As captured January 22, 2025

9 files changed, 39347 insertions, 20087 deletions

diff --git a/68164-0.txt b/68164-0.txt
index 85b8dc7..1507d02 100644
--- a/68164-0.txt
+++ b/68164-0.txt
@@ -1,9135 +1,8765 @@
-The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the volcano's mouth, by Frank

-Sheridan

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and

-most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you

-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before

-using this eBook.

-

-Title: In the volcano's mouth

-       or, A boy against an army

-

-Author: Frank Sheridan

-

-Release Date: May 24, 2022 [eBook #68164]

-

-Language: English

-

-Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed

-             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy

-             of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)

-

-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO'S MOUTH ***

-

-

-Transcriber’s Notes:

-

-Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

-

-Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-No. 134

-

-BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY

-

-IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH

-

-BY FRANK SHERIDAN

-

-[Illustration]

-

-STREET & SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY

-

-We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of adventure

-for boys by this name because we felt assured that it was “bound to

-win” its way into the heart of every true American lad. The stories

-are exceptionally bright, clean and interesting. The writers had the

-interest of our boys at heart when they wrote the stories, and have not

-failed to show what a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do.

-Remember, that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any

-other series. We give herewith a list of those already published and

-those scheduled for publication.

-

-PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK

-

-To be Published During September

-

-  136--Spider and Stump                     By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  135--The Creature of the Pines                By John De Morgan

-  134--In the Volcano’s Mouth                   By Frank Sheridan

-  133--Muscles of Steel                         By Weldon J. Cobb

-

-To be Published During August

-

-  132--Home Base                            By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  131--The Jewel of Florida                     By Cornelius Shea

-  130--The Boys’ Revolt                  By Harrie Irving Hancock

-  129--The Mystic Isle                             By Fred Thorpe

-  128--With the Mad Mullah                      By Weldon J. Cobb

-

-To be Published During July

-

-  127--A Humble Hero                            By John De Morgan

-  126--For Big Money                               By Fred Thorpe

-  125--Too Fast to Last                     By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  124--Caught in a Trap                  By Harrie Irving Hancock

-

-  123--The Tattooed Boy                         By Weldon J. Cobb

-  122--The Young Horseman                     By Herbert Bellwood

-  121--Sam Sawbones                         By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  120--On His Mettle                               By Fred Thorpe

-  119--Compound Interest                 By Harrie Irving Hancock

-  118--Runaway and Rover                        By Weldon J. Cobb

-  117--Larry O’Keefe                        By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  116--The Boy Crusaders                        By John De Morgan

-  115--Double Quick Dan                            By Fred Thorpe

-  114--Money to Spend                    By Harrie Irving Hancock

-  113--Billy Barlow                         By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  112--A Battle with Fate                       By Weldon J. Cobb

-  111--Gypsy Joe                                By John De Morgan

-  110--Barred Out                                  By Fred Thorpe

-  109--Will Wilding                         By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  108--Frank Bolton’s Chase              By Harrie Irving Hancock

-  107--Lucky-Stone Dick                         By Weldon J. Cobb

-  106--Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe  By Frank Sheridan

-  105--Fatherless Bob at Sea                By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  104--Fatherless Bob                       By Bracebridge Hemyng

-  103--Hank the Hustler                            By Fred Thorpe

-  102--Dick Stanhope Afloat              By Harrie Irving Hancock

-  101--The Golden Harpoon                       By Weldon J. Cobb

-  100--Mischievous Matt’s Pranks            By Bracebridge Hemyng

-   99--Mischievous Matt                     By Bracebridge Hemyng

-   98--Bert Chipley                             By John De Morgan

-   97--Down-East Dave                              By Fred Thorpe

-   96--The Young Diplomat                By Harrie Irving Hancock

-   95--The Fool of the Family               By Bracebridge Hemyng

-   94--Slam, Bang & Co                          By Weldon J. Cobb

-   93--On the Road                              By Stanley Norris

-   92--The Blood-Red Hand                       By John De Morgan

-   91--The Diamond King                         By Cornelius Shea

-   90--The Double-Faced Mystery                    By Fred Thorpe

-   89--The Young Theatrical Manager             By Stanley Norris

-   88--The Young West-Pointer            By Harrie Irving Hancock

-   87--Held for Ransom                          By Weldon J. Cobb

-   86--Boot-Black Bob                           By John De Morgan

-   85--Engineer Tom                             By Cornelius Shea

-   84--The Mascot of Hoodooville                   By Fred Thorpe

-

-

-

-

-In the Volcano’s Mouth

-

-

-  OR

-  A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY

-

-  _By_ FRANK SHERIDAN, _author of_ “_Bert Fairfax_,”

-  “_Through Flame to Fame_,” “_Life-Line Larry_,” “_Lion-Hearted

-  Jack_,” _etc._

-

-  [Illustration]

-

-  STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS

-  79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-  Copyright, 1890

-  By Norman L. Munro

-

-  In the Volcano’s Mouth

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER I. MADCAP MAX.

-

-

-“All aboard!”

-

-“All but passengers ashore.”

-

-The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent palace

-steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and Oriental Line, sounded all

-along the Southampton docks, up the streets to the old gates, and even

-penetrated into some of the business houses of the quaint old English

-town.

-

-The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton, was one of

-serious import to those gathered on the deck of the steamer.

-

-Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a long one, and it

-is known the absence is for years, the last words are always tearful.

-

-On the deck stood two men, alone.

-

-Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed on their journey.

-

-And yet tears filled the eyes of both.

-

-The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as that of any

-mulatto, his long, white mustache standing out in startling contrast to

-the color of his skin.

-

-He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his hard muscles, and

-firm walk, would rather betoken a man of forty.

-

-By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in appearance,

-but perhaps only because of the contrast to his father; there was a

-brightness in his eyes which betokens an active spirit, and although so

-effeminate-looking, when he clinched his hand one could see the strong

-muscle rising beneath the sleeve.

-

-The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile firm of Gordon,

-Welter & Maxwell, of New York.

-

-The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called Max by those who

-are intimate with him, and “Madcap Max” by his closest companions.

-

-Gordon, Welter & Maxwell were interested in Egyptian produce, and for

-many years Maximilian Gordon had been a resident of Alexandria.

-

-His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been compelled to live

-in England, where young Max had been educated.

-

-The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and had just completed

-arrangements for them to return to Egypt with him when cholera broke

-out, and he arrived home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in

-death and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.

-

-Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English coast, which

-was by this time fast receding, their eyes were filled with tears, for

-they were leaving a plot of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a

-wife’s and mother’s grave.

-

-Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left the English

-Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted lad once again, laughing,

-chatting and larking with everyone he came in contact with.

-

-His father could not hide his grief so easily, but showed by his manner

-how nearly broken was his heart and ruined his life.

-

-When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were reached, Max had

-given plentiful evidence of his love of practical joking, and showed

-that he fully deserved his sobriquet of Madcap.

-

-One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.

-

-This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of Max, and was easily

-induced to adapt itself to the ways of the fun-loving youth.

-

-One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s nightcap, which he

-had obtained from a stewardess, and told Jocko he must lie in a certain

-bed.

-

-The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor, who declared

-that women and children were a nuisance.

-

-When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his utter astonishment,

-a head resting on his pillow.

-

-Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his room, shouting

-“Steward!” at the top of his voice.

-

-“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer, startled by the

-frantic shouting.

-

-“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”

-

-“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”

-

-“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the vessel if the

-offender is not punished.”

-

-“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer Tunley.

-

-“Of course--but when? Why, in a week’s time, when everyone will have

-easily forgotten--no, sir, come at once.”

-

-“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence, that it may have

-been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale----”

-

-“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate----”

-

-“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned, and three bottles

-of strong ale, are likely to disturb the vision.”

-

-“I’ll report you, sir--mark me, I’ll report you. Come, now, to my room,

-and if there is not a nigger baby there I’ll eat my hat.”

-

-“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”

-

-By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had fled the room, and Max

-had stripped the cap from its head.

-

-The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning, as if it enjoyed

-the joke.

-

-The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.

-

-“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his bed.

-

-“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer, with proud

-indignation. “Take care, sir, that it does not occur again.”

-

-The passenger was speechless.

-

-Another day, when the steamer _L’Orient_ was being tossed about in the

-most fantastic manner, sometimes taking a swift pitch forward, then

-curving and twisting in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a

-baseball pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for a pleasant

-diversion.

-

-A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board, to enable the

-company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.

-

-Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and saw them, with

-one accord, make for the saloon.

-

-That was just what he wanted.

-

-A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her horror she fell

-on the back of a pig, who set up such a squeaking and squealing that,

-although the passengers were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.

-

-After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria was sighted.

-

-“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob. “I am glad I have to

-stay at Alexandria, for _L’Orient_ is the worst disciplined ship I was

-ever in.”

-

-The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on board.

-

-And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths of the trouble

-was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.

-

-“Do we land here?” asked Max.

-

-“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”

-

-“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes still wider with

-astonishment.

-

-“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down at Alexandria.”

-

-“I am so glad.”

-

-Several scores of boats surrounded _L’Orient_, manned by swarthy and

-not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen or so seized upon Max and his

-father and literally dragged them to a boat.

-

-On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr. Gordon whispered

-to Max:

-

-“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your own.”

-

-“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full of fun as an

-undertaker.”

-

-“For your own sake be careful.”

-

-“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER II. EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.

-

-

-When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers met them.

-

-No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the face of the earth

-than these same Arab donkey boys.

-

-They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost intuitively.

-

-An American who had never been in Egypt before, was looking at the

-surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers with wonder, when one of them

-pushed forward and addressed him as follows:

-

-“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is the one Pasha

-Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”

-

-“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only ride on Hail

-Columbia?”

-

-Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by Alexander three

-hundred and thirty-three years before the birth of Christ.

-

-Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the donkeys halted,

-and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.

-

-“This is home.”

-

-“Do you live here, dad?”

-

-“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our journey to-morrow.”

-

-Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone to that wonderful

-monolith of granite called “Pompey’s Pillar.”

-

-He sat down to think.

-

-He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and now he was actually

-looking on one of the wonders of that old country.

-

-Suddenly he heard a cry.

-

-It was like a girl’s voice.

-

-Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the sound.

-

-He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl--her face half covered

-with a white veil--rushed past him, shrieking and crying.

-

-“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.

-

-Two men were in pursuit.

-

-Max never stopped to think.

-

-He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did so, or whether it

-would be wise to interfere, he struck one of the Arabs to the earth,

-and threw himself against the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow,

-with muscles like iron.

-

-That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong, but he was

-unaccustomed to foul play.

-

-When, therefore, he found that the man he had knocked down had risen

-and drawn a long, sharp dagger, with which he threatened his life, Max

-saw the unwisdom of his defense of the Arab girl.

-

-A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his back brandishing a

-dagger, was enough to frighten an older man than Max.

-

-The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max did not understand.

-

-He struck at the man in front of him and made him stagger back, then

-with a quick movement, he stooped as he turned and caught the armed

-Arab round the legs, throwing him over his shoulder.

-

-He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought discretion better

-than valor. Using his legs as well as he could he ran away, only to be

-stopped by the girl he had--as he thought--rescued.

-

-She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly--though in an

-unknown tongue to Max--held him fast until his pursuers were close upon

-him.

-

-With a wild shout they seized him, and would have speedily rendered

-him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.

-

-A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in the prime of life,

-slowly and with deliberation took hold of one of the Arabs and flung

-him on one side.

-

-Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded him and

-the girl to go, and that quickly.

-

-“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.

-

-“Have I? Is it worth saving?”

-

-“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose it.”

-

-“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about Alexandria without

-weapons.”

-

-“What did they want with me?”

-

-“They would have captured you, and held you until ransomed.”

-

-“But----”

-

-“You are not rich, you would say. What does that matter? A ten-dollar

-gold piece would seem a fortune to them. The girl practices that scream

-on hundreds of unsuspecting foreigners.”

-

-“You speak of American money; are you from the States?”

-

-“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world, a cosmopolitan.”

-

-“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.

-

-“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved your life, prove

-that your life is of some value.”

-

-The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented streets of that

-city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting the admiration of all to

-the savage beauty of that

-

-  “Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;

-   Brow-bound with burning gold.”

-

-Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and almost was inclined

-to doubt, for he was at that age when the laughing black eyes of a girl

-fascinate and lure, sometimes to ruin.

-

-Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from the Arabs.

-

-He saw that night how much his father was respected, but he saw that

-which made his heart sad. His father was bowed down with grief.

-

-And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion as strong as his

-love of life.

-

-When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only eight summers of

-life, all had seemed roseate.

-

-Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon accompanied her husband

-to Egypt; but at the end of three years the malarious climate had

-rendered it impossible for her to live there, and she returned to

-England to be near Max.

-

-For seven years the husband had only been able to spend three months in

-the year with the wife he so loved.

-

-Then came the time when once more the mother of Max was ready to brave

-the treacherous climate of Egypt.

-

-How the husband had looked forward to that time, and with what

-pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything to please her was

-obtained.

-

-Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no wonder that Mr.

-Gordon should feel most wretched when he returned to his Oriental home,

-and knew that she would never grace it with her presence.

-

-His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him there was anxiety,

-for the stern business man--the successful merchant had only seen the

-frivolous side of his son’s life.

-

-To him he was the madcap.

-

-To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous lad, whose

-thoughts were of fun and amusement.

-

-Early next morning they took train to Cairo.

-

-How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think of traveling by

-a railroad in that country, so famous in Bible stories!

-

-The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous fancy of traveling

-by means of steam through Egypt and Palestine:

-

-  “Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!

-   Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”

-

-has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor shout out:

-“Gizeh--all out for Gizeh,” on the route between Alexandria and Cairo.

-

-At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon roused up, and

-told Max of the slaughter of the Mamelukes--that wonderful body of men

-who, from being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.

-

-“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed Ali, in 1811, was

-organizing his expedition against the Wahhabees, he heard that the

-Mamelukes designed to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their

-chief to be present at the investiture of his son with the command of

-the army.

-

-“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After receiving a most

-flattering welcome they were invited to parade in the courtyard of the

-citadel.”

-

-“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to impress them with his

-generosity?”

-

-“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled within its lofty

-walls; the portcullis fell behind the last of their glittering array;

-too late they perceived that their host had caught them in a trap, and

-they turned to effect a retreat.

-

-“In vain.

-

-“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred windows and

-blank, pitiless walls.

-

-“But they saw more.

-

-“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from those muskets

-incessant volleys were poured.

-

-“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage worthy of the

-past history of the Mamelukes.

-

-“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms, and stood waiting

-for death.”

-

-“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.

-

-“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But some, with angry

-brows, drew their swords and charged upon the gunners.

-

-“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the withering fire did

-its deadly work.”

-

-“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.

-

-“Only one escaped.”

-

-“How did he manage it?”

-

-“Emin Bey--for that was his name--spurred his Arabian charger over a

-pile of his dead and dying comrades. He sprang upon the battlements;

-the next moment he was in the air; another and he released himself from

-his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of bullets.”

-

-“What became of him?”

-

-“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and finally escaped

-into the desert.”

-

-“Is he dead?”

-

-“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged man at that time, and

-that is over seventy years ago.”

-

-“Had he any sons?”

-

-“I believe so. Why do you ask?”

-

-“Because I would like to see any of his descendants. I would like to

-speak to them. It would be a proud honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate

-salt, with the grandson of Emin Bey.’”

-

-“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”

-

-“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”

-

-Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the merry, happy,

-careless boy.

-

-“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than slave hunters or

-pirates now.”

-

-“I hope you are wrong, dad.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER III. IN A DESERT TOMB.

-

-

-The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes filled Max with a

-restless ambition.

-

-He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go “far from the madding

-crowd,” into the midst of the wild residents of the Dark Continent.

-

-Like those who believe the American Indians to be a grand race,

-persecuted without reason by the dominant power, so Max looked upon the

-residents of the Dark Continent as being a superior people.

-

-He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his boyish ideas would

-be laughed at, but he spent all his waking moments dreaming dreams of

-the savages of the jungles.

-

-The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was something too

-civilized about the houses.

-

-The lattices--which covered the windows instead of glass--pleased him,

-and many a time would he catch a glimpse of some white brow of a lady

-fair through the interstices of the lattice, and would feel like

-

-  “The lover, all as frantic

-   Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”

-

-It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the wonders of the

-city--save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis--had been seen, and these

-had to be left to a future visit, for business called the merchant

-back to Alexandria.

-

-Max pleaded for one more day--or at least that their journey should be

-deferred until the morrow.

-

-He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun, where existed the

-university at which Moses was educated, and the daughter of one of

-whose professors Joseph married.

-

-And so Mr. Gordon yielded.

-

-Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore tree, hollow, gnarled

-and almost leafless, beneath the branches of which tradition says that

-Joseph and Mary rested with the infant Christ in their flight into

-Egypt.

-

-The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand years, was

-gazed at by young Madcap with a certain amount of awe.

-

-It was dark before Max was ready to return.

-

-Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr. Gordon, to please

-Max, dispensed with the guides who had been good for nothing save the

-receipt of backsheesh, and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their

-right.

-

-They had not gone far before they came upon a number of wild-looking

-fellows, half Arab, half Nubian--a species of creature which is

-interesting as a study at long range, but whose acquaintance is not

-desirable.

-

-“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.

-

-“We must pass them.”

-

-“Is it safe?”

-

-“No, Max, far from it.”

-

-“Then why not retrace our steps?”

-

-“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”

-

-“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”

-

-“We might, but they would help these fellows rather than us in order to

-share the backsheesh.”

-

-While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed a circle round

-them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.

-

-Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers closed in and stood

-shoulder to shoulder in firm and solid phalanx.

-

-“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.

-

-“Money,” was the reply.

-

-“You shall have all I have got with me.”

-

-“Hand it over.”

-

-Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand, but no sooner had he

-put his hand into his pocket than they suspected danger.

-

-“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your hands!”

-

-It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back ocean’s tidal waves

-with a broom as to oppose the demands of those robbers of the desert.

-

-Mr. Gordon raised his hands.

-

-“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English was intelligible.

-

-Max raised his hands as he was commanded.

-

-Every article of value was taken from them, and the robbers seemed to

-be satisfied.

-

-“Sit down!” the chief commanded.

-

-“What for?” asked Max.

-

-But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart blow on the cheek

-which caused him to reel.

-

-That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered the blow with

-another.

-

-The chief interfered and stopped the fight.

-

-“Sit down!”

-

-Again Max pluckily asked:

-

-“What for?”

-

-“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”

-

-“Are you?”

-

-“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding, even to the

-death.”

-

-“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his eyes flashed with

-defiance.

-

-“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are bidden; it will be

-better so.”

-

-But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused, and he turned to

-his father almost angrily.

-

-“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am an American, and I

-will not obey such a command without knowing the reason.”

-

-“You are a fool!”

-

-It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand such a speech, and he

-rushed at the strong Arab chief, aiming a blow which, had it struck the

-man on the temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an expert

-boxer.

-

-The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was caught round the legs

-and thrown to the ground.

-

-A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and he was rendered

-powerless.

-

-“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a sneer.

-

-“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max, defiantly. “Frightened

-of a boy less than half your age. Oh! you are a brave chief, are you

-not?”

-

-“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”

-

-“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.

-

-“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.

-

-“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send that young fool

-there”--pointing to Max--“with one of my men for twenty thousand

-piasters, and when he returns with it, both shall go free.”

-

-Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand dollars.

-

-“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.

-

-“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too much,” answered

-the chief, pointing with his dagger at Max.

-

-“But he cannot get the money.”

-

-“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it you shall die.”

-

-Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.

-

-He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with bandits such as these,

-and that the authorities made but a poor pretense of suppressing the

-lawless bands.

-

-He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He knew he had

-wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.

-

-One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and instantly all was

-in commotion.

-

-The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to the back of donkeys.

-

-The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away from the vicinity of

-the city at a speed that Max could not believe a donkey was capable of

-maintaining.

-

-But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed the secret of

-making the native donkey forget its natural laziness and go with the

-speed of a well-trained mule.

-

-“Where are we going?” asked Max.

-

-He was answered by a slap across the face, which nearly capsized him.

-

-“Another word and the body of the American shall be but carrion.”

-

-“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was trembling with fear.

-

-The chief led the way across a sandy desert.

-

-The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting sand look like

-so much dazzling silver.

-

-It was a scene of weird grandeur.

-

-In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments of a past

-civilization, which are alike the envy and the wonder of the world.

-

-The procession seemed to be winding round the city at an increasing

-distance, and nearing the pyramids.

-

-Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.

-

-The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he enjoyed it.

-

-If he could but have talked to the chief--if he could have been free,

-his happiness would have been complete.

-

-But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.

-

-He dare not speak, and could not act.

-

-Before he was aware of it the scene changed.

-

-He could not understand in what way at first.

-

-The sand was there, the moon was shining, although not so brightly, but

-he could not see the pyramids.

-

-The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him that they had

-entered a broad, inclined road, and were descending below the level of

-the sandy desert.

-

-Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s rays were no longer

-seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed donkeys walked forward.

-

-Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was over and

-between great rocks.

-

-Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had to be passed,

-and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently traversed the

-uncertain road.

-

-“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.

-

-His voice sounded like a shout, although he had spoken under his breath.

-

-The stillness of the place was awful.

-

-Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.

-

-He began to think that the road he traveled led to death.

-

-But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere seemed to

-change.

-

-He could breathe freely.

-

-There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did not seem so

-much like that of the grave.

-

-“Halt!”

-

-The command was given in English, and all understood it.

-

-Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence of ceremony,

-Max and his father were dragged from their donkeys and thrown with

-unnecessary violence on the ground.

-

-Then again all was still.

-

-Were they alone?

-

-Max could not endure the silence any longer.

-

-“Dad!” he called out.

-

-A blow on the head reminded him that speech was forbidden.

-

-What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians--whatever nationality

-they might be--could see in the dark.

-

-He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of the night.

-

-The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds seeming like an

-hour, every hour as long as a day.

-

-With an almost supernatural quickness a score of pitch torches were

-lighted, and Max saw that he was in a great cave.

-

-Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every direction.

-

-One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the blocks of granite

-had been fashioned by man, and brought to that cave at some period of

-Egypt’s greatness.

-

-He looked round for his father, and screamed with horror when he saw

-the bronzed face of the only relative he had all covered with blood.

-

-When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey, his head struck a

-sharp piece of granite, and was severely wounded.

-

-The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered him to be lifted

-tenderly into the center of the cave.

-

-Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet had been again tied

-together.

-

-“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”

-

-The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was on his lips.

-

-“Max--I--am--going--av----”

-

-Was he going to say “Avenge me?”

-

-Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the dying man’s mouth, and

-the bandits commenced a wild, weird dance round the body.

-

-Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max and tried to speak,

-but either the cloth still prevented him or his voice was hushed by the

-great shadow of death which was over him.

-

-A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s soul had gone into

-the “Great Beyond” to join that of his loved wife.

-

-Max knew he was now alone.

-

-He could not weep.

-

-His eyes were hot as burning coals.

-

-If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they would ease him;

-but no, his eyes were dry and his brain seemed scorched.

-

-His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak it appeared to

-fill up his mouth.

-

-The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet, and instinct

-told him that he was alone--alone with the dead.

-

-Not a sound disturbed the silence.

-

-A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.

-

-“What if he were left there to starve to death beside his father’s

-body?”

-

-Madcap Max was not a coward.

-

-He had no real fear of death, but he would rather meet the great

-destroyer on the open field, or in any way but that slow struggle in

-the solitude of a big grave--a death from starvation.

-

-The strongest soul would quake.

-

-The hours passed along.

-

-Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter who may wish to

-stay them.

-

-Max began to think of other things besides death.

-

-He wondered how he could escape. And if he did, how could he avenge his

-father’s death?

-

-Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.

-

-Youth had conquered.

-

-Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have been a raving maniac.

-

-Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,” came

-to his relief and saved his reason.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IV. UNDER THE PYRAMID.

-

-

-Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.

-

-When the visions of the night visited his brain, they shaped themselves

-in pleasing form.

-

-He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the sight seemed

-stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared to Max that the foul

-murder committed by Mohammed Ali was necessary--that from that murder

-would spring the regeneration of Egypt.

-

-Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that the brave Mameluke

-still lived, and was at the head of an all-conquering army, overcoming

-French and English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt from

-foreign rule.

-

-And as all this passed before the mental vision of the sleeping

-American boy, he thought that by the side of the conqueror he rode--not

-as he was then, a beardless youth, but with bronzed face and flowing

-beard--a turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed carried

-by his side.

-

-Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not dead, but living,

-and successful as a merchant. By his side was the wife whose love had

-been so lavishly given to her husband and her son.

-

-The sight of his father and mother brought tears to the dreamer’s eyes,

-and caused him to wake.

-

-It was some time before he could bring back to his memory the events of

-the preceding day.

-

-When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.

-

-Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it still in the cave?

-

-Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and escape from that

-living tomb?

-

-“Hush!”

-

-Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank of a gust of wind?

-

-Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.

-

-He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did not speak.

-

-“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”

-

-“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone mad?”

-

-He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the darkness.

-

-“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness with a

-vengeance.”

-

-“Dost thou want to die?”

-

-The question came out of the darkness and sounded afar off, yet Max

-could almost fancy that the breath of the speaker fanned his cheek.

-

-“Who is that speaks?”

-

-“Question not my name.”

-

-“Where am I?”

-

-“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”

-

-The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft as a whisper.

-

-“Am I then under the pyramid?”

-

-“That is how thou wouldst express it.”

-

-“Will you aid me to escape?”

-

-“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”

-

-“Nay--thou art a woman.”

-

-“_Wah Illahi sahe!_”

-

-(By Allah, it is true.)

-

-“I would not harm thee.”

-

-“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the prophet that

-thou wilt not seek revenge.”

-

-“The price is too great.”

-

-“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”

-

-“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent tone, which

-sounded almost ridiculous in the dark, but which would have been the

-signal for a burst of applause from the gallery of a theater had an

-actor so uttered the words on a stage.

-

-All was still as the grave.

-

-He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the cord cut into the

-flesh.

-

-His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for death.

-

-“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned, aloud, as the

-agony of the thought took possession of his mind.

-

-“Help!”

-

-He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back mockingly:

-

-“Help!”

-

-He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint echo of his words.

-

-“I shall die,” he groaned.

-

-“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.

-

-His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh with boisterous

-guffaws.

-

-It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.

-

-The echo answered back.

-

-The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.

-

-“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning force on the

-rock.

-

-When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet breath of air was

-blowing on his face.

-

-He was being fanned.

-

-He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze might cease.

-

-The fanning continued until at last he could bear the silence no longer.

-

-“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.

-

-“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri, wilt thou follow me?”

-

-“I will.”

-

-By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its glare Max saw the

-horrible cave to which he had been removed by some unknown hands.

-

-Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and blocks of red granite

-in endless confusion.

-

-But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw--

-

-A girl.

-

-She was not what the fashionable world would call lovely.

-

-Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s wing.

-

-Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her head, almost like a

-halo of glory.

-

-Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle was a massive

-band of silver similar to those she wore on each arm above the elbow.

-

-Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could scarcely believe but that

-it was a phantasm of the mind which was before him, and not a living

-entity.

-

-She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might her wand, and in

-a voice of rare sweetness said:

-

-“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”

-

-“I am bound,” answered Max.

-

-Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she pointed laughingly at

-the severed cords, and again she said:

-

-“Come! Follow me!”

-

-“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.

-

-“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”

-

-The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange thrill to pass

-through him.

-

-“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the light.

-

-“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.

-

-And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange creature who had found

-him alone and suffering in the cave beneath the great pyramid.

-

-Followed! But where?

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER V. GIRZILLA.

-

-

-With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl, Madcap

-Max followed her, without asking any question until she suddenly

-extinguished the torch.

-

-“Why did you do that?” he inquired.

-

-The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously placed her hand over

-his mouth and held it there so tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.

-

-He struggled to release himself, but she was strong, and to add to her

-power, she whispered:

-

-“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”

-

-However disagreeable it might be it was better to have a pretty girl’s

-hand over his mouth than to be killed, and therefore Max made no

-further resistance.

-

-A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks, attracted his

-attention.

-

-“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.

-

-“Yes; what is it?”

-

-“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek thee.”

-

-“And if they find?”

-

-“Will kill. I will save, if----”

-

-“What?”

-

-“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress and follow. The least

-noise may seal thy fate and mine.”

-

-“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”

-

-“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I am Girzilla. Let

-that be my name.”

-

-“I will call thee Gazelle.”

-

-“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”

-

-Whoever the girl with the strange name might be, she evidently knew her

-way, for never once did her foot slip, although Max found his ankles

-turning every minute, and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress,

-which, though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen cord, he

-would have fallen frequently.

-

-“Sit down!”

-

-The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in the nature of a

-command.

-

-Max did as ordered, and sat in silence--a silence so great that he

-could hear the beating of his heart, and fancied that he could also

-distinguish the pulsations of his guide’s organ of life at the same

-time. The silence was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and

-restless.

-

-“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I confess this is

-the strangest,” he mused.

-

-“To save thee, thou must go through the place of the dead.”

-

-The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral that

-Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.

-

-“Hast thou courage?” she asked.

-

-“I--h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with nervous fear of

-the unknown.

-

-“Come!”

-

-Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla walked slower than

-before.

-

-Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it made him groan with

-pain.

-

-“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.

-

-Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.

-

-He could not go back, for he did not know the way, and he dare not go

-forward alone, for he was afraid.

-

-Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed softly and

-murmured:

-

-“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she will save him.”

-

-Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher than his knees, he

-followed as well as he could.

-

-Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a glimmer of light

-showed that the sun had risen again, and found some crevice through

-which it sent its heavenly rays.

-

-Gradually the light increased, and the road became better.

-

-The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes on his feet

-drying up, and even baking.

-

-He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered his tender feet.

-

-High up above him was an opening, through which the light and heat came.

-

-“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone from

-there”--and Girzilla pointed upward--“would make thee fit for a mummy.”

-

-Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned to ice, and he was

-almost afraid to glance upward.

-

-“Where are we?”

-

-“Under the temple of great Isis.”

-

-“Under?”

-

-“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost stand.”

-

-“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious passages, but I am

-hungry and cold.”

-

-“Just now thou wert hot.”

-

-“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”

-

-“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee where thou canst

-rest.”

-

-A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway gave place to

-a large plateau, on which huge bowlders were scattered promiscuously.

-

-Scattered--apparently too large for human hands to move, and yet they

-bore evidence of having been transported thither.

-

-They were of red granite, while the native rocks were of a different

-stone.

-

-Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite blocks, but he

-quickly left his seat.

-

-He leaped away as though he had been stung by a viper.

-

-Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his annoyance.

-

-The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor Max felt he would be

-baked or fried if he stayed there a minute.

-

-Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and began scratching

-away the sand.

-

-“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was sulking since she had

-laughed at him.

-

-“The way we must go is under this stone.”

-

-“Under that stone!” repeated Max.

-

-“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go through it.”

-

-The girl was right.

-

-The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze herself through,

-while the madcap declared he would not descend.

-

-“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”

-

-The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to follow the girl,

-though in doing so he tore his clothes and scratched his face.

-

-But once down, he was amply repaid.

-

-The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere of which was

-charmingly cool.

-

-Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on an open

-sarcophagus.

-

-She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing nothing, and having

-no superstitious dread of sitting on the stone coffin, wherein was

-dust, which had once been molded in human form.

-

-“I have food here.”

-

-“Food?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“Here?”

-

-“Yes; art thou not hungry?”

-

-“I am. But the place is a tomb.”

-

-“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”

-

-“Have been buried here, you mean?”

-

-“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those who would kill him,

-and sought refuge here.”

-

-“Tell me of him.”

-

-“He fought--oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right and left with his

-scimiter, and when he got tired he spurred his horse and made a run for

-liberty.”

-

-“Did you know him?”

-

-“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked coquettishly at

-Madcap.

-

-“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”

-

-“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier, a Mameluke----”

-

-“What! Was it Emin Bey?”

-

-“That was how he was called.”

-

-“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he any sons? Tell me, I am

-all impatience.”

-

-“I see you are; but you must eat.”

-

-This houri of the caves--a strange child of the desert--pushed aside

-the lid of another sarcophagus and took therefrom a piece of confection

-known as Turkish delight.

-

-She offered it to Max, but he turned away.

-

-Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with all the ardor

-with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.

-

-“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another bite.

-

-Approaching close to Max she held the confection close to his mouth,

-and he was tempted to take a small piece.

-

-It was so appetizing that he asked for more.

-

-When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some bread--cakes baked

-in the sun, not in an oven--and some fruit, but what kind it was Max

-did not know.

-

-He ate heartily and felt refreshed.

-

-But he was thirsty.

-

-Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most delicious sherbet

-he had ever tasted.

-

-When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that he must stay there

-until she came for him.

-

-“Am I to be here alone?”

-

-“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape for thee.”

-

-“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”

-

-“I have my reasons.”

-

-“And will you not tell me?”

-

-“I heard thee speak to him who is not----”

-

-“You mean my father?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“When?”

-

-“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to eat salt with the

-sons of Emin Bey.”

-

-“And are you interested?”

-

-“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant of Emin and he

-will restore Egypt to its greatness--I have said it, and the prophet

-hath spoken.”

-

-“And will you help me?”

-

-“If I can. I--had--another--reason----”

-

-Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked confused, and

-really blushed.

-

-“And that was----” asked Max.

-

-“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even though I lose thee.

-I will prevent thy enemies taking thee, even if thou spurned me ever

-after. Oh! how shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever saw,

-and--I--love--thee.”

-

-Before Max could recover from his astonishment she had fled.

-

-Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as she was, she felt

-she could not meet the eyes of the youth to whom she had confessed her

-love.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VI. WAS IT AN ECHO?

-

-

-When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and that self-interest,

-at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable to attempt to escape, he

-began to look about his strange abode.

-

-Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.

-

-She was refined and educated--of that there could be no doubt.

-

-She had said she had several names, but only one had she given him.

-

-What did the word mean?

-

-It had some special significance--of that he was sure.

-

-Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient language of the

-Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient Syrian?

-

-How did she overhear his conversation about the Mamelukes?

-

-“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head growing dizzy

-with puzzling over the matter.

-

-“How long am I to remain here?”

-

-There was no one to answer the question, so it had to remain still in

-the realm of doubt.

-

-“Where am I?”

-

-That query he could answer with a positiveness that could not be

-controverted. He was in a tomb.

-

-At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got accustomed to the

-idea. After eating and drinking there, much of the superstitious fear

-had left him.

-

-“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am tired and exhausted.

-The sand man has been about a long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my

-eyes, up my nostrils, down my throat, in my ears--the sand man has done

-his work this time. What was that?”

-

-Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to be alone in

-a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise, and to be nearly

-suffocated with dust, to have the torch knocked over--fortunately

-not extinguished--would be sufficient to set the strongest nerves

-quivering, and make the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise

-his head.

-

-He was afraid to open his eyes.

-

-Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion was caused by a

-huge bat trying to escape from the inhabited tomb.

-

-Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage enough to lift up the

-torch, which had nearly burned itself out.

-

-If his torch went out, what was he to do?

-

-He was far from being a madcap at that time.

-

-But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits rising, perhaps

-aided considerably by his eyes suddenly perceiving another torch.

-

-“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh, old fellow?”

-

-Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies in the place?

-

-He lighted the torch, and began to look round his prison house.

-

-On the walls--which had once been smoothed by sculptor’s skill--were

-the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions.

-

-“These old fellows believed in having their tombs beautiful!” exclaimed

-Max, aloud.

-

-And the words had scarcely left his lips when his hair began to rise on

-his head, for he heard a voice add, with sepulchral emphasis:

-

-“Beautiful!”

-

-“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own voice.

-

-“There!”

-

-“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it was startling,

-especially when the voice of the tomb repeated the last syllable:

-

-“Oh!”

-

-But the sturdy young American laughed; and the whole tomb seemed alive

-with demoniac mirth, as the walls beat back the loud guffaws of the

-youth.

-

-“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.

-

-“Mad!” repeated the echo.

-

-With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent for a time, afraid of

-the echo, and yet not afraid to continue his search.

-

-Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables was a

-sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not been opened.

-

-Here was something to do.

-

-He resolved to open the stone casket.

-

-The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid was not fastened

-down, and Max was able to push it on one side.

-

-He brought over a torch so that he might the better look into the huge

-cavern-like coffin.

-

-When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by the cloths, was

-that of a woman.

-

-“Who can it have been?” he wondered.

-

-And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to unwrap the body,

-which may have been hidden from the world two or three thousand years,

-and present the mummy to his strange girl friend.

-

-Max was now in his glory.

-

-He had something to do, and at the same time his spirit of mischief was

-aroused.

-

-He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened if she entered and

-saw a mummified Egyptian looking at her.

-

-It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that was all that Max did

-it for.

-

-He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily, but when he came

-to the second, he found that the ancient Egyptians knew how to make a

-strong bandage, for every fold had to be cut with his knife.

-

-Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of corn.

-

-The latter interested him, for while the grains looked like wheat, the

-general appearance was that of barley, only there were seven ears on

-every stalk.

-

-“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to America I’ll plant

-it and see if embalmed wheat will grow.”

-

-As this thought passed through the mind of the daring young desecrator

-of the dead, he began to whistle “Yankee Doodle.”

-

-The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled the more

-distinct was the echo.

-

-Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its depths as the

-thought crossed his mind that men who had been buried there thousands

-of years before America was known to civilization were, through the

-echo, joining in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”

-

-“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but I’d rather be an

-American citizen than----”

-

-“A mummy.”

-

-That was no echo.

-

-It was a human voice.

-

-Max could stand no more.

-

-His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning, his lips

-were parched.

-

-“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the floor, scattering

-the dust of centuries and causing the tomb to be filled with a cloud,

-suffocating and unpleasant.

-

-When he recovered consciousness he was still lying on the floor, but

-his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and she was fanning him with a palm

-leaf which she had brought in with her.

-

-“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”

-

-“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”

-

-“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”

-

-“I thought----”

-

-“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered the voice which

-perished before Isis’ great temple was built. You silly--silly boy. But

-what were you doing?”

-

-There was so much nineteenth century life about Girzilla that Max

-thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.

-

-He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she chided him for doing

-it.

-

-“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so high,” she said,

-placing her hand about two feet above the floor.

-

-“You have!”

-

-“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to you.”

-

-“You were?”

-

-“Did I not say so?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing you found?”

-

-“I did not see any.”

-

-“I placed some there.”

-

-“When?”

-

-“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I placed it there.”

-

-“Where did you find it? What is it about?”

-

-“I don’t know; I could not read it.”

-

-“Get it for me.”

-

-“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy, and holds me down.”

-

-“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”

-

-“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using an Egyptian

-metaphor which in more modern English would mean: “You are a

-flatterer,” or “You have kissed the blarney stone.”

-

-Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought to be, so he sprang

-to his feet and reached over into the casket, drawing therefrom a

-package of papers which were decidedly modern.

-

-The language was a strange one to him, however, and his only hope was

-that once away from the strange tomb he might find some one who could

-translate the document for him.

-

-He had become an ardent Egyptologist.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VII. SPLENDID HEROISM.

-

-

-“We will leave here at once.”

-

-There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:

-

-“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”

-

-“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I must search for

-Emin’s race.”

-

-“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”--god of the

-sun--“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart must be rent in twain.”

-

-“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore thy family to the

-powerful throne?”

-

-“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses care not for my

-people.”

-

-“But----”

-

-“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness. Girzilla

-will take thee from thine enemies and will return to the tomb.”

-

-“You are sad.”

-

-“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”

-

-Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot, scalding tears poured

-from his eyes.

-

-She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly a week ago.

-

-A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had not been able

-to weep.

-

-The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than any other thing

-could have done.

-

-Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him weep, for she knew

-the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.

-

-Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.

-

-With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon herself as the

-consoler of the bereaved one, because she had been present when his

-eyes first opened to the great sorrow.

-

-When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.

-

-She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.

-

-“Follow me,” she said, coldly.

-

-“Nay, stay a while.”

-

-“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be free?”

-

-“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored this tomb.”

-

-Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes flashed with

-scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly, causing the muscles upon

-her arms to distend until the silver armlets must have cut into the

-flesh.

-

-Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.

-

-“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and carry away its images,

-destroy its old ruins, ransack the temples, overthrow the gods, and,

-not satisfied with that, dare even to desecrate the tombs!”

-

-“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.

-

-“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even though I knew I

-might die in thy place.”

-

-“What mean you? Are you in danger?”

-

-Girzilla laughed bitterly.

-

-“Danger!--how silly you are!” And then, changing her manner, she added:

-“Have you any sense? Do you Franks ever think? I know these men who

-brought thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold and slit

-your nose--that they would slowly kill thee. Like the bird of prey

-looking for its victim were they. I saved thee--wilt not the vulture

-turn upon me? Thou knowest I shall die if I am caught.”

-

-There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner which seemed to

-raise her from the apathetic lazy Egyptian race and elevate her to the

-level of the American.

-

-Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned him to be silent.

-

-“I have been here since I was so high”--again measuring two feet from

-the ground. “Did I ever take the sacred bandages from the bodies of

-the embalmed? Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour without

-desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee--Osiris will return and

-claim his own.”

-

-Max listened.

-

-He was charmed.

-

-What a splendid actress this girl would make!

-

-What a magnificent woman she was!--and yet in years she could be only a

-girl.

-

-“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed in them,” Max

-ventured to say.

-

-“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape--if thou wouldst find the

-son’s son of Emin, get thee ready and I will lead thee to the desert,

-the way that Emin traveled.”

-

-“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”

-

-“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and when thou art safe I

-may go.”

-

-She turned away her head to hide her tears.

-

-Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from a sarcophagus a

-scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor, a knife with double edge,

-keen as a dagger, and a small stiletto.

-

-These she handed to Max.

-

-“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared to leave the cave.

-

-“Come, and quickly.”

-

-“I have offended thee----” Max commenced, but Girzilla had scrambled

-through the opening, and could not hear what he was saying.

-

-She led him across the burning sands; at every step his feet seemed to

-be blistering. There was no shade save from the great bowlders, and

-they were so hot that it was unpleasant to approach them.

-

-On she went, keeping in advance of the American.

-

-Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted to speak she

-motioned him to be silent.

-

-It was like a new country--a land without inhabitants.

-

-Where were they?

-

-So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living thing to be

-seen.

-

-Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting sand, but never

-stopping.

-

-Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too proud to suggest it.

-

-The sun was high in the heavens.

-

-The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.

-

-Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.

-

-He walked along mechanically.

-

-All control over himself appeared to be lost.

-

-Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving, without the power

-to stop.

-

-His eyes no longer saw the sand--they were hot and glassy with the

-glare of the sun.

-

-Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in front of him.

-

-Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.

-

-That was more eloquent than words.

-

-Girzilla was by his side in a moment.

-

-A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and some water was

-poured down the youth’s throat.

-

-She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when he was helpless

-and suffering, she could not resist.

-

-She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin might not blister.

-

-He was unconscious.

-

-“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”

-

-Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the heat--she was

-accustomed to it.

-

-“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the man she referred to

-was many miles away.

-

-“I will try.”

-

-The speech was in answer to her thoughts.

-

-Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped over the prostrate form

-of Madcap Max, and raised him as if he were a child.

-

-Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.

-

-She carried him a few steps.

-

-The perspiration ran in streams down her face.

-

-The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.

-

-She had to rest.

-

-Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards or so.

-

-It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die if she left him

-there.

-

-She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again took him in her

-arms.

-

-But her strength gave out.

-

-She fell with her burden on the hot sand.

-

-Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the battle.

-

-She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.

-

-The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on until she had

-scraped away the sand a foot deep.

-

-Into this hole she rolled Max.

-

-The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence, but Girzilla

-cared not, if Max were but safe.

-

-She looked for something to shelter him.

-

-Nothing could be seen.

-

-With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen blouse which was

-the only covering of the upper part of her body, and sprinkling it well

-with water, laid it over the youth’s face.

-

-Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American, was exposed to

-the torture of the heat.

-

-The thermometer must have registered a hundred and fifty degrees, but

-Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and waited.

-

-She had placed herself in a position between the sun and Max.

-

-Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent heroine,

-shielded the American from the rays of the Egyptian sun.

-

-Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her skin. A slight

-breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across her, but it carried

-myriads of sand flies and atoms of sand with it.

-

-The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked the blistered

-flesh.

-

-The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.

-

-Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise, but a look of

-self-denying heroism crossed her face, and she remained still.

-

-“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and that was enough.

-

-He must be saved at all costs.

-

-Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts became more

-indistinct.

-

-She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.

-

-But if it would save him, she was satisfied.

-

-She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his forehead.

-

-Her garment was still there, shielding his face from the sun.

-

-“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she moaned.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER VIII. SHERIF EL HABIB.

-

-

-“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his prophet.”

-

-The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet, and had

-prostrated himself, bowing before the setting sun.

-

-“Allah be praised!”

-

-The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate on the carpet.

-

-In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting for their chief

-to rise.

-

-When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked in the direction

-of the setting sun, bowed his head once more, and sat down on the sand

-to put on his sandals.

-

-The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.

-

-Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the manner of the

-chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most picturesque appearance.

-

-Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and folded up the carpet,

-placing it with great care on the back of a camel, which had been

-brought forward.

-

-The chief--Sherif el Habib--walked away from his servants, his

-companion being a youth, fair as a girl, but strong as a lion.

-

-“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to the youth.

-

-“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”

-

-“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine eyes have not seen the

-glory of his coming.”

-

-“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at Cairo?”

-

-“And why not?”

-

-“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through the lattices

-would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered Ibrahim, smiling, as

-he uttered the words.

-

-“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the holy prophet spoken

-of the Prophet of prophets, who should come and restore the ancient

-glory of Egypt, and after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the

-crescent and Mahomet in every land?”

-

-“But why do you think he has come now?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet say out to me:

-‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou the sea and go as I direct thee,

-and thine eyes shall see the glory of the last _imaum_’--leader--‘the

-rise of the Mahdi of whom I spake.’”

-

-“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed the Red Sea,

-wandered about these deserts for months, deserted the towns and left

-the pretty girls--I beg pardon--all because of a dream.”

-

-“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material. Is there nothing

-better than making shawls?”

-

-“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to Alexandria, to

-Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh, uncle, you are rich; give up

-these dreams, and let us enjoy life.”

-

-“Ibrahim, how old are you?”

-

-“Eighteen, uncle.”

-

-“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years and all my wealth will

-be thine; then thou canst journey whither thou pleasest. But I have a

-mission. When I go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have

-seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”

-

-It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that before the end of

-the world there shall arise a mahdi--literally, a director who shall be

-of the family of Mahomet, whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and who

-should fill the world with righteousness. For six hundred years the

-Mohammedans have been expecting their messiah to appear.

-

-“As thou wilt, uncle, but----”

-

-Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried salaam of

-Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential eunuch and secretary.

-

-“What is it, Effendi?”

-

-“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful girl hath

-fainted, and with her----”

-

-“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”

-

-“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou----”

-

-“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as you do. Go along, I

-care not for all the girls of Egypt.”

-

-Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech, for he had hurried

-away with Effendi.

-

-The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where Madcap Max had

-fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.

-

-Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and seemed strangely

-disturbed.

-

-He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and found that both

-were alive.

-

-“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then, turning to

-Effendi, he motioned him to follow.

-

-Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack a small bottle.

-

-On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which, if translated

-into good United States language, would signify that the contents were

-known to be that strange result of modern research, chloroform.

-

-Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:

-

-“It is my will that these people should go with us in a sleep as of

-death; do thou with this as is usual.”

-

-Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents on two pieces

-of linen, he returned to the Arab girl and Max and placed the linen

-over their mouths. When the fumes of the chloroform had done their work

-effectually he called some of the attendants, and ordered them to place

-Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.

-

-“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low salaam.

-

-“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.

-

-Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim alone.

-

-“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”

-

-“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was the reply.

-

-“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the youth, “I should

-declare that you were mad.”

-

-“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of the celestial, and

-now mine eyes have been directed to the approach of the great mahdi. In

-my dreams I heard a voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed.

-The guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct thee.’

-Now did not this mean this youth and maiden? this brother and sister

-who were asleep and awaiting me?”

-

-“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love adventure; but I

-hope we shall return alive.”

-

-“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”

-

-The caravan started.

-

-More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of them carried

-baggage, tents, and provisions, the other eighteen bore upon their

-backs the bodyguard of Sherif el Habib.

-

-Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same camel, being

-fastened to basket paniers, one on either side of the animal.

-

-As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will take the

-opportunity of more fully introducing the party to our readers.

-

-Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was known as the most

-prosperous shawl manufacturer of all Persia.

-

-He gave employment to over a hundred men, and Sherif el Habib’s Persian

-shawls had been worn by the empresses and queens of the world.

-

-Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way. According to the

-custom of his land, he had several wives.

-

-In the palace of the Sherif--for this shawl manufacturer was ranked

-as a prince--every contrivance had been resorted to to render the

-happiness of the ladies complete.

-

-Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet long by thirty

-feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen feet of water in depth.

-

-By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water was so nicely

-regulated that a stream to the depth of four feet was always flowing

-through the bath.

-

-This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses, and was so

-delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating pleasure to bathe.

-

-One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were disporting

-themselves in the bath, when by some accident the working gear got out

-of order and the water began to rise.

-

-The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.

-

-Gradually the water increased in volume until it was six feet deep.

-

-How merrily the ladies laughed!

-

-How delighted they were at this new experience!

-

-They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the bath.

-

-Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and made fun of each

-other.

-

-They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults as though

-they were amphibious animals.

-

-The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was water-tight, so that

-should Sherif el Habib at any time desire the whole fifteen feet of

-depth to be flooded, no water could escape into the other parts of the

-palace.

-

-When the ladies had grown weary they made a move to leave. But they

-were tired.

-

-The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.

-

-One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be loved, was so

-exhausted that she begged one of the others to save her.

-

-Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance, but Lola clung

-so tightly to her that both became exhausted and sank, never to rise

-again in life.

-

-The others shrieked for help.

-

-No one heard them.

-

-They could not stand on the sides. The steps were slippery as glass,

-and could not be ascended.

-

-The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water was in the bath.

-

-When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the bathers, burst open the

-door, he was almost swept away by the overflow of the water.

-

-His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating on the surface

-of the water were the dead bodies of all his wives.

-

-Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled until he

-thought of his sister’s orphan child, the young Ibrahim, who was living

-in Teheran.

-

-From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart was centered on

-Ibrahim.

-

-European teachers were engaged, and by the time the young Persian was

-seventeen years old he could speak English, German and French fluently,

-besides having a good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental

-languages and dialects.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER IX. IBRAHIM AND MAX.

-

-

-When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that he was about to make

-a pilgrimage.

-

-It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet at Mecca,

-across the Red Sea, and after exploring the wonders of Luxor, Carnac,

-and ancient Thebes, go up the Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.

-

-It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and his heart beat

-so fast with expectancy that his uncle feared he might bring on a

-nervous fever. When Mecca was reached Sherif was so full of religious

-fervor that he began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the

-annoyance and yet amusement of Ibrahim.

-

-Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced that he was to

-be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan Messiah. When Cairo was

-reached he said to Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they

-would cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.

-

-As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure, with

-plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with his uncle’s ideas, and with

-but few murmurings agreed to leave civilization behind and go into

-the interior of that land of mystery--the great deserts of the Dark

-Continent.

-

-But we must return to our caravan.

-

-The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.

-

-The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but he had learned enough

-of his uncle’s ways to be assured that he would fall into disgrace if

-he dared to intrude on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.

-

-The caravan stopped.

-

-The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and after devotions the

-meal for the evening was spread.

-

-Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.

-

-They had been lifted with tender care from the camel, and laid down

-under the best and largest tent.

-

-Girzilla was the first to awake.

-

-She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she imagined she was

-dreaming.

-

-Again the temptation was so great that she gently raised her eyelids,

-and saw that the tent was hung with Oriental silk drapery, while a

-thick Persian carpet had been spread upon the sand.

-

-There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.

-

-Where could she be?

-

-Where was Max?

-

-Raising her head she saw on the other side of the tent another carpet,

-and on it reclined the form of Max.

-

-Should she awaken him?

-

-A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession of her, and she

-was determined to do all she could to remain near him.

-

-Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance of the tent.

-

-She was utterly bewildered.

-

-A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.

-

-Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds--others were asleep.

-

-Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded with jets of

-brilliant light.

-

-The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a soothing

-influence pass over her.

-

-With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst forth into poetic

-declamation.

-

-Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the most beautiful

-imagery, she apostrophized the sky and the stars, speaking of the sky

-as the million-eyed goddess, looking down through the millions of stars

-on the earth, and directing the destinies of men.

-

-She thought she was unheard, but standing in the shadow of a tent was

-Ibrahim.

-

-He was entranced.

-

-“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More eloquent than the

-houris of Istaphan! Speak to me, and tell me who thou art.”

-

-Girzilla heard the voice.

-

-It was not that of Madcap Max.

-

-Who, then, could be speaking?

-

-All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ, champ, champ of

-the camels.

-

-Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded him in

-darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate into the blackness.

-

-“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.

-

-“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness, should be able

-to see, though the clouds were blacker than the tomb, and thy soul,

-which speaks through thy lips, should divine that one who loves the

-music of thy mouth is near to thee.”

-

-Girzilla made no answer.

-

-She could not understand her surroundings.

-

-All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.

-

-To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that ’twas but a vision

-of the night, she returned silently to the carpets and fell asleep.

-

-The chloroform had not lost all its power.

-

-Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer him.

-

-“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached the tent.

-

-But Girzilla was asleep.

-

-“My own gazelle----”

-

-Max moved uneasily.

-

-“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make thee a throne

-upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my heart.”

-

-“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah, I remember! I died out

-on the sand. Girzilla was with me. Where is she? Is this death? I am

-very comfortable. Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”

-

-Max pinched himself and smiled.

-

-“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t sand. By the great

-Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am in a tent. I have it--I am not dead,

-but only kidnaped. I’ll get up and have a look around.”

-

-“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son of Iran hear the

-liquid notes that pour from the throat of my gentle gazelle.”

-

-“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.

-

-He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept close to the side of

-the tent until he reached the opening.

-

-“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could----”

-

-“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”

-

-Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim went heels over head

-into the sand.

-

-“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.

-

-To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.

-

-“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much strength?”

-

-“Who are you?” asked Max.

-

-“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”

-

-“Well, Mr. Abraham----”

-

-“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.

-

-“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you. If it isn’t, I am

-also the madcap, and I can fight as well as talk. How do you feel?”

-

-“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the sand?”

-

-“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean I know----”

-

-“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion displayed by

-Max.

-

-“Where am I?”

-

-“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan: and I am

-Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”

-

-“Where is Girzilla?”

-

-“Who is that? Your sister?”

-

-“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my----”

-

-“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is the sweetest music

-mine ears have ever heard?”

-

-“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked Max, abruptly.

-

-“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”

-

-“I don’t care who you are.”

-

-“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib----”

-

-“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he is a sheriff, a

-policeman, or a soldier.”

-

-Ibrahim laughed.

-

-He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the Persian Sherif with

-the English sheriff amused him.

-

-“You don’t understand--that is my uncle’s name.”

-

-“Fetch him here and let me see him.”

-

-Ibrahim was astounded.

-

-The way Max spoke was something for which he was not prepared.

-

-The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted with the

-morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and white tents, Max was

-dazzled.

-

-“Where am I?”

-

-“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief, Sherif el Habib.

-My uncle found you dying, and he brought you and your sister here.”

-

-“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands--that is what we do in England and

-America----”

-

-The youths clasped their hands.

-

-“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.

-

-“I hope so.”

-

-“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.

-

-“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”

-

-“We shall be comrades?”

-

-“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”

-

-“Have you a mother?”

-

-“Alas! no,” answered Max.

-

-“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone--I have no one but my

-uncle.”

-

-“I have no one at all.”

-

-“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother. But who is she?”

-

-“I told you--she is my guide.”

-

-“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a beauty, as lovely as

-she is eloquent, and as poetic as the birds which fly above the gardens

-of Paradise.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER X. THE PETRIFIED FOREST.

-

-

-Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla that Ibrahim

-refrained from approaching her, not because he had conquered the

-passion he felt for her, but entirely out of respect for the madcap.

-

-Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he told him that he

-was on a pilgrimage to find the promised mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw

-himself into the work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever

-in fate.

-

-Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as she could see Max

-she was satisfied.

-

-Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her other than Max’s

-sister.

-

-In this way the journey was continued into the desert of Lybia.

-

-All had been tranquil.

-

-No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims, and Max

-began to yearn for adventure.

-

-Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as a young elephant,

-and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to tire her.

-

-One day a forest was sighted.

-

-For many days not a leaf, not a tree--no, not so much as a blade of

-grass, had been seen.

-

-The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers as is a rain

-shower to the parched earth.

-

-It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so impetuous was

-the spirit of the two youths that they obtained permission to go in

-advance of the party, and while Sherif el Habib rested--for he was

-getting to look jaded and tired--they would investigate and return to

-report.

-

-Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward, joyously.

-

-They were both well armed, and carried enough rations to last them four

-days.

-

-It was noon on the following day before they were near to the forest.

-

-Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.

-

-But there was something weird and strange about the trees.

-

-Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.

-

-They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing the clouds, as

-it were, but not a sign or movement was visible.

-

-A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not a bough swayed,

-not a tree bent its head before the wind.

-

-“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked forward at the

-unbending trees.

-

-“They look more like stone than wood,” commented Ibrahim.

-

-“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”

-

-There was another peculiarity noticeable.

-

-Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.

-

-So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance to the blazing

-rays of the sun, and ran forward.

-

-Max was the first to reach a tree.

-

-The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in diameter, as

-straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without leaves.

-

-Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.

-

-“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”

-

-“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,” answered Max.

-

-“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”

-

-“Feel for yourself.”

-

-“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree must be burning.”

-

-Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke in two, and no

-impression was made on the tree.

-

-Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same result.

-

-A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with the hafts of

-their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced them that they had

-discovered a freak of nature--a veritable petrified forest.

-

-It was true.

-

-Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its allegiance from

-the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.

-

-Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to stone.

-

-There was something appalling in those great stone statues.

-

-How many ages had they stood there?

-

-What action of nature had changed them from living, sap-flowing trees

-into blocks of granite, having only the appearance of their former

-reality?

-

-Ibrahim was scared.

-

-His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on the ground.

-

-“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not afraid of these big

-stones, are you?”

-

-Ibrahim did not answer.

-

-He was awe-stricken.

-

-“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s name very

-materially.

-

-It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have remained prostrate

-had not some counter irritant appeared.

-

-A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck the trees,

-glancing off close to our young explorers.

-

-“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us have a look at

-you,” shouted Max.

-

-He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole forest seemed alive.

-

-It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet not a living

-creature had the explorers seen before.

-

-Where did all these savages come from?

-

-The savages were something superlative.

-

-They were almost as naked as when they came into the world.

-

-Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking clay.

-

-The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks; two heavy

-bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms, just above the elbow;

-and on each wrist was a bracelet or ring, in which, by some cunning

-device, sharp pieces of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had

-been inserted. These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in a

-fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the manner of spears,

-only that they had four arrows in each hand--held between the fingers

-so that the heads of the arrows were stretched out fan shape.

-

-The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.

-

-The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.

-

-They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim understood.

-

-“We are in for it,” said Max.

-

-“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why did I ever come?”

-

-“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they mean to do.”

-

-The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled at times to

-dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened to mar the beauty of their

-faces, they were so near.

-

-“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned

-revolver--a weapon which must have been one of the first ever made, so

-primitive was its construction. It had been given to Max by Sherif el

-Habib, who believed it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.

-

-Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping from tree to tree, so

-he put back his revolver and raised his rifle, a more modern and more

-reliable weapon.

-

-The savages stood still.

-

-Surely this must be some magician or medicine man who had come among

-them.

-

-That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for they stood

-watching and waiting.

-

-But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.

-

-Carefully taking aim, Max fired.

-

-The savages screamed as they heard the report, and the monkey dropped

-dead.

-

-As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows were gathered

-together and held under the left arm.

-

-“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.

-

-“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to escape.”

-

-“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”

-

-The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly the naked,

-ugly representatives of the genus man, as known in the petrified

-forests of Lybia, disappeared, leaving only the chief and perhaps a

-dozen to guard the white explorers.

-

-A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive; every man had

-brought a woman with him.

-

-The women were more repulsive looking than the men.

-

-Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction, while all over

-their bodies deep furrows had been plowed out of the flesh.

-

-At a signal all began dancing. The men at every movement struck the

-women with their spiked bracelets, and soon the black bodies of the

-females were dripping with blood.

-

-But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed heartily when they

-managed to escape a more than usually vicious blow from their loving

-husband’s spiked bracelet.

-

-“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.

-

-“I am afraid not.”

-

-“I would like to kill the savages.”

-

-“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it----”

-

-“Or run away.”

-

-“Let us try.”

-

-No sooner suggested than attempted.

-

-The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike rushed after the

-runaways, capturing them easily, and holding them firmly until the

-dance was finished.

-

-When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another command.

-

-An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with only a few hairs on

-her head, was brought from some mysterious place and placed against one

-of the stone trees.

-

-Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he wanted Max to

-shoot her.

-

-To make the madcap understand, he took the dead monkey and held it in

-front of the old woman, then raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun,

-and pointed it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.

-

-Max shook his head.

-

-The gesture was not understood.

-

-The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the rifle to the

-madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise with his lips as he did so.

-

-“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.

-

-“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I shoot his nibs here.”

-

-“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the slang expression.

-

-Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was given.

-

-The old woman had fallen forward--dead.

-

-Fright had killed her.

-

-But the savages believed that the white man’s magic had ended the poor,

-old creature’s life.

-

-Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.

-

-Songs of triumph--in gibberish which might mean anything--dances of the

-most grotesque kind were indulged in, and it was plain to be seen that

-these poor savages were nearly mad with joy.

-

-When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered to Ibrahim:

-

-“Let us run--but as we do so we had better point our guns at the

-fellows; then they won’t follow.”

-

-Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows started.

-

-The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.

-

-A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.

-

-Max turned and raised his rifle.

-

-What a change took place!

-

-Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young men, a hundred backs

-could be seen, and every savage was trying to break the world’s record

-in running, not toward the explorers, but away from them.

-

-Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned, the American

-would never have been able to point the gun at them.

-

-“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”

-

-Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon been above the

-forest, he would have seen a hundred savages fleeing in one direction,

-as though pursued by a regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys

-they were afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XI. THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.

-

-

-When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they easily persuaded the

-Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the petrified forest and its savage

-occupants.

-

-Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an oasis.

-

-After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was pleasant to get

-among the tall marsh grass.

-

-It seemed strange that such a difference could exist in so short a

-distance.

-

-Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to be found, and

-then suddenly the sand would cease, and a patch of swampy ground,

-perhaps covering twenty square miles, would be entered upon.

-

-The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.

-

-There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation visible; no water

-could be obtained, even by sinking deep wells.

-

-Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered ankle deep with

-water.

-

-Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height, yams were found in

-abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables in plenty.

-

-A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme of much talk and

-great bewilderment.

-

-“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif el Habib.

-

-Max looked at it intently.

-

-“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so thirsty it drinks

-itself all dry,” he said, speaking so seriously that his friends

-thought he must have evolved from his inner consciousness some new fact

-in nature.

-

-Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child paddling in the surf

-at the seashore.

-

-“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed, and when asked to

-repeat, she replied:

-

-“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”

-

-The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything about her

-parentage or kith.

-

-She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max and his friends.

-

-She never seemed to have a thought away from them.

-

-The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the water, but after

-loading up with the refreshing liquid, they treated the water with

-haughty disdain, treading lazily along without a care.

-

-Following the banks of the stream they found the grass getting greener,

-but shorter, and the water less deep.

-

-After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they reached a little

-hillock well adapted for encampment, being perfectly dry, and the grass

-green and soft.

-

-But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for the tents to be

-pitched, Max came running back to his friends, declaring that there

-were plenty of savages to keep them company.

-

-Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided by Max, went to look

-at the savages.

-

-Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle, tended by

-naked natives.

-

-The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives moved about, they

-appeared as if they were in water.

-

-Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly they did so.

-

-He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored Africans

-shouted for joy.

-

-Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.

-

-Every bone showed through their skin, and they were evidently half

-starved.

-

-They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when it happened to

-die of sickness.

-

-“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted to think that he

-could make himself understood.

-

-“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.

-

-The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the natives casting the

-harpoon at random among the reeds; thus, out of several hundred casts,

-they might, by good luck, catch one fish.

-

-The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and Sherif sent for him.

-

-A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared, accompanied by two

-women.

-

-Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and a skull cap of

-white beads, with a crest of white ostrich feathers; but the mantle

-which was slung across his shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.

-

-He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the other as his daughter.

-

-“What want you?” asked Klatch.

-

-“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif el Habib, solemnly.

-

-“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending the question.

-

-It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.

-

-The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning appear.

-

-At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his daughter by the

-shoulders, gave her a push toward Sherif.

-

-“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”

-

-Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.

-

-“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will you do with her?”

-

-Sherif was amazed.

-

-His religious fervor was dampened.

-

-He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter, but the chief

-could not, or would not, understand.

-

-A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl, and then giving

-her back again to her father.

-

-When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick green turf, and

-all the party--save only Effendi--slept soundly.

-

-As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to kill his master,

-and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least only allowed himself short

-intervals of sleep.

-

-When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the morning, he saw the

-chief’s daughter lying across the entrance fast asleep.

-

-She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor girl felt that she

-would be far happier with the white man than with her own people.

-

-All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small gourd shells to

-receive gifts of corn.

-

-Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved blacks

-fell down before him and kissed his feet.

-

-Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own account, by

-offering to purchase a bull or a cow.

-

-But the natives would not sell.

-

-Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal, unfortunately a

-sacred bull.

-

-He was instantly surrounded by the natives who howled and yelled at

-him, threatening to tear him in pieces and drink his blood.

-

-He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe had a sacred

-bull, who was supposed to exert an influence over the prosperity of the

-flock.

-

-The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with tufts of feathers and

-strings of shells, which jingled as he moved along.

-

-Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the cattle kraal,

-bidding him keep the cows from straying, and to see that they found the

-best grass, so that they could give the most milk.

-

-It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.

-

-Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so disturbed his

-people.

-

-When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s death.

-

-“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.

-

-“Then he dies,” answered the chief.

-

-Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no amount of beads

-or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase a sacred bull.

-

-Max must die.

-

-Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.

-

-The natives said he had speared him.

-

-“Where is my spear?” asked Max.

-

-They pointed to his gun.

-

-He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.

-

-The bull was dead.

-

-That did not admit of any doubt.

-

-But how did it die?

-

-Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill a cow, if he could

-do so without a spear.

-

-Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but still better than an

-old musket.

-

-He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder, the natives

-watching him. There was a puff of smoke, a flash, a loud report, and

-the cow dropped dead.

-

-It was a miracle.

-

-“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated some good beefsteaks

-as his reward, picked off a bull who was looking at him very steadily.

-

-As a reward for these miracles Max was given the first bull, and the

-other dead animals were divided among the natives.

-

-After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey, Klatch and the

-entire tribe pleading hard to go with Sherif.

-

-When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey, Sherif found the

-chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent. She had followed in the distance

-and under cover of the night reached the pasha’s tent.

-

-Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and he threatened

-to use force to compel her.

-

-She explained that according to the custom of her people she would be

-killed.

-

-If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his bargain, the girl

-must die.

-

-“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.

-

-The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but Sherif was

-obdurate, and when she did return it was easy to see that she expected

-she was going to her death.

-

-Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party of pilgrims never

-discovered.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XII. “WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”

-

-

-“I would like to know where that river empties itself,” said Max.

-

-“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered Sherif el Habib,

-good-naturedly.

-

-“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.

-

-“What says Girzilla?”

-

-Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.

-

-She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer, and had told him

-she believed that Mameluke blood ran in her veins.

-

-This set Sherif thinking.

-

-The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from the Caucasus.

-

-When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom in 1517, he was

-compelled to allow twenty-four of their number to remain governors of

-provinces.

-

-Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared that at least three

-of them were descended from the Prophet Mahomet.

-

-To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important step, for he would

-have the record of his race, and might direct the pilgrims to the

-mahdi, who was shortly expected.

-

-Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed Mameluke

-blood, for she would know the signs and signals which bound together

-that most powerful body of men.

-

-The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret signs, and possessed of

-all the fraternal strength of the Free Masons.

-

-That was the reason Sherif asked the question:

-

-“What says Girzilla?”

-

-The girl smiled, sadly.

-

-“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead. I am thy slave, do

-with me as thou wilt--I am thine.”

-

-“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong to anyone,

-’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”

-

-A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face, and she bent

-down her head.

-

-“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not care for the

-dark--I am dark----”

-

-“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon. “I do care for

-thee, Girzilla. I----”

-

-“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with thee--but it is

-great Sherif el Habib who is the master. As he pleases so I wilt do.”

-

-Had this child of the desert, around whose life there was so much of

-mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry and flattery?

-

-She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he become, that he

-took Max on one side, and in a mysterious manner whispered:

-

-“I have solved it.”

-

-“What?”

-

-“Girzilla.”

-

-“Have you discovered who she is?”

-

-“No, but who she is going to be.”

-

-Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins of his face.

-

-In a whisper he asked:

-

-“Who is she to be?”

-

-“Ibrahim shall marry her.”

-

-The union would be a good one. The marriage of a Persian with an

-Arabian could not be considered a _mesalliance_, at least as regards

-race; but to Max there was a certain pride of rank which would be

-outraged.

-

-Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla nothing; the

-Persian took rank as a pasha in his own land, while who knew anything

-about Girzilla?

-

-The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles betokened rank, but

-might not her father be a bandit, and bedecked his child with them?

-

-Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection to Max’s

-mind, for he could not help thinking that, perhaps, she was educated to

-serve as a decoy for the robber band.

-

-Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s silence.

-

-“If thou wouldst marry her yourself----”

-

-“I, an American, marry an Arab?”

-

-“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you of all men

-oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”

-

-“And why?”

-

-“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that the great

-strength of your nation laid in the fact that you declared and

-recognized ‘that all are born free and equal.’”

-

-Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted with that very

-difficulty before.

-

-His father had told him that instead of being a reality, the present

-generation treated the time-honored declaration as a theory, very

-beautiful, but impractical.

-

-Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of Merchant Gordon.

-

-Max knew not what to answer.

-

-He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not want the bone,

-he was angry at any other dog getting it, and so Max, while he would

-not marry Girzilla, was furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim

-claiming her as his wife.

-

-Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders were given to

-follow the course of the stream.

-

-For four hours the march was continued through the long grass.

-

-It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the sand.

-

-After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire prevented them from

-following the stream, and they had to make a detour to the right.

-

-The river was kept in sight, however, and for two days it could be seen

-flowing briskly along toward the realm of illimitable sand.

-

-“Where is the river?” asked Max.

-

-The mystery increased.

-

-The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.

-

-It was true.

-

-All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.

-

-The green grass was to give way to dry sand.

