p> + And then, suddenly, his thoughts were terribly interrupted. The Colonel, + raving like a madman, appeared upon the crest of the nearest slope, with + an Arab hanging on to each of his wrists. His face was purple with rage + and excitement, and he tugged and bent and writhed in his furious efforts + to get free. “You cursed murderers!” he shrieked, and then, seeing the + others in front of him, “Belmont,” he cried, “they've killed Cecil Brown.” + </p> + <p> + What had happened was this. In his conflict with his own ill-humour, + Cochrane had strolled over this nearest crest, and had found a group of + camels in the hollow beyond, with a little knot of angry, loud-voiced men + beside them. Brown was the centre of the group, pale, heavy-eyed, with his + upturned, spiky moustache and listless manner. They had searched his + pockets before, but now they were determined to tear off all his clothes + in the hope of finding something which he had secreted. A hideous negro, + with silver bangles in his ears, grinned and jabbered in the young + diplomatist's impassive face. There seemed to the Colonel to be something + heroic and almost inhuman in that white calm, and those abstracted eyes. + His coat was already open, and the negro's great black paw flew up to his + neck and tore his shirt down to the waist. And at the sound of that + r-r-rip, and at the abhorrent touch of those coarse fingers, this man + about town, this finished product of the nineteenth century, dropped his + life-traditions and became a savage facing a savage. + </p> + <p> + His face flushed, his lips curled back, he chattered, his teeth like an + ape, and his eyes —those indolent eyes which had always twinkled so + placidly—were gorged and frantic. He threw himself upon the negro, + and struck him again and again, feebly but viciously, in his broad, black + face. He hit like a girl, round arm, with an open palm. The man winced + away for an instant, appalled by this sudden blaze of passion. Then with + an impatient, snarling cry he slid a knife from his long loose sleeve and + struck upwards under the whirling arm. Brown sat down at the blow and + began to cough—to cough as a man coughs who has choked at dinner, + furiously, ceaselessly, spasm after spasm. Then the angry red cheeks + turned to a mottled pallor, there were liquid sounds in his throat, and, + clapping his hand to his mouth, he rolled over on to his side. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p130.jpg" alt="He Rolled over on to his Side P130 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The negro, with a brutal grunt of contempt, slid his knife up his sleeve + once more, while the Colonel, frantic with impotent anger, was seized by + the bystanders, and dragged, raving with fury, back to his forlorn party. + His hands were lashed with a camel-halter, and he lay at last, in bitter + silence, beside the delirious Nonconformist. + </p> + <p> + So Headingly was gone, and Cecil Brown was gone, and their haggard eyes + were turned from one pale face to another, to know which they should lose + next of that frieze of light-hearted riders who had stood out so clearly + against the blue morning sky, when viewed from the deck-chairs of the <i>Korosko</i>. + Two gone out of ten, and a third out of his mind. The pleasure trip was + drawing to its climax. + </p> + <p> + Fardet, the Frenchman, was sitting alone with his chin resting upon his + hands, and his elbows upon his knees, staring miserably out over the + desert, when Belmont saw him start suddenly and prick up his head like a + dog who hears a strange step. Then, with clenched fingers, he bent his + face forward and stared fixedly towards the black eastern hills through + which they had passed. Belmont followed his gaze, and, yes—yes—there + was something moving there! He saw the twinkle of metal, and the sudden + gleam and flutter of some white garment. + </p> + <p> + A Dervish vedette upon the flank turned his camel twice round as a danger + signal, and discharged his rifle in the air. The echo of the crack had + hardly died away before they were all in their saddles, Arabs and negroes. + Another instant, and the camels were on their feet and moving slowly + towards the point of alarm. Several armed men surrounded the prisoners, + slipping cartridges into their Remingtons as a hint to them to remain + still. + </p> + <p> + “By Heaven, they are men on camels!” cried Cochrane, his troubles all + forgotten as he strained his eyes to catch sight of these new-comers. “I + do believe that it is our own people.” In the confusion he had tugged his + hands free from the halter which bound them. + </p> + <p> + “They've been smarter than I gave them credit for,” said Belmont, his eyes + shining from under his thick brows. “They are here a long two hours before + we could have reasonably expected them. Hurrah, Monsieur Fardet, <i>ça va + bien, n'est ce pas?</i>” + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah, hurrah! <i>merveilleusement bien! Vivent les Anglais! Vivent les + Anglais!</i>” yelled the excited Frenchman, as the head of a column of + camelry began to wind out from among the rocks. + </p> + <p> + “See here, Belmont,” cried the Colonel. “These fellows will want to shoot + us if they see it is all up. I know their ways, and we must be ready for + it. Will you be ready to jump on the fellow with the blind eye, and I'll + take the big nigger, if I can get my arms around him. Stephens, you must + do what you can. You, Fardet, <i>comprenez vous? Il est nécessaire</i> to + plug these Johnnies before they can hurt us. You, dragoman, tell those two + Soudanese soldiers that they must be ready—but, but——” + his words died into a murmur and he swallowed once or twice. “These are + Arabs,” said he, and it sounded like another voice. + </p> + <p> + Of all the bitter day, it was the very bitterest moment. Happy Mr. Stuart + lay upon the pebbles with his back against the ribs of his camel, and + chuckled consumedly at some joke which those busy little cell-workers had + come across in their repairs. + </p> + <p> + His fat face was wreathed and creased with merriment. But the others, how + sick, how heart-sick, were they all! The women cried. The men turned away + in that silence which is beyond tears. Monsieur Fardet fell upon his face, + and shook with dry sobbings. + </p> + <p> + The Arabs were firing their rifles as a welcome to their friends, and the + others as they trotted their camels across the open returned the salutes + and waved their rifles and lances in the air. They were a smaller band + than the first one,—not more than thirty,—but dressed in the + same red head-gear and patched jibbehs. One of them carried a small white + banner with a scarlet text scrawled across it. But there was something + there which drew the eyes and the thoughts of the tourists away from + everything else. The same fear gripped at each of their hearts, and the + same impulse kept each of them silent. They stared at a swaying white + figure half seen amidst the ranks of the desert warriors. + </p> + <p> + “What's that they have in the middle of them?” cried Stephens at last. + “Look, Miss Adams! Surely it is a woman!” + </p> + <p> + There was something there upon a camel, but it was difficult to catch a + glimpse of it. And then suddenly, as the two bodies met, the riders opened + out, and they saw it plainly. “It's a white woman!” “The steamer has been + taken!” Belmont gave a cry that sounded high above everything. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p135.jpg" alt="Norah, Darling, Keep Your Heart up P135 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Norah, darling,” he shouted, “keep your heart up! I'm here, and it is all + well!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <p> + So the <i>Korosko</i> had been taken, and the chances of rescue upon which + they had reckoned—all those elaborate calculations of hours and + distances—were as unsubstantial as the mirage which shimmered upon + the horizon. There would be no alarm at Haifa until it was found that the + steamer did not return in the evening. Even now, when the Nile was only a + thin green band upon the farthest horizon, the pursuit had probably not + begun. In a hundred miles or even less they would be in the Dervish + country. How small, then, was the chance that the Egyptian forces could + overtake them. They all sank into a silent, sulky despair, with the + exception of Belmont, who was held back by the guards as he strove to go + to his wife's assistance. + </p> + <p> + The two bodies of camel-men had united, and the Arabs, in their grave, + dignified fashion, were exchanging salutations and experiences, while the + negroes grinned, chattered, and shouted, with the careless good-humour + which even the Koran has not been able to alter. The leader of the + new-comers was a greybeard, a worn, ascetic, high-nosed old man, abrupt + and fierce in his manner, and soldierly in his bearing. The dragoman + groaned when he saw him, and flapped his hands miserably with the air of a + man who sees trouble accumulating upon trouble. + </p> + <p> + “It is the Emir Abderrahman,” said he. “I fear now that we shall never + come to Khartoum alive.” + </p> + <p> + The name meant nothing to the others, but Colonel Cochrane had heard of + him as a monster of cruelty and fanaticism, a red-hot Moslem of the old + fighting, preaching dispensation, who never hesitated to carry the fierce + doctrines of the Koran to their final conclusions. He and the Emir Wad + Ibrahim conferred gravely together, their camels side by side, and their + red turbans inclined inwards, so that the black beard mingled with the + white one. Then they both turned and stared long and fixedly at the poor, + head-hanging huddle of prisoners. The younger man pointed and explained, + while his senior listened with a sternly impassive face. + </p> + <p> + “Who's that nice-looking old gentleman in the white beard?” asked Miss + Adams, who had been the first to rally from the bitter disappointment. + </p> + <p> + “That is their leader now,” Cochrane answered. + </p> + <p> + “You don't say that he takes command over that other one?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, lady,” said the dragoman; “he is now the head of all.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, that's good for us. He puts me in mind of Elder Mathews, who was at + the Presbyterian Church in minister Scott's time. Anyhow, I had rather be + in his power than in the hands of that black-haired one with the flint + eyes. Sadie, dear, you feel better now its cooler, don't you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Auntie; don't you fret about me. How are you yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I'm stronger in faith than I was. + </p> + <p> + “They haven't hurt you, Norah, have they?” + </p> + <p> + “I set you a poor example, Sadie, for I was clean crazed at first at the + suddenness of it all, and at thinking of what your mother, who trusted you + to me, would think about it. My land, there'll be some headlines in the <i>Boston + Herald</i> over this! I guess somebody will have to suffer for it.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor Mr. Stuart!” cried Sadie, as the monotonous, droning voice of the + delirious man came again to their ears. “Come, Auntie, and see if we + cannot do something to relieve him.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm uneasy about Mrs. Shlesinger and the child,” said Colonel Cochrane. + “I can see your wife, Belmont, but I can see no one else.” + </p> + <p> + “They are bringing her over,” cried he. “Thank God! We shall hear all + about it. They haven't hurt you, Norah, have they?” He ran forward to + grasp and kiss the hand which his wife held down to him as he helped her + from the camel. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p139.jpg" + alt="They Haven't Hurt You, Norah, Have They P139 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The kind, grey eyes and calm, sweet face of the Irishwoman brought comfort + and hope to the whole party. She was a devout Roman Catholic, and it is a + creed which forms an excellent prop in hours of danger. To her, to the + Anglican Colonel, to the Nonconformist minister, to the Presbyterian + American, even to the two Pagan black riflemen, religion in its various + forms was fulfilling the same beneficent office,—whispering always + that the worst which the world can do is a small thing, and that, however + harsh the ways of Providence may seem, it is, on the whole, the wisest and + best thing for us that we should go cheerfully whither the Great Hand + guides us. They had not a dogma in common, these fellows in misfortune, + but they held the intimate, deep-lying spirit, the calm, essential + fatalism which is the world-old framework of religion, with fresh crops of + dogmas growing like ephemeral lichens upon its granite surface. + </p> + <p> + “You poor things,” she said. “I can see that you have had a much worse + time than I have. No, really, John, dear, I am quite well,—not even + very thirsty, for our party filled their waterskins at the Nile, and they + let me have as much as I wanted. But I don't see Mr. Headingly and Mr. + Brown. And poor Mr. Stuart,—what a state he has been reduced to!” + </p> + <p> + “Headingly and Brown are out of their troubles,” her husband answered. + “You don't know how often I have thanked God to-day, Norah, that you were + not with us. And here you are, after all.” + </p> + <p> + “Where should I be but by my husband's side? I had much, <i>much</i> + rather be here than safe at Haifa.” + </p> + <p> + “Has any news gone to the town?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “One boat escaped. Mrs. Shlesinger and her child and maid were in it. I + was downstairs in my cabin when the Arabs rushed on to the vessel. Those + on deck had time to escape, for the boat was alongside. I don't know + whether any of them were hit. The Arabs fired at them for some time.” + </p> + <p> + “Did they?” cried Belmont, exultantly, his responsive Irish nature + catching the sunshine in an instant. “Then, be Jove, we'll do them yet, + for the garrison must have heard the firing. What d'ye think, Cochrane? + They must be full cry upon our scent this four hours. Any minute we might + see the white puggaree of a British officer coming over that rise.” + </p> + <p> + But disappointment had left the Colonel cold and sceptical. + </p> + <p> + “They need not come at all unless they come strong,” said he. “These + fellows are picked men with good leaders, and on their own ground they + will take a lot of beating.” Suddenly he paused and looked at the Arabs. + “By George!” said he, “that's a sight worth seeing!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0017" id="linkimage-0017"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p142.jpg" alt="Hour of Arab Prayer P142 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The great red sun was down with half its disc slipped behind the violet + bank upon the horizon. It was the hour of Arab prayer. An older and more + learned civilisation would have turned to that magnificent thing upon the + skyline and adored <i>that</i>. But these wild children of the desert were + nobler in essentials than the polished Persian. To them the ideal was + higher than the material, and it was with their backs to the sun and their + faces to the central shrine of their religion that they prayed. And how + they prayed, these fanatical Moslems! Wrapt, absorbed, with yearning eyes + and shining faces, rising, stooping, grovelling with their foreheads upon + their praying carpets. Who could doubt, as he watched their strenuous, + heart-whole devotion, that here was a great living power in the world, + reactionary but tremendous, countless millions all thinking as one from + Cape Juby to the confines of China? Let a common wave pass over them, let + a great soldier or organiser arise among them to use the grand material at + his hand, and who shall say that this may not be the besom with which + Providence may sweep the rotten, decadent, impossible, half-hearted south + of Europe, as it did a thousand years ago, until it makes room for a + sounder stock? + </p> + <p> + And now as they rose to their feet the bugle rang out, and the prisoners + understood that, having travelled all day, they were fated to travel all + night also. Belmont groaned, for he had reckoned upon the pursuers + catching them up before they left this camp. But the others had already + got into the way of accepting the inevitable. A flat Arab loaf had been + given to each of them—what effort of the <i>chef</i> of the + post-boat had ever tasted like that dry brown bread?—and then, + luxury of luxuries, they had a second ration of a glass of water, for the + fresh-filled bags of the new-comers had provided an ample supply. If the + body would but follow the lead of the soul as readily as the soul does + that of the body, what a heaven the earth might be! Now, with their base + material wants satisfied for the instant, their spirits began to sing + within them, and they mounted their camels with some sense of the romance + of their position. Mr. Stuart remained babbling upon the ground, and the + Arabs made no effort to lift him into his saddle. His large, white, + upturned face glimmered through the gathering darkness. + </p> + <p> + “Hi, dragoman, tell them that they are forgetting Mr. Stuart,” cried the + Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “No use, sir,” said Mansoor. “They say that he is too fat, and that they + will not take him any farther. He will die, they say, and why should they + trouble about him?” + </p> + <p> + “Not take him!” cried Cochrane. “Why, the man will perish of hunger and + thirst. Where's the Emir? Hi!” he shouted, as the black-bearded Arab + passed, with a tone like that in which he used to summon a dilatory + donkey-boy. The chief did not deign to answer him, but said something to + one of the guards, who dashed the butt of his Remington into the Colonel's + ribs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0018" id="linkimage-0018"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p145.jpg" alt="The Old Soldier Fell Forward Gasping P145 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The old soldier fell forward gasping, and was carried on half senseless, + clutching at the pommel of his saddle. The women began to cry, and the men + with muttered curses and clenched hands writhed in that hell of impotent + passion, where brutal injustice and ill-usage have to go without check or + even remonstrance. Belmont gripped at his hip-pocket for his little + revolver, and then remembered that he had already given it to Miss Adams. + If his hot hand had clutched it, it would have meant the death of the Emir + and the massacre of the party. + </p> + <p> + And now as they rode onwards they saw one of the most singular of the + phenomena of the Egyptian desert in front of them, though the ill + treatment of their companion had left them in no humour for appreciating + its beauty. When the sun had sunk, the horizon had remained of a + slaty-violet hue. But now this began to lighten and to brighten until a + curious false dawn developed, and it seemed as if a vacillating sun was + coming back along the path which it had just abandoned. A rosy pink hung + over the west, with beautifully delicate sea-green tints along the upper + edge of it. Slowly these faded into slate again, and the night had come. + It was but twenty-four hours since they had sat in their canvas chairs + discussing politics by starlight on the saloon deck of the <i>Korosko</i>; + only twelve since they had breakfasted there and had started spruce and + fresh upon their last pleasure trip. What a world of fresh impressions had + come upon them since then! How rudely they had been jostled out of their + take-it-for-granted complacency! The same shimmering silver stars as they + had looked upon last night, the same thin crescent of moon—but they, + what a chasm lay between that old pampered life and this! + </p> + <p> + The long line of camels moved as noiselessly as ghosts across the desert. + Before and behind were the silent swaying white figures of the Arabs. Not + a sound anywhere, not the very faintest sound, until far away behind them + they heard a human voice singing in a strong, droning, unmusical fashion. + It had the strangest effect, this far-away voice, in that huge + inarticulate wilderness. And then there came a well-known rhythm into that + distant chant, and they could almost hear the words: We nightly pitch our + moving tent A day's march nearer home. + </p> + <p> + Was Mr. Stuart in his right mind again, or was it some coincidence of his + delirium, that he should have chosen this for his song? With moist eyes + his friends looked back through the darkness, for well they knew that home + was very near to this wanderer. Gradually the voice died away into a hum, + and was absorbed once more into the masterful silence of the desert. + </p> + <p> + “My dear old chap, I hope you're not hurt?” said Belmont, laying his hand + upon Cochrane's knee. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel had straightened himself, though he still gasped a little in + his breathing. + </p> + <p> + “I am all right again, now. Would you kindly show me which was the man who + struck me?” + </p> + <p> + “It was the fellow in front there—with his camel beside Fardet's.” + </p> + <p> + “The young fellow with the moustache—I can't see him very well in + this light, but I think I could pick him out again. Thank you, Belmont!” + </p> + <p> + “But I thought some of your ribs were gone.” + </p> + <p> + “No; it only knocked the wind out of me.” + </p> + <p> + “You must be made of iron. It was a frightful blow. How could you rally + from it so quickly?” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel cleared his throat and hummed and stammered. + </p> + <p> + “The fact is, my dear Belmont—I'm sure you would not let it go + further—above all not to the ladies; but I am rather older than I + used to be, and rather than lose the military carriage which has always + been dear to me, I——” + </p> + <p> + “Stays, be Jove!” cried the astonished Irishman. + </p> + <p> + “Well, some slight artificial support,” said the Colonel, stiffly, and + switched the conversation off to the chances of the morrow. + </p> + <p> + It still comes back in their dreams to those who are left, that long + night's march in the desert. It was like a dream itself, the silence of it + as they were borne forward upon those soft, shuffling sponge feet, and the + flitting, flickering figures which oscillated upon every side of them. The + whole universe seemed to be hung as a monstrous time-dial in front of + them. A star would glimmer like a lantern on the very level of their path. + They looked again, and it was a hand's-breadth up, and another was shining + beneath it. Hour after hour the broad stream flowed sedately across the + deep blue background, worlds and systems drifting majestically overhead, + and pouring over the dark horizon. In their vastness and their beauty + there was a vague consolation to the prisoners for their own fate, and + their own individuality seemed trivial and unimportant amid the play of + such tremendous forces. Slowly the grand procession swept across the + heaven, first climbing, then hanging long with little apparent motion, and + then sinking grandly downwards, until away in the east the first cold grey + glimmer appeared, and their own haggard faces shocked each other's sight. + </p> + <p> + The day had tortured them with its heat, and now the night had brought the + even more intolerable discomfort of cold. The Arabs swathed themselves in + their gowns and wrapped up their heads. The prisoners beat their hands + together and shivered miserably. Miss Adams felt it most, for she was very + thin, with the impaired circulation of age. Stephens slipped off his + Norfolk jacket and threw it over her shoulders. He rode beside Sadie, and + whistled and chatted to make her believe that her aunt was really + relieving him by carrying his jacket for him, but the attempt was too + boisterous not to be obvious. And yet it was so far true that he probably + felt the cold less than any of the party, for the old, old fire was + burning in his heart, and a curious joy was inextricably mixed with all + his misfortunes, so that he would have found it hard to say if this + adventure had been the greatest evil or the greatest blessing of his + lifetime. Aboard the boat, Sadie's youth, her beauty, her intelligence and + humour, all made him realise that she could at the best only be expected + to charitably endure him. But now he felt that he was really of some use + to her, that every hour she was learning to turn to him as one turns to + one's natural protector; and above all, he had begun to find himself—to + understand that there really was a strong, reliable man behind all the + tricks of custom which had built up an artificial nature, which had + imposed even upon himself. A little glow of self-respect began to warm his + blood. He had missed his youth when he was young, and now in his middle + age it was coming up like some beautiful belated flower. + </p> + <p> + “I do believe that you are all the time enjoying it, Mr. Stephens,” said + Sadie, with some bitterness. + </p> + <p> + “I would not go so far as to say that,” he answered. “But I am quite + certain that I would not leave you here.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0019" id="linkimage-0019"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p152.jpg" + alt="Certain That I Would Not Leave You Here P152 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + It was the nearest approach to tenderness which he had ever put into a + speech, and the girl looked at him in surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I think I've been a very wicked girl all my life,” she said, after a + pause. “Because I have had a good time myself, I never thought of those + who were unhappy. This has struck me serious. If ever I get back I shall + be a better woman—a more earnest woman—in the future.” + </p> + <p> + “And I a better man. I suppose it is just for that that trouble comes to + us. Look how it has brought out the virtues of all our friends. Take poor + Mr. Stuart, for example. Should we ever have known what a noble, constant + man he was? And see Belmont and his wife, in front of us, there, going + fearlessly forward, hand in hand, thinking only of each other. And + Cochrane, who always seemed on board the boat to be a rather stand-offish, + narrow sort of man! Look at his courage, and his unselfish indignation + when any one is ill used. Fardet, too, is as brave as a lion. I think + misfortune has done us all good.” + </p> + <p> + Sadie sighed. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, if it would end right here one might say so. But if it goes on and + on for a few weeks or months of misery, and then ends in death, I don't + know where we reap the benefit of those improvements of character which it + brings. Suppose you escape, what will you do'?” + </p> + <p> + The lawyer hesitated, but his professional instincts were still strong. + </p> + <p> + “I will consider whether an action lies, and against whom. It should be + with the organisers of the expedition for taking us to the Abousir Rock—or + else with the Egyptian Government for not protecting their frontiers. It + will be a nice legal question. And what will you do, Sadie?” + </p> + <p> + It was the first time that he had ever dropped the formal Miss, but the + girl was too much in earnest to notice it. + </p> + <p> + “I will be more tender to others,” she said. “I will try to make some one + else happy in memory of the miseries which I have endured.” + </p> + <p> + “You have done nothing all your life but made others happy. You cannot + help doing it,” said he. The darkness made it more easy for him to break + through the reserve which was habitual with him. “You need this rough + schooling far less than any of us. How could your character be changed for + the better?” + </p> + <p> + “You show how little you know me. I have been very selfish and + thoughtless.” + </p> + <p> + “At least you had no need for all these strong emotions. You were + sufficiently alive without them. Now it has been different with me.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did you need emotions, Mr. Stephens'?” + </p> + <p> + “Because anything is better than stagnation. Pain is better than + stagnation. I have only just begun to live. Hitherto I have been a machine + upon the earth's surface. I was a one-ideaed man, and a one-ideaed man is + only one remove from a dead man. That is what I have only just begun to + realise. For all these years I have never been stirred, never felt a real + throb of human emotion pass through me. I had no time for it. I had + observed it in others, and I had vaguely wondered whether there was some + want in me which prevented my sharing the experience of my fellow-mortals. + But now these last few days have taught me how keenly I can live—that + I can have warm hopes and deadly fears—that I can hate and that I + can—well, that I can have every strong feeling which the soul can + experience. I have come to life. I may be on the brink of the grave, but + at least I can say now that I have lived.” + </p> + <p> + “And why did you lead this soul-killing life in England?” + </p> + <p> + “I was ambitious—I wanted to get on. And then there were my mother + and my sisters to be thought of. Thank Heaven, here is the morning coming. + Your aunt and you will soon cease to feel the cold.” + </p> + <p> + “And you without your coat?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I have a very good circulation. I can manage very well in my + shirt-sleeves.” + </p> + <p> + And now the long, cold, weary night was over, and the deep blue-black sky + had lightened to a wonderful mauve-violet, with the larger stars still + glinting brightly out of it. Behind them the grey line had crept higher + and higher, deepening into a delicate rose-pink, with the fan-like rays of + the invisible sun shooting and quivering across it. Then, suddenly, they + felt its warm touch upon their backs, and there were hard black shadows + upon the sand in front of them. The Dervishes loosened their cloaks and + proceeded to talk cheerily among themselves. The prisoners also began to + thaw, and eagerly ate the doora which was served out for their breakfasts. + A short halt had been called, and a cup of water handed to each. + </p> + <p> + “Can I speak to you, Colonel Cochrane?” asked the dragoman. + </p> + <p> + “No, you can't,” snapped the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “But it is very important—all our safety may come from it.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel frowned and pulled at his moustache. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what is it?” he asked, at last. + </p> + <p> + “You must trust to me, for it is as much to me as to you to get back to + Egypt. My wife and home, and children, are on one part, and a slave for + life upon the other. You have no cause to doubt it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, go on!” + </p> + <p> + “You know the black man who spoke with you—the one who had been with + Hicks?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, what of him?” + </p> + <p> + “He has been speaking with me during the night. I have had a long talk + with him. He said that he could not very well understand you, nor you him, + and so he came to me.” + </p> + <p> + “What did he say?” + </p> + <p> + “He said that there were eight Egyptian soldiers among the Arabs—six + black and two fellaheen. He said that he wished to have your promise that + they should all have very good reward if they helped you to escape.” + </p> + <p> + “Of course they shall.” + </p> + <p> + “They asked for one hundred Egyptian pounds each.” + </p> + <p> + “They shall have it.” + </p> + <p> + “I told him that I would ask you, but that I was sure that you would agree + to it.” + </p> + <p> + “What do they purpose to do?” + </p> + <p> + “They could promise nothing, but what they thought best was that they + should ride their camels not very far from you, so that if any chance + should come they would be ready to take advantage.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you can go to him and promise two hundred pounds each if they will + help us. You do not think we could buy over some Arabs?” + </p> + <p> + Mansoor shook his head. “Too much danger to try,” said he. “Suppose you + try and fail, then that will be the end to all of us. I will go tell what + you have said.” He strolled off to where the old negro gunner was grooming + his camel and waiting for his reply. + </p> + <p> + The Emirs had intended to halt for a half-hour at the most, but the + baggage-camels which bore the prisoners were so worn out with the long, + rapid march, that it was clearly impossible that they should move for some + time. They had laid their long necks upon the ground, which is the last + symptom of fatigue. The two chiefs shook their heads when they inspected + them, and the terrible old man looked with his hard-lined, rock features + at the captives. Then he said something to Mansoor, whose face turned a + shade more sallow as he listened. + </p> + <p> + “The Emir Abderrahman says that if you do not become Moslem, it is not + worth while delaying the whole caravan in order to carry you upon the + baggage-camels. If it were not for you, he says that we could travel twice + as fast. He wishes to know therefore, once for ever, if you will accept + the Koran.” Then in the same tone, as if he were still translating, he + continued: “You had far better consent, for if you do not he will most + certainly put you all to death.” + </p> + <p> + The unhappy prisoners looked at each other in despair. The two Emirs stood + gravely watching them. + </p> + <p> + “For my part,” said Cochrane, “I had as soon die now as be a slave in + Khartoum!” + </p> + <p> + “What do you say, Norah?” asked Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “If we die together, John, I don't think I shall be afraid.” + </p> + <p> + “It is absurd that I should die for that in which I have never had + belief,” said Fardet. “And yet it is not possible for the honour of a + Frenchman that he should be converted in this fashion.” He drew himself + up, with his wounded wrist stuck into the front of his jacket, “<i>Je suis + Chrétien. J'y reste,</i>” he cried, a gallant falsehood in each sentence. + </p> + <p> + “What do you say, Mr. Stephens?” asked Mansoor, in a beseeching voice. “If + one of you would change, it might place them in a good humour. I implore + you that you do what they ask.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I can't,” said the lawyer, quietly. + </p> + <p> + “Well then, you, Miss Sadie? You, Miss Adams? It is only just to say it + once, and you will be saved.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Auntie, do you think we might?” whimpered the frightened girl. “Would + it be so very wrong if we said it?” + </p> + <p> + The old lady threw her arms round her. + </p> + <p> + “No, no, my own dear little Sadie,” she whispered. “You'll be strong! You + would just hate yourself for ever after. Keep your grip of me, dear, and + pray if you find your strength is leaving you. Don't forget that your old + aunt Eliza has you all the time by the hand.” + </p> + <p> + For an instant they were heroic, this line of dishevelled, bedraggled + pleasure-seekers. They were all looking Death in the face, and the closer + they looked the less they feared him. They were conscious rather of a + feeling of curiosity, together with the nervous tingling with which one + approaches a dentist's chair. The dragoman made a motion of his hands and + shoulders, as one who has tried and failed. The Emir Abderrahman said + something to a negro, who hurried away. + </p> + <p> + “What does he want a scissors for?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “He is going to hurt the women,” said Mansoor, with the same gesture of + impotence. + </p> + <p> + A cold chill fell upon them all. They stared about them in helpless + horror. Death in the abstract was one thing, but these insufferable + details were another. Each had been braced to endure any evil in his own + person, but their hearts were still soft for each other. The women said + nothing, but the men were all buzzing together. + </p> + <p> + “There's the pistol, Miss Adams,” said Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “Give it here! We won't be tortured! We won't stand it!” + </p> + <p> + “Offer them money, Mansoor! Offer them anything!” cried Stephens. “Look. + here, I'll turn Mohammedan if they'll promise to leave the women alone. + After all, it isn't binding—it's under compulsion. But I can't see + the women hurt.” + </p> + <p> + “No, wait a bit, Stephens!” said the Colonel. “We mustn't lose our heads. + I think I see a way out. See here, dragoman! You tell that grey-bearded + old devil that we know nothing about his cursed tinpot religion. Put it + smooth when you translate it. Tell him that he cannot expect us to adopt + it until we know what particular brand of rot it is that he wants us to + believe. Tell him that if he will instruct us, we are perfectly willing to + listen to his teaching, and you can add that any creed which turns out + such beauties as him, and that other bounder with the black beard, must + claim the attention of every one.” + </p> + <p> + With bows and suppliant sweepings of his hands the dragoman explained that + the Christians were already full of doubt, and that it needed but a little + more light of knowledge to guide them on to the path of Allah. The two + Emirs stroked their beards and gazed suspiciously at them. Then + Abderrahman spoke in his crisp, stern fashion to the dragoman, and the two + strode away together. An instant later the bugle rang out as a signal to + mount. + </p> + <p> + “What he says is this,” Mansoor explained, as he rode in the middle of the + prisoners. “We shall reach the wells by mid-day, and there will be a rest. + His own Moolah, a very good and learned man, will come to give you an hour + of teaching. At the end of that time you will choose one way or the other. + When you have chosen, it will be decided whether you are to go to Khartoum + or to be put to death. That is his last word.” + </p> + <p> + “They won't take ransom?” + </p> + <p> + “Wad Ibrahim would, but the Emir Abderrahman is a terrible man. I advise + you to give in to him.” + </p> + <p> + “What have you done yourself? You are a Christian, too.” + </p> + <p> + Mansoor blushed as deeply as his complexion would allow. + </p> + <p> + “I was yesterday morning. Perhaps I will be to-morrow morning. I serve the + Lord as long as what He ask seem reasonable; but this is very otherwise.” + </p> + <p> + He rode onwards amongst the guards with a freedom which showed that his + change of faith had put him upon a very different footing to the other + prisoners. + </p> + <p> + So they were to have a reprieve of a few hours, though they rode in that + dark shadow of death which was closing in upon them. + </p> + <p> + What is there in life that we should cling to it so? It is not the + pleasures, for those whose hours are one long pain shrink away screaming + when they see merciful Death holding his soothing arms out for them. It is + not the associations, for we will change all of them before we walk of our + own free wills down that broad road which every son and daughter of man + must tread. Is it the fear of losing the I, that dear, intimate I, which + we think we know so well, although it is eternally doing things which + surprise us? Is it that which makes the deliberate suicide cling madly to + the bridge-pier as the river sweeps him by? Or is it that Nature is so + afraid that all her weary workmen may suddenly throw down their tools and + strike, that she has invented this fashion of keeping them constant to + their present work? But there it is, and all these tired, harassed, + humiliated folk rejoiced in the few more hours of suffering which were + left to them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII + </h2> + <p> + There was nothing to show them as they journeyed onwards that they were + not on the very spot that they had passed at sunset upon the evening + before. The region of fantastic black hills and orange sand which bordered + the river had long been left behind, and everywhere now was the same + brown, rolling, gravelly plain, the ground-swell with the shining rounded + pebbles upon its surface, and the occasional little sprouts of sage-green + camel-grass. Behind and before it extended, to where far away in front of + them it sloped upwards towards a line of violet hills. The sun was not + high enough yet to cause the tropical shimmer, and the wide landscape, + brown with its violet edging, stood out with a hard clearness in that dry, + pure air. The long caravan straggled along at the slow swing of the + baggage-camels. Far out on the flanks rode the vedettes, halting at every + rise, and peering backwards with their hands shading their eyes. In the + distance their spears and rifles seemed to stick out of them, straight and + thin, like needles in knitting. + </p> + <p> + “How far do you suppose we are from the Nile?” asked Cochrane. He rode + with his chin on his shoulder and his eyes straining wistfully to the + eastern sky-line. + </p> + <p> + “A good fifty miles,” Belmont answered. + </p> + <p> + “Not so much as that,” said the Colonel. “We could not have been moving + more than fourteen or fifteen hours, and a camel seldom goes more than two + and a half miles an hour unless he is trotting. That would give about + forty miles, but still it is, I fear, rather far for a rescue. I don't + know that we are much the better for this postponement. What have we to + hope for? We may just as well take our gruel.” + </p> + <p> + “Never say die!” cried the cheery Irishman. “There's plenty of time + between this and mid-day. Hamilton and Hedley of the Camel Corps are good + boys, and they'll be after us like a streak. They'll have no + baggage-camels to hold them back, you can lay your life on that! Little + did I think, when I dined with them at mess that last night, and they were + telling me all their precautions against a raid, that I should depend upon + them for our lives.