-

-That did not surprise them.

-

-They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a little stream,

-rising from springs at one end of the rectangular oasis, had swollen

-into a river, whose rippling waves showed a strong current, and when

-some great lake was expected, or another river, of which it might be

-tributary, nothing was found but sand.

-

-“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.

-

-“What do you mean?”

-

-“Why, we only imagined the river.”

-

-“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.

-

-“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.

-

-Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the best of it.

-

-“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water must empty itself

-somewhere.”

-

-“Of course.”

-

-“Well, where does it go to?”

-

-“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.

-

-“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but that we are on the verge

-of a great discovery?”

-

-“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world as the mighty

-explorers who found the river Ibrahim, which had its rise in an atom of

-sand, and flowed into the lake of nothing.”

-

-Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the shoulder.

-

-“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You should go as the great

-Persian pasha, warranted genuine; while I would introduce you----”

-

-“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib, coming up at the

-time; “and if I were your age----”

-

-“So you are, pasha,” said Max.

-

-“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I would find a way to

-solve the mystery.”

-

-“May we try it?”

-

-“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”

-

-“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.

-

-“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XIII. DANGEROUS JESTS.

-

-

-Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in the oasis, and being

-supplied with provisions enough for several months, agreed to wait for

-the return of the young explorers.

-

-No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp than they felt like

-boys.

-

-They were their own masters, and not only that, but they had two Arabs

-with them as stewards and porters.

-

-Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient form, and the four

-started.

-

-Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very thing not to do, for

-Max was venturesome, and when freed from restraint a perfect madcap.

-However, Ibrahim believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed

-that Max should be captain.

-

-The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat, and to it they

-went.

-

-A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it, but a few beads

-and a china doll were considered a princely recompense, and Max became

-the owner of the boat.

-

-He asked the native where the river led to, and was told that in the

-great quagmire was a fire that had been burning for hundreds of moons,

-and it took all the water to keep the fire down; if the water stopped

-the whole world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:

-

-“Even Klatch would be burned.”

-

-And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so frightened that

-Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

-

-“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”

-

-“We are going to see it; will you come?”

-

-“No, no.”

-

-“Will give you beads.”

-

-“No.”

-

-“China doll”--holding another up to view.

-

-“No, no, no!”

-

-The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the very

-personification of fear.

-

-The boat was a good, strong dugout.

-

-A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been hollowed out

-with rude tools.

-

-This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of canoe or boat known in

-Africa.

-

-There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out of a pure spirit

-of mischief, determined that the naked native should be one of the

-party.

-

-The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the arms and legs and

-lifted him into the boat.

-

-The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of those terrible agues

-so prevalent in some countries, and which makes one:

-

-  “Shake! shake! shake!

-   Shudder, and cower, and quake,

-   Till every nerve has its separate quiver,

-   And every sinew its separate shiver,

-   And every bone its particular ache;

-   For either he or the chill must break!

-

-  “Shake! shake! shake!

-   Till joints are loose and sinews slack,

-   Till every bone is a torturing thing,

-   And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,

-   While up and down the weary back

-   An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,

-   Marches along the spinal column.”

-

-That was just how poor, wild Klatchman--as he called himself--felt when

-he was lifted into the boat and held there by fear that Max would kill

-him if he attempted to move.

-

-The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell by gestures to the

-cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe and his kindred.

-

-The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat seemed to fly along.

-

-The water was rough.

-

-At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it were a paper

-shell.

-

-The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but rather to prevent it

-going too fast.

-

-“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim was getting scared.

-

-“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in for mischief.

-

-“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:

-

-  “A life on the ocean wave,

-   A home on the rolling deep.”

-

-Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped out of the boat.

-

-A big, powerful fellow--swimming like a fish--he tried to reach the

-land.

-

-The current was too strong.

-

-He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.

-

-Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to jump out.

-

-“Don’t do it,” implored Max.

-

-But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that not only would the

-native perish, but that his Persian friend would be sacrificed also.

-

-“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”

-

-“And Klatchman?”

-

-“He will catch up to us.”

-

-Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to pull back to the

-place from which they started.

-

-A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.

-

-“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”

-

-“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good to give him a

-scare.”

-

-“Please save him.”

-

-Max laughed long and heartily.

-

-“How serious you are. One would think we were in the rapids of Niagara.”

-

-“My dear fellow--Klatchman is a human being----”

-

-“Is he?”

-

-“Of course he is.”

-

-“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”

-

-Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly heartless, but he

-was not.

-

-For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had played no practical

-jokes.

-

-Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and Ibrahim at the same

-time.

-

-That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman was in any

-danger he would have been the first to have even risked his life to

-rescue him; but in the first place he did not believe in the danger,

-and then he looked upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland

-dog--one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.

-

-“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be heartless, Max. Save

-the poor wretch.”

-

-Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned himself to his

-fate.

-

-He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.

-

-“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”

-

-Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled round at a furious

-rate.

-

-“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like a Fourth of July

-pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.

-

-Turning to the Arabs, he said:

-

-“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”

-

-“It is not safe, your excellency.”

-

-“Tush! do as you are told.”

-

-The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool, but no sooner

-had they changed the position of the boat than it seemed to fly over

-the water, borne along by some fierce current below the surface.

-

-“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.

-

-“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.

-

-“I am afraid.”

-

-“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in for it now.”

-

-He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.

-

-It was useless to try and manage it.

-

-“Great Scott! What a race.”

-

-Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but even then he was

-more than delighted.

-

-There was the African whirling round in a smaller circle, while the

-boat was going equally fast in a larger one around him.

-

-“Jewilikins! what was that?”

-

-Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.

-

-The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the head that the poor

-creature’s brains were spattered all over the boat.

-

-“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.

-

-“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but I didn’t mean to

-do so.”

-

-“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”

-

-One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before either of his

-comrades or Max could reach forward to save him, he had fallen out of

-the boat and was dashed to pieces in the whirlpool.

-

-“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned, now thoroughly

-serious and alive to his fate.

-

-Was it imagination?

-

-Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the dizzying whirl

-of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become stationary?

-

-Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.

-

-The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to what had taken

-place.

-

-They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and the fury of the

-whirling waters had spent themselves.

-

-Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the Norwegian coast, the

-center was calm and still, while the outer rings were lashed everything

-with the greatest fury.

-

-Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one seemed to get

-tired and have a period of rest.

-

-“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim had seized the

-oar the dead Arab had let fall.

-

-Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the oars, and the

-boat moved as they willed it.

-

-“Change places with me--let me pull!” exclaimed Max.

-

-Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the rudely-shaped

-paddle from Max, which he had used to guide the boat in place of a

-rudder.

-

-The American was stronger than either the Persian or the Arab, and the

-force of his oar soon made itself felt.

-

-The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was reached, and Max

-uttered devoutly the words:

-

-“Thank Heaven!”

-

-While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:

-

-“Allah be praised! _Sin Syu!_”

-

-Which latter was equivalent to saying:

-

-“Allah be praised! I have said it!”

-

-“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.

-

-“No, nor don’t want to.”

-

-“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the Ibrahim.’”

-

-“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle, and--Girzilla.”

-

-“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian. How she will

-listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on sea and land.’”

-

-“Hush! we are drifting.”

-

-“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty miles an hour.

-Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”

-

-Max exerted all his strength.

-

-The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.

-

-On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their sinews were like

-huge cords stretched under the skin.

-

-“Snap!”

-

-And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and Ibrahim groaned

-aloud.

-

-An oar had broken.

-

-“The paddle, quick!”

-

-Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use it like an oar.

-

-In vain.

-

-The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants were at the

-mercy of the cruel river.

-

-Where was it taking them?

-

-Not to the whirlpool.

-

-That was passed long ago.

-

-They could see it again as they looked back.

-

-Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a mimosa tree, but

-his effort was in vain.

-

-“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian as he saw the

-face of the dead Arab close to the boat, with its eyes open, and

-peering into the face of the young chief.

-

-“It is horrible!” groaned Max.

-

-On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.

-

-The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.

-

-He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head scarcely

-wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together, and he awaited death.

-

-Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of the shadow of

-death, and had mentally wished his uncle farewell.

-

-As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to escape.

-

-And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.

-

-The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.

-

-All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the caravan had avoided.

-

-But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite could be noted.

-

-It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that was imagination.

-

-A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing in the water.

-

-“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching his breath, as he

-spoke.

-

-The boat tossed slightly.

-

-A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three occupants,

-was precipitated over a cataract, a seething cauldron of hissing,

-sputtering, bubbling water!

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XIV. THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.

-

-

-The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge into the water

-beneath, had taken away their breath, and neither Max nor Ibrahim was

-able to speak.

-

-Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the sides of the

-dugout, and it was well that they did so, and maintained their grip

-like grim death.

-

-The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting itself, and its

-occupants got more baths in a few minutes than they cared for.

-

-They found the water quite warm, which was some consolation, for had

-it been icy cold they would have been unable to retain their hold upon

-the boat.

-

-How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of strange noises were made

-in its descent.

-

-To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals of thunder had

-impressed themselves on the tympanum of their ears. The Arab might have

-been a statue of marble.

-

-He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features were as rigid as

-death. He had his eyes and mouth closed tightly, and had it not been

-for the swelling of his bosom he might have been thought dead.

-

-Every time the boat was submerged it was carried further away from the

-cataract, and in a very few minutes--but the few minutes seemed an

-eternity--the water grew calmer and the boat more steady.

-

-Then it was that they opened their eyes.

-

-“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“Am I?” echoed Max.

-

-The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he answered in the

-negative.

-

-“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.

-

-“Why so?”

-

-“We cannot see.”

-

-“True.”

-

-“Is not that sufficient evidence?”

-

-“No.”

-

-“Why not?”

-

-“Because we may be underground.”

-

-“You mean----?”

-

-“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river, flowing under the

-desert.”

-

-“You mean it?”

-

-“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”

-

-“Perhaps so.”

-

-The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a ripple passed over

-its surface.

-

-And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.

-

-Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his appetite.

-

-“I am hungry.”

-

-“So am I.”

-

-“Let us refresh.”

-

-Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in waterproof

-covering, a precaution which should always be taken by explorers. One

-of the packages was unfastened from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly

-good repast was partaken by all three.

-

-“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.

-

-“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full stomach.”

-

-“How do you feel, Selim?”

-

-The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner told his master that

-he felt bad.

-

-“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before I ate salt

-with your excellency I wanted to die, but now--I don’t like it at all.”

-

-The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had been removed from

-the thought of death. His appetite satisfied, his love of life grew

-stronger, and the very thought of his impending fate was horrible.

-

-“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.

-

-“What are you going to do?”

-

-“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded boat is so shaky I

-am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”

-

-Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim held one hand.

-

-Max raised the other above his head.

-

-He was trying if he could touch anything which would satisfy him that

-they were really drifting through a tunnel.

-

-But he could not reach anything. If he really were in a subterranean

-cave or passage, the roof was too lofty for him to reach.

-

-On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.

-

-Its occupants were victims of fate.

-

-They were without paddle or oar, and had positively no means of guiding

-or directing the boat.

-

-Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:

-

-“It is hot!”

-

-Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water was many degrees

-warmer than it had been.

-

-“What do you make of it?” Max asked.

-

-“That the air being more confined causes the water to be warmer.”

-

-“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The water ought to be

-colder.”

-

-“What is your theory?”

-

-“We are approaching a boiling spring.”

-

-“That is a pleasant reflection--see, can you discern anything?”

-

-Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.

-

-“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”

-

-“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered as to his

-choice of titles.

-

-“What is it, Selim?”

-

-“Fire!”

-

-“Where?”

-

-“Right ahead!”

-

-All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting, and saw

-unmistakable evidences of a big fire.

-

-“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,” said Max.

-

-“We are not blind, are we?”

-

-“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”

-

-The light from the fire was now so great that they could see the walls

-and roof of the immense tunnel they were in.

-

-The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of gems; huge

-stalactites hung from the roof, each one like a glittering diamond or

-dazzling emerald.

-

-The water was a river of precious stones, for every gem, every

-stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected in the clear, pellucid

-stream, giving it the appearance of a sheet of glass besprinkled with

-gems of the greatest value.

-

-“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!” Ibrahim exclaimed.

-

-“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,” said Max.

-

-“Why?”

-

-“I would make millions out of it.”

-

-“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”

-

-The perspiration poured from them in pints.

-

-They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and, as the vapor

-arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable rainbows in the cave.

-

-“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I shall jump overboard.”

-

-“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his hand into the water

-and felt that the skin had been taken off.

-

-Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird and unearthly, as

-he found the water was many degrees hotter than human flesh could stand.

-

-The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was none.

-

-“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”

-

-“By Allah! it is not so.”

-

-“Yes, it is.”

-

-“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”

-

-“But he did not know----”

-

-“Did you?”

-

-“No, but----”

-

-“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”

-

-“What are we to do?”

-

-“Say our prayers and die.”

-

-“I should like--you won’t mind, will you, Ib?--it is a custom--I should

-like to shake hands with you.”

-

-“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better now?”

-

-“Yes--and yours, Selim. We are all in the same boat.”

-

-They were nearly suffocated.

-

-The air was filled with sulphur.

-

-“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die like men.”

-

-The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited death.

-

-Each mumbled something--perhaps their prayers.

-

-“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.

-

-“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,” were the last

-words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he muffled up his face.

-

-Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference waited the

-solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.

-

-The boat began to rock violently. Something was agitating the water.

-

-“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.

-

-The Persian was unconscious.

-

-A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.

-

-How can it be accounted for?

-

-He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would be drowned.

-

-And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious grip, he prayed

-that he might not fall overboard, and yet he felt certain his life

-would be ended by fire in a few minutes.

-

-It is recorded by one of the great English generals who was in India at

-the time of the mutiny--1859--that a sepoy on his way to execution, was

-scared at the thought of accidental death.

-

-The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the muzzle of a

-cannon, and blown to pieces.

-

-Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or fancied he saw, an

-English soldier level his gun at him.

-

-He became hysterical.

-

-His shrieks rent the air.

-

-He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.

-

-He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the manual of arms,

-and gasped out nervously that he was afraid the gun might go off and he

-would be killed.

-

-And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his executioners to

-strap him to the cannon which was to blow him into eternity.

-

-It was so with Max.

-

-He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which the boat was

-speeding, but he was afraid he might fall overboard and be drowned.

-

-Selim sat as rigid as stone.

-

-Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.

-

-As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked less violently,

-there was but a slight rumbling to be heard, but in its place a

-sizzing, as if gas was being forced through an open pipe.

-

-“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has come. Good-by,

-world--good-by.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XV. IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.

-

-

-But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind that the end was

-not yet.

-

-The water had become calm.

-

-Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of the boat,

-gradually threw off the covering from his head.

-

-A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with fear.

-

-Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental sky and the

-bright, twinkling stars.

-

-A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by volcanic action,

-rose above him.

-

-It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.

-

-The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the strange-looking

-liquid could be called by such a name.

-

-Strange looking!

-

-But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.

-

-That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but in it floated

-strange-looking lizards and fishes.

-

-Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish themselves.

-

-Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one of the fish as it

-floated by.

-

-He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.

-

-It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.

-

-“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own--my love! Fit queen of my household, where

-art thou?”

-

-Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.

-

-“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted Max so loudly that he

-was startled by the sound of his own voice.

-

-Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he would capsize the boat.

-

-He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:

-

-“Wake up!”

-

-“Where am I?”

-

-“Uncover your head and see.”

-

-When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was as charmed as if

-he had awoke in an enchanted land.

-

-“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.

-

-“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”

-

-“Allah will save us.”

-

-“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country that ‘God helps

-only those who try to help themselves.’”

-

-“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing the American’s

-quotation.

-

-“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”

-

-“What is it?”

-

-“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano. We are in the

-crater----”

-

-“Wha-at?”

-

-“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time. The boat is

-stationary, and if----”

-

-“What?”

-

-“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush, up there.”

-

-As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.

-

-The slang expressions used by Max had raised him much in the estimation

-of the Persian, for he imagined the American was speaking in some

-language of which Ibrahim was ignorant.

-

-“How can we get out?”

-

-“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.

-

-“No, not if my life depended on it.”

-

-“Could you, Selim?”

-

-The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and had to be asked

-several times before he would answer.

-

-He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.

-

-“I could.”

-

-“You could climb those walls?”

-

-“Yes; it is easy.”

-

-“Easy!”

-

-Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.

-

-“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty of footholds.”

-

-“Shall you do so?”

-

-“No.”

-

-“Why not?”

-

-“Because----”

-

-Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the whole truth or not.

-

-“Because what?”

-

-“It seems our only chance of safety.”

-

-“Then why not seek it?”

-

-“You cannot climb.”

-

-“What of that?”

-

-“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”

-

-“And you could save yourself?”

-

-“Perhaps not.”

-

-But Max was confident he could do it.

-

-“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find some other way

-out.”

-

-Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save himself, but the

-American was firm.

-

-When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could cause him to change.

-

-“If we had only some oars----”

-

-“But we have not.”

-

-“No, and yet we must get away from here.”

-

-“How?”

-

-“In the way our ancestors did before they invented oars.”

-

-“How was that?”

-

-“With our hands.”

-

-And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of the boat with

-their hands agitating the water and acting as oars.

-

-It was slow--very slow work--but the boat moved.

-

-“Get it to the side.”

-

-To do so was a work of considerable time; but when they succeeded

-progression was much more rapid.

-

-The only chance of escape seemed to be in following the current; that

-is, if they were able to find it.

-

-It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself into the crater

-of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.

-

-There must be some other outlet.

-

-When the other side of the crater had been reached, they were surprised

-at its immensity.

-

-When in the center they had imagined the diameter of the almost

-circular crater to be some fifty or sixty feet, but as they pushed

-their boat round, they discovered that it must be more than three times

-that distance.

-

-Another thing puzzled them.

-

-Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they floated or swam into

-the vortex, or was it only during an eruption?

-

-“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”

-

-“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”

-

-A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced eating; but he made

-such a grimace that Ibrahim laughed heartily.

-

-“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed Max, who recalled

-that terrible time in the tomb near Cairo.

-

-“Stop making faces then.”

-

-“You will make a worse one when you taste----”

-

-“What?”

-

-“Your lunch.”

-

-“Why?”

-

-“It is strong with sulphur.”

-

-Alas! all their food had become impregnated with sulphur fumes and

-almost turned them sick, but they could get no other and hunger is a

-tyrannic master.

-

-They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max telling them how

-civilized people will travel many miles and spend large sums of money

-in order to drink water impregnated with sulphur.

-

-“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked Ibrahim, when he

-had eaten all he possibly could.

-

-They had not thought of that.

-

-It was becoming serious. They might be a long time before they could

-obtain a fresh supply of food.

-

-“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.

-

-The water began to be agitated again and it was deemed advisable to get

-away from the crater.

-

-After a short journey through another tunnel they reached daylight.

-

-The river ran sluggishly along between two high cliffs.

-

-“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”

-

-“I think so, too, Max.”

-

-“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have always been

-interested in African deserts.”

-

-“You have?”

-

-“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found in Sahara--white

-people whose knowledge is greater than ours.”

-

-“Fact?”

-

-“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians knew many

-engineering secrets which are lost to us; they certainly had power

-of divination and many other things which puzzle the brains of our

-best men to-day. Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and

-founded a new country where they would be free from the incursions of

-other nations?”

-

-“But they died thousands of years ago.”

-

-“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants may be

-living.”

-

-“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make us start off in

-search at once.”

-

-“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or Girzilla again?”

-

-It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the same boat, and he

-had but little hope of escape.

-

-“I hope so. Why not?”

-

-“Because---- Hello! we are in the dark again.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XVI. BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.

-

-

-As the crater was left behind, the water became more turbid, and flowed

-faster, carrying along with it the boat and its three adventurous

-occupants.

-

-“Max!”

-

-The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.

-

-“Yes, Ibrahim.”

-

-“Isn’t this horrible?”

-

-“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”

-

-“I know enough of the fearful----”

-

-“And yet--perhaps what we don’t know is far more horrible.”

-

-“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”

-

-“Ha! ha! ha!”

-

-The laugh was from Selim.

-

-“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”

-

-“What are you talking about, Selim?”

-

-“This--look at it.”

-

-“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut the very atmosphere?”

-

-“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.

-

-“I am afraid it is so.”

-

-No wonder! The strain was something frightful.

-

-It would require nerves of steel to withstand such a terrible tension.

-

-“Jewilikins! what’s that?”

-

-Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into the boat and onto

-Max’s back.

-

-It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim could do was

-to knock it off; but he almost fainted as he touched it.

-

-On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked to take it.

-

-There was no means of guiding or steering it.

-

-They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance of saving

-themselves.

-

-Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers rejoiced.

-

-But their pleasure was but for a moment.

-

-The darkness was preferable.

-

-It hid from them the horrors of the river they had to traverse.

-

-Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls which confined the

-river to its bed.

-

-Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike the occupants of

-the boat as they passed by.

-

-Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen before, struggled

-on every little ledge of rock or piece of sandy ground.

-

-One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly devouring pieces

-of Selim’s leg.

-

-The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be a question of

-minutes before his soul would leave the mortal tenement.

-

-As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic with fear.

-

-“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three now, and a few

-moments more there will be but two.”

-

-Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.

-

-His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost a miracle he lived.

-

-Suddenly his mood changed.

-

-His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood at terrific speed.

-

-The color of his face was almost purple, and as he tried to stand up in

-the little boat his head fell back, and Max only saved him by a hair’s

-breadth.

-

-Max was now alone.

-

-Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his delirium,

-dangerous to himself and his companion.

-

-Selim was dead.

-

-It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard, but that was the

-only course which could be adopted.

-

-Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s back, he exerted all

-his strength and pushed the man overboard.

-

-It was horrible.

-

-Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that he dare not take

-his eyes away.

-

-Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost instantly crabs

-and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water newts, were covering the

-remains of the poor Arab and rapidly devouring all that was left of him.

-

-Ibrahim was raving.

-

-He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes, wanting to tear him

-to pieces.

-

-“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it was only a

-question of a few minutes.

-

-The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered whether they would ever

-again stand on land.

-

-Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must have been

-imagination.

-

-At the very moment when the delicate cords of his brain seemed ready to

-snap asunder, a thought saved him.

-

-He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.

-

-That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground channels

-had been made by the sheer force of the water, and its petrifying

-action--that perhaps at some time the sand had drifted to the water and

-become by its action solid rock.

-

-If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe the open cuttings

-were through oases.

-

-How long had they been on the river?

-

-They had no means of keeping record of the time, but their food was

-nearly gone.

-

-Had he slept?

-

-He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet nature could not

-have endured the strain so long without sleep.

-

-These thoughts saved him from the delirium which afflicted his friend.

-

-He felt easier and more contented.

-

-A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled himself as

-comfortably as he could in the bottom of the boat and fell asleep.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe--darker in color than

-the Egyptians and yet less black than the Africans of the Soudan or

-Congo State--dwelt in comparative peace.

-

-This tribe is peculiar.

-

-Its members eat no animal food, neither do they hanker after fire water

-or tobacco.

-

-They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they are compelled to

-resist by force of brute strength the onslaughts and invasions of their

-neighbors.

-

-Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the domicile of each

-family is surrounded with a hedge of the almost impenetrable euphorbia,

-and the interior of the inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a

-cement of ashes, cow dung and sand.

-

-On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts surrounded by

-granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched and resting upon raised

-platforms.

-

-The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a shade, and the

-entrance is usually about two feet high.

-

-The men are well grown and rather refined.

-

-Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of leather--either a

-piece of cowhide or goatskin.

-

-Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their rank.

-

-The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his assistants or

-deputies have less in number, while the ordinary members of the tribe

-have only two lines.

-

-The women are not handsome. Their heads are shaved, and around their

-bald pates they wear a band of beads or shells.

-

-Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all their time to

-the cultivation of maize and other kinds of vegetable food.

-

-They make excellent butter and drink great quantities of milk.

-

-At the time we make their acquaintance they are greatly disturbed.

-

-The chief has called together all the tribe, and a strange-looking

-gathering it is.

-

-The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women taking positions

-outside.

-

-The chief called for silence, and instantly every man shouted:

-“_Mkrasi! mkrasi!_” which being interpreted means: “We obey, we obey.”

-

-The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable tattoo marks,

-adopted the catechetical method of addressing his people.

-

-“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a deputy chief answered:

-

-“From the innermost parts of the earth.”

-

-“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where the gods make the

-springs of water to flow?”

-

-“No; man could not live.”

-

-“Why?”

-

-“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all who approach.”

-

-“Then what shall be done with those who have come from the fire?”

-

-“They shall be exalted.”

-

-“_Mkrasi! mkrasi_!” shouted all the members of the tribe.

-

-The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we have recorded

-occupied considerable time, for the language of this tribe of Gondos

-was very diffuse, abounding in metaphor, and making the repeating of

-whole sentences necessary where emphasis was required.

-

-The chief stepped down from the platform in front of his house, and

-calling on ten of his deputies headed the procession across the great

-square, round which the houses were placed.

-

-While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was observed.

-

-Not one spoke a word.

-

-Even the women were silent.

-

-Soon a great noise was heard.

-

-Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being played. The drums were

-original in their make.

-

-A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the top a sheepskin had

-been tightly stretched.

-

-Into the square the procession moved.

-

-First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed cymbals.

-

-Following them were five older girls, keeping time by striking shells

-together. Then came the drummers, boys whose strength seemed almost too

-frail for the big, heavy drums they carried.

-

-After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting noise by beating

-an old tin pan--which had been found in a deserted camp, and which

-the Gondos verily believed must have been the white man’s musical

-instrument.

-

-What meant all this pageantry and display?

-

-The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head bowed down, led the

-way to where the people were standing. Immediately behind him were the

-ten deputies, carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder high.

-

-With measured tread these natives walked under their heavy burden.

-

-When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been reached, the chief

-ordered the men to set down their load.

-

-Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man there assembled.

-

-The women pressed forward, and really screamed with delight.

-

-“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these poor, benighted savages

-really believed it.

-

-The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout two young men were

-sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.

-

-They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by the Gondos, and now

-the objects of their adoration.

-

-The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women, caused Max to

-awake.

-

-He sprang to his feet and looked round.

-

-“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed, while the

-people fell on their faces and wriggled about on the ground.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XVII. THE RAINMAKER.

-

-

-It was some time before Madcap Max could realize just where he was, and

-the significance of the demonstration of which he was the recipient.

-

-But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed it up, and with

-the natural smartness of his Yankee ancestry, saw the advantages of his

-position.

-

-He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.

-

-The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.

-

-They were more than ever convinced that he was a messenger from the

-mysterious powers which they, in their ignorance, worshiped.

-

-The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that of the ancient

-Scandinavians.

-

-They believed that the thunder was the angry voice of the storm god,

-that a deity presided over everything in nature, and that the entrance

-to the home of the most powerful of these deities was through the

-mysterious volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten lava

-and made the waters of the rivers so hot that no one could bathe in

-them and live.

-

-Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought Max and Ibrahim

-were sent by the presiding deity.

-

-Ibrahim continued to sleep.

-

-That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left him when he awoke,

-Max made sure all would be well.

-

-He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be alone, and the boat

-was again raised on the shoulders of the deputy chiefs and carried to a

-large house which the chief had set apart for his honored guests.

-

-Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate heartily.

-

-He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither did he, at that

-time, care.

-

-He was too hungry to be fastidious.

-

-He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim, and motioned the

-natives to leave the place.

-

-All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited his awakening.

-

-His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night Ibrahim awoke and

-raised his head.

-

-“Are we alive?” he asked.

-

-“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.

-

-“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the prophet, I have been

-beyond the grave.”

-

-“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”

-

-Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his companion spoke,

-but Max persisted.

-

-“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as I tell you,

-we will coin the dollars.”

-

-“That is like you Americans--always thinking of dollars.”

-

-“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”

-

-“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about them? I hate the very

-name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim, fretfully.

-

-“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued talking, for

-he realized that there was no better way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant

-faculties than by a good discussion.

-

-“I don’t,” he said--“neither do you. You will go on making shawls in

-Persia, no matter how many dollars you get. You want to travel--you

-must have the money or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never

-imagine that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s think tank

-being agitated?”

-

-“Think tank! What do you mean?”

-

-“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it--thought factory, if you

-like it better. But, say! you were dead, and you have come to life

-again. I have brought you from the grave.”

-

-“You are mad.”

-

-“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”

-

-“You are insane.”

-

-“Am I?”

-

-“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”

-

-“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a house belonging to

-the Gondos----”

-

-“Who?”

-

-“The Gondos.”

-

-“Are you sure?”

-

-“Yes, why?”

-

-“Have you spoken to them?”

-

-“Not much.”

-

-“Can you understand what they say?”

-

-“Only a little.”

-

-“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”

-

-“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?” asked Max, with a broad

-brogue.

-

-“The Gondos were originally Persians----”

-

-“Your relatives?”

-

-“And were fire worshipers.”

-

-“Is that so?”

-

-“And I have learned their language.”

-

-“Have you, really?”

-

-“I thought they were extinct.”

-

-“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries on a bramble bush,

-and as lively as June bugs.”

-

-By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making Ibrahim vexed, and

-that was the very best thing for his mind.

-

-When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became calm, and then Max

-told him how they had been rescued.

-

-“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we must be, or they must

-think so, and we shall be safe. Once let them get any other idea into

-their ugly heads, and we shall be made into soup.”

-

-“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking Max to mean what he

-said in a literal sense.

-

-“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”

-

-“Can we?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“How?”

-

-“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”

-

-“If we fail?”

-

-“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see Sherif el Habib----”

-

-“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.

-

-“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it rain. You know the

-language, you said?”

-

-“I believe so.”

-

-“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”

-

-“What can you do?”

-

-“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would do anything to get it. I

-want you to hurry, or my power will be lost.”

-

-Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical joking, and

-that was just what he imagined the madcap was after.

-

-But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from the strange-looking

-house to the one occupied by the chief.

-

-The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground when he saw Ibrahim.

-

-But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo language, the old

-fellow was so delighted that he danced about and shouted like a good

-fellow.

-

-“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the crops are spoiling.

-Tell them I will cause the rain to come.”

-

-Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the Gondo language.

-

-The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and the drums to be

-beaten.

-

-All the people gathered together, and Max raised his hands above his

-head as if in the act of supplicating.

-

-Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the people were

-delighted.

-

-The drops became larger and more numerous, until a good, healthy shower

-descended, and the Gondos were frantic with joy.

-

-Even Ibrahim was excited.

-

-“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max had pleaded for

-permission to return to their house.

-

-“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus on my part.”

-

-“But the rain----”

-

-“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a shower, and I

-meant to get the credit of it; that is all there is to it.”

-

-Max was a weather prophet.

-

-He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a so-called expert,

-and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud was gathering.

-

-The one happy chance of his life had come.

-

-It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and nothing was too

-good for Ibrahim and Max.

-

-But even among those primitive people there were skeptics, and a long

-discussion took place as to the powers possessed by Max.

-

-Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the madcap, his face

-white as death.

-

-“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to jump down. If you

-fail your character is gone.”

-

-“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm leaves, and I’ll not

-be afraid.”

-

-Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the following morning

-Max and the Persian were conducted by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max

-laughed heartily.

-

-But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand chances against

-him, and naturally felt nervous.

-

-“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to jump off there

-would be no test. Anyone could do it.”

-

-“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”

-

-“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of yonder palm and

-leap from it.”

-

-The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily climbed, but the

-height was such that to jump from the top meant death.

-

-The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young madcap began his

-perilous ascent.

-

-When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the monster leaves,

-and rested a moment.

-

-From under his coat he took two palm leaves which he had succeeded in

-joining together.

-

-Opening them above his head, he held his breath and jumped.

-

-As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves like a parachute

-and Max came to the ground so gently that the most pronounced skeptic

-was enthused, and ready to do anything for the young hero.

-

-“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and thy people must

-help. In the desert there is an oasis, and on the oasis is a great man,

-one Sherif el Habib, who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish

-to find him.”

-

-Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as he could, and

-the chief recognized it as being a place some adventurous member of his

-tribe had told him about.

-

-After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed, and with girls

-playing cymbals and others beating drums, Max and Ibrahim started on

-their journey across the desert to find their friends.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XVIII. WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.

-

-

-For some hours the caravan passed through a country which was parklike,

-but parched by the dry weather.

-

-The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed with villages, all of

-which were surrounded with a strong fence of euphorbia.

-

-The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals and drums, and

-the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos, were so impressed with the

-importance of their mission that every hundred yards or so they would

-stop, congratulate each other, and make some wonderful salaams before

-they continued the journey.

-

-At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile to the Gondos was

-encountered.

-

-Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well armed with lances,

-having flint heads, bows and arrows, and a peculiar weapon shaped

-almost like a sledge hammer--one side of the flint head being sharpened

-to a fine point, while the other was a hammer.

-

-One of their number stepped forward, and addressing Ibrahim asked:

-

-“Who are you?”

-

-“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”

-

-“Do you want ivory?”

-

-“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”

-

-“Where do you come from?”

-

-Ibrahim answered proudly:

-

-“From Persia.”

-

-“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.

-

-“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”

-

-“A Turk.”

-

-“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.

-

-The chief pointed to Max.

-

-“Who is he?”

-

-“An American.”

-

-The native had never heard of such people, and he began to think

-Ibrahim was making a fool of him.

-

-The natives laughed and raised their weapons.

-

-Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were going to be killed

-if they dared to touch Max; that he could cause the storm to come and

-the wind to blow, and advised them to ask the Gondos.

-

-Among the few things saved from the boat in which they had made their

-perilous journey was a bottle of araki--a native spirit almost equal in

-power to proof alcohol.

-

-Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled with a little of

-the araki, and that his friendship should be purchased that way.

-

-The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max had any chance of

-opening it, for the hostile chief took the bottle from them, broke off

-the neck, and drank the contents as easily as he could have swallowed

-water.

-

-“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment a violent storm of

-thunder and rain burst upon them with terrific fury.

-

-The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives, remembering

-what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the storm to Max, and fled as though

-ten thousand soldiers were pursuing them.

-

-The American’s reputation was now well assured, and the musicians beat

-the cymbals louder than ever, while the men shouted themselves hoarse.

-

-Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but he saw no way out of

-it.

-

-One thing troubled both explorers--they were either going in the wrong

-direction, or the distance was greater than they had imagined.

-

-They, however, had to submit.

-

-They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes were in dilemmas

-from which it was difficult to extricate themselves.

-

-One morning the deputy chief who was in command of the Gondos threw

-himself on his stomach in front of Max and wriggled like a snake to

-attract attention.

-

-“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.

-

-“What hath he said?”

-

-“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could not be

-destroyed”--meaning Max--“must take all the cymbal girls as his wives,

-and his great friend, whose tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the

-drummer girls as his wives.”

-

-“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.

-

-Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he got rid of the Gondo.

-

-“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when alone with his

-friend.

-

-“What is it?”

-

-“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”

-

-“About thirty.”

-

-“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”

-

-“Mine?”

-

-“You have to marry them.”

-

-“The----”

-

-Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the name by which the prince

-of the power of the air is familiarly known, but he bit his lips and

-did not utter his thoughts.

-

-“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”

-

-“What a lark!”

-

-“Eh?”

-

-“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.

-

-“Do you think so?”

-

-“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished to give them a

-lecture, they would seize their drums and beat such a tattoo that you

-would acknowledge yourself vanquished.”

-

-Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost feared for his

-reason.

-

-Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.

-

-“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of tinkling cymbals?”

-

-“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”

-

-“I did not.”

-

-“Wha-at?”

-

-“I did not, because I dare not.”

-

-“Why?”

-

-“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”

-

-“No.”

-

-“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires to honor

-him. He does so by giving him one or more wives--the more wives the

-greater honor.”

-

-“Indeed!”

-

-“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the chief.”

-

-“Well?”

-

-“And that can never be forgiven.”

-

-“What do I care about that?”

-

-“Perhaps nothing; only----”

-

-“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your long pauses,”

-exclaimed Max, almost angrily.

-

-“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only roast the one who

-insults the chief.”

-

-“Really?”

-

-“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I don’t want to

-be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I will have to accept the

-drummers, only----”

-

-Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him, but remained silent.

-

-“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”

-

-“We will get out of it.”

-

-“How?”

-

-“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”

-

-Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated itself in the

-madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy chief, came forward, and this time

-standing erect, said:

-

-“We will all drink araki now.”

-

-Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the African tribes to

-realize that the espousal of the girls was to take place at once, and

-that the drinking of the powerful araki was the outward symbol of the

-marriage.

-

-“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.

-

-“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”

-

-“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested it.”

-

-“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall drink first.”

-

-“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”

-

-“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit, there’s a good chap.

-Do just as I tell you, and all will be well.”

-

-Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max was ready to open the

-araki bottles, and all should drink.

-

-“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,” answered M’Kamba,

-proving clearly that all had been arranged beforehand.

-

-The bottles--made of the bladders of cows, dried--were produced, and

-Max very quietly, in the presence of all, poured some white liquid in

-each of the bottles.

-

-Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.

-

-“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim, but don’t touch a

-drop yourself.”

-

-“Is it poison, Max?”

-

-“On my honor, no.”

-

-The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their lives.

-

-They were about to become brides, and they felt their importance.

-

-While they were single they were slaves; when they were married they

-would become free.

-

-It was a proud time for them, and they took deep draughts of the

-powerful spirit.

-

-Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld the credit of his

-stomach by drinking pretty heavily.

-

-But the spirit was too strong.

-

-One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell asleep.

-

-Then the men followed.

-

-In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim were awake.

-

-“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t wake for an hour.”

-

-“What did you give them?”

-

-“Sleeping potion--pretty stiff dose, too.”

-

-“What is that?”

-

-“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to sleep long.”

-

-“And you have some?”

-

-“I had. They have it now”--pointing to the sleeping Gondos. “I took it

-from the great Sherif el Habib’s medicine case.”

-

-“Oh!”

-

-Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences of the madcap’s

-theft, or as he would put it, enforced borrowing.

-

-Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should “git up and get.”

-

-This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.

-

-He began to believe that Max was really mad.

-

-The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering together food,

-and some other stores, enough to last several days, the two young men

-left their escorts fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.

-

-Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched out for them, they

-turned to the right, determined to follow as far as possible the course

-of the river until the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their

-luck in finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XIX. MOHAMMED.

-

-

-The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo escorts, and the

-young explorers soon found themselves on the terrible African desert.

-

-They were not pursued--at least, as far as they knew--and they were

-delighted at regaining their freedom.

-

-After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes were blistered,

-their nostrils swollen, and their ears deafened with the never-ending

-atoms, which drifted everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his

-companion to a cloud of sand in the distance.

-

-“What of it?” asked Max.

-

-“Camels.”

-

-“Well?”

-

-“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be safe.”

-

-“But----”

-

-“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”

-

-“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.

-

-“Why?”

-

-“Because the caravan is coming this way.”

-

-“Bravo! So it is. _Inshallah!_”

-

-Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited until they could

-distinguish the outlines of the approaching caravan.

-

-Then they rose up and went to meet them.

-

-In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker than a Spaniard.

-He was dressed in Egyptian costume, and sat perfectly contented on his

-camel.

-

-A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern rifle was slung

-over the rider’s shoulders.

-

-But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet, which acted as a kind

-of saddle cloth, and on which had been worked the symbolic sign of the

-crescent suspended over the cross.

-

-The combination was so strange that Max was inclined to believe the

-rider was some monomaniac, or, in modern parlance, a crank.

-

-Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic, asked who he

-was, and whither he was going.

-

-The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes before answering,

-giving Max an opportunity to look at the people who composed the

-caravan.

-

-Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that they had not the

-sacred carpet with the double symbols, rode as many camels.

-

-With them were at least twenty women, their faces covered so that the

-eye of man could not invade the sanctity of the countenance, which

-Oriental law and custom declared to be sacred to the husband alone.

-

-“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination of Ibrahim’s

-features was completed.

-

-“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.

-

-“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”

-

-“And whither wilt thou go?”

-

-“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey to the south.”

-

-It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims were going,

-until the _entente cordiale_ was fully established.

-

-Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the Musselmen and beat

-his brow on the sand.

-

-The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the sacred carpet on the

-sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s side.

-

-Then it was that the two followers of the prophet realized that they

-were friends and brothers in religion.

-

-“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule even all the

-countries of the world. I have said it. Just Allah!”

-

-“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You would be brothers.”

-

-“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”

-

-“Sherif el Habib----”

-

-“Of Khorassan?”

-

-“The same. Dost thou know him?”

-

-“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly into mine, Sherif el

-Habib was as a brother.”

-

-“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”

-

-“Dost thou mean it?”

-

-“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”

-

-Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his hands, and all his

-followers prostrated themselves on the sand, bowing their heads toward

-the direction of the sacred shrine at Mecca.

-

-“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful, will seek

-the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise the crescent above the cross

-and make the kingdom of the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the

-world.”

-

-The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great mental exaltation,

-and like Sherif el Habib, believed that the promised savior or leader

-of the Moslems had come, and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the

-Christian nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.

-

-Max was enchanted.

-

-He liked enthusiasts.

-

-He worshiped heroes.

-

-But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism that men

-never gave him credit for any idea beyond the making of dollars.

-

-“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture through the

-States. There will be millions in it.”

-

-How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he understood what Max said!

-

-Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an insult to his religion.

-

-But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:

-

-“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for the last of the

-Mamelukes.”

-

-“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,” said Mohammed,

-solemnly, “he gave to many provinces a bey of Mameluke blood. He did

-it to save his life. I, who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor

-Mohammed, the fearless, who was one of the beys.”

-

-“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”

-

-“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes and joined the Turks.”

-

-“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”

-

-“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the moon by night.”

-

-“I would that I could find them.”

-

-“There is one who could guide thee.”

-

-“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.

-

-“Alas! she is lost.”

-

-“She? Is it a woman?”

-

-Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.

-

-Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent ague.

-

-The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like great drops of rain

-upon the sand.

-

-“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have I offended you? Oh,

-forgive me if I have.”

-

-“I will tell thee.”

-

-Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the caravan, and led them a

-hundred yards across the sand.

-

-He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade them do likewise.

-

-When all three were seated he took a small box of salt from his girdle

-and gave each a pinch.

-

-Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral, he knew that

-the partaking of it was a bond of brotherhood with the Arab.

-

-“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed, “but I will tell thee

-only the outlines, and some day, when beneath the palms or under

-the tent, thine ears shall listen to the whole story. I loved--all

-young men do--but I loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet

-ever allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a daughter.

-On her I lavished all the love of a father. Being a girl without

-soul”--many of the Mohammedans teach that only man possesses an eternal

-soul--“I desired she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient

-Mamelukes. She was a diligent student, and when she reached the age of

-twelve years she had learned all the symbols and signs of the great

-brotherhood, and knew how to find any of the true Mamelukes who might

-still live. But then----”

-

-Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like rain from his eyes.

-

-His agitation was painful to witness, and many times Max wished he had

-curbed his curiosity and so have saved the aged Arab.

-

-Ibrahim was excited.

-

-He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and mysterious power.

-

-And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the whole of the story, and

-could hardly wait for the Arab’s emotion to cease.

-

-“Then my daughter, the pride of my life--by whom I hoped to appease the

-wrath of my ancient ancestors for deserting the Mamelukes--was stolen.”

-

-“Stolen!”

-

-“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks my wife must have gone

-mad.”

-

-“And does your wife live?”

-

-“She is in yonder caravan.”

-

-“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”

-

-“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man lord, and I would

-rather she be dead than never to see again her father.”

-

-The old man ceased.

-

-His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.

-

-The young explorers left him and went back to the caravan.

-

-Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling harem, had wandered

-to the place where the women were seated on the ground.

-

-Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any intrusion.

-

-When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over their faces, but it

-was too late.

-

-Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.

-

-His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.

-

-Ibrahim touched his shoulder.

-

-“What is it, Madcap?”

-

-“She is there.”

-

-“Who?”

-

-“I saw her. How did she get there?”

-

-“Whom did you see?”

-

-“Girzilla.”

-

-“You are dreaming.”

-

-“I am not.”

-

-“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”

-

-“I know not.”

-

-“Come away, before----”

-

-“Look! she uncovers.”

-

-Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless of all

-consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who had so indiscreetly

-uncovered her face.

-

-“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he exclaimed,

-passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted by Mohammed, who

-indignantly marched up to him.

-

-“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”

-

-“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“And what if it is? She has been my wife these eighteen years,”

-answered Mohammed, proudly.

-

-“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.

-

-A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.

-

-“Who speaketh of Girzilla--my lost child--my beauteous Girzilla?”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XX. “WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”

-

-

-“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.

-

-“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril quivering like that

-of a horse who scents the battle.

-

-“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth, and there she

-stands.”

-

-“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for eighteen years. Thrice

-has she been with me to the prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath

-she set foot on the deserts of Egypt until now.”

-

-“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,” said Ibrahim,

-scornfully.

-

-“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is true?”

-

-“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this pasha spoke of

-Girzilla.”

-

-It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment later, the wife

-asked that none but Ibrahim and Mohammed should hear what she had to

-say.

-

-Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental nature, the Arab

-chief granted her request, and with Ibrahim entered his tent, followed

-by the wife unattended.

-

-“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet! Great is Allah!” she

-commenced. “Wilt thou allow me to unveil, so that this pasha see that I

-am not the Girzilla he seeketh?”

-

-“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”

-

-When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back, completely bewildered

-at the entrancing beauty of the lady.

-

-He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his throat was husky,

-and he could not speak.

-

-It was not until the veil had been replaced that he found himself able

-to articulate.

-

-“It is Girzilla, and yet--no, my Girzilla differs----”

-

-He was confused.

-

-“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she counted? Is she

-thy wife?”

-

-“No, would to Allah she were!”

-

-“Who is she, then?”

-

-“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He it was who brought

-Girzilla to me.”

-

-Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably piqued.

-

-“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the Arab wondered, and was

-about to refuse when his wife pleaded in her musical Arabian:

-

-“Do, please, let me see this American.”

-

-“Be it as thou wish.”

-

-Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished American.

-

-After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this Girzilla.

-

-“I know not what her name may be,” commenced Max, “but when I asked her

-by what she should be known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”

-

-“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her mother--of her

-father?”

-

-“She told me her father had Mameluke blood----”

-

-A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion of the sentence.

-

-“It must be our own child,” she said.

-

-“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked Mohammed.

-

-“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her to my room, and

-bade her remember that whenever she found one she could trust as a

-brother--one she could love with all the strength of her nature--she

-should bid him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of my

-own land, ‘the true one.’”

-

-“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for she said, ‘Never

-mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’ I called her Gazelle, but

-she stopped me and said, ‘No, no; Girzilla.’”

-

-Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the way in which he

-had been rescued by Girzilla.

-

-Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind that the guide who

-had been looked upon as the ally of brigands, and one not really to be

-trusted, was in reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth

-of Mohammed.

-

-“Where is she?” asked the Arab.

-

-“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered Ibrahim.

-

-“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide us.”

-

-“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed Max, when he left the

-tent in company with Ibrahim.

-

-“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if thou meanest we are

-lucky, then I agree.”

-

-“I meant that it was strange--very strange; some great mystery is here.”

-

-“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s mother.”

-

-“Always thinking of her.”

-

-“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my only hope and

-desire.”

-

-“And wouldst thou marry her?”

-

-“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall be mine; but if

-she be really the daughter of the great chief, Mohammed, then if he

-consents she shall be mine also.”

-

-“Infatuated youth!”

-

-Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and for an hour he

-talked with Max and Ibrahim about the river and the volcano.

-

-He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el Habib had encamped was

-to the southwest; whereas Max had been going almost due east.

-

-“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if thou dost but find my

-Girzilla I care not which way thou goest.”

-

-At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met with nothing more

-terrible than the awful expanse of sand until they encamped.

-

-Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages--living like birds of

-prey upon others--pounced down upon the cavalcade and sought to capture

-the women and the camels.

-

-Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all disciplined.

-

-Hence the savages could do but little.

-

-One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three of the savages were

-killed.

-

-A native had been captured and held as prisoner.

-

-“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.

-

-“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him go,” answered the

-chief.

-

-Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the man wore.

-

-It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by Girzilla.

-

-The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small to encircle his

-waist.

-

-Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or would not,

-understand.

-

-One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.

-

-“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.

-

-The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking what he would get if

-he told all he knew.

-

-He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s mouth was opened and

-his tongue loosened.

-

-He said that his people had met some white men and a girl, and that all

-had been killed. The belt belonged to the girl, and she was nice.

-

-Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become of the dead

-bodies.

-

-The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his abdomen, indicating

-that the murdered Girzilla and her friends had been eaten.

-

-Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.

-

-The man was to have his freedom.

-

-Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never expected.

-

-In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with one blow,

-severed the savage’s head from his body.

-

-The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened at the sight.

-

-Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for had it not

-encircled the waist of the one he loved?

-

-When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but with the fatalists’

-philosophy, he only said:

-

-“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”

-

-Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side and told them

-that he did not believe the man’s story. He thought he should please

-them by telling it, and how was he to know that there were people who

-would be horrified at the idea of murder?

-

-Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was fully convinced

-that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted into juicy steaks or

-luscious pot roasts, and had served to provide a feast to the tribe of

-cannibals at whose hands they had fallen.

-

-He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high spirits of Max,

-who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his misery, the young Persian might

-never have lived to inherit his uncle’s great property.

-

-Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s fate at rest, and

-so continued the journey.

-

-It was near the end of the third day that Max went forward to Mohammed

-and told him that a smoke was rising in the distance, and that it

-appeared like an encampment.

-

-Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty Arabs to ride forward

-and reconnoiter.

-

-It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained, that

-Mohammed gave them up for lost.

-

-When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers were safe, there

-was joy in the camp of the Arab chief.

-

-The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to the most worthy

-pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed, and the other to the worthy

-Ibrahim.

-

-Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained the welcome

-news that Sherif and all the party were well.

-

-Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the morning, and after

-making Mohammed promise to start at sunrise they journeyed forth to

-meet their friends.

-

-Who can describe the meeting between uncle and nephew? and what pen can

-convey the faintest idea of the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla

-and Ibrahim?

-

-When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no one thought of

-returning to rest.

-

-True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were eager to learn of

-the adventures of the young explorers.

-

-Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s belt had got

-into the possession of the cannibal, and she admitted that some time

-before she had lost it while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.

-

-“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.

-

-“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed Uncle Sherif believed

-that the grave held thee.”

-

-“And if it had?”

-

-“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside thee.”

-

-“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”

-

-She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence in the glance

-from her dark eyes which told him all he wished to know.

-

-When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan arrived, there was a

-great commotion.

-

-Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage, and Mohammed was

-shocked to see his daughter going about unveiled.

-

-He recognized her instantly.

-

-The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt was an

-impossibility.

-

-Who can picture the happy scene when the mother once more folded her

-arms around the form of the daughter, only child of her heart and home?

-

-Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited, was once

-more complete.

-

-“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her as a daughter,

-and she will not leave me.”

-

-“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha taken her to wife?”

-

-“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”

-

-“She shall accept.”

-

-“If she desires.”

-

-“She must.”

-

-“No, no! let the young folks decide.”

-

-It so happened that those young folks were near enough to overhear the

-conversation, and Ibrahim stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.

-

-“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”

-

-“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great bounties on you!”

-exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.

-

-And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred carpet, and in

-that humble position, appealed to Allah and his prophet to bless the

-couple.

-

-After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to take to reach the

-promised Mahdi, the caravan started.

-

-Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of Khartoum, or in the

-district known as the Soudan, the Mahdi would be found.

-

-So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound friend that he agreed

-to follow him.

-

-Both were religious enthusiasts.

-

-Each believed that he should die happily only after seeing the promised

-one.

-

-For several days no event of importance occurred.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXI. THE MAHDI.

-

-

-In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the commencement

-of our story, there had lived, in the strictest seclusion, a man whose

-name was suddenly to burst upon the world like the unexpected flash of

-a meteor across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.

-

-This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of religion.

-

-He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about his place,

-he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve hours out of the

-twenty-four in prayer.

-

-He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining eight were

-devoted to study and the obtaining of the necessaries of life.

-

-The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred teacher who would

-ere long receive a mission from the prophet.

-

-Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He removed to Bakara and

-commenced his hermit life about 1870.

-

-Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and intone the _Adan_

-of the Mueddins, which translated would read:

-

-“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah. Come to

-prayer. I testify that Mahomet is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer,

-come to security! Prayer is better than sleep.”

-

-As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would he intone this _Adan_,

-and at midnight, after sleeping two hours, he would rise from his bed,

-open the door, and in a strong, musical voice would chant the _ula_.

-

-“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion--to him belongeth

-the dominion--to him belongeth praise. He giveth life and causeth

-death. He is living and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is

-almighty. Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”

-

-The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious hermit could be, but

-years passed, and never could they get an opportunity to speak with him.

-

-At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an ethereal radiance,

-his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.

-

-“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.

-

-The hermit spoke--the first time to a human being for many years.

-

-“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth Imaum?”

-

-“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.

-

-Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message to each

-governor and chief of a tribe, the burden of which was:

-

-“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the people. I, the

-Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish the oppressors of the poor.

-Prepare for my coming.”

-

-Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the Soudan, received the

-message.

-

-He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian, and showed him

-the message.

-

-“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.

-

-“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”

-

-“But would he not come from Mecca?”

-

-“_Allah il Allah!_ His ways are not our ways,” answered Abu Saud.

-

-“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and find out whether

-this is indeed the Mahdi.”

-

-No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission than Rauf Pasha

-said to himself:

-

-“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers shall go and

-bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum, and I will make him obey me.”

-

-Abu Saud held many theological discussions with Mohammed Ahmed, and

-embarked on the state steamer fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed

-come.

-

-No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward journey than a company

-of soldiers arrived and demanded that the Mahdi should go with them to

-Khartoum.

-

-The prophet went to the door and intoned the _Adan_.

-

-A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with faces turned toward

-Mecca, they joined in the prayer offered by the Mahdi.

-

-When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to the soldiers:

-

-“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he who must obey

-me.”

-

-The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:

-

-“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that we shall do.”

-

-The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun shone on the

-crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner of Egypt.

-

-“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight not against your

-_Imaum_.”

-

-The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.

-

-“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the Mahdi will never

-surrender!”

-

-That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers of the Mahdi.

-

-In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been annihilated,

-and all their arms and ammunition fell into the hands of the Arabs,

-together with the steamer which had brought them down the Nile from

-Khartoum.

-

-The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi had been

-victorious.

-

-The followers of Mohammed went on board the steamer, and sailed down

-the Nile in the direction of Kordofan.

-

-Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked to the standard of

-the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed was welcomed as the long-promised leader

-who was to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the Soudan and

-Egypt.

-

-The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross, and the whole world

-should be subjugated to the faith of Mahomet.

-

-Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still more remarkable

-enthusiasm, which caused the plains of the Soudan to be dyed crimson

-with the blood of Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.

-

-Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the people, and he sent to

-the governor of Fashoda stringent orders to crush the Mahdi and his

-followers.

-

-The orders were welcome, for the governor loved fighting, and his

-people were fond of plunder.

-

-He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in readiness for the

-march early on the following morning.

-

-The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about half of them

-unarmed, however, set out for the Arab village of Senari.

-

-When the village was reached the governor himself raised the banner of

-Egypt, and shouted:

-

-“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”

-

-Senari was fired on.

-

-The people were panic-stricken.

-

-Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to protect them.

-

-Women and children were shot down without mercy.

-

-The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent, was not more

-crimson than the streets of the Arab village.

-

-The soldiers pillaged every house.

-

-Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the heavy swords of the

-soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated in the most horrible manner,

-but were powerless to resist.

-

-They were unarmed.

-

-From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to Bari, and again

-commenced a carnival of slaughter and plunder.

-

-The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they armed themselves

-with knives, long sticks and various other weapons, and rushed upon the

-bayonets and muskets of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds

-and at great disadvantage.

-

-Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were witnessed.

-

-The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust and sand was seen

-in the distance, and in a few minutes a gallant band of well-armed

-Arabs rode into the center of the village, and charged the Fashodians

-with an impetuosity entirely foreign to the Arab nature.

-

-“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good Arabian. “I don’t

-know what the quarrel is about, but the villagers are the weakest.”

-

-“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we always go to help the

-under dog of the fight.”

-

-Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants, Max and

-Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.

-

-The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had come.

-

-The villagers declared that Allah had answered their prayers, and that

-very thought caused them to fight with desperate courage, even though

-they were practically unarmed.

-

-“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.

-

-“Great is the prophet!”

-

-“_Allah il Allah!_”

-

-The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and it was not until a

-lull took place that Sherif el Habib was able to explain that the Mahdi

-had not come, that in fact they were seeking for him.

-

-Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was knocked from his hand

-he almost cried with vexation.

-

-But he created a consternation which led to a panic.

-

-It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.

-

-Max had amused himself on his journey in making a number of giant

-cartridges--consisting of a paper shell and nearly half a pound of

-powder.

-

-He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge or blast, and

-when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally discovered one of these

-heavy cartridges in his saddlebag.

-

-Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a plan unique and

-terrible.

-

-Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard bearer of the

-Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge under the saddlebag and

-lighted the fuse.

-

-The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel, as he

-thought, the attack made by Max, but was surprised to see the American

-ride away.

-

-The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was heard, and the

-standard bearer was flying through space.

-

-Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended, for the madcap

-had charged the cartridge so well that the poor bearer of the crescent

-of Egypt was rent into a hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left

-scattered on the ground.

-

-The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that the prophet must

-have indeed come.

-

-To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen approaching, and

-a great cry arose from the throng:

-

-“The Mahdi has come!”

-

-And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking man with

-clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.

-

-In a voice of authority he shouted:

-

-“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your _Imaum_, the Mahdi.”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXII. TRICK OR MIRACLE.

-

-

-Long years of asceticism had made the man who claimed to be the

-long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in appearance.

-

-There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly fascinated one.

-

-His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even and regular,

-his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black mustache and beard

-gave him a look of authority.

-

-It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a man, added to

-the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored Arabs with a belief

-in his pretensions.

-

-Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would have subjugated

-Europe easily.

-

-“I am the Mahdi!”

-

-Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated themselves on the

-ground.

-

-The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of Fashoda fell back

-with his troops.

-

-The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together and

-commenced the march into the mountain fastness.

-

-When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face, and taking

-the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it to his lips.

-

-“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent solemnity.

-

-The Mahdi bade him rise.

-

-Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:

-

-“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the kingdoms of the

-world shall know it as well as thou.”

-

-Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:

-

-“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath found me, because

-the time of your pleasure is near at hand.”

-

-Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded beneath his feet.

-

-The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.

-

-“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I can read.”

-

-“And mine?” asked Max.

-

-For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:

-

-“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally themselves with me

-if they could gain by it. Curiosity would prompt them, but thy land I

-shall never see.”

-

-“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the Mahdi had referred

-to the British nation.

-

-“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed infidel nation,

-the sword of the faithful would have pierced thee through.”

-

-“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.

-

-“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of those who went

-before, left thine own father, and through a girl didst thou escape.”

-

-“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever being a Mahdi

-fails, come over to New York and you will just make millions, see if

-you don’t.”

-

-Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed heartily at the

-characteristic speech delivered by Max. It so clearly corroborated the

-mind reading of the Mahdi.

-

-“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half vexed at Ibrahim,

-especially.

-

-“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.

-

-“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars in the States.”

-

-A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came to the camp and

-began asking questions of the Mahdi.

-

-Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the Mahdi answered

-with convincing eloquence.

-

-Others asked for signs and miracles.

-

-The Mahdi’s face darkened.

-

-“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary that I should

-work signs and wonders before you believe me?”

-

-“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”

-

-“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the promised Mahdi,”

-said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed over sea and land, have been

-across the great desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”

-

-“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed one of the

-unbelievers.

-

-“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of England will crush

-all who follow the Mahdi.”

-

-The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were gaining ground,

-and he must do something to convince them.

-

-His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on his course.

-

-“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed, quickly.

-

-“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving ones,

-“stand in the center.”

-

-Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew from the folds of

-his dress a snake skin.

-

-He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was but the skin of a

-deadly snake.

-

-“Are you satisfied?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand until it was

-stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and was as stiff as a

-walking cane.

-

-He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers, and it laid

-there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.

-

-The men recoiled.

-

-The Mahdi laughed.

-

-“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he asked, sneeringly.

-“Wait and see.”

-

-He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained stiff.

-

-The thing looked as if it was expanding.

-

-“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.

-

-“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.

-

-There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed with life.

-

-Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its body writhed and

-wriggled, as if it resented being so tightly grasped by its tail.

-

-The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if ready for a

-spring.

-

-The men shrieked.

-

-The unbelievers slunk away.

-

-The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at the miracle.

-

-The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it was about to

-spring.

-

-The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.

-

-It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty piece of skin, so

-small that it could be held in the closed hand.

-

-Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance or some

-freak of nature, the reader must determine. The Buddhist fakirs of

-India and the Mohammedan dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the

-same thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the sand

-and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is removed the skin has

-disappeared, and a live snake has taken its place.

-

-The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice declared:

-

-“Thou art the Mahdi!”

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXIII. UNDER THE MAHDI.

-

-

-To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and soldiers, the

-experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was sufficient evidence of his

-power and of the truth of his mission.

-

-Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.

-

-He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he wished that the

-Mahdi had shown his power in some other way.

-

-Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el Habib wanted to

-believe that the Mahdi possessed a power unlimited, and which no one

-could imitate.

-

-Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.

-

-“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the proof of my power

-must be adapted to those who are witnesses of it. Had I said to this

-mountain: ‘Get thee back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not

-have been more convincing than the snake transformation.”

-

-“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove the mountain even

-ten feet, I’ll give up my country and adopt yours.”

-

-The Mahdi made no answer.

-

-He treated the young American with contempt.

-

-Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed bowed his

-head, grieved that anyone in his caravan should speak so lightly or

-demand such a great miracle.

-

-Max was in disgrace.

-

-He wandered away and strolled near where the women members of the

-caravan were encamped.

-

-He walked about, his head bent down, for he was sorry that he had

-offended his friends.

-

-“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice at his side.

-

-He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily veiled.

-

-Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he caught a glimpse of

-Girzilla.

-

-Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.

-

-He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man, could never marry a

-dark-skinned Arabian.

-

-“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.

-

-Max told her of the offense he had given.

-

-“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will not be offended.

-If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt my brother for fear of

-offending Mohammed, my father, and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”

-

-“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How strange that,

-through saving me, you should be restored to your friends.”

-

-“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”

-

-“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon leave her and go

-with thy husband.”

-

-“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.

-

-“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”

-

-“Yes--that--I--what shall I say?”

-

-“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”

-

-“As a--brother. Ah, yes--but art thou going away?”

-

-“Going away?”

-

-“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”

-

-“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have no one to guide

-me.”

-

-“I could instruct thee.”

-

-“Will you?”

-

-“Perhaps, but----”

-

-Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max far happier than

-when she had joined him.

-

-He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature which

-characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.

-

-“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am not of thy faith.

-You adopt the crescent, my sign is the cross. Mahomet did a grand work

-for your people, but my Savior is Jesus.”

-

-“He is one of our prophets.”

-

-“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You are beset with

-danger. Your enemies may league against you----”

-

-“They may, but they cannot triumph.”

-

-“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I am in the camp, I

-will fight under your standard, and if the English came----”

-

-“They will not.”

-

-“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am an American, and

-I would like to be able to tell the English to stay at home and mind

-their own business.”

-

-It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi could see it came

-from the heart.

-

-For several days the camp was undisturbed.

-

-“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,” said the

-Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”

-

-Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay with the new prophet,

-and to participate in what they believed to be his forthcoming

-triumphal march across the Soudan.

-

-Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially human, grandly

-sublime in his ideas, and, although undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an

-able man.

-

-That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the Mahdi, no one could

-doubt.

-

-In his own estimation he was no impostor.

-

-His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all tended to make

-him believe in his mission.

-

-But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority, he was too

-good a soldier to neglect military precautions.

-

-Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the soldiers and

-followers of the new prophet were drilled for an hour.

-

-At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in the manual of

-arms.

-

-Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division, and he appointed

-Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max occupied the same post of

-responsibility under Mohammed.

-

-Each knew that at any moment they might have to fight, and our young

-heroes were eager for the fray.

-

-Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never so happy as when

-engaged in combat, either in a wordy war with his tongue or in the more

-deadly conflict with the sword.

-

-When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap proclivities were

-sure to manifest themselves, and he would make some one the victim of

-his practical jokes.

-

-His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before he left the

-Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and men go down to the valley of

-death by the thousand.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXIV. COUNTING CHICKENS.

-

-

-In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than the Governor of

-Fashoda.

-

-Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered by Rauf Pasha to

-remain on the defensive, he nevertheless conceived the idea that he

-could win renown and perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with

-the greatest ease.

-

-As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman, who had been

-compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously, or spend a few

-years in one of the English prisons.

-

-He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an adventurous

-disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on a special mission to Rauf

-Pasha, who transferred him to the Governor of Fashoda.

-

-Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the English aristocracy,

-was educated at Oxford University, had been in the army, but resigned

-his commission just in time to escape being kicked out.

-

-But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but a great rascal.

-

-Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.

-

-The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant. He feared that his

-winning ways might lure some of the court to the gaming table, for

-Ponsonby was a great gambler.

-

-Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending Ponsonby to the

-Soudan.

-

-Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would soon run the country to

-suit himself, and he determined to get rid of him.

-

-He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a low part of

-Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.

-

-The only thing he could think of was to send him with good

-recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.

-

-“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign in his favor,”

-said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started from Khartoum.

-

-This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda governor, and, in fact,

-really ruled the province.

-

-Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby was closeted with the

-governor.

-

-“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman, insinuatingly.

-

-“Why should he be?”

-

-“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would be the greatest man

-in the Soudan, and I would go right off to the khedive and so work

-upon his feelings that you would be appointed governor-general of the

-Soudan. Once there you might aspire higher----”

-

-“How?”

-

-“The army wants a leader.”

-

-“Well?”

-

-“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big Soudanese army

-would point to you as the man. Arabi Pasha would help you.”

-

-“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian army?”

-

-“Greater than that.”

-

-“How so?”

-

-“The army could make you khedive.”

-

-“And you?”

-

-“You would make me minister of war, and I would get England’s

-influence, and Egypt should become an independent nation, with you as

-its first sultan.”

-

-The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and believed he was the

-only man fitted for the career sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.

-

-But what ambition had Ponsonby?

-

-In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this fashion:

-

-“The governor is ambitious--he is a tool in my hands--he has no

-scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger just as readily as the

-soldier’s sword. The army wants a bold, dashing leader. Under my

-guidance he shall win everything until the last step--then I will, as

-minister of war, effect a _coup d’etat_, and Hubert Ponsonby shall

-become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”

-

-So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the Governor of Fashoda

-was to be used as a cat’s-paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for

-Ponsonby’s benefit.

-

-The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be defeated and crushed.

-

-Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the Mahdi.

-

-Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the claims of the

-Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople the Mahdi was openly

-referred to as having made his appearance.

-

-The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all powerful.

-

-It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered the old

-Irish story of the Skibbereen market women.

-

-As the two women were going home from market, one of them began to

-prophesy how many good things she would be able to get by the next

-gale--rent--day.

-

-She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she reasoned: Twenty-six

-eggs will bring me at least twenty chickens; each chicken will begin

-laying in the spring. I shall get so many eggs every day; seven times

-twenty will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can sell them,

-and the money will buy----

-

-But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend, who asked:

-

-“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”

-

-The other was sure they wouldn’t be.

-

-The women wrangled and got to high words, and at last one declared

-she could tell by the yolks whether the egg would produce a hen or a

-rooster.

-

-Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove her assertion;

-and then suddenly remembered that no chickens at all could be hatched

-from broken eggs.

-

-Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated the Mahdi

-before he counted his profits.

-

-The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.

-

-Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they believed the

-triumph of the prophet was the triumph of religion.

-

-Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline was of the

-strictest, but they would have suffered torture if they thought by so

-doing they could assist the Mahdi.

-

-Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe to his ideas, and

-five thousand men were ready to take the field against the Mahdists.

-

-“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.

-

-“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the chief of the Shiluk.

-

-“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of Egypt, and you will be

-the governor general of the Soudan.”

-

-And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and ready to fight

-against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby should direct.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXV. VICTORY.

-

-

-“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to Girzilla?” asked

-Ibrahim, one night.

-

-“Anything happen? What do you mean?”

-

-“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may fall.”

-

-“Of course, so may I.”

-

-“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand on his forehead.

-

-“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine, and you will be

-all right.”

-

-“No, I am not sick.”

-

-“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a lark I had with

-the Mahdi?”

-

-“What lark?”

-

-“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I could have split my

-sides with laughter, but I had to be sober as a judge.”

-

-“What did you do, Madcap?”

-

-“Swear you won’t give me away.”

-

-“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.

-

-“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”

-

-“No.”

-

-“Swear it.”

-

-“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”

-

-“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more ceremony shown him

-now than at first. His hands and feet are washed before he stretches

-himself on your uncle’s sacred carpet.”

-

-“Yes, I know that.”

-

-“You also know that he must pour the water into the basin himself.”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big Arab held the basin,

-another came with a leather bottle, filled with the sacred water. The

-Mahdi took the bottle and poured some into the basin; but he nearly

-fell with fright.”

-

-“Why?”

-

-“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the basin. The Arab

-was so frightened that he dropped the bowl and fell on his knees.

-‘Bring the other vessel,’ commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought,

-and the same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted your

-uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a great uprising of the

-Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the boiling and frothing of the water

-subsided, so would his enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober

-face, because----”

-

-“What did you do?”

-

-“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three seidlitz powders in

-each bowl. The white powder was not noticed because the Mahdi insists

-on the sacred sand from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”

-

-“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”

-

-“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to have been a

-miracle.”

-

-“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”

-

-“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only----What was that?”

-

-“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”

-

-The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the soldier once again.

-

-He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.

-

-“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the Mahdi. “But not

-one will go back. The grave shall receive each one who fights beneath

-the crescent without the star.”

-

-Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed by the Governor of

-Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were seen approaching.

-

-On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode, looking kinglike and

-majestic.

-

-The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the tawny color of

-the soldiers.

-

-He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly as he bestrode the

-back of the raven-colored horse.

-

-He did everything for effect.

-

-“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same cry was repeated

-by the Fashodans.

-

-“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists, and the Fashodans

-replied with stentorian voices:

-

-“For Mahomet and the khedive.”

-

-The Fashodans commenced the battle.

-

-They were weary and wanted it over.

-

-They believed the victory would be an easy one. They had no water, and

-the wells were guarded by the Mahdists.

-

-Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.

-

-The Mahdi was practically unarmed.

-

-He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on which were written

-passages from the Koran.

-

-There was something grand about this religious fanatic.

-

-Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and guileless as a

-child.

-

-He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.

-

-He knew it was only by the sword that he could win, and yet he would

-not use the weapon himself.

-

-When the fight was hottest he was calm.

-

-The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed and as cool

-as if he knew the leaden hail could not hurt him.

-

-On came the legions from Fashoda.