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, we'll play the game out, but I'm not very hopeful,” said Cochrane. + “Of course, we must keep the best face we can before the women. I see that + Tippy Tilly is as good as his word, for those five niggers and the two + brown Johnnies must be the men he speaks of. They all ride together and + keep well up, but I can't see how they are going to help us.” + </p> + <p> + “I've got my pistol back,” whispered Belmont, and his square chin and + strong mouth set like granite. “If they try any games on the women, I mean + to shoot them all three with my own hand, and then we'll die with our + minds easy.” + </p> + <p> + “Good man!” said Cochrane, and they rode on in silence. None of them spoke + much. A curious, dreamy, irresponsible feeling crept over them. It was as + if they had all taken some narcotic drug—the merciful anodyne which + Nature uses when a great crisis has fretted the nerves too far. They + thought of their friends and of their past lives in the comprehensive way + in which one views that which is completed. A subtle sweetness mingled + with the sadness of their fate. They were filled with the quiet serenity + of despair. + </p> + <p> + “It's devilish pretty,” said the Colonel, looking about him. “I always had + an idea that I should like to die in a real, good, yellow London fog. You + couldn't change for the worse.” + </p> + <p> + “I should have liked to have died in my sleep,” said Sadie. “How beautiful + to wake up and find yourself in the other world! There was a piece that + Hetty Smith used to say at the college, 'Say not good-night, but in some + brighter world wish me good-morning.'” + </p> + <p> + The Puritan aunt shook her head at the idea. “It's a terrible thing to go + unprepared into the presence of your Maker,” said she. + </p> + <p> + “It's the loneliness of death that is terrible,” said Mrs. Belmont. “If we + and those whom we loved all passed over simultaneously, we should think no + more of it than of changing our house.” + </p> + <p> + “If the worst comes to the worst, we won't be lonely,” said her husband. + “We'll all go together, and we shall find Brown and Headingly and Stuart + waiting on the other side.” + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders. He had no belief in survival after + death, but he envied the two Catholics the quiet way in which they took + things for granted. He chuckled to think of what his friends in the Café + Cubat would say if they learned that he had laid down his life for the + Christian faith. Sometimes it amused and sometimes it maddened him, and he + rode onwards with alternate gusts of laughter and of fury, nursing his + wounded wrist all the time like a mother with a sick baby. + </p> + <p> + Across the brown of the hard, pebbly desert there had been visible for + some time a single long, thin, yellow streak, extending north and south as + far as they could see. It was a band of sand not more than a few hundred + yards across, and rising at the highest to eight or ten feet. But the + prisoners were astonished to observe that the Arabs pointed at this with + an air of the utmost concern, and they halted when they came to the edge + of it like men upon the brink of an unfordable river. It was very light, + dusty sand, and every wandering breath of wind sent it dancing into the + air like a whirl of midges. The Emir Abderrahman tried to force his camel + into it, but the creature, after a step or two, stood still and shivered + with terror. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0020" id="linkimage-0020"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p171.jpg" alt="The Creature, Stood Still P171 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The two chiefs talked for a little, and then the whole caravan trailed off + with their heads for the north, and the streak of sand upon their left. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” asked Belmont, who found the dragoman riding at his elbow. + “Why are we going out of our course?” + </p> + <p> + “Drift sand,” Mansoor answered. “Every sometimes the wind bring it all in + one long place like that. To-morrow, if a wind comes, perhaps there will + not be one grain left, but all will be carried up into the air again. An + Arab will sometimes have to go fifty or a hundred miles to go round a + drift. Suppose he tries to cross, his camel breaks its legs, and he + himself is sucked in and swallowed.” + </p> + <p> + “How long will this be?” + </p> + <p> + “No one can say.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Cochrane, it's all in our favour. The longer the chase the better + chance for the fresh camels!” and for the hundredth time he looked back at + the long, hard skyline behind them. There was the great, empty, + dun-coloured desert, but where the glint of steel or the twinkle of white + helmet for which he yearned? + </p> + <p> + And soon they cleared the obstacle in their front. It spindled away into + nothing, as a streak of dust would which has been blown across an empty + room. It was curious to see that when it was so narrow that one could + almost jump it, the Arabs would still go for many hundreds of yards rather + than risk the crossing. Then, with good, hard country before them once + more, the tired beasts were whipped up, and they ambled on with a + double-jointed jog-trot, which set the prisoners nodding and bowing in + grotesque and ludicrous misery. It was fun at first, and they smiled at + each other, but soon the fun had become tragedy as the terrible camel-ache + seized them by spine and waist, with its deep, dull throb, which rises + gradually to a splitting agony. + </p> + <p> + “I can't stand it, Sadie,” cried Miss Adams, suddenly. “I've done my best. + I'm going to fall.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, Auntie, you'll break your limbs if you do. Hold up, just a + little, and maybe they'll stop.” + </p> + <p> + “Lean back, and hold your saddle behind,” said the Colonel. “There, you'll + find that will ease the strain.” He took the puggaree from his hat, and, + tying the ends together, he slung it over her front pommel. “Put your foot + in the loop,” said he. “It will steady you like a stirrup.” + </p> + <p> + The relief was instant, so Stephens did the same for Sadie. But presently + one of the weary doora camels came down with a crash, its limbs starred + out as if it had split asunder, and the caravan had to come down to its + old sober gait. + </p> + <p> + “Is this another belt of drift sand?” asked the Colonel, presently. + </p> + <p> + “No, it's white,” said Belmont. “Here, Mansoor, what is that in front of + us?” + </p> + <p> + But the dragoman shook his head. + </p> + <p> + “I don't know what it is, sir. I never saw the same thing before.” + </p> + <p> + Right across the desert, from north to south, there was drawn a white + line, as straight and clear as if it had been slashed with chalk across a + brown table. It was very thin, but it extended without a break from + horizon to horizon. Tippy Tilly said something to the dragoman. + </p> + <p> + “It's the great caravan route,” said Mansoor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0021" id="linkimage-0021"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p174.jpg" alt="The Great Caravan Route P 174 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “What makes it white, then?” + </p> + <p> + “The bones.” + </p> + <p> + It seemed incredible, and yet it was true, for as they drew nearer they + saw that it was indeed a beaten track across the desert, hollowed out by + long usage, and so covered with bones that they gave the impression of a + continuous white ribbon. Long, snouty heads were scattered everywhere, and + the lines of ribs were so continuous that it looked in places like the + framework of a monstrous serpent. The endless road gleamed in the sun as + if it were paved with ivory. For thousands of years this had been the + highway over the desert, and during all that time no animal of all those + countless caravans had died there without being preserved by the dry, + antiseptic air. No wonder, then, that it was hardly possible to walk down + it now without treading upon their skeletons. + </p> + <p> + “This must be the route I spoke of,” said Stephens. “I remember marking it + upon the map I made for you, Miss Adams. Baedeker says that it has been + disused on account of the cessation of all trade which followed the rise + of the Dervishes, but that it used to be the main road by which the skins + and gums of Darfur found their way down to Lower Egypt.” + </p> + <p> + They looked at it with a listless curiosity, for there was enough to + engross them at present in their own fates. The caravan struck to the + south along the old desert track, and this Golgotha of a road seemed to be + a fitting avenue for that which awaited them at the end of it. Weary + camels and weary riders dragged on together towards their miserable goal. + </p> + <p> + And now, as the critical moment approached which was to decide their fate, + Colonel Cochrane, weighed down by his fears lest something terrible should + befall the women, put his pride aside to the extent of asking the advice, + of the renegade dragoman. The fellow was a villain and a coward, but at + least he was an Oriental, and he understood the Arab point of view. His + change of religion had brought him into closer contact with the Dervishes, + and he had overheard their intimate talk. Cochrane's stiff, aristocratic + nature fought hard before he could bring himself to ask advice from such a + man, and when he at last did so, it was in the gruffest and most + unconciliatory voice. + </p> + <p> + “You know the rascals, and you have the same way of looking at things,” + said he. “Our object is to keep things going for another twenty-four + hours. After that it does not much matter what befalls us, for we shall be + out of the reach of rescue. But how can we stave them off for another + day?” + </p> + <p> + “You know my advice,” the dragoman answered; “I have already answered it + to you. If you will all become as I have, you will certainly be carried to + Khartoum alive. If you do not, you will never leave our next camping-place + alive.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel's well-curved nose took a higher tilt, and an angry flush + reddened his thin cheeks. He rode in silence for a little, for his Indian + service had left him with a curried-prawn temper, which had had an extra + touch of cayenne added to it by his recent experiences. It was some + minutes before he could trust himself to reply. + </p> + <p> + “We'll set that aside,” said he, at last. + </p> + <p> + “Some things are possible and some are not. This is not.” + </p> + <p> + “You need only pretend.” + </p> + <p> + “That's enough,” said the Colonel, abruptly. + </p> + <p> + Mansoor shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “What is the use of asking me, if you become angry when I answer? If you + do not wish to do what I say, then try your own attempt. At least you + cannot say that I have not done all I could to save you.” + </p> + <p> + “I'm not angry,” the Colonel answered, after a pause, in a more + conciliatory voice, “but this is climbing down rather farther than we care + to go. Now, what I thought is this. You might, if you chose, give this + priest, or Moolah, who is coming to us, a hint that we really are + softening a bit upon the point. I don't think, considering the hole that + we are in, that there can be very much objection to that. Then, when he + comes, we might play up and take an interest and ask for more instruction, + and in that way hold the matter over for a day or two. Don't you think + that would be the best game?” + </p> + <p> + “You will do as you like,” said Mansoor. “I have told you once for ever + what I think. If you wish that I speak to the Moolah, I will do so. It is + the fat, little man with the grey beard, upon the brown camel in front + there. I may tell you that he has a name among them for converting the + infidel, and he has a great pride in it, so that he would certainly prefer + that you were not injured if he thought that he might bring you into + Islam.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell him that our minds are open then,” said the Colonel. “I don't + suppose the <i>padre</i> would have gone so far, but now that he is dead I + think we may stretch a point. You go to him, Mansoor, and if you work it + well we will agree to forget what is past. By the way, has Tippy Tilly + said anything?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir. He has kept his men together, but he does not understand yet how + he can help you.” + </p> + <p> + “Neither do I. Well, you go to the Moolah, and I'll tell the others what + we have agreed.” + </p> + <p> + The prisoners all acquiesced in the Colonel's plan, with the exception of + the old New England lady, who absolutely refused even to show any interest + in the Mohammedan creed. “I guess I am too old to bow the knee to Baal,” + she said. The most that she would concede was that she would not openly + interfere with anything which her companions might say or do. + </p> + <p> + “And who is to argue with the priest?” asked Fardet, as they all rode + together, talking the matter over. “It is very important that it should be + done in a natural way, for if he thought that we were only trying to gain + time he would refuse to have any more to say to us.” + </p> + <p> + “I think Cochrane should do it, as the proposal is his,” said Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me!” cried the Frenchman. “I will not say a word against our + friend the Colonel, but it is not possible that a man should be fitted for + everything. It will all come to nothing if he attempts it. The priest will + see through the Colonel.” + </p> + <p> + “Will he?” said the Colonel, with dignity. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, my friend, he will, for like most of your countrymen, you are very + wanting in sympathy for the ideas of other people, and it is the great + fault which I find with you as a nation.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, drop the politics!” cried Belmont, impatiently. + </p> + <p> + “I do not talk politics. What I say is very practical. How can Colonel + Cochrane pretend to this priest that he is really interested in his + religion when, in effect, there is no religion in the world to him outside + some little church in which he has been born and bred? I will say this for + the Colonel, that I do not believe he is at all a hypocrite, and I am sure + that he could not act well enough to deceive such a man as this priest.