-

-But it was evident that they were disheartened.

-

-“Who is that white man?” asked Max.

-

-“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.

-

-“An Englishman?”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered what had

-become of him. Wonder if he knows me? It is three years since we met,

-and I was only sixteen then.”

-

-Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write the words.

-

-He called his men to follow him, and swinging his scimiter above his

-head dashed into the very midst of the attacking force.

-

-He pushed his way through until he found himself by the side of

-Hubert’s coal-black horse.

-

-“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.

-

-“Who calls me by that name?”

-

-“I do.”

-

-“You; and who are you?”

-

-“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”

-

-“You lie!”

-

-“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet itself in your flesh and

-prove my words.”

-

-Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force, but it cut the

-empty air.

-

-Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second blow.

-

-“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.

-

-“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is the difference,”

-answered Max.

-

-Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades, but neither

-combatant was wounded.

-

-“Surrender!” cried Max.

-

-“Never!” answered Hubert.

-

-Again the two men came together.

-

-The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder, but Max was

-unhurt.

-

-The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.

-

-With his left hand, weak though it was from the wound, he drew his

-revolver.

-

-“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made an upward cut and

-sent the revolver careening through the air.

-

-The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they saw that Hubert

-was getting the worst of it, a dozen of them surrounded Max, cutting

-him off entirely from his followers.

-

-It was a critical moment.

-

-Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out terrible blows

-with it; but what could one man do against twelve?

-

-He felt he would have to succumb.

-

-Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.

-

-He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.

-

-He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted it he resolved that

-Ponsonby should not live to gloat over his defeat.

-

-He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him from his horse.

-

-Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped Hubert by the throat.

-

-A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring it down on the

-young American’s head, when the blow was turned aside by the Mahdi’s

-spear, and instead of cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of

-the Mahdi, it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of

-the Koran.

-

-Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry the Mahdi rode;

-he had saved the madcap’s life at the risk of his own.

-

-Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of the Fashodans had

-felt the keenness of his sword and the strength of his arm.

-

-His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor of Fashoda.

-

-When the day ended and the result of the fight was known, it was found

-that of the five thousand brave followers of Hubert Ponsonby and the

-Fashodan governor, not two hundred escaped.

-

-The carnage was fearful.

-

-The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy over four thousand.

-

-Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the Mahdi, in a loud

-voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as an adopted son of the prophet.

-

-Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi hath come!” the sun

-went down, and Mohammed Ahmed was the greatest warrior the Soudan had

-ever known.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXVI. A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

-

-

-The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was telegraphed all over

-the world.

-

-In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike with Cairo, the

-people could talk of nothing but the wonderful advance of the Mahdi.

-

-Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.

-

-He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity of the Egyptians

-and Turks against him.

-

-A delay would be dangerous.

-

-The Soudan must be his, and that at once.

-

-He called together his chosen friends and told them that the victory

-must be followed up by still greater victories.

-

-Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which made men rejoice

-in being martyrs, advised the instant march on Khartoum.

-

-“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must acknowledge your

-mission,” he said, and really believed that the Mahdi could scatter his

-enemies by a mere word.

-

-But the prophet shook his head.

-

-“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is only by the sword

-that the prince of darkness can be crushed. To march now would be to

-invite defeat.”

-

-Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.

-

-“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.

-

-Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.

-

-“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied, modestly.

-

-“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think. I will hear all and

-condemn not.”

-

-The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat made, for him, a

-long speech.

-

-“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began. “Fate, or,

-as you would say, Allah, guided me to you. I have fought under your

-banner.”

-

-“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.

-

-“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”--looking at

-the Mahdi--“are by a long shot the best man in the Soudan to-day. As

-Englishmen have joined your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join

-you, and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged in.

-Now, I’ve got an idea--just forget that you are the Mahdi and, to put

-it plainly, a rebel----Oh, don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest

-man who ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he was a

-patriot.”

-

-“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said Mohammed Ahmed.

-“I shall not be offended.”

-

-“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum, to Kordofan,

-and Senaar, and preach rebellion. Let whoever goes rouse the

-people--talk to them of the way they have been robbed, and then spring

-upon them the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You see,

-by this means you would have friends waiting for you in each place.”

-

-“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be killed.”

-

-“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said to myself: ‘Max, old

-fellow, make your will, reconcile yourself to your enemies, and go in a

-buster.’”

-

-Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke seemed incoherent, his

-hearers knew that he was in earnest, and that the plan was a good one.

-

-“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let the plan be worked

-in other places first.”

-

-“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but who could carry it

-out?”

-

-“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.

-

-Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:

-

-“What would become of your harem?”

-

-“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.

-

-“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would never do. Both the

-illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed have too much to lose.”

-

-“Do you think we value our possessions more than principle?”

-

-“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to lose all, and

-perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to Kordofan.”

-

-“You?”

-

-“Yes; I can talk--why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in the adventure.”

-

-“But you are not of our faith.”

-

-“So much the better. I am an American, and every body will know that

-the cause is a good one if an American takes it up.”

-

-“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”

-

-“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.

-

-“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his uncle, with almost a

-sneer.

-

-“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will tell me what to do.”

-

-“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the truth.”

-

-“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet. When do we

-start, Max?”

-

-“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed as he spoke.

-

-He walked away to think out his plan of action, and was joined by

-Girzilla.

-

-“You were going without bidding me good-by.”

-

-“Yes.”

-

-“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may be, I am not Kalula to

-you, but Girzilla.”

-

-“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be happy.”

-

-The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from what Mohammed, her

-father, had told her, that the mission in which both Max and Ibrahim

-were to be engaged was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were

-that neither would ever be seen again alive.

-

-But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the young men went

-forth, their lives in their hands, in support of the cause they had

-espoused.

-

-Max was not quite so much in love with his mission when he entered

-Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all probability, was in antagonism

-to several regiments of soldiers and an excited populace.

-

-He needed rest.

-

-It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of caravan life on

-the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent that he dare not delay more

-than that one day.

-

-He had been provided with a letter of introduction to a merchant

-with whom Sherif el Habib had done business. That letter opened the

-merchant’s heart and home, for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s

-house his home during his stay in Kordofan.

-

-Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist, and a man of

-wealth, and therefore of great influence.

-

-It was not long before he asked Max the pointed question:

-

-“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”

-

-Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s belief.

-

-“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said the merchant.

-

-“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked the American.

-

-“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”

-

-“Why?”

-

-“The people would be disappointed.”

-

-“In what way?”

-

-“You will laugh.”

-

-“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this Mohammedan

-Mahdi.”

-

-“They expect too much.”

-

-“How?”

-

-“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that you would laugh.”

-

-“I apologize. I could not help it.”

-

-“They think, also, that he never walks.”

-

-“Never walks?”

-

-“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to reach any

-place.”

-

-“Anything else?”

-

-“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in his veins, as well

-as that of Emin Bey.”

-

-“Whom did you say?”

-

-“Mahomet.”

-

-“Yes, but the other name?”

-

-“Emin.”

-

-“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.

-

-Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything, loved to tell a

-story, and one story was always entrancing to him.

-

-He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco smoke to eddy and

-curl up to the ceiling before he commenced his story.

-

-“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that Mohammed Ali

-determined to destroy the Mamelukes----”

-

-“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that to do with the

-Mahdi?”

-

-Shula looked at Max with astonishment.

-

-It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt me in the midst of a

-story?” He puffed away at his chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a

-minute or so, and then continued:

-

-“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed Ali invited them,

-the portcullis fell behind the last of their splendid army, and they

-were trapped like rats.”

-

-“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”

-

-“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch Arabian over a pile

-of dead and dying. He sprang on the battlements, his horse was killed,

-but with a shout of _Allah il Allah_, he leaped into the darkness and

-escaped to the mosque.”

-

-Again Shula paused.

-

-Max was impatient, and could not wait.

-

-“I would give my right hand to find the descendants of Emin,” he said.

-

-“Would you?”

-

-“Indeed I would.”

-

-“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered the mosque without

-removing his shoes. He pleaded to his own conscience that his wound

-would excuse his sacrilege. He fell asleep, and as he slept he

-dreamed--that is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the

-time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and in the center,

-Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said the prophet, ‘thy wound is

-healed.’ Emin began to excuse the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but

-the prophet stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said, and

-sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins of Thebes and hide

-thee until I bid thee go to the desert, and there thou shalt stay, thou

-and thy sons, but thy son’s son shall be the _Imaum_ of his people.’

-‘But,’ said Emin, ‘the _Imaum_ shall be of thy race, illustrious

-prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of my race, thou art

-blessed, indeed.”

-

-Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring some grapes.

-

-Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until the cup was full

-of the ruby-colored juice.

-

-Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant had withdrawn,

-Shula continued:

-

-“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the grandson of Emin----”

-

-“And I never thought of it--I, who have been seeking the last of the

-Mamelukes--I----”

-

-“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”

-

-“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants, and I never told

-the Mahdi.”

-

-“Do you know the Mahdi?”

-

-“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi sent me here. He is

-coming in all the glory of victory, and I am to prepare a way for him.”

-

-Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the American until poor

-Max began to think his breath would all be squeezed out.

-

-Had he wanted rest?

-

-If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXVII. SOWING THE SEED.

-

-

-For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for three of his most

-particular friends and bade them hasten to his house.

-

-Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian, was the first, and

-he stared at Max with eyes which seemed to glitter with hate.

-

-He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin had been changed from

-olive to almost black through exposure to the sun.

-

-Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs, and he imagined Max

-to be some wealthy foreigner who was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah

-for business or pleasure.

-

-He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin, a Persian, entered

-and embraced Shula most warmly.

-

-The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were drawn round the

-room and everything done to prevent the slightest sound being heard on

-the outside.

-

-“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this illustrious one

-is a messenger from the Mahdi.”

-

-The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low, and murmured

-some words of prayer.

-

-“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you ready?”

-

-“What are we to do?”

-

-“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”

-

-“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.

-

-“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into the midst of an

-army; he had no weapon, the guns were firing, the swords and spears

-clashed around him and over his head, but he merely smiled and bade

-them cease their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong. Will

-you not raise his flag?”

-

-“We will.”

-

-“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die in a great

-cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum, pillaged by Egypt and taxed by

-Turkey. England now wants a share, and what will you have left?”

-

-“Nothing.”

-

-“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt, of Turkey and the

-whole of the Mohammedan world. The crescent and star will float above

-all other flags, for the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of

-shahs.”

-

-“_Allah il Allah_ be praised.”

-

-“_Inshallah!_”

-

-“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically that no

-opposition was offered. A plan was adopted by which on the third day

-all the followers of the four wealthy citizens should revolt and raise

-the standard of the Mahdi.

-

-In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet. It was not thought

-wise for him to interfere, as some thought it might be said he was

-a foreigner, and of alien faith, and therefore at work against the

-interests of the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.

-

-Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather the fruit. He was

-quite willing that others should do that.

-

-So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and Nasr el Adin, and

-agreed to remain quiet in the city, while they kindled the torch of

-revolt.

-

-Max slept well that night. It had been many months since he reposed in

-a regular bed in a comfortable room, with both male and female servants

-to minister to his needs.

-

-True, the females were not lovely. They were very old, exceedingly ugly

-and bad tempered, but they did the work.

-

-It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth into the streets.

-

-He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.

-

-A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked lazily at Max, who

-returned the gaze, and wondered whether he ought to attack the peculiar

-animal or not.

-

-While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled, ran screaming

-past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking man.

-

-Max thought that it was a case of father chastising his daughter, but

-even then his blood boiled with indignation, for the girl was too old

-to receive corporal punishment.

-

-The man overtook the girl and struck her over the shoulders with his

-cane.

-

-At the same instant Max found he could not restrain the muscles of his

-arm, and his clinched fist managed to come in contact with the fat

-man’s nose, causing that organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness,

-and inducing its owner to lie on the ground on his back.

-

-It was a curious accident--for so Max called it--but the girl did not

-hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen foe, but rather turned her

-black eyes in the direction of Max.

-

-He then saw that she was really pretty.

-

-Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging sparkling dark

-eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in the landscape.

-

-The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to resume the

-perpendicular while Max was around.

-

-The girl started running away, but Max called to her to stop.

-

-He wanted to know her name, at least.

-

-He was an American, and did not realize how different were the customs

-of Egypt.

-

-She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.

-

-She smiled when he got alongside her.

-

-As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly teeth that really

-added to her beauty.

-

-“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with charming _naïveté_.

-

-“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”

-

-She smiled.

-

-“You know you shouldn’t.”

-

-“What?”

-

-“Have knocked him down.”

-

-“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”

-

-“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”

-

-“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.

-

-“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”

-

-Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen, and was following

-them.

-

-“Go,” she said.

-

-“Not until you tell me where you live and your name.”

-

-“My name is Lalla. I live----But what good to tell you?--I shall never

-see you again.”

-

-“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course you will.”

-

-“No, no, no! you must not; good-by--I live--here.”

-

-She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big wall.

-

-“You do? May I come and see you?”

-

-She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion and laughed

-as well.

-

-“No; what absurdity--I am going to be married----”

-

-The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it again so quickly

-that Max could not get even the slightest glimpse of what was on the

-other side.

-

-“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought Max.

-

-But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking quite

-disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged in just as

-expeditiously as the girl had done.

-

-“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max. “I’ll see over

-that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”

-

-He looked for a good climbing place, and found a better one than he

-expected.

-

-“Here goes--Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced climbing the

-wall.

-

-When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.

-

-The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number of fountains

-were sending up continuous sprays of water, which the slight breeze

-scattered over the turf, keeping the grass green and soft.

-

-A large house stood in the center, and near to its main entrance stood

-Lalla.

-

-She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would not understand her

-signals.

-

-He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and sheltered himself

-behind a clump of euphorbia.

-

-He was afraid that his presence might be known, and that he would be

-expelled from the grounds.

-

-He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not see why it should be

-considered wrong to do so.

-

-He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and that if he were caught

-his life might be the forfeit, but he was Madcap Max still.

-

-He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway and enter the house.

-

-“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins! if he does,

-I’ll break into his place and steal her away--that I will!”

-

-But it soon became evident that his position would be an unpleasant

-one.

-

-Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to drive him from the

-grounds.

-

-A dozen male servants of the great man who owned the estate started

-down the steps of the portico and made straight for the euphorbia.

-

-The gate was fastened.

-

-The wall was too high to climb on short notice.

-

-Max saw his peril.

-

-If caught----

-

-“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.

-

-“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close upon me?” he

-asked himself, and answered:

-

-“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be tired, you fresh;

-then race them for all that it is worth.”

-

-The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient romance was after them.

-

-When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood ready.

-

-They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but had separated

-themselves so that they might surround him and thus effect an easy

-capture.

-

-He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward--going toward the house

-instead of away from it.

-

-As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him, Max put out his

-left foot and tripped the fellow up.

-

-As ill luck would have it--or perhaps it was Max’s good luck--the man

-fell on his face in a bed of _euphorbia splendens_, a plant commonly

-known as the “crown of thorns.”

-

-The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross fashion and made

-him wish he had never been born.

-

-Max was now pursued by the others.

-

-He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled on his pursuers.

-

-Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another advantage.

-

-He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to find some means

-of exit.

-

-But again he was mistaken.

-

-He, however, found something he did not bargain for, and that was a

-trap or cellar door.

-

-It was open.

-

-Max did not see it.

-

-It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning powers, or even

-much knowledge of the rules of logic, to comprehend the result.

-

-He fell through the open door.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXVIII. AN UNEXPECTED BATH.

-

-

-Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched the door and

-closed it, by accident, after him.

-

-It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.

-

-Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.

-

-He was only shaken and slightly bruised.

-

-His pursuers reached the door and tried it.

-

-Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat--louder than he liked.

-

-But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers declare that he

-must have scaled the wall.

-

-“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.

-

-“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered one of the eunuchs.

-

-“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the declaration.

-

-His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the eunuch call off his

-men and declare that the “infidel” had escaped.

-

-When the footsteps died away Max began to think about his prison house.

-

-If the door had not been opened for a week, was there any way of egress

-or ingress?

-

-If not, then might he not starve to death?

-

-“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall be saved.”

-

-Max was looking on the bright side of the subject, and his spirits rose

-correspondingly.

-

-The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately had a small

-pocket lantern with him, and after being there an hour he felt it was

-safe to light the lamp.

-

-He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without any flooring

-save the mud.

-

-The roof was very high in some places, and in others so low that Max

-could not stand upright.

-

-It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent was so

-great.

-

-A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with Max, but those

-were the only living things he saw.

-

-Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a house, is not the

-most inspiring exercise, and Max was not very elated.

-

-Once he thought he heard a flow of water.

-

-Was he mistaken?

-

-No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar, only separated by a

-very thin partition or wall of baked clay, ran the river Nile.

-

-Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river, but they were

-both fastened.

-

-“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m in for a good

-time, and I’ll have one.”

-

-Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper story.

-

-They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as stone.

-

-He walked up them, and found a door at the top.

-

-Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some more steps which led

-to a long corridor.

-

-There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the hallway, and he

-followed that as his guide.

-

-Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his mind he was mistaken.

-There were no signs of anyone dwelling there, everything was deserted

-and desolate.

-

-He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole thoughts being

-now bent on escape.

-

-He reached the end of the corridor, and found that the little ray of

-light proceeded from a transom over another door.

-

-That door he pushed open, and saw before him another flight of stairs.

-

-“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I only get out at

-last.”

-

-He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door confronted him.

-

-He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight which met his

-gaze.

-

-No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with the beauty and

-grandeur of what he saw.

-

-The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many feet wide.

-

-The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the most exquisite

-patterns and quality.

-

-The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.

-

-Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a different tinted

-shade, shed a brilliant light over the scene.

-

-But that was not all.

-

-Round the great room were divans covered with the most costly silks.

-

-And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a beauteous woman.

-

-Each woman had a little table by her side, on which cigarettes and

-sherbet were placed.

-

-Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco Max had ever

-sniffed.

-

-He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without the beauteous

-creatures having any idea that their privacy had been invaded.

-

-But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl Lalla.

-

-Why should he not go to her?

-

-He was an American, and knew no fear.

-

-He walked down the center of the room, and instantly there was a

-shriek--a tiny little scream--and a flutter of a score of beauties.

-

-But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry for it, for never

-before had any man save their lord entered the grand _salon_ of the

-harem, and the novelty was refreshing.

-

-Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and some offered to

-hide him.

-

-There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by the shoulders and

-pushed him behind the drapery which covered the walls.

-

-She was only just in time.

-

-Three eunuchs entered.

-

-“You screamed,” said the chief.

-

-“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.

-

-“And you all saw it at the same time?”

-

-“Yes,” answered another.

-

-“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a hat, which Max

-had dropped on the floor.

-

-Poor Max!

-

-He had never missed his hat.

-

-He had carried it under his arm when he entered the _salon_.

-

-So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped his _chapeau_

-and never missed it.

-

-The women could not explain how it came about that a mouse wore a soft

-felt helmet.

-

-The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission of discovery.

-

-He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought might cover a

-man, and was approaching the place where Max was hidden, when Lalla

-fell on her knees.

-

-“Oh, spare him!”

-

-“Who do you mean?”

-

-“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never saw him before, but

-he is so handsome! Do not kill him.”

-

-“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.

-

-Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with arms folded before

-the servants of the pasha.

-

-“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar and was trying to

-get away. I found myself here by mistake. Do with me as you like.”

-

-“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others took up the prayer.

-

-But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.

-

-“He must die,” said they.

-

-“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst of their cries Max

-was seized, his hands tied by his sides, after which he was carried

-down the steps into the great noisome cellar by which he had entered.

-

-Max did not try to bribe his captors.

-

-He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.

-

-“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”

-

-But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to escape, when they

-produced a great sack and covered him with it.

-

-Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they lifted him shoulder

-high, and he soon felt the strange sensation of being whirled through

-space.

-

-His senses were almost numbed when he realized that he was in water.

-

-He had been thrown into the Nile!

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXIX. SAVED!

-

-

-Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of the Nile discussing

-the best way to assist the Mahdi.

-

-Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the prophet, and calling

-on all good religionists to rally round his standard.

-

-But Barbasson was crafty.

-

-He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.

-

-“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if he fails----”

-

-“He won’t fail.”

-

-“I hope not; but suppose he did?”

-

-“Well?”

-

-“We should lose our property, and perhaps----”

-

-“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”

-

-“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”

-

-“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you don’t mind killing

-others,” Shula retorted, sharply.

-

-“What mean you?”

-

-“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”

-

-“By the beard of the prophet, no!”

-

-“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was watching a dahabeah on

-the Nile; I saw something bulky thrown overboard----”

-

-“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile was the best place.”

-

-“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle and found----”

-

-“What?”

-

-“A most lovely girl.”

-

-“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”

-

-“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your wives took a great

-dislike to her----”

-

-“One of my wives?”

-

-“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”

-

-Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.

-

-“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and I took her into my

-harem.”

-

-“That is your business. What is it to me?”

-

-“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw Leila into the

-water.”

-

-“Bah! that was only a girl--and they are not missed.”

-

-Barbasson suggested--when he had got over his annoyance--that secret

-agents should be sent out and that riots should be organized.

-

-Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was in disorder, Shula

-should come forward and proclaim the advent of the Mahdi.

-

-This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now joined by Rashid and

-Nasr el Adin, started on their homeward journey.

-

-“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a splash was heard in the

-water.

-

-“A crocodile, most likely.”

-

-“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”

-

-“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”

-

-“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”

-

-“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”

-

-“The prophet will stop all that.”

-

-“I hope so.”

-

-“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses of the government

-here, and he is never molested for beating or drowning his wives. Of

-course, he never touches a man.”

-

-Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the time that a woman’s

-life was considered of no more value than that of a dog or any common

-animal.

-

-A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he could drown her,

-providing he did it decently--that is, place her body in a sack, with

-some heavy weights, so that the body should not rise to the surface.

-

-While the conspirators were discussing the morality of Mahmoud Achmet,

-their eyes were strained in an endeavor to discover what had caused the

-splashing sound.

-

-A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more humane than the

-majority of Kordofans, stepped into a boat anchored by the bank, and

-pushed out in the stream.

-

-He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to stick it in the

-canvas sack.

-

-He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.

-

-He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud Achmet, and hoped

-she would be young and pretty, because by the laws she would be his

-slave.

-

-To his astonishment--and equally so to the surprise of the

-other--instead of a woman the sack contained a man, and that man our

-young friend--Madcap Max.

-

-Max was unconscious.

-

-When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously he struggled

-all he knew how to free himself.

-

-What could he do?

-

-He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.

-

-His body was doubled so that he could not use his hands to tear the bag

-or strike out.

-

-In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.

-

-He began to wish that he had never heard of the Mahdi, or the Mameluke.

-

-But regrets were useless.

-

-He knew he had to die.

-

-Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe, he would have

-been proud to die--because he knew no disgrace would be attached to it.

-

-But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat, was so hurtful

-to his self-respect and so humiliating that he cried with vexation.

-

-The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of it. His brain grew

-dizzy.

-

-The singing in his ears had become like the roaring of the waters of a

-great cataract.

-

-Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators been

-discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion at night by the banks

-of the Nile, Madcap Max would never have been the hero of this story.

-

-Shula rubbed Max briskly.

-

-He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face downward.

-

-The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s back--sitting on it,

-treading it, kneeling on it, and using every means of which they knew

-to restore life.

-

-“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”

-

-The words startled the conspirators.

-

-They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with the treatment he had

-been subjected to, had revived with great suddenness.

-

-He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was being hurt, hence

-his calling out.

-

-He jumped to his feet.

-

-“Shula!” he exclaimed.

-

-“Max!”

-

-“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned? Where am I?”

-

-“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water, and the less you

-say the longer you will be likely to live. Come--let us get home. Can

-you walk?”

-

-“Of course I can.”

-

-Max started forward, but before his legs had moved a dozen times he

-fell on his face.

-

-The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances were to be found

-in Kordofan at that hour of the night, they had to carry him to Shula’s

-residence.

-

-Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and laughed at the

-escapade.

-

-“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to see Lalla,” he said.

-“I want to know more about her.”

-

-“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter any man’s

-harem,” said Shula.

-

-“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”

-

-Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally weak from his

-struggles in the Nile.

-

-Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel that he was the

-strong athlete again.

-

-When he awoke on the morning of the third day he heard cries which

-roused him:

-

-“_Allah il Allah!_”

-

-“Long live the Mahdi!”

-

-“Down with the foreigner!”

-

-“The Mahdi has come!”

-

-Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.

-

-His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that he had staked all

-his property and his life on the riot which was then in progress.

-

-“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”

-

-“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”

-

-A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows were shaken,

-and some panes of glass broken.

-

-“What does it mean?”

-

-“They are fighting,” answered Shula.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXX. THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.

-

-

-“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the head of the Mahdi’s

-friends?”

-

-“I--stayed--with you.”

-

-“Come! where is my sword?”

-

-“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed--the soldiers

-wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting the people down.”

-

-“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”

-

-“It is madness.”

-

-“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I wasn’t I’d scorn to be

-a coward.”

-

-“A coward?”

-

-“Yes, I said so, and I repeat--a coward.”

-

-“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army of Egypt.”

-

-“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and are now afraid----”

-

-“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”

-

-“Risk all--if by that means you save your honor.”

-

-“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”

-

-“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”

-

-“See what it means to me--loss of property, perhaps life.”

-

-“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going to fight.”

-

-“It is madness!”

-

-“Give me my rifle and my sword.”

-

-Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.

-

-He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right--the people had but

-scant chance.

-

-That made Max all the more determined.

-

-He waved his sword above his head and rushed into the thickest of the

-fight.

-

-“Long live the Mahdi!”

-

-At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.

-

-“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with you. The Mahdi is a

-native of your country, he is no foreigner. Strike for him, and let

-your cry be Egypt for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”

-

-The people lost their fear.

-

-Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers did not

-return the fire.

-

-Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.

-

-The Egyptian officer was enraged.

-

-“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.

-

-A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but the majority kept

-them reversed.

-

-Max saw the advantage he had gained.

-

-He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had fallen in the mêlée.

-

-Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant as he sat there,

-like a veritable centaur.

-

-“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I have fought with the

-great Mahdi. I have seen the thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he

-waved his wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights with his

-eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall back.”

-

-The enthusiasm was great.

-

-Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the others were undecided.

-

-The officer was furious.

-

-“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed the call.

-

-“Load! Aim! Fire!”

-

-Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to his great joy that

-the aim was too high to do any damage.

-

-“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our fight is not

-against you. The Mahdi is of your faith. Nay, more, he will restore the

-great Mameluke kingdom. Every soldier of his will be greater than a

-pasha, for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”

-

-The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who wondered who

-this young paleface could be.

-

-The result was electrical.

-

-Every rifle was reversed.

-

-The officer was left alone to return to the fort--a commander without

-soldiers.

-

-At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the Mahdi, Mohammed

-Achmet was close to the gates of the city. He heard the cheering and

-the firing.

-

-His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.

-

-Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif el Habib and the

-Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into the main street of Kordofan.

-

-“The Mahdi!”

-

-“The Mahdi has come!”

-

-The cheers rose on the air.

-

-Songs were sung--the soldiers fraternized with the people.

-

-Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.

-

-Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer handed his

-sword to the Mahdi.

-

-“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my sword and use it for

-truth and our faith.”

-

-The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed it back, saying:

-

-“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for you will use it as

-only a brave man can.”

-

-The fires of joy were lighted.

-

-Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi was welcomed.

-

-Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was triumphant, came to

-offer the hospitality of his house to the conqueror.

-

-Max recognized him, and after the man had said all he intended, came

-forward.

-

-“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped him in a sack, and

-drowned him.”

-

-“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He has raised this man

-from the dead. All my wealth is his,” exclaimed Mahmoud.

-

-Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however, did not contradict

-him, but allowed him to think that the power of the Mahdi had indeed

-raised him from the dead.

-

-He spoke privately to the Mahdi.

-

-“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.

-

-“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give this man the girl

-called Lalla.”

-

-Mahmoud fell to the ground.

-

-He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.

-

-“Woe is me, I cannot!”

-

-“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.

-

-“Indeed it is true. _Inshallah!_”

-

-Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max, and after throwing

-him into the river, Lalla had refused to be comforted, had called him a

-murderer, and refused to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in

-his anger he ordered her to be drowned.

-

-Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.

-

-The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in the presence of a

-great concourse of citizens, said:

-

-“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at times made away with such

-of his wives that displeased him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how

-abhorrent such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet be taken

-from here in the sack which he has provided for others, and that he be

-thrown into the Nile.”

-

-“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man--“mercy! I will give you wealth.”

-

-“I do not want it.”

-

-“All I have shall be yours!”

-

-“It is mine already.”

-

-One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem testified how the

-wives were constantly beaten with whips.

-

-“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,” said the Mahdi; “it

-is fate.”

-

-The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.

-

-Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of his own eunuch, and

-was drowned in the Nile.

-

-“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who were more than

-ever enthused with the prophet and his cause.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXXI. VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.

-

-

-Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot haste, asked for

-the Mahdi.

-

-He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif el Habib.

-

-When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:

-

-  “To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum and Mahdi:

-

-  “GREETING: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the flag of the

-  Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is ours.

-

-  “IBRAHIM.”

-

-Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.

-

-  “Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter. “I was wounded

-  in the right foot and lost two toes, but that was better than my

-  life. The people were all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely.

-  It was a tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which I will

-  send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is Girzilla? Give her my

-  love. Is Max the Madcap alive? Of course he is. Tell him not to play

-  any pranks in Kordofan.

-

-  “Your loving nephew,

-

-  “IBRAHIM.”

-

-When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his staff, he called Max

-to him.

-

-“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and we are victorious.

-You are Max Pasha; and your nephew”--turning to Sherif--“is also pasha,

-and is made governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor of

-Kordofan.”

-

-The people cheered the young governor.

-

-Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:

-

-“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline it.”

-

-“You must not.”

-

-“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to be governor and

-pasha for one day, because I am going back to America, and if I ever go

-on the lecture platform the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a

-real live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap Max.”

-

-The Mahdi laughed.

-

-“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.

-

-“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired of being the Mahdi

-come over to New York and I will trot you round, and--oh, my! won’t the

-dollars just flow into our pockets.”

-

-But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch was placed in his

-hands.

-

-It was from a trusty agent in the North.

-

-“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under the command of

-Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read, “and is marching with five thousand men

-against you. Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men, is

-marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in two by these armies.”

-

-“No! by the prophet--no!” exclaimed the Mahdi. “We will attack both and

-exterminate them.”

-

-The bugles called the army together and the march was ordered.

-

-With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm, the

-followers of the Mahdi started to meet Yussuf Pasha Hassan.

-

-The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans, but they

-lacked enthusiasm.

-

-The Mahdi--still without weapon--rode at the head of his people and

-gave the words of command.

-

-Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western prairie, the

-army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans commanded by Yussuf.

-

-The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but the Mahdists

-were more like fiends.

-

-They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately cut their

-throats.

-

-It was a horrible carnage.

-

-The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort to defend himself,

-but was ever in the thickest of the fight.

-

-His brow shone as though it were gold.

-

-His presence was remarkable.

-

-Max fought with desperate valor.

-

-At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself more power in

-striking a blow.

-

-“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage blow.

-

-Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to the Mahdi, Max was

-the most powerful leader.

-

-Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.

-

-He was a trifle superstitious.

-

-If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not kill him, and Yussuf

-would not risk an encounter; so he rode through the fighting demons

-until he reached the side of Max.

-

-“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly wheeled round and

-aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.

-

-The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge at Max.

-

-But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic speed, and Yussuf’s

-sword merely struck the air.

-

-As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire flew out, and

-seemed to keep fiery time to the music of the steel.

-

-Yussuf got angry.

-

-“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly asked, during a pause

-in the duel.

-

-“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for liberty.”

-

-Again the fight was resumed.

-

-Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.

-

-The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to kick and trample down

-the dead and dying.

-

-It was a fearful sight.

-

-Yussuf fought bravely.

-

-His left arm had been broken by Max, just below the shoulder, but he

-would not give in.

-

-“Surrender!”

-

-“Never!”

-

-“Then die!”

-

-“I will, but you will go first.”

-

-Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging round his heavy

-scimiter with the strength of a giant.

-

-Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck the horse’s neck,

-almost severing the head from the body.

-

-Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.

-

-Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s side.

-

-“We are equal,” he said.

-

-But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one arm to fight

-with.

-

-The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he did so a sword still

-grasped by a dead man pierced his side.

-

-The brave man could stand no more.

-

-“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender to Max, but to the

-Great Creator, for as the man uttered the words the breath left his

-body.

-

-Out of four thousand seven hundred men--hale, hearty veterans--who had

-marched under the crescent of Egypt that morning, only two hundred and

-one survived at night.

-

-The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred men all told.

-

-They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury the dead.

-

-Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks Pasha.

-

-It was a two days march to Tokar.

-

-At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred and forty-six

-men, met the advance guard of the Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and

-Max.

-

-The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable to the

-Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi himself arrived.

-

-There was a charm and magnetism about the man which made him

-irresistible.

-

-His presence was equal to a thousand men.

-

-In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead, and two thousand

-three hundred and seventy-three of his men lay stiffening under the

-tropical sun.

-

-The defeat was a thorough one.

-

-The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except Khartoum and

-Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.

-

-The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.

-

-Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum. In the mosques his

-name was mentioned with that of the prophet, and the people prostrated

-themselves when reference was made to him.

-

-

-

-

-CHAPTER XXXII. “ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”

-

-

-A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.

-

-The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush any force which

-could be sent against it.

-

-The officers took things easy.

-

-Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s headquarters, and Ibrahim

-had received a furlough or leave of absence for two months.

-

-This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.

-

-One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:

-

-“I have found him.”

-

-“Whom do you refer to?”

-

-“The last of the Mamelukes.”

-

-“And he is----”

-

-“The Mahdi.”

-

-“Are you sure, Girzilla?”

-

-“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will restore the glories

-of his race and bring the whole world to believe in Mahomet.”

-

-Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.

-

-The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he heard Max tell his

-story; how he had lost his father in the caves of the bandits, and had

-been rescued by Girzilla.

-

-When Max narrated how he had become enthused over the story of the

-great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.

-

-“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me. Stay with me, my

-son, and share in my triumph.”

-

-“No--the work is done. I shall go back to my own land, and shall do

-as other Americans have done before me--write a book, or tell on the

-platform the story of the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”

-

-Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded with him to stay until

-after his wedding with Girzilla.

-

-This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a most impressive

-wedding took place in the vestibule of a mosque at Kordofan.

-

-The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.

-

-The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were worthy of the great

-prophet himself.

-

-To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:

-

-“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits you to take

-three others; but take my advice--cleave to the one. It is better, and

-a new dispensation will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of

-our race have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is now

-written that if you be faithful to her on earth the gates of Paradise

-will open for you both, and she shall be your bride through all

-eternity.”

-

-After spending the customary seven days in prayer and religious

-observances, Ibrahim obtained permission to take his dusky bride on a

-trip up the Nile in company with Max.

-

-The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.

-

-Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey that her loving

-husband accompanied her to Suez, where they bade farewell to Madcap Max

-as the Peninsular and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.

-

-Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he had made the journey

-on three years before.

-

-He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium of the journey was

-broken by the story of adventure told by the madcap.

-

-When Max reached New York he found himself the head of the firm, and

-the cares of business life caused him to relinquish the thought of

-“coining dollars” on the lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise

-to the author that some day he would tell him the story of his life.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known and highly

-respected merchant to tell the story.

-

-“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and you shall know all.”

-

-“But----”

-

-“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”

-

-Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but many a time he

-declared that no more true one ever lived than the Arab maiden.

-

-When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion on the following day

-he was surprised to find so many evidences of the Orient everywhere;

-but when, an hour later, Max took the author by the hand and led him

-into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there stood,

-waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.

-

-Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the shawl manufactory,

-and found himself extremely wealthy.

-

-He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of the world, and so

-infatuated was he with the remembrance of Max, that nothing would

-satisfy him but to commence the journey proper from New York.

-

-That was how this story came to be written.

-

-Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a more lavish

-praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge he deserved.

-

-Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and his lovely bride,

-who does not look so dark and dusky in the modern American clothing as

-she did on the deserts of Africa.

-

-Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares that Girzilla

-occupies every bit of his heart, and he could not take three more

-wives, even if his religion ordered it.

-

-Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap and his friend,

-and although his heart turns sick sometimes as he thinks of the carnage

-he witnessed, yet he says he shall always look back with pride to the

-intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and the Mameluke, the

-result of his trip “In the Volcano’s Mouth.”

-

-THE END.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-TALES OF VICTORIES

-

-Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads of pluck and intelligence.

-Every true boy will be fascinated with these stories of the exciting

-adventures of boys who gladly gave their lives to freedom’s cause.

-

-_BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY_

-

-   3.--The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan

-   7.--The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan

-  11.--Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan

-  15.--By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry

-  19.--A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry

-  23.--The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry

-  26.--The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry

-

-Only Ten Cents Per Copy At All Newsdealers

-

-_If ordered by mail, add four cents to cover postage._

-

-  STREET & SMITH, Publishers

-  NEW YORK

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY

-

-A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature for boys. Sept

-14, 1905.

-

-NO. 134

-

-Charles Garvice’s New Stories

-

-If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be waiting for the

-appearance of a new novel from the pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad

-to inform you that you will find it in

-

-SMITH’S MAGAZINE

-

-In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories will appear in this

-magazine, as he is under contract to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S

-DESTINY” is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing

-interest. It began in the April number and is still being published.

-

-If you are one of the vast army who have depended upon cheap,

-occasional issues of early non-copyrights, of which there are now no

-more by this author, you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.

-

-In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story, there are other

-features which make SMITH’S MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing

-of all ten-cent publications.

-

-PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS

-

-PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers

-

-THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,

-

-156 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-Transcriber’s Notes:

-

-Punctuation has been made consistent.

-

-Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in

-the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have

-been corrected.

-

-The following change was made:

-

-p. 211: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)

-

-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO'S MOUTH ***

-

-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will

-be renamed.

-

-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright

-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,

-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the

-United States without permission and without paying copyright

-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part

-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm

-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,

-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following

-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use

-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for

-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very

-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation

-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project

-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may

-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected

-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark

-license, especially commercial redistribution.

-

-START: FULL LICENSE

-

-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

-

-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free

-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work

-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full

-Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at

-www.gutenberg.org/license.

-

-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-

-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to

-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property

-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all

-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or

-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your

-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a

-Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound

-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the

-person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph

-1.E.8.

-

-1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be

-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who

-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few

-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See

-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this

-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

-

-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the

-Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection

-of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual

-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United

-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the

-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not

-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,

-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as

-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope

-that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting

-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm

-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the

-Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily

-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the

-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when

-you share it without charge with others.

-

-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern

-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are

-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,

-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this

-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,

-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any

-other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no

-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any

-country other than the United States.

-

-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

-

-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other

-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear

-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work

-on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the

-phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,

-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

-

-  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and

-  most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the

-  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where

-  you are located before using this eBook.

-

-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is

-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not

-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the

-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in

-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are

-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply

-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or

-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm

-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-

-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted

-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution

-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any

-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms

-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works

-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the

-beginning of this work.

-

-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this

-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

-

-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without

-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with

-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm License.

-

-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,

-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including

-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access

-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format

-other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official

-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website

-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense

-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means

-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain

-Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the

-full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

-

-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works

-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-

-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-provided that:

-

-* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from

-  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method

-  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed

-  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has

-  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project

-  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid

-  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are

-  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty

-  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project

-  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in

-  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg

-  Literary Archive Foundation."

-

-* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies

-  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he

-  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all

-  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue

-  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm

-  works.

-

-* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of

-  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the

-  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of

-  receipt of the work.

-

-* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free

-  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

-

-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than

-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing

-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of

-the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set

-forth in Section 3 below.

-

-1.F.

-

-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable

-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread

-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project

-Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may

-contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate

-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other

-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or

-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or

-cannot be read by your equipment.

-

-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right

-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all

-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal

-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT

-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE

-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE

-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE

-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR

-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH

-DAMAGE.

-

-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a

-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can

-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a

-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you

-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium

-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you

-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in

-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person

-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second

-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If

-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing

-without further opportunities to fix the problem.

-

-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth

-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO

-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT

-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

-

-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of

-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement

-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the

-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or

-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or

-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the

-remaining provisions.

-

-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the

-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone

-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in

-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the

-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,

-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of

-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this

-or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or

-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any

-Defect you cause.

-

-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of

-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of

-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It

-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations

-from people in all walks of life.

-

-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's

-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will

-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure

-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future

-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see

-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at

-www.gutenberg.org

-

-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation

-

-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit

-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the

-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal

-Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification

-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by

-U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

-

-The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,

-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up

-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website

-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

-

-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg

-Literary Archive Foundation

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without

-widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of

-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be

-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest

-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations

-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt

-status with the IRS.

-

-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating

-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United

-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a

-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up

-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations

-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND

-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular

-state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we

-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition

-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who

-approach us with offers to donate.

-

-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make

-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from

-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

-

-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation

-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other

-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To

-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-

-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be

-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and

-distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of

-volunteer support.

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed

-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in

-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not

-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper

-edition.