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel sat with a very stiff back and the blank face of a man who is + not quite sure whether he is being complimented or insulted. + </p> + <p> + “You can do the talking yourself if you like,” said he at last. “I should + be very glad to be relieved of it.” + </p> + <p> + “I think that I am best fitted for it, since I am equally interested in + all creeds. When I ask for information, it is because in verity I desire + it, and not because I am playing a part.” + </p> + <p> + “I certainly think that it would be much better if Monsieur Fardet would + undertake it,” said Mrs. Belmont, with decision, and so the matter was + arranged. + </p> + <p> + The sun was now high, and it shone with dazzling brightness upon the + bleached bones which lay upon the road. Again the torture of thirst fell + upon the little group of survivors, and again, as they rode with withered + tongues and crusted lips, a vision of the saloon of the <i>Korosko</i> + danced like a mirage before their eyes, and they saw the white napery, the + wine-cards by the places, the long necks of the bottles, the siphons upon + the sideboard. Sadie, who had borne up so well, became suddenly + hysterical, and her shrieks of senseless laughter jarred horribly upon + their nerves. Her aunt on one side of her and Mr. Stephens on the other + did all they could to soothe her, and at last the weary, over-strung girl + relapsed into something between a sleep and a faint, hanging limp over her + pommel, and only kept from falling by the friends who clustered round her. + The baggage-camels were as weary as their riders, and again and again they + had to jerk at their nose-ropes to prevent them from lying down. From + horizon to horizon stretched that one hugh arch of speckless blue, and up + its monstrous concavity crept the inexorable sun, like some splendid but + barbarous deity, who claimed a tribute of human suffering as his + immemorial right. + </p> + <p> + Their course still lay along the old trade route, but their progress was + very slow, and more than once the two Emirs rode back together and shook + their heads as they looked at the weary baggage-camels on which the + prisoners were perched. The greatest laggard of all was one which was + ridden by a wounded Soudanese soldier. It was limping badly with a + strained tendon, and it was only by constant prodding that it could be + kept with the others. The Emir Wad Ibraham raised his Remington, as the + creature hobbled past, and sent a bullet through its brain. The wounded + man flew forwards out of the high saddle, and fell heavily upon the hard + track. His companions in misfortune, looking back, saw him stagger to his + feet with a dazed face. At the same instant a Baggara slipped down from + his camel with a sword in his hand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0022" id="linkimage-0022"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p184.jpg" alt="Sword in his Hand P184 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Don't look! don't look!” cried Belmont to the ladies, and they all rode + on with their faces to the south. They heard no sound, but the Baggara + passed them a few minutes afterwards. He was cleaning his sword upon the + hairy neck of his camel, and he glanced at them with a quick, malicious + gleam of his teeth as he trotted by. But those who are at the lowest pitch + of human misery are at least secured against the future. That vicious, + threatening smile which might once have thrilled them left them now + unmoved—or stirred them at most to vague resentment. + </p> + <p> + There were many things to interest them in this old trade route, had they + been in a condition to take notice of them. Here and there along its + course were the crumbling remains of ancient buildings, so old that no + date could be assigned to them, but designed in some far-off civilisation + to give the travellers shade from the sun or protection from the + ever-lawless children of the desert. The mud bricks with which these + refuges were constructed showed that the material had been carried over + from the distant Nile. Once, upon the top of a little knoll, they saw the + shattered plinth of a pillar of red Assouan granite, with the wide-winged + symbol of the Egyptian god across it, and the cartouche of the second + Rameses beneath. After three thousand years one cannot get away from the + ineffaceable footprints of the warrior-king. It is surely the most + wonderful survival of history that one should still be able to gaze upon + him, high-nosed and masterful, as he lies with his powerful arms crossed + upon his chest, majestic even in decay, in the Gizeh Museum. To the + captives, the cartouche was a message of hope, as a sign that they were + not outside the sphere of Egypt. “They've left their card here once, and + they may again,” said Belmont, and they all tried to smile. + </p> + <p> + And now they came upon one of the most satisfying sights on which the + human eye can ever rest. Here and there, in the depressions at either side + of the road, there had been a thin scurf of green, which meant that water + was not very far from the surface. And then, quite suddenly, the track + dipped down into a bowl-shaped hollow, with a most dainty group of + palm-trees, and a lovely greensward at the bottom of it. The sun gleaming + upon that brilliant patch of clear, restful colour, with the dark glow of + the bare desert around it, made it shine like the purest emerald in a + setting of burnished copper. And then it was not its beauty only, but its + promise for the future: water, shade, all that weary travellers could ask + for. Even Sadie was revived by the cheery sight, and the spent camels + snorted and stepped out more briskly, stretching their long necks and + sniffing the air as they went. After the unhomely harshness of the desert, + it seemed to all of them that they had never seen anything more beautiful + than this. They looked below at the greensward with the dark, starlike + shadows of the palm-crowns, and then they looked up at those deep green + leaves against the rich blue of the sky, and they forgot their impending + death in the beauty of that Nature to whose bosom they were about to + return. + </p> + <p> + The wells in the centre of the grove consisted of seven large and two + small saucerlike cavities filled with peat-coloured water enough to form a + plentiful supply for any caravan. Camels and men drank it greedily, though + it was tainted by the all-pervading natron. The camels were picketed, the + Arabs threw their sleeping-mats down in the shade, and the prisoners, + after receiving a ration of dates and of doora, were told that they might + do what they would during the heat of the day, and that the Moolah would + come to them before sunset. The ladies were given the thicker shade of an + acacia tree, and the men lay down under the palms. The great green leaves + swished slowly above them; they heard the low hum of the Arab talk, and + the dull champing of the camels, and then in an instant, by that most + mysterious and least understood of miracles, one was in a green Irish + valley, and another saw the long straight line of Commonwealth Avenue, and + a third was dining at a little round table opposite to the bust of Nelson + in the Army and Navy Club, and for him the swishing of the palm branches + had been transformed into the long-drawn hum of Pall Mall. So the spirits + went their several ways, wandering back along strange, untraced tracks of + the memory, while the weary, grimy bodies lay senseless under the + palm-trees in the Oasis of the Libyan Desert. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0023" id="linkimage-0023"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p188.jpg" + alt="Grimy Bodies Lay Senseless Under the Palm-trees P188 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII + </h2> + <p> + Colonel Cochrane was awakened from his slumber by some one pulling at his + shoulder. As his eyes opened they fell upon the black, anxious face of + Tippy Tilly, the old Egyptian gunner. His crooked finger was laid upon his + thick, liver-coloured lips, and his dark eyes glanced from left to right + with ceaseless vigilance. + </p> + <p> + “Lie quiet! Do not move!” he whispered, in Arabic. “I will lie here beside + you, and they cannot tell me from the others. You can understand what I am + saying?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, if you will talk slowly.” + </p> + <p> + “Very good. I have no great trust in this black man, Mansoor. I had rather + talk direct with the Miralai.” + </p> + <p> + “What have you to say?” + </p> + <p> + “I have waited long, until they should all be asleep, and now in another + hour we shall be called to evening prayer. First of all, here is a pistol, + that you may not say that you are without arms.” + </p> + <p> + It was a clumsy, old-fashioned thing, but the Colonel saw the glint of a + percussion-cap upon the nipple, and knew that it was loaded. He slipped it + into the inner pocket of his Norfolk jacket. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said he; “speak slowly, so that I may understand you.” + </p> + <p> + “There are eight of us who wish to go to Egypt. There are also four men in + your party. One of us, Mehemet Ali, has fastened twelve camels together, + which are the fastest of all save only those which are ridden by the + Emirs. There are guards upon watch, but they are scattered in all + directions. The twelve camels are close beside us here,—those twelve + behind the acacia-tree. If we can only get mounted and started, I do not + think that many can overtake us, and we shall have our rifles for them. + The guards are not strong enough to stop so many of us. The waterskins are + all filled, and we may see the Nile again by to-morrow night.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel could not follow it all, “That is excellent,” said he. “But + what are we to do about the three ladies?” + </p> + <p> + The black soldier shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “Mefeesh!” said he. “One of them is old, and in any case there are plenty + more women if we get back to Egypt. These will not come to any hurt, but + they will be placed in the harem of the Khalija.” + </p> + <p> + “What you say is nonsense,” said the Colonel, sternly. “We shall take our + women with us, or we shall not go at all.” + </p> + <p> + “I think it is rather you who talk the thing without sense,” the black man + answered, angrily. “How can you ask my companions and me to do that which + must end in failure? For years we have waited for such a chance as this, + and now that it has come, you wish us to throw it away owing to this + foolishness about the women.” + </p> + <p> + He understood enough to set a little spring of hope bubbling in his heart. + The last terrible day had left its mark in his livid face and his hair, + which was turning rapidly to grey. He might have been the father of the + spruce, well-preserved soldier who had paced with straight back and + military stride up and down the saloon deck of the <i>Korosko</i>. + </p> + <p> + “What have we promised you if we come back to Egypt?” asked Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + “Two hundred Egyptian pounds and promotion in the army,—all upon the + word of an Englishman.” + </p> + <p> + “Very good. Then you shall have three hundred each if you can make some + new plan by which you can take the women with you.” + </p> + <p> + Tippy Tilly scratched his woolly head in his perplexity. + </p> + <p> + “We might, indeed, upon some excuse, bring three more of the faster camels + round to this place. Indeed, there are three very good camels among those + which are near the cooking-fire. But how are we to get the women upon + them?—and if we had them upon them, we know very well that they + would fall off when they began to gallop. I fear that you men will fall + off, for it is no easy matter to remain upon a galloping camel; but as to + the women, it is impossible. No, we shall leave the women, and if you will + not leave the women, then we shall leave all of you and start by + ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + “Very good! Go!” said the Colonel, abruptly, and settled down as if to + sleep once more. He knew that with Orientals it is the silent man who is + most likely to have his way. + </p> + <p> + The negro turned and crept away for some little distance, where he was met + by one of his fellaheen comrades, Mehemet Ali, who had charge of the + camels. The two argued for some little time,—for those three hundred + golden pieces were not to be lightly resigned. Then the negro crept back + to Colonel Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + “Mehemet Ali has agreed,” said he. “He has gone to put the nose-rope upon + three more of the camels. But it is foolishness, and we are all going to + our death. Now come with me, and we shall awaken the women and tell them.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel shook his companions and whispered to them what was in the + wind. Belmont and Fardet were ready for any risk. Stephens, to whom the + prospect of a passive death presented little terror, was seized with a + convulsion of fear when he thought of any active exertion to avoid it, and + shivered in all his long, thin limbs. Then he pulled out his Baedeker and + began to write his will upon the fly-leaf, but his hand twitched so that + he was hardly legible. By some strange gymnastic of the legal mind, a + death, even by violence, if accepted quietly, had a place in the + established order of things, while a death which overtook one galloping + frantically over a desert was wholly irregular and discomposing. It was + not dissolution which he feared, but the humiliation and agony of a + fruitless struggle against it. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Cochrane and Tippy Tilly had crept together under the shadow of + the great acacia tree to the spot where the women were lying. Sadie and + her aunt lay with their arms round each other, the girl's head pillowed + upon the old woman's bosom. Mrs. Belmont was awake, and entered into the + scheme in an instant. + </p> + <p> + “But you must leave me,” said Miss Adams, earnestly. “What does it matter + at my age, anyhow?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no, Aunt Eliza; I won't move without you! Don't you think it!” cried + the girl. “You've got to come straight away, or else we both stay right + here where we are.” + </p> + <p> + “Come, come, ma'am, there is no time for arguing,” said the Colonel, + roughly. “Our lives all depend upon your making an effort, and we cannot + possibly leave you behind.” + </p> + <p> + “But I will fall off.” + </p> + <p> + “I'll tie you on with my puggaree. I wish I had the cummerbund which I + lent poor Stuart. Now, Tippy, I think we might make a break for it!” + </p> + <p> + But the black soldier had been staring with a disconsolate face out over + the desert, and he turned upon his heel with an oath. + </p> + <p> + “There!” said he, sullenly. “You see what comes of all your foolish + talking! You have ruined our chances as well as your own!” + </p> + <p> + Half a dozen mounted camel-men had appeared suddenly over the lip of the + bowl-shaped hollow, standing out hard and clear against the evening sky, + where the copper basin met its great blue lid. They were travelling fast, + and waved their rifles as they came. An instant later the bugle sounded an + alarm, and the camp was up with a buzz like an overturned bee-hive. The + Colonel ran back to his companions, and the black soldier to his camel. + Stephens looked relieved, and Belmont sulky, while Monsieur Fardet raved, + with his one uninjured hand in the air. + </p> + <p> + “Sacred name of a dog!” he cried. “Is there no end to it, then? Are we + never to come out of the hands of these accursed Dervishes?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, they really are Dervishes, are they?” said the Colonel, in an acid + voice. “You seem to be altering your opinions. I thought they were an + invention of the British Government.” + </p> + <p> + The poor fellows' tempers were getting frayed and thin. The Colonel's + sneer was like a match to a magazine, and in an instant the Frenchman was + dancing in front of him with a broken torrent of angry words. His hand was + clutching at Cochrane's throat before Belmont and Stephens could pull him + off. + </p> + <p> + “If it were not for your grey hairs——” he said. + </p> + <p> + “Damn your impudence!” cried the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “If we have to die, let us die like gentlemen, and not like so many + corner-boys,” said Belmont, with dignity. + </p> + <p> + “I only said I was glad to see that Monsieur Fardet had learned something + from his adventures,” the Colonel sneered. + </p> + <p> + “Shut up, Cochrane! What do you want to aggravate him for?” cried the + Irishman. + </p> + <p> + “Upon my word, Belmont, you forget yourself! I do not permit people to + address me in this fashion.” + </p> + <p> + “You should look after your own manners, then.” + </p> + <p> + “Gentlemen, gentlemen, here are the ladies!” cried Stephens, and the + angry, overstrained men relapsed into a gloomy silence, pacing up and + down, and jerking viciously at their moustaches. It is a very catching + thing, ill-temper, for even Stephens began to be angry at their anger, and + to scowl at them as they passed him. Here they were at a crisis in their + fate, with the shadow of death above them, and yet their minds were all + absorbed in some personal grievance so slight that they could hardly put + it into words. Misfortune brings the human spirit to a rare height, but + the pendulum still swings. + </p> + <p> + But soon their attention was drawn away to more important matters. A + council of war was being held beside the wells, and the two Emirs, stern + and composed, were listening to a voluble report from the leader of the + patrol. The prisoners noticed that, though the fierce, old man stood like + a graven image, the younger Emir passed his hand over his beard once or + twice with a nervous gesture, the thin, brown fingers twitching among the + long, black hair. + </p> + <p> + “I believe the Gippies are after us,” said Belmont. “Not very far off + either, to judge by the fuss they are making.” + </p> + <p> + “It looks like it. Something has scared them.” + </p> + <p> + “Now he's giving orders. What can it be? Here, Mansoor, what is the + matter?” + </p> + <p> + The dragoman came running up with the light of hope shining upon his brown + face. + </p> + <p> + “I think they have seen something to frighten them. I believe that the + soldiers are behind us. They have given the order to fill the waterskins, + and be ready for a start when the darkness comes. But I am ordered to + gather you together, for the Moolah is coming to convert you all. I have + already told him that you are all very much inclined to think the same + with him.” + </p> + <p> + How far Mansoor may have gone with his assurances may never be known, but + the Mussulman preacher came walking towards them at this moment with a + paternal and contented smile upon his face, as one who has a pleasant and + easy task before him. He was a one-eyed man, with a fringe of grizzled + beard and a face which was fat, but which looked as if it had once been + fatter, for it was marked with many folds and creases. He had a green + turban upon his head, which marked him as a Mecca pilgrim. In one hand he + carried a small brown carpet, and in the other a parchment copy of the + Koran. Laying his carpet upon the ground, he motioned Mansoor to his side, + and then gave a circular sweep of his arm to signify that the prisoners + should gather round him, and a downward wave which meant that they should + be seated. So they grouped themselves round him, sitting on the short + green sward under the palm-tree, these seven forlorn representatives of an + alien creed, and in the midst of them sat the fat little preacher, his one + eye dancing from face to face as he expounded the principles of his newer, + cruder, and more earnest faith. They listened attentively and nodded their + heads as Mansoor translated the exhortation, and with each sign of their + acquiescence the Moolah became more amiable in his manner and more + affectionate in his speech. + </p> + <p> + “For why should you die, my sweet lambs, when all that is asked of you is + that you should set aside that which will carry you to everlasting + Gehenna, and accept the law of Allah as written by His prophet, which will + assuredly bring you unimaginable joys, as is promised in the Book of the + Camel? For what says the chosen one?”—and he broke away into one of + those dogmatic texts which pass in every creed as an argument. “Besides, + is it not clear that God is with us, since from the beginning, when we had + but sticks against the rifles of the Turks, victory has always been with + us? Have we not taken El Obeid, and taken Khartoum, and destroyed Hicks + and slain Gordon, and prevailed against every one who has come against us? + How, then, can it be said that the blessing of Allah does not rest upon + us?” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel had been looking about him during the long exhortation of the + Moolah, and he had observed that the Dervishes were cleaning their guns, + counting their cartridges, and making all the preparations of men who + expected that they might soon be called upon to fight. The two Emirs were + conferring together with grave faces, and the leader of the patrol + pointed, as he spoke to them, in the direction of Egypt. It was evident + that there was at least a chance of a rescue if they could only keep + things going for a few more hours. The camels were not recovered yet from + their long march, and the pursuers, if they were indeed close behind, were + almost certain to overtake them. + </p> + <p> + “For God's sake, Fardet, try and keep him in play,” said he. “I believe we + have a chance if we can only keep the ball rolling for another hour or + so.” + </p> + <p> + But a Frenchman's wounded dignity is not so easily appeased. Monsieur + Fardet sat moodily with his back against the palm-tree, and his black + brows drawn down. He said nothing, but he still pulled at his thick, + strong moustache. + </p> + <p> + “Come on, Fardet! We depend upon you,” said Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “Let Colonel Cochrane do it,” the Frenchman answered, snappishly. “He + takes too much upon himself, this Colonel Cochrane.” + </p> + <p> + “There! there!” said Belmont, soothingly, as if he were speaking to a + fractious child. “I am quite sure that the Colonel will express his regret + at what has happened, and will acknowledge that he was in the wrong——” + </p> + <p> + “I'll do nothing of the sort,” snapped the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Besides, that is merely a personal quarrel,” Belmont continued, hastily. + “It is for the good of the whole party that we wish you to speak with the + Moolah, because we all feel that you are the best man for the job.” + </p> + <p> + But the Frenchman only shrugged his shoulders and relapsed into a deeper + gloom. + </p> + <p> + The Moolah looked from one to the other, and the kindly expression began + to fade away from his large, baggy face. His mouth drew down at the + corners, and became hard and severe. + </p> + <p> + “Have these infidels been playing with us, then?” said he to the dragoman. + “Why is it that they talk among themselves and have nothing to say to me?” + </p> + <p> + “He is getting impatient about it,” said Cochrane. “Perhaps I had better + do what I can, Belmont, since this damned fellow has left us in the + lurch.” + </p> + <p> + But the ready wit of a woman saved the situation. + </p> + <p> + “I am sure, Monsieur Fardet,” said Mrs. Belmont, “that you, who are a + Frenchman, and therefore a man of gallantry and honour, would not permit + your own wounded feelings to interfere with the fulfilment of your promise + and your duty towards three helpless ladies.” + </p> + <p> + Fardet was on his feet in an instant, with his hand over his heart. + </p> + <p> + “You understand my nature, madame,” he cried. “I am incapable of + abandoning a lady. I will do all that I can in this matter. Now, Mansoor, + you may tell the holy man that I am ready to discuss through you the high + matters of his faith with him.” + </p> + <p> + And he did it with an ingenuity which amazed his companions. He took the + tone of a man who is strongly attracted, and yet has one single remaining + shred of doubt to hold him back. Yet as that one shred was torn away by + the Moolah, there was always some other stubborn little point which + prevented his absolute acceptance of the faith of Islam. And his questions + were all so mixed up with personal compliments to the priest and + self-congratulations that they should have come under the teachings of so + wise a man and so profound a theologian, that the hanging pouches under + the Moolah's eyes quivered with his satisfaction, and he was led happily + and hopefully onwards from explanation to explanation, while the blue + overhead turned into violet, and the green leaves into black, until the + great serene stars shone out once more between the crowns of the + palm-trees. + </p> + <p> + “As to the learning of which you speak, my lamb,” said the Moolah, in + answer to some argument of Fardet's, “I have myself studied at the + University of El Azhar at Cairo, and I know that to which you allude. But + the learning of the faithful is not as the learning of the unbeliever, and + it is not fitting that we pry too deeply into the ways of Allah. Some + stars have tails, O my sweet lamb, and some have not; but what does it + profit us to know which are which? For God made them all, and they are + very safe in His hands. Therefore, my friend, be not puffed up by the + foolish learning of the West, and understand that there is only one + wisdom, which consists in following the will of Allah as His chosen + prophet has laid it down for us in this book. And now, my lambs, I see + that you are ready to come into Islam, and it is time, for that bugle + tells that we are about to march, and it was the order of the excellent + Emir Abderrahman that your choice should be taken, one way or the other, + before ever we left the wells.” + </p> + <p> + “Yet, my father, there are other points upon which I would gladly have + instruction,” said the Frenchman, “for, indeed, it is a pleasure to hear + your clear words after the cloudy accounts which we have had from other + teachers.” + </p> + <p> + But the Moolah had risen, and a gleam of suspicion twinkled in his single + eye. + </p> + <p> + “This further instruction may well come afterwards,” said he, “since we + shall travel together as far as Khartoum, and it will be a joy to me to + see you grow in wisdom and in virtue as we go.” He walked over to the + fire, and stooping down, with the pompous slowness of a stout man, he + returned with two half-charred sticks, which he laid crosswise upon the + ground. The Dervishes came clustering over to see the new converts + admitted into the fold. They stood round in the dim light, tall and + fantastic, with the high necks and supercilious heads of the camels + swaying above them. + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said the Moolah, and his voice had lost its conciliatory and + persuasive tone, “there is no more time for you. Here upon the ground I + have made out of two sticks the foolish and superstitious symbol of your + former creed. You will trample upon it, as a sign that you renounce it, + and you will kiss the Koran, as a sign that you accept it, and what more + you need in the way of instruction shall be given to you as you go.” + </p> + <p> + They stood up, the four men and the three women, to meet the crisis of + their fate. None of them, except perhaps Miss Adams and Mrs. Belmont, had + any deep religious convictions. All of them were children of this world, + and some of them disagreed with everything which that symbol upon the + earth represented. But there was the European pride, the pride of the + white race which swelled within them, and held them to the faith of their + countrymen. It was a sinful, human, un-Christian motive, and yet it was + about to make them public martyrs to the Christian creed. In the hush and + tension of their nerves low sounds grew suddenly loud upon their ears. + Those swishing palm-leaves above them were like a swift-flowing river, and + far away they could hear the dull, soft thudding of a galloping camel. + </p> + <p> + “There's something coming,” whispered Cochrane. “Try and stave them off + for five minutes longer, Fardet.” + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman stepped out with a courteous wave of his uninjured arm, and + the air of a man who is prepared to accommodate himself to anything. + </p> + <p> + “You will tell this holy man that I am quite ready to accept his teaching, + and so I am sure are all my friends,” said he to the dragoman. “But there + is one thing which I should wish him to do in order to set at rest any + possible doubts which may remain in our hearts. Every true religion can be + told by the miracles which those who profess it can bring about. Even I, + who am but a humble Christian, can, by virtue of my religion, do some of + these. But you, since your religion is superior, can no doubt do far more, + and so I beg you to give us a sign that we may be able to say that we know + that the religion of Islam is the more powerful.” + </p> + <p> + Behind all his dignity and reserve, the Arab has a good fund of curiosity. + The hush among the listening Arabs showed how the words of the Frenchman + as translated by Mansoor appealed to them. + </p> + <p> + “Such things are in the hands of Allah,” said the priest. “It is not for + us to disturb His laws. But if you have yourself such powers as you claim, + let us be witnesses to them.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0024" id="linkimage-0024"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p210.jpg" + alt="Took a Large, Shining Date out of the Moolah's Beard P210 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + The Frenchman stepped forward, and raising his hand he took a large, + shining date out of the Moolah's beard. This he swallowed and immediately + produced once more from his left elbow. He had often given his little + conjuring entertainment on board the boat, and his fellow-passengers had + had some good-natured laughter at his expense, for he was not quite + skilful enough to deceive the critical European intelligence. But now it + looked as if this piece of obvious palming might be the point upon which + all their fates would hang. A deep hum of surprise rose from the ring of + Arabs, and deepened as the Frenchman drew another date from the nostril of + a camel and tossed it into the air, from which, apparently, it never + descended. That gaping sleeve was obvious enough to his companions, but + the dim light was all in favour of the performer. So delighted and + interested was the audience that they paid little heed to a mounted + camel-man who trotted swiftly between the palm trunks. All might have been + well had not Fardet, carried away by his own success, tried to repeat his + trick once more, with the result that the date fell out of his palm and + the deception stood revealed. In vain he tried to pass on at once to + another of his little stock. The Moolah said something, and an Arab struck + Fardet across the shoulders with the thick shaft of his spear. + </p> + <p> + “We have had enough child's play,” said the angry priest. “Are we men or + babes, that you should try to impose upon us in this manner? Here is the + cross and the Koran—which shall it be?” + </p> + <p> + Fardet looked helplessly round at his companions. + </p> + <p> + “I can do no more; you asked for five minutes. You have had them,” said he + to Colonel Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + “And perhaps it is enough,” the soldier answered. “Here are the Emirs.” + </p> + <p> + The camel-man, whose approach they had heard from afar, had made for the + two Arab chiefs, and had delivered a brief report to them, stabbing with + his forefinger in the direction from which he had come. There was a rapid + exchange of words between the Emirs, and then they strode forward together + to the group around the prisoners. Bigots and barbarians, they were none + the less two most majestic men, as they advanced through the twilight of + the palm grove. The fierce old greybeard raised his hand and spoke swiftly + in short, abrupt sentences, and his savage followers yelped to him like + hounds to a huntsman. The fire that smouldered in his arrogant eyes shone + back at him from a hundred others. Here were to be read the strength and + danger of the Mahdi movement; here in these convulsed faces, in that + fringe of waving arms, in these frantic, red-hot souls, who asked nothing + better than a bloody death, if their own hands might be bloody when they + met it. + </p> + <p> + “Have the prisoners embraced the true faith?” asked the Emir Abderrahman, + looking at them with his cruel eyes. + </p> + <p> + The Moolah had his reputation to preserve, and it was not for him to + confess to a failure. + </p> + <p> + “They were about to embrace it, when——” + </p> + <p> + “Let it rest for a little time, O Moolah.” He gave an order, and the Arabs + all sprang for their camels. The Emir Wad Ibrahim filed off at once with + nearly half the party. The others were mounted and ready, with their + rifles unslung. + </p> + <p> + “What's happened?” asked Belmont. + </p> + <p> + “Things are looking up,” cried the Colonel. “By George, I think we are + going to come through all right. The Gippy Camel Corps are hot on our + trail.” + </p> + <p> + “How do you know?” + </p> + <p> + “What else could have scared them?” + </p> + <p> + “O Colonel, do you really think we shall be saved?” sobbed Sadie. The dull + routine of misery through which they had passed had deadened all their + nerves until they seemed incapable of any acute sensation, but now this + sudden return of hope brought agony with it like the recovery of a + frostbitten limb. Even the strong, self-contained Belmont was filled with + doubts and apprehensions. He had been hopeful when there was no sign of + relief, and now the approach of it set him trembling. + </p> + <p> + “Surely they wouldn't come very weak,” he cried. “Be Jove, if the + Commandant let them come weak, he should be court-martialled.” + </p> + <p> + “Sure, we're in God's hands, anyway,” said his wife, in her soothing, + Irish voice. “Kneel down with me, John, dear, if it's the last time, and + pray that, earth or heaven, we may not be divided.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't do that! Don't!” cried the Colonel, anxiously, for he saw that the + eye of the Moolah was upon them. But it was too late, for the two Roman + Catholics had dropped upon their knees and crossed themselves. A spasm of + fury passed over the face of the Mussulman priest at this public testimony + to the failure of his missionary efforts. He turned and said something to + the Emir. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0025" id="linkimage-0025"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p214.jpg" alt="Stand Up! Cried Mansoor P214 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Stand up!” cried Mansoor. “For your life's sake, stand up! He is asking + for leave to put you to death.” + </p> + <p> + “Let him do what he likes!” said the obstinate Irishman; “we will rise + when our prayers are finished, and not before.” + </p> + <p> + The Emir stood listening to the Moolah, with his baleful gaze upon the two + kneeling figures. Then he gave one or two rapid orders, and four camels + were brought forward. The baggage-camels which they had hitherto ridden + were standing unsaddled where they had been tethered. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be a fool, Belmont!” cried the Colonel; “everything depends upon + our humouring them. Do get up, Mrs. Belmont! You are only putting their + backs up!” + </p> + <p> + The Frenchman shrugged his shoulders as he looked at them. “<i>Mon Dieu!</i>” + he cried, “were there ever such impracticable people? <i>Voilà !</i>” he + added, with a shriek, as the two American ladies fell upon their knees + beside Mrs. Belmont. “It is like the camels—one down, all down! Was + ever anything so absurd?” + </p> + <p> + But Mr. Stephens had knelt down beside Sadie and buried his haggard face + in his long, thin hands. Only the Colonel and Monsieur Fardet remained + standing. Cochrane looked at the Frenchman with an interrogative eye. + </p> + <p> + “After all,” said he, “it is stupid to pray all your life, and not to pray + now when we have nothing to hope for except through the goodness of + Providence.” He dropped upon his knees with a rigid, military back, but + his grizzled, unshaven chin upon his chest. The Frenchman looked at his + kneeling companions, and then his eyes travelled onwards to the angry + faces of the Emir and Moolah. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Sapristi!</i>” he growled. “Do they suppose that a Frenchman is afraid + of them?” and so, with an ostentatious sign of the cross, he took his + place upon his knees beside the others. Foul, bedraggled, and wretched, + the seven figures knelt and waited humbly for their fate under the black + shadow of the palm-tree. + </p> + <p> + The Emir turned to the Moolah with a mocking smile, and pointed at the + results of his ministrations. Then he gave an order, and in an instant the + four men were seized. + </p> + <p> + A couple of deft turns with a camel-halter secured each of their wrists. + Fardet screamed out, for the rope had bitten into his open wound. The + others took it with the dignity of despair. + </p> + <p> + “You have ruined everything. I believe you have ruined me also!” cried + Mansoor, wringing his hands. “The women are to get upon these three + camels.” + </p> + <p> + “Never!” cried Belmont. “We won't be separated!” He plunged madly, but he + was weak from privation, and two strong men held him by each elbow. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0026" id="linkimage-0026"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p217.jpg" alt="Don't Fret, John! Cried his Wife P217 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Don't fret, John!” cried his wife, as they hurried her towards the camel. + “No harm shall come to me. Don't struggle, or they'll hurt you, dear.” + </p> + <p> + The four men writhed as they saw the women dragged away from them. All + their agonies had been nothing to this. Sadie and her aunt appeared to be + half senseless from fear. Only Mrs. Belmont kept a brave face. When they + were seated the camels rose, and were led under the tree behind where the + four men were standing. + </p> + <p> + “I've a pistol in me pocket,” said Belmont, looking up at his wife. “I + would give me soul to be able to pass it to you.” + </p> + <p> + “Keep it, John, and it may be useful yet. I have no fears. Ever since we + prayed I have felt as if our guardian angels had their wings round us.” + She was like a guardian angel herself as she turned to the shrinking + Sadie, and coaxed some little hope back into her despairing heart. + </p> + <p> + The short, thick Arab, who had been in command of Wad Ibrahim's rearguard, + had joined the Emir and the Moolah; the three consulted together, with + occasional oblique glances towards the prisoners. Then the Emir spoke to + Mansoor. + </p> + <p> + “The chief wishes to know which of you four is the richest man?” said the + dragoman. His fingers were twitching with nervousness and plucking + incessantly at the front of his cover-coat. + </p> + <p> + “Why does he wish to know?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “I do not know.” + </p> + <p> + “But it is evident,” cried Monsieur Fardet. + </p> + <p> + “He wishes to know which is the best worth keeping for his ransom.” + </p> + <p> + “I think we should see this thing through together,” said the Colonel. + “It's really for you to decide, Stephens, for I have no doubt that you are + the richest of us.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't know that I am,” the lawyer answered; “but, in any case, I have + no wish to be placed upon a different footing to the others.” + </p> + <p> + The Emir spoke again in his harsh, rasping voice. + </p> + <p> + “He says,” Mansoor translated, “that the baggage-camels are spent, and + that there is only one beast left which can keep up. It is ready now for + one of you, and you have to decide among yourselves which is to have it. + If one is richer than the others, he will have the preference.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell him that we are all equally rich.” + </p> + <p> + “In that case he says that you are to choose at once which is to have the + camel.” + </p> + <p> + “And the others?” + </p> + <p> + The dragoman shrugged his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” said the Colonel, “if only one of us is to escape, I think you + fellows will agree with me that it ought to be Belmont, since he is the + married man.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes, let it be Monsieur Belmont,” cried Fardet. + </p> + <p> + “I think so also,” said Stephens. + </p> + <p> + But the Irishman would not hear of it. + </p> + <p> + “No, no, share and share alike,” he cried. “All sink or all swim, and the + devil take the flincher.” + </p> + <p> + They wrangled among themselves until they became quite heated in this + struggle of unselfishness. Some one had said that the Colonel should go + because he was the oldest, and the Colonel was a very angry man. + </p> + <p> + “One would think I was an octogenarian,” he cried. “These remarks are + quite uncalled for.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, then,” said Belmont, “let us all refuse to go.” + </p> + <p> + “But this is not very wise,” cried the Frenchman. “See, my friends! Here + are the ladies being carried off alone. Surely it would be far better that + one of us should be with them to advise them.” + </p> + <p> + They looked at one another in perplexity. What Fardet said was obviously + true, but how could one of them desert his comrades? The Emir himself + suggested the solution. + </p> + <p> + “The chief says,” said Mansoor, “that if you cannot settle who is to go, + you had better leave it to Allah and draw lots.