-

-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search

-facility: www.gutenberg.org

-

-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,

-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to

-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 68164 ***
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+No. 134
+
+BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY
+
+IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH
+
+BY FRANK SHERIDAN
+
+[Illustration]
+
+STREET & SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY
+
+We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of adventure
+for boys by this name because we felt assured that it was “bound to
+win” its way into the heart of every true American lad. The stories
+are exceptionally bright, clean and interesting. The writers had the
+interest of our boys at heart when they wrote the stories, and have not
+failed to show what a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do.
+Remember, that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any
+other series. We give herewith a list of those already published and
+those scheduled for publication.
+
+PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK
+
+To be Published During September
+
+  136--Spider and Stump                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  135--The Creature of the Pines                By John De Morgan
+  134--In the Volcano’s Mouth                   By Frank Sheridan
+  133--Muscles of Steel                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+
+To be Published During August
+
+  132--Home Base                            By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  131--The Jewel of Florida                     By Cornelius Shea
+  130--The Boys’ Revolt                  By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  129--The Mystic Isle                             By Fred Thorpe
+  128--With the Mad Mullah                      By Weldon J. Cobb
+
+To be Published During July
+
+  127--A Humble Hero                            By John De Morgan
+  126--For Big Money                               By Fred Thorpe
+  125--Too Fast to Last                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  124--Caught in a Trap                  By Harrie Irving Hancock
+
+  123--The Tattooed Boy                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+  122--The Young Horseman                     By Herbert Bellwood
+  121--Sam Sawbones                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  120--On His Mettle                               By Fred Thorpe
+  119--Compound Interest                 By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  118--Runaway and Rover                        By Weldon J. Cobb
+  117--Larry O’Keefe                        By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  116--The Boy Crusaders                        By John De Morgan
+  115--Double Quick Dan                            By Fred Thorpe
+  114--Money to Spend                    By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  113--Billy Barlow                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  112--A Battle with Fate                       By Weldon J. Cobb
+  111--Gypsy Joe                                By John De Morgan
+  110--Barred Out                                  By Fred Thorpe
+  109--Will Wilding                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  108--Frank Bolton’s Chase              By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  107--Lucky-Stone Dick                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+  106--Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe  By Frank Sheridan
+  105--Fatherless Bob at Sea                By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  104--Fatherless Bob                       By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  103--Hank the Hustler                            By Fred Thorpe
+  102--Dick Stanhope Afloat              By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  101--The Golden Harpoon                       By Weldon J. Cobb
+  100--Mischievous Matt’s Pranks            By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   99--Mischievous Matt                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   98--Bert Chipley                             By John De Morgan
+   97--Down-East Dave                              By Fred Thorpe
+   96--The Young Diplomat                By Harrie Irving Hancock
+   95--The Fool of the Family               By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   94--Slam, Bang & Co                          By Weldon J. Cobb
+   93--On the Road                              By Stanley Norris
+   92--The Blood-Red Hand                       By John De Morgan
+   91--The Diamond King                         By Cornelius Shea
+   90--The Double-Faced Mystery                    By Fred Thorpe
+   89--The Young Theatrical Manager             By Stanley Norris
+   88--The Young West-Pointer            By Harrie Irving Hancock
+   87--Held for Ransom                          By Weldon J. Cobb
+   86--Boot-Black Bob                           By John De Morgan
+   85--Engineer Tom                             By Cornelius Shea
+   84--The Mascot of Hoodooville                   By Fred Thorpe
+
+
+
+
+In the Volcano’s Mouth
+
+
+  OR
+  A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY
+
+  _By_ FRANK SHERIDAN, _author of_ “_Bert Fairfax_,”
+  “_Through Flame to Fame_,” “_Life-Line Larry_,” “_Lion-Hearted
+  Jack_,” _etc._
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS
+  79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  Copyright, 1890
+  By Norman L. Munro
+
+  In the Volcano’s Mouth
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. MADCAP MAX.
+
+
+“All aboard!”
+
+“All but passengers ashore.”
+
+The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent palace
+steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and Oriental Line, sounded all
+along the Southampton docks, up the streets to the old gates, and even
+penetrated into some of the business houses of the quaint old English
+town.
+
+The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton, was one of
+serious import to those gathered on the deck of the steamer.
+
+Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a long one, and it
+is known the absence is for years, the last words are always tearful.
+
+On the deck stood two men, alone.
+
+Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed on their journey.
+
+And yet tears filled the eyes of both.
+
+The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as that of any
+mulatto, his long, white mustache standing out in startling contrast to
+the color of his skin.
+
+He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his hard muscles, and
+firm walk, would rather betoken a man of forty.
+
+By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in appearance,
+but perhaps only because of the contrast to his father; there was a
+brightness in his eyes which betokens an active spirit, and although so
+effeminate-looking, when he clinched his hand one could see the strong
+muscle rising beneath the sleeve.
+
+The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile firm of Gordon,
+Welter & Maxwell, of New York.
+
+The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called Max by those who
+are intimate with him, and “Madcap Max” by his closest companions.
+
+Gordon, Welter & Maxwell were interested in Egyptian produce, and for
+many years Maximilian Gordon had been a resident of Alexandria.
+
+His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been compelled to live
+in England, where young Max had been educated.
+
+The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and had just completed
+arrangements for them to return to Egypt with him when cholera broke
+out, and he arrived home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in
+death and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.
+
+Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English coast, which
+was by this time fast receding, their eyes were filled with tears, for
+they were leaving a plot of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a
+wife’s and mother’s grave.
+
+Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left the English
+Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted lad once again, laughing,
+chatting and larking with everyone he came in contact with.
+
+His father could not hide his grief so easily, but showed by his manner
+how nearly broken was his heart and ruined his life.
+
+When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were reached, Max had
+given plentiful evidence of his love of practical joking, and showed
+that he fully deserved his sobriquet of Madcap.
+
+One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.
+
+This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of Max, and was easily
+induced to adapt itself to the ways of the fun-loving youth.
+
+One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s nightcap, which he
+had obtained from a stewardess, and told Jocko he must lie in a certain
+bed.
+
+The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor, who declared
+that women and children were a nuisance.
+
+When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his utter astonishment,
+a head resting on his pillow.
+
+Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his room, shouting
+“Steward!” at the top of his voice.
+
+“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer, startled by the
+frantic shouting.
+
+“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”
+
+“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”
+
+“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the vessel if the
+offender is not punished.”
+
+“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer Tunley.
+
+“Of course--but when? Why, in a week’s time, when everyone will have
+easily forgotten--no, sir, come at once.”
+
+“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence, that it may have
+been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale----”
+
+“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate----”
+
+“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned, and three bottles
+of strong ale, are likely to disturb the vision.”
+
+“I’ll report you, sir--mark me, I’ll report you. Come, now, to my room,
+and if there is not a nigger baby there I’ll eat my hat.”
+
+“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”
+
+By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had fled the room, and Max
+had stripped the cap from its head.
+
+The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning, as if it enjoyed
+the joke.
+
+The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.
+
+“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his bed.
+
+“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer, with proud
+indignation. “Take care, sir, that it does not occur again.”
+
+The passenger was speechless.
+
+Another day, when the steamer _L’Orient_ was being tossed about in the
+most fantastic manner, sometimes taking a swift pitch forward, then
+curving and twisting in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a
+baseball pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for a pleasant
+diversion.
+
+A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board, to enable the
+company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.
+
+Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and saw them, with
+one accord, make for the saloon.
+
+That was just what he wanted.
+
+A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her horror she fell
+on the back of a pig, who set up such a squeaking and squealing that,
+although the passengers were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.
+
+After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria was sighted.
+
+“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob. “I am glad I have to
+stay at Alexandria, for _L’Orient_ is the worst disciplined ship I was
+ever in.”
+
+The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on board.
+
+And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths of the trouble
+was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.
+
+“Do we land here?” asked Max.
+
+“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”
+
+“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes still wider with
+astonishment.
+
+“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down at Alexandria.”
+
+“I am so glad.”
+
+Several scores of boats surrounded _L’Orient_, manned by swarthy and
+not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen or so seized upon Max and his
+father and literally dragged them to a boat.
+
+On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr. Gordon whispered
+to Max:
+
+“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your own.”
+
+“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full of fun as an
+undertaker.”
+
+“For your own sake be careful.”
+
+“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.
+
+
+When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers met them.
+
+No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the face of the earth
+than these same Arab donkey boys.
+
+They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost intuitively.
+
+An American who had never been in Egypt before, was looking at the
+surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers with wonder, when one of them
+pushed forward and addressed him as follows:
+
+“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is the one Pasha
+Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”
+
+“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only ride on Hail
+Columbia?”
+
+Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by Alexander three
+hundred and thirty-three years before the birth of Christ.
+
+Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the donkeys halted,
+and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.
+
+“This is home.”
+
+“Do you live here, dad?”
+
+“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our journey to-morrow.”
+
+Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone to that wonderful
+monolith of granite called “Pompey’s Pillar.”
+
+He sat down to think.
+
+He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and now he was actually
+looking on one of the wonders of that old country.
+
+Suddenly he heard a cry.
+
+It was like a girl’s voice.
+
+Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the sound.
+
+He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl--her face half covered
+with a white veil--rushed past him, shrieking and crying.
+
+“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.
+
+Two men were in pursuit.
+
+Max never stopped to think.
+
+He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did so, or whether it
+would be wise to interfere, he struck one of the Arabs to the earth,
+and threw himself against the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow,
+with muscles like iron.
+
+That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong, but he was
+unaccustomed to foul play.
+
+When, therefore, he found that the man he had knocked down had risen
+and drawn a long, sharp dagger, with which he threatened his life, Max
+saw the unwisdom of his defense of the Arab girl.
+
+A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his back brandishing a
+dagger, was enough to frighten an older man than Max.
+
+The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max did not understand.
+
+He struck at the man in front of him and made him stagger back, then
+with a quick movement, he stooped as he turned and caught the armed
+Arab round the legs, throwing him over his shoulder.
+
+He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought discretion better
+than valor. Using his legs as well as he could he ran away, only to be
+stopped by the girl he had--as he thought--rescued.
+
+She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly--though in an
+unknown tongue to Max--held him fast until his pursuers were close upon
+him.
+
+With a wild shout they seized him, and would have speedily rendered
+him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.
+
+A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in the prime of life,
+slowly and with deliberation took hold of one of the Arabs and flung
+him on one side.
+
+Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded him and
+the girl to go, and that quickly.
+
+“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.
+
+“Have I? Is it worth saving?”
+
+“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose it.”
+
+“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about Alexandria without
+weapons.”
+
+“What did they want with me?”
+
+“They would have captured you, and held you until ransomed.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“You are not rich, you would say. What does that matter? A ten-dollar
+gold piece would seem a fortune to them. The girl practices that scream
+on hundreds of unsuspecting foreigners.”
+
+“You speak of American money; are you from the States?”
+
+“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world, a cosmopolitan.”
+
+“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.
+
+“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved your life, prove
+that your life is of some value.”
+
+The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented streets of that
+city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting the admiration of all to
+the savage beauty of that
+
+  “Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;
+   Brow-bound with burning gold.”
+
+Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and almost was inclined
+to doubt, for he was at that age when the laughing black eyes of a girl
+fascinate and lure, sometimes to ruin.
+
+Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from the Arabs.
+
+He saw that night how much his father was respected, but he saw that
+which made his heart sad. His father was bowed down with grief.
+
+And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion as strong as his
+love of life.
+
+When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only eight summers of
+life, all had seemed roseate.
+
+Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon accompanied her husband
+to Egypt; but at the end of three years the malarious climate had
+rendered it impossible for her to live there, and she returned to
+England to be near Max.
+
+For seven years the husband had only been able to spend three months in
+the year with the wife he so loved.
+
+Then came the time when once more the mother of Max was ready to brave
+the treacherous climate of Egypt.
+
+How the husband had looked forward to that time, and with what
+pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything to please her was
+obtained.
+
+Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no wonder that Mr.
+Gordon should feel most wretched when he returned to his Oriental home,
+and knew that she would never grace it with her presence.
+
+His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him there was anxiety,
+for the stern business man--the successful merchant had only seen the
+frivolous side of his son’s life.
+
+To him he was the madcap.
+
+To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous lad, whose
+thoughts were of fun and amusement.
+
+Early next morning they took train to Cairo.
+
+How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think of traveling by
+a railroad in that country, so famous in Bible stories!
+
+The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous fancy of traveling
+by means of steam through Egypt and Palestine:
+
+  “Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!
+   Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”
+
+has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor shout out:
+“Gizeh--all out for Gizeh,” on the route between Alexandria and Cairo.
+
+At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon roused up, and
+told Max of the slaughter of the Mamelukes--that wonderful body of men
+who, from being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.
+
+“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed Ali, in 1811, was
+organizing his expedition against the Wahhabees, he heard that the
+Mamelukes designed to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their
+chief to be present at the investiture of his son with the command of
+the army.
+
+“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After receiving a most
+flattering welcome they were invited to parade in the courtyard of the
+citadel.”
+
+“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to impress them with his
+generosity?”
+
+“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled within its lofty
+walls; the portcullis fell behind the last of their glittering array;
+too late they perceived that their host had caught them in a trap, and
+they turned to effect a retreat.
+
+“In vain.
+
+“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred windows and
+blank, pitiless walls.
+
+“But they saw more.
+
+“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from those muskets
+incessant volleys were poured.
+
+“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage worthy of the
+past history of the Mamelukes.
+
+“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms, and stood waiting
+for death.”
+
+“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.
+
+“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But some, with angry
+brows, drew their swords and charged upon the gunners.
+
+“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the withering fire did
+its deadly work.”
+
+“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.
+
+“Only one escaped.”
+
+“How did he manage it?”
+
+“Emin Bey--for that was his name--spurred his Arabian charger over a
+pile of his dead and dying comrades. He sprang upon the battlements;
+the next moment he was in the air; another and he released himself from
+his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of bullets.”
+
+“What became of him?”
+
+“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and finally escaped
+into the desert.”
+
+“Is he dead?”
+
+“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged man at that time, and
+that is over seventy years ago.”
+
+“Had he any sons?”
+
+“I believe so. Why do you ask?”
+
+“Because I would like to see any of his descendants. I would like to
+speak to them. It would be a proud honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate
+salt, with the grandson of Emin Bey.’”
+
+“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”
+
+“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”
+
+Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the merry, happy,
+careless boy.
+
+“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than slave hunters or
+pirates now.”
+
+“I hope you are wrong, dad.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. IN A DESERT TOMB.
+
+
+The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes filled Max with a
+restless ambition.
+
+He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go “far from the madding
+crowd,” into the midst of the wild residents of the Dark Continent.
+
+Like those who believe the American Indians to be a grand race,
+persecuted without reason by the dominant power, so Max looked upon the
+residents of the Dark Continent as being a superior people.
+
+He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his boyish ideas would
+be laughed at, but he spent all his waking moments dreaming dreams of
+the savages of the jungles.
+
+The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was something too
+civilized about the houses.
+
+The lattices--which covered the windows instead of glass--pleased him,
+and many a time would he catch a glimpse of some white brow of a lady
+fair through the interstices of the lattice, and would feel like
+
+  “The lover, all as frantic
+   Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”
+
+It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the wonders of the
+city--save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis--had been seen, and these
+had to be left to a future visit, for business called the merchant
+back to Alexandria.
+
+Max pleaded for one more day--or at least that their journey should be
+deferred until the morrow.
+
+He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun, where existed the
+university at which Moses was educated, and the daughter of one of
+whose professors Joseph married.
+
+And so Mr. Gordon yielded.
+
+Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore tree, hollow, gnarled
+and almost leafless, beneath the branches of which tradition says that
+Joseph and Mary rested with the infant Christ in their flight into
+Egypt.
+
+The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand years, was
+gazed at by young Madcap with a certain amount of awe.
+
+It was dark before Max was ready to return.
+
+Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr. Gordon, to please
+Max, dispensed with the guides who had been good for nothing save the
+receipt of backsheesh, and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their
+right.
+
+They had not gone far before they came upon a number of wild-looking
+fellows, half Arab, half Nubian--a species of creature which is
+interesting as a study at long range, but whose acquaintance is not
+desirable.
+
+“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.
+
+“We must pass them.”
+
+“Is it safe?”
+
+“No, Max, far from it.”
+
+“Then why not retrace our steps?”
+
+“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”
+
+“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”
+
+“We might, but they would help these fellows rather than us in order to
+share the backsheesh.”
+
+While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed a circle round
+them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.
+
+Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers closed in and stood
+shoulder to shoulder in firm and solid phalanx.
+
+“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.
+
+“Money,” was the reply.
+
+“You shall have all I have got with me.”
+
+“Hand it over.”
+
+Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand, but no sooner had he
+put his hand into his pocket than they suspected danger.
+
+“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your hands!”
+
+It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back ocean’s tidal waves
+with a broom as to oppose the demands of those robbers of the desert.
+
+Mr. Gordon raised his hands.
+
+“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English was intelligible.
+
+Max raised his hands as he was commanded.
+
+Every article of value was taken from them, and the robbers seemed to
+be satisfied.
+
+“Sit down!” the chief commanded.
+
+“What for?” asked Max.
+
+But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart blow on the cheek
+which caused him to reel.
+
+That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered the blow with
+another.
+
+The chief interfered and stopped the fight.
+
+“Sit down!”
+
+Again Max pluckily asked:
+
+“What for?”
+
+“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”
+
+“Are you?”
+
+“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding, even to the
+death.”
+
+“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his eyes flashed with
+defiance.
+
+“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are bidden; it will be
+better so.”
+
+But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused, and he turned to
+his father almost angrily.
+
+“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am an American, and I
+will not obey such a command without knowing the reason.”
+
+“You are a fool!”
+
+It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand such a speech, and he
+rushed at the strong Arab chief, aiming a blow which, had it struck the
+man on the temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an expert
+boxer.
+
+The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was caught round the legs
+and thrown to the ground.
+
+A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and he was rendered
+powerless.
+
+“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a sneer.
+
+“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max, defiantly. “Frightened
+of a boy less than half your age. Oh! you are a brave chief, are you
+not?”
+
+“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”
+
+“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.
+
+“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.
+
+“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send that young fool
+there”--pointing to Max--“with one of my men for twenty thousand
+piasters, and when he returns with it, both shall go free.”
+
+Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand dollars.
+
+“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.
+
+“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too much,” answered
+the chief, pointing with his dagger at Max.
+
+“But he cannot get the money.”
+
+“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it you shall die.”
+
+Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.
+
+He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with bandits such as these,
+and that the authorities made but a poor pretense of suppressing the
+lawless bands.
+
+He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He knew he had
+wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.
+
+One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and instantly all was
+in commotion.
+
+The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to the back of donkeys.
+
+The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away from the vicinity of
+the city at a speed that Max could not believe a donkey was capable of
+maintaining.
+
+But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed the secret of
+making the native donkey forget its natural laziness and go with the
+speed of a well-trained mule.
+
+“Where are we going?” asked Max.
+
+He was answered by a slap across the face, which nearly capsized him.
+
+“Another word and the body of the American shall be but carrion.”
+
+“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was trembling with fear.
+
+The chief led the way across a sandy desert.
+
+The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting sand look like
+so much dazzling silver.
+
+It was a scene of weird grandeur.
+
+In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments of a past
+civilization, which are alike the envy and the wonder of the world.
+
+The procession seemed to be winding round the city at an increasing
+distance, and nearing the pyramids.
+
+Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.
+
+The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he enjoyed it.
+
+If he could but have talked to the chief--if he could have been free,
+his happiness would have been complete.
+
+But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.
+
+He dare not speak, and could not act.
+
+Before he was aware of it the scene changed.
+
+He could not understand in what way at first.
+
+The sand was there, the moon was shining, although not so brightly, but
+he could not see the pyramids.
+
+The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him that they had
+entered a broad, inclined road, and were descending below the level of
+the sandy desert.
+
+Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s rays were no longer
+seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed donkeys walked forward.
+
+Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was over and
+between great rocks.
+
+Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had to be passed,
+and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently traversed the
+uncertain road.
+
+“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.
+
+His voice sounded like a shout, although he had spoken under his breath.
+
+The stillness of the place was awful.
+
+Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.
+
+He began to think that the road he traveled led to death.
+
+But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere seemed to
+change.
+
+He could breathe freely.
+
+There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did not seem so
+much like that of the grave.
+
+“Halt!”
+
+The command was given in English, and all understood it.
+
+Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence of ceremony,
+Max and his father were dragged from their donkeys and thrown with
+unnecessary violence on the ground.
+
+Then again all was still.
+
+Were they alone?
+
+Max could not endure the silence any longer.
+
+“Dad!” he called out.
+
+A blow on the head reminded him that speech was forbidden.
+
+What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians--whatever nationality
+they might be--could see in the dark.
+
+He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of the night.
+
+The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds seeming like an
+hour, every hour as long as a day.
+
+With an almost supernatural quickness a score of pitch torches were
+lighted, and Max saw that he was in a great cave.
+
+Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every direction.
+
+One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the blocks of granite
+had been fashioned by man, and brought to that cave at some period of
+Egypt’s greatness.
+
+He looked round for his father, and screamed with horror when he saw
+the bronzed face of the only relative he had all covered with blood.
+
+When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey, his head struck a
+sharp piece of granite, and was severely wounded.
+
+The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered him to be lifted
+tenderly into the center of the cave.
+
+Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet had been again tied
+together.
+
+“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”
+
+The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was on his lips.
+
+“Max--I--am--going--av----”
+
+Was he going to say “Avenge me?”
+
+Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the dying man’s mouth, and
+the bandits commenced a wild, weird dance round the body.
+
+Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max and tried to speak,
+but either the cloth still prevented him or his voice was hushed by the
+great shadow of death which was over him.
+
+A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s soul had gone into
+the “Great Beyond” to join that of his loved wife.
+
+Max knew he was now alone.
+
+He could not weep.
+
+His eyes were hot as burning coals.
+
+If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they would ease him;
+but no, his eyes were dry and his brain seemed scorched.
+
+His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak it appeared to
+fill up his mouth.
+
+The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet, and instinct
+told him that he was alone--alone with the dead.
+
+Not a sound disturbed the silence.
+
+A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.
+
+“What if he were left there to starve to death beside his father’s
+body?”
+
+Madcap Max was not a coward.
+
+He had no real fear of death, but he would rather meet the great
+destroyer on the open field, or in any way but that slow struggle in
+the solitude of a big grave--a death from starvation.
+
+The strongest soul would quake.
+
+The hours passed along.
+
+Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter who may wish to
+stay them.
+
+Max began to think of other things besides death.
+
+He wondered how he could escape. And if he did, how could he avenge his
+father’s death?
+
+Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.
+
+Youth had conquered.
+
+Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have been a raving maniac.
+
+Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,” came
+to his relief and saved his reason.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. UNDER THE PYRAMID.
+
+
+Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.
+
+When the visions of the night visited his brain, they shaped themselves
+in pleasing form.
+
+He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the sight seemed
+stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared to Max that the foul
+murder committed by Mohammed Ali was necessary--that from that murder
+would spring the regeneration of Egypt.
+
+Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that the brave Mameluke
+still lived, and was at the head of an all-conquering army, overcoming
+French and English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt from
+foreign rule.
+
+And as all this passed before the mental vision of the sleeping
+American boy, he thought that by the side of the conqueror he rode--not
+as he was then, a beardless youth, but with bronzed face and flowing
+beard--a turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed carried
+by his side.
+
+Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not dead, but living,
+and successful as a merchant. By his side was the wife whose love had
+been so lavishly given to her husband and her son.
+
+The sight of his father and mother brought tears to the dreamer’s eyes,
+and caused him to wake.
+
+It was some time before he could bring back to his memory the events of
+the preceding day.
+
+When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.
+
+Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it still in the cave?
+
+Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and escape from that
+living tomb?
+
+“Hush!”
+
+Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank of a gust of wind?
+
+Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.
+
+He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did not speak.
+
+“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”
+
+“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone mad?”
+
+He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the darkness.
+
+“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness with a
+vengeance.”
+
+“Dost thou want to die?”
+
+The question came out of the darkness and sounded afar off, yet Max
+could almost fancy that the breath of the speaker fanned his cheek.
+
+“Who is that speaks?”
+
+“Question not my name.”
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”
+
+The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft as a whisper.
+
+“Am I then under the pyramid?”
+
+“That is how thou wouldst express it.”
+
+“Will you aid me to escape?”
+
+“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”
+
+“Nay--thou art a woman.”
+
+“_Wah Illahi sahe!_”
+
+(By Allah, it is true.)
+
+“I would not harm thee.”
+
+“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the prophet that
+thou wilt not seek revenge.”
+
+“The price is too great.”
+
+“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”
+
+“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent tone, which
+sounded almost ridiculous in the dark, but which would have been the
+signal for a burst of applause from the gallery of a theater had an
+actor so uttered the words on a stage.
+
+All was still as the grave.
+
+He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the cord cut into the
+flesh.
+
+His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for death.
+
+“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned, aloud, as the
+agony of the thought took possession of his mind.
+
+“Help!”
+
+He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back mockingly:
+
+“Help!”
+
+He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint echo of his words.
+
+“I shall die,” he groaned.
+
+“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.
+
+His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh with boisterous
+guffaws.
+
+It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.
+
+The echo answered back.
+
+The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.
+
+“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning force on the
+rock.
+
+When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet breath of air was
+blowing on his face.
+
+He was being fanned.
+
+He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze might cease.
+
+The fanning continued until at last he could bear the silence no longer.
+
+“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.
+
+“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri, wilt thou follow me?”
+
+“I will.”
+
+By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its glare Max saw the
+horrible cave to which he had been removed by some unknown hands.
+
+Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and blocks of red granite
+in endless confusion.
+
+But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw--
+
+A girl.
+
+She was not what the fashionable world would call lovely.
+
+Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s wing.
+
+Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her head, almost like a
+halo of glory.
+
+Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle was a massive
+band of silver similar to those she wore on each arm above the elbow.
+
+Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could scarcely believe but that
+it was a phantasm of the mind which was before him, and not a living
+entity.
+
+She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might her wand, and in
+a voice of rare sweetness said:
+
+“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”
+
+“I am bound,” answered Max.
+
+Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she pointed laughingly at
+the severed cords, and again she said:
+
+“Come! Follow me!”
+
+“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.
+
+“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”
+
+The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange thrill to pass
+through him.
+
+“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the light.
+
+“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.
+
+And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange creature who had found
+him alone and suffering in the cave beneath the great pyramid.
+
+Followed! But where?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. GIRZILLA.
+
+
+With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl, Madcap
+Max followed her, without asking any question until she suddenly
+extinguished the torch.
+
+“Why did you do that?” he inquired.
+
+The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously placed her hand over
+his mouth and held it there so tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.
+
+He struggled to release himself, but she was strong, and to add to her
+power, she whispered:
+
+“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”
+
+However disagreeable it might be it was better to have a pretty girl’s
+hand over his mouth than to be killed, and therefore Max made no
+further resistance.
+
+A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks, attracted his
+attention.
+
+“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.
+
+“Yes; what is it?”
+
+“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek thee.”
+
+“And if they find?”
+
+“Will kill. I will save, if----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress and follow. The least
+noise may seal thy fate and mine.”
+
+“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”
+
+“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I am Girzilla. Let
+that be my name.”
+
+“I will call thee Gazelle.”
+
+“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”
+
+Whoever the girl with the strange name might be, she evidently knew her
+way, for never once did her foot slip, although Max found his ankles
+turning every minute, and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress,
+which, though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen cord, he
+would have fallen frequently.
+
+“Sit down!”
+
+The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in the nature of a
+command.
+
+Max did as ordered, and sat in silence--a silence so great that he
+could hear the beating of his heart, and fancied that he could also
+distinguish the pulsations of his guide’s organ of life at the same
+time. The silence was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and
+restless.
+
+“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I confess this is
+the strangest,” he mused.
+
+“To save thee, thou must go through the place of the dead.”
+
+The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral that
+Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.
+
+“Hast thou courage?” she asked.
+
+“I--h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with nervous fear of
+the unknown.
+
+“Come!”
+
+Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla walked slower than
+before.
+
+Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it made him groan with
+pain.
+
+“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.
+
+Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.
+
+He could not go back, for he did not know the way, and he dare not go
+forward alone, for he was afraid.
+
+Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed softly and
+murmured:
+
+“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she will save him.”
+
+Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher than his knees, he
+followed as well as he could.
+
+Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a glimmer of light
+showed that the sun had risen again, and found some crevice through
+which it sent its heavenly rays.
+
+Gradually the light increased, and the road became better.
+
+The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes on his feet
+drying up, and even baking.
+
+He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered his tender feet.
+
+High up above him was an opening, through which the light and heat came.
+
+“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone from
+there”--and Girzilla pointed upward--“would make thee fit for a mummy.”
+
+Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned to ice, and he was
+almost afraid to glance upward.
+
+“Where are we?”
+
+“Under the temple of great Isis.”
+
+“Under?”
+
+“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost stand.”
+
+“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious passages, but I am
+hungry and cold.”
+
+“Just now thou wert hot.”
+
+“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”
+
+“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee where thou canst
+rest.”
+
+A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway gave place to
+a large plateau, on which huge bowlders were scattered promiscuously.
+
+Scattered--apparently too large for human hands to move, and yet they
+bore evidence of having been transported thither.
+
+They were of red granite, while the native rocks were of a different
+stone.
+
+Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite blocks, but he
+quickly left his seat.
+
+He leaped away as though he had been stung by a viper.
+
+Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his annoyance.
+
+The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor Max felt he would be
+baked or fried if he stayed there a minute.
+
+Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and began scratching
+away the sand.
+
+“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was sulking since she had
+laughed at him.
+
+“The way we must go is under this stone.”
+
+“Under that stone!” repeated Max.
+
+“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go through it.”
+
+The girl was right.
+
+The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze herself through,
+while the madcap declared he would not descend.
+
+“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”
+
+The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to follow the girl,
+though in doing so he tore his clothes and scratched his face.
+
+But once down, he was amply repaid.
+
+The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere of which was
+charmingly cool.
+
+Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on an open
+sarcophagus.
+
+She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing nothing, and having
+no superstitious dread of sitting on the stone coffin, wherein was
+dust, which had once been molded in human form.
+
+“I have food here.”
+
+“Food?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Here?”
+
+“Yes; art thou not hungry?”
+
+“I am. But the place is a tomb.”
+
+“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”
+
+“Have been buried here, you mean?”
+
+“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those who would kill him,
+and sought refuge here.”
+
+“Tell me of him.”
+
+“He fought--oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right and left with his
+scimiter, and when he got tired he spurred his horse and made a run for
+liberty.”
+
+“Did you know him?”
+
+“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked coquettishly at
+Madcap.
+
+“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”
+
+“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier, a Mameluke----”
+
+“What! Was it Emin Bey?”
+
+“That was how he was called.”
+
+“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he any sons? Tell me, I am
+all impatience.”
+
+“I see you are; but you must eat.”
+
+This houri of the caves--a strange child of the desert--pushed aside
+the lid of another sarcophagus and took therefrom a piece of confection
+known as Turkish delight.
+
+She offered it to Max, but he turned away.
+
+Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with all the ardor
+with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.
+
+“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another bite.
+
+Approaching close to Max she held the confection close to his mouth,
+and he was tempted to take a small piece.
+
+It was so appetizing that he asked for more.
+
+When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some bread--cakes baked
+in the sun, not in an oven--and some fruit, but what kind it was Max
+did not know.
+
+He ate heartily and felt refreshed.
+
+But he was thirsty.
+
+Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most delicious sherbet
+he had ever tasted.
+
+When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that he must stay there
+until she came for him.
+
+“Am I to be here alone?”
+
+“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape for thee.”
+
+“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”
+
+“I have my reasons.”
+
+“And will you not tell me?”
+
+“I heard thee speak to him who is not----”
+
+“You mean my father?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“When?”
+
+“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to eat salt with the
+sons of Emin Bey.”
+
+“And are you interested?”
+
+“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant of Emin and he
+will restore Egypt to its greatness--I have said it, and the prophet
+hath spoken.”
+
+“And will you help me?”
+
+“If I can. I--had--another--reason----”
+
+Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked confused, and
+really blushed.
+
+“And that was----” asked Max.
+
+“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even though I lose thee.
+I will prevent thy enemies taking thee, even if thou spurned me ever
+after. Oh! how shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever saw,
+and--I--love--thee.”
+
+Before Max could recover from his astonishment she had fled.
+
+Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as she was, she felt
+she could not meet the eyes of the youth to whom she had confessed her
+love.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. WAS IT AN ECHO?
+
+
+When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and that self-interest,
+at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable to attempt to escape, he
+began to look about his strange abode.
+
+Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.
+
+She was refined and educated--of that there could be no doubt.
+
+She had said she had several names, but only one had she given him.
+
+What did the word mean?
+
+It had some special significance--of that he was sure.
+
+Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient language of the
+Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient Syrian?
+
+How did she overhear his conversation about the Mamelukes?
+
+“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head growing dizzy
+with puzzling over the matter.
+
+“How long am I to remain here?”
+
+There was no one to answer the question, so it had to remain still in
+the realm of doubt.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+That query he could answer with a positiveness that could not be
+controverted. He was in a tomb.
+
+At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got accustomed to the
+idea. After eating and drinking there, much of the superstitious fear
+had left him.
+
+“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am tired and exhausted.
+The sand man has been about a long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my
+eyes, up my nostrils, down my throat, in my ears--the sand man has done
+his work this time. What was that?”
+
+Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to be alone in
+a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise, and to be nearly
+suffocated with dust, to have the torch knocked over--fortunately
+not extinguished--would be sufficient to set the strongest nerves
+quivering, and make the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise
+his head.
+
+He was afraid to open his eyes.
+
+Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion was caused by a
+huge bat trying to escape from the inhabited tomb.
+
+Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage enough to lift up the
+torch, which had nearly burned itself out.
+
+If his torch went out, what was he to do?
+
+He was far from being a madcap at that time.
+
+But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits rising, perhaps
+aided considerably by his eyes suddenly perceiving another torch.
+
+“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh, old fellow?”
+
+Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies in the place?
+
+He lighted the torch, and began to look round his prison house.
+
+On the walls--which had once been smoothed by sculptor’s skill--were
+the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
+
+“These old fellows believed in having their tombs beautiful!” exclaimed
+Max, aloud.
+
+And the words had scarcely left his lips when his hair began to rise on
+his head, for he heard a voice add, with sepulchral emphasis:
+
+“Beautiful!”
+
+“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own voice.
+
+“There!”
+
+“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it was startling,
+especially when the voice of the tomb repeated the last syllable:
+
+“Oh!”
+
+But the sturdy young American laughed; and the whole tomb seemed alive
+with demoniac mirth, as the walls beat back the loud guffaws of the
+youth.
+
+“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.
+
+“Mad!” repeated the echo.
+
+With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent for a time, afraid of
+the echo, and yet not afraid to continue his search.
+
+Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables was a
+sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not been opened.
+
+Here was something to do.
+
+He resolved to open the stone casket.
+
+The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid was not fastened
+down, and Max was able to push it on one side.
+
+He brought over a torch so that he might the better look into the huge
+cavern-like coffin.
+
+When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by the cloths, was
+that of a woman.
+
+“Who can it have been?” he wondered.
+
+And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to unwrap the body,
+which may have been hidden from the world two or three thousand years,
+and present the mummy to his strange girl friend.
+
+Max was now in his glory.
+
+He had something to do, and at the same time his spirit of mischief was
+aroused.
+
+He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened if she entered and
+saw a mummified Egyptian looking at her.
+
+It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that was all that Max did
+it for.
+
+He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily, but when he came
+to the second, he found that the ancient Egyptians knew how to make a
+strong bandage, for every fold had to be cut with his knife.
+
+Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of corn.
+
+The latter interested him, for while the grains looked like wheat, the
+general appearance was that of barley, only there were seven ears on
+every stalk.
+
+“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to America I’ll plant
+it and see if embalmed wheat will grow.”
+
+As this thought passed through the mind of the daring young desecrator
+of the dead, he began to whistle “Yankee Doodle.”
+
+The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled the more
+distinct was the echo.
+
+Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its depths as the
+thought crossed his mind that men who had been buried there thousands
+of years before America was known to civilization were, through the
+echo, joining in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”
+
+“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but I’d rather be an
+American citizen than----”
+
+“A mummy.”
+
+That was no echo.
+
+It was a human voice.
+
+Max could stand no more.
+
+His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning, his lips
+were parched.
+
+“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the floor, scattering
+the dust of centuries and causing the tomb to be filled with a cloud,
+suffocating and unpleasant.
+
+When he recovered consciousness he was still lying on the floor, but
+his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and she was fanning him with a palm
+leaf which she had brought in with her.
+
+“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”
+
+“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”
+
+“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”
+
+“I thought----”
+
+“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered the voice which
+perished before Isis’ great temple was built. You silly--silly boy. But
+what were you doing?”
+
+There was so much nineteenth century life about Girzilla that Max
+thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.
+
+He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she chided him for doing
+it.
+
+“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so high,” she said,
+placing her hand about two feet above the floor.
+
+“You have!”
+
+“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to you.”
+
+“You were?”
+
+“Did I not say so?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing you found?”
+
+“I did not see any.”
+
+“I placed some there.”
+
+“When?”
+
+“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I placed it there.”
+
+“Where did you find it? What is it about?”
+
+“I don’t know; I could not read it.”
+
+“Get it for me.”
+
+“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy, and holds me down.”
+
+“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”
+
+“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using an Egyptian
+metaphor which in more modern English would mean: “You are a
+flatterer,” or “You have kissed the blarney stone.”
+
+Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought to be, so he sprang
+to his feet and reached over into the casket, drawing therefrom a
+package of papers which were decidedly modern.
+
+The language was a strange one to him, however, and his only hope was
+that once away from the strange tomb he might find some one who could
+translate the document for him.
+
+He had become an ardent Egyptologist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. SPLENDID HEROISM.
+
+
+“We will leave here at once.”
+
+There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:
+
+“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”
+
+“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I must search for
+Emin’s race.”
+
+“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”--god of the
+sun--“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart must be rent in twain.”
+
+“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore thy family to the
+powerful throne?”
+
+“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses care not for my
+people.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness. Girzilla
+will take thee from thine enemies and will return to the tomb.”
+
+“You are sad.”
+
+“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”
+
+Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot, scalding tears poured
+from his eyes.
+
+She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly a week ago.
+
+A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had not been able
+to weep.
+
+The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than any other thing
+could have done.
+
+Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him weep, for she knew
+the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.
+
+Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.
+
+With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon herself as the
+consoler of the bereaved one, because she had been present when his
+eyes first opened to the great sorrow.
+
+When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.
+
+She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.
+
+“Follow me,” she said, coldly.
+
+“Nay, stay a while.”
+
+“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be free?”
+
+“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored this tomb.”
+
+Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes flashed with
+scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly, causing the muscles upon
+her arms to distend until the silver armlets must have cut into the
+flesh.
+
+Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.
+
+“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and carry away its images,
+destroy its old ruins, ransack the temples, overthrow the gods, and,
+not satisfied with that, dare even to desecrate the tombs!”
+
+“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.
+
+“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even though I knew I
+might die in thy place.”
+
+“What mean you? Are you in danger?”
+
+Girzilla laughed bitterly.
+
+“Danger!--how silly you are!” And then, changing her manner, she added:
+“Have you any sense? Do you Franks ever think? I know these men who
+brought thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold and slit
+your nose--that they would slowly kill thee. Like the bird of prey
+looking for its victim were they. I saved thee--wilt not the vulture
+turn upon me? Thou knowest I shall die if I am caught.”
+
+There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner which seemed to
+raise her from the apathetic lazy Egyptian race and elevate her to the
+level of the American.
+
+Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned him to be silent.
+
+“I have been here since I was so high”--again measuring two feet from
+the ground. “Did I ever take the sacred bandages from the bodies of
+the embalmed? Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour without
+desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee--Osiris will return and
+claim his own.”
+
+Max listened.
+
+He was charmed.
+
+What a splendid actress this girl would make!
+
+What a magnificent woman she was!--and yet in years she could be only a
+girl.
+
+“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed in them,” Max
+ventured to say.
+
+“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape--if thou wouldst find the
+son’s son of Emin, get thee ready and I will lead thee to the desert,
+the way that Emin traveled.”
+
+“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”
+
+“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and when thou art safe I
+may go.”
+
+She turned away her head to hide her tears.
+
+Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from a sarcophagus a
+scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor, a knife with double edge,
+keen as a dagger, and a small stiletto.
+
+These she handed to Max.
+
+“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared to leave the cave.
+
+“Come, and quickly.”
+
+“I have offended thee----” Max commenced, but Girzilla had scrambled
+through the opening, and could not hear what he was saying.
+
+She led him across the burning sands; at every step his feet seemed to
+be blistering. There was no shade save from the great bowlders, and
+they were so hot that it was unpleasant to approach them.
+
+On she went, keeping in advance of the American.
+
+Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted to speak she
+motioned him to be silent.
+
+It was like a new country--a land without inhabitants.
+
+Where were they?
+
+So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living thing to be
+seen.
+
+Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting sand, but never
+stopping.
+
+Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too proud to suggest it.
+
+The sun was high in the heavens.
+
+The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.
+
+Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.
+
+He walked along mechanically.
+
+All control over himself appeared to be lost.
+
+Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving, without the power
+to stop.
+
+His eyes no longer saw the sand--they were hot and glassy with the
+glare of the sun.
+
+Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in front of him.
+
+Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.
+
+That was more eloquent than words.
+
+Girzilla was by his side in a moment.
+
+A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and some water was
+poured down the youth’s throat.
+
+She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when he was helpless
+and suffering, she could not resist.
+
+She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin might not blister.
+
+He was unconscious.
+
+“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”
+
+Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the heat--she was
+accustomed to it.
+
+“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the man she referred to
+was many miles away.
+
+“I will try.”
+
+The speech was in answer to her thoughts.
+
+Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped over the prostrate form
+of Madcap Max, and raised him as if he were a child.
+
+Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.
+
+She carried him a few steps.
+
+The perspiration ran in streams down her face.
+
+The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.
+
+She had to rest.
+
+Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards or so.
+
+It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die if she left him
+there.
+
+She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again took him in her
+arms.
+
+But her strength gave out.
+
+She fell with her burden on the hot sand.
+
+Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the battle.
+
+She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.
+
+The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on until she had
+scraped away the sand a foot deep.
+
+Into this hole she rolled Max.
+
+The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence, but Girzilla
+cared not, if Max were but safe.
+
+She looked for something to shelter him.
+
+Nothing could be seen.
+
+With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen blouse which was
+the only covering of the upper part of her body, and sprinkling it well
+with water, laid it over the youth’s face.
+
+Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American, was exposed to
+the torture of the heat.
+
+The thermometer must have registered a hundred and fifty degrees, but
+Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and waited.
+
+She had placed herself in a position between the sun and Max.
+
+Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent heroine,
+shielded the American from the rays of the Egyptian sun.
+
+Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her skin. A slight
+breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across her, but it carried
+myriads of sand flies and atoms of sand with it.
+
+The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked the blistered
+flesh.
+
+The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.
+
+Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise, but a look of
+self-denying heroism crossed her face, and she remained still.
+
+“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and that was enough.
+
+He must be saved at all costs.
+
+Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts became more
+indistinct.
+
+She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.
+
+But if it would save him, she was satisfied.
+
+She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his forehead.
+
+Her garment was still there, shielding his face from the sun.
+
+“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she moaned.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SHERIF EL HABIB.
+
+
+“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his prophet.”
+
+The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet, and had
+prostrated himself, bowing before the setting sun.
+
+“Allah be praised!”
+
+The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate on the carpet.
+
+In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting for their chief
+to rise.
+
+When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked in the direction
+of the setting sun, bowed his head once more, and sat down on the sand
+to put on his sandals.
+
+The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.
+
+Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the manner of the
+chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most picturesque appearance.
+
+Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and folded up the carpet,
+placing it with great care on the back of a camel, which had been
+brought forward.
+
+The chief--Sherif el Habib--walked away from his servants, his
+companion being a youth, fair as a girl, but strong as a lion.
+
+“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to the youth.
+
+“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”
+
+“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine eyes have not seen the
+glory of his coming.”
+
+“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at Cairo?”
+
+“And why not?”
+
+“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through the lattices
+would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered Ibrahim, smiling, as
+he uttered the words.
+
+“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the holy prophet spoken
+of the Prophet of prophets, who should come and restore the ancient
+glory of Egypt, and after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the
+crescent and Mahomet in every land?”
+
+“But why do you think he has come now?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet say out to me:
+‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou the sea and go as I direct thee,
+and thine eyes shall see the glory of the last _imaum_’--leader--‘the
+rise of the Mahdi of whom I spake.’”
+
+“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed the Red Sea,
+wandered about these deserts for months, deserted the towns and left
+the pretty girls--I beg pardon--all because of a dream.”
+
+“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material. Is there nothing
+better than making shawls?”
+
+“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to Alexandria, to
+Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh, uncle, you are rich; give up
+these dreams, and let us enjoy life.”
+
+“Ibrahim, how old are you?”
+
+“Eighteen, uncle.”
+
+“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years and all my wealth will
+be thine; then thou canst journey whither thou pleasest. But I have a
+mission. When I go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have
+seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”
+
+It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that before the end of
+the world there shall arise a mahdi--literally, a director who shall be
+of the family of Mahomet, whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and who
+should fill the world with righteousness. For six hundred years the
+Mohammedans have been expecting their messiah to appear.
+
+“As thou wilt, uncle, but----”
+
+Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried salaam of
+Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential eunuch and secretary.
+
+“What is it, Effendi?”
+
+“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful girl hath
+fainted, and with her----”
+
+“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”
+
+“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou----”
+
+“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as you do. Go along, I
+care not for all the girls of Egypt.”
+
+Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech, for he had hurried
+away with Effendi.
+
+The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where Madcap Max had
+fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.
+
+Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and seemed strangely
+disturbed.
+
+He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and found that both
+were alive.
+
+“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then, turning to
+Effendi, he motioned him to follow.
+
+Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack a small bottle.
+
+On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which, if translated
+into good United States language, would signify that the contents were
+known to be that strange result of modern research, chloroform.
+
+Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:
+
+“It is my will that these people should go with us in a sleep as of
+death; do thou with this as is usual.”
+
+Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents on two pieces
+of linen, he returned to the Arab girl and Max and placed the linen
+over their mouths. When the fumes of the chloroform had done their work
+effectually he called some of the attendants, and ordered them to place
+Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.
+
+“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low salaam.
+
+“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.
+
+Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim alone.
+
+“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”
+
+“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was the reply.
+
+“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the youth, “I should
+declare that you were mad.”
+
+“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of the celestial, and
+now mine eyes have been directed to the approach of the great mahdi. In
+my dreams I heard a voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed.
+The guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct thee.’
+Now did not this mean this youth and maiden? this brother and sister
+who were asleep and awaiting me?”
+
+“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love adventure; but I
+hope we shall return alive.”
+
+“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”
+
+The caravan started.
+
+More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of them carried
+baggage, tents, and provisions, the other eighteen bore upon their
+backs the bodyguard of Sherif el Habib.
+
+Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same camel, being
+fastened to basket paniers, one on either side of the animal.
+
+As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will take the
+opportunity of more fully introducing the party to our readers.
+
+Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was known as the most
+prosperous shawl manufacturer of all Persia.
+
+He gave employment to over a hundred men, and Sherif el Habib’s Persian
+shawls had been worn by the empresses and queens of the world.
+
+Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way. According to the
+custom of his land, he had several wives.
+
+In the palace of the Sherif--for this shawl manufacturer was ranked
+as a prince--every contrivance had been resorted to to render the
+happiness of the ladies complete.
+
+Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet long by thirty
+feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen feet of water in depth.
+
+By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water was so nicely
+regulated that a stream to the depth of four feet was always flowing
+through the bath.
+
+This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses, and was so
+delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating pleasure to bathe.
+
+One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were disporting
+themselves in the bath, when by some accident the working gear got out
+of order and the water began to rise.
+
+The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.
+
+Gradually the water increased in volume until it was six feet deep.
+
+How merrily the ladies laughed!
+
+How delighted they were at this new experience!
+
+They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the bath.
+
+Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and made fun of each
+other.
+
+They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults as though
+they were amphibious animals.
+
+The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was water-tight, so that
+should Sherif el Habib at any time desire the whole fifteen feet of
+depth to be flooded, no water could escape into the other parts of the
+palace.
+
+When the ladies had grown weary they made a move to leave. But they
+were tired.
+
+The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.
+
+One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be loved, was so
+exhausted that she begged one of the others to save her.
+
+Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance, but Lola clung
+so tightly to her that both became exhausted and sank, never to rise
+again in life.
+
+The others shrieked for help.
+
+No one heard them.
+
+They could not stand on the sides. The steps were slippery as glass,
+and could not be ascended.
+
+The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water was in the bath.
+
+When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the bathers, burst open the
+door, he was almost swept away by the overflow of the water.
+
+His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating on the surface
+of the water were the dead bodies of all his wives.
+
+Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled until he
+thought of his sister’s orphan child, the young Ibrahim, who was living
+in Teheran.
+
+From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart was centered on
+Ibrahim.
+
+European teachers were engaged, and by the time the young Persian was
+seventeen years old he could speak English, German and French fluently,
+besides having a good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental
+languages and dialects.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. IBRAHIM AND MAX.
+
+
+When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that he was about to make
+a pilgrimage.
+
+It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet at Mecca,
+across the Red Sea, and after exploring the wonders of Luxor, Carnac,
+and ancient Thebes, go up the Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.
+
+It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and his heart beat
+so fast with expectancy that his uncle feared he might bring on a
+nervous fever. When Mecca was reached Sherif was so full of religious
+fervor that he began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the
+annoyance and yet amusement of Ibrahim.
+
+Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced that he was to
+be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan Messiah. When Cairo was
+reached he said to Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they
+would cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.
+
+As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure, with
+plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with his uncle’s ideas, and with
+but few murmurings agreed to leave civilization behind and go into
+the interior of that land of mystery--the great deserts of the Dark
+Continent.
+
+But we must return to our caravan.
+
+The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.
+
+The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but he had learned enough
+of his uncle’s ways to be assured that he would fall into disgrace if
+he dared to intrude on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.
+
+The caravan stopped.
+
+The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and after devotions the
+meal for the evening was spread.
+
+Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.
+
+They had been lifted with tender care from the camel, and laid down
+under the best and largest tent.
+
+Girzilla was the first to awake.
+
+She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she imagined she was
+dreaming.
+
+Again the temptation was so great that she gently raised her eyelids,
+and saw that the tent was hung with Oriental silk drapery, while a
+thick Persian carpet had been spread upon the sand.
+
+There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.
+
+Where could she be?
+
+Where was Max?
+
+Raising her head she saw on the other side of the tent another carpet,
+and on it reclined the form of Max.
+
+Should she awaken him?
+
+A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession of her, and she
+was determined to do all she could to remain near him.
+
+Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance of the tent.
+
+She was utterly bewildered.
+
+A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.
+
+Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds--others were asleep.
+
+Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded with jets of
+brilliant light.
+
+The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a soothing
+influence pass over her.
+
+With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst forth into poetic
+declamation.
+
+Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the most beautiful
+imagery, she apostrophized the sky and the stars, speaking of the sky
+as the million-eyed goddess, looking down through the millions of stars
+on the earth, and directing the destinies of men.
+
+She thought she was unheard, but standing in the shadow of a tent was
+Ibrahim.
+
+He was entranced.
+
+“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More eloquent than the
+houris of Istaphan! Speak to me, and tell me who thou art.”
+
+Girzilla heard the voice.
+
+It was not that of Madcap Max.
+
+Who, then, could be speaking?
+
+All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ, champ, champ of
+the camels.
+
+Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded him in
+darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate into the blackness.
+
+“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.
+
+“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness, should be able
+to see, though the clouds were blacker than the tomb, and thy soul,
+which speaks through thy lips, should divine that one who loves the
+music of thy mouth is near to thee.”
+
+Girzilla made no answer.
+
+She could not understand her surroundings.
+
+All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.
+
+To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that ’twas but a vision
+of the night, she returned silently to the carpets and fell asleep.
+
+The chloroform had not lost all its power.
+
+Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer him.
+
+“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached the tent.
+
+But Girzilla was asleep.
+
+“My own gazelle----”
+
+Max moved uneasily.
+
+“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make thee a throne
+upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my heart.”
+
+“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah, I remember! I died out
+on the sand. Girzilla was with me. Where is she? Is this death? I am
+very comfortable. Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”
+
+Max pinched himself and smiled.
+
+“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t sand. By the great
+Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am in a tent. I have it--I am not dead,
+but only kidnaped. I’ll get up and have a look around.”
+
+“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son of Iran hear the
+liquid notes that pour from the throat of my gentle gazelle.”
+
+“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.
+
+He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept close to the side of
+the tent until he reached the opening.
+
+“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could----”
+
+“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”
+
+Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim went heels over head
+into the sand.
+
+“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.
+
+To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.
+
+“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much strength?”
+
+“Who are you?” asked Max.
+
+“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”
+
+“Well, Mr. Abraham----”
+
+“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.
+
+“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you. If it isn’t, I am
+also the madcap, and I can fight as well as talk. How do you feel?”
+
+“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the sand?”
+
+“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean I know----”
+
+“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion displayed by
+Max.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan: and I am
+Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”
+
+“Where is Girzilla?”
+
+“Who is that? Your sister?”
+
+“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my----”
+
+“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is the sweetest music
+mine ears have ever heard?”
+
+“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked Max, abruptly.
+
+“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”
+
+“I don’t care who you are.”
+
+“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he is a sheriff, a
+policeman, or a soldier.”
+
+Ibrahim laughed.
+
+He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the Persian Sherif with
+the English sheriff amused him.
+
+“You don’t understand--that is my uncle’s name.”
+
+“Fetch him here and let me see him.”
+
+Ibrahim was astounded.
+
+The way Max spoke was something for which he was not prepared.
+
+The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted with the
+morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and white tents, Max was
+dazzled.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief, Sherif el Habib.
+My uncle found you dying, and he brought you and your sister here.”
+
+“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands--that is what we do in England and
+America----”
+
+The youths clasped their hands.
+
+“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.
+
+“I hope so.”
+
+“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.
+
+“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”
+
+“We shall be comrades?”
+
+“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”
+
+“Have you a mother?”
+
+“Alas! no,” answered Max.
+
+“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone--I have no one but my
+uncle.”
+
+“I have no one at all.”
+
+“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother. But who is she?”
+
+“I told you--she is my guide.”
+
+“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a beauty, as lovely as
+she is eloquent, and as poetic as the birds which fly above the gardens
+of Paradise.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. THE PETRIFIED FOREST.
+
+
+Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla that Ibrahim
+refrained from approaching her, not because he had conquered the
+passion he felt for her, but entirely out of respect for the madcap.
+
+Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he told him that he
+was on a pilgrimage to find the promised mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw
+himself into the work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever
+in fate.
+
+Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as she could see Max
+she was satisfied.
+
+Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her other than Max’s
+sister.
+
+In this way the journey was continued into the desert of Lybia.
+
+All had been tranquil.
+
+No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims, and Max
+began to yearn for adventure.
+
+Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as a young elephant,
+and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to tire her.
+
+One day a forest was sighted.
+
+For many days not a leaf, not a tree--no, not so much as a blade of
+grass, had been seen.
+
+The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers as is a rain
+shower to the parched earth.
+
+It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so impetuous was
+the spirit of the two youths that they obtained permission to go in
+advance of the party, and while Sherif el Habib rested--for he was
+getting to look jaded and tired--they would investigate and return to
+report.
+
+Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward, joyously.
+
+They were both well armed, and carried enough rations to last them four
+days.
+
+It was noon on the following day before they were near to the forest.
+
+Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.
+
+But there was something weird and strange about the trees.
+
+Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.
+
+They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing the clouds, as
+it were, but not a sign or movement was visible.
+
+A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not a bough swayed,
+not a tree bent its head before the wind.
+
+“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked forward at the
+unbending trees.
+
+“They look more like stone than wood,” commented Ibrahim.
+
+“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”
+
+There was another peculiarity noticeable.
+
+Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.
+
+So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance to the blazing
+rays of the sun, and ran forward.
+
+Max was the first to reach a tree.
+
+The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in diameter, as
+straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without leaves.
+
+Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.
+
+“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”
+
+“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,” answered Max.
+
+“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”
+
+“Feel for yourself.”
+
+“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree must be burning.”
+
+Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke in two, and no
+impression was made on the tree.
+
+Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same result.
+
+A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with the hafts of
+their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced them that they had
+discovered a freak of nature--a veritable petrified forest.
+
+It was true.
+
+Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its allegiance from
+the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.
+
+Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to stone.
+
+There was something appalling in those great stone statues.
+
+How many ages had they stood there?
+
+What action of nature had changed them from living, sap-flowing trees
+into blocks of granite, having only the appearance of their former
+reality?
+
+Ibrahim was scared.
+
+His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on the ground.
+
+“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not afraid of these big
+stones, are you?”
+
+Ibrahim did not answer.
+
+He was awe-stricken.
+
+“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s name very
+materially.
+
+It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have remained prostrate
+had not some counter irritant appeared.
+
+A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck the trees,
+glancing off close to our young explorers.
+
+“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us have a look at
+you,” shouted Max.
+
+He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole forest seemed alive.
+
+It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet not a living
+creature had the explorers seen before.
+
+Where did all these savages come from?
+
+The savages were something superlative.
+
+They were almost as naked as when they came into the world.
+
+Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking clay.
+
+The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks; two heavy
+bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms, just above the elbow;
+and on each wrist was a bracelet or ring, in which, by some cunning
+device, sharp pieces of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had
+been inserted. These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in a
+fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the manner of spears,
+only that they had four arrows in each hand--held between the fingers
+so that the heads of the arrows were stretched out fan shape.
+
+The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.
+
+The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.
+
+They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim understood.
+
+“We are in for it,” said Max.
+
+“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why did I ever come?”
+
+“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they mean to do.”
+
+The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled at times to
+dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened to mar the beauty of their
+faces, they were so near.
+
+“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned
+revolver--a weapon which must have been one of the first ever made, so
+primitive was its construction. It had been given to Max by Sherif el
+Habib, who believed it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.
+
+Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping from tree to tree, so
+he put back his revolver and raised his rifle, a more modern and more
+reliable weapon.
+
+The savages stood still.
+
+Surely this must be some magician or medicine man who had come among
+them.
+
+That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for they stood
+watching and waiting.
+
+But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.
+
+Carefully taking aim, Max fired.
+
+The savages screamed as they heard the report, and the monkey dropped
+dead.
+
+As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows were gathered
+together and held under the left arm.
+
+“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to escape.”
+
+“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”
+
+The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly the naked,
+ugly representatives of the genus man, as known in the petrified
+forests of Lybia, disappeared, leaving only the chief and perhaps a
+dozen to guard the white explorers.
+
+A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive; every man had
+brought a woman with him.
+
+The women were more repulsive looking than the men.
+
+Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction, while all over
+their bodies deep furrows had been plowed out of the flesh.
+
+At a signal all began dancing. The men at every movement struck the
+women with their spiked bracelets, and soon the black bodies of the
+females were dripping with blood.
+
+But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed heartily when they
+managed to escape a more than usually vicious blow from their loving
+husband’s spiked bracelet.
+
+“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.
+
+“I am afraid not.”
+
+“I would like to kill the savages.”
+
+“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it----”
+
+“Or run away.”
+
+“Let us try.”
+
+No sooner suggested than attempted.
+
+The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike rushed after the
+runaways, capturing them easily, and holding them firmly until the
+dance was finished.
+
+When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another command.
+
+An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with only a few hairs on
+her head, was brought from some mysterious place and placed against one
+of the stone trees.
+
+Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he wanted Max to
+shoot her.
+
+To make the madcap understand, he took the dead monkey and held it in
+front of the old woman, then raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun,
+and pointed it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.
+
+Max shook his head.
+
+The gesture was not understood.
+
+The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the rifle to the
+madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise with his lips as he did so.
+
+“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I shoot his nibs here.”
+
+“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the slang expression.
+
+Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was given.
+
+The old woman had fallen forward--dead.
+
+Fright had killed her.
+
+But the savages believed that the white man’s magic had ended the poor,
+old creature’s life.
+
+Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.
+
+Songs of triumph--in gibberish which might mean anything--dances of the
+most grotesque kind were indulged in, and it was plain to be seen that
+these poor savages were nearly mad with joy.
+
+When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered to Ibrahim:
+
+“Let us run--but as we do so we had better point our guns at the
+fellows; then they won’t follow.”
+
+Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows started.
+
+The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.
+
+A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.
+
+Max turned and raised his rifle.
+
+What a change took place!
+
+Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young men, a hundred backs
+could be seen, and every savage was trying to break the world’s record
+in running, not toward the explorers, but away from them.
+
+Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned, the American
+would never have been able to point the gun at them.
+
+“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”
+
+Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon been above the
+forest, he would have seen a hundred savages fleeing in one direction,
+as though pursued by a regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys
+they were afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.
+
+
+When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they easily persuaded the
+Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the petrified forest and its savage
+occupants.
+
+Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an oasis.
+
+After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was pleasant to get
+among the tall marsh grass.
+
+It seemed strange that such a difference could exist in so short a
+distance.
+
+Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to be found, and
+then suddenly the sand would cease, and a patch of swampy ground,
+perhaps covering twenty square miles, would be entered upon.
+
+The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.
+
+There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation visible; no water
+could be obtained, even by sinking deep wells.
+
+Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered ankle deep with
+water.
+
+Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height, yams were found in
+abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables in plenty.
+
+A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme of much talk and
+great bewilderment.
+
+“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif el Habib.
+
+Max looked at it intently.
+
+“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so thirsty it drinks
+itself all dry,” he said, speaking so seriously that his friends
+thought he must have evolved from his inner consciousness some new fact
+in nature.
+
+Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child paddling in the surf
+at the seashore.
+
+“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed, and when asked to
+repeat, she replied:
+
+“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”
+
+The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything about her
+parentage or kith.
+
+She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max and his friends.
+
+She never seemed to have a thought away from them.
+
+The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the water, but after
+loading up with the refreshing liquid, they treated the water with
+haughty disdain, treading lazily along without a care.
+
+Following the banks of the stream they found the grass getting greener,
+but shorter, and the water less deep.
+
+After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they reached a little
+hillock well adapted for encampment, being perfectly dry, and the grass
+green and soft.
+
+But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for the tents to be
+pitched, Max came running back to his friends, declaring that there
+were plenty of savages to keep them company.
+
+Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided by Max, went to look
+at the savages.
+
+Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle, tended by
+naked natives.
+
+The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives moved about, they
+appeared as if they were in water.
+
+Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly they did so.
+
+He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored Africans
+shouted for joy.
+
+Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.
+
+Every bone showed through their skin, and they were evidently half
+starved.
+
+They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when it happened to
+die of sickness.
+
+“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted to think that he
+could make himself understood.
+
+“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.
+
+The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the natives casting the
+harpoon at random among the reeds; thus, out of several hundred casts,
+they might, by good luck, catch one fish.
+
+The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and Sherif sent for him.
+
+A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared, accompanied by two
+women.
+
+Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and a skull cap of
+white beads, with a crest of white ostrich feathers; but the mantle
+which was slung across his shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.
+
+He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the other as his daughter.
+
+“What want you?” asked Klatch.
+
+“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif el Habib, solemnly.
+
+“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending the question.
+
+It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.
+
+The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning appear.
+
+At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his daughter by the
+shoulders, gave her a push toward Sherif.
+
+“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”
+
+Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.
+
+“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will you do with her?”
+
+Sherif was amazed.
+
+His religious fervor was dampened.
+
+He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter, but the chief
+could not, or would not, understand.
+
+A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl, and then giving
+her back again to her father.
+
+When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick green turf, and
+all the party--save only Effendi--slept soundly.
+
+As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to kill his master,
+and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least only allowed himself short
+intervals of sleep.
+
+When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the morning, he saw the
+chief’s daughter lying across the entrance fast asleep.
+
+She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor girl felt that she
+would be far happier with the white man than with her own people.
+
+All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small gourd shells to
+receive gifts of corn.
+
+Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved blacks
+fell down before him and kissed his feet.
+
+Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own account, by
+offering to purchase a bull or a cow.
+
+But the natives would not sell.
+
+Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal, unfortunately a
+sacred bull.
+
+He was instantly surrounded by the natives who howled and yelled at
+him, threatening to tear him in pieces and drink his blood.
+
+He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe had a sacred
+bull, who was supposed to exert an influence over the prosperity of the
+flock.
+
+The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with tufts of feathers and
+strings of shells, which jingled as he moved along.
+
+Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the cattle kraal,
+bidding him keep the cows from straying, and to see that they found the
+best grass, so that they could give the most milk.
+
+It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.
+
+Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so disturbed his
+people.
+
+When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s death.
+
+“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.
+
+“Then he dies,” answered the chief.
+
+Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no amount of beads
+or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase a sacred bull.
+
+Max must die.
+
+Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.
+
+The natives said he had speared him.
+
+“Where is my spear?” asked Max.
+
+They pointed to his gun.
+
+He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.
+
+The bull was dead.
+
+That did not admit of any doubt.
+
+But how did it die?
+
+Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill a cow, if he could
+do so without a spear.
+
+Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but still better than an
+old musket.
+
+He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder, the natives
+watching him. There was a puff of smoke, a flash, a loud report, and
+the cow dropped dead.
+
+It was a miracle.
+
+“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated some good beefsteaks
+as his reward, picked off a bull who was looking at him very steadily.
+
+As a reward for these miracles Max was given the first bull, and the
+other dead animals were divided among the natives.
+
+After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey, Klatch and the
+entire tribe pleading hard to go with Sherif.
+
+When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey, Sherif found the
+chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent. She had followed in the distance
+and under cover of the night reached the pasha’s tent.
+
+Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and he threatened
+to use force to compel her.
+
+She explained that according to the custom of her people she would be
+killed.
+
+If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his bargain, the girl
+must die.
+
+“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.
+
+The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but Sherif was
+obdurate, and when she did return it was easy to see that she expected
+she was going to her death.
+
+Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party of pilgrims never
+discovered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. “WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”
+
+
+“I would like to know where that river empties itself,” said Max.
+
+“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered Sherif el Habib,
+good-naturedly.
+
+“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.
+
+“What says Girzilla?”
+
+Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.
+
+She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer, and had told him
+she believed that Mameluke blood ran in her veins.
+
+This set Sherif thinking.
+
+The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from the Caucasus.
+
+When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom in 1517, he was
+compelled to allow twenty-four of their number to remain governors of
+provinces.
+
+Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared that at least three
+of them were descended from the Prophet Mahomet.
+
+To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important step, for he would
+have the record of his race, and might direct the pilgrims to the
+mahdi, who was shortly expected.
+
+Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed Mameluke
+blood, for she would know the signs and signals which bound together
+that most powerful body of men.
+
+The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret signs, and possessed of
+all the fraternal strength of the Free Masons.
+
+That was the reason Sherif asked the question:
+
+“What says Girzilla?”
+
+The girl smiled, sadly.
+
+“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead. I am thy slave, do
+with me as thou wilt--I am thine.”
+
+“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong to anyone,
+’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”
+
+A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face, and she bent
+down her head.
+
+“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not care for the
+dark--I am dark----”
+
+“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon. “I do care for
+thee, Girzilla. I----”
+
+“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with thee--but it is
+great Sherif el Habib who is the master. As he pleases so I wilt do.”
+
+Had this child of the desert, around whose life there was so much of
+mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry and flattery?
+
+She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he become, that he
+took Max on one side, and in a mysterious manner whispered:
+
+“I have solved it.”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Girzilla.”
+
+“Have you discovered who she is?”
+
+“No, but who she is going to be.”
+
+Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins of his face.
+
+In a whisper he asked:
+
+“Who is she to be?”
+
+“Ibrahim shall marry her.”
+
+The union would be a good one. The marriage of a Persian with an
+Arabian could not be considered a _mesalliance_, at least as regards
+race; but to Max there was a certain pride of rank which would be
+outraged.
+
+Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla nothing; the
+Persian took rank as a pasha in his own land, while who knew anything
+about Girzilla?
+
+The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles betokened rank, but
+might not her father be a bandit, and bedecked his child with them?
+
+Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection to Max’s
+mind, for he could not help thinking that, perhaps, she was educated to
+serve as a decoy for the robber band.
+
+Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s silence.
+
+“If thou wouldst marry her yourself----”
+
+“I, an American, marry an Arab?”
+
+“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you of all men
+oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”
+
+“And why?”
+
+“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that the great
+strength of your nation laid in the fact that you declared and
+recognized ‘that all are born free and equal.’”
+
+Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted with that very
+difficulty before.
+
+His father had told him that instead of being a reality, the present
+generation treated the time-honored declaration as a theory, very
+beautiful, but impractical.
+
+Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of Merchant Gordon.
+
+Max knew not what to answer.
+
+He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not want the bone,
+he was angry at any other dog getting it, and so Max, while he would
+not marry Girzilla, was furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim
+claiming her as his wife.
+
+Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders were given to
+follow the course of the stream.
+
+For four hours the march was continued through the long grass.
+
+It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the sand.
+
+After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire prevented them from
+following the stream, and they had to make a detour to the right.
+
+The river was kept in sight, however, and for two days it could be seen
+flowing briskly along toward the realm of illimitable sand.
+
+“Where is the river?” asked Max.
+
+The mystery increased.
+
+The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.
+
+It was true.
+
+All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.
+
+The green grass was to give way to dry sand.
+
+That did not surprise them.
+
+They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a little stream,
+rising from springs at one end of the rectangular oasis, had swollen
+into a river, whose rippling waves showed a strong current, and when
+some great lake was expected, or another river, of which it might be
+tributary, nothing was found but sand.
+
+“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.
+
+“What do you mean?”
+
+“Why, we only imagined the river.”
+
+“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.
+
+Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the best of it.
+
+“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water must empty itself
+somewhere.”
+
+“Of course.”
+
+“Well, where does it go to?”
+
+“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.
+
+“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but that we are on the verge
+of a great discovery?”
+
+“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world as the mighty
+explorers who found the river Ibrahim, which had its rise in an atom of
+sand, and flowed into the lake of nothing.”
+
+Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the shoulder.
+
+“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You should go as the great
+Persian pasha, warranted genuine; while I would introduce you----”
+
+“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib, coming up at the
+time; “and if I were your age----”
+
+“So you are, pasha,” said Max.
+
+“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I would find a way to
+solve the mystery.”
+
+“May we try it?”
+
+“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”
+
+“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.
+
+“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. DANGEROUS JESTS.
+
+
+Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in the oasis, and being
+supplied with provisions enough for several months, agreed to wait for
+the return of the young explorers.
+
+No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp than they felt like
+boys.
+
+They were their own masters, and not only that, but they had two Arabs
+with them as stewards and porters.
+
+Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient form, and the four
+started.
+
+Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very thing not to do, for
+Max was venturesome, and when freed from restraint a perfect madcap.
+However, Ibrahim believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed
+that Max should be captain.
+
+The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat, and to it they
+went.
+
+A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it, but a few beads
+and a china doll were considered a princely recompense, and Max became
+the owner of the boat.
+
+He asked the native where the river led to, and was told that in the
+great quagmire was a fire that had been burning for hundreds of moons,
+and it took all the water to keep the fire down; if the water stopped
+the whole world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:
+
+“Even Klatch would be burned.”
+
+And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so frightened that
+Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
+
+“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”
+
+“We are going to see it; will you come?”
+
+“No, no.”
+
+“Will give you beads.”
+
+“No.”
+
+“China doll”--holding another up to view.
+
+“No, no, no!”
+
+The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the very
+personification of fear.
+
+The boat was a good, strong dugout.
+
+A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been hollowed out
+with rude tools.
+
+This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of canoe or boat known in
+Africa.
+
+There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out of a pure spirit
+of mischief, determined that the naked native should be one of the
+party.
+
+The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the arms and legs and
+lifted him into the boat.
+
+The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of those terrible agues
+so prevalent in some countries, and which makes one:
+
+  “Shake! shake! shake!
+   Shudder, and cower, and quake,
+   Till every nerve has its separate quiver,
+   And every sinew its separate shiver,
+   And every bone its particular ache;
+   For either he or the chill must break!
+
+  “Shake! shake! shake!
+   Till joints are loose and sinews slack,
+   Till every bone is a torturing thing,
+   And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,
+   While up and down the weary back
+   An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,
+   Marches along the spinal column.”
+
+That was just how poor, wild Klatchman--as he called himself--felt when
+he was lifted into the boat and held there by fear that Max would kill
+him if he attempted to move.
+
+The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell by gestures to the
+cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe and his kindred.
+
+The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat seemed to fly along.
+
+The water was rough.
+
+At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it were a paper
+shell.
+
+The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but rather to prevent it
+going too fast.
+
+“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim was getting scared.
+
+“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in for mischief.
+
+“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:
+
+  “A life on the ocean wave,
+   A home on the rolling deep.”
+
+Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped out of the boat.
+
+A big, powerful fellow--swimming like a fish--he tried to reach the
+land.
+
+The current was too strong.
+
+He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.
+
+Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to jump out.
+
+“Don’t do it,” implored Max.
+
+But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that not only would the
+native perish, but that his Persian friend would be sacrificed also.
+
+“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”
+
+“And Klatchman?”
+
+“He will catch up to us.”
+
+Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to pull back to the
+place from which they started.
+
+A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.
+
+“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”
+
+“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good to give him a
+scare.”
+
+“Please save him.”
+
+Max laughed long and heartily.
+
+“How serious you are. One would think we were in the rapids of Niagara.”
+
+“My dear fellow--Klatchman is a human being----”
+
+“Is he?”
+
+“Of course he is.”
+
+“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”
+
+Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly heartless, but he
+was not.
+
+For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had played no practical
+jokes.
+
+Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and Ibrahim at the same
+time.
+
+That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman was in any
+danger he would have been the first to have even risked his life to
+rescue him; but in the first place he did not believe in the danger,
+and then he looked upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland
+dog--one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.
+
+“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be heartless, Max. Save
+the poor wretch.”
+
+Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned himself to his
+fate.
+
+He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.
+
+“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”
+
+Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled round at a furious
+rate.
+
+“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like a Fourth of July
+pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.
+
+Turning to the Arabs, he said:
+
+“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”
+
+“It is not safe, your excellency.”
+
+“Tush! do as you are told.”
+
+The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool, but no sooner
+had they changed the position of the boat than it seemed to fly over
+the water, borne along by some fierce current below the surface.
+
+“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.
+
+“I am afraid.”
+
+“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in for it now.”
+
+He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.
+
+It was useless to try and manage it.
+
+“Great Scott! What a race.”
+
+Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but even then he was
+more than delighted.
+
+There was the African whirling round in a smaller circle, while the
+boat was going equally fast in a larger one around him.
+
+“Jewilikins! what was that?”
+
+Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.
+
+The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the head that the poor
+creature’s brains were spattered all over the boat.
+
+“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.
+
+“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but I didn’t mean to
+do so.”
+
+“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”
+
+One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before either of his
+comrades or Max could reach forward to save him, he had fallen out of
+the boat and was dashed to pieces in the whirlpool.
+
+“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned, now thoroughly
+serious and alive to his fate.
+
+Was it imagination?
+
+Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the dizzying whirl
+of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become stationary?
+
+Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.
+
+The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to what had taken
+place.
+
+They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and the fury of the
+whirling waters had spent themselves.
+
+Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the Norwegian coast, the
+center was calm and still, while the outer rings were lashed everything
+with the greatest fury.
+
+Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one seemed to get
+tired and have a period of rest.
+
+“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim had seized the
+oar the dead Arab had let fall.
+
+Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the oars, and the
+boat moved as they willed it.
+
+“Change places with me--let me pull!” exclaimed Max.
+
+Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the rudely-shaped
+paddle from Max, which he had used to guide the boat in place of a
+rudder.
+
+The American was stronger than either the Persian or the Arab, and the
+force of his oar soon made itself felt.
+
+The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was reached, and Max
+uttered devoutly the words:
+
+“Thank Heaven!”
+
+While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:
+
+“Allah be praised! _Sin Syu!_”
+
+Which latter was equivalent to saying:
+
+“Allah be praised! I have said it!”
+
+“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.
+
+“No, nor don’t want to.”
+
+“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the Ibrahim.’”
+
+“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle, and--Girzilla.”
+
+“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian. How she will
+listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on sea and land.’”
+
+“Hush! we are drifting.”
+
+“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty miles an hour.
+Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”
+
+Max exerted all his strength.
+
+The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.
+
+On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their sinews were like
+huge cords stretched under the skin.
+
+“Snap!”
+
+And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and Ibrahim groaned
+aloud.
+
+An oar had broken.
+
+“The paddle, quick!”
+
+Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use it like an oar.
+
+In vain.
+
+The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants were at the
+mercy of the cruel river.
+
+Where was it taking them?
+
+Not to the whirlpool.
+
+That was passed long ago.
+
+They could see it again as they looked back.
+
+Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a mimosa tree, but
+his effort was in vain.
+
+“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian as he saw the
+face of the dead Arab close to the boat, with its eyes open, and
+peering into the face of the young chief.
+
+“It is horrible!” groaned Max.
+
+On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.
+
+The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.
+
+He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head scarcely
+wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together, and he awaited death.
+
+Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of the shadow of
+death, and had mentally wished his uncle farewell.
+
+As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to escape.
+
+And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.
+
+The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.
+
+All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the caravan had avoided.
+
+But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite could be noted.
+
+It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that was imagination.
+
+A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing in the water.
+
+“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching his breath, as he
+spoke.
+
+The boat tossed slightly.
+
+A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three occupants,
+was precipitated over a cataract, a seething cauldron of hissing,
+sputtering, bubbling water!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.
+
+
+The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge into the water
+beneath, had taken away their breath, and neither Max nor Ibrahim was
+able to speak.
+
+Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the sides of the
+dugout, and it was well that they did so, and maintained their grip
+like grim death.
+
+The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting itself, and its
+occupants got more baths in a few minutes than they cared for.
+
+They found the water quite warm, which was some consolation, for had
+it been icy cold they would have been unable to retain their hold upon
+the boat.
+
+How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of strange noises were made
+in its descent.
+
+To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals of thunder had
+impressed themselves on the tympanum of their ears. The Arab might have
+been a statue of marble.
+
+He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features were as rigid as
+death. He had his eyes and mouth closed tightly, and had it not been
+for the swelling of his bosom he might have been thought dead.
+
+Every time the boat was submerged it was carried further away from the
+cataract, and in a very few minutes--but the few minutes seemed an
+eternity--the water grew calmer and the boat more steady.
+
+Then it was that they opened their eyes.
+
+“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“Am I?” echoed Max.
+
+The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he answered in the
+negative.
+
+“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.
+
+“Why so?”
+
+“We cannot see.”
+
+“True.”
+
+“Is not that sufficient evidence?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because we may be underground.”
+
+“You mean----?”
+
+“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river, flowing under the
+desert.”
+
+“You mean it?”
+
+“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”
+
+“Perhaps so.”
+
+The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a ripple passed over
+its surface.
+
+And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.
+
+Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his appetite.
+
+“I am hungry.”
+
+“So am I.”
+
+“Let us refresh.”
+
+Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in waterproof
+covering, a precaution which should always be taken by explorers. One
+of the packages was unfastened from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly
+good repast was partaken by all three.
+
+“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full stomach.”
+
+“How do you feel, Selim?”
+
+The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner told his master that
+he felt bad.
+
+“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before I ate salt
+with your excellency I wanted to die, but now--I don’t like it at all.”
+
+The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had been removed from
+the thought of death. His appetite satisfied, his love of life grew
+stronger, and the very thought of his impending fate was horrible.
+
+“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.
+
+“What are you going to do?”
+
+“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded boat is so shaky I
+am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”
+
+Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim held one hand.
+
+Max raised the other above his head.
+
+He was trying if he could touch anything which would satisfy him that
+they were really drifting through a tunnel.
+
+But he could not reach anything. If he really were in a subterranean
+cave or passage, the roof was too lofty for him to reach.
+
+On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.
+
+Its occupants were victims of fate.
+
+They were without paddle or oar, and had positively no means of guiding
+or directing the boat.
+
+Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:
+
+“It is hot!”
+
+Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water was many degrees
+warmer than it had been.
+
+“What do you make of it?” Max asked.
+
+“That the air being more confined causes the water to be warmer.”
+
+“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The water ought to be
+colder.”
+
+“What is your theory?”
+
+“We are approaching a boiling spring.”
+
+“That is a pleasant reflection--see, can you discern anything?”
+
+Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.
+
+“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”
+
+“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered as to his
+choice of titles.
+
+“What is it, Selim?”
+
+“Fire!”
+
+“Where?”
+
+“Right ahead!”
+
+All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting, and saw
+unmistakable evidences of a big fire.
+
+“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,” said Max.
+
+“We are not blind, are we?”
+
+“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”
+
+The light from the fire was now so great that they could see the walls
+and roof of the immense tunnel they were in.
+
+The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of gems; huge
+stalactites hung from the roof, each one like a glittering diamond or
+dazzling emerald.
+
+The water was a river of precious stones, for every gem, every
+stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected in the clear, pellucid
+stream, giving it the appearance of a sheet of glass besprinkled with
+gems of the greatest value.
+
+“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!” Ibrahim exclaimed.
+
+“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,” said Max.
+
+“Why?”
+
+“I would make millions out of it.”
+
+“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”
+
+The perspiration poured from them in pints.
+
+They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and, as the vapor
+arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable rainbows in the cave.
+
+“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I shall jump overboard.”
+
+“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his hand into the water
+and felt that the skin had been taken off.
+
+Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird and unearthly, as
+he found the water was many degrees hotter than human flesh could stand.
+
+The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was none.
+
+“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”
+
+“By Allah! it is not so.”
+
+“Yes, it is.”
+
+“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”
+
+“But he did not know----”
+
+“Did you?”
+
+“No, but----”
+
+“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”
+
+“What are we to do?”
+
+“Say our prayers and die.”
+
+“I should like--you won’t mind, will you, Ib?--it is a custom--I should
+like to shake hands with you.”
+
+“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better now?”
+
+“Yes--and yours, Selim. We are all in the same boat.”
+
+They were nearly suffocated.
+
+The air was filled with sulphur.
+
+“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die like men.”
+
+The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited death.
+
+Each mumbled something--perhaps their prayers.
+
+“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.
+
+“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,” were the last
+words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he muffled up his face.
+
+Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference waited the
+solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.
+
+The boat began to rock violently. Something was agitating the water.
+
+“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.
+
+The Persian was unconscious.
+
+A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.
+
+How can it be accounted for?
+
+He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would be drowned.
+
+And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious grip, he prayed
+that he might not fall overboard, and yet he felt certain his life
+would be ended by fire in a few minutes.
+
+It is recorded by one of the great English generals who was in India at
+the time of the mutiny--1859--that a sepoy on his way to execution, was
+scared at the thought of accidental death.
+
+The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the muzzle of a
+cannon, and blown to pieces.
+
+Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or fancied he saw, an
+English soldier level his gun at him.
+
+He became hysterical.
+
+His shrieks rent the air.
+
+He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.
+
+He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the manual of arms,
+and gasped out nervously that he was afraid the gun might go off and he
+would be killed.
+
+And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his executioners to
+strap him to the cannon which was to blow him into eternity.
+
+It was so with Max.
+
+He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which the boat was
+speeding, but he was afraid he might fall overboard and be drowned.
+
+Selim sat as rigid as stone.
+
+Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.
+
+As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked less violently,
+there was but a slight rumbling to be heard, but in its place a
+sizzing, as if gas was being forced through an open pipe.
+
+“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has come. Good-by,
+world--good-by.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.
+
+
+But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind that the end was
+not yet.
+
+The water had become calm.
+
+Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of the boat,
+gradually threw off the covering from his head.
+
+A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with fear.
+
+Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental sky and the
+bright, twinkling stars.
+
+A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by volcanic action,
+rose above him.
+
+It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.
+
+The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the strange-looking
+liquid could be called by such a name.
+
+Strange looking!
+
+But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.
+
+That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but in it floated
+strange-looking lizards and fishes.
+
+Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish themselves.
+
+Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one of the fish as it
+floated by.
+
+He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.
+
+It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.
+
+“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own--my love! Fit queen of my household, where
+art thou?”
+
+Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.
+
+“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted Max so loudly that he
+was startled by the sound of his own voice.
+
+Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he would capsize the boat.
+
+He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:
+
+“Wake up!”
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“Uncover your head and see.”
+
+When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was as charmed as if
+he had awoke in an enchanted land.
+
+“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.
+
+“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”
+
+“Allah will save us.”
+
+“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country that ‘God helps
+only those who try to help themselves.’”
+
+“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing the American’s
+quotation.
+
+“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano. We are in the
+crater----”
+
+“Wha-at?”
+
+“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time. The boat is
+stationary, and if----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush, up there.”
+
+As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.
+
+The slang expressions used by Max had raised him much in the estimation
+of the Persian, for he imagined the American was speaking in some
+language of which Ibrahim was ignorant.
+
+“How can we get out?”
+
+“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.
+
+“No, not if my life depended on it.”
+
+“Could you, Selim?”
+
+The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and had to be asked
+several times before he would answer.
+
+He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.
+
+“I could.”
+
+“You could climb those walls?”
+
+“Yes; it is easy.”
+
+“Easy!”
+
+Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.
+
+“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty of footholds.”
+
+“Shall you do so?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because----”
+
+Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the whole truth or not.
+
+“Because what?”
+
+“It seems our only chance of safety.”
+
+“Then why not seek it?”
+
+“You cannot climb.”
+
+“What of that?”
+
+“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”
+
+“And you could save yourself?”
+
+“Perhaps not.”
+
+But Max was confident he could do it.
+
+“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find some other way
+out.”
+
+Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save himself, but the
+American was firm.
+
+When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could cause him to change.
+
+“If we had only some oars----”
+
+“But we have not.”
+
+“No, and yet we must get away from here.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“In the way our ancestors did before they invented oars.”
+
+“How was that?”
+
+“With our hands.”
+
+And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of the boat with
+their hands agitating the water and acting as oars.
+
+It was slow--very slow work--but the boat moved.
+
+“Get it to the side.”
+
+To do so was a work of considerable time; but when they succeeded
+progression was much more rapid.
+
+The only chance of escape seemed to be in following the current; that
+is, if they were able to find it.
+
+It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself into the crater
+of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.
+
+There must be some other outlet.
+
+When the other side of the crater had been reached, they were surprised
+at its immensity.
+
+When in the center they had imagined the diameter of the almost
+circular crater to be some fifty or sixty feet, but as they pushed
+their boat round, they discovered that it must be more than three times
+that distance.
+
+Another thing puzzled them.
+
+Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they floated or swam into
+the vortex, or was it only during an eruption?
+
+“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”
+
+“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”
+
+A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced eating; but he made
+such a grimace that Ibrahim laughed heartily.
+
+“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed Max, who recalled
+that terrible time in the tomb near Cairo.
+
+“Stop making faces then.”
+
+“You will make a worse one when you taste----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Your lunch.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“It is strong with sulphur.”
+
+Alas! all their food had become impregnated with sulphur fumes and
+almost turned them sick, but they could get no other and hunger is a
+tyrannic master.
+
+They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max telling them how
+civilized people will travel many miles and spend large sums of money
+in order to drink water impregnated with sulphur.
+
+“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked Ibrahim, when he
+had eaten all he possibly could.
+
+They had not thought of that.
+
+It was becoming serious. They might be a long time before they could
+obtain a fresh supply of food.
+
+“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.
+
+The water began to be agitated again and it was deemed advisable to get
+away from the crater.
+
+After a short journey through another tunnel they reached daylight.
+
+The river ran sluggishly along between two high cliffs.
+
+“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”
+
+“I think so, too, Max.”
+
+“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have always been
+interested in African deserts.”
+
+“You have?”
+
+“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found in Sahara--white
+people whose knowledge is greater than ours.”
+
+“Fact?”
+
+“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians knew many
+engineering secrets which are lost to us; they certainly had power
+of divination and many other things which puzzle the brains of our
+best men to-day. Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and
+founded a new country where they would be free from the incursions of
+other nations?”
+
+“But they died thousands of years ago.”
+
+“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants may be
+living.”
+
+“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make us start off in
+search at once.”
+
+“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or Girzilla again?”
+
+It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the same boat, and he
+had but little hope of escape.
+
+“I hope so. Why not?”
+
+“Because---- Hello! we are in the dark again.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.
+
+
+As the crater was left behind, the water became more turbid, and flowed
+faster, carrying along with it the boat and its three adventurous
+occupants.
+
+“Max!”
+
+The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.
+
+“Yes, Ibrahim.”
+
+“Isn’t this horrible?”
+
+“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”
+
+“I know enough of the fearful----”
+
+“And yet--perhaps what we don’t know is far more horrible.”
+
+“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”
+
+“Ha! ha! ha!”
+
+The laugh was from Selim.
+
+“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”
+
+“What are you talking about, Selim?”
+
+“This--look at it.”
+
+“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut the very atmosphere?”
+
+“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.
+
+“I am afraid it is so.”
+
+No wonder! The strain was something frightful.
+
+It would require nerves of steel to withstand such a terrible tension.
+
+“Jewilikins! what’s that?”
+
+Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into the boat and onto
+Max’s back.
+
+It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim could do was
+to knock it off; but he almost fainted as he touched it.
+
+On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked to take it.
+
+There was no means of guiding or steering it.
+
+They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance of saving
+themselves.
+
+Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers rejoiced.
+
+But their pleasure was but for a moment.
+
+The darkness was preferable.
+
+It hid from them the horrors of the river they had to traverse.
+
+Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls which confined the
+river to its bed.
+
+Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike the occupants of
+the boat as they passed by.
+
+Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen before, struggled
+on every little ledge of rock or piece of sandy ground.
+
+One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly devouring pieces
+of Selim’s leg.
+
+The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be a question of
+minutes before his soul would leave the mortal tenement.
+
+As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic with fear.
+
+“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three now, and a few
+moments more there will be but two.”
+
+Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.
+
+His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost a miracle he lived.
+
+Suddenly his mood changed.
+
+His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood at terrific speed.
+
+The color of his face was almost purple, and as he tried to stand up in
+the little boat his head fell back, and Max only saved him by a hair’s
+breadth.
+
+Max was now alone.
+
+Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his delirium,
+dangerous to himself and his companion.
+
+Selim was dead.
+
+It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard, but that was the
+only course which could be adopted.
+
+Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s back, he exerted all
+his strength and pushed the man overboard.
+
+It was horrible.
+
+Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that he dare not take
+his eyes away.
+
+Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost instantly crabs
+and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water newts, were covering the
+remains of the poor Arab and rapidly devouring all that was left of him.
+
+Ibrahim was raving.
+
+He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes, wanting to tear him
+to pieces.
+
+“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it was only a
+question of a few minutes.
+
+The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered whether they would ever
+again stand on land.
+
+Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must have been
+imagination.
+
+At the very moment when the delicate cords of his brain seemed ready to
+snap asunder, a thought saved him.
+
+He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.
+
+That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground channels
+had been made by the sheer force of the water, and its petrifying
+action--that perhaps at some time the sand had drifted to the water and
+become by its action solid rock.
+
+If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe the open cuttings
+were through oases.
+
+How long had they been on the river?
+
+They had no means of keeping record of the time, but their food was
+nearly gone.
+
+Had he slept?
+
+He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet nature could not
+have endured the strain so long without sleep.
+
+These thoughts saved him from the delirium which afflicted his friend.
+
+He felt easier and more contented.
+
+A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled himself as
+comfortably as he could in the bottom of the boat and fell asleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe--darker in color than
+the Egyptians and yet less black than the Africans of the Soudan or
+Congo State--dwelt in comparative peace.
+
+This tribe is peculiar.
+
+Its members eat no animal food, neither do they hanker after fire water
+or tobacco.
+
+They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they are compelled to
+resist by force of brute strength the onslaughts and invasions of their
+neighbors.
+
+Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the domicile of each
+family is surrounded with a hedge of the almost impenetrable euphorbia,
+and the interior of the inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a
+cement of ashes, cow dung and sand.
+
+On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts surrounded by
+granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched and resting upon raised
+platforms.
+
+The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a shade, and the
+entrance is usually about two feet high.
+
+The men are well grown and rather refined.
+
+Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of leather--either a
+piece of cowhide or goatskin.
+
+Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their rank.
+
+The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his assistants or
+deputies have less in number, while the ordinary members of the tribe
+have only two lines.
+
+The women are not handsome. Their heads are shaved, and around their
+bald pates they wear a band of beads or shells.
+
+Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all their time to
+the cultivation of maize and other kinds of vegetable food.
+
+They make excellent butter and drink great quantities of milk.
+
+At the time we make their acquaintance they are greatly disturbed.
+
+The chief has called together all the tribe, and a strange-looking
+gathering it is.
+
+The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women taking positions
+outside.
+
+The chief called for silence, and instantly every man shouted:
+“_Mkrasi! mkrasi!_” which being interpreted means: “We obey, we obey.”
+
+The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable tattoo marks,
+adopted the catechetical method of addressing his people.
+
+“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a deputy chief answered:
+
+“From the innermost parts of the earth.”
+
+“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where the gods make the
+springs of water to flow?”
+
+“No; man could not live.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all who approach.”
+
+“Then what shall be done with those who have come from the fire?”
+
+“They shall be exalted.”
+
+“_Mkrasi! mkrasi_!” shouted all the members of the tribe.
+
+The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we have recorded
+occupied considerable time, for the language of this tribe of Gondos
+was very diffuse, abounding in metaphor, and making the repeating of
+whole sentences necessary where emphasis was required.
+
+The chief stepped down from the platform in front of his house, and
+calling on ten of his deputies headed the procession across the great
+square, round which the houses were placed.
+
+While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was observed.
+
+Not one spoke a word.
+
+Even the women were silent.
+
+Soon a great noise was heard.
+
+Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being played. The drums were
+original in their make.
+
+A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the top a sheepskin had
+been tightly stretched.
+
+Into the square the procession moved.
+
+First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed cymbals.
+
+Following them were five older girls, keeping time by striking shells
+together. Then came the drummers, boys whose strength seemed almost too
+frail for the big, heavy drums they carried.
+
+After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting noise by beating
+an old tin pan--which had been found in a deserted camp, and which
+the Gondos verily believed must have been the white man’s musical
+instrument.
+
+What meant all this pageantry and display?
+
+The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head bowed down, led the
+way to where the people were standing. Immediately behind him were the
+ten deputies, carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder high.
+
+With measured tread these natives walked under their heavy burden.
+
+When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been reached, the chief
+ordered the men to set down their load.
+
+Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man there assembled.
+
+The women pressed forward, and really screamed with delight.
+
+“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these poor, benighted savages
+really believed it.
+
+The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout two young men were
+sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.
+
+They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by the Gondos, and now
+the objects of their adoration.
+
+The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women, caused Max to
+awake.
+
+He sprang to his feet and looked round.
+
+“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed, while the
+people fell on their faces and wriggled about on the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. THE RAINMAKER.
+
+
+It was some time before Madcap Max could realize just where he was, and
+the significance of the demonstration of which he was the recipient.
+
+But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed it up, and with
+the natural smartness of his Yankee ancestry, saw the advantages of his
+position.
+
+He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.
+
+The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.
+
+They were more than ever convinced that he was a messenger from the
+mysterious powers which they, in their ignorance, worshiped.
+
+The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that of the ancient
+Scandinavians.
+
+They believed that the thunder was the angry voice of the storm god,
+that a deity presided over everything in nature, and that the entrance
+to the home of the most powerful of these deities was through the
+mysterious volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten lava
+and made the waters of the rivers so hot that no one could bathe in
+them and live.
+
+Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought Max and Ibrahim
+were sent by the presiding deity.
+
+Ibrahim continued to sleep.
+
+That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left him when he awoke,
+Max made sure all would be well.
+
+He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be alone, and the boat
+was again raised on the shoulders of the deputy chiefs and carried to a
+large house which the chief had set apart for his honored guests.
+
+Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate heartily.
+
+He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither did he, at that
+time, care.
+
+He was too hungry to be fastidious.
+
+He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim, and motioned the
+natives to leave the place.
+
+All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited his awakening.
+
+His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night Ibrahim awoke and
+raised his head.
+
+“Are we alive?” he asked.
+
+“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.
+
+“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the prophet, I have been
+beyond the grave.”
+
+“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”
+
+Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his companion spoke,
+but Max persisted.
+
+“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as I tell you,
+we will coin the dollars.”
+
+“That is like you Americans--always thinking of dollars.”
+
+“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”
+
+“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about them? I hate the very
+name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim, fretfully.
+
+“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued talking, for
+he realized that there was no better way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant
+faculties than by a good discussion.
+
+“I don’t,” he said--“neither do you. You will go on making shawls in
+Persia, no matter how many dollars you get. You want to travel--you
+must have the money or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never
+imagine that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s think tank
+being agitated?”
+
+“Think tank! What do you mean?”
+
+“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it--thought factory, if you
+like it better. But, say! you were dead, and you have come to life
+again. I have brought you from the grave.”
+
+“You are mad.”
+
+“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”
+
+“You are insane.”
+
+“Am I?”
+
+“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”
+
+“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a house belonging to
+the Gondos----”
+
+“Who?”
+
+“The Gondos.”
+
+“Are you sure?”
+
+“Yes, why?”
+
+“Have you spoken to them?”
+
+“Not much.”
+
+“Can you understand what they say?”
+
+“Only a little.”
+
+“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”
+
+“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?” asked Max, with a broad
+brogue.
+
+“The Gondos were originally Persians----”
+
+“Your relatives?”
+
+“And were fire worshipers.”
+
+“Is that so?”
+
+“And I have learned their language.”
+
+“Have you, really?”
+
+“I thought they were extinct.”
+
+“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries on a bramble bush,
+and as lively as June bugs.”
+
+By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making Ibrahim vexed, and
+that was the very best thing for his mind.
+
+When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became calm, and then Max
+told him how they had been rescued.
+
+“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we must be, or they must
+think so, and we shall be safe. Once let them get any other idea into
+their ugly heads, and we shall be made into soup.”
+
+“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking Max to mean what he
+said in a literal sense.
+
+“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”
+
+“Can we?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”
+
+“If we fail?”
+
+“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.
+
+“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it rain. You know the
+language, you said?”
+
+“I believe so.”
+
+“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”
+
+“What can you do?”
+
+“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would do anything to get it. I
+want you to hurry, or my power will be lost.”
+
+Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical joking, and
+that was just what he imagined the madcap was after.
+
+But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from the strange-looking
+house to the one occupied by the chief.
+
+The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground when he saw Ibrahim.
+
+But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo language, the old
+fellow was so delighted that he danced about and shouted like a good
+fellow.
+
+“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the crops are spoiling.
+Tell them I will cause the rain to come.”
+
+Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the Gondo language.
+
+The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and the drums to be
+beaten.
+
+All the people gathered together, and Max raised his hands above his
+head as if in the act of supplicating.
+
+Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the people were
+delighted.
+
+The drops became larger and more numerous, until a good, healthy shower
+descended, and the Gondos were frantic with joy.
+
+Even Ibrahim was excited.
+
+“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max had pleaded for
+permission to return to their house.
+
+“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus on my part.”
+
+“But the rain----”
+
+“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a shower, and I
+meant to get the credit of it; that is all there is to it.”
+
+Max was a weather prophet.
+
+He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a so-called expert,
+and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud was gathering.
+
+The one happy chance of his life had come.
+
+It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and nothing was too
+good for Ibrahim and Max.
+
+But even among those primitive people there were skeptics, and a long
+discussion took place as to the powers possessed by Max.
+
+Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the madcap, his face
+white as death.
+
+“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to jump down. If you
+fail your character is gone.”
+
+“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm leaves, and I’ll not
+be afraid.”
+
+Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the following morning
+Max and the Persian were conducted by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max
+laughed heartily.
+
+But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand chances against
+him, and naturally felt nervous.
+
+“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to jump off there
+would be no test. Anyone could do it.”
+
+“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”
+
+“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of yonder palm and
+leap from it.”
+
+The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily climbed, but the
+height was such that to jump from the top meant death.
+
+The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young madcap began his
+perilous ascent.
+
+When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the monster leaves,
+and rested a moment.
+
+From under his coat he took two palm leaves which he had succeeded in
+joining together.
+
+Opening them above his head, he held his breath and jumped.
+
+As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves like a parachute
+and Max came to the ground so gently that the most pronounced skeptic
+was enthused, and ready to do anything for the young hero.
+
+“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and thy people must
+help. In the desert there is an oasis, and on the oasis is a great man,
+one Sherif el Habib, who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish
+to find him.”
+
+Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as he could, and
+the chief recognized it as being a place some adventurous member of his
+tribe had told him about.
+
+After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed, and with girls
+playing cymbals and others beating drums, Max and Ibrahim started on
+their journey across the desert to find their friends.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.
+
+
+For some hours the caravan passed through a country which was parklike,
+but parched by the dry weather.
+
+The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed with villages, all of
+which were surrounded with a strong fence of euphorbia.
+
+The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals and drums, and
+the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos, were so impressed with the
+importance of their mission that every hundred yards or so they would
+stop, congratulate each other, and make some wonderful salaams before
+they continued the journey.
+
+At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile to the Gondos was
+encountered.
+
+Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well armed with lances,
+having flint heads, bows and arrows, and a peculiar weapon shaped
+almost like a sledge hammer--one side of the flint head being sharpened
+to a fine point, while the other was a hammer.
+
+One of their number stepped forward, and addressing Ibrahim asked:
+
+“Who are you?”
+
+“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”
+
+“Do you want ivory?”
+
+“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”
+
+“Where do you come from?”
+
+Ibrahim answered proudly:
+
+“From Persia.”
+
+“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.
+
+“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”
+
+“A Turk.”
+
+“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.
+
+The chief pointed to Max.
+
+“Who is he?”
+
+“An American.”
+
+The native had never heard of such people, and he began to think
+Ibrahim was making a fool of him.
+
+The natives laughed and raised their weapons.
+
+Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were going to be killed
+if they dared to touch Max; that he could cause the storm to come and
+the wind to blow, and advised them to ask the Gondos.
+
+Among the few things saved from the boat in which they had made their
+perilous journey was a bottle of araki--a native spirit almost equal in
+power to proof alcohol.
+
+Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled with a little of
+the araki, and that his friendship should be purchased that way.
+
+The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max had any chance of
+opening it, for the hostile chief took the bottle from them, broke off
+the neck, and drank the contents as easily as he could have swallowed
+water.
+
+“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment a violent storm of
+thunder and rain burst upon them with terrific fury.
+
+The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives, remembering
+what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the storm to Max, and fled as though
+ten thousand soldiers were pursuing them.
+
+The American’s reputation was now well assured, and the musicians beat
+the cymbals louder than ever, while the men shouted themselves hoarse.
+
+Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but he saw no way out of
+it.
+
+One thing troubled both explorers--they were either going in the wrong
+direction, or the distance was greater than they had imagined.
+
+They, however, had to submit.
+
+They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes were in dilemmas
+from which it was difficult to extricate themselves.
+
+One morning the deputy chief who was in command of the Gondos threw
+himself on his stomach in front of Max and wriggled like a snake to
+attract attention.
+
+“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.
+
+“What hath he said?”
+
+“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could not be
+destroyed”--meaning Max--“must take all the cymbal girls as his wives,
+and his great friend, whose tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the
+drummer girls as his wives.”
+
+“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.
+
+Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he got rid of the Gondo.
+
+“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when alone with his
+friend.
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”
+
+“About thirty.”
+
+“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”
+
+“Mine?”
+
+“You have to marry them.”
+
+“The----”
+
+Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the name by which the prince
+of the power of the air is familiarly known, but he bit his lips and
+did not utter his thoughts.
+
+“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”
+
+“What a lark!”
+
+“Eh?”
+
+“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.
+
+“Do you think so?”
+
+“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished to give them a
+lecture, they would seize their drums and beat such a tattoo that you
+would acknowledge yourself vanquished.”
+
+Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost feared for his
+reason.
+
+Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.
+
+“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of tinkling cymbals?”
+
+“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”
+
+“I did not.”
+
+“Wha-at?”
+
+“I did not, because I dare not.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires to honor
+him. He does so by giving him one or more wives--the more wives the
+greater honor.”
+
+“Indeed!”
+
+“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the chief.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“And that can never be forgiven.”
+
+“What do I care about that?”
+
+“Perhaps nothing; only----”
+
+“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your long pauses,”
+exclaimed Max, almost angrily.
+
+“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only roast the one who
+insults the chief.”
+
+“Really?”
+
+“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I don’t want to
+be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I will have to accept the
+drummers, only----”
+
+Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him, but remained silent.
+
+“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”
+
+“We will get out of it.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”
+
+Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated itself in the
+madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy chief, came forward, and this time
+standing erect, said:
+
+“We will all drink araki now.”
+
+Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the African tribes to
+realize that the espousal of the girls was to take place at once, and
+that the drinking of the powerful araki was the outward symbol of the
+marriage.
+
+“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.
+
+“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”
+
+“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested it.”
+
+“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall drink first.”
+
+“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”
+
+“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit, there’s a good chap.
+Do just as I tell you, and all will be well.”
+
+Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max was ready to open the
+araki bottles, and all should drink.
+
+“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,” answered M’Kamba,
+proving clearly that all had been arranged beforehand.
+
+The bottles--made of the bladders of cows, dried--were produced, and
+Max very quietly, in the presence of all, poured some white liquid in
+each of the bottles.
+
+Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.
+
+“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim, but don’t touch a
+drop yourself.”
+
+“Is it poison, Max?”
+
+“On my honor, no.”
+
+The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their lives.
+
+They were about to become brides, and they felt their importance.
+
+While they were single they were slaves; when they were married they
+would become free.
+
+It was a proud time for them, and they took deep draughts of the
+powerful spirit.
+
+Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld the credit of his
+stomach by drinking pretty heavily.
+
+But the spirit was too strong.
+
+One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell asleep.
+
+Then the men followed.
+
+In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim were awake.
+
+“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t wake for an hour.”
+
+“What did you give them?”
+
+“Sleeping potion--pretty stiff dose, too.”
+
+“What is that?”
+
+“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to sleep long.”
+
+“And you have some?”
+
+“I had. They have it now”--pointing to the sleeping Gondos. “I took it
+from the great Sherif el Habib’s medicine case.”
+
+“Oh!”
+
+Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences of the madcap’s
+theft, or as he would put it, enforced borrowing.
+
+Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should “git up and get.”
+
+This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.
+
+He began to believe that Max was really mad.
+
+The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering together food,
+and some other stores, enough to last several days, the two young men
+left their escorts fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.
+
+Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched out for them, they
+turned to the right, determined to follow as far as possible the course
+of the river until the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their
+luck in finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. MOHAMMED.
+
+
+The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo escorts, and the
+young explorers soon found themselves on the terrible African desert.
+
+They were not pursued--at least, as far as they knew--and they were
+delighted at regaining their freedom.
+
+After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes were blistered,
+their nostrils swollen, and their ears deafened with the never-ending
+atoms, which drifted everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his
+companion to a cloud of sand in the distance.
+
+“What of it?” asked Max.
+
+“Camels.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be safe.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”
+
+“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Because the caravan is coming this way.”
+
+“Bravo! So it is. _Inshallah!_”
+
+Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited until they could
+distinguish the outlines of the approaching caravan.
+
+Then they rose up and went to meet them.
+
+In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker than a Spaniard.
+He was dressed in Egyptian costume, and sat perfectly contented on his
+camel.
+
+A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern rifle was slung
+over the rider’s shoulders.
+
+But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet, which acted as a kind
+of saddle cloth, and on which had been worked the symbolic sign of the
+crescent suspended over the cross.
+
+The combination was so strange that Max was inclined to believe the
+rider was some monomaniac, or, in modern parlance, a crank.
+
+Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic, asked who he
+was, and whither he was going.
+
+The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes before answering,
+giving Max an opportunity to look at the people who composed the
+caravan.
+
+Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that they had not the
+sacred carpet with the double symbols, rode as many camels.
+
+With them were at least twenty women, their faces covered so that the
+eye of man could not invade the sanctity of the countenance, which
+Oriental law and custom declared to be sacred to the husband alone.
+
+“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination of Ibrahim’s
+features was completed.
+
+“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.
+
+“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”
+
+“And whither wilt thou go?”
+
+“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey to the south.”
+
+It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims were going,
+until the _entente cordiale_ was fully established.
+
+Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the Musselmen and beat
+his brow on the sand.
+
+The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the sacred carpet on the
+sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s side.
+
+Then it was that the two followers of the prophet realized that they
+were friends and brothers in religion.
+
+“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule even all the
+countries of the world. I have said it. Just Allah!”
+
+“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You would be brothers.”
+
+“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”
+
+“Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“Of Khorassan?”
+
+“The same. Dost thou know him?”
+
+“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly into mine, Sherif el
+Habib was as a brother.”
+
+“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”
+
+“Dost thou mean it?”
+
+“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”
+
+Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his hands, and all his
+followers prostrated themselves on the sand, bowing their heads toward
+the direction of the sacred shrine at Mecca.
+
+“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful, will seek
+the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise the crescent above the cross
+and make the kingdom of the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the
+world.”
+
+The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great mental exaltation,
+and like Sherif el Habib, believed that the promised savior or leader
+of the Moslems had come, and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the
+Christian nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.
+
+Max was enchanted.
+
+He liked enthusiasts.
+
+He worshiped heroes.
+
+But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism that men
+never gave him credit for any idea beyond the making of dollars.
+
+“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture through the
+States. There will be millions in it.”
+
+How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he understood what Max said!
+
+Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an insult to his religion.
+
+But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:
+
+“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for the last of the
+Mamelukes.”
+
+“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,” said Mohammed,
+solemnly, “he gave to many provinces a bey of Mameluke blood. He did
+it to save his life. I, who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor
+Mohammed, the fearless, who was one of the beys.”
+
+“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”
+
+“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes and joined the Turks.”
+
+“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”
+
+“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the moon by night.”
+
+“I would that I could find them.”
+
+“There is one who could guide thee.”
+
+“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.
+
+“Alas! she is lost.”
+
+“She? Is it a woman?”
+
+Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.
+
+Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent ague.
+
+The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like great drops of rain
+upon the sand.
+
+“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have I offended you? Oh,
+forgive me if I have.”
+
+“I will tell thee.”
+
+Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the caravan, and led them a
+hundred yards across the sand.
+
+He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade them do likewise.
+
+When all three were seated he took a small box of salt from his girdle
+and gave each a pinch.
+
+Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral, he knew that
+the partaking of it was a bond of brotherhood with the Arab.
+
+“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed, “but I will tell thee
+only the outlines, and some day, when beneath the palms or under
+the tent, thine ears shall listen to the whole story. I loved--all
+young men do--but I loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet
+ever allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a daughter.
+On her I lavished all the love of a father. Being a girl without
+soul”--many of the Mohammedans teach that only man possesses an eternal
+soul--“I desired she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient
+Mamelukes. She was a diligent student, and when she reached the age of
+twelve years she had learned all the symbols and signs of the great
+brotherhood, and knew how to find any of the true Mamelukes who might
+still live. But then----”
+
+Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like rain from his eyes.
+
+His agitation was painful to witness, and many times Max wished he had
+curbed his curiosity and so have saved the aged Arab.
+
+Ibrahim was excited.
+
+He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and mysterious power.
+
+And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the whole of the story, and
+could hardly wait for the Arab’s emotion to cease.
+
+“Then my daughter, the pride of my life--by whom I hoped to appease the
+wrath of my ancient ancestors for deserting the Mamelukes--was stolen.”
+
+“Stolen!”
+
+“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks my wife must have gone
+mad.”
+
+“And does your wife live?”
+
+“She is in yonder caravan.”
+
+“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”
+
+“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man lord, and I would
+rather she be dead than never to see again her father.”
+
+The old man ceased.
+
+His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.
+
+The young explorers left him and went back to the caravan.
+
+Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling harem, had wandered
+to the place where the women were seated on the ground.
+
+Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any intrusion.
+
+When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over their faces, but it
+was too late.
+
+Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.
+
+His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.
+
+Ibrahim touched his shoulder.
+
+“What is it, Madcap?”
+
+“She is there.”
+
+“Who?”
+
+“I saw her. How did she get there?”
+
+“Whom did you see?”
+
+“Girzilla.”
+
+“You are dreaming.”
+
+“I am not.”
+
+“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”
+
+“I know not.”
+
+“Come away, before----”
+
+“Look! she uncovers.”
+
+Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless of all
+consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who had so indiscreetly
+uncovered her face.
+
+“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he exclaimed,
+passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted by Mohammed, who
+indignantly marched up to him.
+
+“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”
+
+“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“And what if it is? She has been my wife these eighteen years,”
+answered Mohammed, proudly.
+
+“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.
+
+A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.
+
+“Who speaketh of Girzilla--my lost child--my beauteous Girzilla?”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. “WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”
+
+
+“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.
+
+“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril quivering like that
+of a horse who scents the battle.
+
+“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth, and there she
+stands.”
+
+“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for eighteen years. Thrice
+has she been with me to the prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath
+she set foot on the deserts of Egypt until now.”
+
+“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,” said Ibrahim,
+scornfully.
+
+“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is true?”
+
+“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this pasha spoke of
+Girzilla.”
+
+It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment later, the wife
+asked that none but Ibrahim and Mohammed should hear what she had to
+say.
+
+Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental nature, the Arab
+chief granted her request, and with Ibrahim entered his tent, followed
+by the wife unattended.
+
+“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet! Great is Allah!” she
+commenced. “Wilt thou allow me to unveil, so that this pasha see that I
+am not the Girzilla he seeketh?”
+
+“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”
+
+When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back, completely bewildered
+at the entrancing beauty of the lady.
+
+He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his throat was husky,
+and he could not speak.
+
+It was not until the veil had been replaced that he found himself able
+to articulate.
+
+“It is Girzilla, and yet--no, my Girzilla differs----”
+
+He was confused.
+
+“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she counted? Is she
+thy wife?”
+
+“No, would to Allah she were!”
+
+“Who is she, then?”
+
+“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He it was who brought
+Girzilla to me.”
+
+Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably piqued.
+
+“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the Arab wondered, and was
+about to refuse when his wife pleaded in her musical Arabian:
+
+“Do, please, let me see this American.”
+
+“Be it as thou wish.”
+
+Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished American.
+
+After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this Girzilla.
+
+“I know not what her name may be,” commenced Max, “but when I asked her
+by what she should be known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”
+
+“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her mother--of her
+father?”
+
+“She told me her father had Mameluke blood----”
+
+A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion of the sentence.
+
+“It must be our own child,” she said.
+
+“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked Mohammed.
+
+“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her to my room, and
+bade her remember that whenever she found one she could trust as a
+brother--one she could love with all the strength of her nature--she
+should bid him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of my
+own land, ‘the true one.’”
+
+“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for she said, ‘Never
+mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’ I called her Gazelle, but
+she stopped me and said, ‘No, no; Girzilla.’”
+
+Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the way in which he
+had been rescued by Girzilla.
+
+Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind that the guide who
+had been looked upon as the ally of brigands, and one not really to be
+trusted, was in reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth
+of Mohammed.
+
+“Where is she?” asked the Arab.
+
+“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered Ibrahim.
+
+“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide us.”
+
+“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed Max, when he left the
+tent in company with Ibrahim.
+
+“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if thou meanest we are
+lucky, then I agree.”
+
+“I meant that it was strange--very strange; some great mystery is here.”
+
+“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s mother.”
+
+“Always thinking of her.”
+
+“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my only hope and
+desire.”
+
+“And wouldst thou marry her?”
+
+“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall be mine; but if
+she be really the daughter of the great chief, Mohammed, then if he
+consents she shall be mine also.”
+
+“Infatuated youth!”
+
+Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and for an hour he
+talked with Max and Ibrahim about the river and the volcano.
+
+He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el Habib had encamped was
+to the southwest; whereas Max had been going almost due east.
+
+“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if thou dost but find my
+Girzilla I care not which way thou goest.”
+
+At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met with nothing more
+terrible than the awful expanse of sand until they encamped.
+
+Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages--living like birds of
+prey upon others--pounced down upon the cavalcade and sought to capture
+the women and the camels.
+
+Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all disciplined.
+
+Hence the savages could do but little.
+
+One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three of the savages were
+killed.
+
+A native had been captured and held as prisoner.
+
+“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.
+
+“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him go,” answered the
+chief.
+
+Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the man wore.
+
+It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by Girzilla.
+
+The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small to encircle his
+waist.
+
+Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or would not,
+understand.
+
+One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.
+
+“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.
+
+The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking what he would get if
+he told all he knew.
+
+He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s mouth was opened and
+his tongue loosened.
+
+He said that his people had met some white men and a girl, and that all
+had been killed. The belt belonged to the girl, and she was nice.
+
+Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become of the dead
+bodies.
+
+The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his abdomen, indicating
+that the murdered Girzilla and her friends had been eaten.
+
+Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.
+
+The man was to have his freedom.
+
+Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never expected.
+
+In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with one blow,
+severed the savage’s head from his body.
+
+The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened at the sight.
+
+Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for had it not
+encircled the waist of the one he loved?
+
+When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but with the fatalists’
+philosophy, he only said:
+
+“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”
+
+Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side and told them
+that he did not believe the man’s story. He thought he should please
+them by telling it, and how was he to know that there were people who
+would be horrified at the idea of murder?
+
+Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was fully convinced
+that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted into juicy steaks or
+luscious pot roasts, and had served to provide a feast to the tribe of
+cannibals at whose hands they had fallen.
+
+He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high spirits of Max,
+who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his misery, the young Persian might
+never have lived to inherit his uncle’s great property.
+
+Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s fate at rest, and
+so continued the journey.
+
+It was near the end of the third day that Max went forward to Mohammed
+and told him that a smoke was rising in the distance, and that it
+appeared like an encampment.
+
+Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty Arabs to ride forward
+and reconnoiter.
+
+It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained, that
+Mohammed gave them up for lost.
+
+When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers were safe, there
+was joy in the camp of the Arab chief.
+
+The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to the most worthy
+pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed, and the other to the worthy
+Ibrahim.
+
+Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained the welcome
+news that Sherif and all the party were well.
+
+Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the morning, and after
+making Mohammed promise to start at sunrise they journeyed forth to
+meet their friends.
+
+Who can describe the meeting between uncle and nephew? and what pen can
+convey the faintest idea of the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla
+and Ibrahim?
+
+When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no one thought of
+returning to rest.
+
+True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were eager to learn of
+the adventures of the young explorers.
+
+Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s belt had got
+into the possession of the cannibal, and she admitted that some time
+before she had lost it while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.
+
+“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.
+
+“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed Uncle Sherif believed
+that the grave held thee.”
+
+“And if it had?”
+
+“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside thee.”
+
+“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”
+
+She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence in the glance
+from her dark eyes which told him all he wished to know.
+
+When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan arrived, there was a
+great commotion.
+
+Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage, and Mohammed was
+shocked to see his daughter going about unveiled.
+
+He recognized her instantly.
+
+The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt was an
+impossibility.
+
+Who can picture the happy scene when the mother once more folded her
+arms around the form of the daughter, only child of her heart and home?
+
+Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited, was once
+more complete.
+
+“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her as a daughter,
+and she will not leave me.”
+
+“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha taken her to wife?”
+
+“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”
+
+“She shall accept.”
+
+“If she desires.”
+
+“She must.”
+
+“No, no! let the young folks decide.”
+
+It so happened that those young folks were near enough to overhear the
+conversation, and Ibrahim stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.
+
+“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”
+
+“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great bounties on you!”
+exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.
+
+And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred carpet, and in
+that humble position, appealed to Allah and his prophet to bless the
+couple.
+
+After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to take to reach the
+promised Mahdi, the caravan started.
+
+Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of Khartoum, or in the
+district known as the Soudan, the Mahdi would be found.
+
+So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound friend that he agreed
+to follow him.
+
+Both were religious enthusiasts.
+
+Each believed that he should die happily only after seeing the promised
+one.
+
+For several days no event of importance occurred.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. THE MAHDI.
+
+
+In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the commencement
+of our story, there had lived, in the strictest seclusion, a man whose
+name was suddenly to burst upon the world like the unexpected flash of
+a meteor across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.
+
+This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of religion.
+
+He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about his place,
+he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve hours out of the
+twenty-four in prayer.
+
+He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining eight were
+devoted to study and the obtaining of the necessaries of life.
+
+The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred teacher who would
+ere long receive a mission from the prophet.
+
+Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He removed to Bakara and
+commenced his hermit life about 1870.
+
+Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and intone the _Adan_
+of the Mueddins, which translated would read:
+
+“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah. Come to
+prayer. I testify that Mahomet is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer,
+come to security! Prayer is better than sleep.”
+
+As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would he intone this _Adan_,
+and at midnight, after sleeping two hours, he would rise from his bed,
+open the door, and in a strong, musical voice would chant the _ula_.
+
+“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion--to him belongeth
+the dominion--to him belongeth praise. He giveth life and causeth
+death. He is living and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is
+almighty. Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”
+
+The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious hermit could be, but
+years passed, and never could they get an opportunity to speak with him.
+
+At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an ethereal radiance,
+his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.
+
+“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.
+
+The hermit spoke--the first time to a human being for many years.
+
+“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth Imaum?”
+
+“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.
+
+Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message to each
+governor and chief of a tribe, the burden of which was:
+
+“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the people. I, the
+Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish the oppressors of the poor.
+Prepare for my coming.”
+
+Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the Soudan, received the
+message.
+
+He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian, and showed him
+the message.
+
+“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.
+
+“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”
+
+“But would he not come from Mecca?”
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_ His ways are not our ways,” answered Abu Saud.
+
+“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and find out whether
+this is indeed the Mahdi.”
+
+No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission than Rauf Pasha
+said to himself:
+
+“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers shall go and
+bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum, and I will make him obey me.”
+
+Abu Saud held many theological discussions with Mohammed Ahmed, and
+embarked on the state steamer fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed
+come.
+
+No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward journey than a company
+of soldiers arrived and demanded that the Mahdi should go with them to
+Khartoum.
+
+The prophet went to the door and intoned the _Adan_.
+
+A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with faces turned toward
+Mecca, they joined in the prayer offered by the Mahdi.
+
+When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to the soldiers:
+
+“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he who must obey
+me.”
+
+The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:
+
+“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that we shall do.”
+
+The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun shone on the
+crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner of Egypt.
+
+“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight not against your
+_Imaum_.”
+
+The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.
+
+“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the Mahdi will never
+surrender!”
+
+That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers of the Mahdi.
+
+In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been annihilated,
+and all their arms and ammunition fell into the hands of the Arabs,
+together with the steamer which had brought them down the Nile from
+Khartoum.
+
+The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi had been
+victorious.
+
+The followers of Mohammed went on board the steamer, and sailed down
+the Nile in the direction of Kordofan.
+
+Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked to the standard of
+the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed was welcomed as the long-promised leader
+who was to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the Soudan and
+Egypt.
+
+The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross, and the whole world
+should be subjugated to the faith of Mahomet.
+
+Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still more remarkable
+enthusiasm, which caused the plains of the Soudan to be dyed crimson
+with the blood of Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.
+
+Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the people, and he sent to
+the governor of Fashoda stringent orders to crush the Mahdi and his
+followers.
+
+The orders were welcome, for the governor loved fighting, and his
+people were fond of plunder.
+
+He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in readiness for the
+march early on the following morning.
+
+The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about half of them
+unarmed, however, set out for the Arab village of Senari.
+
+When the village was reached the governor himself raised the banner of
+Egypt, and shouted:
+
+“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”
+
+Senari was fired on.
+
+The people were panic-stricken.
+
+Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to protect them.
+
+Women and children were shot down without mercy.
+
+The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent, was not more
+crimson than the streets of the Arab village.
+
+The soldiers pillaged every house.
+
+Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the heavy swords of the
+soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated in the most horrible manner,
+but were powerless to resist.
+
+They were unarmed.
+
+From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to Bari, and again
+commenced a carnival of slaughter and plunder.
+
+The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they armed themselves
+with knives, long sticks and various other weapons, and rushed upon the
+bayonets and muskets of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds
+and at great disadvantage.
+
+Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were witnessed.
+
+The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust and sand was seen
+in the distance, and in a few minutes a gallant band of well-armed
+Arabs rode into the center of the village, and charged the Fashodians
+with an impetuosity entirely foreign to the Arab nature.
+
+“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good Arabian. “I don’t
+know what the quarrel is about, but the villagers are the weakest.”
+
+“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we always go to help the
+under dog of the fight.”
+
+Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants, Max and
+Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.
+
+The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had come.
+
+The villagers declared that Allah had answered their prayers, and that
+very thought caused them to fight with desperate courage, even though
+they were practically unarmed.
+
+“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.
+
+“Great is the prophet!”
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_”
+
+The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and it was not until a
+lull took place that Sherif el Habib was able to explain that the Mahdi
+had not come, that in fact they were seeking for him.
+
+Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was knocked from his hand
+he almost cried with vexation.
+
+But he created a consternation which led to a panic.
+
+It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.
+
+Max had amused himself on his journey in making a number of giant
+cartridges--consisting of a paper shell and nearly half a pound of
+powder.
+
+He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge or blast, and
+when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally discovered one of these
+heavy cartridges in his saddlebag.
+
+Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a plan unique and
+terrible.
+
+Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard bearer of the
+Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge under the saddlebag and
+lighted the fuse.
+
+The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel, as he
+thought, the attack made by Max, but was surprised to see the American
+ride away.
+
+The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was heard, and the
+standard bearer was flying through space.
+
+Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended, for the madcap
+had charged the cartridge so well that the poor bearer of the crescent
+of Egypt was rent into a hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left
+scattered on the ground.
+
+The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that the prophet must
+have indeed come.
+
+To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen approaching, and
+a great cry arose from the throng:
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking man with
+clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.
+
+In a voice of authority he shouted:
+
+“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your _Imaum_, the Mahdi.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. TRICK OR MIRACLE.
+
+
+Long years of asceticism had made the man who claimed to be the
+long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in appearance.
+
+There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly fascinated one.
+
+His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even and regular,
+his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black mustache and beard
+gave him a look of authority.
+
+It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a man, added to
+the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored Arabs with a belief
+in his pretensions.
+
+Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would have subjugated
+Europe easily.
+
+“I am the Mahdi!”
+
+Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated themselves on the
+ground.
+
+The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of Fashoda fell back
+with his troops.
+
+The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together and
+commenced the march into the mountain fastness.
+
+When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face, and taking
+the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it to his lips.
+
+“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent solemnity.
+
+The Mahdi bade him rise.
+
+Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:
+
+“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the kingdoms of the
+world shall know it as well as thou.”
+
+Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:
+
+“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath found me, because
+the time of your pleasure is near at hand.”
+
+Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded beneath his feet.
+
+The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.
+
+“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I can read.”
+
+“And mine?” asked Max.
+
+For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:
+
+“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally themselves with me
+if they could gain by it. Curiosity would prompt them, but thy land I
+shall never see.”
+
+“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the Mahdi had referred
+to the British nation.
+
+“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed infidel nation,
+the sword of the faithful would have pierced thee through.”
+
+“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.
+
+“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of those who went
+before, left thine own father, and through a girl didst thou escape.”
+
+“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever being a Mahdi
+fails, come over to New York and you will just make millions, see if
+you don’t.”
+
+Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed heartily at the
+characteristic speech delivered by Max. It so clearly corroborated the
+mind reading of the Mahdi.
+
+“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half vexed at Ibrahim,
+especially.
+
+“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.
+
+“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars in the States.”
+
+A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came to the camp and
+began asking questions of the Mahdi.
+
+Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the Mahdi answered
+with convincing eloquence.
+
+Others asked for signs and miracles.
+
+The Mahdi’s face darkened.
+
+“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary that I should
+work signs and wonders before you believe me?”
+
+“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”
+
+“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the promised Mahdi,”
+said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed over sea and land, have been
+across the great desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”
+
+“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed one of the
+unbelievers.
+
+“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of England will crush
+all who follow the Mahdi.”
+
+The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were gaining ground,
+and he must do something to convince them.
+
+His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on his course.
+
+“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed, quickly.
+
+“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving ones,
+“stand in the center.”
+
+Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew from the folds of
+his dress a snake skin.
+
+He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was but the skin of a
+deadly snake.
+
+“Are you satisfied?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand until it was
+stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and was as stiff as a
+walking cane.
+
+He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers, and it laid
+there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.
+
+The men recoiled.
+
+The Mahdi laughed.
+
+“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he asked, sneeringly.
+“Wait and see.”
+
+He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained stiff.
+
+The thing looked as if it was expanding.
+
+“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.
+
+There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed with life.
+
+Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its body writhed and
+wriggled, as if it resented being so tightly grasped by its tail.
+
+The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if ready for a
+spring.
+
+The men shrieked.
+
+The unbelievers slunk away.
+
+The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at the miracle.
+
+The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it was about to
+spring.
+
+The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.
+
+It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty piece of skin, so
+small that it could be held in the closed hand.
+
+Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance or some
+freak of nature, the reader must determine. The Buddhist fakirs of
+India and the Mohammedan dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the
+same thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the sand
+and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is removed the skin has
+disappeared, and a live snake has taken its place.
+
+The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice declared:
+
+“Thou art the Mahdi!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. UNDER THE MAHDI.
+
+
+To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and soldiers, the
+experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was sufficient evidence of his
+power and of the truth of his mission.
+
+Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.
+
+He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he wished that the
+Mahdi had shown his power in some other way.
+
+Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el Habib wanted to
+believe that the Mahdi possessed a power unlimited, and which no one
+could imitate.
+
+Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.
+
+“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the proof of my power
+must be adapted to those who are witnesses of it. Had I said to this
+mountain: ‘Get thee back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not
+have been more convincing than the snake transformation.”
+
+“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove the mountain even
+ten feet, I’ll give up my country and adopt yours.”
+
+The Mahdi made no answer.
+
+He treated the young American with contempt.
+
+Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed bowed his
+head, grieved that anyone in his caravan should speak so lightly or
+demand such a great miracle.
+
+Max was in disgrace.
+
+He wandered away and strolled near where the women members of the
+caravan were encamped.
+
+He walked about, his head bent down, for he was sorry that he had
+offended his friends.
+
+“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice at his side.
+
+He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily veiled.
+
+Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he caught a glimpse of
+Girzilla.
+
+Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.
+
+He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man, could never marry a
+dark-skinned Arabian.
+
+“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.
+
+Max told her of the offense he had given.
+
+“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will not be offended.
+If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt my brother for fear of
+offending Mohammed, my father, and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”
+
+“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How strange that,
+through saving me, you should be restored to your friends.”
+
+“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”
+
+“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon leave her and go
+with thy husband.”
+
+“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.
+
+“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”
+
+“Yes--that--I--what shall I say?”
+
+“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”
+
+“As a--brother. Ah, yes--but art thou going away?”
+
+“Going away?”
+
+“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”
+
+“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have no one to guide
+me.”
+
+“I could instruct thee.”
+
+“Will you?”
+
+“Perhaps, but----”
+
+Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max far happier than
+when she had joined him.
+
+He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature which
+characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.
+
+“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am not of thy faith.
+You adopt the crescent, my sign is the cross. Mahomet did a grand work
+for your people, but my Savior is Jesus.”
+
+“He is one of our prophets.”
+
+“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You are beset with
+danger. Your enemies may league against you----”
+
+“They may, but they cannot triumph.”
+
+“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I am in the camp, I
+will fight under your standard, and if the English came----”
+
+“They will not.”
+
+“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am an American, and
+I would like to be able to tell the English to stay at home and mind
+their own business.”
+
+It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi could see it came
+from the heart.
+
+For several days the camp was undisturbed.
+
+“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,” said the
+Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”
+
+Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay with the new prophet,
+and to participate in what they believed to be his forthcoming
+triumphal march across the Soudan.
+
+Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially human, grandly
+sublime in his ideas, and, although undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an
+able man.
+
+That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the Mahdi, no one could
+doubt.
+
+In his own estimation he was no impostor.
+
+His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all tended to make
+him believe in his mission.
+
+But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority, he was too
+good a soldier to neglect military precautions.
+
+Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the soldiers and
+followers of the new prophet were drilled for an hour.
+
+At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in the manual of
+arms.
+
+Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division, and he appointed
+Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max occupied the same post of
+responsibility under Mohammed.
+
+Each knew that at any moment they might have to fight, and our young
+heroes were eager for the fray.
+
+Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never so happy as when
+engaged in combat, either in a wordy war with his tongue or in the more
+deadly conflict with the sword.
+
+When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap proclivities were
+sure to manifest themselves, and he would make some one the victim of
+his practical jokes.
+
+His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before he left the
+Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and men go down to the valley of
+death by the thousand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. COUNTING CHICKENS.
+
+
+In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than the Governor of
+Fashoda.
+
+Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered by Rauf Pasha to
+remain on the defensive, he nevertheless conceived the idea that he
+could win renown and perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with
+the greatest ease.
+
+As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman, who had been
+compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously, or spend a few
+years in one of the English prisons.
+
+He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an adventurous
+disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on a special mission to Rauf
+Pasha, who transferred him to the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the English aristocracy,
+was educated at Oxford University, had been in the army, but resigned
+his commission just in time to escape being kicked out.
+
+But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but a great rascal.
+
+Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.
+
+The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant. He feared that his
+winning ways might lure some of the court to the gaming table, for
+Ponsonby was a great gambler.
+
+Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending Ponsonby to the
+Soudan.
+
+Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would soon run the country to
+suit himself, and he determined to get rid of him.
+
+He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a low part of
+Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.
+
+The only thing he could think of was to send him with good
+recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign in his favor,”
+said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started from Khartoum.
+
+This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda governor, and, in fact,
+really ruled the province.
+
+Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby was closeted with the
+governor.
+
+“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman, insinuatingly.
+
+“Why should he be?”
+
+“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would be the greatest man
+in the Soudan, and I would go right off to the khedive and so work
+upon his feelings that you would be appointed governor-general of the
+Soudan. Once there you might aspire higher----”
+
+“How?”
+
+“The army wants a leader.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big Soudanese army
+would point to you as the man. Arabi Pasha would help you.”
+
+“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian army?”
+
+“Greater than that.”
+
+“How so?”
+
+“The army could make you khedive.”
+
+“And you?”
+
+“You would make me minister of war, and I would get England’s
+influence, and Egypt should become an independent nation, with you as
+its first sultan.”
+
+The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and believed he was the
+only man fitted for the career sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.
+
+But what ambition had Ponsonby?
+
+In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this fashion:
+
+“The governor is ambitious--he is a tool in my hands--he has no
+scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger just as readily as the
+soldier’s sword. The army wants a bold, dashing leader. Under my
+guidance he shall win everything until the last step--then I will, as
+minister of war, effect a _coup d’etat_, and Hubert Ponsonby shall
+become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”
+
+So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the Governor of Fashoda
+was to be used as a cat’s-paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for
+Ponsonby’s benefit.
+
+The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be defeated and crushed.
+
+Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the Mahdi.
+
+Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the claims of the
+Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople the Mahdi was openly
+referred to as having made his appearance.
+
+The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all powerful.
+
+It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered the old
+Irish story of the Skibbereen market women.
+
+As the two women were going home from market, one of them began to
+prophesy how many good things she would be able to get by the next
+gale--rent--day.
+
+She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she reasoned: Twenty-six
+eggs will bring me at least twenty chickens; each chicken will begin
+laying in the spring. I shall get so many eggs every day; seven times
+twenty will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can sell them,
+and the money will buy----
+
+But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend, who asked:
+
+“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”
+
+The other was sure they wouldn’t be.
+
+The women wrangled and got to high words, and at last one declared
+she could tell by the yolks whether the egg would produce a hen or a
+rooster.
+
+Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove her assertion;
+and then suddenly remembered that no chickens at all could be hatched
+from broken eggs.
+
+Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated the Mahdi
+before he counted his profits.
+
+The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.
+
+Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they believed the
+triumph of the prophet was the triumph of religion.
+
+Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline was of the
+strictest, but they would have suffered torture if they thought by so
+doing they could assist the Mahdi.
+
+Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe to his ideas, and
+five thousand men were ready to take the field against the Mahdists.
+
+“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.
+
+“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the chief of the Shiluk.
+
+“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of Egypt, and you will be
+the governor general of the Soudan.”
+
+And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and ready to fight
+against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby should direct.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. VICTORY.
+
+
+“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to Girzilla?” asked
+Ibrahim, one night.
+
+“Anything happen? What do you mean?”
+
+“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may fall.”
+
+“Of course, so may I.”
+
+“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand on his forehead.
+
+“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine, and you will be
+all right.”
+
+“No, I am not sick.”
+
+“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a lark I had with
+the Mahdi?”
+
+“What lark?”
+
+“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I could have split my
+sides with laughter, but I had to be sober as a judge.”
+
+“What did you do, Madcap?”
+
+“Swear you won’t give me away.”
+
+“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.
+
+“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Swear it.”
+
+“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”
+
+“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more ceremony shown him
+now than at first. His hands and feet are washed before he stretches
+himself on your uncle’s sacred carpet.”
+
+“Yes, I know that.”
+
+“You also know that he must pour the water into the basin himself.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big Arab held the basin,
+another came with a leather bottle, filled with the sacred water. The
+Mahdi took the bottle and poured some into the basin; but he nearly
+fell with fright.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the basin. The Arab
+was so frightened that he dropped the bowl and fell on his knees.
+‘Bring the other vessel,’ commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought,
+and the same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted your
+uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a great uprising of the
+Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the boiling and frothing of the water
+subsided, so would his enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober
+face, because----”
+
+“What did you do?”
+
+“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three seidlitz powders in
+each bowl. The white powder was not noticed because the Mahdi insists
+on the sacred sand from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”
+
+“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”
+
+“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to have been a
+miracle.”
+
+“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”
+
+“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only----What was that?”
+
+“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”
+
+The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the soldier once again.
+
+He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.
+
+“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the Mahdi. “But not
+one will go back. The grave shall receive each one who fights beneath
+the crescent without the star.”
+
+Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed by the Governor of
+Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were seen approaching.
+
+On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode, looking kinglike and
+majestic.
+
+The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the tawny color of
+the soldiers.
+
+He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly as he bestrode the
+back of the raven-colored horse.
+
+He did everything for effect.
+
+“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same cry was repeated
+by the Fashodans.
+
+“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists, and the Fashodans
+replied with stentorian voices:
+
+“For Mahomet and the khedive.”
+
+The Fashodans commenced the battle.
+
+They were weary and wanted it over.
+
+They believed the victory would be an easy one. They had no water, and
+the wells were guarded by the Mahdists.
+
+Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.
+
+The Mahdi was practically unarmed.
+
+He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on which were written
+passages from the Koran.
+
+There was something grand about this religious fanatic.
+
+Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and guileless as a
+child.
+
+He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.
+
+He knew it was only by the sword that he could win, and yet he would
+not use the weapon himself.
+
+When the fight was hottest he was calm.
+
+The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed and as cool
+as if he knew the leaden hail could not hurt him.
+
+On came the legions from Fashoda.
+
+But it was evident that they were disheartened.
+
+“Who is that white man?” asked Max.
+
+“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.
+
+“An Englishman?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered what had
+become of him. Wonder if he knows me? It is three years since we met,
+and I was only sixteen then.”
+
+Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write the words.
+
+He called his men to follow him, and swinging his scimiter above his
+head dashed into the very midst of the attacking force.
+
+He pushed his way through until he found himself by the side of
+Hubert’s coal-black horse.
+
+“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.
+
+“Who calls me by that name?”
+
+“I do.”
+
+“You; and who are you?”
+
+“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”
+
+“You lie!”
+
+“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet itself in your flesh and
+prove my words.”
+
+Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force, but it cut the
+empty air.
+
+Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second blow.
+
+“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.
+
+“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is the difference,”
+answered Max.
+
+Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades, but neither
+combatant was wounded.
+
+“Surrender!” cried Max.
+
+“Never!” answered Hubert.
+
+Again the two men came together.
+
+The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder, but Max was
+unhurt.
+
+The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.
+
+With his left hand, weak though it was from the wound, he drew his
+revolver.
+
+“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made an upward cut and
+sent the revolver careening through the air.
+
+The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they saw that Hubert
+was getting the worst of it, a dozen of them surrounded Max, cutting
+him off entirely from his followers.
+
+It was a critical moment.
+
+Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out terrible blows
+with it; but what could one man do against twelve?
+
+He felt he would have to succumb.
+
+Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.
+
+He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.
+
+He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted it he resolved that
+Ponsonby should not live to gloat over his defeat.
+
+He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him from his horse.
+
+Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped Hubert by the throat.
+
+A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring it down on the
+young American’s head, when the blow was turned aside by the Mahdi’s
+spear, and instead of cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of
+the Mahdi, it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of
+the Koran.
+
+Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry the Mahdi rode;
+he had saved the madcap’s life at the risk of his own.
+
+Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of the Fashodans had
+felt the keenness of his sword and the strength of his arm.
+
+His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+When the day ended and the result of the fight was known, it was found
+that of the five thousand brave followers of Hubert Ponsonby and the
+Fashodan governor, not two hundred escaped.
+
+The carnage was fearful.
+
+The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy over four thousand.
+
+Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the Mahdi, in a loud
+voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as an adopted son of the prophet.
+
+Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi hath come!” the sun
+went down, and Mohammed Ahmed was the greatest warrior the Soudan had
+ever known.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was telegraphed all over
+the world.
+
+In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike with Cairo, the
+people could talk of nothing but the wonderful advance of the Mahdi.
+
+Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.
+
+He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity of the Egyptians
+and Turks against him.
+
+A delay would be dangerous.
+
+The Soudan must be his, and that at once.
+
+He called together his chosen friends and told them that the victory
+must be followed up by still greater victories.
+
+Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which made men rejoice
+in being martyrs, advised the instant march on Khartoum.
+
+“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must acknowledge your
+mission,” he said, and really believed that the Mahdi could scatter his
+enemies by a mere word.
+
+But the prophet shook his head.
+
+“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is only by the sword
+that the prince of darkness can be crushed. To march now would be to
+invite defeat.”
+
+Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.
+
+“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.
+
+Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.
+
+“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied, modestly.
+
+“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think. I will hear all and
+condemn not.”
+
+The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat made, for him, a
+long speech.
+
+“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began. “Fate, or,
+as you would say, Allah, guided me to you. I have fought under your
+banner.”
+
+“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.
+
+“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”--looking at
+the Mahdi--“are by a long shot the best man in the Soudan to-day. As
+Englishmen have joined your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join
+you, and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged in.
+Now, I’ve got an idea--just forget that you are the Mahdi and, to put
+it plainly, a rebel----Oh, don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest
+man who ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he was a
+patriot.”
+
+“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said Mohammed Ahmed.
+“I shall not be offended.”
+
+“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum, to Kordofan,
+and Senaar, and preach rebellion. Let whoever goes rouse the
+people--talk to them of the way they have been robbed, and then spring
+upon them the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You see,
+by this means you would have friends waiting for you in each place.”
+
+“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be killed.”
+
+“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said to myself: ‘Max, old
+fellow, make your will, reconcile yourself to your enemies, and go in a
+buster.’”
+
+Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke seemed incoherent, his
+hearers knew that he was in earnest, and that the plan was a good one.
+
+“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let the plan be worked
+in other places first.”
+
+“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but who could carry it
+out?”
+
+“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.
+
+Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:
+
+“What would become of your harem?”
+
+“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.
+
+“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would never do. Both the
+illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed have too much to lose.”
+
+“Do you think we value our possessions more than principle?”
+
+“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to lose all, and
+perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to Kordofan.”
+
+“You?”
+
+“Yes; I can talk--why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in the adventure.”
+
+“But you are not of our faith.”
+
+“So much the better. I am an American, and every body will know that
+the cause is a good one if an American takes it up.”
+
+“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”
+
+“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his uncle, with almost a
+sneer.
+
+“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will tell me what to do.”
+
+“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the truth.”
+
+“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet. When do we
+start, Max?”
+
+“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed as he spoke.
+
+He walked away to think out his plan of action, and was joined by
+Girzilla.
+
+“You were going without bidding me good-by.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may be, I am not Kalula to
+you, but Girzilla.”
+
+“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be happy.”
+
+The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from what Mohammed, her
+father, had told her, that the mission in which both Max and Ibrahim
+were to be engaged was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were
+that neither would ever be seen again alive.
+
+But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the young men went
+forth, their lives in their hands, in support of the cause they had
+espoused.
+
+Max was not quite so much in love with his mission when he entered
+Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all probability, was in antagonism
+to several regiments of soldiers and an excited populace.
+
+He needed rest.
+
+It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of caravan life on
+the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent that he dare not delay more
+than that one day.
+
+He had been provided with a letter of introduction to a merchant
+with whom Sherif el Habib had done business. That letter opened the
+merchant’s heart and home, for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s
+house his home during his stay in Kordofan.
+
+Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist, and a man of
+wealth, and therefore of great influence.
+
+It was not long before he asked Max the pointed question:
+
+“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”
+
+Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s belief.
+
+“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said the merchant.
+
+“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked the American.
+
+“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The people would be disappointed.”
+
+“In what way?”
+
+“You will laugh.”
+
+“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this Mohammedan
+Mahdi.”
+
+“They expect too much.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that you would laugh.”
+
+“I apologize. I could not help it.”
+
+“They think, also, that he never walks.”
+
+“Never walks?”
+
+“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to reach any
+place.”
+
+“Anything else?”
+
+“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in his veins, as well
+as that of Emin Bey.”
+
+“Whom did you say?”
+
+“Mahomet.”
+
+“Yes, but the other name?”
+
+“Emin.”
+
+“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.
+
+Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything, loved to tell a
+story, and one story was always entrancing to him.
+
+He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco smoke to eddy and
+curl up to the ceiling before he commenced his story.
+
+“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that Mohammed Ali
+determined to destroy the Mamelukes----”
+
+“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that to do with the
+Mahdi?”
+
+Shula looked at Max with astonishment.
+
+It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt me in the midst of a
+story?” He puffed away at his chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a
+minute or so, and then continued:
+
+“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed Ali invited them,
+the portcullis fell behind the last of their splendid army, and they
+were trapped like rats.”
+
+“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”
+
+“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch Arabian over a pile
+of dead and dying. He sprang on the battlements, his horse was killed,
+but with a shout of _Allah il Allah_, he leaped into the darkness and
+escaped to the mosque.”
+
+Again Shula paused.
+
+Max was impatient, and could not wait.
+
+“I would give my right hand to find the descendants of Emin,” he said.
+
+“Would you?”
+
+“Indeed I would.”
+
+“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered the mosque without
+removing his shoes. He pleaded to his own conscience that his wound
+would excuse his sacrilege. He fell asleep, and as he slept he
+dreamed--that is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the
+time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and in the center,
+Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said the prophet, ‘thy wound is
+healed.’ Emin began to excuse the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but
+the prophet stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said, and
+sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins of Thebes and hide
+thee until I bid thee go to the desert, and there thou shalt stay, thou
+and thy sons, but thy son’s son shall be the _Imaum_ of his people.’
+‘But,’ said Emin, ‘the _Imaum_ shall be of thy race, illustrious
+prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of my race, thou art
+blessed, indeed.”
+
+Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring some grapes.
+
+Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until the cup was full
+of the ruby-colored juice.
+
+Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant had withdrawn,
+Shula continued:
+
+“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the grandson of Emin----”
+
+“And I never thought of it--I, who have been seeking the last of the
+Mamelukes--I----”
+
+“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”
+
+“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants, and I never told
+the Mahdi.”
+
+“Do you know the Mahdi?”
+
+“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi sent me here. He is
+coming in all the glory of victory, and I am to prepare a way for him.”
+
+Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the American until poor
+Max began to think his breath would all be squeezed out.
+
+Had he wanted rest?
+
+If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. SOWING THE SEED.
+
+
+For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for three of his most
+particular friends and bade them hasten to his house.
+
+Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian, was the first, and
+he stared at Max with eyes which seemed to glitter with hate.
+
+He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin had been changed from
+olive to almost black through exposure to the sun.
+
+Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs, and he imagined Max
+to be some wealthy foreigner who was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah
+for business or pleasure.
+
+He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin, a Persian, entered
+and embraced Shula most warmly.
+
+The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were drawn round the
+room and everything done to prevent the slightest sound being heard on
+the outside.
+
+“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this illustrious one
+is a messenger from the Mahdi.”
+
+The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low, and murmured
+some words of prayer.
+
+“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you ready?”
+
+“What are we to do?”
+
+“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”
+
+“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.
+
+“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into the midst of an
+army; he had no weapon, the guns were firing, the swords and spears
+clashed around him and over his head, but he merely smiled and bade
+them cease their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong. Will
+you not raise his flag?”
+
+“We will.”
+
+“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die in a great
+cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum, pillaged by Egypt and taxed by
+Turkey. England now wants a share, and what will you have left?”
+
+“Nothing.”
+
+“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt, of Turkey and the
+whole of the Mohammedan world. The crescent and star will float above
+all other flags, for the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of
+shahs.”
+
+“_Allah il Allah_ be praised.”
+
+“_Inshallah!_”
+
+“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically that no
+opposition was offered. A plan was adopted by which on the third day
+all the followers of the four wealthy citizens should revolt and raise
+the standard of the Mahdi.
+
+In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet. It was not thought
+wise for him to interfere, as some thought it might be said he was
+a foreigner, and of alien faith, and therefore at work against the
+interests of the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.
+
+Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather the fruit. He was
+quite willing that others should do that.
+
+So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and Nasr el Adin, and
+agreed to remain quiet in the city, while they kindled the torch of
+revolt.
+
+Max slept well that night. It had been many months since he reposed in
+a regular bed in a comfortable room, with both male and female servants
+to minister to his needs.
+
+True, the females were not lovely. They were very old, exceedingly ugly
+and bad tempered, but they did the work.
+
+It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth into the streets.
+
+He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.
+
+A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked lazily at Max, who
+returned the gaze, and wondered whether he ought to attack the peculiar
+animal or not.
+
+While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled, ran screaming
+past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking man.
+
+Max thought that it was a case of father chastising his daughter, but
+even then his blood boiled with indignation, for the girl was too old
+to receive corporal punishment.
+
+The man overtook the girl and struck her over the shoulders with his
+cane.
+
+At the same instant Max found he could not restrain the muscles of his
+arm, and his clinched fist managed to come in contact with the fat
+man’s nose, causing that organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness,
+and inducing its owner to lie on the ground on his back.
+
+It was a curious accident--for so Max called it--but the girl did not
+hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen foe, but rather turned her
+black eyes in the direction of Max.
+
+He then saw that she was really pretty.
+
+Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging sparkling dark
+eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in the landscape.
+
+The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to resume the
+perpendicular while Max was around.
+
+The girl started running away, but Max called to her to stop.
+
+He wanted to know her name, at least.
+
+He was an American, and did not realize how different were the customs
+of Egypt.
+
+She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.
+
+She smiled when he got alongside her.
+
+As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly teeth that really
+added to her beauty.
+
+“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with charming _naïveté_.
+
+“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”
+
+She smiled.
+
+“You know you shouldn’t.”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Have knocked him down.”
+
+“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”
+
+“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”
+
+“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.
+
+“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”
+
+Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen, and was following
+them.
+
+“Go,” she said.
+
+“Not until you tell me where you live and your name.”
+
+“My name is Lalla. I live----But what good to tell you?--I shall never
+see you again.”
+
+“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course you will.”
+
+“No, no, no! you must not; good-by--I live--here.”
+
+She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big wall.
+
+“You do? May I come and see you?”
+
+She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion and laughed
+as well.
+
+“No; what absurdity--I am going to be married----”
+
+The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it again so quickly
+that Max could not get even the slightest glimpse of what was on the
+other side.
+
+“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought Max.
+
+But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking quite
+disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged in just as
+expeditiously as the girl had done.
+
+“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max. “I’ll see over
+that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”
+
+He looked for a good climbing place, and found a better one than he
+expected.
+
+“Here goes--Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced climbing the
+wall.
+
+When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.
+
+The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number of fountains
+were sending up continuous sprays of water, which the slight breeze
+scattered over the turf, keeping the grass green and soft.
+
+A large house stood in the center, and near to its main entrance stood
+Lalla.
+
+She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would not understand her
+signals.
+
+He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and sheltered himself
+behind a clump of euphorbia.
+
+He was afraid that his presence might be known, and that he would be
+expelled from the grounds.
+
+He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not see why it should be
+considered wrong to do so.
+
+He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and that if he were caught
+his life might be the forfeit, but he was Madcap Max still.
+
+He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway and enter the house.
+
+“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins! if he does,
+I’ll break into his place and steal her away--that I will!”
+
+But it soon became evident that his position would be an unpleasant
+one.
+
+Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to drive him from the
+grounds.
+
+A dozen male servants of the great man who owned the estate started
+down the steps of the portico and made straight for the euphorbia.
+
+The gate was fastened.
+
+The wall was too high to climb on short notice.
+
+Max saw his peril.
+
+If caught----
+
+“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.
+
+“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close upon me?” he
+asked himself, and answered:
+
+“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be tired, you fresh;
+then race them for all that it is worth.”
+
+The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient romance was after them.
+
+When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood ready.
+
+They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but had separated
+themselves so that they might surround him and thus effect an easy
+capture.
+
+He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward--going toward the house
+instead of away from it.
+
+As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him, Max put out his
+left foot and tripped the fellow up.
+
+As ill luck would have it--or perhaps it was Max’s good luck--the man
+fell on his face in a bed of _euphorbia splendens_, a plant commonly
+known as the “crown of thorns.”
+
+The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross fashion and made
+him wish he had never been born.
+
+Max was now pursued by the others.
+
+He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled on his pursuers.
+
+Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another advantage.
+
+He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to find some means
+of exit.
+
+But again he was mistaken.
+
+He, however, found something he did not bargain for, and that was a
+trap or cellar door.
+
+It was open.
+
+Max did not see it.
+
+It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning powers, or even
+much knowledge of the rules of logic, to comprehend the result.
+
+He fell through the open door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. AN UNEXPECTED BATH.
+
+
+Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched the door and
+closed it, by accident, after him.
+
+It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.
+
+Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.
+
+He was only shaken and slightly bruised.
+
+His pursuers reached the door and tried it.
+
+Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat--louder than he liked.
+
+But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers declare that he
+must have scaled the wall.
+
+“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.
+
+“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered one of the eunuchs.
+
+“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the declaration.
+
+His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the eunuch call off his
+men and declare that the “infidel” had escaped.
+
+When the footsteps died away Max began to think about his prison house.
+
+If the door had not been opened for a week, was there any way of egress
+or ingress?
+
+If not, then might he not starve to death?
+
+“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall be saved.”
+
+Max was looking on the bright side of the subject, and his spirits rose
+correspondingly.
+
+The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately had a small
+pocket lantern with him, and after being there an hour he felt it was
+safe to light the lamp.
+
+He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without any flooring
+save the mud.
+
+The roof was very high in some places, and in others so low that Max
+could not stand upright.
+
+It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent was so
+great.
+
+A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with Max, but those
+were the only living things he saw.
+
+Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a house, is not the
+most inspiring exercise, and Max was not very elated.
+
+Once he thought he heard a flow of water.
+
+Was he mistaken?
+
+No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar, only separated by a
+very thin partition or wall of baked clay, ran the river Nile.
+
+Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river, but they were
+both fastened.
+
+“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m in for a good
+time, and I’ll have one.”
+
+Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper story.
+
+They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as stone.
+
+He walked up them, and found a door at the top.
+
+Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some more steps which led
+to a long corridor.
+
+There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the hallway, and he
+followed that as his guide.
+
+Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his mind he was mistaken.
+There were no signs of anyone dwelling there, everything was deserted
+and desolate.
+
+He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole thoughts being
+now bent on escape.
+
+He reached the end of the corridor, and found that the little ray of
+light proceeded from a transom over another door.
+
+That door he pushed open, and saw before him another flight of stairs.
+
+“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I only get out at
+last.”
+
+He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door confronted him.
+
+He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight which met his
+gaze.
+
+No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with the beauty and
+grandeur of what he saw.
+
+The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many feet wide.
+
+The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the most exquisite
+patterns and quality.
+
+The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.
+
+Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a different tinted
+shade, shed a brilliant light over the scene.
+
+But that was not all.
+
+Round the great room were divans covered with the most costly silks.
+
+And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a beauteous woman.
+
+Each woman had a little table by her side, on which cigarettes and
+sherbet were placed.
+
+Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco Max had ever
+sniffed.
+
+He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without the beauteous
+creatures having any idea that their privacy had been invaded.
+
+But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl Lalla.
+
+Why should he not go to her?
+
+He was an American, and knew no fear.
+
+He walked down the center of the room, and instantly there was a
+shriek--a tiny little scream--and a flutter of a score of beauties.
+
+But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry for it, for never
+before had any man save their lord entered the grand _salon_ of the
+harem, and the novelty was refreshing.
+
+Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and some offered to
+hide him.
+
+There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by the shoulders and
+pushed him behind the drapery which covered the walls.
+
+She was only just in time.
+
+Three eunuchs entered.
+
+“You screamed,” said the chief.
+
+“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.
+
+“And you all saw it at the same time?”
+
+“Yes,” answered another.
+
+“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a hat, which Max
+had dropped on the floor.
+
+Poor Max!
+
+He had never missed his hat.
+
+He had carried it under his arm when he entered the _salon_.
+
+So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped his _chapeau_
+and never missed it.
+
+The women could not explain how it came about that a mouse wore a soft
+felt helmet.
+
+The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission of discovery.
+
+He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought might cover a
+man, and was approaching the place where Max was hidden, when Lalla
+fell on her knees.
+
+“Oh, spare him!”
+
+“Who do you mean?”
+
+“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never saw him before, but
+he is so handsome! Do not kill him.”
+
+“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.
+
+Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with arms folded before
+the servants of the pasha.
+
+“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar and was trying to
+get away. I found myself here by mistake. Do with me as you like.”
+
+“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others took up the prayer.
+
+But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.
+
+“He must die,” said they.
+
+“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst of their cries Max
+was seized, his hands tied by his sides, after which he was carried
+down the steps into the great noisome cellar by which he had entered.
+
+Max did not try to bribe his captors.
+
+He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.
+
+“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”
+
+But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to escape, when they
+produced a great sack and covered him with it.
+
+Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they lifted him shoulder
+high, and he soon felt the strange sensation of being whirled through
+space.
+
+His senses were almost numbed when he realized that he was in water.
+
+He had been thrown into the Nile!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX. SAVED!
+
+
+Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of the Nile discussing
+the best way to assist the Mahdi.
+
+Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the prophet, and calling
+on all good religionists to rally round his standard.
+
+But Barbasson was crafty.
+
+He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.
+
+“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if he fails----”
+
+“He won’t fail.”
+
+“I hope not; but suppose he did?”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“We should lose our property, and perhaps----”
+
+“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”
+
+“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”
+
+“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you don’t mind killing
+others,” Shula retorted, sharply.
+
+“What mean you?”
+
+“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”
+
+“By the beard of the prophet, no!”
+
+“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was watching a dahabeah on
+the Nile; I saw something bulky thrown overboard----”
+
+“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile was the best place.”
+
+“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle and found----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“A most lovely girl.”
+
+“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”
+
+“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your wives took a great
+dislike to her----”
+
+“One of my wives?”
+
+“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”
+
+Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.
+
+“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and I took her into my
+harem.”
+
+“That is your business. What is it to me?”
+
+“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw Leila into the
+water.”
+
+“Bah! that was only a girl--and they are not missed.”
+
+Barbasson suggested--when he had got over his annoyance--that secret
+agents should be sent out and that riots should be organized.
+
+Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was in disorder, Shula
+should come forward and proclaim the advent of the Mahdi.
+
+This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now joined by Rashid and
+Nasr el Adin, started on their homeward journey.
+
+“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a splash was heard in the
+water.
+
+“A crocodile, most likely.”
+
+“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”
+
+“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”
+
+“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”
+
+“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”
+
+“The prophet will stop all that.”
+
+“I hope so.”
+
+“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses of the government
+here, and he is never molested for beating or drowning his wives. Of
+course, he never touches a man.”
+
+Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the time that a woman’s
+life was considered of no more value than that of a dog or any common
+animal.
+
+A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he could drown her,
+providing he did it decently--that is, place her body in a sack, with
+some heavy weights, so that the body should not rise to the surface.
+
+While the conspirators were discussing the morality of Mahmoud Achmet,
+their eyes were strained in an endeavor to discover what had caused the
+splashing sound.
+
+A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more humane than the
+majority of Kordofans, stepped into a boat anchored by the bank, and
+pushed out in the stream.
+
+He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to stick it in the
+canvas sack.
+
+He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.
+
+He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud Achmet, and hoped
+she would be young and pretty, because by the laws she would be his
+slave.
+
+To his astonishment--and equally so to the surprise of the
+other--instead of a woman the sack contained a man, and that man our
+young friend--Madcap Max.
+
+Max was unconscious.
+
+When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously he struggled
+all he knew how to free himself.
+
+What could he do?
+
+He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.
+
+His body was doubled so that he could not use his hands to tear the bag
+or strike out.
+
+In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.
+
+He began to wish that he had never heard of the Mahdi, or the Mameluke.
+
+But regrets were useless.
+
+He knew he had to die.
+
+Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe, he would have
+been proud to die--because he knew no disgrace would be attached to it.
+
+But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat, was so hurtful
+to his self-respect and so humiliating that he cried with vexation.
+
+The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of it. His brain grew
+dizzy.
+
+The singing in his ears had become like the roaring of the waters of a
+great cataract.
+
+Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators been
+discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion at night by the banks
+of the Nile, Madcap Max would never have been the hero of this story.
+
+Shula rubbed Max briskly.
+
+He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face downward.
+
+The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s back--sitting on it,
+treading it, kneeling on it, and using every means of which they knew
+to restore life.
+
+“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”
+
+The words startled the conspirators.
+
+They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with the treatment he had
+been subjected to, had revived with great suddenness.
+
+He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was being hurt, hence
+his calling out.
+
+He jumped to his feet.
+
+“Shula!” he exclaimed.
+
+“Max!”
+
+“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned? Where am I?”
+
+“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water, and the less you
+say the longer you will be likely to live. Come--let us get home. Can
+you walk?”
+
+“Of course I can.”
+
+Max started forward, but before his legs had moved a dozen times he
+fell on his face.
+
+The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances were to be found
+in Kordofan at that hour of the night, they had to carry him to Shula’s
+residence.
+
+Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and laughed at the
+escapade.
+
+“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to see Lalla,” he said.
+“I want to know more about her.”
+
+“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter any man’s
+harem,” said Shula.
+
+“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”
+
+Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally weak from his
+struggles in the Nile.
+
+Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel that he was the
+strong athlete again.
+
+When he awoke on the morning of the third day he heard cries which
+roused him:
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_”
+
+“Long live the Mahdi!”
+
+“Down with the foreigner!”
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.
+
+His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that he had staked all
+his property and his life on the riot which was then in progress.
+
+“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”
+
+“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”
+
+A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows were shaken,
+and some panes of glass broken.
+
+“What does it mean?”
+
+“They are fighting,” answered Shula.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX. THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.
+
+
+“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the head of the Mahdi’s
+friends?”
+
+“I--stayed--with you.”
+
+“Come! where is my sword?”
+
+“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed--the soldiers
+wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting the people down.”
+
+“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”
+
+“It is madness.”
+
+“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I wasn’t I’d scorn to be
+a coward.”
+
+“A coward?”
+
+“Yes, I said so, and I repeat--a coward.”
+
+“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army of Egypt.”
+
+“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and are now afraid----”
+
+“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”
+
+“Risk all--if by that means you save your honor.”
+
+“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”
+
+“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”
+
+“See what it means to me--loss of property, perhaps life.”
+
+“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going to fight.”
+
+“It is madness!”
+
+“Give me my rifle and my sword.”
+
+Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.
+
+He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right--the people had but
+scant chance.
+
+That made Max all the more determined.
+
+He waved his sword above his head and rushed into the thickest of the
+fight.
+
+“Long live the Mahdi!”
+
+At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.
+
+“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with you. The Mahdi is a
+native of your country, he is no foreigner. Strike for him, and let
+your cry be Egypt for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”
+
+The people lost their fear.
+
+Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers did not
+return the fire.
+
+Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.
+
+The Egyptian officer was enraged.
+
+“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.
+
+A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but the majority kept
+them reversed.
+
+Max saw the advantage he had gained.
+
+He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had fallen in the mêlée.
+
+Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant as he sat there,
+like a veritable centaur.
+
+“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I have fought with the
+great Mahdi. I have seen the thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he
+waved his wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights with his
+eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall back.”
+
+The enthusiasm was great.
+
+Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the others were undecided.
+
+The officer was furious.
+
+“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed the call.
+
+“Load! Aim! Fire!”
+
+Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to his great joy that
+the aim was too high to do any damage.
+
+“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our fight is not
+against you. The Mahdi is of your faith. Nay, more, he will restore the
+great Mameluke kingdom. Every soldier of his will be greater than a
+pasha, for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”
+
+The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who wondered who
+this young paleface could be.
+
+The result was electrical.
+
+Every rifle was reversed.
+
+The officer was left alone to return to the fort--a commander without
+soldiers.
+
+At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the Mahdi, Mohammed
+Achmet was close to the gates of the city. He heard the cheering and
+the firing.
+
+His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.
+
+Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif el Habib and the
+Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into the main street of Kordofan.
+
+“The Mahdi!”
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+The cheers rose on the air.
+
+Songs were sung--the soldiers fraternized with the people.
+
+Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.
+
+Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer handed his
+sword to the Mahdi.
+
+“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my sword and use it for
+truth and our faith.”
+
+The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed it back, saying:
+
+“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for you will use it as
+only a brave man can.”
+
+The fires of joy were lighted.
+
+Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi was welcomed.
+
+Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was triumphant, came to
+offer the hospitality of his house to the conqueror.
+
+Max recognized him, and after the man had said all he intended, came
+forward.
+
+“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped him in a sack, and
+drowned him.”
+
+“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He has raised this man
+from the dead. All my wealth is his,” exclaimed Mahmoud.
+
+Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however, did not contradict
+him, but allowed him to think that the power of the Mahdi had indeed
+raised him from the dead.
+
+He spoke privately to the Mahdi.
+
+“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.
+
+“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give this man the girl
+called Lalla.”
+
+Mahmoud fell to the ground.
+
+He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.
+
+“Woe is me, I cannot!”
+
+“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.
+
+“Indeed it is true. _Inshallah!_”
+
+Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max, and after throwing
+him into the river, Lalla had refused to be comforted, had called him a
+murderer, and refused to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in
+his anger he ordered her to be drowned.
+
+Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.
+
+The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in the presence of a
+great concourse of citizens, said:
+
+“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at times made away with such
+of his wives that displeased him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how
+abhorrent such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet be taken
+from here in the sack which he has provided for others, and that he be
+thrown into the Nile.”
+
+“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man--“mercy! I will give you wealth.”
+
+“I do not want it.”
+
+“All I have shall be yours!”
+
+“It is mine already.”
+
+One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem testified how the
+wives were constantly beaten with whips.
+
+“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,” said the Mahdi; “it
+is fate.”
+
+The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.
+
+Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of his own eunuch, and
+was drowned in the Nile.
+
+“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who were more than
+ever enthused with the prophet and his cause.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI. VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.
+
+
+Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot haste, asked for
+the Mahdi.
+
+He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif el Habib.
+
+When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:
+
+  “To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum and Mahdi:
+
+  “GREETING: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the flag of the
+  Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is ours.
+
+  “IBRAHIM.”
+
+Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.
+
+  “Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter. “I was wounded
+  in the right foot and lost two toes, but that was better than my
+  life. The people were all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely.
+  It was a tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which I will
+  send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is Girzilla? Give her my
+  love. Is Max the Madcap alive? Of course he is. Tell him not to play
+  any pranks in Kordofan.
+
+  “Your loving nephew,
+
+  “IBRAHIM.”
+
+When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his staff, he called Max
+to him.
+
+“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and we are victorious.
+You are Max Pasha; and your nephew”--turning to Sherif--“is also pasha,
+and is made governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor of
+Kordofan.”
+
+The people cheered the young governor.
+
+Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:
+
+“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline it.”
+
+“You must not.”
+
+“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to be governor and
+pasha for one day, because I am going back to America, and if I ever go
+on the lecture platform the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a
+real live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap Max.”
+
+The Mahdi laughed.
+
+“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.
+
+“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired of being the Mahdi
+come over to New York and I will trot you round, and--oh, my! won’t the
+dollars just flow into our pockets.”
+
+But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch was placed in his
+hands.
+
+It was from a trusty agent in the North.
+
+“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under the command of
+Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read, “and is marching with five thousand men
+against you. Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men, is
+marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in two by these armies.”
+
+“No! by the prophet--no!” exclaimed the Mahdi. “We will attack both and
+exterminate them.”
+
+The bugles called the army together and the march was ordered.
+
+With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm, the
+followers of the Mahdi started to meet Yussuf Pasha Hassan.
+
+The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans, but they
+lacked enthusiasm.
+
+The Mahdi--still without weapon--rode at the head of his people and
+gave the words of command.
+
+Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western prairie, the
+army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans commanded by Yussuf.
+
+The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but the Mahdists
+were more like fiends.
+
+They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately cut their
+throats.
+
+It was a horrible carnage.
+
+The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort to defend himself,
+but was ever in the thickest of the fight.
+
+His brow shone as though it were gold.
+
+His presence was remarkable.
+
+Max fought with desperate valor.
+
+At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself more power in
+striking a blow.
+
+“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage blow.
+
+Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to the Mahdi, Max was
+the most powerful leader.
+
+Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.
+
+He was a trifle superstitious.
+
+If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not kill him, and Yussuf
+would not risk an encounter; so he rode through the fighting demons
+until he reached the side of Max.
+
+“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly wheeled round and
+aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.
+
+The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge at Max.
+
+But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic speed, and Yussuf’s
+sword merely struck the air.
+
+As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire flew out, and
+seemed to keep fiery time to the music of the steel.
+
+Yussuf got angry.
+
+“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly asked, during a pause
+in the duel.
+
+“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for liberty.”
+
+Again the fight was resumed.
+
+Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.
+
+The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to kick and trample down
+the dead and dying.
+
+It was a fearful sight.
+
+Yussuf fought bravely.
+
+His left arm had been broken by Max, just below the shoulder, but he
+would not give in.
+
+“Surrender!”
+
+“Never!”
+
+“Then die!”
+
+“I will, but you will go first.”
+
+Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging round his heavy
+scimiter with the strength of a giant.
+
+Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck the horse’s neck,
+almost severing the head from the body.
+
+Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.
+
+Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s side.
+
+“We are equal,” he said.
+
+But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one arm to fight
+with.
+
+The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he did so a sword still
+grasped by a dead man pierced his side.
+
+The brave man could stand no more.
+
+“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender to Max, but to the
+Great Creator, for as the man uttered the words the breath left his
+body.
+
+Out of four thousand seven hundred men--hale, hearty veterans--who had
+marched under the crescent of Egypt that morning, only two hundred and
+one survived at night.
+
+The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred men all told.
+
+They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury the dead.
+
+Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks Pasha.
+
+It was a two days march to Tokar.
+
+At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred and forty-six
+men, met the advance guard of the Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and
+Max.
+
+The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable to the
+Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi himself arrived.
+
+There was a charm and magnetism about the man which made him
+irresistible.
+
+His presence was equal to a thousand men.
+
+In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead, and two thousand
+three hundred and seventy-three of his men lay stiffening under the
+tropical sun.
+
+The defeat was a thorough one.
+
+The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except Khartoum and
+Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.
+
+The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.
+
+Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum. In the mosques his
+name was mentioned with that of the prophet, and the people prostrated
+themselves when reference was made to him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII. “ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”
+
+
+A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.
+
+The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush any force which
+could be sent against it.
+
+The officers took things easy.
+
+Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s headquarters, and Ibrahim
+had received a furlough or leave of absence for two months.
+
+This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.
+
+One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:
+
+“I have found him.”
+
+“Whom do you refer to?”
+
+“The last of the Mamelukes.”
+
+“And he is----”
+
+“The Mahdi.”
+
+“Are you sure, Girzilla?”
+
+“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will restore the glories
+of his race and bring the whole world to believe in Mahomet.”
+
+Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.
+
+The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he heard Max tell his
+story; how he had lost his father in the caves of the bandits, and had
+been rescued by Girzilla.
+
+When Max narrated how he had become enthused over the story of the
+great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.
+
+“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me. Stay with me, my
+son, and share in my triumph.”
+
+“No--the work is done. I shall go back to my own land, and shall do
+as other Americans have done before me--write a book, or tell on the
+platform the story of the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”
+
+Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded with him to stay until
+after his wedding with Girzilla.
+
+This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a most impressive
+wedding took place in the vestibule of a mosque at Kordofan.
+
+The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.
+
+The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were worthy of the great
+prophet himself.
+
+To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:
+
+“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits you to take
+three others; but take my advice--cleave to the one. It is better, and
+a new dispensation will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of
+our race have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is now
+written that if you be faithful to her on earth the gates of Paradise
+will open for you both, and she shall be your bride through all
+eternity.”
+
+After spending the customary seven days in prayer and religious
+observances, Ibrahim obtained permission to take his dusky bride on a
+trip up the Nile in company with Max.
+
+The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.
+
+Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey that her loving
+husband accompanied her to Suez, where they bade farewell to Madcap Max
+as the Peninsular and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.
+
+Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he had made the journey
+on three years before.
+
+He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium of the journey was
+broken by the story of adventure told by the madcap.
+
+When Max reached New York he found himself the head of the firm, and
+the cares of business life caused him to relinquish the thought of
+“coining dollars” on the lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise
+to the author that some day he would tell him the story of his life.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known and highly
+respected merchant to tell the story.
+
+“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and you shall know all.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”
+
+Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but many a time he
+declared that no more true one ever lived than the Arab maiden.
+
+When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion on the following day
+he was surprised to find so many evidences of the Orient everywhere;
+but when, an hour later, Max took the author by the hand and led him
+into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there stood,
+waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.
+
+Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the shawl manufactory,
+and found himself extremely wealthy.
+
+He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of the world, and so
+infatuated was he with the remembrance of Max, that nothing would
+satisfy him but to commence the journey proper from New York.
+
+That was how this story came to be written.
+
+Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a more lavish
+praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge he deserved.
+
+Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and his lovely bride,
+who does not look so dark and dusky in the modern American clothing as
+she did on the deserts of Africa.
+
+Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares that Girzilla
+occupies every bit of his heart, and he could not take three more
+wives, even if his religion ordered it.
+
+Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap and his friend,
+and although his heart turns sick sometimes as he thinks of the carnage
+he witnessed, yet he says he shall always look back with pride to the
+intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and the Mameluke, the
+result of his trip “In the Volcano’s Mouth.”
+
+THE END.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TALES OF VICTORIES
+
+Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads of pluck and intelligence.
+Every true boy will be fascinated with these stories of the exciting
+adventures of boys who gladly gave their lives to freedom’s cause.
+
+_BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY_
+
+   3.--The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan
+   7.--The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan
+  11.--Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan
+  15.--By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  19.--A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  23.--The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  26.--The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+
+Only Ten Cents Per Copy At All Newsdealers
+
+_If ordered by mail, add four cents to cover postage._
+
+  STREET & SMITH, Publishers
+  NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY
+
+A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature for boys. Sept
+14, 1905.
+
+NO. 134
+
+Charles Garvice’s New Stories
+
+If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be waiting for the
+appearance of a new novel from the pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad
+to inform you that you will find it in
+
+SMITH’S MAGAZINE
+
+In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories will appear in this
+magazine, as he is under contract to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S
+DESTINY” is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing
+interest. It began in the April number and is still being published.
+
+If you are one of the vast army who have depended upon cheap,
+occasional issues of early non-copyrights, of which there are now no
+more by this author, you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.
+
+In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story, there are other
+features which make SMITH’S MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing
+of all ten-cent publications.
+
+PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS
+
+PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers
+
+THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,
+
+156 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+Punctuation has been made consistent.
+
+Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
+the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
+been corrected.
+
+The following change was made:
+
+p. 211: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 68164 ***
diff --git a/68164-h/68164-h.htm b/68164-h/68164-h.htm
index 0ade8db..7dda6d3 100644
--- a/68164-h/68164-h.htm
+++ b/68164-h/68164-h.htm
@@ -1,10952 +1,10495 @@
-<!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" xml:lang="en" lang="en">

-  <head>

-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />

-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />

-    <title>

-      In the Volcano’s Mouth, by Frank Sheridan&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook

-    </title>

-    <style type="text/css">

-

-body {

-    margin-left: 10%;

-    margin-right: 10%;

-}

-

-    h1,h2 {

-    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */

-    clear: both;

-}

-

-p {

-    margin-top: .51em;

-    text-align: justify;

-    margin-bottom: .49em;

-}

-

-.pminus1  {margin-top: -0.5em;}

-.p1       {margin-top: 1em;}

-.p2       {margin-top: 2em;}

-

-hr {

-    width: 33%;

-    margin-top: 2em;

-    margin-bottom: 2em;

-    margin-left: 33.5%;

-    margin-right: 33.5%;

-    clear: both;

-}

-

-hr.tb   {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;}

-hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;}

-@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} }

-

-div.chapter {page-break-before: always;}

-.nobreak  {page-break-before: avoid;

-           padding-top: 0;}

-

-table {

-    margin-left: auto;

-    margin-right: auto;

-}

-

-/*Table of Contents format*/

-table.toc { max-width: 30em;}

-

-.tblb {text-align: left;padding-left:0.5em;vertical-align:top;}

-.tblc {text-align: left;vertical-align:top;}

-

-.tbra{text-align: right;padding-left:1em;vertical-align:top;}

-

-.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */

-    /*  visibility: hidden;  */

-    position: absolute;

-    left: 92%;

-    font-size: smaller;

-    text-align: right;

-    font-style: normal;

-    font-weight: normal;

-    font-variant: normal;

-} /* page numbers */

-

-.blockquot {

-    margin-left: 5%;

-    margin-right: 10%;

-}

-

-.boxit{

-    max-width: 25em;

-    padding: 1em;

-    border: 0.15em solid black;

-    margin: 0 auto; }

-

-.boxit1{

-    max-width: 35em;

-    padding: 1em;

-    border: 0em solid black;

-    margin: 0 auto; }

-

-.boxcontents{

-    max-width: 20em;

-    padding: 1em;

-    border: 0em solid black;

-    margin: 0 auto; }

-

-.pcontents{

-  text-align:left;

-  text-indent:-2em;

-  padding-left:2em;

-  margin-top: 0.1em;

-  margin-bottom: 0.1em;

-}

-

-.displayinline{display:inline-block; line-height:1}

-

-/* Numbered list with hanging indent, for 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers */

-.numberitem1{

-  text-align: left;

-  vertical-align: top;

-  margin-left:1em;

-  text-indent: -0.8em;

-  padding-left: 0.8em; }

-

-.numberitem2{

-  text-align: left;

-  vertical-align: top;

-  margin-left:0.5em;

-  text-indent: -1.3em;

-  padding-left: 1.3em; }

-/*End of numbered indent CSS*/

-

-.center   {text-align: center;}

-

-.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}

-

-/* Images */

-

-img {

-    max-width: 100%;

-    height: auto;

-}

-

-img.w100 {width: 100%;}

-

-.figcenter {

-    margin: auto;

-    text-align: center;

-    page-break-inside: avoid;

-    max-width: 100%;

-}

-

-/* Poetry */

-.poetry-container {text-align: center;}

-

-.poetry{

-  display: inline-block;

-  text-align: left;

-}

-

-/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */

-

-@media print{

-  .poetry{

-    display: block;

-    margin-left: 1.5em;

-  }

-}

-

-.x-ebookmaker .poetry{

-    display: block;

-    margin-left: 1.5em;

-}

-

-.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}

-

-.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;}

-.poetry .indentquote0 {text-indent: -3.5em; padding-left: 3em;}

-/* End poetry*/

-

-/* Transcriber's notes */

-.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;

-    color: black;

-     font-size:smaller;

-     padding:0.5em;

-     margin-bottom:5em;

-     font-family:sans-serif, serif; }

-

-/*CSS to set font sizes*/

-/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/

-.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large}

-.xlargefont{font-size: x-large}

-.largefont{font-size: large}

-.mediumfont{font-size: medium}

-.cheaderfont{font-size:medium}

-.boldfont{font-weight:bold}

-.sansseriffont{font-family:sans-serif}

-

-/* Illustration classes */

-.illowp25 {width: 25%;}

-.illowp60 {width: 60%;}

-.x-ebookmaker .illowp60 {width: 100%;}

-.illowp80 {width: 80%;}

-.x-ebookmaker .illowp80 {width: 100%;}

-

-    </style>

-  </head>

-<body>

-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the volcano&#039;s mouth, by Frank Sheridan</p>

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and

-most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you

-are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the

-country where you are located before using this eBook.