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't think we can do better,” said the Colonel, and his three + companions nodded their assent. + </p> + <p> + It was the Moolah who approached them with four splinters of palm-bark + protruding from between his fingers. + </p> + <p> + “He says that he who draws the longest has the camel,” says Mansoor. + </p> + <p> + “We must agree to abide absolutely by this,” said Cochrane, and again his + companions nodded. + </p> + <p> + The Dervishes had formed a semicircle in front of them, with a fringe of + the oscillating heads of the camels. Before them was a cooking fire, which + threw its red light over the group. The Emir was standing with his back to + it, and his fierce face towards the prisoners. Behind the four men was a + line of guards, and behind them again the three women, who looked down + from their camels upon this tragedy. With a malicious smile, the fat, + one-eyed Moolah advanced with his fist closed, and the four little brown + spicules protruding from between his fingers. + </p> + <p> + It was to Belmont that he held them first. The Irishman gave an + involuntary groan, and his wife gasped behind him, for the splinter came + away in his hand. Then it was the Frenchman's turn, and his was half an + inch longer than Belmont's. Then came Colonel Cochrane, whose piece was + longer than the two others put together. Stephen's was no bigger than + Belmont's. The Colonel was the winner of this terrible lottery. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0027" id="linkimage-0027"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p222.jpg" + alt="The Colonel Was the Winner of This Terrible Lottery P222 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “You're welcome to my place, Belmont,” said he. “I've neither wife nor + child, and hardly a friend in the world. Go with your wife, and I'll + stay.” + </p> + <p> + “No, indeed! An agreement is an agreement. It's all fair play, and the + prize to the luckiest.” + </p> + <p> + “The Emir says that you are to mount at once,” said Mansoor, and an Arab + dragged the Colonel by his wrist-rope to the waiting camel. + </p> + <p> + “He will stay with the rearguard,” said the Emir to his lieutenant. “You + can keep the women with you also.” + </p> + <p> + “And this dragoman dog?” + </p> + <p> + “Put him with the others.” + </p> + <p> + “And they?” + </p> + <p> + “Put them all to death.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX + </h2> + <p> + As none of the three could understand Arabic, the order of the Emir would + have been unintelligible to them had it not been for the conduct of + Mansoor. The unfortunate dragoman, after all his treachery and all his + subservience and apostasy, found his worst fears realised when the Dervish + leader gave his curt command. With a shriek of fear the poor wretch threw + himself forward upon his face, and clutched at the Arab's jibbeh, clawing + with his brown fingers at the edge of the cotton skirt. The Emir tugged to + free himself, and then, finding that he was still held by that convulsive + grip, he turned and kicked at Mansoor with the vicious impatience with + which one drives off a pestering cur. The dragoman's high red tarboosh + flew up into the air, and he lay groaning upon his face where the stunning + blow of the Arab's horny foot had left him. + </p> + <p> + All was bustle and movement in the camp, for the old Emir had mounted his + camel, and some of his party were already beginning to follow their + companions. The squat lieutenant, the Moolah, and about a dozen Dervishes + surrounded the prisoners. They had not mounted their camels, for they were + told off to be the ministers of death. The three men understood as they + looked upon their faces that the sand was running very low in the glass of + their lives. Their hands were still bound, but their guards had ceased to + hold them. They turned round, all three, and said good-bye to the women + upon the camels. + </p> + <p> + “All up now, Norah,” said Belmont. “It's hard luck when there was a chance + of a rescue, but we've done our best.” + </p> + <p> + For the first time his wife had broken down. She was sobbing convulsively, + with her face between her hands. + </p> + <p> + “Don't cry, little woman! We've had a good time together. Give my love to + all my friends at Bray! Remember me to Amy McCarthy and to the + Blessingtons. You'll find there is enough and to spare, but I would take + Rogers's advice about the investments. Mind that!” + </p> + <p> + “O John, I won't live without you!” Sorrow for her sorrow broke the strong + man down, and he buried his face in the hairy side of her camel. The two + of them sobbed helplessly together. + </p> + <p> + Stephens meanwhile had pushed his way to Sadie's beast. She saw his worn, + earnest face looking up at her through the dim light. + </p> + <p> + “Don't be afraid for your aunt and for yourself,” said he. “I am sure that + you will escape. Colonel Cochrane will look after you. The Egyptians + cannot be far behind. I do hope you will have a good drink before you + leave the wells. I wish I could give your aunt my jacket, for it will be + cold tonight. I'm afraid I can't get it off. She should keep some of the + bread, and eat it in the early morning.” + </p> + <p> + He spoke quite quietly, like a man who is arranging the details of a + picnic. A sudden glow of admiration for this quietly consistent man warmed + her impulsive heart. + </p> + <p> + “How unselfish you are!” she cried. “I never saw any one like you. Talk + about saints! There you stand in the very presence of death, and you think + only of us.” + </p> + <p> + “I want to say a last word to you, Sadie, if you don't mind. I should die + so much happier. I have often wanted to speak to you, but I thought that + perhaps you would laugh, for you never took anything very seriously, did + you? That was quite natural, of course, with your high spirits, but still + it was very serious to me. But now I am really a dead man, so it does not + matter very much what I say.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, don't, Mr. Stephens!” cried the girl. + </p> + <p> + “I won't, if it is very painful to you. As I said, it would make me die + happier, but I don't want to be selfish about it. If I thought it would + darken your life afterwards or be a sad recollection to you I would not + say another word.” + </p> + <p> + “What did you wish to say?” + </p> + <p> + “It was only to tell you how I loved you. I always loved you. From the + first I was a different man when I was with you. But of course it was + absurd, I knew that well enough. I never said anything, and I tried not to + make myself ridiculous. But I just want you to know about it now that it + can't matter one way or the other. You'll understand that I really do love + you when I tell you that, if it were not that I knew you were frightened + and unhappy, these last two days in which we have been always together + would have been infinitely the happiest of my life.” + </p> + <p> + The girl sat pale and silent, looking down with wondering eyes at his + upturned face. She did not know what to do or say in the solemn presence + of this love which burned so brightly under the shadow of death. To her + child's heart it seemed incomprehensible,—and yet she understood + that it was sweet and beautiful also. + </p> + <p> + “I won't say any more,” said he; “I can see that it only bothers you. But + I wanted you to know, and now you do know, so it is all right. Thank you + for listening so patiently and gently. Good-bye, little Sadie! I can't put + my hand up. Will you put yours down?” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0028" id="linkimage-0028"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p229.jpg" alt="Good-bye, Little Sadie P229 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + She did so and Stephens kissed it. Then he turned and took his place once + more between Belmont and Fardet. In his whole life of struggle and success + he had never felt such a glow of quiet contentment as suffused him at that + instant when the grip of death was closing upon him. There is no arguing + about love. It is the innermost fact of life, the one which obscures and + changes all the others, the only one which is absolutely satisfying and + complete. Pain is pleasure, and want is comfort, and death is sweetness + when once that golden mist is round it. So it was that Stephens could have + sung with joy as he faced his murderers. He really had not time to think + about them. The important, all-engrossing, delightful thing was that she + could not look upon him as a casual acquaintance any more. Through all her + life she would think of him—she would know. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Cochrane's camel was at one side, and the old soldier, whose + wrists had been freed, had been looking down upon the scene, and wondering + in his tenacious way whether all hope must really be abandoned. It was + evident that the Arabs who were grouped round the victims were to remain + behind with them, while the others who were mounted would guard the three + women and himself. He could not understand why the throats of his + companions had not been already cut, unless it were that with an Eastern + refinement of cruelty this rearguard would wait until the Egyptians were + close to them, so that the warm bodies of their victims might be an insult + to the pursuers. No doubt that was the right explanation. The Colonel had + heard of such a trick before. + </p> + <p> + But in that case there would not be more than twelve Arabs with the + prisoners. Were there any of the friendly ones among them? If Tippy Tilly + and six of his men were there, and if Belmont could get his arms free and + his hand upon his revolver, they might come through yet. The Colonel + craned his neck and groaned in his disappointment. He could see the faces + of the guards in the firelight. They were all Baggara Arabs, men who were + beyond either pity or bribery. Tippy Tilly and the others must have gone + on with the advance. For the first time the stiff old soldier abandoned + hope. + </p> + <p> + “Good-bye, you fellows! God bless you!” he cried, as a negro pulled at his + camel's nose-ring and made him follow the others. The women came after + him, in a misery too deep for words. Their departure was a relief to the + three men who were left. + </p> + <p> + “I am glad they are gone,” said Stephens, from his heart. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes, it is better,” cried Fardet. “How long are we to wait?” + </p> + <p> + “Not very long now,” said Belmont, grimly, as the Arabs closed in around + them. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel and the three women gave one backward glance when they came to + the edge of the oasis. Between the straight stems of the palms they saw + the gleam of the fire, and above the group of Arabs they caught a last + glimpse of the three white hats. An instant later, the camels began to + trot, and when they looked back once more the palm grove was only a black + clump with the vague twinkle of a light somewhere in the heart of it. As + with yearning eyes they gazed at that throbbing red point in the darkness, + they passed over the edge of the depression, and in an instant the huge, + silent, moonlit desert was round them without a sign of the oasis which + they had left. On every side the velvet, blue-black sky, with its blazing + stars, sloped downwards to the vast, dun-coloured plain. The two were + blurred into one at their point of junction. + </p> + <p> + The women had sat in the silence of despair, and the Colonel had been + silent also—for what could he say?—but suddenly all four + started in their saddles, and Sadie gave a sharp cry of dismay. In the + hush of the night there had come from behind them the petulant crack of a + rifle, then another, then several together, with a brisk rat-tat-tat, and + then, after an interval, one more. + </p> + <p> + “It may be the rescuers! It may be the Egyptians!” cried Mrs. Belmont, + with a sudden flicker of hope. “Colonel Cochrane, don't you think it may + be the Egyptians?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes,” Sadie whimpered. “It must be the Egyptians.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel had listened expectantly, but all was silent again. Then he + took his hat off with a solemn gesture. + </p> + <p> + “There is no use deceiving ourselves, Mrs. Belmont,” said he; “we may as + well face the truth. Our friends are gone from us, but they have met their + end like brave men.” + </p> + <p> + “But why should they fire their guns? They had—— they had + spears.” She shuddered as she said it. + </p> + <p> + “That is true,” said the Colonel. “I would not for the world take away any + real grounds of hope which you may have; but, on the other hand, there is + no use in preparing bitter disappointments for ourselves. If we had been + listening to an attack, we should have heard some reply. Besides, an + Egyptian attack would have been an attack in force. No doubt it <i>is</i>, + as you say, a little strange that they should have wasted their + cartridges,—by Jove, look at that!” + </p> + <p> + He was pointing over the eastern desert. Two figures were moving across + its expanse, swiftly and stealthily, furtive dark shadows against the + lighter ground. They saw them dimly, dipping and rising over the rolling + desert, now lost, now reappearing in the uncertain light. They were flying + away from the Arabs. And then, suddenly they halted upon the summit of a + sand-hill, and the prisoners could see them outlined plainly against the + sky. They were camel-men, but they sat their camels astride as a horseman + sits his horse. + </p> + <p> + “Gippy Camel Corps!” cried the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “Two men,” said Miss Adams, in a voice of despair. + </p> + <p> + “Only a vedette, ma'am! Throwing feelers out all over the desert. This is + one of them. Main body ten miles off, as likely as not. There they go + giving the alarm! Good old Camel Corps!” + </p> + <p> + The self-contained, methodical soldier had suddenly turned almost + inarticulate with his excitement. There was a red flash upon the top of + the sand-hill, and then another, followed by the crack of the rifles. Then + with a whisk the two figures were gone, as swiftly and silently as two + trout in a stream. + </p> + <p> + The Arabs had halted for an instant, as if uncertain whether they should + delay their journey to pursue them or not. There was nothing left to + pursue now, for amid the undulations of the sand-drift the vedettes might + have gone in any direction. The Emir galloped back along the line, with + exhortations and orders. Then the camels began to trot, and the hopes of + the prisoners were dulled by the agonies of the terrible jolt. Mile after + mile and mile after mile they sped onwards over that vast expanse, the + women clinging as best they might to the pommels, the Colonel almost as + spent as they, but still keenly on the lookout for any sign of the + pursuers. + </p> + <p> + “I think—— I think,” cried Mrs. Belmont, “that something is + moving in front of us.” + </p> + <p> + The Colonel raised himself upon his saddle, and screened his eyes from the + moonshine. + </p> + <p> + “By Jove, you're right there, ma'am. There are men over yonder.” + </p> + <p> + They could all see them now, a straggling line of riders far ahead of them + in the desert. + </p> + <p> + “They are going in the same direction as we,” cried Mrs. Belmont, whose + eyes were very much better than the Colonel's. + </p> + <p> + Cochrane muttered an oath into his moustache. + </p> + <p> + “Look at the tracks there,” said he; “of course, it's our own vanguard who + left the palm grove before us. The chief keeps us at this infernal pace in + order to close up with them.” + </p> + <p> + As they drew closer they could see plainly that it was indeed the other + body of Arabs, and presently the Emir Wad Ibrahim came trotting back to + take counsel with the Emir Abderrahman. They pointed in the direction in + which the vedettes had appeared, and shook their heads like men who have + many and grave misgivings. Then the raiders joined into one long, + straggling line, and the whole body moved steadily on towards the Southern + Cross, which was twinkling just over the skyline in front of them. Hour + after hour the dreadful trot continued, while the fainting ladies clung on + convulsively, and Cochrane, worn out but indomitable, encouraged them to + hold out, and peered backwards over the desert for the first glad signs of + their pursuers. The blood throbbed in his temples, and he cried that he + heard the roll of drums coming out of the darkness. In his feverish + delirium he saw clouds of pursuers at their very heels, and during the + long night he was for ever crying glad tidings which ended in + disappointment and heartache. The rise of the sun showed the desert + stretching away around them, with nothing moving upon its monstrous face + except themselves. With dull eyes and heavy hearts they stared round at + that huge and empty expanse. Their hopes thinned away like the light + morning mist upon the horizon. + </p> + <p> + It was shocking to the ladies to look at their companion and to think of + the spruce, hale old soldier who had been their fellow-passenger from + Cairo. As in the case of Miss Adams, old age seemed to have pounced upon + him in one spring. His hair, which had grizzled hour by hour during his + privations, was now of a silvery white. White stubble, too, had obscured + the firm, clean line of his chin and throat. The veins of his face were + injected and his features were shot with heavy wrinkles. He rode with his + back arched and his chin sunk upon his breast, for the old, time-rotted + body was worn out, but in his bright, alert eyes there was always a trace + of the gallant tenant who lived in the shattered house. Delirious, spent, + and dying, he preserved his chivalrous, protecting air as he turned to the + ladies, shot little scraps of advice and encouragement at them, and peered + back continually for the help which never came. + </p> + <p> + An hour after sunrise the raiders called a halt, and food and water were + served out to all. Then at a more moderate pace they pursued their + southern journey, their long, straggling line trailing out over a quarter + of a mile of desert. From their more careless bearing and the way in which + they chatted as they rode, it was clear that they thought that they had + shaken off their pursuers. Their direction now was east as well as south, + and it was evidently their intention after this long detour to strike the + Nile again at some point far above the Egyptian outposts. Already the + character of the scenery was changing, and they were losing the long + levels of the pebbly desert, and coming once more upon those fantastic, + sunburned black rocks and that rich orange sand through which they had + already passed. On every side of them rose the scaly, conical hills with + their loose, slaglike <i>débris</i>, and jagged-edged khors, with sinuous + streams of sand running like watercourses down their centre. The camels + followed each other, twisting in and out among the boulders, and + scrambling with their adhesive, spongy feet over places which would have + been impossible for horses. Among the broken rocks those behind could + sometimes only see the long, undulating, darting necks of the creatures in + front, as if it were some nightmare procession of serpents. Indeed, it had + much the effect of a dream upon the prisoners, for there was no sound, + save the soft, dull padding and shuffling of the feet. The strange, wild + frieze moved slowly and silently onwards amid a setting of black stone and + yellow sand, with the one arch of vivid blue spanning the rugged edges of + the ravine. + </p> + <p> + Miss Adams, who had been frozen into silence during the long cold night, + began to thaw now in the cheery warmth of the rising sun. She looked about + her, and rubbed her thin hands together. + </p> + <p> + “Why, Sadie,” she remarked, “I thought I heard you in the night, dear, and + now I see that you have been crying.” + </p> + <p> + “I have been thinking, Auntie.” “Well, we must try and think of others, + dearie, and not of ourselves.” “It's not of myself, Auntie.” “Never fret + about me, Sadie.” “No, Auntie, I was not thinking of you.” “Was it of any + one in particular.” “Of Mr. Stephens, Auntie. How gentle he was, and how + brave! To think of him fixing up every little thing for us, and trying to + pull his jacket over his poor roped-up hands, with those murderers waiting + all round his. He's my saint and hero from now ever after.