-</div>

-

-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: In the volcano&#039;s mouth</p>

-<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>or, A boy against an army</p>

-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Frank Sheridan</p>

-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 24, 2022 [eBook #68164]</p>

-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>

-  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)</p>

-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO&#039;S MOUTH ***</div>

-

-<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 107.4375em;">

-  <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" />

-</div>

-

-<div style="padding-top:4em">

-<div class="transnote">

-<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>

-

-<p>The Table of Contents was created by the transcriber and placed in

-the public domain.</p>

-

-<p><a href="#TN_end">Additional Transcriber’s Notes</a> are at the

-end.</p>

-</div></div>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<div class="boxcontents">

-<p class="xlargefont center boldfont">CONTENTS</p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I. Madcap Max.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II. Emin Bey’s Escape.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Chapter III. In a Desert Tomb.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Chapter IV. Under the Pyramid.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Chapter V. Girzilla.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI. Was It an Echo?</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Chapter VII. Splendid Heroism.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Chapter VIII. Sherif El Habib.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Chapter IX. Ibrahim and Max.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Chapter X. The Petrified Forest.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Chapter XI. The Tribe of Klatch.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Chapter XII. “What Says Girzilla?”</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Chapter XIII. Dangerous Jests.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Chapter XIV. The Subterranean River.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Chapter XV. In the Volcano’s Mouth.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Chapter XVI. Beyond Human Imagination.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Chapter XVII. The Rainmaker.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Chapter XVIII. Why Our Heroes Desert.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Chapter XIX. Mohammed.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Chapter XX. “Where Is Girzilla?”</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Chapter XXI. The Mahdi.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">Chapter XXII. Trick or Miracle.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">Chapter XXIII. Under the Mahdi.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">Chapter XXIV. Counting Chickens.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">Chapter XXV. Victory.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">Chapter XXVI. A Plan of Campaign.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">Chapter XXVII. Sowing the Seed.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">Chapter XXVIII. An Unexpected Bath.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">Chapter XXIX. Saved!</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">Chapter XXX. The Mahdi’s Justice.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">Chapter XXXI. Victory All Along the Line.</a></p>

-<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">Chapter XXXII. “All’s Well That Ends Well.”</a></p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p class="center largefont">No. 134</p>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont">BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY</p>

-

-<p class="center xxlargefont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH</p>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont"><span class="mediumfont">BY</span><br />

-FRANK SHERIDAN</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter illowp80" style="max-width: 40.625em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/cover_illo.jpg" alt="Cover illustration." />

-</div>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK</p>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY</p>

-

-<p>We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of

-adventure for boys by this name because we felt assured that

-it was “bound to win” its way into the heart of every true

-American lad. The stories are exceptionally bright, clean and

-interesting. The writers had the interest of our boys at heart

-when they wrote the stories, and have not failed to show what

-a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do. Remember,

-that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any

-other series. We give herewith a list of those already published

-and those scheduled for publication.</p>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK</p>

-

-<p class="center largefont boldfont">To be Published During September</p>

-

-<div class="center">

-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">136&mdash;Spider and Stump</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">135&mdash;The Creature of the Pines</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">134&mdash;In the Volcano’s Mouth</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">133&mdash;Muscles of Steel</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-</table>

-</div>

-

-<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During August</p>

-

-<div class="center">

-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">132&mdash;Home Base</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">131&mdash;The Jewel of Florida</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">130&mdash;The Boys’ Revolt</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">129&mdash;The Mystic Isle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">128&mdash;With the Mad Mullah</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-

-<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During July</p>

-

-<div class="center">

-<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">

-<tr><td class="tblc">127&mdash;A Humble Hero</td><td class="tbra" style="min-width:12em">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">126&mdash;For Big Money</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">125&mdash;Too Fast to Last</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">124&mdash;Caught in a Trap</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">123&mdash;The Tattooed Boy</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">122&mdash;The Young Horseman</td><td class="tbra">By Herbert Bellwood</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">121&mdash;Sam Sawbones</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">120&mdash;On His Mettle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">119&mdash;Compound Interest</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">118&mdash;Runaway and Rover</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">117&mdash;Larry O’Keefe</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">116&mdash;The Boy Crusaders</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">115&mdash;Double Quick Dan</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">114&mdash;Money to Spend</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">113&mdash;Billy Barlow</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">112&mdash;A Battle with Fate</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">111&mdash;Gypsy Joe</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">110&mdash;Barred Out</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">109&mdash;Will Wilding</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">108&mdash;Frank Bolton’s Chase</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">107&mdash;Lucky-Stone Dick</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">106&mdash;Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>

-<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">105&mdash;Fatherless Bob at Sea</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">104&mdash;Fatherless Bob</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">103&mdash;Hank the Hustler</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">102&mdash;Dick Stanhope Afloat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">101&mdash;The Golden Harpoon</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblc">100&mdash;Mischievous Matt’s Pranks</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">99&mdash;Mischievous Matt</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">98&mdash;Bert Chipley</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">97&mdash;Down-East Dave</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">96&mdash;The Young Diplomat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">95&mdash;The Fool of the Family</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">94&mdash;Slam, Bang &amp; Co</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">93&mdash;On the Road</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">92&mdash;The Blood-Red Hand</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">91&mdash;The Diamond King</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">90&mdash;The Double-Faced Mystery</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">89&mdash;The Young Theatrical Manager</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">88&mdash;The Young West-Pointer</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">87&mdash;Held for Ransom</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">86&mdash;Boot-Black Bob</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">85&mdash;Engineer Tom</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>

-<tr><td class="tblb">84&mdash;The Mascot of Hoodooville</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>

-</table></div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h1 class="nobreak">In the Volcano’s Mouth</h1>

-

-

-<p class="center xlargefont pminus1" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.25em"><span class="mediumfont">OR</span><br />

-A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY</p>

-

-<p class="center p1" style="margin-bottom:2em"><em>By</em> FRANK SHERIDAN, <em>author of</em> “<cite>Bert Fairfax</cite>,”<br />

-“<cite>Through Flame to Fame</cite>,” “<cite>Life-Line Larry</cite>,”<br /> “<cite>Lion-Hearted

-Jack</cite>,” <em>etc.</em></p>

-</div>

-

-<div class="figcenter illowp25" style="max-width: 8.75em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/i004.jpg" alt="Publisher icon." />

-</div>

-

-<p class="center largefont p2" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.5em">STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS<br />

-79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK

-</p>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p class="center">Copyright, 1890<br />

-By Norman L. Munro</p>

-

-<p class="center p1">In the Volcano’s Mouth</p>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p class="center xxlargefont nobreak" style="margin-bottom:1em" id="CHAPTER_I">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</p>

-

-

-<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MADCAP MAX.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“All aboard!”</p>

-

-<p>“All but passengers ashore.”</p>

-

-<p>The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent

-palace steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and

-Oriental Line, sounded all along the Southampton docks,

-up the streets to the old gates, and even penetrated into

-some of the business houses of the quaint old English

-town.</p>

-

-<p>The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton,

-was one of serious import to those gathered

-on the deck of the steamer.</p>

-

-<p>Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a

-long one, and it is known the absence is for years, the

-last words are always tearful.</p>

-

-<p>On the deck stood two men, alone.</p>

-

-<p>Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed

-on their journey.</p>

-

-<p>And yet tears filled the eyes of both.</p>

-

-<p>The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as

-that of any mulatto, his long, white mustache standing

-out in startling contrast to the color of his skin.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[6]</span></p>

-

-<p>He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his

-hard muscles, and firm walk, would rather betoken a

-man of forty.</p>

-

-<p>By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in

-appearance, but perhaps only because of the contrast

-to his father; there was a brightness in his eyes which

-betokens an active spirit, and although so effeminate-looking,

-when he clinched his hand one could see the

-strong muscle rising beneath the sleeve.</p>

-

-<p>The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile

-firm of Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell, of New York.</p>

-

-<p>The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called

-Max by those who are intimate with him, and “Madcap

-Max” by his closest companions.</p>

-

-<p>Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell were interested in Egyptian

-produce, and for many years Maximilian Gordon

-had been a resident of Alexandria.</p>

-

-<p>His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been

-compelled to live in England, where young Max had

-been educated.</p>

-

-<p>The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and

-had just completed arrangements for them to return to

-Egypt with him when cholera broke out, and he arrived

-home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in death

-and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.</p>

-

-<p>Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English

-coast, which was by this time fast receding, their

-eyes were filled with tears, for they were leaving a plot

-of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a wife’s

-and mother’s grave.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p>

-

-<p>Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left

-the English Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted

-lad once again, laughing, chatting and larking with

-everyone he came in contact with.</p>

-

-<p>His father could not hide his grief so easily, but

-showed by his manner how nearly broken was his heart

-and ruined his life.</p>

-

-<p>When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were

-reached, Max had given plentiful evidence of his love of

-practical joking, and showed that he fully deserved his

-sobriquet of Madcap.</p>

-

-<p>One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.</p>

-

-<p>This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of

-Max, and was easily induced to adapt itself to the ways

-of the fun-loving youth.</p>

-

-<p>One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s

-nightcap, which he had obtained from a stewardess, and

-told Jocko he must lie in a certain bed.</p>

-

-<p>The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor,

-who declared that women and children were a nuisance.</p>

-

-<p>When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his

-utter astonishment, a head resting on his pillow.</p>

-

-<p>Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his

-room, shouting “Steward!” at the top of his voice.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer,

-startled by the frantic shouting.</p>

-

-<p>“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”</p>

-

-<p>“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the

-vessel if the offender is not punished.”</p>

-

-<p>“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer

-Tunley.</p>

-

-<p>“Of course&mdash;but when? Why, in a week’s time, when

-everyone will have easily forgotten&mdash;no, sir, come at

-once.”</p>

-

-<p>“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence,

-that it may have been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned,

-and three bottles of strong ale, are likely to disturb the

-vision.”</p>

-

-<p>“I’ll report you, sir&mdash;mark me, I’ll report you. Come,

-now, to my room, and if there is not a nigger baby there

-I’ll eat my hat.”</p>

-

-<p>“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”</p>

-

-<p>By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had

-fled the room, and Max had stripped the cap from its

-head.</p>

-

-<p>The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning,

-as if it enjoyed the joke.</p>

-

-<p>The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.</p>

-

-<p>“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his

-bed.</p>

-

-<p>“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer,

-with proud indignation. “Take care, sir, that it

-does not occur again.”</p>

-

-<p>The passenger was speechless.</p>

-

-<p>Another day, when the steamer <em>L’Orient</em> was being<span class="pagenum">[9]</span>

-tossed about in the most fantastic manner, sometimes

-taking a swift pitch forward, then curving and twisting

-in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a baseball

-pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for

-a pleasant diversion.</p>

-

-<p>A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board,

-to enable the company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.</p>

-

-<p>Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and

-saw them, with one accord, make for the saloon.</p>

-

-<p>That was just what he wanted.</p>

-

-<p>A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her

-horror she fell on the back of a pig, who set up such a

-squeaking and squealing that, although the passengers

-were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.</p>

-

-<p>After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria

-was sighted.</p>

-

-<p>“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob.

-“I am glad I have to stay at Alexandria, for <em>L’Orient</em> is

-the worst disciplined ship I was ever in.”</p>

-

-<p>The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on

-board.</p>

-

-<p>And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths

-of the trouble was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Do we land here?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”</p>

-

-<p>“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes

-still wider with astonishment.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down

-at Alexandria.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[10]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I am so glad.”</p>

-

-<p>Several scores of boats surrounded <em>L’Orient</em>, manned

-by swarthy and not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen

-or so seized upon Max and his father and literally

-dragged them to a boat.</p>

-

-<p>On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr.

-Gordon whispered to Max:</p>

-

-<p>“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your

-own.”</p>

-

-<p>“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full

-of fun as an undertaker.”</p>

-

-<p>“For your own sake be careful.”</p>

-

-<p>“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers

-met them.</p>

-

-<p>No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the

-face of the earth than these same Arab donkey boys.</p>

-

-<p>They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost

-intuitively.</p>

-

-<p>An American who had never been in Egypt before, was

-looking at the surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers

-with wonder, when one of them pushed forward and

-addressed him as follows:</p>

-

-<p>“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is<span class="pagenum">[11]</span>

-the one Pasha Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”</p>

-

-<p>“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only

-ride on Hail Columbia?”</p>

-

-<p>Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by

-Alexander three hundred and thirty-three years before

-the birth of Christ.</p>

-

-<p>Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the

-donkeys halted, and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.</p>

-

-<p>“This is home.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you live here, dad?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our

-journey to-morrow.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone

-to that wonderful monolith of granite called “Pompey’s

-Pillar.”</p>

-

-<p>He sat down to think.</p>

-

-<p>He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and

-now he was actually looking on one of the wonders of

-that old country.</p>

-

-<p>Suddenly he heard a cry.</p>

-

-<p>It was like a girl’s voice.</p>

-

-<p>Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the

-sound.</p>

-

-<p>He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl&mdash;her face

-half covered with a white veil&mdash;rushed past him, shrieking

-and crying.</p>

-

-<p>“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.</p>

-

-<p>Two men were in pursuit.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[12]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max never stopped to think.</p>

-

-<p>He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did

-so, or whether it would be wise to interfere, he struck

-one of the Arabs to the earth, and threw himself against

-the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow, with

-muscles like iron.</p>

-

-<p>That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong,

-but he was unaccustomed to foul play.</p>

-

-<p>When, therefore, he found that the man he had

-knocked down had risen and drawn a long, sharp dagger,

-with which he threatened his life, Max saw the unwisdom

-of his defense of the Arab girl.</p>

-

-<p>A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his

-back brandishing a dagger, was enough to frighten an

-older man than Max.</p>

-

-<p>The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max

-did not understand.</p>

-

-<p>He struck at the man in front of him and made him

-stagger back, then with a quick movement, he stooped

-as he turned and caught the armed Arab round the

-legs, throwing him over his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p>He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought

-discretion better than valor. Using his legs as well as he

-could he ran away, only to be stopped by the girl he had&mdash;as

-he thought&mdash;rescued.</p>

-

-<p>She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly&mdash;though

-in an unknown tongue to Max&mdash;held him fast

-until his pursuers were close upon him.</p>

-

-<p>With a wild shout they seized him, and would have<span class="pagenum">[13]</span>

-speedily rendered him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.</p>

-

-<p>A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in

-the prime of life, slowly and with deliberation took hold

-of one of the Arabs and flung him on one side.</p>

-

-<p>Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded

-him and the girl to go, and that quickly.</p>

-

-<p>“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Have I? Is it worth saving?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose

-it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about

-Alexandria without weapons.”</p>

-

-<p>“What did they want with me?”</p>

-

-<p>“They would have captured you, and held you until

-ransomed.”</p>

-

-<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“You are not rich, you would say. What does that

-matter? A ten-dollar gold piece would seem a fortune to

-them. The girl practices that scream on hundreds of

-unsuspecting foreigners.”</p>

-

-<p>“You speak of American money; are you from the

-States?”</p>

-

-<p>“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world,

-a cosmopolitan.”</p>

-

-<p>“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.</p>

-

-<p>“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved

-your life, prove that your life is of some value.”</p>

-

-<p>The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented<span class="pagenum">[14]</span>

-streets of that city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting

-the admiration of all to the savage beauty of that</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-<div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;

-</div><div class="indent0">Brow-bound with burning gold.”

-</div></div></div></div>

-

-<p>Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and

-almost was inclined to doubt, for he was at that age when

-the laughing black eyes of a girl fascinate and lure,

-sometimes to ruin.</p>

-

-<p>Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from

-the Arabs.</p>

-

-<p>He saw that night how much his father was respected,

-but he saw that which made his heart sad. His father

-was bowed down with grief.</p>

-

-<p>And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion

-as strong as his love of life.</p>

-

-<p>When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only

-eight summers of life, all had seemed roseate.</p>

-

-<p>Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon

-accompanied her husband to Egypt; but at the end of

-three years the malarious climate had rendered it impossible

-for her to live there, and she returned to England

-to be near Max.</p>

-

-<p>For seven years the husband had only been able to

-spend three months in the year with the wife he so

-loved.</p>

-

-<p>Then came the time when once more the mother of

-Max was ready to brave the treacherous climate of

-Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>How the husband had looked forward to that time, and<span class="pagenum">[15]</span>

-with what pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything

-to please her was obtained.</p>

-

-<p>Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no

-wonder that Mr. Gordon should feel most wretched when

-he returned to his Oriental home, and knew that she

-would never grace it with her presence.</p>

-

-<p>His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him

-there was anxiety, for the stern business man&mdash;the successful

-merchant had only seen the frivolous side of his

-son’s life.</p>

-

-<p>To him he was the madcap.</p>

-

-<p>To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous

-lad, whose thoughts were of fun and amusement.</p>

-

-<p>Early next morning they took train to Cairo.</p>

-

-<p>How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think

-of traveling by a railroad in that country, so famous in

-Bible stories!</p>

-

-<p>The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous

-fancy of traveling by means of steam through Egypt and

-Palestine:</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-<div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!

-</div><div class="indent0">Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”

-</div></div></div></div>

-

-<p>has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor

-shout out: “Gizeh&mdash;all out for Gizeh,” on the

-route between Alexandria and Cairo.</p>

-

-<p>At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon

-roused up, and told Max of the slaughter of the

-Mamelukes&mdash;that wonderful body of men who, from

-being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[16]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed

-Ali, in 1811, was organizing his expedition against

-the Wahhabees, he heard that the Mamelukes designed

-to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their chief

-to be present at the investiture of his son with the command

-of the army.</p>

-

-<p>“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After

-receiving a most flattering welcome they were invited to

-parade in the courtyard of the citadel.”</p>

-

-<p>“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to

-impress them with his generosity?”</p>

-

-<p>“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled

-within its lofty walls; the portcullis fell behind the

-last of their glittering array; too late they perceived that

-their host had caught them in a trap, and they turned to

-effect a retreat.</p>

-

-<p>“In vain.</p>

-

-<p>“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred

-windows and blank, pitiless walls.</p>

-

-<p>“But they saw more.</p>

-

-<p>“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from

-those muskets incessant volleys were poured.</p>

-

-<p>“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage

-worthy of the past history of the Mamelukes.</p>

-

-<p>“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms,

-and stood waiting for death.”</p>

-

-<p>“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.</p>

-

-<p>“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But

-some, with angry brows, drew their swords and charged

-upon the gunners.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[17]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the

-withering fire did its deadly work.”</p>

-

-<p>“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>

-

-<p>“Only one escaped.”</p>

-

-<p>“How did he manage it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Emin Bey&mdash;for that was his name&mdash;spurred his Arabian

-charger over a pile of his dead and dying comrades.

-He sprang upon the battlements; the next moment

-he was in the air; another and he released himself

-from his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of

-bullets.”</p>

-

-<p>“What became of him?”</p>

-

-<p>“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and

-finally escaped into the desert.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is he dead?”</p>

-

-<p>“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged

-man at that time, and that is over seventy years ago.”</p>

-

-<p>“Had he any sons?”</p>

-

-<p>“I believe so. Why do you ask?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because I would like to see any of his descendants.

-I would like to speak to them. It would be a proud

-honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate salt, with the grandson

-of Emin Bey.’”</p>

-

-<p>“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”</p>

-

-<p>“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”</p>

-

-<p>Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the

-merry, happy, careless boy.</p>

-

-<p>“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than

-slave hunters or pirates now.”</p>

-

-<p>“I hope you are wrong, dad.”</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[18]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN A DESERT TOMB.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes

-filled Max with a restless ambition.</p>

-

-<p>He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go

-“far from the madding crowd,” into the midst of the wild

-residents of the Dark Continent.</p>

-

-<p>Like those who believe the American Indians to be a

-grand race, persecuted without reason by the dominant

-power, so Max looked upon the residents of the Dark

-Continent as being a superior people.</p>

-

-<p>He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his

-boyish ideas would be laughed at, but he spent all his

-waking moments dreaming dreams of the savages of the

-jungles.</p>

-

-<p>The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was

-something too civilized about the houses.</p>

-

-<p>The lattices&mdash;which covered the windows instead of

-glass&mdash;pleased him, and many a time would he catch a

-glimpse of some white brow of a lady fair through the

-interstices of the lattice, and would feel like</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-<div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“The lover, all as frantic

-</div><div class="indent0">Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”

-</div></div></div></div>

-

-<p>It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the

-wonders of the city&mdash;save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis&mdash;had

-been seen, and these had to be left to a future<span class="pagenum">[19]</span>

-visit, for business called the merchant back to

-Alexandria.</p>

-

-<p>Max pleaded for one more day&mdash;or at least that their

-journey should be deferred until the morrow.</p>

-

-<p>He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun,

-where existed the university at which Moses was educated,

-and the daughter of one of whose professors

-Joseph married.</p>

-

-<p>And so Mr. Gordon yielded.</p>

-

-<p>Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore

-tree, hollow, gnarled and almost leafless, beneath the

-branches of which tradition says that Joseph and Mary

-rested with the infant Christ in their flight into Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand

-years, was gazed at by young Madcap with a certain

-amount of awe.</p>

-

-<p>It was dark before Max was ready to return.</p>

-

-<p>Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr.

-Gordon, to please Max, dispensed with the guides who

-had been good for nothing save the receipt of backsheesh,

-and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their right.</p>

-

-<p>They had not gone far before they came upon a number

-of wild-looking fellows, half Arab, half Nubian&mdash;a

-species of creature which is interesting as a study at

-long range, but whose acquaintance is not desirable.</p>

-

-<p>“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.</p>

-

-<p>“We must pass them.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is it safe?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, Max, far from it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then why not retrace our steps?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[20]</span></p>

-

-<p>“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”</p>

-

-<p>“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”</p>

-

-<p>“We might, but they would help these fellows rather

-than us in order to share the backsheesh.”</p>

-

-<p>While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed

-a circle round them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.</p>

-

-<p>Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers

-closed in and stood shoulder to shoulder in firm and

-solid phalanx.</p>

-

-<p>“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.</p>

-

-<p>“Money,” was the reply.</p>

-

-<p>“You shall have all I have got with me.”</p>

-

-<p>“Hand it over.”</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand,

-but no sooner had he put his hand into his pocket than

-they suspected danger.</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your

-hands!”</p>

-

-<p>It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back

-ocean’s tidal waves with a broom as to oppose the demands

-of those robbers of the desert.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Gordon raised his hands.</p>

-

-<p>“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English

-was intelligible.</p>

-

-<p>Max raised his hands as he was commanded.</p>

-

-<p>Every article of value was taken from them, and the

-robbers seemed to be satisfied.</p>

-

-<p>“Sit down!” the chief commanded.</p>

-

-<p>“What for?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[21]</span></p>

-

-<p>But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart

-blow on the cheek which caused him to reel.</p>

-

-<p>That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered

-the blow with another.</p>

-

-<p>The chief interfered and stopped the fight.</p>

-

-<p>“Sit down!”</p>

-

-<p>Again Max pluckily asked:</p>

-

-<p>“What for?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”</p>

-

-<p>“Are you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding,

-even to the death.”</p>

-

-<p>“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his

-eyes flashed with defiance.</p>

-

-<p>“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are

-bidden; it will be better so.”</p>

-

-<p>But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused,

-and he turned to his father almost angrily.</p>

-

-<p>“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am

-an American, and I will not obey such a command without

-knowing the reason.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are a fool!”</p>

-

-<p>It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand

-such a speech, and he rushed at the strong Arab chief,

-aiming a blow which, had it struck the man on the

-temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an

-expert boxer.</p>

-

-<p>The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was

-caught round the legs and thrown to the ground.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p>

-

-<p>A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and

-he was rendered powerless.</p>

-

-<p>“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a

-sneer.</p>

-

-<p>“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max,

-defiantly. “Frightened of a boy less than half your age.

-Oh! you are a brave chief, are you not?”</p>

-

-<p>“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”</p>

-

-<p>“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>

-

-<p>“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.</p>

-

-<p>“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send

-that young fool there”&mdash;pointing to Max&mdash;“with one of

-my men for twenty thousand piasters, and when he returns

-with it, both shall go free.”</p>

-

-<p>Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand

-dollars.</p>

-

-<p>“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.</p>

-

-<p>“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too

-much,” answered the chief, pointing with his dagger at

-Max.</p>

-

-<p>“But he cannot get the money.”</p>

-

-<p>“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it

-you shall die.”</p>

-

-<p>Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.</p>

-

-<p>He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with

-bandits such as these, and that the authorities made but

-a poor pretense of suppressing the lawless bands.</p>

-

-<p>He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He

-knew he had wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[23]</span></p>

-

-<p>One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and

-instantly all was in commotion.</p>

-

-<p>The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to

-the back of donkeys.</p>

-

-<p>The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away

-from the vicinity of the city at a speed that Max could

-not believe a donkey was capable of maintaining.</p>

-

-<p>But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed

-the secret of making the native donkey forget its natural

-laziness and go with the speed of a well-trained mule.</p>

-

-<p>“Where are we going?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>He was answered by a slap across the face, which

-nearly capsized him.</p>

-

-<p>“Another word and the body of the American shall

-be but carrion.”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was

-trembling with fear.</p>

-

-<p>The chief led the way across a sandy desert.</p>

-

-<p>The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting

-sand look like so much dazzling silver.</p>

-

-<p>It was a scene of weird grandeur.</p>

-

-<p>In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments

-of a past civilization, which are alike the envy and the

-wonder of the world.</p>

-

-<p>The procession seemed to be winding round the city at

-an increasing distance, and nearing the pyramids.</p>

-

-<p>Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.</p>

-

-<p>The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he

-enjoyed it.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[24]</span></p>

-

-<p>If he could but have talked to the chief&mdash;if he could

-have been free, his happiness would have been complete.</p>

-

-<p>But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.</p>

-

-<p>He dare not speak, and could not act.</p>

-

-<p>Before he was aware of it the scene changed.</p>

-

-<p>He could not understand in what way at first.</p>

-

-<p>The sand was there, the moon was shining, although

-not so brightly, but he could not see the pyramids.</p>

-

-<p>The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him

-that they had entered a broad, inclined road, and were

-descending below the level of the sandy desert.</p>

-

-<p>Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s

-rays were no longer seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed

-donkeys walked forward.</p>

-

-<p>Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was

-over and between great rocks.</p>

-

-<p>Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had

-to be passed, and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently

-traversed the uncertain road.</p>

-

-<p>“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>

-

-<p>His voice sounded like a shout, although he had

-spoken under his breath.</p>

-

-<p>The stillness of the place was awful.</p>

-

-<p>Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.</p>

-

-<p>He began to think that the road he traveled led to

-death.</p>

-

-<p>But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere

-seemed to change.</p>

-

-<p>He could breathe freely.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[25]</span></p>

-

-<p>There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did

-not seem so much like that of the grave.</p>

-

-<p>“Halt!”</p>

-

-<p>The command was given in English, and all understood

-it.</p>

-

-<p>Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence

-of ceremony, Max and his father were dragged from

-their donkeys and thrown with unnecessary violence on

-the ground.</p>

-

-<p>Then again all was still.</p>

-

-<p>Were they alone?</p>

-

-<p>Max could not endure the silence any longer.</p>

-

-<p>“Dad!” he called out.</p>

-

-<p>A blow on the head reminded him that speech was

-forbidden.</p>

-

-<p>What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians&mdash;whatever

-nationality they might be&mdash;could see in the

-dark.</p>

-

-<p>He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of

-the night.</p>

-

-<p>The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds

-seeming like an hour, every hour as long as a day.</p>

-

-<p>With an almost supernatural quickness a score of

-pitch torches were lighted, and Max saw that he was in a

-great cave.</p>

-

-<p>Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every

-direction.</p>

-

-<p>One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the

-blocks of granite had been fashioned by man, and<span class="pagenum">[26]</span>

-brought to that cave at some period of Egypt’s greatness.</p>

-

-<p>He looked round for his father, and screamed with

-horror when he saw the bronzed face of the only relative

-he had all covered with blood.</p>

-

-<p>When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey,

-his head struck a sharp piece of granite, and was

-severely wounded.</p>

-

-<p>The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered

-him to be lifted tenderly into the center of the cave.</p>

-

-<p>Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet

-had been again tied together.</p>

-

-<p>“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”</p>

-

-<p>The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was

-on his lips.</p>

-

-<p>“Max&mdash;I&mdash;am&mdash;going&mdash;av&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Was he going to say “Avenge me?”</p>

-

-<p>Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the

-dying man’s mouth, and the bandits commenced a wild,

-weird dance round the body.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max

-and tried to speak, but either the cloth still prevented

-him or his voice was hushed by the great shadow of

-death which was over him.</p>

-

-<p>A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s

-soul had gone into the “Great Beyond” to join that of

-his loved wife.</p>

-

-<p>Max knew he was now alone.</p>

-

-<p>He could not weep.</p>

-

-<p>His eyes were hot as burning coals.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[27]</span></p>

-

-<p>If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they

-would ease him; but no, his eyes were dry and his brain

-seemed scorched.</p>

-

-<p>His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak

-it appeared to fill up his mouth.</p>

-

-<p>The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet,

-and instinct told him that he was alone&mdash;alone with the

-dead.</p>

-

-<p>Not a sound disturbed the silence.</p>

-

-<p>A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.</p>

-

-<p>“What if he were left there to starve to death beside

-his father’s body?”</p>

-

-<p>Madcap Max was not a coward.</p>

-

-<p>He had no real fear of death, but he would rather

-meet the great destroyer on the open field, or in any

-way but that slow struggle in the solitude of a big grave&mdash;a

-death from starvation.</p>

-

-<p>The strongest soul would quake.</p>

-

-<p>The hours passed along.</p>

-

-<p>Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter

-who may wish to stay them.</p>

-

-<p>Max began to think of other things besides death.</p>

-

-<p>He wondered how he could escape. And if he did,

-how could he avenge his father’s death?</p>

-

-<p>Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.</p>

-

-<p>Youth had conquered.</p>

-

-<p>Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have

-been a raving maniac.</p>

-

-<p>Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer,

-balmy sleep,” came to his relief and saved his reason.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[28]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE PYRAMID.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.</p>

-

-<p>When the visions of the night visited his brain, they

-shaped themselves in pleasing form.</p>

-

-<p>He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the

-sight seemed stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared

-to Max that the foul murder committed by Mohammed

-Ali was necessary&mdash;that from that murder would spring

-the regeneration of Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that

-the brave Mameluke still lived, and was at the head

-of an all-conquering army, overcoming French and

-English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt

-from foreign rule.</p>

-

-<p>And as all this passed before the mental vision of

-the sleeping American boy, he thought that by the side

-of the conqueror he rode&mdash;not as he was then, a beardless

-youth, but with bronzed face and flowing beard&mdash;a

-turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed

-carried by his side.</p>

-

-<p>Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not

-dead, but living, and successful as a merchant. By his

-side was the wife whose love had been so lavishly given

-to her husband and her son.</p>

-

-<p>The sight of his father and mother brought tears to

-the dreamer’s eyes, and caused him to wake.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[29]</span></p>

-

-<p>It was some time before he could bring back to his

-memory the events of the preceding day.</p>

-

-<p>When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.</p>

-

-<p>Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it

-still in the cave?</p>

-

-<p>Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and

-escape from that living tomb?</p>

-

-<p>“Hush!”</p>

-

-<p>Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank

-of a gust of wind?</p>

-

-<p>Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.</p>

-

-<p>He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did

-not speak.</p>

-

-<p>“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”</p>

-

-<p>“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone

-mad?”</p>

-

-<p>He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the

-darkness.</p>

-

-<p>“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness

-with a vengeance.”</p>

-

-<p>“Dost thou want to die?”</p>

-

-<p>The question came out of the darkness and sounded

-afar off, yet Max could almost fancy that the breath of

-the speaker fanned his cheek.</p>

-

-<p>“Who is that speaks?”</p>

-

-<p>“Question not my name.”</p>

-

-<p>“Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”</p>

-

-<p>The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft

-as a whisper.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[30]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Am I then under the pyramid?”</p>

-

-<p>“That is how thou wouldst express it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Will you aid me to escape?”</p>

-

-<p>“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“Nay&mdash;thou art a woman.”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Wah Illahi sahe!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>(By Allah, it is true.)</p>

-

-<p>“I would not harm thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the

-prophet that thou wilt not seek revenge.”</p>

-

-<p>“The price is too great.”</p>

-

-<p>“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”</p>

-

-<p>“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent

-tone, which sounded almost ridiculous in the

-dark, but which would have been the signal for a burst

-of applause from the gallery of a theater had an actor so

-uttered the words on a stage.</p>

-

-<p>All was still as the grave.</p>

-

-<p>He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the

-cord cut into the flesh.</p>

-

-<p>His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for

-death.</p>

-

-<p>“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned,

-aloud, as the agony of the thought took possession of his

-mind.</p>

-

-<p>“Help!”</p>

-

-<p>He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back

-mockingly:</p>

-

-<p>“Help!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[31]</span></p>

-

-<p>He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint

-echo of his words.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall die,” he groaned.</p>

-

-<p>“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.</p>

-

-<p>His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh

-with boisterous guffaws.</p>

-

-<p>It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.</p>

-

-<p>The echo answered back.</p>

-

-<p>The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.</p>

-

-<p>“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning

-force on the rock.</p>

-

-<p>When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet

-breath of air was blowing on his face.</p>

-

-<p>He was being fanned.</p>

-

-<p>He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze

-might cease.</p>

-

-<p>The fanning continued until at last he could bear the

-silence no longer.</p>

-

-<p>“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p>“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri,

-wilt thou follow me?”</p>

-

-<p>“I will.”</p>

-

-<p>By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its

-glare Max saw the horrible cave to which he had been

-removed by some unknown hands.</p>

-

-<p>Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and

-blocks of red granite in endless confusion.</p>

-

-<p>But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>A girl.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[32]</span></p>

-

-<p>She was not what the fashionable world would call

-lovely.</p>

-

-<p>Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s

-wing.</p>

-

-<p>Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her

-head, almost like a halo of glory.</p>

-

-<p>Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle

-was a massive band of silver similar to those she wore

-on each arm above the elbow.</p>

-

-<p>Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could

-scarcely believe but that it was a phantasm of the mind

-which was before him, and not a living entity.</p>

-

-<p>She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might

-her wand, and in a voice of rare sweetness said:</p>

-

-<p>“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am bound,” answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she

-pointed laughingly at the severed cords, and again she

-said:</p>

-

-<p>“Come! Follow me!”</p>

-

-<p>“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.</p>

-

-<p>“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”</p>

-

-<p>The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange

-thrill to pass through him.</p>

-

-<p>“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the

-light.</p>

-

-<p>“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.</p>

-

-<p>And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange<span class="pagenum">[33]</span>

-creature who had found him alone and suffering in the

-cave beneath the great pyramid.</p>

-

-<p>Followed! But where?</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">GIRZILLA.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl,

-Madcap Max followed her, without asking any question

-until she suddenly extinguished the torch.</p>

-

-<p>“Why did you do that?” he inquired.</p>

-

-<p>The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously

-placed her hand over his mouth and held it there so

-tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.</p>

-

-<p>He struggled to release himself, but she was strong,

-and to add to her power, she whispered:</p>

-

-<p>“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”</p>

-

-<p>However disagreeable it might be it was better to

-have a pretty girl’s hand over his mouth than to be

-killed, and therefore Max made no further resistance.</p>

-

-<p>A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks,

-attracted his attention.</p>

-

-<p>“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; what is it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek

-thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“And if they find?”</p>

-

-<p>“Will kill. I will save, if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress

-and follow. The least noise may seal thy fate and

-mine.”</p>

-

-<p>“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”</p>

-

-<p>“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I

-am Girzilla. Let that be my name.”</p>

-

-<p>“I will call thee Gazelle.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”</p>

-

-<p>Whoever the girl with the strange name might be,

-she evidently knew her way, for never once did her foot

-slip, although Max found his ankles turning every minute,

-and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress, which,

-though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen

-cord, he would have fallen frequently.</p>

-

-<p>“Sit down!”</p>

-

-<p>The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in

-the nature of a command.</p>

-

-<p>Max did as ordered, and sat in silence&mdash;a silence so

-great that he could hear the beating of his heart, and

-fancied that he could also distinguish the pulsations of

-his guide’s organ of life at the same time. The silence

-was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and restless.</p>

-

-<p>“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I

-confess this is the strangest,” he mused.</p>

-

-<p>“To save thee, thou must go through the place of

-the dead.”</p>

-

-<p>The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral

-that Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[35]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Hast thou courage?” she asked.</p>

-

-<p>“I&mdash;h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with

-nervous fear of the unknown.</p>

-

-<p>“Come!”</p>

-

-<p>Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla

-walked slower than before.</p>

-

-<p>Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it

-made him groan with pain.</p>

-

-<p>“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.</p>

-

-<p>Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.</p>

-

-<p>He could not go back, for he did not know the way,

-and he dare not go forward alone, for he was afraid.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed

-softly and murmured:</p>

-

-<p>“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she

-will save him.”</p>

-

-<p>Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher

-than his knees, he followed as well as he could.</p>

-

-<p>Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a

-glimmer of light showed that the sun had risen again,

-and found some crevice through which it sent its heavenly

-rays.</p>

-

-<p>Gradually the light increased, and the road became

-better.</p>

-

-<p>The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes

-on his feet drying up, and even baking.</p>

-

-<p>He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered

-his tender feet.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[36]</span></p>

-

-<p>High up above him was an opening, through which

-the light and heat came.</p>

-

-<p>“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone

-from there”&mdash;and Girzilla pointed upward&mdash;“would

-make thee fit for a mummy.”</p>

-

-<p>Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned

-to ice, and he was almost afraid to glance upward.</p>

-

-<p>“Where are we?”</p>

-

-<p>“Under the temple of great Isis.”</p>

-

-<p>“Under?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost

-stand.”</p>

-

-<p>“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious

-passages, but I am hungry and cold.”</p>

-

-<p>“Just now thou wert hot.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”</p>

-

-<p>“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee

-where thou canst rest.”</p>

-

-<p>A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway

-gave place to a large plateau, on which huge

-bowlders were scattered promiscuously.</p>

-

-<p>Scattered&mdash;apparently too large for human hands to

-move, and yet they bore evidence of having been transported

-thither.</p>

-

-<p>They were of red granite, while the native rocks were

-of a different stone.</p>

-

-<p>Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite

-blocks, but he quickly left his seat.</p>

-

-<p>He leaped away as though he had been stung by a

-viper.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[37]</span></p>

-

-<p>Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his

-annoyance.</p>

-

-<p>The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor

-Max felt he would be baked or fried if he stayed there

-a minute.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and

-began scratching away the sand.</p>

-

-<p>“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was

-sulking since she had laughed at him.</p>

-

-<p>“The way we must go is under this stone.”</p>

-

-<p>“Under that stone!” repeated Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go

-through it.”</p>

-

-<p>The girl was right.</p>

-

-<p>The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze

-herself through, while the madcap declared he would not

-descend.</p>

-

-<p>“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”</p>

-

-<p>The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to

-follow the girl, though in doing so he tore his clothes

-and scratched his face.</p>

-

-<p>But once down, he was amply repaid.</p>

-

-<p>The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere

-of which was charmingly cool.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on

-an open sarcophagus.</p>

-

-<p>She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing

-nothing, and having no superstitious dread of sitting

-on the stone coffin, wherein was dust, which had once

-been molded in human form.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[38]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I have food here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Food?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“Here?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; art thou not hungry?”</p>

-

-<p>“I am. But the place is a tomb.”</p>

-

-<p>“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Have been buried here, you mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those

-who would kill him, and sought refuge here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me of him.”</p>

-

-<p>“He fought&mdash;oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right

-and left with his scimiter, and when he got tired he

-spurred his horse and made a run for liberty.”</p>

-

-<p>“Did you know him?”</p>

-

-<p>“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked

-coquettishly at Madcap.</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier,

-a Mameluke&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“What! Was it Emin Bey?”</p>

-

-<p>“That was how he was called.”</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he

-any sons? Tell me, I am all impatience.”</p>

-

-<p>“I see you are; but you must eat.”</p>

-

-<p>This houri of the caves&mdash;a strange child of the desert&mdash;pushed

-aside the lid of another sarcophagus and took

-therefrom a piece of confection known as Turkish delight.</p>

-

-<p>She offered it to Max, but he turned away.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[39]</span></p>

-

-<p>Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with

-all the ardor with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.</p>

-

-<p>“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another

-bite.</p>

-

-<p>Approaching close to Max she held the confection

-close to his mouth, and he was tempted to take a small

-piece.</p>

-

-<p>It was so appetizing that he asked for more.</p>

-

-<p>When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some

-bread&mdash;cakes baked in the sun, not in an oven&mdash;and some

-fruit, but what kind it was Max did not know.</p>

-

-<p>He ate heartily and felt refreshed.</p>

-

-<p>But he was thirsty.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most

-delicious sherbet he had ever tasted.</p>

-

-<p>When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that

-he must stay there until she came for him.</p>

-

-<p>“Am I to be here alone?”</p>

-

-<p>“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape

-for thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”</p>

-

-<p>“I have my reasons.”</p>

-

-<p>“And will you not tell me?”</p>

-

-<p>“I heard thee speak to him who is not&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“You mean my father?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“When?”</p>

-

-<p>“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to

-eat salt with the sons of Emin Bey.”</p>

-

-<p>“And are you interested?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[40]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant

-of Emin and he will restore Egypt to its greatness&mdash;I

-have said it, and the prophet hath spoken.”</p>

-

-<p>“And will you help me?”</p>

-

-<p>“If I can. I&mdash;had&mdash;another&mdash;reason&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked

-confused, and really blushed.</p>

-

-<p>“And that was&mdash;&mdash;” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even

-though I lose thee. I will prevent thy enemies taking

-thee, even if thou spurned me ever after. Oh! how

-shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever

-saw, and&mdash;I&mdash;love&mdash;thee.”</p>

-

-<p>Before Max could recover from his astonishment she

-had fled.</p>

-

-<p>Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as

-she was, she felt she could not meet the eyes of the

-youth to whom she had confessed her love.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WAS IT AN ECHO?</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and

-that self-interest, at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable

-to attempt to escape, he began to look about

-his strange abode.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.</p>

-

-<p>She was refined and educated&mdash;of that there could be

-no doubt.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p>

-

-<p>She had said she had several names, but only one had

-she given him.</p>

-

-<p>What did the word mean?</p>

-

-<p>It had some special significance&mdash;of that he was sure.</p>

-

-<p>Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient

-language of the Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient

-Syrian?</p>

-

-<p>How did she overhear his conversation about the

-Mamelukes?</p>

-

-<p>“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head

-growing dizzy with puzzling over the matter.</p>

-

-<p>“How long am I to remain here?”</p>

-

-<p>There was no one to answer the question, so it had

-to remain still in the realm of doubt.</p>

-

-<p>“Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>That query he could answer with a positiveness that

-could not be controverted. He was in a tomb.</p>

-

-<p>At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got

-accustomed to the idea. After eating and drinking there,

-much of the superstitious fear had left him.</p>

-

-<p>“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am

-tired and exhausted. The sand man has been about a

-long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my eyes, up my

-nostrils, down my throat, in my ears&mdash;the sand man

-has done his work this time. What was that?”</p>

-

-<p>Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to

-be alone in a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise,

-and to be nearly suffocated with dust, to have the torch

-knocked over&mdash;fortunately not extinguished&mdash;would be

-sufficient to set the strongest nerves quivering, and make<span class="pagenum">[42]</span>

-the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise his

-head.</p>

-

-<p>He was afraid to open his eyes.</p>

-

-<p>Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion

-was caused by a huge bat trying to escape from

-the inhabited tomb.</p>

-

-<p>Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage

-enough to lift up the torch, which had nearly burned

-itself out.</p>

-

-<p>If his torch went out, what was he to do?</p>

-

-<p>He was far from being a madcap at that time.</p>

-

-<p>But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits

-rising, perhaps aided considerably by his eyes suddenly

-perceiving another torch.</p>

-

-<p>“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh,

-old fellow?”</p>

-

-<p>Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies

-in the place?</p>

-

-<p>He lighted the torch, and began to look round his

-prison house.</p>

-

-<p>On the walls&mdash;which had once been smoothed by

-sculptor’s skill&mdash;were the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic

-inscriptions.</p>

-

-<p>“These old fellows believed in having their tombs

-beautiful!” exclaimed Max, aloud.</p>

-

-<p>And the words had scarcely left his lips when his

-hair began to rise on his head, for he heard a voice

-add, with sepulchral emphasis:</p>

-

-<p>“Beautiful!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[43]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own

-voice.</p>

-

-<p>“There!”</p>

-

-<p>“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it

-was startling, especially when the voice of the tomb repeated

-the last syllable:</p>

-

-<p>“Oh!”</p>

-

-<p>But the sturdy young American laughed; and the

-whole tomb seemed alive with demoniac mirth, as the

-walls beat back the loud guffaws of the youth.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Mad!” repeated the echo.</p>

-

-<p>With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent

-for a time, afraid of the echo, and yet not afraid to

-continue his search.</p>

-

-<p>Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables

-was a sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not

-been opened.</p>

-

-<p>Here was something to do.</p>

-

-<p>He resolved to open the stone casket.</p>

-

-<p>The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid

-was not fastened down, and Max was able to push it on

-one side.</p>

-

-<p>He brought over a torch so that he might the better

-look into the huge cavern-like coffin.</p>

-

-<p>When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by

-the cloths, was that of a woman.</p>

-

-<p>“Who can it have been?” he wondered.</p>

-

-<p>And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to

-unwrap the body, which may have been hidden from<span class="pagenum">[44]</span>

-the world two or three thousand years, and present the

-mummy to his strange girl friend.</p>

-

-<p>Max was now in his glory.</p>

-

-<p>He had something to do, and at the same time his

-spirit of mischief was aroused.</p>

-

-<p>He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened

-if she entered and saw a mummified Egyptian looking at

-her.</p>

-

-<p>It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that

-was all that Max did it for.</p>

-

-<p>He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily,

-but when he came to the second, he found that the ancient

-Egyptians knew how to make a strong bandage,

-for every fold had to be cut with his knife.</p>

-

-<p>Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of

-corn.</p>

-

-<p>The latter interested him, for while the grains looked

-like wheat, the general appearance was that of barley,

-only there were seven ears on every stalk.</p>

-

-<p>“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to

-America I’ll plant it and see if embalmed wheat will

-grow.”</p>

-

-<p>As this thought passed through the mind of the daring

-young desecrator of the dead, he began to whistle

-“Yankee Doodle.”</p>

-

-<p>The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled

-the more distinct was the echo.</p>

-

-<p>Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its

-depths as the thought crossed his mind that men who

-had been buried there thousands of years before America<span class="pagenum">[45]</span>

-was known to civilization were, through the echo, joining

-in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”</p>

-

-<p>“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but

-I’d rather be an American citizen than&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“A mummy.”</p>

-

-<p>That was no echo.</p>

-

-<p>It was a human voice.</p>

-

-<p>Max could stand no more.</p>

-

-<p>His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning,

-his lips were parched.</p>

-

-<p>“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the

-floor, scattering the dust of centuries and causing the

-tomb to be filled with a cloud, suffocating and unpleasant.</p>

-

-<p>When he recovered consciousness he was still lying

-on the floor, but his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and

-she was fanning him with a palm leaf which she had

-brought in with her.</p>

-

-<p>“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”</p>

-

-<p>“I thought&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered

-the voice which perished before Isis’ great temple

-was built. You silly&mdash;silly boy. But what were

-you doing?”</p>

-

-<p>There was so much nineteenth century life about

-Girzilla that Max thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.</p>

-

-<p>He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she

-chided him for doing it.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so

-high,” she said, placing her hand about two feet above

-the floor.</p>

-

-<p>“You have!”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to

-you.”</p>

-

-<p>“You were?”</p>

-

-<p>“Did I not say so?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing

-you found?”</p>

-

-<p>“I did not see any.”</p>

-

-<p>“I placed some there.”</p>

-

-<p>“When?”</p>

-

-<p>“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I

-placed it there.”</p>

-

-<p>“Where did you find it? What is it about?”</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t know; I could not read it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Get it for me.”</p>

-

-<p>“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy,

-and holds me down.”</p>

-

-<p>“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”</p>

-

-<p>“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using

-an Egyptian metaphor which in more modern English

-would mean: “You are a flatterer,” or “You have kissed

-the blarney stone.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought

-to be, so he sprang to his feet and reached over into

-the casket, drawing therefrom a package of papers which

-were decidedly modern.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p>

-

-<p>The language was a strange one to him, however, and

-his only hope was that once away from the strange

-tomb he might find some one who could translate the

-document for him.</p>

-

-<p>He had become an ardent Egyptologist.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SPLENDID HEROISM.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“We will leave here at once.”</p>

-

-<p>There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:</p>

-

-<p>“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”</p>

-

-<p>“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I

-must search for Emin’s race.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”&mdash;god

-of the sun&mdash;“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart

-must be rent in twain.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore

-thy family to the powerful throne?”</p>

-

-<p>“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses

-care not for my people.”</p>

-

-<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness.

-Girzilla will take thee from thine enemies and

-will return to the tomb.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are sad.”</p>

-

-<p>“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[48]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot,

-scalding tears poured from his eyes.</p>

-

-<p>She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly

-a week ago.</p>

-

-<p>A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had

-not been able to weep.</p>

-

-<p>The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than

-any other thing could have done.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him

-weep, for she knew the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.</p>

-

-<p>Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.</p>

-

-<p>With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon

-herself as the consoler of the bereaved one, because she

-had been present when his eyes first opened to the great

-sorrow.</p>

-

-<p>When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.</p>

-

-<p>She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.</p>

-

-<p>“Follow me,” she said, coldly.</p>

-

-<p>“Nay, stay a while.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be

-free?”</p>

-

-<p>“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored

-this tomb.”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes

-flashed with scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly,

-causing the muscles upon her arms to distend until the

-silver armlets must have cut into the flesh.</p>

-

-<p>Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[49]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and

-carry away its images, destroy its old ruins, ransack the

-temples, overthrow the gods, and, not satisfied with that,

-dare even to desecrate the tombs!”</p>

-

-<p>“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.</p>

-

-<p>“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even

-though I knew I might die in thy place.”</p>

-

-<p>“What mean you? Are you in danger?”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla laughed bitterly.</p>

-

-<p>“Danger!&mdash;how silly you are!” And then, changing

-her manner, she added: “Have you any sense? Do you

-Franks ever think? I know these men who brought

-thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold

-and slit your nose&mdash;that they would slowly kill thee.

-Like the bird of prey looking for its victim were they.

-I saved thee&mdash;wilt not the vulture turn upon me? Thou

-knowest I shall die if I am caught.”</p>

-

-<p>There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner

-which seemed to raise her from the apathetic lazy

-Egyptian race and elevate her to the level of the American.</p>

-

-<p>Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned

-him to be silent.</p>

-

-<p>“I have been here since I was so high”&mdash;again measuring

-two feet from the ground. “Did I ever take the

-sacred bandages from the bodies of the embalmed?

-Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour

-without desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee&mdash;Osiris

-will return and claim his own.”</p>

-

-<p>Max listened.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[50]</span></p>

-

-<p>He was charmed.</p>

-

-<p>What a splendid actress this girl would make!</p>

-

-<p>What a magnificent woman she was!&mdash;and yet in years

-she could be only a girl.</p>

-

-<p>“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed

-in them,” Max ventured to say.</p>

-

-<p>“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape&mdash;if

-thou wouldst find the son’s son of Emin, get thee ready

-and I will lead thee to the desert, the way that Emin

-traveled.”</p>

-

-<p>“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”</p>

-

-<p>“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and

-when thou art safe I may go.”</p>

-

-<p>She turned away her head to hide her tears.</p>

-

-<p>Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from

-a sarcophagus a scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor,

-a knife with double edge, keen as a dagger, and a small

-stiletto.</p>

-

-<p>These she handed to Max.</p>

-

-<p>“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared

-to leave the cave.</p>

-

-<p>“Come, and quickly.”</p>

-

-<p>“I have offended thee&mdash;&mdash;” Max commenced, but Girzilla

-had scrambled through the opening, and could not

-hear what he was saying.</p>

-

-<p>She led him across the burning sands; at every step

-his feet seemed to be blistering. There was no shade

-save from the great bowlders, and they were so hot

-that it was unpleasant to approach them.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p>

-

-<p>On she went, keeping in advance of the American.</p>

-

-<p>Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted

-to speak she motioned him to be silent.</p>

-

-<p>It was like a new country&mdash;a land without inhabitants.</p>

-

-<p>Where were they?</p>

-

-<p>So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living

-thing to be seen.</p>

-

-<p>Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting

-sand, but never stopping.</p>

-

-<p>Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too

-proud to suggest it.</p>

-

-<p>The sun was high in the heavens.</p>

-

-<p>The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.</p>

-

-<p>Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.</p>

-

-<p>He walked along mechanically.</p>

-

-<p>All control over himself appeared to be lost.</p>

-

-<p>Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving,

-without the power to stop.</p>

-

-<p>His eyes no longer saw the sand&mdash;they were hot and

-glassy with the glare of the sun.</p>

-

-<p>Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in

-front of him.</p>

-

-<p>Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.</p>

-

-<p>That was more eloquent than words.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla was by his side in a moment.</p>

-

-<p>A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and

-some water was poured down the youth’s throat.</p>

-

-<p>She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when

-he was helpless and suffering, she could not resist.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[52]</span></p>

-

-<p>She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin

-might not blister.</p>

-

-<p>He was unconscious.</p>

-

-<p>“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”</p>

-

-<p>Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the

-heat&mdash;she was accustomed to it.</p>

-

-<p>“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the

-man she referred to was many miles away.</p>

-

-<p>“I will try.”</p>

-

-<p>The speech was in answer to her thoughts.</p>

-

-<p>Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped

-over the prostrate form of Madcap Max, and raised him

-as if he were a child.</p>

-

-<p>Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.</p>

-

-<p>She carried him a few steps.</p>

-

-<p>The perspiration ran in streams down her face.</p>

-

-<p>The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.</p>

-

-<p>She had to rest.</p>

-

-<p>Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards

-or so.</p>

-

-<p>It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die

-if she left him there.</p>

-

-<p>She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again

-took him in her arms.</p>

-

-<p>But her strength gave out.</p>

-

-<p>She fell with her burden on the hot sand.</p>

-

-<p>Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the

-battle.</p>

-

-<p>She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[53]</span></p>

-

-<p>The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on

-until she had scraped away the sand a foot deep.</p>

-

-<p>Into this hole she rolled Max.</p>

-

-<p>The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence,

-but Girzilla cared not, if Max were but safe.</p>

-

-<p>She looked for something to shelter him.</p>

-

-<p>Nothing could be seen.</p>

-

-<p>With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen

-blouse which was the only covering of the upper part

-of her body, and sprinkling it well with water, laid it

-over the youth’s face.</p>

-

-<p>Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American,

-was exposed to the torture of the heat.</p>

-

-<p>The thermometer must have registered a hundred and

-fifty degrees, but Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and

-waited.</p>

-

-<p>She had placed herself in a position between the sun

-and Max.</p>

-

-<p>Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent

-heroine, shielded the American from the rays of

-the Egyptian sun.</p>

-

-<p>Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her

-skin. A slight breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across

-her, but it carried myriads of sand flies and atoms of

-sand with it.</p>

-

-<p>The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked

-the blistered flesh.</p>

-

-<p>The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.</p>

-

-<p>Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise,<span class="pagenum">[54]</span>

-but a look of self-denying heroism crossed her face,

-and she remained still.</p>

-

-<p>“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and

-that was enough.</p>

-

-<p>He must be saved at all costs.</p>

-

-<p>Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts

-became more indistinct.</p>

-

-<p>She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.</p>

-

-<p>But if it would save him, she was satisfied.</p>

-

-<p>She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his

-forehead.</p>

-

-<p>Her garment was still there, shielding his face from

-the sun.</p>

-

-<p>“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she

-moaned.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SHERIF EL HABIB.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his

-prophet.”</p>

-

-<p>The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet,

-and had prostrated himself, bowing before the setting

-sun.</p>

-

-<p>“Allah be praised!”</p>

-

-<p>The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate

-on the carpet.</p>

-

-<p>In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting

-for their chief to rise.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[55]</span></p>

-

-<p>When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked

-in the direction of the setting sun, bowed his head once

-more, and sat down on the sand to put on his sandals.</p>

-

-<p>The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.</p>

-

-<p>Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the

-manner of the chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most

-picturesque appearance.</p>

-

-<p>Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and

-folded up the carpet, placing it with great care on the

-back of a camel, which had been brought forward.</p>

-

-<p>The chief&mdash;Sherif el Habib&mdash;walked away from his

-servants, his companion being a youth, fair as a girl,

-but strong as a lion.</p>

-

-<p>“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to

-the youth.</p>

-

-<p>“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”</p>

-

-<p>“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine

-eyes have not seen the glory of his coming.”</p>

-

-<p>“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at

-Cairo?”</p>

-

-<p>“And why not?”</p>

-

-<p>“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through

-the lattices would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered

-Ibrahim, smiling, as he uttered the words.</p>

-

-<p>“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the

-holy prophet spoken of the Prophet of prophets, who

-should come and restore the ancient glory of Egypt, and

-after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the crescent

-and Mahomet in every land?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[56]</span></p>

-

-<p>“But why do you think he has come now?” asked

-Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet

-say out to me: ‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou

-the sea and go as I direct thee, and thine eyes shall see

-the glory of the last <em>imaum</em>’&mdash;leader&mdash;‘the rise of the

-Mahdi of whom I spake.’”</p>

-

-<p>“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed

-the Red Sea, wandered about these deserts for months,

-deserted the towns and left the pretty girls&mdash;I beg pardon&mdash;all

-because of a dream.”</p>

-

-<p>“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material.

-Is there nothing better than making shawls?”</p>

-

-<p>“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to

-Alexandria, to Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh,

-uncle, you are rich; give up these dreams, and let us enjoy

-life.”</p>

-

-<p>“Ibrahim, how old are you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Eighteen, uncle.”</p>

-

-<p>“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years

-and all my wealth will be thine; then thou canst journey

-whither thou pleasest. But I have a mission. When I

-go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have

-seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”</p>

-

-<p>It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that

-before the end of the world there shall arise a mahdi&mdash;literally,

-a director who shall be of the family of Mahomet,

-whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and

-who should fill the world with righteousness. For six<span class="pagenum">[57]</span>

-hundred years the Mohammedans have been expecting

-their messiah to appear.</p>

-

-<p>“As thou wilt, uncle, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried

-salaam of Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential

-eunuch and secretary.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, Effendi?”</p>

-

-<p>“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful

-girl hath fainted, and with her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”</p>

-

-<p>“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as

-you do. Go along, I care not for all the girls of Egypt.”</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech,

-for he had hurried away with Effendi.</p>

-

-<p>The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where

-Madcap Max had fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and

-seemed strangely disturbed.</p>

-

-<p>He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and

-found that both were alive.</p>

-

-<p>“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then,

-turning to Effendi, he motioned him to follow.</p>

-

-<p>Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack

-a small bottle.</p>

-

-<p>On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which,

-if translated into good United States language, would

-signify that the contents were known to be that strange

-result of modern research, chloroform.</p>

-

-<p>Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[58]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It is my will that these people should go with us in a

-sleep as of death; do thou with this as is usual.”</p>

-

-<p>Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents

-on two pieces of linen, he returned to the Arab girl

-and Max and placed the linen over their mouths. When

-the fumes of the chloroform had done their work effectually

-he called some of the attendants, and ordered them

-to place Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.</p>

-

-<p>“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low

-salaam.</p>

-

-<p>“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.</p>

-

-<p>Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim

-alone.</p>

-

-<p>“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”</p>

-

-<p>“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was

-the reply.</p>

-

-<p>“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the

-youth, “I should declare that you were mad.”</p>

-

-<p>“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of

-the celestial, and now mine eyes have been directed to the

-approach of the great mahdi. In my dreams I heard a

-voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed. The

-guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct

-thee.’ Now did not this mean this youth and maiden?

-this brother and sister who were asleep and awaiting

-me?”</p>

-

-<p>“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love

-adventure; but I hope we shall return alive.”</p>

-

-<p>“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”</p>

-

-<p>The caravan started.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[59]</span></p>

-

-<p>More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of

-them carried baggage, tents, and provisions, the other

-eighteen bore upon their backs the bodyguard of Sherif

-el Habib.</p>

-

-<p>Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same

-camel, being fastened to basket paniers, one on either

-side of the animal.</p>

-

-<p>As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will

-take the opportunity of more fully introducing the party

-to our readers.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was

-known as the most prosperous shawl manufacturer of all

-Persia.</p>

-

-<p>He gave employment to over a hundred men, and

-Sherif el Habib’s Persian shawls had been worn by the

-empresses and queens of the world.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way.

-According to the custom of his land, he had several

-wives.</p>

-

-<p>In the palace of the Sherif&mdash;for this shawl manufacturer

-was ranked as a prince&mdash;every contrivance had been

-resorted to to render the happiness of the ladies complete.</p>

-

-<p>Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet

-long by thirty feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen

-feet of water in depth.</p>

-

-<p>By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water

-was so nicely regulated that a stream to the depth of four

-feet was always flowing through the bath.</p>

-

-<p>This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses,<span class="pagenum">[60]</span>

-and was so delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating

-pleasure to bathe.</p>

-

-<p>One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were

-disporting themselves in the bath, when by some accident

-the working gear got out of order and the water

-began to rise.</p>

-

-<p>The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.</p>

-

-<p>Gradually the water increased in volume until it was

-six feet deep.</p>

-

-<p>How merrily the ladies laughed!</p>

-

-<p>How delighted they were at this new experience!</p>

-

-<p>They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the

-bath.</p>

-

-<p>Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and

-made fun of each other.</p>

-

-<p>They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults

-as though they were amphibious animals.</p>

-

-<p>The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was

-water-tight, so that should Sherif el Habib at any time

-desire the whole fifteen feet of depth to be flooded, no

-water could escape into the other parts of the palace.</p>

-

-<p>When the ladies had grown weary they made a move

-to leave. But they were tired.</p>

-

-<p>The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.</p>

-

-<p>One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be

-loved, was so exhausted that she begged one of the others

-to save her.</p>

-

-<p>Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance,<span class="pagenum">[61]</span>

-but Lola clung so tightly to her that both became exhausted

-and sank, never to rise again in life.</p>

-

-<p>The others shrieked for help.</p>

-

-<p>No one heard them.</p>

-

-<p>They could not stand on the sides. The steps were

-slippery as glass, and could not be ascended.</p>

-

-<p>The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water

-was in the bath.</p>

-

-<p>When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the

-bathers, burst open the door, he was almost swept away

-by the overflow of the water.</p>

-

-<p>His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating

-on the surface of the water were the dead bodies of

-all his wives.</p>

-

-<p>Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled

-until he thought of his sister’s orphan child, the

-young Ibrahim, who was living in Teheran.</p>

-

-<p>From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart

-was centered on Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>European teachers were engaged, and by the time the

-young Persian was seventeen years old he could speak

-English, German and French fluently, besides having a

-good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental

-languages and dialects.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[62]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IBRAHIM AND MAX.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that

-he was about to make a pilgrimage.</p>

-

-<p>It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet

-at Mecca, across the Red Sea, and after exploring the

-wonders of Luxor, Carnac, and ancient Thebes, go up the

-Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.</p>

-

-<p>It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and

-his heart beat so fast with expectancy that his uncle

-feared he might bring on a nervous fever. When Mecca

-was reached Sherif was so full of religious fervor that he

-began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the annoyance

-and yet amusement of Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced

-that he was to be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan

-Messiah. When Cairo was reached he said to

-Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they would

-cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure,

-with plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with

-his uncle’s ideas, and with but few murmurings agreed

-to leave civilization behind and go into the interior of that

-land of mystery&mdash;the great deserts of the Dark Continent.</p>

-

-<p>But we must return to our caravan.</p>

-

-<p>The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.</p>

-

-<p>The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but

-he had learned enough of his uncle’s ways to be assured<span class="pagenum">[63]</span>

-that he would fall into disgrace if he dared to intrude

-on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.</p>

-

-<p>The caravan stopped.</p>

-

-<p>The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and

-after devotions the meal for the evening was spread.</p>

-

-<p>Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.</p>

-

-<p>They had been lifted with tender care from the camel,

-and laid down under the best and largest tent.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla was the first to awake.</p>

-

-<p>She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she

-imagined she was dreaming.</p>

-

-<p>Again the temptation was so great that she gently

-raised her eyelids, and saw that the tent was hung with

-Oriental silk drapery, while a thick Persian carpet had

-been spread upon the sand.</p>

-

-<p>There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.</p>

-

-<p>Where could she be?</p>

-

-<p>Where was Max?</p>

-

-<p>Raising her head she saw on the other side of the

-tent another carpet, and on it reclined the form of Max.</p>

-

-<p>Should she awaken him?</p>

-

-<p>A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession

-of her, and she was determined to do all she could to

-remain near him.</p>

-

-<p>Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance

-of the tent.</p>

-

-<p>She was utterly bewildered.</p>

-

-<p>A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[64]</span></p>

-

-<p>Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds&mdash;others

-were asleep.</p>

-

-<p>Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded

-with jets of brilliant light.</p>

-

-<p>The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a

-soothing influence pass over her.</p>

-

-<p>With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst

-forth into poetic declamation.</p>

-

-<p>Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the

-most beautiful imagery, she apostrophized the sky and

-the stars, speaking of the sky as the million-eyed goddess,

-looking down through the millions of stars on the earth,

-and directing the destinies of men.</p>

-

-<p>She thought she was unheard, but standing in the

-shadow of a tent was Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>He was entranced.</p>

-

-<p>“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More

-eloquent than the houris of Istaphan! Speak to me,

-and tell me who thou art.”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla heard the voice.</p>

-

-<p>It was not that of Madcap Max.</p>

-

-<p>Who, then, could be speaking?</p>

-

-<p>All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ,

-champ, champ of the camels.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded

-him in darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate

-into the blackness.</p>

-

-<p>“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.</p>

-

-<p>“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness,

-should be able to see, though the clouds were blacker<span class="pagenum">[65]</span>

-than the tomb, and thy soul, which speaks through thy

-lips, should divine that one who loves the music of thy

-mouth is near to thee.”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla made no answer.</p>

-

-<p>She could not understand her surroundings.</p>

-

-<p>All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.</p>

-

-<p>To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that

-’twas but a vision of the night, she returned silently to the

-carpets and fell asleep.</p>

-

-<p>The chloroform had not lost all its power.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer

-him.</p>

-

-<p>“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached

-the tent.</p>

-

-<p>But Girzilla was asleep.</p>

-

-<p>“My own gazelle&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Max moved uneasily.</p>

-

-<p>“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make

-thee a throne upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my

-heart.”</p>

-

-<p>“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah,

-I remember! I died out on the sand. Girzilla was with

-me. Where is she? Is this death? I am very comfortable.

-Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”</p>

-

-<p>Max pinched himself and smiled.</p>

-

-<p>“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t

-sand. By the great Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am

-in a tent. I have it&mdash;I am not dead, but only kidnaped.

-I’ll get up and have a look around.”</p>

-

-<p>“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son<span class="pagenum">[66]</span>

-of Iran hear the liquid notes that pour from the throat

-of my gentle gazelle.”</p>

-

-<p>“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.</p>

-

-<p>He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept

-close to the side of the tent until he reached the opening.</p>

-

-<p>“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”</p>

-

-<p>Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim

-went heels over head into the sand.</p>

-

-<p>“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.</p>

-

-<p>To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.</p>

-

-<p>“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much

-strength?”</p>

-

-<p>“Who are you?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, Mr. Abraham&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.</p>

-

-<p>“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you.

-If it isn’t, I am also the madcap, and I can fight as well as

-talk. How do you feel?”</p>

-

-<p>“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the

-sand?”</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean

-I know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion

-displayed by Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan:

-and I am Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Where is Girzilla?”</p>

-

-<p>“Who is that? Your sister?”</p>

-

-<p>“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is

-the sweetest music mine ears have ever heard?”</p>

-

-<p>“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked

-Max, abruptly.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t care who you are.”</p>

-

-<p>“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he

-is a sheriff, a policeman, or a soldier.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim laughed.</p>

-

-<p>He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the

-Persian Sherif with the English sheriff amused him.</p>

-

-<p>“You don’t understand&mdash;that is my uncle’s name.”</p>

-

-<p>“Fetch him here and let me see him.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was astounded.</p>

-

-<p>The way Max spoke was something for which he was

-not prepared.</p>

-

-<p>The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted

-with the morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and

-white tents, Max was dazzled.</p>

-

-<p>“Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief,

-Sherif el Habib. My uncle found you dying, and he

-brought you and your sister here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands&mdash;that is what we do

-in England and America&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>The youths clasped their hands.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[68]</span></p>

-

-<p>“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I hope so.”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.</p>

-

-<p>“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”</p>

-

-<p>“We shall be comrades?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you a mother?”</p>

-

-<p>“Alas! no,” answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone&mdash;I have

-no one but my uncle.”</p>

-

-<p>“I have no one at all.”</p>

-

-<p>“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother.

-But who is she?”</p>

-

-<p>“I told you&mdash;she is my guide.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a

-beauty, as lovely as she is eloquent, and as poetic as the

-birds which fly above the gardens of Paradise.”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE PETRIFIED FOREST.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla

-that Ibrahim refrained from approaching her, not because

-he had conquered the passion he felt for her, but entirely

-out of respect for the madcap.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he

-told him that he was on a pilgrimage to find the promised

-mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw himself into the<span class="pagenum">[69]</span>

-work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever

-in fate.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as

-she could see Max she was satisfied.</p>

-

-<p>Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her

-other than Max’s sister.</p>

-

-<p>In this way the journey was continued into the desert

-of Lybia.</p>

-

-<p>All had been tranquil.</p>

-

-<p>No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims,

-and Max began to yearn for adventure.</p>

-

-<p>Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as

-a young elephant, and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to

-tire her.</p>

-

-<p>One day a forest was sighted.</p>

-

-<p>For many days not a leaf, not a tree&mdash;no, not so much

-as a blade of grass, had been seen.</p>

-

-<p>The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers

-as is a rain shower to the parched earth.</p>

-

-<p>It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so

-impetuous was the spirit of the two youths that they obtained

-permission to go in advance of the party, and while

-Sherif el Habib rested&mdash;for he was getting to look jaded

-and tired&mdash;they would investigate and return to report.</p>

-

-<p>Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward,

-joyously.</p>

-

-<p>They were both well armed, and carried enough rations

-to last them four days.</p>

-

-<p>It was noon on the following day before they were

-near to the forest.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[70]</span></p>

-

-<p>Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.</p>

-

-<p>But there was something weird and strange about the

-trees.</p>

-

-<p>Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.</p>

-

-<p>They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing

-the clouds, as it were, but not a sign or movement was

-visible.</p>

-

-<p>A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not

-a bough swayed, not a tree bent its head before the wind.</p>

-

-<p>“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked

-forward at the unbending trees.</p>

-

-<p>“They look more like stone than wood,” commented

-Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”</p>

-

-<p>There was another peculiarity noticeable.</p>

-

-<p>Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.</p>

-

-<p>So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance

-to the blazing rays of the sun, and ran forward.</p>

-

-<p>Max was the first to reach a tree.</p>

-

-<p>The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in

-diameter, as straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without

-leaves.</p>

-

-<p>Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,”

-answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”</p>

-

-<p>“Feel for yourself.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[71]</span></p>

-

-<p>“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree

-must be burning.”</p>

-

-<p>Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke

-in two, and no impression was made on the tree.</p>

-

-<p>Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same

-result.</p>

-

-<p>A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with

-the hafts of their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced

-them that they had discovered a freak of nature&mdash;a

-veritable petrified forest.</p>

-

-<p>It was true.</p>

-

-<p>Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its

-allegiance from the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.</p>

-

-<p>Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to

-stone.</p>

-

-<p>There was something appalling in those great stone

-statues.</p>

-

-<p>How many ages had they stood there?</p>

-

-<p>What action of nature had changed them from living,

-sap-flowing trees into blocks of granite, having only the

-appearance of their former reality?</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was scared.</p>

-

-<p>His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on

-the ground.</p>

-

-<p>“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not

-afraid of these big stones, are you?”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim did not answer.</p>

-

-<p>He was awe-stricken.</p>

-

-<p>“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s

-name very materially.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[72]</span></p>

-

-<p>It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have

-remained prostrate had not some counter irritant appeared.</p>

-

-<p>A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck

-the trees, glancing off close to our young explorers.</p>

-

-<p>“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us

-have a look at you,” shouted Max.</p>

-

-<p>He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole

-forest seemed alive.</p>

-

-<p>It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet

-not a living creature had the explorers seen before.</p>

-

-<p>Where did all these savages come from?</p>

-

-<p>The savages were something superlative.</p>

-

-<p>They were almost as naked as when they came into the

-world.</p>

-

-<p>Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking

-clay.</p>

-

-<p>The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks;

-two heavy bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms,

-just above the elbow; and on each wrist was a bracelet

-or ring, in which, by some cunning device, sharp pieces

-of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had been inserted.

-These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in

-a fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the

-manner of spears, only that they had four arrows in each

-hand&mdash;held between the fingers so that the heads of the

-arrows were stretched out fan shape.</p>

-

-<p>The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.</p>

-

-<p>The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[73]</span></p>

-

-<p>They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim

-understood.</p>

-

-<p>“We are in for it,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why

-did I ever come?”</p>

-

-<p>“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they

-mean to do.”</p>

-

-<p>The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled

-at times to dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened

-to mar the beauty of their faces, they were so near.</p>

-

-<p>“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned

-revolver&mdash;a weapon which must have been one

-of the first ever made, so primitive was its construction.

-It had been given to Max by Sherif el Habib, who believed

-it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.</p>

-

-<p>Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping

-from tree to tree, so he put back his revolver and raised

-his rifle, a more modern and more reliable weapon.</p>

-

-<p>The savages stood still.</p>

-

-<p>Surely this must be some magician or medicine man

-who had come among them.</p>

-

-<p>That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for

-they stood watching and waiting.</p>

-

-<p>But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.</p>

-

-<p>Carefully taking aim, Max fired.</p>

-

-<p>The savages screamed as they heard the report, and

-the monkey dropped dead.</p>

-

-<p>As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows

-were gathered together and held under the left arm.</p>

-

-<p>“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[74]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to

-escape.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”</p>

-

-<p>The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly

-the naked, ugly representatives of the genus man, as

-known in the petrified forests of Lybia, disappeared,

-leaving only the chief and perhaps a dozen to guard the

-white explorers.</p>

-

-<p>A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive;

-every man had brought a woman with him.</p>

-

-<p>The women were more repulsive looking than the men.</p>

-

-<p>Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction,

-while all over their bodies deep furrows had been

-plowed out of the flesh.</p>

-

-<p>At a signal all began dancing. The men at every

-movement struck the women with their spiked bracelets,

-and soon the black bodies of the females were dripping

-with blood.</p>

-

-<p>But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed

-heartily when they managed to escape a more than

-usually vicious blow from their loving husband’s spiked

-bracelet.</p>

-

-<p>“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“I am afraid not.”</p>

-

-<p>“I would like to kill the savages.”</p>

-

-<p>“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Or run away.”</p>

-

-<p>“Let us try.”</p>

-

-<p>No sooner suggested than attempted.</p>

-

-<p>The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike<span class="pagenum">[75]</span>

-rushed after the runaways, capturing them easily, and

-holding them firmly until the dance was finished.</p>

-

-<p>When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another

-command.</p>

-

-<p>An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with

-only a few hairs on her head, was brought from some

-mysterious place and placed against one of the stone

-trees.</p>

-

-<p>Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he

-wanted Max to shoot her.</p>

-

-<p>To make the madcap understand, he took the dead

-monkey and held it in front of the old woman, then

-raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun, and pointed

-it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.</p>

-

-<p>Max shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>The gesture was not understood.</p>

-

-<p>The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the

-rifle to the madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise

-with his lips as he did so.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I

-shoot his nibs here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the

-slang expression.</p>

-

-<p>Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was

-given.</p>

-

-<p>The old woman had fallen forward&mdash;dead.</p>

-

-<p>Fright had killed her.</p>

-

-<p>But the savages believed that the white man’s magic

-had ended the poor, old creature’s life.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[76]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.</p>

-

-<p>Songs of triumph&mdash;in gibberish which might mean anything&mdash;dances

-of the most grotesque kind were indulged

-in, and it was plain to be seen that these poor savages

-were nearly mad with joy.</p>

-

-<p>When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered

-to Ibrahim:</p>

-

-<p>“Let us run&mdash;but as we do so we had better point our

-guns at the fellows; then they won’t follow.”</p>

-

-<p>Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows

-started.</p>

-

-<p>The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.</p>

-

-<p>A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.</p>

-

-<p>Max turned and raised his rifle.</p>

-

-<p>What a change took place!</p>

-

-<p>Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young

-men, a hundred backs could be seen, and every savage

-was trying to break the world’s record in running, not

-toward the explorers, but away from them.</p>

-

-<p>Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned,

-the American would never have been able to point the

-gun at them.</p>

-

-<p>“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”</p>

-

-<p>Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon

-been above the forest, he would have seen a hundred

-savages fleeing in one direction, as though pursued by a

-regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys they were

-afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[77]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they

-easily persuaded the Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the

-petrified forest and its savage occupants.</p>

-

-<p>Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an

-oasis.</p>

-

-<p>After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was

-pleasant to get among the tall marsh grass.</p>

-

-<p>It seemed strange that such a difference could exist

-in so short a distance.</p>

-

-<p>Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to

-be found, and then suddenly the sand would cease, and a

-patch of swampy ground, perhaps covering twenty

-square miles, would be entered upon.</p>

-

-<p>The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.</p>

-

-<p>There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation

-visible; no water could be obtained, even by sinking deep

-wells.</p>

-

-<p>Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered

-ankle deep with water.</p>

-

-<p>Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height,

-yams were found in abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables

-in plenty.</p>

-

-<p>A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme

-of much talk and great bewilderment.</p>

-

-<p>“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[78]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif

-el Habib.</p>

-

-<p>Max looked at it intently.</p>

-

-<p>“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so

-thirsty it drinks itself all dry,” he said, speaking so

-seriously that his friends thought he must have evolved

-from his inner consciousness some new fact in nature.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child

-paddling in the surf at the seashore.</p>

-

-<p>“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed,

-and when asked to repeat, she replied:</p>

-

-<p>“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”</p>

-

-<p>The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything

-about her parentage or kith.</p>

-

-<p>She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max

-and his friends.</p>

-

-<p>She never seemed to have a thought away from them.</p>

-

-<p>The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the

-water, but after loading up with the refreshing liquid,

-they treated the water with haughty disdain, treading

-lazily along without a care.</p>

-

-<p>Following the banks of the stream they found the grass

-getting greener, but shorter, and the water less deep.</p>

-

-<p>After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they

-reached a little hillock well adapted for encampment, being

-perfectly dry, and the grass green and soft.</p>

-

-<p>But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for

-the tents to be pitched, Max came running back to his

-friends, declaring that there were plenty of savages to

-keep them company.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[79]</span></p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided

-by Max, went to look at the savages.</p>

-

-<p>Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle,

-tended by naked natives.</p>

-

-<p>The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives

-moved about, they appeared as if they were in water.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly

-they did so.</p>

-

-<p>He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored

-Africans shouted for joy.</p>

-

-<p>Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.</p>

-

-<p>Every bone showed through their skin, and they were

-evidently half starved.</p>

-

-<p>They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when

-it happened to die of sickness.</p>

-

-<p>“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted

-to think that he could make himself understood.</p>

-

-<p>“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.</p>

-

-<p>The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the

-natives casting the harpoon at random among the reeds;

-thus, out of several hundred casts, they might, by good

-luck, catch one fish.</p>

-

-<p>The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and

-Sherif sent for him.</p>

-

-<p>A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared,

-accompanied by two women.</p>

-

-<p>Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and

-a skull cap of white beads, with a crest of white ostrich<span class="pagenum">[80]</span>

-feathers; but the mantle which was slung across his

-shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.</p>

-

-<p>He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the

-other as his daughter.</p>

-

-<p>“What want you?” asked Klatch.</p>

-

-<p>“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif

-el Habib, solemnly.</p>

-

-<p>“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending

-the question.</p>

-

-<p>It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.</p>

-

-<p>The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning

-appear.</p>

-

-<p>At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his

-daughter by the shoulders, gave her a push toward

-Sherif.</p>

-

-<p>“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.</p>

-

-<p>“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will

-you do with her?”</p>

-

-<p>Sherif was amazed.</p>

-

-<p>His religious fervor was dampened.</p>

-

-<p>He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter,

-but the chief could not, or would not, understand.</p>

-

-<p>A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl,

-and then giving her back again to her father.</p>

-

-<p>When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick

-green turf, and all the party&mdash;save only Effendi&mdash;slept

-soundly.</p>

-

-<p>As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to<span class="pagenum">[81]</span>

-kill his master, and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least

-only allowed himself short intervals of sleep.</p>

-

-<p>When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the

-morning, he saw the chief’s daughter lying across the

-entrance fast asleep.</p>

-

-<p>She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor

-girl felt that she would be far happier with the white man

-than with her own people.</p>

-

-<p>All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small

-gourd shells to receive gifts of corn.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved

-blacks fell down before him and kissed his feet.</p>

-

-<p>Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own

-account, by offering to purchase a bull or a cow.</p>

-

-<p>But the natives would not sell.</p>

-

-<p>Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal,

-unfortunately a sacred bull.</p>

-

-<p>He was instantly surrounded by the natives who

-howled and yelled at him, threatening to tear him in

-pieces and drink his blood.</p>

-

-<p>He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe

-had a sacred bull, who was supposed to exert an influence

-over the prosperity of the flock.</p>

-

-<p>The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with

-tufts of feathers and strings of shells, which jingled as

-he moved along.</p>

-

-<p>Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the

-cattle kraal, bidding him keep the cows from straying,

-and to see that they found the best grass, so that they

-could give the most milk.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[82]</span></p>

-

-<p>It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.</p>

-

-<p>Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so

-disturbed his people.</p>

-

-<p>When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s

-death.</p>

-

-<p>“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.</p>

-

-<p>“Then he dies,” answered the chief.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no

-amount of beads or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase

-a sacred bull.</p>

-

-<p>Max must die.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.</p>

-

-<p>The natives said he had speared him.</p>

-

-<p>“Where is my spear?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>They pointed to his gun.</p>

-

-<p>He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.</p>

-

-<p>The bull was dead.</p>

-

-<p>That did not admit of any doubt.</p>

-

-<p>But how did it die?</p>

-

-<p>Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill

-a cow, if he could do so without a spear.</p>

-

-<p>Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but

-still better than an old musket.</p>

-

-<p>He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder,

-the natives watching him. There was a puff of smoke,

-a flash, a loud report, and the cow dropped dead.</p>

-

-<p>It was a miracle.</p>

-

-<p>“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated

-some good beefsteaks as his reward, picked off a bull

-who was looking at him very steadily.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[83]</span></p>

-

-<p>As a reward for these miracles Max was given the

-first bull, and the other dead animals were divided among

-the natives.</p>

-

-<p>After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey,

-Klatch and the entire tribe pleading hard to go with

-Sherif.</p>

-

-<p>When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey,

-Sherif found the chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent.

-She had followed in the distance and under cover of

-the night reached the pasha’s tent.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and

-he threatened to use force to compel her.</p>

-

-<p>She explained that according to the custom of her

-people she would be killed.</p>

-

-<p>If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his

-bargain, the girl must die.</p>

-

-<p>“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.</p>

-

-<p>The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but

-Sherif was obdurate, and when she did return it was

-easy to see that she expected she was going to her death.</p>

-

-<p>Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party

-of pilgrims never discovered.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“I would like to know where that river empties itself,”

-said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered

-Sherif el Habib, good-naturedly.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p>

-

-<p>“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.</p>

-

-<p>She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer,

-and had told him she believed that Mameluke

-blood ran in her veins.</p>

-

-<p>This set Sherif thinking.</p>

-

-<p>The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from

-the Caucasus.</p>

-

-<p>When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom

-in 1517, he was compelled to allow twenty-four of

-their number to remain governors of provinces.</p>

-

-<p>Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared

-that at least three of them were descended from the

-Prophet Mahomet.</p>

-

-<p>To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important

-step, for he would have the record of his race, and might

-direct the pilgrims to the mahdi, who was shortly expected.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed

-Mameluke blood, for she would know the signs and signals

-which bound together that most powerful body

-of men.</p>

-

-<p>The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret

-signs, and possessed of all the fraternal strength of the

-Free Masons.</p>

-

-<p>That was the reason Sherif asked the question:</p>

-

-<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>

-

-<p>The girl smiled, sadly.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[85]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead.

-I am thy slave, do with me as thou wilt&mdash;I am thine.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong

-to anyone, ’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”</p>

-

-<p>A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face,

-and she bent down her head.</p>

-

-<p>“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not

-care for the dark&mdash;I am dark&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon.

-“I do care for thee, Girzilla. I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with

-thee&mdash;but it is great Sherif el Habib who is the master.

-As he pleases so I wilt do.”</p>

-

-<p>Had this child of the desert, around whose life there

-was so much of mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry

-and flattery?</p>

-

-<p>She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he

-become, that he took Max on one side, and in a mysterious

-manner whispered:</p>

-

-<p>“I have solved it.”</p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you discovered who she is?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, but who she is going to be.”</p>

-

-<p>Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins

-of his face.</p>

-

-<p>In a whisper he asked:</p>

-

-<p>“Who is she to be?”</p>

-

-<p>“Ibrahim shall marry her.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[86]</span></p>

-

-<p>The union would be a good one. The marriage of a

-Persian with an Arabian could not be considered a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mesalliance</i>,

-at least as regards race; but to Max there was a

-certain pride of rank which would be outraged.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla

-nothing; the Persian took rank as a pasha in his own

-land, while who knew anything about Girzilla?</p>

-

-<p>The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles

-betokened rank, but might not her father be a bandit, and

-bedecked his child with them?</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection

-to Max’s mind, for he could not help thinking

-that, perhaps, she was educated to serve as a decoy for

-the robber band.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s

-silence.</p>

-

-<p>“If thou wouldst marry her yourself&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“I, an American, marry an Arab?”</p>

-

-<p>“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you

-of all men oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”</p>

-

-<p>“And why?”</p>

-

-<p>“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that

-the great strength of your nation laid in the fact that you

-declared and recognized ‘that all are born free and

-equal.’”</p>

-

-<p>Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted

-with that very difficulty before.</p>

-

-<p>His father had told him that instead of being a reality,

-the present generation treated the time-honored declaration

-as a theory, very beautiful, but impractical.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p>

-

-<p>Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of

-Merchant Gordon.</p>

-

-<p>Max knew not what to answer.</p>

-

-<p>He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not

-want the bone, he was angry at any other dog getting it,

-and so Max, while he would not marry Girzilla, was

-furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim claiming

-her as his wife.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders

-were given to follow the course of the stream.</p>

-

-<p>For four hours the march was continued through the

-long grass.</p>

-

-<p>It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the

-sand.</p>

-

-<p>After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire

-prevented them from following the stream, and they had

-to make a detour to the right.</p>

-

-<p>The river was kept in sight, however, and for two

-days it could be seen flowing briskly along toward the

-realm of illimitable sand.</p>

-

-<p>“Where is the river?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>The mystery increased.</p>

-

-<p>The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.</p>

-

-<p>It was true.</p>

-

-<p>All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.</p>

-

-<p>The green grass was to give way to dry sand.</p>

-

-<p>That did not surprise them.</p>

-

-<p>They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a

-little stream, rising from springs at one end of the rectangular

-oasis, had swollen into a river, whose rippling<span class="pagenum">[88]</span>

-waves showed a strong current, and when some great

-lake was expected, or another river, of which it might

-be tributary, nothing was found but sand.</p>

-

-<p>“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.</p>

-

-<p>“What do you mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“Why, we only imagined the river.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the

-best of it.</p>

-

-<p>“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water

-must empty itself somewhere.”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, where does it go to?”</p>

-

-<p>“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but

-that we are on the verge of a great discovery?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world

-as the mighty explorers who found the river Ibrahim,

-which had its rise in an atom of sand, and flowed into

-the lake of nothing.”</p>

-

-<p>Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the

-shoulder.</p>

-

-<p>“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You

-should go as the great Persian pasha, warranted genuine;

-while I would introduce you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib,

-coming up at the time; “and if I were your age&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“So you are, pasha,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[89]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I

-would find a way to solve the mystery.”</p>

-

-<p>“May we try it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”</p>

-

-<p>“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">DANGEROUS JESTS.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in

-the oasis, and being supplied with provisions enough for

-several months, agreed to wait for the return of the young

-explorers.</p>

-

-<p>No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp

-than they felt like boys.</p>

-

-<p>They were their own masters, and not only that, but

-they had two Arabs with them as stewards and porters.</p>

-

-<p>Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient

-form, and the four started.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very

-thing not to do, for Max was venturesome, and when

-freed from restraint a perfect madcap. However, Ibrahim

-believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed

-that Max should be captain.</p>

-

-<p>The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat,

-and to it they went.</p>

-

-<p>A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it,<span class="pagenum">[90]</span>

-but a few beads and a china doll were considered a

-princely recompense, and Max became the owner of the

-boat.</p>

-

-<p>He asked the native where the river led to, and was

-told that in the great quagmire was a fire that had been

-burning for hundreds of moons, and it took all the water

-to keep the fire down; if the water stopped the whole

-world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:</p>

-

-<p>“Even Klatch would be burned.”</p>

-

-<p>And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so

-frightened that Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of

-laughter.</p>

-

-<p>“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”</p>

-

-<p>“We are going to see it; will you come?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, no.”</p>

-

-<p>“Will give you beads.”</p>

-

-<p>“No.”</p>

-

-<p>“China doll”&mdash;holding another up to view.</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, no!”</p>

-

-<p>The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the

-very personification of fear.</p>

-

-<p>The boat was a good, strong dugout.</p>

-

-<p>A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been

-hollowed out with rude tools.</p>

-

-<p>This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of

-canoe or boat known in Africa.</p>

-

-<p>There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out

-of a pure spirit of mischief, determined that the naked

-native should be one of the party.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p>

-

-<p>The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the

-arms and legs and lifted him into the boat.</p>

-

-<p>The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of

-those terrible agues so prevalent in some countries, and

-which makes one:</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-<div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!

-</div><div class="indent0">Shudder, and cower, and quake,

-</div><div class="indent0">Till every nerve has its separate quiver,

-</div><div class="indent0">And every sinew its separate shiver,

-</div><div class="indent0">And every bone its particular ache;

-</div><div class="indent0">For either he or the chill must break!

-</div></div><div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!

-</div><div class="indent0">Till joints are loose and sinews slack,

-</div><div class="indent0">Till every bone is a torturing thing,

-</div><div class="indent0">And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,

-</div><div class="indent0">While up and down the weary back

-</div><div class="indent0">An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,

-</div><div class="indent0">Marches along the spinal column.”

-</div></div></div></div>

-

-<p>That was just how poor, wild Klatchman&mdash;as he called

-himself&mdash;felt when he was lifted into the boat and held

-there by fear that Max would kill him if he attempted

-to move.</p>

-

-<p>The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell

-by gestures to the cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe

-and his kindred.</p>

-

-<p>The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat

-seemed to fly along.</p>

-

-<p>The water was rough.</p>

-

-<p>At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it

-were a paper shell.</p>

-

-<p>The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but

-rather to prevent it going too fast.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim

-was getting scared.</p>

-

-<p>“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in

-for mischief.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-<div class="stanza">

-<div class="indentquote0">“A life on the ocean wave,

-</div><div class="indent0">A home on the rolling deep.”

-</div></div></div></div>

-

-<p>Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped

-out of the boat.</p>

-

-<p>A big, powerful fellow&mdash;swimming like a fish&mdash;he tried

-to reach the land.</p>

-

-<p>The current was too strong.</p>

-

-<p>He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to

-jump out.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t do it,” implored Max.</p>

-

-<p>But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that

-not only would the native perish, but that his Persian

-friend would be sacrificed also.</p>

-

-<p>“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”</p>

-

-<p>“And Klatchman?”</p>

-

-<p>“He will catch up to us.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to

-pull back to the place from which they started.</p>

-

-<p>A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.</p>

-

-<p>“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”</p>

-

-<p>“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good

-to give him a scare.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[93]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Please save him.”</p>

-

-<p>Max laughed long and heartily.</p>

-

-<p>“How serious you are. One would think we were in

-the rapids of Niagara.”</p>

-

-<p>“My dear fellow&mdash;Klatchman is a human being&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Is he?”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course he is.”</p>

-

-<p>“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”</p>

-

-<p>Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly

-heartless, but he was not.</p>

-

-<p>For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had

-played no practical jokes.</p>

-

-<p>Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and

-Ibrahim at the same time.</p>

-

-<p>That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman

-was in any danger he would have been the first to

-have even risked his life to rescue him; but in the first

-place he did not believe in the danger, and then he looked

-upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland

-dog&mdash;one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.</p>

-

-<p>“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be

-heartless, Max. Save the poor wretch.”</p>

-

-<p>Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned

-himself to his fate.</p>

-

-<p>He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.</p>

-

-<p>“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”</p>

-

-<p>Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled

-round at a furious rate.</p>

-

-<p>“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like

-a Fourth of July pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p>

-

-<p>Turning to the Arabs, he said:</p>

-

-<p>“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is not safe, your excellency.”</p>

-

-<p>“Tush! do as you are told.”</p>

-

-<p>The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool,

-but no sooner had they changed the position of the

-boat than it seemed to fly over the water, borne along

-by some fierce current below the surface.</p>

-

-<p>“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.</p>

-

-<p>“I am afraid.”</p>

-

-<p>“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in

-for it now.”</p>

-

-<p>He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.</p>

-

-<p>It was useless to try and manage it.</p>

-

-<p>“Great Scott! What a race.”</p>

-

-<p>Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but

-even then he was more than delighted.</p>

-

-<p>There was the African whirling round in a smaller

-circle, while the boat was going equally fast in a larger

-one around him.</p>

-

-<p>“Jewilikins! what was that?”</p>

-

-<p>Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.</p>

-

-<p>The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the

-head that the poor creature’s brains were spattered all

-over the boat.</p>

-

-<p>“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but

-I didn’t mean to do so.”</p>

-

-<p>“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[95]</span></p>

-

-<p>One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before

-either of his comrades or Max could reach forward to

-save him, he had fallen out of the boat and was dashed to

-pieces in the whirlpool.</p>

-

-<p>“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned,

-now thoroughly serious and alive to his fate.</p>

-

-<p>Was it imagination?</p>

-

-<p>Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the

-dizzying whirl of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become

-stationary?</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.</p>

-

-<p>The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to

-what had taken place.</p>

-

-<p>They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and

-the fury of the whirling waters had spent themselves.</p>

-

-<p>Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the

-Norwegian coast, the center was calm and still, while the

-outer rings were lashed everything with the greatest

-fury.</p>

-

-<p>Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one

-seemed to get tired and have a period of rest.</p>

-

-<p>“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim

-had seized the oar the dead Arab had let fall.</p>

-

-<p>Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the

-oars, and the boat moved as they willed it.</p>

-

-<p>“Change places with me&mdash;let me pull!” exclaimed Max.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the

-rudely-shaped paddle from Max, which he had used to

-guide the boat in place of a rudder.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p>

-

-<p>The American was stronger than either the Persian or

-the Arab, and the force of his oar soon made itself felt.</p>

-

-<p>The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was

-reached, and Max uttered devoutly the words:</p>

-

-<p>“Thank Heaven!”</p>

-

-<p>While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:</p>

-

-<p>“Allah be praised! <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Sin Syu!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>Which latter was equivalent to saying:</p>

-

-<p>“Allah be praised! I have said it!”</p>

-

-<p>“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“No, nor don’t want to.”</p>

-

-<p>“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the

-Ibrahim.’”</p>

-

-<p>“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle,

-and&mdash;Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p>“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian.

-How she will listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on

-sea and land.’”</p>

-

-<p>“Hush! we are drifting.”</p>

-

-<p>“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty

-miles an hour. Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”</p>

-

-<p>Max exerted all his strength.</p>

-

-<p>The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.</p>

-

-<p>On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their

-sinews were like huge cords stretched under the skin.</p>

-

-<p>“Snap!”</p>

-

-<p>And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and

-Ibrahim groaned aloud.</p>

-

-<p>An oar had broken.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[97]</span></p>

-

-<p>“The paddle, quick!”</p>

-

-<p>Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use

-it like an oar.</p>

-

-<p>In vain.</p>

-

-<p>The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants

-were at the mercy of the cruel river.</p>

-

-<p>Where was it taking them?</p>

-

-<p>Not to the whirlpool.</p>

-

-<p>That was passed long ago.</p>

-

-<p>They could see it again as they looked back.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a

-mimosa tree, but his effort was in vain.</p>

-

-<p>“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian

-as he saw the face of the dead Arab close to the

-boat, with its eyes open, and peering into the face of the

-young chief.</p>

-

-<p>“It is horrible!” groaned Max.</p>

-

-<p>On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.</p>

-

-<p>The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.</p>

-

-<p>He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head

-scarcely wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together,

-and he awaited death.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of

-the shadow of death, and had mentally wished his uncle

-farewell.</p>

-

-<p>As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to

-escape.</p>

-

-<p>And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.</p>

-

-<p>The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[98]</span></p>

-

-<p>All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the

-caravan had avoided.</p>

-

-<p>But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite

-could be noted.</p>

-

-<p>It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that

-was imagination.</p>

-

-<p>A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing

-in the water.</p>

-

-<p>“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching

-his breath, as he spoke.</p>

-

-<p>The boat tossed slightly.</p>

-

-<p>A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three

-occupants, was precipitated over a cataract, a seething

-cauldron of hissing, sputtering, bubbling water!</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge

-into the water beneath, had taken away their breath, and

-neither Max nor Ibrahim was able to speak.</p>

-

-<p>Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the

-sides of the dugout, and it was well that they did so, and

-maintained their grip like grim death.</p>

-

-<p>The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting

-itself, and its occupants got more baths in a few minutes

-than they cared for.</p>

-

-<p>They found the water quite warm, which was some<span class="pagenum">[99]</span>

-consolation, for had it been icy cold they would have been

-unable to retain their hold upon the boat.</p>

-

-<p>How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of

-strange noises were made in its descent.</p>

-

-<p>To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals

-of thunder had impressed themselves on the tympanum

-of their ears. The Arab might have been a statue of

-marble.</p>

-

-<p>He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features

-were as rigid as death. He had his eyes and mouth

-closed tightly, and had it not been for the swelling of

-his bosom he might have been thought dead.</p>

-

-<p>Every time the boat was submerged it was carried

-further away from the cataract, and in a very few minutes&mdash;but

-the few minutes seemed an eternity&mdash;the water

-grew calmer and the boat more steady.</p>

-

-<p>Then it was that they opened their eyes.</p>

-

-<p>“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Am I?” echoed Max.</p>

-

-<p>The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he

-answered in the negative.</p>

-

-<p>“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.</p>

-

-<p>“Why so?”</p>

-

-<p>“We cannot see.”</p>

-

-<p>“True.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is not that sufficient evidence?”</p>

-

-<p>“No.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why not?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because we may be underground.”</p>

-

-<p>“You mean&mdash;&mdash;?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[100]</span></p>

-

-<p>“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river,

-flowing under the desert.”</p>

-

-<p>“You mean it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps so.”</p>

-

-<p>The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a

-ripple passed over its surface.</p>

-

-<p>And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.</p>

-

-<p>Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his

-appetite.</p>

-

-<p>“I am hungry.”</p>

-

-<p>“So am I.”</p>

-

-<p>“Let us refresh.”</p>

-

-<p>Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in

-waterproof covering, a precaution which should always

-be taken by explorers. One of the packages was unfastened

-from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly good

-repast was partaken by all three.</p>

-

-<p>“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full

-stomach.”</p>

-

-<p>“How do you feel, Selim?”</p>

-

-<p>The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner

-told his master that he felt bad.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before

-I ate salt with your excellency I wanted to die, but

-now&mdash;I don’t like it at all.”</p>

-

-<p>The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had

-been removed from the thought of death. His appetite<span class="pagenum">[101]</span>

-satisfied, his love of life grew stronger, and the very

-thought of his impending fate was horrible.</p>

-

-<p>“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.</p>

-

-<p>“What are you going to do?”</p>

-

-<p>“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded

-boat is so shaky I am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim

-held one hand.</p>

-

-<p>Max raised the other above his head.</p>

-

-<p>He was trying if he could touch anything which would

-satisfy him that they were really drifting through a

-tunnel.</p>

-

-<p>But he could not reach anything. If he really were in

-a subterranean cave or passage, the roof was too lofty

-for him to reach.</p>

-

-<p>On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.</p>

-

-<p>Its occupants were victims of fate.</p>

-

-<p>They were without paddle or oar, and had positively

-no means of guiding or directing the boat.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:</p>

-

-<p>“It is hot!”</p>

-

-<p>Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water

-was many degrees warmer than it had been.</p>

-

-<p>“What do you make of it?” Max asked.</p>

-

-<p>“That the air being more confined causes the water to

-be warmer.”</p>

-

-<p>“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The

-water ought to be colder.”</p>

-

-<p>“What is your theory?”</p>

-

-<p>“We are approaching a boiling spring.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[102]</span></p>

-

-<p>“That is a pleasant reflection&mdash;see, can you discern

-anything?”</p>

-

-<p>Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.</p>

-

-<p>“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”</p>

-

-<p>“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered

-as to his choice of titles.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, Selim?”</p>

-

-<p>“Fire!”</p>

-

-<p>“Where?”</p>

-

-<p>“Right ahead!”</p>

-

-<p>All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting,

-and saw unmistakable evidences of a big fire.</p>

-

-<p>“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,”

-said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“We are not blind, are we?”</p>

-

-<p>“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”</p>

-

-<p>The light from the fire was now so great that they

-could see the walls and roof of the immense tunnel they

-were in.</p>

-

-<p>The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of

-gems; huge stalactites hung from the roof, each one

-like a glittering diamond or dazzling emerald.</p>

-

-<p>The water was a river of precious stones, for every

-gem, every stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected

-in the clear, pellucid stream, giving it the appearance of a

-sheet of glass besprinkled with gems of the greatest value.</p>

-

-<p>“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!”

-Ibrahim exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p>“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,”

-said Max.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[103]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“I would make millions out of it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”</p>

-

-<p>The perspiration poured from them in pints.</p>

-

-<p>They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and,

-as the vapor arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable

-rainbows in the cave.</p>

-

-<p>“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I

-shall jump overboard.”</p>

-

-<p>“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his

-hand into the water and felt that the skin had been

-taken off.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird

-and unearthly, as he found the water was many degrees

-hotter than human flesh could stand.</p>

-

-<p>The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was

-none.</p>

-

-<p>“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”</p>

-

-<p>“By Allah! it is not so.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, it is.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”</p>

-

-<p>“But he did not know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Did you?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”</p>

-

-<p>“What are we to do?”</p>

-

-<p>“Say our prayers and die.”</p>

-

-<p>“I should like&mdash;you won’t mind, will you, Ib?&mdash;it is a

-custom&mdash;I should like to shake hands with you.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p>

-

-<p>“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better

-now?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes&mdash;and yours, Selim. We are all in the same

-boat.”</p>

-

-<p>They were nearly suffocated.</p>

-

-<p>The air was filled with sulphur.</p>

-

-<p>“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die

-like men.”</p>

-

-<p>The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited

-death.</p>

-

-<p>Each mumbled something&mdash;perhaps their prayers.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.</p>

-

-<p>“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,”

-were the last words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he

-muffled up his face.</p>

-

-<p>Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference

-waited the solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.</p>

-

-<p>The boat began to rock violently. Something was

-agitating the water.</p>

-

-<p>“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.</p>

-

-<p>The Persian was unconscious.</p>

-

-<p>A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.</p>

-

-<p>How can it be accounted for?</p>

-

-<p>He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would

-be drowned.</p>

-

-<p>And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious

-grip, he prayed that he might not fall overboard, and<span class="pagenum">[105]</span>

-yet he felt certain his life would be ended by fire in a

-few minutes.</p>

-

-<p>It is recorded by one of the great English generals who

-was in India at the time of the mutiny&mdash;1859&mdash;that a

-sepoy on his way to execution, was scared at the thought

-of accidental death.</p>

-

-<p>The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the

-muzzle of a cannon, and blown to pieces.</p>

-

-<p>Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or

-fancied he saw, an English soldier level his gun at him.</p>

-

-<p>He became hysterical.</p>

-

-<p>His shrieks rent the air.</p>

-

-<p>He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.</p>

-

-<p>He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the

-manual of arms, and gasped out nervously that he was

-afraid the gun might go off and he would be killed.</p>

-

-<p>And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his

-executioners to strap him to the cannon which was to

-blow him into eternity.</p>

-

-<p>It was so with Max.</p>

-

-<p>He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which

-the boat was speeding, but he was afraid he might fall

-overboard and be drowned.</p>

-

-<p>Selim sat as rigid as stone.</p>

-

-<p>Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.</p>

-

-<p>As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked

-less violently, there was but a slight rumbling to be heard,<span class="pagenum">[106]</span>

-but in its place a sizzing, as if gas was being forced

-through an open pipe.</p>

-

-<p>“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has

-come. Good-by, world&mdash;good-by.”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind

-that the end was not yet.</p>

-

-<p>The water had become calm.</p>

-

-<p>Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of

-the boat, gradually threw off the covering from his head.</p>

-

-<p>A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with

-fear.</p>

-

-<p>Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental

-sky and the bright, twinkling stars.</p>

-

-<p>A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by

-volcanic action, rose above him.</p>

-

-<p>It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.</p>

-

-<p>The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the

-strange-looking liquid could be called by such a name.</p>

-

-<p>Strange looking!</p>

-

-<p>But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.</p>

-

-<p>That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but

-in it floated strange-looking lizards and fishes.</p>

-

-<p>Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish

-themselves.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[107]</span></p>

-

-<p>Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one

-of the fish as it floated by.</p>

-

-<p>He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.</p>

-

-<p>It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.</p>

-

-<p>“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own&mdash;my love! Fit queen of

-my household, where art thou?”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.</p>

-

-<p>“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted

-Max so loudly that he was startled by the sound of his

-own voice.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he

-would capsize the boat.</p>

-

-<p>He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:</p>

-

-<p>“Wake up!”</p>

-

-<p>“Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“Uncover your head and see.”</p>

-

-<p>When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was

-as charmed as if he had awoke in an enchanted land.</p>

-

-<p>“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”</p>

-

-<p>“Allah will save us.”</p>

-

-<p>“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country

-that ‘God helps only those who try to help themselves.’”</p>

-

-<p>“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing

-the American’s quotation.</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”</p>

-

-<p>“What is it?”</p>

-

-<p>“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano.

-We are in the crater&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[108]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Wha-at?”</p>

-

-<p>“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time.

-The boat is stationary, and if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush,

-up there.”</p>

-

-<p>As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.</p>

-

-<p>The slang expressions used by Max had raised him

-much in the estimation of the Persian, for he imagined

-the American was speaking in some language of which

-Ibrahim was ignorant.</p>

-

-<p>“How can we get out?”</p>

-

-<p>“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“No, not if my life depended on it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Could you, Selim?”</p>

-

-<p>The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and

-had to be asked several times before he would answer.</p>

-

-<p>He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.</p>

-

-<p>“I could.”</p>

-

-<p>“You could climb those walls?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; it is easy.”</p>

-

-<p>“Easy!”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty

-of footholds.”</p>

-

-<p>“Shall you do so?”</p>

-

-<p>“No.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why not?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[109]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the

-whole truth or not.</p>

-

-<p>“Because what?”</p>

-

-<p>“It seems our only chance of safety.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then why not seek it?”</p>

-

-<p>“You cannot climb.”</p>

-

-<p>“What of that?”</p>

-

-<p>“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”</p>

-

-<p>“And you could save yourself?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps not.”</p>

-

-<p>But Max was confident he could do it.</p>

-

-<p>“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find

-some other way out.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save

-himself, but the American was firm.</p>

-

-<p>When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could

-cause him to change.</p>

-

-<p>“If we had only some oars&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“But we have not.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, and yet we must get away from here.”</p>

-

-<p>“How?”</p>

-

-<p>“In the way our ancestors did before they invented

-oars.”</p>

-

-<p>“How was that?”</p>

-

-<p>“With our hands.”</p>

-

-<p>And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of

-the boat with their hands agitating the water and acting

-as oars.</p>

-

-<p>It was slow&mdash;very slow work&mdash;but the boat moved.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[110]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Get it to the side.”</p>

-

-<p>To do so was a work of considerable time; but when

-they succeeded progression was much more rapid.</p>

-

-<p>The only chance of escape seemed to be in following

-the current; that is, if they were able to find it.</p>

-

-<p>It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself

-into the crater of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.</p>

-

-<p>There must be some other outlet.</p>

-

-<p>When the other side of the crater had been reached,

-they were surprised at its immensity.</p>

-

-<p>When in the center they had imagined the diameter

-of the almost circular crater to be some fifty or sixty

-feet, but as they pushed their boat round, they discovered

-that it must be more than three times that distance.</p>

-

-<p>Another thing puzzled them.</p>

-

-<p>Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they

-floated or swam into the vortex, or was it only during

-an eruption?</p>

-

-<p>“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”</p>

-

-<p>“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”</p>

-

-<p>A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced

-eating; but he made such a grimace that Ibrahim

-laughed heartily.</p>

-

-<p>“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed

-Max, who recalled that terrible time in the tomb near

-Cairo.</p>

-

-<p>“Stop making faces then.”</p>

-

-<p>“You will make a worse one when you taste&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“Your lunch.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“It is strong with sulphur.”</p>

-

-<p>Alas! all their food had become impregnated with

-sulphur fumes and almost turned them sick, but they

-could get no other and hunger is a tyrannic master.</p>

-

-<p>They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max

-telling them how civilized people will travel many miles

-and spend large sums of money in order to drink water

-impregnated with sulphur.</p>

-

-<p>“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked

-Ibrahim, when he had eaten all he possibly could.</p>

-

-<p>They had not thought of that.</p>

-

-<p>It was becoming serious. They might be a long

-time before they could obtain a fresh supply of food.</p>

-

-<p>“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.</p>

-

-<p>The water began to be agitated again and it was

-deemed advisable to get away from the crater.</p>

-

-<p>After a short journey through another tunnel they

-reached daylight.</p>

-

-<p>The river ran sluggishly along between two high

-cliffs.</p>

-

-<p>“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”</p>

-

-<p>“I think so, too, Max.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have

-always been interested in African deserts.”</p>

-

-<p>“You have?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found<span class="pagenum">[112]</span>

-in Sahara&mdash;white people whose knowledge is greater

-than ours.”</p>

-

-<p>“Fact?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians

-knew many engineering secrets which are lost to us;

-they certainly had power of divination and many other

-things which puzzle the brains of our best men to-day.

-Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and

-founded a new country where they would be free from

-the incursions of other nations?”</p>

-

-<p>“But they died thousands of years ago.”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants

-may be living.”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make

-us start off in search at once.”</p>

-

-<p>“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or

-Girzilla again?”</p>

-

-<p>It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the

-same boat, and he had but little hope of escape.</p>

-

-<p>“I hope so. Why not?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash; Hello! we are in the dark again.”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>As the crater was left behind, the water became more

-turbid, and flowed faster, carrying along with it the

-boat and its three adventurous occupants.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[113]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Max!”</p>

-

-<p>The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Ibrahim.”</p>

-

-<p>“Isn’t this horrible?”</p>

-

-<p>“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”</p>

-

-<p>“I know enough of the fearful&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“And yet&mdash;perhaps what we don’t know is far more

-horrible.”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”</p>

-

-<p>“Ha! ha! ha!”</p>

-

-<p>The laugh was from Selim.</p>

-

-<p>“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”</p>

-

-<p>“What are you talking about, Selim?”</p>

-

-<p>“This&mdash;look at it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut

-the very atmosphere?”</p>

-

-<p>“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I am afraid it is so.”</p>

-

-<p>No wonder! The strain was something frightful.</p>

-

-<p>It would require nerves of steel to withstand such

-a terrible tension.</p>

-

-<p>“Jewilikins! what’s that?”</p>

-

-<p>Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into

-the boat and onto Max’s back.</p>

-

-<p>It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim

-could do was to knock it off; but he almost fainted

-as he touched it.</p>

-

-<p>On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked

-to take it.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[114]</span></p>

-

-<p>There was no means of guiding or steering it.</p>

-

-<p>They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance

-of saving themselves.</p>

-

-<p>Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers

-rejoiced.</p>

-

-<p>But their pleasure was but for a moment.</p>

-

-<p>The darkness was preferable.</p>

-

-<p>It hid from them the horrors of the river they had

-to traverse.</p>

-

-<p>Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls

-which confined the river to its bed.</p>

-

-<p>Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike

-the occupants of the boat as they passed by.</p>

-

-<p>Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen

-before, struggled on every little ledge of rock or piece

-of sandy ground.</p>

-

-<p>One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly

-devouring pieces of Selim’s leg.</p>

-

-<p>The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be

-a question of minutes before his soul would leave the

-mortal tenement.</p>

-

-<p>As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic

-with fear.</p>

-

-<p>“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three

-now, and a few moments more there will be but two.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.</p>

-

-<p>His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost

-a miracle he lived.</p>

-

-<p>Suddenly his mood changed.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[115]</span></p>

-

-<p>His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood

-at terrific speed.</p>

-

-<p>The color of his face was almost purple, and as he

-tried to stand up in the little boat his head fell back, and

-Max only saved him by a hair’s breadth.</p>

-

-<p>Max was now alone.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his

-delirium, dangerous to himself and his companion.</p>

-

-<p>Selim was dead.</p>

-

-<p>It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard,

-but that was the only course which could be adopted.</p>

-

-<p>Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s

-back, he exerted all his strength and pushed the man

-overboard.</p>

-

-<p>It was horrible.</p>

-

-<p>Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that

-he dare not take his eyes away.</p>

-

-<p>Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost

-instantly crabs and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water

-newts, were covering the remains of the poor Arab and

-rapidly devouring all that was left of him.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was raving.</p>

-

-<p>He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes,

-wanting to tear him to pieces.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it

-was only a question of a few minutes.</p>

-

-<p>The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered

-whether they would ever again stand on land.</p>

-

-<p>Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must

-have been imagination.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[116]</span></p>

-

-<p>At the very moment when the delicate cords of his

-brain seemed ready to snap asunder, a thought saved him.</p>

-

-<p>He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.</p>

-

-<p>That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground

-channels had been made by the sheer force of

-the water, and its petrifying action&mdash;that perhaps at some

-time the sand had drifted to the water and become by

-its action solid rock.</p>

-

-<p>If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe

-the open cuttings were through oases.</p>

-

-<p>How long had they been on the river?</p>

-

-<p>They had no means of keeping record of the time,

-but their food was nearly gone.</p>

-

-<p>Had he slept?</p>

-

-<p>He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet

-nature could not have endured the strain so long without

-sleep.</p>

-

-<p>These thoughts saved him from the delirium which

-afflicted his friend.</p>

-

-<p>He felt easier and more contented.</p>

-

-<p>A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled

-himself as comfortably as he could in the bottom of the

-boat and fell asleep.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-<p>On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe&mdash;darker

-in color than the Egyptians and yet less black

-than the Africans of the Soudan or Congo State&mdash;dwelt

-in comparative peace.</p>

-

-<p>This tribe is peculiar.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[117]</span></p>

-

-<p>Its members eat no animal food, neither do they

-hanker after fire water or tobacco.</p>

-

-<p>They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they

-are compelled to resist by force of brute strength the

-onslaughts and invasions of their neighbors.</p>

-

-<p>Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the

-domicile of each family is surrounded with a hedge of

-the almost impenetrable euphorbia, and the interior of the

-inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a cement of

-ashes, cow dung and sand.</p>

-

-<p>On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts

-surrounded by granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched

-and resting upon raised platforms.</p>

-

-<p>The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a

-shade, and the entrance is usually about two feet high.</p>

-

-<p>The men are well grown and rather refined.</p>

-

-<p>Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of

-leather&mdash;either a piece of cowhide or goatskin.</p>

-

-<p>Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their

-rank.</p>

-

-<p>The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his

-assistants or deputies have less in number, while the

-ordinary members of the tribe have only two lines.</p>

-

-<p>The women are not handsome. Their heads are

-shaved, and around their bald pates they wear a band

-of beads or shells.</p>

-

-<p>Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all

-their time to the cultivation of maize and other kinds of

-vegetable food.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[118]</span></p>

-

-<p>They make excellent butter and drink great quantities

-of milk.</p>

-

-<p>At the time we make their acquaintance they are

-greatly disturbed.</p>

-

-<p>The chief has called together all the tribe, and a

-strange-looking gathering it is.</p>

-

-<p>The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women

-taking positions outside.</p>

-

-<p>The chief called for silence, and instantly every man

-shouted: “<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi!</i>” which being interpreted

-means: “We obey, we obey.”</p>

-

-<p>The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable

-tattoo marks, adopted the catechetical method of addressing

-his people.</p>

-

-<p>“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a

-deputy chief answered:</p>

-

-<p>“From the innermost parts of the earth.”</p>

-

-<p>“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where

-the gods make the springs of water to flow?”</p>

-

-<p>“No; man could not live.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all

-who approach.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then what shall be done with those who have come

-from the fire?”</p>

-

-<p>“They shall be exalted.”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi</i>!” shouted all the members of the

-tribe.</p>

-

-<p>The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we

-have recorded occupied considerable time, for the language<span class="pagenum">[119]</span>

-of this tribe of Gondos was very diffuse, abounding

-in metaphor, and making the repeating of whole

-sentences necessary where emphasis was required.</p>

-

-<p>The chief stepped down from the platform in front of

-his house, and calling on ten of his deputies headed the

-procession across the great square, round which the

-houses were placed.</p>

-

-<p>While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was

-observed.</p>

-

-<p>Not one spoke a word.</p>

-

-<p>Even the women were silent.</p>

-

-<p>Soon a great noise was heard.</p>

-

-<p>Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being

-played. The drums were original in their make.</p>

-

-<p>A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the

-top a sheepskin had been tightly stretched.</p>

-

-<p>Into the square the procession moved.</p>

-

-<p>First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed

-cymbals.</p>

-

-<p>Following them were five older girls, keeping time

-by striking shells together. Then came the drummers,

-boys whose strength seemed almost too frail for the

-big, heavy drums they carried.</p>

-

-<p>After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting

-noise by beating an old tin pan&mdash;which had

-been found in a deserted camp, and which the Gondos

-verily believed must have been the white man’s musical

-instrument.</p>

-

-<p>What meant all this pageantry and display?</p>

-

-<p>The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head<span class="pagenum">[120]</span>

-bowed down, led the way to where the people were

-standing. Immediately behind him were the ten deputies,

-carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder

-high.</p>

-

-<p>With measured tread these natives walked under their

-heavy burden.</p>

-

-<p>When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been

-reached, the chief ordered the men to set down their

-load.</p>

-

-<p>Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man

-there assembled.</p>

-

-<p>The women pressed forward, and really screamed with

-delight.</p>

-

-<p>“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these

-poor, benighted savages really believed it.</p>

-

-<p>The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout

-two young men were sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.</p>

-

-<p>They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by

-the Gondos, and now the objects of their adoration.</p>

-

-<p>The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women,

-caused Max to awake.</p>

-

-<p>He sprang to his feet and looked round.</p>

-

-<p>“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed,

-while the people fell on their faces and wriggled about

-on the ground.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[121]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE RAINMAKER.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>It was some time before Madcap Max could realize

-just where he was, and the significance of the demonstration

-of which he was the recipient.</p>

-

-<p>But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed

-it up, and with the natural smartness of his Yankee

-ancestry, saw the advantages of his position.</p>

-

-<p>He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.</p>

-

-<p>The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.</p>

-

-<p>They were more than ever convinced that he was a

-messenger from the mysterious powers which they, in

-their ignorance, worshiped.</p>

-

-<p>The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that

-of the ancient Scandinavians.</p>

-

-<p>They believed that the thunder was the angry voice

-of the storm god, that a deity presided over everything

-in nature, and that the entrance to the home of the most

-powerful of these deities was through the mysterious

-volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten

-lava and made the waters of the rivers so hot that

-no one could bathe in them and live.</p>

-

-<p>Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought

-Max and Ibrahim were sent by the presiding deity.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim continued to sleep.</p>

-

-<p>That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left

-him when he awoke, Max made sure all would be well.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[122]</span></p>

-

-<p>He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be

-alone, and the boat was again raised on the shoulders of

-the deputy chiefs and carried to a large house which

-the chief had set apart for his honored guests.</p>

-

-<p>Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate

-heartily.</p>

-

-<p>He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither

-did he, at that time, care.</p>

-

-<p>He was too hungry to be fastidious.</p>

-

-<p>He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim,

-and motioned the natives to leave the place.</p>

-

-<p>All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited

-his awakening.</p>

-

-<p>His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night

-Ibrahim awoke and raised his head.</p>

-

-<p>“Are we alive?” he asked.</p>

-

-<p>“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.</p>

-

-<p>“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the

-prophet, I have been beyond the grave.”</p>

-

-<p>“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his

-companion spoke, but Max persisted.</p>

-

-<p>“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as

-I tell you, we will coin the dollars.”</p>

-

-<p>“That is like you Americans&mdash;always thinking of dollars.”</p>

-

-<p>“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about

-them? I hate the very name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim,

-fretfully.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[123]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued

-talking, for he realized that there was no better

-way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant faculties than by a good

-discussion.</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t,” he said&mdash;“neither do you. You will go on

-making shawls in Persia, no matter how many dollars

-you get. You want to travel&mdash;you must have the money

-or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never imagine

-that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s

-think tank being agitated?”</p>

-

-<p>“Think tank! What do you mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it&mdash;thought

-factory, if you like it better. But, say! you were dead,

-and you have come to life again. I have brought you

-from the grave.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are mad.”</p>

-

-<p>“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are insane.”</p>

-

-<p>“Am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”</p>

-

-<p>“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a

-house belonging to the Gondos&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Who?”</p>

-

-<p>“The Gondos.”</p>

-

-<p>“Are you sure?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, why?”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you spoken to them?”</p>

-

-<p>“Not much.”</p>

-

-<p>“Can you understand what they say?”</p>

-

-<p>“Only a little.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[124]</span></p>

-

-<p>“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”</p>

-

-<p>“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?”

-asked Max, with a broad brogue.</p>

-

-<p>“The Gondos were originally Persians&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Your relatives?”</p>

-

-<p>“And were fire worshipers.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is that so?”</p>

-

-<p>“And I have learned their language.”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you, really?”</p>

-

-<p>“I thought they were extinct.”</p>

-

-<p>“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries

-on a bramble bush, and as lively as June bugs.”</p>

-

-<p>By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making

-Ibrahim vexed, and that was the very best thing for his

-mind.</p>

-

-<p>When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became

-calm, and then Max told him how they had been rescued.</p>

-

-<p>“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we

-must be, or they must think so, and we shall be safe.

-Once let them get any other idea into their ugly heads,

-and we shall be made into soup.”</p>

-

-<p>“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking

-Max to mean what he said in a literal sense.</p>

-

-<p>“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”</p>

-

-<p>“Can we?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“How?”</p>

-

-<p>“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”</p>

-

-<p>“If we fail?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[125]</span></p>

-

-<p>“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see

-Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it

-rain. You know the language, you said?”</p>

-

-<p>“I believe so.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”</p>

-

-<p>“What can you do?”</p>

-

-<p>“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would

-do anything to get it. I want you to hurry, or my power

-will be lost.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical

-joking, and that was just what he imagined the

-madcap was after.</p>

-

-<p>But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from

-the strange-looking house to the one occupied by the

-chief.</p>

-

-<p>The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground

-when he saw Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo

-language, the old fellow was so delighted that he danced

-about and shouted like a good fellow.</p>

-

-<p>“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the

-crops are spoiling. Tell them I will cause the rain

-to come.”</p>

-

-<p>Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the

-Gondo language.</p>

-

-<p>The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and

-the drums to be beaten.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[126]</span></p>

-

-<p>All the people gathered together, and Max raised his

-hands above his head as if in the act of supplicating.</p>

-

-<p>Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the

-people were delighted.</p>

-

-<p>The drops became larger and more numerous, until a

-good, healthy shower descended, and the Gondos were

-frantic with joy.</p>

-

-<p>Even Ibrahim was excited.</p>

-

-<p>“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max

-had pleaded for permission to return to their house.</p>

-

-<p>“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus

-on my part.”</p>

-

-<p>“But the rain&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a

-shower, and I meant to get the credit of it; that is all

-there is to it.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was a weather prophet.</p>

-

-<p>He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a

-so-called expert, and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud

-was gathering.</p>

-

-<p>The one happy chance of his life had come.</p>

-

-<p>It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and

-nothing was too good for Ibrahim and Max.</p>

-

-<p>But even among those primitive people there were

-skeptics, and a long discussion took place as to the

-powers possessed by Max.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the

-madcap, his face white as death.</p>

-

-<p>“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to

-jump down. If you fail your character is gone.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[127]</span></p>

-

-<p>“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm

-leaves, and I’ll not be afraid.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the

-following morning Max and the Persian were conducted

-by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max laughed heartily.</p>

-

-<p>But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand

-chances against him, and naturally felt nervous.</p>

-

-<p>“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to

-jump off there would be no test. Anyone could do it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of

-yonder palm and leap from it.”</p>

-

-<p>The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily

-climbed, but the height was such that to jump from

-the top meant death.</p>

-

-<p>The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young

-madcap began his perilous ascent.</p>

-

-<p>When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the

-monster leaves, and rested a moment.</p>

-

-<p>From under his coat he took two palm leaves which

-he had succeeded in joining together.</p>

-

-<p>Opening them above his head, he held his breath and

-jumped.</p>

-

-<p>As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves

-like a parachute and Max came to the ground so gently

-that the most pronounced skeptic was enthused, and

-ready to do anything for the young hero.</p>

-

-<p>“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and

-thy people must help. In the desert there is an oasis,

-and on the oasis is a great man, one Sherif el Habib,<span class="pagenum">[128]</span>

-who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish to find

-him.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as

-he could, and the chief recognized it as being a place

-some adventurous member of his tribe had told him

-about.</p>

-

-<p>After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed,

-and with girls playing cymbals and others beating drums,

-Max and Ibrahim started on their journey across the

-desert to find their friends.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>For some hours the caravan passed through a country

-which was parklike, but parched by the dry weather.</p>

-

-<p>The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed

-with villages, all of which were surrounded with a strong

-fence of euphorbia.</p>

-

-<p>The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals

-and drums, and the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos,

-were so impressed with the importance of their mission

-that every hundred yards or so they would stop, congratulate

-each other, and make some wonderful salaams

-before they continued the journey.</p>

-

-<p>At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile

-to the Gondos was encountered.</p>

-

-<p>Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well

-armed with lances, having flint heads, bows and arrows,<span class="pagenum">[129]</span>

-and a peculiar weapon shaped almost like a sledge hammer&mdash;one

-side of the flint head being sharpened to a

-fine point, while the other was a hammer.</p>

-

-<p>One of their number stepped forward, and addressing

-Ibrahim asked:</p>

-

-<p>“Who are you?”</p>

-

-<p>“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you want ivory?”</p>

-

-<p>“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”</p>

-

-<p>“Where do you come from?”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim answered proudly:</p>

-

-<p>“From Persia.”</p>

-

-<p>“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.</p>

-

-<p>“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“A Turk.”</p>

-

-<p>“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.</p>

-

-<p>The chief pointed to Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Who is he?”</p>

-

-<p>“An American.”</p>

-

-<p>The native had never heard of such people, and he

-began to think Ibrahim was making a fool of him.</p>

-

-<p>The natives laughed and raised their weapons.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were

-going to be killed if they dared to touch Max; that he

-could cause the storm to come and the wind to blow, and

-advised them to ask the Gondos.</p>

-

-<p>Among the few things saved from the boat in which

-they had made their perilous journey was a bottle of

-araki&mdash;a native spirit almost equal in power to proof

-alcohol.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[130]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled

-with a little of the araki, and that his friendship should

-be purchased that way.</p>

-

-<p>The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max

-had any chance of opening it, for the hostile chief took

-the bottle from them, broke off the neck, and drank

-the contents as easily as he could have swallowed water.</p>

-

-<p>“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment

-a violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon

-them with terrific fury.</p>

-

-<p>The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives,

-remembering what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the

-storm to Max, and fled as though ten thousand soldiers

-were pursuing them.</p>

-

-<p>The American’s reputation was now well assured, and

-the musicians beat the cymbals louder than ever, while

-the men shouted themselves hoarse.</p>

-

-<p>Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but

-he saw no way out of it.</p>

-

-<p>One thing troubled both explorers&mdash;they were either

-going in the wrong direction, or the distance was greater

-than they had imagined.</p>

-

-<p>They, however, had to submit.</p>

-

-<p>They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes

-were in dilemmas from which it was difficult to extricate

-themselves.</p>

-

-<p>One morning the deputy chief who was in command

-of the Gondos threw himself on his stomach in front

-of Max and wriggled like a snake to attract attention.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[131]</span></p>

-

-<p>“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.</p>

-

-<p>“What hath he said?”</p>

-

-<p>“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could

-not be destroyed”&mdash;meaning Max&mdash;“must take all the

-cymbal girls as his wives, and his great friend, whose

-tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the drummer

-girls as his wives.”</p>

-

-<p>“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.</p>

-

-<p>Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he

-got rid of the Gondo.</p>

-

-<p>“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when

-alone with his friend.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”</p>

-

-<p>“About thirty.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”</p>

-

-<p>“Mine?”</p>

-

-<p>“You have to marry them.”</p>

-

-<p>“The&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the

-name by which the prince of the power of the air is

-familiarly known, but he bit his lips and did not utter

-his thoughts.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”</p>

-

-<p>“What a lark!”</p>

-

-<p>“Eh?”</p>

-

-<p>“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Do you think so?”</p>

-

-<p>“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished

-to give them a lecture, they would seize their drums and<span class="pagenum">[132]</span>

-beat such a tattoo that you would acknowledge yourself

-vanquished.”</p>

-

-<p>Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost

-feared for his reason.</p>

-

-<p>Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.</p>

-

-<p>“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of

-tinkling cymbals?”</p>

-

-<p>“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”</p>

-

-<p>“I did not.”</p>

-

-<p>“Wha-at?”</p>

-

-<p>“I did not, because I dare not.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”</p>

-

-<p>“No.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires

-to honor him. He does so by giving him one or

-more wives&mdash;the more wives the greater honor.”</p>

-

-<p>“Indeed!”</p>

-

-<p>“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the

-chief.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well?”</p>

-

-<p>“And that can never be forgiven.”</p>

-

-<p>“What do I care about that?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps nothing; only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your

-long pauses,” exclaimed Max, almost angrily.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only

-roast the one who insults the chief.”</p>

-

-<p>“Really?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I<span class="pagenum">[133]</span>

-don’t want to be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I

-will have to accept the drummers, only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him,

-but remained silent.</p>

-

-<p>“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”</p>

-

-<p>“We will get out of it.”</p>

-

-<p>“How?”</p>

-

-<p>“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”</p>

-

-<p>Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated

-itself in the madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy

-chief, came forward, and this time standing erect, said:</p>

-

-<p>“We will all drink araki now.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the

-African tribes to realize that the espousal of the girls

-was to take place at once, and that the drinking of the

-powerful araki was the outward symbol of the marriage.</p>

-

-<p>“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”</p>

-

-<p>“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested

-it.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall

-drink first.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”</p>

-

-<p>“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit,

-there’s a good chap. Do just as I tell you, and all will

-be well.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max

-was ready to open the araki bottles, and all should drink.</p>

-

-<p>“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,”<span class="pagenum">[134]</span>

-answered M’Kamba, proving clearly that all had been

-arranged beforehand.</p>

-

-<p>The bottles&mdash;made of the bladders of cows, dried&mdash;were

-produced, and Max very quietly, in the presence

-of all, poured some white liquid in each of the bottles.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.</p>

-

-<p>“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim,

-but don’t touch a drop yourself.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is it poison, Max?”</p>

-

-<p>“On my honor, no.”</p>

-

-<p>The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their

-lives.</p>

-

-<p>They were about to become brides, and they felt their

-importance.</p>

-

-<p>While they were single they were slaves; when they

-were married they would become free.</p>

-

-<p>It was a proud time for them, and they took deep

-draughts of the powerful spirit.</p>

-

-<p>Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld

-the credit of his stomach by drinking pretty heavily.</p>

-

-<p>But the spirit was too strong.</p>

-

-<p>One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell

-asleep.</p>

-

-<p>Then the men followed.</p>

-

-<p>In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim

-were awake.</p>

-

-<p>“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t

-wake for an hour.”</p>

-

-<p>“What did you give them?”</p>

-

-<p>“Sleeping potion&mdash;pretty stiff dose, too.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p>

-

-<p>“What is that?”</p>

-

-<p>“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to

-sleep long.”</p>

-

-<p>“And you have some?”</p>

-

-<p>“I had. They have it now”&mdash;pointing to the sleeping

-Gondos. “I took it from the great Sherif el Habib’s

-medicine case.”</p>

-

-<p>“Oh!”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences

-of the madcap’s theft, or as he would put it, enforced

-borrowing.</p>

-

-<p>Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should

-“git up and get.”</p>

-

-<p>This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.</p>

-

-<p>He began to believe that Max was really mad.</p>

-

-<p>The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering

-together food, and some other stores, enough to

-last several days, the two young men left their escorts

-fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.</p>

-

-<p>Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched

-out for them, they turned to the right, determined to

-follow as far as possible the course of the river until

-the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their luck in

-finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[136]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MOHAMMED.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo

-escorts, and the young explorers soon found themselves

-on the terrible African desert.</p>

-

-<p>They were not pursued&mdash;at least, as far as they knew&mdash;and

-they were delighted at regaining their freedom.</p>

-

-<p>After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes

-were blistered, their nostrils swollen, and their ears

-deafened with the never-ending atoms, which drifted

-everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his companion

-to a cloud of sand in the distance.</p>

-

-<p>“What of it?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Camels.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well?”</p>

-

-<p>“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be

-safe.”</p>

-

-<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”</p>

-

-<p>“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“Because the caravan is coming this way.”</p>

-

-<p>“Bravo! So it is. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited

-until they could distinguish the outlines of the approaching

-caravan.</p>

-

-<p>Then they rose up and went to meet them.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[137]</span></p>

-

-<p>In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker

-than a Spaniard. He was dressed in Egyptian costume,

-and sat perfectly contented on his camel.</p>

-

-<p>A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern

-rifle was slung over the rider’s shoulders.</p>

-

-<p>But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet,

-which acted as a kind of saddle cloth, and on which had

-been worked the symbolic sign of the crescent suspended

-over the cross.</p>

-

-<p>The combination was so strange that Max was inclined

-to believe the rider was some monomaniac, or, in

-modern parlance, a crank.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic,

-asked who he was, and whither he was going.</p>

-

-<p>The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes

-before answering, giving Max an opportunity to look

-at the people who composed the caravan.</p>

-

-<p>Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that

-they had not the sacred carpet with the double symbols,

-rode as many camels.</p>

-

-<p>With them were at least twenty women, their faces

-covered so that the eye of man could not invade the

-sanctity of the countenance, which Oriental law and custom

-declared to be sacred to the husband alone.</p>

-

-<p>“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination

-of Ibrahim’s features was completed.</p>

-

-<p>“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”</p>

-

-<p>“And whither wilt thou go?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p>

-

-<p>“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey

-to the south.”</p>

-

-<p>It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims

-were going, until the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entente cordiale</i> was fully

-established.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the

-Musselmen and beat his brow on the sand.</p>

-

-<p>The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the

-sacred carpet on the sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s

-side.</p>

-

-<p>Then it was that the two followers of the prophet

-realized that they were friends and brothers in religion.</p>

-

-<p>“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule

-even all the countries of the world. I have said it. Just

-Allah!”</p>

-

-<p>“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You

-would be brothers.”</p>

-

-<p>“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”</p>

-

-<p>“Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Of Khorassan?”</p>

-

-<p>“The same. Dost thou know him?”</p>

-

-<p>“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly

-into mine, Sherif el Habib was as a brother.”</p>

-

-<p>“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>“Dost thou mean it?”</p>

-

-<p>“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”</p>

-

-<p>Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his

-hands, and all his followers prostrated themselves on

-the sand, bowing their heads toward the direction of the

-sacred shrine at Mecca.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[139]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful,

-will seek the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise

-the crescent above the cross and make the kingdom of

-the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the world.”</p>

-

-<p>The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great

-mental exaltation, and like Sherif el Habib, believed that

-the promised savior or leader of the Moslems had come,

-and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the Christian

-nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.</p>

-

-<p>Max was enchanted.</p>

-

-<p>He liked enthusiasts.</p>

-

-<p>He worshiped heroes.</p>

-

-<p>But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism

-that men never gave him credit for any idea

-beyond the making of dollars.</p>

-

-<p>“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture

-through the States. There will be millions in it.”</p>

-

-<p>How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he

-understood what Max said!</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an

-insult to his religion.</p>

-

-<p>But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:</p>

-

-<p>“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for

-the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>

-

-<p>“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,”

-said Mohammed, solemnly, “he gave to many provinces

-a bey of Mameluke blood. He did it to save his life. I,

-who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor Mohammed,

-the fearless, who was one of the beys.”</p>

-

-<p>“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes

-and joined the Turks.”</p>

-

-<p>“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”</p>

-

-<p>“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the

-moon by night.”</p>

-

-<p>“I would that I could find them.”</p>

-

-<p>“There is one who could guide thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.</p>

-

-<p>“Alas! she is lost.”</p>

-

-<p>“She? Is it a woman?”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.</p>

-

-<p>Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent

-ague.</p>

-

-<p>The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like

-great drops of rain upon the sand.</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have

-I offended you? Oh, forgive me if I have.”</p>

-

-<p>“I will tell thee.”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the

-caravan, and led them a hundred yards across the sand.</p>

-

-<p>He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade

-them do likewise.</p>

-

-<p>When all three were seated he took a small box of

-salt from his girdle and gave each a pinch.</p>

-

-<p>Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral,

-he knew that the partaking of it was a bond of

-brotherhood with the Arab.</p>

-

-<p>“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed,

-“but I will tell thee only the outlines, and some day, when

-beneath the palms or under the tent, thine ears shall listen<span class="pagenum">[141]</span>

-to the whole story. I loved&mdash;all young men do&mdash;but I

-loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet ever

-allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a

-daughter. On her I lavished all the love of a father.