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, he's out of his troubles anyhow,” said Miss Adams, with that + bluntness which the years bring with them. + </p> + <p> + “Then I wish I was also.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't see how that would help him.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I think he might feel less lonesome,” said Sadie, and drooped her + saucy little chin upon her breast. + </p> + <p> + The four had been riding in silence for some little time, when the Colonel + clapped his hand to his brow with a gesture of dismay. + </p> + <p> + “Good God!” he cried, “I am going off my head.” + </p> + <p> + Again and again they had perceived it during the night, but he had seemed + quite rational since daybreak. They were shocked, therefore, at this + sudden outbreak, and tried to calm him with soothing words. + </p> + <p> + “Mad as a hatter,” he shouted. “Whatever do you think I saw?” + </p> + <p> + “Don't trouble about it, whatever it was,” said Mrs. Belmont, laying her + hand soothingly upon his as the camels closed together. “It is no wonder + that you are overdone. You have thought and worked for all of us so long. + We shall halt presently, and a few hours' sleep will quite restore you.” + </p> + <p> + But the Colonel looked up again, and again he cried out in his agitation + and surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I never saw anything plainer in my life,” he groaned. “It is on the point + of rock on our right front,—poor old Stuart with my red cummerbund + round his head just the same as we left him.” + </p> + <p> + The ladies had followed the direction of the Colonel's frightened gaze, + and in an instant they were all as amazed as he. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0029" id="linkimage-0029"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p242.jpg" + alt="On This Pinnacle Stood a Motionless Figure P242 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + There was a black, bulging ridge like a bastion upon the right side of the + terrible khor up which the camels were winding. At one point it rose into + a small pinnacle. On this pinnacle stood a solitary, motionless figure + clad entirely in black, save for a brilliant dash of scarlet upon his + head. There could not surely be two such short, sturdy figures or such + large, colourless faces in the Libyan desert. His shoulders were stooping + forward, and he seemed to be staring intently down into the ravine. His + pose and outline were like a caricature of the great Napoleon. + </p> + <p> + “Can it possibly be he?” + </p> + <p> + “It must be. It is!” cried the ladies. “You see he is looking towards us + and waving his hand.” + </p> + <p> + “Good Heavens! They'll shoot him! Get down, you fool, or you'll be shot!” + roared the Colonel. But his dry throat would only emit a discordant + croaking. + </p> + <p> + Several of the Dervishes had seen the singular apparition upon the hill, + and had un-slung their Remingtons, but a long arm suddenly shot up behind + the figure of the Birmingham clergyman, a brown hand seized upon his + skirts, and he disappeared with a snap. Higher up the pass, just below the + spot where Mr. Stuart had been standing, appeared the tall figure of the + Emir Abderrahman. He had sprung upon a boulder, and was shouting and + waving his arms, but the shouts were drowned in a long, rippling roar of + musketry from each side of the khor. The bastion-like cliff was fringed + with gun-barrels, with red tarbooshes drooping over the triggers. From the + other lip also came the long spurts of flame and the angry clatter of the + rifles. The raiders were caught in an ambuscade. The Emir fell, but was up + again and waving. There was a splotch of blood upon his long white beard. + He kept pointing and gesticulating, but his scattered followers could not + understand what he wanted. Some of them came tearing down the pass, and + some from behind were pushing to the front. A few dismounted and tried to + climb up sword in hand to that deadly line of muzzles, but one by one they + were hit, and came rolling from rock to rock to the bottom of the ravine. + The shooting was not very good. One negro made his way unharmed up the + whole side, only to have his brains dashed out with the butt-end of a + Martini at the top. The Emir had fallen off his rock and lay in a crumpled + heap, like a brown and white patch-work quilt at the bottom of it. And + then when half of them were down it became evident, even to those exalted + fanatical souls, that there was no chance for them, and that they must get + out of these fatal rocks and into the desert again. They galloped down the + pass, and it is a frightful thing to see a camel galloping over broken + ground. The beast's own terror, his ungainly bounds, the sprawl of his + four legs all in the air together, his hideous cries, and the yells of his + rider who is bucked high from his saddle with every spring, make a picture + which is not to be forgotten. The women screamed as this mad torrent of + frenzied creatures came pouring past them, but the Colonel edged his camel + and theirs farther and farther in among the rocks and away from the + retreating Arabs. The air was full of whistling bullets, and they could + hear them smacking loudly against the stones all round them. + </p> + <p> + “Keep quiet, and they'll pass us,” whispered the Colonel, who was all + himself again now that the hour for action had arrived. “I wish to Heaven + I could see Tippy Tilly or any of his friends. Now is the time for them to + help us.” He watched the mad stream of fugitives as they flew past upon + their shambling, squattering, loose-jointed beasts, but the black face of + the Egyptian gunner was not among them. + </p> + <p> + And now it really did seem as if the whole body of them, in their haste to + get clear of the ravine, had not a thought to spend upon the prisoners. + The rush was past, and only stragglers were running the gauntlet of the + fierce fire which poured upon them from above. The last of all, a young + Baggara with a black moustache and pointed beard, looked up as he passed + and shook his sword in impotent passion at the Egyptian riflemen. At the + same instant a bullet struck his camel, and the creature collapsed, all + neck and legs, upon the ground. The young Arab sprang off its back, and, + seizing its nose-ring, he beat it savagely with the flat of his sword to + make it stand up. But the dim, glazing eye told its own tale, and in + desert warfare the death of the beast is the death of the rider. The + Baggara glared round like a lion at bay, his dark eyes flashing + murderously from under his red turban. A crimson spot, and then another, + sprang out upon his dark skin, but he never winced at the bullet wounds. + His fierce gaze had fallen upon the prisoners, and with an exultant shout + he was dashing towards them, his broad-bladed sword gleaming above his + head. Miss Adams was the nearest to him, but at the sight of the rushing + figure and the maniac face she threw herself off the camel upon the far + side. The Arab bounded on to a rock and aimed a thrust at Mrs. Belmont, + but before the point could reach her the Colonel leaned forward with his + pistol and blew the man's head in. Yet with a concentrated rage, which was + superior even to the agony of death, the fellow lay kicking and striking, + bounding about among the loose stones like a fish upon the shingle. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0030" id="linkimage-0030"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p247.jpg" + alt="The Colonel Leaned Forward With his Pistol P247 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Don't be frightened, ladies,” cried the Colonel. “He is quite dead, I + assure you. I am so sorry to have done this in your presence, but the + fellow was dangerous. I had a little score of my own to settle with him, + for he was the man who tried to break my ribs with his Remington. I hope + you are not hurt, Miss Adams! One instant, and I will come down to you.” + </p> + <p> + But the old Boston lady was by no means hurt, for the rocks had been so + high that she had a very short distance to fall from her saddle. Sadie, + Mrs. Belmont, and Colonel Cochrane had all descended by slipping on to the + boulders and climbing down from them. But they found Miss Adams on her + feet, and waving the remains of her green veil in triumph. + </p> + <p> + “Hurrah, Sadie! Hurrah, my own darling Sadie!” she was shrieking. “We are + saved, my girl, we are saved after all.” + </p> + <p> + “By George, so we are!” cried the Colonel, and they all shouted in an + ecstasy together. + </p> + <p> + But Sadie had learned to think more about others during those terrible + days of schooling. Her arms were round Mrs. Belmont, and her cheek against + hers. + </p> + <p> + “You dear, sweet angel,” she cried, “how can we have the heart to be glad + when you—when you——” + </p> + <p> + “But I don't believe it is so,” cried the brave Irishwoman. “No, I'll + never believe it until I see John's body lying before me. And when I see + that, I don't want to live to see anything more.” + </p> + <p> + The last Dervish had clattered down the khor, and now above them on either + cliff they could see the Egyptians—tall, thin, square-shouldered + figures, looking, when outlined against the blue sky, wonderfully like the + warriors in the ancient bas-reliefs. Their camels were in the background, + and they were hurrying to join them. At the same time others began to ride + down from the farther end of the ravine, their dark faces flushed and + their eyes shining with the excitement of victory and pursuit. A very + small Englishman, with a straw-coloured moustache and a weary manner, was + riding at the head of them. He halted his camel beside the fugitives and + saluted the ladies. He wore brown boots and brown belts with steel + buckles, which looked trim and workmanlike against his kharki uniform. + </p> + <p> + “Had 'em that time—had 'em proper!” said he. “Very glad to have been + of any assistance, I'm Shaw. Hope you're none the worse for it all. What I + mean, it's rather rough work for ladies.” + </p> + <p> + “You're from Haifa, I suppose?” asked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + “No, we're from the other show. We're the Sarras crowd, you know. We met + in the desert, and we headed 'em off, and the other Johnnies headed them + behind. We've got 'em on toast, I tell you. Get up on that rock and you'll + see things happen. It's going to be a knockout in one round this time.” + </p> + <p> + “We left some of our people at the wells. We are very uneasy about them,” + said the Colonel. “I suppose you have not heard anything of them?” + </p> + <p> + The young officer looked serious and shook his head. “Bad job that!” said + he. “They're a poisonous crowd when you put 'em in a corner. What I mean, + we never expected to see you alive; and we're very glad to pull any of you + out of the fire. The most we hoped was that we might revenge you.” + </p> + <p> + “Any other Englishman with you?” “Archer is with the flanking party. He'll + have to come past, for I don't think there is any other way down. We've + got one of your chaps up there—a funny old bird with a red topknot. + See you later, I hope! Good day, ladies!” He touched his helmet, tapped + his camel, and trotted on after his men. + </p> + <p> + “We can't do better than stay where we are until they are all past,” said + the Colonel, for it was evident now that the men from above would have to + come round. In a broken single file they went past, black men and brown, + Soudanese and fellaheen, but all of the best, for the Camel Corps is the + <i>corps d'elite</i> of the Egyptian army. Each had a brown bandolier over + his chest and his rifle held across his thigh. A large man with a drooping + black moustache and a pair of binoculars in his hand was riding at the + side of them. + </p> + <p> + “Hulloa, Archer!” croaked the Colonel. + </p> + <p> + The officer looked at him with the vacant, unresponsive eye of a complete + stranger. + </p> + <p> + “I'm Cochrane, you know! We travelled up together.” + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, sir, but you have the advantage of me,” said the officer. “I + knew a Colonel Cochrane, but you are not the man. He was three inches + taller than you, with black hair and——” + </p> + <p> + “That's all right,” cried the Colonel, testily. “You try a few days with + the Dervishes, and see if your friends will recognise you!” + </p> + <p> + “Good God, Cochrane, is it really you? I could not have believed it. Great + Scott, what you must have been through! I've heard before of fellows going + grey in a night, but, by Jove——” + </p> + <p> + “Quite so,” said the Colonel, flushing. “Allow me to hint to you, Archer, + that if you could get some food and drink for these ladies, instead of + discussing my personal appearance, it would be much more practical.” + </p> + <p> + “That's all right,” said Captain Archer. + </p> + <p> + “Your friend Stuart knows that you are here, and he is bringing some stuff + round for you. Poor fare, ladies, but the best we have! You're an old + soldier, Cochrane. Get up on the rocks presently, and you'll see a lovely + sight. No time to stop, for we shall be in action again in five minutes. + Anything I can do before I go?” + </p> + <p> + “You haven't got such a thing as a cigar?” asked the Colonel, wistfully. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0031" id="linkimage-0031"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p253.jpg" + alt="You Haven't Got Such a Thing As A Cigar P253 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Archer drew a thick satisfying partaga from his case and handed it down, + with half-a-dozen wax vestas. Then he cantered after his men, and the old + soldier leaned back against the rock and drew in the fragrant smoke. It + was then that his jangled nerves knew the full virtue of tobacco, the + gentle anodyne which stays the failing strength and soothes the worrying + brain. He watched the dim, blue reek swirling up from him, and he felt the + pleasant, aromatic bite upon his palate, while a restful languor crept + over his weary and harassed body. The three ladies sat together upon a + flat rock. + </p> + <p> + “Good land, what a sight you are, Sadie!” cried Miss Adams, suddenly, and + it was the first reappearance of her old self. “What <i>would</i> your + mother say if she saw you? Why, sakes alive, your hair is full of straw + and your frock clean crazy!” + </p> + <p> + “I guess we all want some setting to right,” said Sadie, in a voice which + was much more subdued than that of the Sadie of old. “Mrs. Belmont, you + look just too perfectly sweet anyhow, but if you'll allow me, I'll fix + your dress for you.” + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Belmont's eyes were far away, and she shook her head sadly as she + gently put the girl's hands aside. + </p> + <p> + “I do not care how I look. I cannot think of it,” said she; “could <i>you</i>, + if you had left the man you love behind you, as I have mine?” + </p> + <p> + “I'm begin—beginning to think I have,” sobbed poor Sadie, and buried + her hot face in Mrs. Belmont's motherly bosom. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X + </h2> + <p> + The Camel Corps had all passed onwards down the khor in pursuit of the + retreating Dervishes, and for a few minutes the escaped prisoners had been + left alone. But now there came a cheery voice calling upon them, and a red + turban bobbed about among the rocks, with the large white face of the + Nonconformist minister smiling from beneath it. He had a thick lance with + which to support his injured leg, and this murderous crutch combined with + his peaceful appearance to give him a most incongruous aspect,—as of + a sheep which has suddenly developed claws. Behind him were two negroes + with a basket and a water-skin. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0032" id="linkimage-0032"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p255.jpg" alt="Not a Word! Not A Word! P255 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “Not a word! Not a word!” he cried, as he stumped up to them. “I know + exactly how you feel. I've been there myself. Bring the water, Ali! Only + half a cup, Miss Adams; you shall have some more presently. Now your turn, + Mrs. Belmont! Dear me, dear me, you poor souls, how my heart does bleed + for you! There's bread and meat in the basket, but you must be very + moderate at first.” He chuckled with joy, and slapped his fat hands + together as he watched them. + </p> + <p> + “But the others?” he asked, his face turning grave again. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel shook his head. “We left them behind at the wells. I fear that + it is all over with them.” + </p> + <p> + “Tut, tut!” cried the clergyman, in a boisterous voice, which could not + cover the despondency of his expression; “you thought, no doubt, that it + was all over with me, but here I am in spite of it. Never lose heart, Mrs. + Belmont. Your husband's position could not possibly be as hopeless as mine + was.” + </p> + <p> + “When I saw you standing on that rock up yonder, I put it down to + delirium,” said the Colonel. “If the ladies had not seen you, I should + never have ventured to believe it.” + </p> + <p> + “I am afraid that I behaved very badly. Captain Archer says that I nearly + spoiled all their plans, and that I deserved to be tried by a drumhead + court-trial and shot. The fact is that, when I heard the Arabs beneath me, + I forgot myself in my anxiety to know if any of you were left.” + </p> + <p> + “I wonder that you were not shot without any drumhead court-martial,” said + the Colonel. “But how in the world did you get here?” + </p> + <p> + “The Haifa people were close upon our track at the time when I was + abandoned, and they picked me up in the desert. I must have been + delirious, I suppose, for they tell me that they heard my voice, singing + hymns, a long way off, and it was that, under the providence of God, which + brought them to me. They had a camel ambulance, and I was quite myself + again by next day. I came with the Sarras people after we met them, + because they have the doctor with them. My wound is nothing, and he says + that a man of my habit will be the better for the loss of blood. And now, + my friends,”—his big, brown eyes lost their twinkle, and became very + solemn and reverent,—“we have all been upon the very confines of + death, and our dear companions may be so at this instant. The same power + which saved us may save them, and let us pray together that it may be so, + always remembering that if, in spite of our prayers, it should <i>not</i> + be so, then that also must be accepted as the best and wisest thing.” + </p> + <p> + So they knelt together among the black rocks, and prayed as some of them + had never prayed before. It was very well to discuss prayer and treat it + lightly and philosophically upon the deck of the <i>Korosko</i>. It was + easy to feel strong and self-confident in the comfortable deck-chair, with + the slippered Arab handing round the coffee and liqueurs. But they had + been swept out of that placid stream of existence, and dashed against the + horrible, jagged facts of life. Battered and shaken, they must have + something to cling to. A blind, inexorable destiny was too horrible a + belief. A chastening power, acting intelligently and for a purpose,—a + living, working power, tearing them out of their grooves, breaking down + their small sectarian ways, forcing them into the better path,—that + was what they had learned to realise during these days of horror. Great + hands had closed suddenly upon them and had moulded them into new shapes, + and fitted them for new uses. Could such a power be deflected by any human + supplication? It was that or nothing,—the last court of appeal, left + open to injured humanity. And so they all prayed, as lover loves, or a + poet writes, from the very inside of their souls, and they rose with that + singular, illogical feeling of inward peace and satisfaction which prayer + only can give. + </p> + <p> + “Hush!” said Cochrane. “Listen!” The sound of a volley came crackling up + the narrow khor, and then another and another. The Colonel was fidgeting + about like an old horse which hears the bugle of the hunt and the yapping + of the pack. “Where can we see what is going on?” “Come this way! This + way, if you please! There is a path up to the top. If the ladies will come + after me, they will be spared the sight of anything painful.” + </p> + <p> + The clergyman led them along the side to avoid the bodies which were + littered thickly down the bottom of the khor. It was hard walking over the + shingly, slaggy stones, but they made their way to the summit at last. + Beneath them lay the vast expanse of the rolling desert, and in the + foreground such a scene as none of them are ever likely to forget. In that + perfectly dry and clear light, with the unvarying brown tint of the hard + desert as a background, every detail stood out as clearly as if these were + toy figures arranged upon a table within hand's touch of them. + </p> + <p> + The Dervishes—or what was left of them—were riding slowly some + little distance out in a confused crowd, their patchwork jibbehs and red + turbans swaying with the motion of their camels. They did not present the + appearance of men who were defeated, for their movements were very + deliberate, but they looked about them and changed their formation as if + they were uncertain what their tactics ought to be. It was no wonder that + they were puzzled, for upon their spent camels their situation was as + hopeless as could be conceived. The Sarras men had all emerged from the + khor, and had dismounted, the beasts being held in groups of four, while + the riflemen knelt in a long line with a woolly, curling fringe of smoke, + sending volley after volley at the Arabs, who shot back in a desultory + fashion from the backs of their camels. But it was not upon the sullen + group of Dervishes, nor yet upon the long line of kneeling riflemen, that + the eyes of the spectators were fixed. Far out upon the desert, three + squadrons of the Haifa Camel Corps were coming up in a dense close column, + which wheeled beautifully into a widespread semicircle as it approached. + The Arabs were caught between two fires. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0033" id="linkimage-0033"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p261.jpg" alt="Arabs Were Caught Between Two Fires P261 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “By Jove!” cried the Colonel. “See that!” + </p> + <p> + The camels of the Dervishes had all knelt down simultaneously, and the men + had sprung from their backs. In front of them was a tall, stately figure, + who could only be the Emir Wad Ibrahim. They saw him kneel for an instant + in prayer. Then he rose, and taking something from his saddle he placed it + very deliberately upon the sand and stood upon it. + </p> + <p> + “Good man!” cried the Colonel. “He is standing upon his sheepskin.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean by that?” asked Stuart. + </p> + <p> + “Every Arab has a sheepskin upon his saddle. When he recognises that his + position is perfectly hopeless, and yet is determined to fight to the + death, he takes his sheepskin off and stands upon it until he dies. See, + they are all upon their sheepskins. They will neither give nor take + quarter now.” + </p> + <p> + The drama beneath them was rapidly approaching its climax. The Haifa Corps + was well up, and a ring of smoke and flame surrounded the clump of + kneeling Dervishes, who answered it as best they could. Many of them were + already down, but the rest loaded and fired with the unflinching courage + which has always made them worthy antagonists. A dozen kharki-dressed + figures upon the sand showed that it was no bloodless victory for the + Egyptians. But now there was a stirring bugle-call from the Sarras men, + and another answered it from the Haifa Corps. Their camels were down also, + and the men had formed up into a single long curved line. One last volley + and they were charging inwards with the wild inspiriting yell which the + blacks had brought with them from their central African wilds. For a + minute there was a mad vortex of rushing figures, rifle-butts rising and + falling, spearheads gleaming and darting among the rolling dust cloud. + Then the bugle rang out once more, the Egyptians fell back and formed up + with the quick precision of highly disciplined troops, and there in the + centre, each upon his sheepskin, lay the gallant barbarian and his + raiders. The nineteenth century had been revenged upon the seventh. + </p> + <p> + The three women had stared horror-stricken and yet fascinated at the + stirring scene before them. Now Sadie and her aunt were sobbing together. + The Colonel had turned to them with some cheering words when his eyes fell + upon the face of Mrs. Belmont. It was as white and set as if it were + carved from ivory, and her large grey eyes were fixed as if she were in a + trance. + </p> + <p> + “Good Heavens, Mrs. Belmont, what <i>is</i> the matter?” he cried. + </p> + <p> + For answer she pointed out over the desert. Far away, miles on the other + side of the scene of the fight, a small body of men were riding towards + them. + </p> + <p> + “By Jove, yes; there's some one there. Who can it be?” + </p> + <p> + They were all straining their eyes, but the distance was so great that + they could only be sure that they were camel-men and about a dozen in + number. + </p> + <p> + “It's those devils who were left behind in the palm grove,” said Cochrane. + “There's no one else it can be. One consolation, they can't get away + again. They've walked right into the lion's mouth.” + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Belmont was still gazing with the same fixed intensity and the + same ivory face. Now, with a wild shriek of joy, she threw her two hands + into the air. “It's they!” she screamed. “They are saved! It's they, + Colonel, it's they! O Miss Adams, Miss Adams, it is they!” She capered + about on the top of the hill with wild eyes like an excited child. + </p> + <p> + Her companions would not believe her, for they could see nothing, but + there are moments when our mortal senses are more acute than those who + have never put their whole heart and soul into them can ever realise. Mrs. + Belmont had already run down the rocky path, on the way to her camel, + before they could distinguish that which had long before carried its glad + message to her. In the van of the approaching party, three white dots + shimmered in the sun, and they could only come from the three European + hats. The riders were travelling swiftly, and by the time their comrades + had started to meet them they could plainly see that it was indeed + Belmont, Fardet, and Stephens, with the dragoman Mansoor, and the wounded + Soudanese rifleman. As they came together they saw that their escort + consisted of Tippy Tilly and the other old Egyptian soldiers. Belmont + rushed onwards to meet his wife, but Fardet stopped to grasp the Colonel's + hand. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Vive la France! Vivent les Anglais!</i>” he was yelling. “<i>Tout va + bien, n'est ce pas</i>, Colonel? Ah, <i>canaille! Vivent les croix et les + Chrétiens!</i>” He was incoherent in his delight. + </p> + <p> + The Colonel, too, was as enthusiastic as his Anglo-Saxon standard would + permit. He could not gesticulate, but he laughed in the nervous, crackling + way which was his top-note of emotion. + </p> + <p> + “My dear boy, I am deuced glad to see you all again. I gave you up for + lost. Never was as pleased at anything in my life! How did you get away?” + </p> + <p> + “It was all your doing.” + </p> + <p> + “Mine?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, my friend, and I have been quarrelling with you,—ungrateful + wretch that I am!” + </p> + <p> + “But how did I save you?” + </p> + <p> + “It was you who arranged with this excellent Tippy Tilly and the others + that they should have so much if they brought us alive into Egypt again. + They slipped away in the darkness and hid themselves in the grove. Then, + when we were left, they crept up with their rifles and shot the men who + were about to murder us. That cursed Moolah, I am sorry they shot him, for + I believe that I could have persuaded him to be a Christian. And now, with + your permission, I will hurry on and embrace Miss Adams, for Belmont has + his wife, and Stephens has Miss Sadie, so I think it is very evident that + the sympathy of Miss Adams is reserved for me.” + </p> + <p> + A fortnight had passed away, and the special boat which had been placed at + the disposal of the rescued tourists was already far north of Assiout. + Next morning they would find themselves at Baliani, where one takes the + express for Cairo. It was, therefore, their last evening together. Mrs. + Shlesinger and her child who had escaped unhurt had already been sent down + from the frontier. Miss Adams had been very ill after her privations, and + this was the first time that she had been allowed to come upon deck after + dinner. She sat now in a lounge-chair, thinner, sterner, and kindlier than + ever, while Sadie stood beside her and tucked the rugs around her + shoulders. Mr. Stephens was carrying over the coffee and placing it on the + wicker-table beside them. On the other side of the deck Belmont and his + wife were seated together in silent sympathy and contentment. Monsieur + Fardet was leaning against the rail and arguing about the remissness of + the British Government in not taking a more complete control of the + Egyptian frontier, while the Colonel stood very erect in front of him, + with the red end of a cigar-stump protruding from under his moustache. + </p> + <p> + But what was the matter with the Colonel? Who would have recognised him + who had only seen the broken old man in the Libyan desert? There might be + some little grizzling about the moustache, but the hair was back once more + at the fine glossy black which had been so much admired upon the voyage + up. With a stony face and an unsympathetic manner he had received, upon + his return to Haifa, all the commiserations about the dreadful way in + which his privations had blanched him, and then diving into his cabin, he + had reappeared within an hour exactly as he had been before that fatal + moment when he had been cut off from the manifold resources of + civilisation. And he looked in such a sternly questioning manner at every + one who stared at him, that no one had the moral courage to make any + remark about this modern miracle. It was observed from that time forward + that, if the Colonel had only to ride a hundred yards into the desert, he + always began his preparations by putting a small black bottle with a pink + label into the side-pocket of his coat. But those who knew him best at + times when a man may be best known, said that the old soldier had a young + man's heart and a young man's spirit,—so that if he wished to keep a + young man's colour also it was not very unreasonable after all. It was + very soothing and restful up there on the saloon deck, with no sound but + the gentle lipping of the water as it rippled against the sides of the + steamer. The red after-glow was in the western sky, and it mottled the + broad, smooth river with crimson. Dimly they could discern the tall + figures of herons standing upon the sandbanks, and farther off the line of + river-side date-palms glided past them in a majestic procession. Once more + the silver stars were twinkling out, the same clear, placid, inexorable + stars to which their weary eyes had been so often upturned during the long + nights of their desert martyrdom. + </p> + <p> + “Where do you put up in Cairo, Miss Adams?” asked Mrs. Belmont, at last. + </p> + <p> + “Shepheard's, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “And you, Mr. Stephens?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Shepheard's, decidedly.” + </p> + <p> + “We are staying at the Continental. I hope we shall not lose sight of + you.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't want ever to lose sight of you, Mrs. Belmont,” cried Sadie. “Oh, + you must come to the States, and we'll give you just a lovely time.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Belmont laughed, in her pleasant, mellow fashion. + </p> + <p> + “We have our duty to do in Ireland, and we have been too long away from it + already. My husband has his business, and I have my home, and they are + both going to rack and ruin. Besides,” she added, slyly, “it is just + possible that if we did come to the States we might not find you there.” + </p> + <p> + “We must all meet again,” said Belmont, “if only to talk our adventures + over once more. It will be easier in a year or two. We are still too near + them.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet how far away and dream-like it all seems!” remarked his wife. + “Providence is very good in softening disagreeable remembrances in our + minds. All this feels to me as if it had happened in some previous + existence.” + </p> + <p> + Fardet held up his wrist with a cotton bandage still round it. + </p> + <p> + “The body does not forget as quickly as the mind. This does not look very + dreamlike or far away, Mrs. Belmont.” + </p> + <p> + “How hard it is that some should be spared, and some not! If only Mr. + Brown and Mr. Headingly were with us, then I should not have one care in + the world,” cried Sadie. “Why should they have been taken, and we left?” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Stuart had limped on to the deck with an open book in his hand, a + thick stick supporting his injured leg. + </p> + <p> + “Why is the ripe fruit picked, and the unripe left?” said he in answer to + the young girl's exclamation. “We know nothing of the spiritual state of + these poor dear young fellows, but the great Master Gardener plucks His + fruit according to His own knowledge. I brought you up a passage to read + to you.” + </p> + <p> + There was a lantern upon the table, and he sat down beside it. The yellow + light shone upon his heavy cheek and the red edges of his book. The + strong, steady voice rose above the wash of the water. + </p> + <p> + “'Let them give thanks whom the Lord hath redeemed and delivered from the + hand of the enemy, and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and + from the west, from the north, and from the south. They went astray in the + wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in. Hungry and + thirsty, their soul fainted in them. So they cried unto the Lord in their + trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them forth by + the right way, that they might go to the city where they dwelt. Oh that + men would therefore praise the Lord for His goodness, and declare the + wonders that He doeth for the children of men.' + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0034" id="linkimage-0034"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/p273.jpg" + alt="He Delivered Them from Their Distress P273 " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + “It sounds as if it were composed for us, and yet it was written two + thousand years ago,” said the clergyman, as he closed the book. “In every + age man has been forced to acknowledge the guiding hand which leads him. + For my part I don't believe that inspiration stopped two thousand years + ago. When Tennyson wrote with such fervour and conviction,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'Oh, yet we trust that somehow good + Will be the final goal of ill.' +</pre> + <p> + he was repeating the message which had been given to him, just as Micah or + Ezekiel when the world was younger repeated some cruder and more + elementary lesson.” + </p> + <p> + “That is all very well, Mr. Stuart,” said the Frenchman; “you ask me to + praise God for taking me out of danger and pain, but what I want to know + is why, since He has arranged all things, He ever put me into that pain + and danger. I have in my opinion more occasion to blame than to praise. + You would not thank me for pulling you out of that river if it was also I + who pushed you in. The most which you can claim for your Providence is + that it has healed the wound which its own hand inflicted.” + </p> + <p> + “I don't deny the difficulty,” said the clergyman, slowly; “no one who is + not self-deceived <i>can</i> deny the difficulty. Look how boldly Tennyson + faced it in that same poem, the grandest and deepest and most obviously + inspired in our language. Remember the effect which it had upon him. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'I falter where I firmly trod, + And falling with my weight of cares + Upon the great world's altar stairs, + Which slope through darkness up to God, + + 'I stretch lame hands of faith and grope + And gather dust and chaff, and call + To what I feel is Lord of all, + And faintly trust the larger hope.' +</pre> + <p> + It is the central mystery of mysteries—the problem of sin and + suffering, the one huge difficulty which the reasoner has to solve in + order to vindicate the dealings of God with man. But take our own case as + an example. I, for one, am very clear what I have got out of our + experience. I say it with all humility, but I have a clearer view of my + duties than ever I had before. It has taught me to be less remiss in + saying what I think to be true, less indolent in doing what I feel to be + rightful.” + </p> + <p> + “And I,” cried Sadie. “It has taught me more than all my life put + together. I have learned so much and unlearned so much. I am a different + girl.” + </p> + <p> + “I never understood my own nature before,” said Stephens. “I can hardly + say that I had a nature to understand. I lived for what was unimportant, + and I neglected what was vital.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, a good shake-up does nobody any harm,” the Colonel remarked. “Too + much of the feather-bed-and-four-meals-a-day life is not good for man or + woman.” + </p> + <p> + “It is my firm belief,” said Mrs. Belmont, gravely, “that there was not + one of us who did not rise to a greater height during those days in the + desert than ever before or since. When our sins come to be weighed, much + may be forgiven us for the sake of those unselfish days.” + </p> + <p> + They all sat in thoughtful silence for a little while the scarlet streaks + turned to carmine, and the grey shadows deepened, and the wild-fowl flew + past in dark straggling V's over the dull metallic surface of the great + smooth-flowing Nile. A cold wind had sprung up from the eastward, and some + of the party rose to leave the deck. Stephens leaned forward to Sadie. + </p> + <p> + “Do you remember what you promised when you were in the desert?” he + whispered. + </p> + <p> + “What was that?” + </p> + <p> + “You said that if you escaped you would try in future to make some one + else happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I must do so.” + </p> + <p> + “You have,” said he, and their hands met under the shadow of the table. + </p> + <p> + THE END. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Desert Drama, by A. 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