-Being a girl without soul”&mdash;many of the Mohammedans

-teach that only man possesses an eternal soul&mdash;“I desired

-she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient Mamelukes.

-She was a diligent student, and when she reached

-the age of twelve years she had learned all the symbols

-and signs of the great brotherhood, and knew how to find

-any of the true Mamelukes who might still live. But

-then&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like

-rain from his eyes.</p>

-

-<p>His agitation was painful to witness, and many times

-Max wished he had curbed his curiosity and so have

-saved the aged Arab.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was excited.</p>

-

-<p>He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and

-mysterious power.</p>

-

-<p>And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the

-whole of the story, and could hardly wait for the Arab’s

-emotion to cease.</p>

-

-<p>“Then my daughter, the pride of my life&mdash;by whom I

-hoped to appease the wrath of my ancient ancestors for

-deserting the Mamelukes&mdash;was stolen.”</p>

-

-<p>“Stolen!”</p>

-

-<p>“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks

-my wife must have gone mad.”</p>

-

-<p>“And does your wife live?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[142]</span></p>

-

-<p>“She is in yonder caravan.”</p>

-

-<p>“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”</p>

-

-<p>“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man

-lord, and I would rather she be dead than never to see

-again her father.”</p>

-

-<p>The old man ceased.</p>

-

-<p>His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.</p>

-

-<p>The young explorers left him and went back to the

-caravan.</p>

-

-<p>Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling

-harem, had wandered to the place where the women

-were seated on the ground.</p>

-

-<p>Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any

-intrusion.</p>

-

-<p>When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over

-their faces, but it was too late.</p>

-

-<p>Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.</p>

-

-<p>His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim touched his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p>“What is it, Madcap?”</p>

-

-<p>“She is there.”</p>

-

-<p>“Who?”</p>

-

-<p>“I saw her. How did she get there?”</p>

-

-<p>“Whom did you see?”</p>

-

-<p>“Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are dreaming.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am not.”</p>

-

-<p>“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”</p>

-

-<p>“I know not.”</p>

-

-<p>“Come away, before&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[143]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Look! she uncovers.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless

-of all consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who

-had so indiscreetly uncovered her face.</p>

-

-<p>“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he

-exclaimed, passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted

-by Mohammed, who indignantly marched up to

-him.</p>

-

-<p>“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”</p>

-

-<p>“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“And what if it is? She has been my wife these

-eighteen years,” answered Mohammed, proudly.</p>

-

-<p>“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.</p>

-

-<p>“Who speaketh of Girzilla&mdash;my lost child&mdash;my beauteous

-Girzilla?”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.</p>

-

-<p>“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril

-quivering like that of a horse who scents the battle.</p>

-

-<p>“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth,

-and there she stands.”</p>

-

-<p>“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for

-eighteen years. Thrice has she been with me to the

-prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath she set foot

-on the deserts of Egypt until now.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,”

-said Ibrahim, scornfully.</p>

-

-<p>“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is

-true?”</p>

-

-<p>“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this

-pasha spoke of Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p>It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment

-later, the wife asked that none but Ibrahim and

-Mohammed should hear what she had to say.</p>

-

-<p>Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental

-nature, the Arab chief granted her request, and with

-Ibrahim entered his tent, followed by the wife unattended.</p>

-

-<p>“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet!

-Great is Allah!” she commenced. “Wilt thou allow me

-to unveil, so that this pasha see that I am not the Girzilla

-he seeketh?”</p>

-

-<p>“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”</p>

-

-<p>When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back,

-completely bewildered at the entrancing beauty of the

-lady.</p>

-

-<p>He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his

-throat was husky, and he could not speak.</p>

-

-<p>It was not until the veil had been replaced that he

-found himself able to articulate.</p>

-

-<p>“It is Girzilla, and yet&mdash;no, my Girzilla differs&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>He was confused.</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she

-counted? Is she thy wife?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, would to Allah she were!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[145]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Who is she, then?”</p>

-

-<p>“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He

-it was who brought Girzilla to me.”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably

-piqued.</p>

-

-<p>“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the

-Arab wondered, and was about to refuse when his wife

-pleaded in her musical Arabian:</p>

-

-<p>“Do, please, let me see this American.”</p>

-

-<p>“Be it as thou wish.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished

-American.</p>

-

-<p>After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this

-Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>“I know not what her name may be,” commenced

-Max, “but when I asked her by what she should be

-known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”</p>

-

-<p>“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her

-mother&mdash;of her father?”</p>

-

-<p>“She told me her father had Mameluke blood&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion

-of the sentence.</p>

-

-<p>“It must be our own child,” she said.</p>

-

-<p>“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked

-Mohammed.</p>

-

-<p>“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her

-to my room, and bade her remember that whenever she

-found one she could trust as a brother&mdash;one she could

-love with all the strength of her nature&mdash;she should bid<span class="pagenum">[146]</span>

-him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of

-my own land, ‘the true one.’”</p>

-

-<p>“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for

-she said, ‘Never mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’

-I called her Gazelle, but she stopped me and said, ‘No,

-no; Girzilla.’”</p>

-

-<p>Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the

-way in which he had been rescued by Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind

-that the guide who had been looked upon as the ally

-of brigands, and one not really to be trusted, was in

-reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth of

-Mohammed.</p>

-

-<p>“Where is she?” asked the Arab.</p>

-

-<p>“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered

-Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide

-us.”</p>

-

-<p>“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed

-Max, when he left the tent in company with Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if

-thou meanest we are lucky, then I agree.”</p>

-

-<p>“I meant that it was strange&mdash;very strange; some great

-mystery is here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s

-mother.”</p>

-

-<p>“Always thinking of her.”</p>

-

-<p>“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my

-only hope and desire.”</p>

-

-<p>“And wouldst thou marry her?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[147]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall

-be mine; but if she be really the daughter of the great

-chief, Mohammed, then if he consents she shall be mine

-also.”</p>

-

-<p>“Infatuated youth!”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and

-for an hour he talked with Max and Ibrahim about the

-river and the volcano.</p>

-

-<p>He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el

-Habib had encamped was to the southwest; whereas Max

-had been going almost due east.</p>

-

-<p>“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if

-thou dost but find my Girzilla I care not which way thou

-goest.”</p>

-

-<p>At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met

-with nothing more terrible than the awful expanse of

-sand until they encamped.</p>

-

-<p>Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages&mdash;living

-like birds of prey upon others&mdash;pounced down upon the

-cavalcade and sought to capture the women and the

-camels.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all

-disciplined.</p>

-

-<p>Hence the savages could do but little.</p>

-

-<p>One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three

-of the savages were killed.</p>

-

-<p>A native had been captured and held as prisoner.</p>

-

-<p>“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him

-go,” answered the chief.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the

-man wore.</p>

-

-<p>It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by

-Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small

-to encircle his waist.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or

-would not, understand.</p>

-

-<p>One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.</p>

-

-<p>“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking

-what he would get if he told all he knew.</p>

-

-<p>He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s

-mouth was opened and his tongue loosened.</p>

-

-<p>He said that his people had met some white men and

-a girl, and that all had been killed. The belt belonged

-to the girl, and she was nice.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become

-of the dead bodies.</p>

-

-<p>The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his

-abdomen, indicating that the murdered Girzilla and her

-friends had been eaten.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.</p>

-

-<p>The man was to have his freedom.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never

-expected.</p>

-

-<p>In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with

-one blow, severed the savage’s head from his body.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[149]</span></p>

-

-<p>The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened

-at the sight.</p>

-

-<p>Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for

-had it not encircled the waist of the one he loved?</p>

-

-<p>When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but

-with the fatalists’ philosophy, he only said:</p>

-

-<p>“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”</p>

-

-<p>Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side

-and told them that he did not believe the man’s story.

-He thought he should please them by telling it, and how

-was he to know that there were people who would be

-horrified at the idea of murder?</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was

-fully convinced that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted

-into juicy steaks or luscious pot roasts, and had

-served to provide a feast to the tribe of cannibals at

-whose hands they had fallen.</p>

-

-<p>He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high

-spirits of Max, who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his

-misery, the young Persian might never have lived to inherit

-his uncle’s great property.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s

-fate at rest, and so continued the journey.</p>

-

-<p>It was near the end of the third day that Max went

-forward to Mohammed and told him that a smoke was

-rising in the distance, and that it appeared like an encampment.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty

-Arabs to ride forward and reconnoiter.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[150]</span></p>

-

-<p>It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained,

-that Mohammed gave them up for lost.</p>

-

-<p>When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers

-were safe, there was joy in the camp of the Arab

-chief.</p>

-

-<p>The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to

-the most worthy pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed,

-and the other to the worthy Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained

-the welcome news that Sherif and all the party

-were well.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the

-morning, and after making Mohammed promise to start

-at sunrise they journeyed forth to meet their friends.</p>

-

-<p>Who can describe the meeting between uncle and

-nephew? and what pen can convey the faintest idea of

-the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla and Ibrahim?</p>

-

-<p>When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no

-one thought of returning to rest.</p>

-

-<p>True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were

-eager to learn of the adventures of the young explorers.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s

-belt had got into the possession of the cannibal,

-and she admitted that some time before she had lost it

-while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.</p>

-

-<p>“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed

-Uncle Sherif believed that the grave held thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“And if it had?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[151]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside

-thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”</p>

-

-<p>She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence

-in the glance from her dark eyes which told him

-all he wished to know.</p>

-

-<p>When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan

-arrived, there was a great commotion.</p>

-

-<p>Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage,

-and Mohammed was shocked to see his daughter going

-about unveiled.</p>

-

-<p>He recognized her instantly.</p>

-

-<p>The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt

-was an impossibility.</p>

-

-<p>Who can picture the happy scene when the mother

-once more folded her arms around the form of the

-daughter, only child of her heart and home?</p>

-

-<p>Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited,

-was once more complete.</p>

-

-<p>“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her

-as a daughter, and she will not leave me.”</p>

-

-<p>“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha

-taken her to wife?”</p>

-

-<p>“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”</p>

-

-<p>“She shall accept.”</p>

-

-<p>“If she desires.”</p>

-

-<p>“She must.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, no! let the young folks decide.”</p>

-

-<p>It so happened that those young folks were near<span class="pagenum">[152]</span>

-enough to overhear the conversation, and Ibrahim

-stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.</p>

-

-<p>“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”</p>

-

-<p>“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great

-bounties on you!” exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.</p>

-

-<p>And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred

-carpet, and in that humble position, appealed to Allah

-and his prophet to bless the couple.</p>

-

-<p>After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to

-take to reach the promised Mahdi, the caravan started.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of

-Khartoum, or in the district known as the Soudan, the

-Mahdi would be found.</p>

-

-<p>So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound

-friend that he agreed to follow him.</p>

-

-<p>Both were religious enthusiasts.</p>

-

-<p>Each believed that he should die happily only after

-seeing the promised one.</p>

-

-<p>For several days no event of importance occurred.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the

-commencement of our story, there had lived, in the strictest

-seclusion, a man whose name was suddenly to burst

-upon the world like the unexpected flash of a meteor

-across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[153]</span></p>

-

-<p>This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of

-religion.</p>

-

-<p>He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about

-his place, he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve

-hours out of the twenty-four in prayer.</p>

-

-<p>He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining

-eight were devoted to study and the obtaining of the

-necessaries of life.</p>

-

-<p>The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred

-teacher who would ere long receive a mission from the

-prophet.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He

-removed to Bakara and commenced his hermit life about

-1870.</p>

-

-<p>Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and

-intone the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i> of the Mueddins, which translated would

-read:</p>

-

-<p>“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god

-but Allah. Come to prayer. I testify that Mahomet

-is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer, come to security!

-Prayer is better than sleep.”</p>

-

-<p>As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would

-he intone this <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>, and at midnight, after sleeping two

-hours, he would rise from his bed, open the door, and

-in a strong, musical voice would chant the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">ula</i>.</p>

-

-<p>“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion&mdash;to

-him belongeth the dominion&mdash;to him belongeth

-praise. He giveth life and causeth death. He is living

-and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is almighty.

-Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[154]</span></p>

-

-<p>The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious

-hermit could be, but years passed, and never could they

-get an opportunity to speak with him.</p>

-

-<p>At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an

-ethereal radiance, his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.</p>

-

-<p>“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.</p>

-

-<p>The hermit spoke&mdash;the first time to a human being

-for many years.</p>

-

-<p>“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth

-Imaum?”</p>

-

-<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.</p>

-

-<p>Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message

-to each governor and chief of a tribe, the burden

-of which was:</p>

-

-<p>“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the

-people. I, the Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish

-the oppressors of the poor. Prepare for my coming.”</p>

-

-<p>Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the

-Soudan, received the message.</p>

-

-<p>He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian,

-and showed him the message.</p>

-

-<p>“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.</p>

-

-<p>“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>“But would he not come from Mecca?”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i> His ways are not our ways,” answered

-Abu Saud.</p>

-

-<p>“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and

-find out whether this is indeed the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission

-than Rauf Pasha said to himself:</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[155]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers

-shall go and bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum,

-and I will make him obey me.”</p>

-

-<p>Abu Saud held many theological discussions with

-Mohammed Ahmed, and embarked on the state steamer

-fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed come.</p>

-

-<p>No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward

-journey than a company of soldiers arrived and demanded

-that the Mahdi should go with them to Khartoum.</p>

-

-<p>The prophet went to the door and intoned the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>.</p>

-

-<p>A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with

-faces turned toward Mecca, they joined in the prayer

-offered by the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to

-the soldiers:</p>

-

-<p>“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he

-who must obey me.”</p>

-

-<p>The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:</p>

-

-<p>“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that

-we shall do.”</p>

-

-<p>The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun

-shone on the crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner

-of Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight

-not against your <em>Imaum</em>.”</p>

-

-<p>The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.</p>

-

-<p>“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the

-Mahdi will never surrender!”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[156]</span></p>

-

-<p>That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers

-of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been

-annihilated, and all their arms and ammunition fell into

-the hands of the Arabs, together with the steamer which

-had brought them down the Nile from Khartoum.</p>

-

-<p>The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi

-had been victorious.</p>

-

-<p>The followers of Mohammed went on board the

-steamer, and sailed down the Nile in the direction of

-Kordofan.</p>

-

-<p>Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked

-to the standard of the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed

-was welcomed as the long-promised leader who was

-to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the

-Soudan and Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross,

-and the whole world should be subjugated to the faith

-of Mahomet.</p>

-

-<p>Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still

-more remarkable enthusiasm, which caused the plains

-of the Soudan to be dyed crimson with the blood of

-Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.</p>

-

-<p>Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the

-people, and he sent to the governor of Fashoda stringent

-orders to crush the Mahdi and his followers.</p>

-

-<p>The orders were welcome, for the governor loved

-fighting, and his people were fond of plunder.</p>

-

-<p>He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in

-readiness for the march early on the following morning.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p>

-

-<p>The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about

-half of them unarmed, however, set out for the Arab

-village of Senari.</p>

-

-<p>When the village was reached the governor himself

-raised the banner of Egypt, and shouted:</p>

-

-<p>“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”</p>

-

-<p>Senari was fired on.</p>

-

-<p>The people were panic-stricken.</p>

-

-<p>Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to

-protect them.</p>

-

-<p>Women and children were shot down without mercy.</p>

-

-<p>The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent,

-was not more crimson than the streets of the Arab

-village.</p>

-

-<p>The soldiers pillaged every house.</p>

-

-<p>Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the

-heavy swords of the soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated

-in the most horrible manner, but were powerless

-to resist.</p>

-

-<p>They were unarmed.</p>

-

-<p>From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to

-Bari, and again commenced a carnival of slaughter and

-plunder.</p>

-

-<p>The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they

-armed themselves with knives, long sticks and various

-other weapons, and rushed upon the bayonets and muskets

-of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds and at

-great disadvantage.</p>

-

-<p>Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were

-witnessed.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p>

-

-<p>The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust

-and sand was seen in the distance, and in a few minutes

-a gallant band of well-armed Arabs rode into the center

-of the village, and charged the Fashodians with an impetuosity

-entirely foreign to the Arab nature.</p>

-

-<p>“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good

-Arabian. “I don’t know what the quarrel is about, but

-the villagers are the weakest.”</p>

-

-<p>“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we

-always go to help the under dog of the fight.”</p>

-

-<p>Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants,

-Max and Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.</p>

-

-<p>The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had

-come.</p>

-

-<p>The villagers declared that Allah had answered their

-prayers, and that very thought caused them to fight with

-desperate courage, even though they were practically

-unarmed.</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.</p>

-

-<p>“Great is the prophet!”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and

-it was not until a lull took place that Sherif el Habib was

-able to explain that the Mahdi had not come, that in fact

-they were seeking for him.</p>

-

-<p>Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was

-knocked from his hand he almost cried with vexation.</p>

-

-<p>But he created a consternation which led to a panic.</p>

-

-<p>It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.</p>

-

-<p>Max had amused himself on his journey in making a<span class="pagenum">[159]</span>

-number of giant cartridges&mdash;consisting of a paper shell

-and nearly half a pound of powder.</p>

-

-<p>He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge

-or blast, and when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally

-discovered one of these heavy cartridges in

-his saddlebag.</p>

-

-<p>Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a

-plan unique and terrible.</p>

-

-<p>Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard

-bearer of the Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge

-under the saddlebag and lighted the fuse.</p>

-

-<p>The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel,

-as he thought, the attack made by Max, but was

-surprised to see the American ride away.</p>

-

-<p>The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was

-heard, and the standard bearer was flying through space.</p>

-

-<p>Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended,

-for the madcap had charged the cartridge so well that

-the poor bearer of the crescent of Egypt was rent into a

-hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left scattered

-on the ground.</p>

-

-<p>The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that

-the prophet must have indeed come.</p>

-

-<p>To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen

-approaching, and a great cry arose from the throng:</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>

-

-<p>And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking

-man with clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[160]</span></p>

-

-<p>In a voice of authority he shouted:</p>

-

-<p>“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your <em>Imaum</em>,

-the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">TRICK OR MIRACLE.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Long years of asceticism had made the man who

-claimed to be the long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in

-appearance.</p>

-

-<p>There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly

-fascinated one.</p>

-

-<p>His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even

-and regular, his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black

-mustache and beard gave him a look of authority.</p>

-

-<p>It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a

-man, added to the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored

-Arabs with a belief in his pretensions.</p>

-

-<p>Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would

-have subjugated Europe easily.</p>

-

-<p>“I am the Mahdi!”</p>

-

-<p>Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated

-themselves on the ground.</p>

-

-<p>The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of

-Fashoda fell back with his troops.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together

-and commenced the march into the mountain fastness.</p>

-

-<p>When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face,<span class="pagenum">[161]</span>

-and taking the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it

-to his lips.</p>

-

-<p>“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent

-solemnity.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi bade him rise.</p>

-

-<p>Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:</p>

-

-<p>“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the

-kingdoms of the world shall know it as well as thou.”</p>

-

-<p>Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:</p>

-

-<p>“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath

-found me, because the time of your pleasure is near at

-hand.”</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded

-beneath his feet.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.</p>

-

-<p>“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I

-can read.”</p>

-

-<p>“And mine?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:</p>

-

-<p>“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally

-themselves with me if they could gain by it. Curiosity

-would prompt them, but thy land I shall never see.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the

-Mahdi had referred to the British nation.</p>

-

-<p>“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed

-infidel nation, the sword of the faithful would have

-pierced thee through.”</p>

-

-<p>“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of<span class="pagenum">[162]</span>

-those who went before, left thine own father, and through

-a girl didst thou escape.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever

-being a Mahdi fails, come over to New York and you will

-just make millions, see if you don’t.”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed

-heartily at the characteristic speech delivered by Max. It

-so clearly corroborated the mind reading of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half

-vexed at Ibrahim, especially.</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars

-in the States.”</p>

-

-<p>A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came

-to the camp and began asking questions of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the

-Mahdi answered with convincing eloquence.</p>

-

-<p>Others asked for signs and miracles.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi’s face darkened.</p>

-

-<p>“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary

-that I should work signs and wonders before you believe

-me?”</p>

-

-<p>“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”</p>

-

-<p>“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the

-promised Mahdi,” said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed

-over sea and land, have been across the great

-desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”</p>

-

-<p>“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed

-one of the unbelievers.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[163]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of

-England will crush all who follow the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were

-gaining ground, and he must do something to convince

-them.</p>

-

-<p>His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on

-his course.</p>

-

-<p>“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed,

-quickly.</p>

-

-<p>“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving

-ones, “stand in the center.”</p>

-

-<p>Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew

-from the folds of his dress a snake skin.</p>

-

-<p>He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was

-but the skin of a deadly snake.</p>

-

-<p>“Are you satisfied?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand

-until it was stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and

-was as stiff as a walking cane.</p>

-

-<p>He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers,

-and it laid there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.</p>

-

-<p>The men recoiled.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>

-

-<p>“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he

-asked, sneeringly. “Wait and see.”</p>

-

-<p>He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained

-stiff.</p>

-

-<p>The thing looked as if it was expanding.</p>

-

-<p>“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[164]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.</p>

-

-<p>There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed

-with life.</p>

-

-<p>Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its

-body writhed and wriggled, as if it resented being so

-tightly grasped by its tail.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if

-ready for a spring.</p>

-

-<p>The men shrieked.</p>

-

-<p>The unbelievers slunk away.</p>

-

-<p>The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at

-the miracle.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it

-was about to spring.</p>

-

-<p>The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.</p>

-

-<p>It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty

-piece of skin, so small that it could be held in the closed

-hand.</p>

-

-<p>Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance

-or some freak of nature, the reader must determine.

-The Buddhist fakirs of India and the Mohammedan

-dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the same

-thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the

-sand and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is

-removed the skin has disappeared, and a live snake has

-taken its place.</p>

-

-<p>The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice

-declared:</p>

-

-<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!”</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[165]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE MAHDI.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and

-soldiers, the experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was

-sufficient evidence of his power and of the truth of

-his mission.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.</p>

-

-<p>He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he

-wished that the Mahdi had shown his power in some

-other way.</p>

-

-<p>Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el

-Habib wanted to believe that the Mahdi possessed a

-power unlimited, and which no one could imitate.</p>

-

-<p>Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.</p>

-

-<p>“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the

-proof of my power must be adapted to those who are

-witnesses of it. Had I said to this mountain: ‘Get thee

-back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not have

-been more convincing than the snake transformation.”</p>

-

-<p>“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove

-the mountain even ten feet, I’ll give up my country and

-adopt yours.”</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi made no answer.</p>

-

-<p>He treated the young American with contempt.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed

-bowed his head, grieved that anyone in his caravan<span class="pagenum">[166]</span>

-should speak so lightly or demand such a great

-miracle.</p>

-

-<p>Max was in disgrace.</p>

-

-<p>He wandered away and strolled near where the women

-members of the caravan were encamped.</p>

-

-<p>He walked about, his head bent down, for he was

-sorry that he had offended his friends.</p>

-

-<p>“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice

-at his side.</p>

-

-<p>He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily

-veiled.</p>

-

-<p>Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he

-caught a glimpse of Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.</p>

-

-<p>He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man,

-could never marry a dark-skinned Arabian.</p>

-

-<p>“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.</p>

-

-<p>Max told her of the offense he had given.</p>

-

-<p>“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will

-not be offended. If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt

-my brother for fear of offending Mohammed, my father,

-and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How

-strange that, through saving me, you should be restored

-to your friends.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon

-leave her and go with thy husband.”</p>

-

-<p>“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[167]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes&mdash;that&mdash;I&mdash;what shall I say?”</p>

-

-<p>“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”</p>

-

-<p>“As a&mdash;brother. Ah, yes&mdash;but art thou going away?”</p>

-

-<p>“Going away?”</p>

-

-<p>“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”</p>

-

-<p>“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have

-no one to guide me.”</p>

-

-<p>“I could instruct thee.”</p>

-

-<p>“Will you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max

-far happier than when she had joined him.</p>

-

-<p>He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature

-which characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am

-not of thy faith. You adopt the crescent, my sign is the

-cross. Mahomet did a grand work for your people, but

-my Savior is Jesus.”</p>

-

-<p>“He is one of our prophets.”</p>

-

-<p>“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You

-are beset with danger. Your enemies may league against

-you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“They may, but they cannot triumph.”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I

-am in the camp, I will fight under your standard, and if

-the English came&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“They will not.”</p>

-

-<p>“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am<span class="pagenum">[168]</span>

-an American, and I would like to be able to tell the English

-to stay at home and mind their own business.”</p>

-

-<p>It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi

-could see it came from the heart.</p>

-

-<p>For several days the camp was undisturbed.</p>

-

-<p>“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,”

-said the Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay

-with the new prophet, and to participate in what they believed

-to be his forthcoming triumphal march across the

-Soudan.</p>

-

-<p>Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially

-human, grandly sublime in his ideas, and, although

-undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an able man.</p>

-

-<p>That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the

-Mahdi, no one could doubt.</p>

-

-<p>In his own estimation he was no impostor.</p>

-

-<p>His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all

-tended to make him believe in his mission.</p>

-

-<p>But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority,

-he was too good a soldier to neglect military precautions.</p>

-

-<p>Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the

-soldiers and followers of the new prophet were drilled

-for an hour.</p>

-

-<p>At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in

-the manual of arms.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division,

-and he appointed Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max<span class="pagenum">[169]</span>

-occupied the same post of responsibility under Mohammed.</p>

-

-<p>Each knew that at any moment they might have to

-fight, and our young heroes were eager for the fray.</p>

-

-<p>Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never

-so happy as when engaged in combat, either in a wordy

-war with his tongue or in the more deadly conflict with

-the sword.</p>

-

-<p>When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap

-proclivities were sure to manifest themselves, and he

-would make some one the victim of his practical jokes.</p>

-

-<p>His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before

-he left the Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and

-men go down to the valley of death by the thousand.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">COUNTING CHICKENS.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than

-the Governor of Fashoda.</p>

-

-<p>Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered

-by Rauf Pasha to remain on the defensive, he nevertheless

-conceived the idea that he could win renown and

-perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with

-the greatest ease.</p>

-

-<p>As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman,

-who had been compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously,

-or spend a few years in one of the English

-prisons.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[170]</span></p>

-

-<p>He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an

-adventurous disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on

-a special mission to Rauf Pasha, who transferred him to

-the Governor of Fashoda.</p>

-

-<p>Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the

-English aristocracy, was educated at Oxford University,

-had been in the army, but resigned his commission just in

-time to escape being kicked out.</p>

-

-<p>But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but

-a great rascal.</p>

-

-<p>Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.</p>

-

-<p>The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant.

-He feared that his winning ways might lure some of the

-court to the gaming table, for Ponsonby was a great

-gambler.</p>

-

-<p>Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending

-Ponsonby to the Soudan.</p>

-

-<p>Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would

-soon run the country to suit himself, and he determined

-to get rid of him.</p>

-

-<p>He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a

-low part of Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and

-murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.</p>

-

-<p>The only thing he could think of was to send him with

-good recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.</p>

-

-<p>“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign

-in his favor,” said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started

-from Khartoum.</p>

-

-<p>This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda

-governor, and, in fact, really ruled the province.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[171]</span></p>

-

-<p>Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby

-was closeted with the governor.</p>

-

-<p>“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman,

-insinuatingly.</p>

-

-<p>“Why should he be?”</p>

-

-<p>“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would

-be the greatest man in the Soudan, and I would go right

-off to the khedive and so work upon his feelings that you

-would be appointed governor-general of the Soudan.

-Once there you might aspire higher&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“How?”</p>

-

-<p>“The army wants a leader.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well?”</p>

-

-<p>“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big

-Soudanese army would point to you as the man. Arabi

-Pasha would help you.”</p>

-

-<p>“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian

-army?”</p>

-

-<p>“Greater than that.”</p>

-

-<p>“How so?”</p>

-

-<p>“The army could make you khedive.”</p>

-

-<p>“And you?”</p>

-

-<p>“You would make me minister of war, and I would

-get England’s influence, and Egypt should become an independent

-nation, with you as its first sultan.”</p>

-

-<p>The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and

-believed he was the only man fitted for the career

-sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.</p>

-

-<p>But what ambition had Ponsonby?</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[172]</span></p>

-

-<p>In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this

-fashion:</p>

-

-<p>“The governor is ambitious&mdash;he is a tool in my hands&mdash;he

-has no scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger

-just as readily as the soldier’s sword. The army wants

-a bold, dashing leader. Under my guidance he shall win

-everything until the last step&mdash;then I will, as minister

-of war, effect a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup d’etat</i>, and Hubert Ponsonby shall

-become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”</p>

-

-<p>So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the

-Governor of Fashoda was to be used as a cat’s-paw to

-pull the chestnuts out of the fire for Ponsonby’s benefit.</p>

-

-<p>The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be

-defeated and crushed.</p>

-

-<p>Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the

-Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the

-claims of the Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople

-the Mahdi was openly referred to as having made

-his appearance.</p>

-

-<p>The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all

-powerful.</p>

-

-<p>It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered

-the old Irish story of the Skibbereen market

-women.</p>

-

-<p>As the two women were going home from market, one

-of them began to prophesy how many good things she

-would be able to get by the next gale&mdash;rent&mdash;day.</p>

-

-<p>She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she

-reasoned: Twenty-six eggs will bring me at least twenty<span class="pagenum">[173]</span>

-chickens; each chicken will begin laying in the spring. I

-shall get so many eggs every day; seven times twenty

-will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can

-sell them, and the money will buy&mdash;&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend,

-who asked:</p>

-

-<p>“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”</p>

-

-<p>The other was sure they wouldn’t be.</p>

-

-<p>The women wrangled and got to high words, and at

-last one declared she could tell by the yolks whether the

-egg would produce a hen or a rooster.</p>

-

-<p>Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove

-her assertion; and then suddenly remembered that no

-chickens at all could be hatched from broken eggs.</p>

-

-<p>Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated

-the Mahdi before he counted his profits.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.</p>

-

-<p>Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they

-believed the triumph of the prophet was the triumph of

-religion.</p>

-

-<p>Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline

-was of the strictest, but they would have suffered torture

-if they thought by so doing they could assist the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe

-to his ideas, and five thousand men were ready to take the

-field against the Mahdists.</p>

-

-<p>“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.</p>

-

-<p>“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the

-chief of the Shiluk.</p>

-

-<p>“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of<span class="pagenum">[174]</span>

-Egypt, and you will be the governor general of the

-Soudan.”</p>

-

-<p>And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and

-ready to fight against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby

-should direct.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to

-Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim, one night.</p>

-

-<p>“Anything happen? What do you mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may

-fall.”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course, so may I.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand

-on his forehead.</p>

-

-<p>“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine,

-and you will be all right.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, I am not sick.”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a

-lark I had with the Mahdi?”</p>

-

-<p>“What lark?”</p>

-

-<p>“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I

-could have split my sides with laughter, but I had to be

-sober as a judge.”</p>

-

-<p>“What did you do, Madcap?”</p>

-

-<p>“Swear you won’t give me away.”</p>

-

-<p>“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[175]</span></p>

-

-<p>“No.”</p>

-

-<p>“Swear it.”</p>

-

-<p>“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more

-ceremony shown him now than at first. His hands and

-feet are washed before he stretches himself on your

-uncle’s sacred carpet.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I know that.”</p>

-

-<p>“You also know that he must pour the water into the

-basin himself.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big

-Arab held the basin, another came with a leather bottle,

-filled with the sacred water. The Mahdi took the bottle

-and poured some into the basin; but he nearly fell with

-fright.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the

-basin. The Arab was so frightened that he dropped the

-bowl and fell on his knees. ‘Bring the other vessel,’

-commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought, and the

-same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted

-your uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a

-great uprising of the Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the

-boiling and frothing of the water subsided, so would his

-enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober face,

-because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“What did you do?”</p>

-

-<p>“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three

-seidlitz powders in each bowl. The white powder was<span class="pagenum">[176]</span>

-not noticed because the Mahdi insists on the sacred sand

-from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”</p>

-

-<p>“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”</p>

-

-<p>“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to

-have been a miracle.”</p>

-

-<p>“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”</p>

-

-<p>“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only&mdash;&mdash;What was

-that?”</p>

-

-<p>“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”</p>

-

-<p>The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the

-soldier once again.</p>

-

-<p>He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.</p>

-

-<p>“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the

-Mahdi. “But not one will go back. The grave shall receive

-each one who fights beneath the crescent without

-the star.”</p>

-

-<p>Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed

-by the Governor of Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were

-seen approaching.</p>

-

-<p>On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode,

-looking kinglike and majestic.</p>

-

-<p>The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the

-tawny color of the soldiers.</p>

-

-<p>He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly

-as he bestrode the back of the raven-colored horse.</p>

-

-<p>He did everything for effect.</p>

-

-<p>“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same

-cry was repeated by the Fashodans.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[177]</span></p>

-

-<p>“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists,

-and the Fashodans replied with stentorian voices:</p>

-

-<p>“For Mahomet and the khedive.”</p>

-

-<p>The Fashodans commenced the battle.</p>

-

-<p>They were weary and wanted it over.</p>

-

-<p>They believed the victory would be an easy one. They

-had no water, and the wells were guarded by the

-Mahdists.</p>

-

-<p>Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi was practically unarmed.</p>

-

-<p>He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on

-which were written passages from the Koran.</p>

-

-<p>There was something grand about this religious fanatic.</p>

-

-<p>Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and

-guileless as a child.</p>

-

-<p>He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.</p>

-

-<p>He knew it was only by the sword that he could win,

-and yet he would not use the weapon himself.</p>

-

-<p>When the fight was hottest he was calm.</p>

-

-<p>The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed

-and as cool as if he knew the leaden hail could

-not hurt him.</p>

-

-<p>On came the legions from Fashoda.</p>

-

-<p>But it was evident that they were disheartened.</p>

-

-<p>“Who is that white man?” asked Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.</p>

-

-<p>“An Englishman?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[178]</span></p>

-

-<p>“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered

-what had become of him. Wonder if he knows

-me? It is three years since we met, and I was only sixteen

-then.”</p>

-

-<p>Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write

-the words.</p>

-

-<p>He called his men to follow him, and swinging his

-scimiter above his head dashed into the very midst of the

-attacking force.</p>

-

-<p>He pushed his way through until he found himself by

-the side of Hubert’s coal-black horse.</p>

-

-<p>“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Who calls me by that name?”</p>

-

-<p>“I do.”</p>

-

-<p>“You; and who are you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”</p>

-

-<p>“You lie!”</p>

-

-<p>“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet

-itself in your flesh and prove my words.”</p>

-

-<p>Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force,

-but it cut the empty air.</p>

-

-<p>Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second

-blow.</p>

-

-<p>“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.</p>

-

-<p>“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is

-the difference,” answered Max.</p>

-

-<p>Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades,

-but neither combatant was wounded.</p>

-

-<p>“Surrender!” cried Max.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[179]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Never!” answered Hubert.</p>

-

-<p>Again the two men came together.</p>

-

-<p>The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder,

-but Max was unhurt.</p>

-

-<p>The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.</p>

-

-<p>With his left hand, weak though it was from the

-wound, he drew his revolver.</p>

-

-<p>“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made

-an upward cut and sent the revolver careening through

-the air.</p>

-

-<p>The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they

-saw that Hubert was getting the worst of it, a dozen of

-them surrounded Max, cutting him off entirely from his

-followers.</p>

-

-<p>It was a critical moment.</p>

-

-<p>Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out

-terrible blows with it; but what could one man do against

-twelve?</p>

-

-<p>He felt he would have to succumb.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.</p>

-

-<p>He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.</p>

-

-<p>He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted

-it he resolved that Ponsonby should not live to gloat

-over his defeat.</p>

-

-<p>He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him

-from his horse.</p>

-

-<p>Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped

-Hubert by the throat.</p>

-

-<p>A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring

-it down on the young American’s head, when the blow<span class="pagenum">[180]</span>

-was turned aside by the Mahdi’s spear, and instead of

-cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of the Mahdi,

-it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of

-the Koran.</p>

-

-<p>Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry

-the Mahdi rode; he had saved the madcap’s life at the

-risk of his own.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of

-the Fashodans had felt the keenness of his sword and the

-strength of his arm.</p>

-

-<p>His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor

-of Fashoda.</p>

-

-<p>When the day ended and the result of the fight was

-known, it was found that of the five thousand brave followers

-of Hubert Ponsonby and the Fashodan governor,

-not two hundred escaped.</p>

-

-<p>The carnage was fearful.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy

-over four thousand.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the

-Mahdi, in a loud voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as

-an adopted son of the prophet.</p>

-

-<p>Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi

-hath come!” the sun went down, and Mohammed Ahmed

-was the greatest warrior the Soudan had ever known.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[181]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was

-telegraphed all over the world.</p>

-

-<p>In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike

-with Cairo, the people could talk of nothing but the wonderful

-advance of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.</p>

-

-<p>He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity

-of the Egyptians and Turks against him.</p>

-

-<p>A delay would be dangerous.</p>

-

-<p>The Soudan must be his, and that at once.</p>

-

-<p>He called together his chosen friends and told them

-that the victory must be followed up by still greater

-victories.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which

-made men rejoice in being martyrs, advised the instant

-march on Khartoum.</p>

-

-<p>“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must

-acknowledge your mission,” he said, and really believed

-that the Mahdi could scatter his enemies by a mere

-word.</p>

-

-<p>But the prophet shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is

-only by the sword that the prince of darkness can be

-crushed. To march now would be to invite defeat.”</p>

-

-<p>Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.</p>

-

-<p>“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[182]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.</p>

-

-<p>“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied,

-modestly.</p>

-

-<p>“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think.

-I will hear all and condemn not.”</p>

-

-<p>The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat

-made, for him, a long speech.</p>

-

-<p>“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began.

-“Fate, or, as you would say, Allah, guided me to

-you. I have fought under your banner.”</p>

-

-<p>“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.</p>

-

-<p>“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”&mdash;looking

-at the Mahdi&mdash;“are by a long shot the best

-man in the Soudan to-day. As Englishmen have joined

-your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join you,

-and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged

-in. Now, I’ve got an idea&mdash;just forget that you

-are the Mahdi and, to put it plainly, a rebel&mdash;&mdash;Oh,

-don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest man who

-ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he

-was a patriot.”</p>

-

-<p>“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said

-Mohammed Ahmed. “I shall not be offended.”</p>

-

-<p>“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum,

-to Kordofan, and Senaar, and preach rebellion.

-Let whoever goes rouse the people&mdash;talk to them of the

-way they have been robbed, and then spring upon them

-the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You

-see, by this means you would have friends waiting for

-you in each place.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p>

-

-<p>“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be

-killed.”</p>

-

-<p>“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said

-to myself: ‘Max, old fellow, make your will, reconcile

-yourself to your enemies, and go in a buster.’”</p>

-

-<p>Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke

-seemed incoherent, his hearers knew that he was in earnest,

-and that the plan was a good one.</p>

-

-<p>“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let

-the plan be worked in other places first.”</p>

-

-<p>“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but

-who could carry it out?”</p>

-

-<p>“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:</p>

-

-<p>“What would become of your harem?”</p>

-

-<p>“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would

-never do. Both the illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed

-have too much to lose.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you think we value our possessions more than

-principle?”</p>

-

-<p>“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to

-lose all, and perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to

-Kordofan.”</p>

-

-<p>“You?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; I can talk&mdash;why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in

-the adventure.”</p>

-

-<p>“But you are not of our faith.”</p>

-

-<p>“So much the better. I am an American, and every<span class="pagenum">[184]</span>

-body will know that the cause is a good one if an American

-takes it up.”</p>

-

-<p>“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”</p>

-

-<p>“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.</p>

-

-<p>“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his

-uncle, with almost a sneer.</p>

-

-<p>“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will

-tell me what to do.”</p>

-

-<p>“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the

-truth.”</p>

-

-<p>“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet.

-When do we start, Max?”</p>

-

-<p>“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed

-as he spoke.</p>

-

-<p>He walked away to think out his plan of action, and

-was joined by Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>“You were going without bidding me good-by.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p>“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may

-be, I am not Kalula to you, but Girzilla.”</p>

-

-<p>“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be

-happy.”</p>

-

-<p>The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from

-what Mohammed, her father, had told her, that the mission

-in which both Max and Ibrahim were to be engaged

-was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were that

-neither would ever be seen again alive.</p>

-

-<p>But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the

-young men went forth, their lives in their hands, in support

-of the cause they had espoused.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[185]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max was not quite so much in love with his mission

-when he entered Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all

-probability, was in antagonism to several regiments of

-soldiers and an excited populace.</p>

-

-<p>He needed rest.</p>

-

-<p>It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of

-caravan life on the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent

-that he dare not delay more than that one day.</p>

-

-<p>He had been provided with a letter of introduction

-to a merchant with whom Sherif el Habib had done business.

-That letter opened the merchant’s heart and home,

-for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s house his

-home during his stay in Kordofan.</p>

-

-<p>Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist,

-and a man of wealth, and therefore of great influence.</p>

-

-<p>It was not long before he asked Max the pointed

-question:</p>

-

-<p>“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”</p>

-

-<p>Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s

-belief.</p>

-

-<p>“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said

-the merchant.</p>

-

-<p>“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked

-the American.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why?”</p>

-

-<p>“The people would be disappointed.”</p>

-

-<p>“In what way?”</p>

-

-<p>“You will laugh.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[186]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this

-Mohammedan Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>“They expect too much.”</p>

-

-<p>“How?”</p>

-

-<p>“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that

-you would laugh.”</p>

-

-<p>“I apologize. I could not help it.”</p>

-

-<p>“They think, also, that he never walks.”</p>

-

-<p>“Never walks?”</p>

-

-<p>“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to

-reach any place.”</p>

-

-<p>“Anything else?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in

-his veins, as well as that of Emin Bey.”</p>

-

-<p>“Whom did you say?”</p>

-

-<p>“Mahomet.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, but the other name?”</p>

-

-<p>“Emin.”</p>

-

-<p>“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>

-

-<p>Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything,

-loved to tell a story, and one story was always entrancing

-to him.</p>

-

-<p>He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco

-smoke to eddy and curl up to the ceiling before he commenced

-his story.</p>

-

-<p>“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that

-Mohammed Ali determined to destroy the Mamelukes&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that

-to do with the Mahdi?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[187]</span></p>

-

-<p>Shula looked at Max with astonishment.</p>

-

-<p>It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt

-me in the midst of a story?” He puffed away at his

-chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a minute or so, and

-then continued:</p>

-

-<p>“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed

-Ali invited them, the portcullis fell behind the

-last of their splendid army, and they were trapped like

-rats.”</p>

-

-<p>“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”</p>

-

-<p>“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch

-Arabian over a pile of dead and dying. He sprang on

-the battlements, his horse was killed, but with a shout

-of <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i>, he leaped into the darkness and escaped

-to the mosque.”</p>

-

-<p>Again Shula paused.</p>

-

-<p>Max was impatient, and could not wait.</p>

-

-<p>“I would give my right hand to find the descendants

-of Emin,” he said.</p>

-

-<p>“Would you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Indeed I would.”</p>

-

-<p>“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered

-the mosque without removing his shoes. He pleaded to

-his own conscience that his wound would excuse his sacrilege.

-He fell asleep, and as he slept he dreamed&mdash;that

-is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the

-time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and

-in the center, Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said

-the prophet, ‘thy wound is healed.’ Emin began to excuse

-the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but the prophet<span class="pagenum">[188]</span>

-stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said,

-and sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins

-of Thebes and hide thee until I bid thee go to the desert,

-and there thou shalt stay, thou and thy sons, but thy

-son’s son shall be the <em>Imaum</em> of his people.’ ‘But,’ said

-Emin, ‘the <em>Imaum</em> shall be of thy race, illustrious

-prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of

-my race, thou art blessed, indeed.”</p>

-

-<p>Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring

-some grapes.</p>

-

-<p>Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until

-the cup was full of the ruby-colored juice.</p>

-

-<p>Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant

-had withdrawn, Shula continued:</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the

-grandson of Emin&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“And I never thought of it&mdash;I, who have been seeking

-the last of the Mamelukes&mdash;I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”</p>

-

-<p>“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants,

-and I never told the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do you know the Mahdi?”</p>

-

-<p>“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi

-sent me here. He is coming in all the glory of victory,

-and I am to prepare a way for him.”</p>

-

-<p>Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the

-American until poor Max began to think his breath would

-all be squeezed out.</p>

-

-<p>Had he wanted rest?</p>

-

-<p>If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.</p>

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<p><span class="pagenum">[189]</span></p>

-

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SOWING THE SEED.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for

-three of his most particular friends and bade them hasten

-to his house.</p>

-

-<p>Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian,

-was the first, and he stared at Max with eyes which

-seemed to glitter with hate.</p>

-

-<p>He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin

-had been changed from olive to almost black through

-exposure to the sun.</p>

-

-<p>Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs,

-and he imagined Max to be some wealthy foreigner who

-was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah for business or

-pleasure.</p>

-

-<p>He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin,

-a Persian, entered and embraced Shula most warmly.</p>

-

-<p>The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were

-drawn round the room and everything done to prevent

-the slightest sound being heard on the outside.</p>

-

-<p>“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this

-illustrious one is a messenger from the Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low,

-and murmured some words of prayer.</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you

-ready?”</p>

-

-<p>“What are we to do?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”</p>

-

-<p>“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.</p>

-

-<p>“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into

-the midst of an army; he had no weapon, the guns were

-firing, the swords and spears clashed around him and

-over his head, but he merely smiled and bade them cease

-their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong.

-Will you not raise his flag?”</p>

-

-<p>“We will.”</p>

-

-<p>“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die

-in a great cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum,

-pillaged by Egypt and taxed by Turkey. England now

-wants a share, and what will you have left?”</p>

-

-<p>“Nothing.”</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt,

-of Turkey and the whole of the Mohammedan world.

-The crescent and star will float above all other flags, for

-the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of shahs.”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i> be praised.”</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically

-that no opposition was offered. A plan was adopted

-by which on the third day all the followers of the four

-wealthy citizens should revolt and raise the standard of

-the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet.

-It was not thought wise for him to interfere, as some

-thought it might be said he was a foreigner, and of

-alien faith, and therefore at work against the interests of

-the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[191]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather

-the fruit. He was quite willing that others should do

-that.</p>

-

-<p>So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and

-Nasr el Adin, and agreed to remain quiet in the city,

-while they kindled the torch of revolt.</p>

-

-<p>Max slept well that night. It had been many months

-since he reposed in a regular bed in a comfortable room,

-with both male and female servants to minister to his

-needs.</p>

-

-<p>True, the females were not lovely. They were very

-old, exceedingly ugly and bad tempered, but they did the

-work.</p>

-

-<p>It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth

-into the streets.</p>

-

-<p>He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.</p>

-

-<p>A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked

-lazily at Max, who returned the gaze, and wondered

-whether he ought to attack the peculiar animal or not.</p>

-

-<p>While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled,

-ran screaming past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking

-man.</p>

-

-<p>Max thought that it was a case of father chastising

-his daughter, but even then his blood boiled with indignation,

-for the girl was too old to receive corporal

-punishment.</p>

-

-<p>The man overtook the girl and struck her over the

-shoulders with his cane.</p>

-

-<p>At the same instant Max found he could not restrain

-the muscles of his arm, and his clinched fist managed to<span class="pagenum">[192]</span>

-come in contact with the fat man’s nose, causing that

-organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness, and inducing

-its owner to lie on the ground on his back.</p>

-

-<p>It was a curious accident&mdash;for so Max called it&mdash;but

-the girl did not hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen

-foe, but rather turned her black eyes in the direction of

-Max.</p>

-

-<p>He then saw that she was really pretty.</p>

-

-<p>Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging

-sparkling dark eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in

-the landscape.</p>

-

-<p>The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to

-resume the perpendicular while Max was around.</p>

-

-<p>The girl started running away, but Max called to her

-to stop.</p>

-

-<p>He wanted to know her name, at least.</p>

-

-<p>He was an American, and did not realize how different

-were the customs of Egypt.</p>

-

-<p>She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.</p>

-

-<p>She smiled when he got alongside her.</p>

-

-<p>As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly

-teeth that really added to her beauty.</p>

-

-<p>“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with

-charming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</i>.</p>

-

-<p>“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”</p>

-

-<p>She smiled.</p>

-

-<p>“You know you shouldn’t.”</p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“Have knocked him down.”</p>

-

-<p>“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p>

-

-<p>“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”</p>

-

-<p>“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”</p>

-

-<p>Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen,

-and was following them.</p>

-

-<p>“Go,” she said.</p>

-

-<p>“Not until you tell me where you live and your

-name.”</p>

-

-<p>“My name is Lalla. I live&mdash;&mdash;But what good to tell

-you?&mdash;I shall never see you again.”</p>

-

-<p>“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course

-you will.”</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, no! you must not; good-by&mdash;I live&mdash;here.”</p>

-

-<p>She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big

-wall.</p>

-

-<p>“You do? May I come and see you?”</p>

-

-<p>She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion

-and laughed as well.</p>

-

-<p>“No; what absurdity&mdash;I am going to be married&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it

-again so quickly that Max could not get even the slightest

-glimpse of what was on the other side.</p>

-

-<p>“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought

-Max.</p>

-

-<p>But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking

-quite disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged

-in just as expeditiously as the girl had done.</p>

-

-<p>“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max.

-“I’ll see over that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p>

-

-<p>He looked for a good climbing place, and found a

-better one than he expected.</p>

-

-<p>“Here goes&mdash;Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced

-climbing the wall.</p>

-

-<p>When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.</p>

-

-<p>The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number

-of fountains were sending up continuous sprays of

-water, which the slight breeze scattered over the turf,

-keeping the grass green and soft.</p>

-

-<p>A large house stood in the center, and near to its main

-entrance stood Lalla.</p>

-

-<p>She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would

-not understand her signals.</p>

-

-<p>He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and

-sheltered himself behind a clump of euphorbia.</p>

-

-<p>He was afraid that his presence might be known, and

-that he would be expelled from the grounds.</p>

-

-<p>He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not

-see why it should be considered wrong to do so.</p>

-

-<p>He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and

-that if he were caught his life might be the forfeit, but

-he was Madcap Max still.</p>

-

-<p>He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway

-and enter the house.</p>

-

-<p>“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins!

-if he does, I’ll break into his place and steal her

-away&mdash;that I will!”</p>

-

-<p>But it soon became evident that his position would

-be an unpleasant one.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[195]</span></p>

-

-<p>Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to

-drive him from the grounds.</p>

-

-<p>A dozen male servants of the great man who owned

-the estate started down the steps of the portico and made

-straight for the euphorbia.</p>

-

-<p>The gate was fastened.</p>

-

-<p>The wall was too high to climb on short notice.</p>

-

-<p>Max saw his peril.</p>

-

-<p>If caught&mdash;&mdash;</p>

-

-<p>“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.</p>

-

-<p>“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close

-upon me?” he asked himself, and answered:</p>

-

-<p>“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be

-tired, you fresh; then race them for all that it is worth.”</p>

-

-<p>The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient

-romance was after them.</p>

-

-<p>When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood

-ready.</p>

-

-<p>They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but

-had separated themselves so that they might surround

-him and thus effect an easy capture.</p>

-

-<p>He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward&mdash;going

-toward the house instead of away from it.</p>

-

-<p>As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him,

-Max put out his left foot and tripped the fellow up.</p>

-

-<p>As ill luck would have it&mdash;or perhaps it was Max’s

-good luck&mdash;the man fell on his face in a bed of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">euphorbia

-splendens</i>, a plant commonly known as the “crown of

-thorns.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p>

-

-<p>The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross

-fashion and made him wish he had never been born.</p>

-

-<p>Max was now pursued by the others.</p>

-

-<p>He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled

-on his pursuers.</p>

-

-<p>Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another

-advantage.</p>

-

-<p>He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to

-find some means of exit.</p>

-

-<p>But again he was mistaken.</p>

-

-<p>He, however, found something he did not bargain

-for, and that was a trap or cellar door.</p>

-

-<p>It was open.</p>

-

-<p>Max did not see it.</p>

-

-<p>It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning

-powers, or even much knowledge of the rules of logic,

-to comprehend the result.</p>

-

-<p>He fell through the open door.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">AN UNEXPECTED BATH.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched

-the door and closed it, by accident, after him.</p>

-

-<p>It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.</p>

-

-<p>Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.</p>

-

-<p>He was only shaken and slightly bruised.</p>

-

-<p>His pursuers reached the door and tried it.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[197]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat&mdash;louder than

-he liked.</p>

-

-<p>But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers

-declare that he must have scaled the wall.</p>

-

-<p>“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.</p>

-

-<p>“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered

-one of the eunuchs.</p>

-

-<p>“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the

-declaration.</p>

-

-<p>His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the

-eunuch call off his men and declare that the “infidel” had

-escaped.</p>

-

-<p>When the footsteps died away Max began to think

-about his prison house.</p>

-

-<p>If the door had not been opened for a week, was there

-any way of egress or ingress?</p>

-

-<p>If not, then might he not starve to death?</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall

-be saved.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was looking on the bright side of the subject,

-and his spirits rose correspondingly.</p>

-

-<p>The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately

-had a small pocket lantern with him, and after

-being there an hour he felt it was safe to light the lamp.</p>

-

-<p>He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without

-any flooring save the mud.</p>

-

-<p>The roof was very high in some places, and in others

-so low that Max could not stand upright.</p>

-

-<p>It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent

-was so great.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[198]</span></p>

-

-<p>A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with

-Max, but those were the only living things he saw.</p>

-

-<p>Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a

-house, is not the most inspiring exercise, and Max was

-not very elated.</p>

-

-<p>Once he thought he heard a flow of water.</p>

-

-<p>Was he mistaken?</p>

-

-<p>No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar,

-only separated by a very thin partition or wall of baked

-clay, ran the river Nile.</p>

-

-<p>Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river,

-but they were both fastened.</p>

-

-<p>“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m

-in for a good time, and I’ll have one.”</p>

-

-<p>Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper

-story.</p>

-

-<p>They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as

-stone.</p>

-

-<p>He walked up them, and found a door at the top.</p>

-

-<p>Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some

-more steps which led to a long corridor.</p>

-

-<p>There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the

-hallway, and he followed that as his guide.</p>

-

-<p>Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his

-mind he was mistaken. There were no signs of anyone

-dwelling there, everything was deserted and desolate.</p>

-

-<p>He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole

-thoughts being now bent on escape.</p>

-

-<p>He reached the end of the corridor, and found that<span class="pagenum">[199]</span>

-the little ray of light proceeded from a transom over

-another door.</p>

-

-<p>That door he pushed open, and saw before him another

-flight of stairs.</p>

-

-<p>“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I

-only get out at last.”</p>

-

-<p>He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door

-confronted him.</p>

-

-<p>He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight

-which met his gaze.</p>

-

-<p>No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with

-the beauty and grandeur of what he saw.</p>

-

-<p>The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many

-feet wide.</p>

-

-<p>The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the

-most exquisite patterns and quality.</p>

-

-<p>The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.</p>

-

-<p>Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a

-different tinted shade, shed a brilliant light over the

-scene.</p>

-

-<p>But that was not all.</p>

-

-<p>Round the great room were divans covered with the

-most costly silks.</p>

-

-<p>And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a

-beauteous woman.</p>

-

-<p>Each woman had a little table by her side, on which

-cigarettes and sherbet were placed.</p>

-

-<p>Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco

-Max had ever sniffed.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[200]</span></p>

-

-<p>He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without

-the beauteous creatures having any idea that their

-privacy had been invaded.</p>

-

-<p>But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl

-Lalla.</p>

-

-<p>Why should he not go to her?</p>

-

-<p>He was an American, and knew no fear.</p>

-

-<p>He walked down the center of the room, and instantly

-there was a shriek&mdash;a tiny little scream&mdash;and a flutter

-of a score of beauties.</p>

-

-<p>But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry

-for it, for never before had any man save their lord

-entered the grand <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i> of the harem, and the novelty

-was refreshing.</p>

-

-<p>Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and

-some offered to hide him.</p>

-

-<p>There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by

-the shoulders and pushed him behind the drapery which

-covered the walls.</p>

-

-<p>She was only just in time.</p>

-

-<p>Three eunuchs entered.</p>

-

-<p>“You screamed,” said the chief.</p>

-

-<p>“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.</p>

-

-<p>“And you all saw it at the same time?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes,” answered another.</p>

-

-<p>“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a

-hat, which Max had dropped on the floor.</p>

-

-<p>Poor Max!</p>

-

-<p>He had never missed his hat.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[201]</span></p>

-

-<p>He had carried it under his arm when he entered the

-<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i>.</p>

-

-<p>So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped

-his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chapeau</i> and never missed it.</p>

-

-<p>The women could not explain how it came about that

-a mouse wore a soft felt helmet.</p>

-

-<p>The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission

-of discovery.</p>

-

-<p>He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought

-might cover a man, and was approaching the place where

-Max was hidden, when Lalla fell on her knees.</p>

-

-<p>“Oh, spare him!”</p>

-

-<p>“Who do you mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never

-saw him before, but he is so handsome! Do not kill

-him.”</p>

-

-<p>“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.</p>

-

-<p>Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with

-arms folded before the servants of the pasha.</p>

-

-<p>“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar

-and was trying to get away. I found myself here by

-mistake. Do with me as you like.”</p>

-

-<p>“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others

-took up the prayer.</p>

-

-<p>But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.</p>

-

-<p>“He must die,” said they.</p>

-

-<p>“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst

-of their cries Max was seized, his hands tied by his sides,

-after which he was carried down the steps into the great

-noisome cellar by which he had entered.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[202]</span></p>

-

-<p>Max did not try to bribe his captors.</p>

-

-<p>He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.</p>

-

-<p>“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”</p>

-

-<p>But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to

-escape, when they produced a great sack and covered

-him with it.</p>

-

-<p>Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they

-lifted him shoulder high, and he soon felt the strange

-sensation of being whirled through space.</p>

-

-<p>His senses were almost numbed when he realized that

-he was in water.</p>

-

-<p>He had been thrown into the Nile!</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SAVED!</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of

-the Nile discussing the best way to assist the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the

-prophet, and calling on all good religionists to rally round

-his standard.</p>

-

-<p>But Barbasson was crafty.</p>

-

-<p>He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.</p>

-

-<p>“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if

-he fails&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“He won’t fail.”</p>

-

-<p>“I hope not; but suppose he did?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[203]</span></p>

-

-<p>“Well?”</p>

-

-<p>“We should lose our property, and perhaps&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”</p>

-

-<p>“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you

-don’t mind killing others,” Shula retorted, sharply.</p>

-

-<p>“What mean you?”</p>

-

-<p>“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”</p>

-

-<p>“By the beard of the prophet, no!”</p>

-

-<p>“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was

-watching a dahabeah on the Nile; I saw something bulky

-thrown overboard&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile

-was the best place.”</p>

-

-<p>“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle

-and found&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“What?”</p>

-

-<p>“A most lovely girl.”</p>

-

-<p>“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”</p>

-

-<p>“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your

-wives took a great dislike to her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“One of my wives?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”</p>

-

-<p>Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.</p>

-

-<p>“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and

-I took her into my harem.”</p>

-

-<p>“That is your business. What is it to me?”</p>

-

-<p>“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw

-Leila into the water.”</p>

-

-<p>“Bah! that was only a girl&mdash;and they are not missed.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[204]</span></p>

-

-<p>Barbasson suggested&mdash;when he had got over his annoyance&mdash;that

-secret agents should be sent out and that

-riots should be organized.</p>

-

-<p>Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was

-in disorder, Shula should come forward and proclaim the

-advent of the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now

-joined by Rashid and Nasr el Adin, started on their

-homeward journey.</p>

-

-<p>“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a

-splash was heard in the water.</p>

-

-<p>“A crocodile, most likely.”</p>

-

-<p>“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”</p>

-

-<p>“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”</p>

-

-<p>“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”</p>

-

-<p>“The prophet will stop all that.”</p>

-

-<p>“I hope so.”</p>

-

-<p>“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses

-of the government here, and he is never molested

-for beating or drowning his wives. Of course, he never

-touches a man.”</p>

-

-<p>Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the

-time that a woman’s life was considered of no more value

-than that of a dog or any common animal.</p>

-

-<p>A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he

-could drown her, providing he did it decently&mdash;that is,

-place her body in a sack, with some heavy weights, so

-that the body should not rise to the surface.</p>

-

-<p>While the conspirators were discussing the morality<span class="pagenum">[205]</span>

-of Mahmoud Achmet, their eyes were strained in an endeavor

-to discover what had caused the splashing sound.</p>

-

-<p>A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more

-humane than the majority of Kordofans, stepped into a

-boat anchored by the bank, and pushed out in the stream.</p>

-

-<p>He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to

-stick it in the canvas sack.</p>

-

-<p>He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.</p>

-

-<p>He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud

-Achmet, and hoped she would be young and pretty, because

-by the laws she would be his slave.</p>

-

-<p>To his astonishment&mdash;and equally so to the surprise of

-the other&mdash;instead of a woman the sack contained a man,

-and that man our young friend&mdash;Madcap Max.</p>

-

-<p>Max was unconscious.</p>

-

-<p>When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously

-he struggled all he knew how to free himself.</p>

-

-<p>What could he do?</p>

-

-<p>He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.</p>

-

-<p>His body was doubled so that he could not use his

-hands to tear the bag or strike out.</p>

-

-<p>In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.</p>

-

-<p>He began to wish that he had never heard of the

-Mahdi, or the Mameluke.</p>

-

-<p>But regrets were useless.</p>

-

-<p>He knew he had to die.</p>

-

-<p>Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe,

-he would have been proud to die&mdash;because he knew no

-disgrace would be attached to it.</p>

-

-<p>But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat,<span class="pagenum">[206]</span>

-was so hurtful to his self-respect and so humiliating that

-he cried with vexation.</p>

-

-<p>The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of

-it. His brain grew dizzy.</p>

-

-<p>The singing in his ears had become like the roaring

-of the waters of a great cataract.</p>

-

-<p>Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators

-been discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion

-at night by the banks of the Nile, Madcap Max

-would never have been the hero of this story.</p>

-

-<p>Shula rubbed Max briskly.</p>

-

-<p>He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face

-downward.</p>

-

-<p>The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s

-back&mdash;sitting on it, treading it, kneeling on it, and using

-every means of which they knew to restore life.</p>

-

-<p>“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”</p>

-

-<p>The words startled the conspirators.</p>

-

-<p>They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with

-the treatment he had been subjected to, had revived

-with great suddenness.</p>

-

-<p>He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was

-being hurt, hence his calling out.</p>

-

-<p>He jumped to his feet.</p>

-

-<p>“Shula!” he exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p>“Max!”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned?

-Where am I?”</p>

-

-<p>“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water,<span class="pagenum">[207]</span>

-and the less you say the longer you will be likely to live.

-Come&mdash;let us get home. Can you walk?”</p>

-

-<p>“Of course I can.”</p>

-

-<p>Max started forward, but before his legs had moved

-a dozen times he fell on his face.</p>

-

-<p>The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances

-were to be found in Kordofan at that hour of the night,

-they had to carry him to Shula’s residence.</p>

-

-<p>Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and

-laughed at the escapade.</p>

-

-<p>“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to

-see Lalla,” he said. “I want to know more about her.”</p>

-

-<p>“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter

-any man’s harem,” said Shula.</p>

-

-<p>“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally

-weak from his struggles in the Nile.</p>

-

-<p>Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel

-that he was the strong athlete again.</p>

-

-<p>When he awoke on the morning of the third day he

-heard cries which roused him:</p>

-

-<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>

-

-<p>“Down with the foreigner!”</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>

-

-<p>Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.</p>

-

-<p>His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that

-he had staked all his property and his life on the riot

-which was then in progress.</p>

-

-<p>“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[208]</span></p>

-

-<p>“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”</p>

-

-<p>A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows

-were shaken, and some panes of glass broken.</p>

-

-<p>“What does it mean?”</p>

-

-<p>“They are fighting,” answered Shula.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the

-head of the Mahdi’s friends?”</p>

-

-<p>“I&mdash;stayed&mdash;with you.”</p>

-

-<p>“Come! where is my sword?”</p>

-

-<p>“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed&mdash;the

-soldiers wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting

-the people down.”</p>

-

-<p>“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is madness.”</p>

-

-<p>“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I

-wasn’t I’d scorn to be a coward.”</p>

-

-<p>“A coward?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes, I said so, and I repeat&mdash;a coward.”</p>

-

-<p>“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army

-of Egypt.”</p>

-

-<p>“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and

-are now afraid&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”</p>

-

-<p>“Risk all&mdash;if by that means you save your honor.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[209]</span></p>

-

-<p>“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”</p>

-

-<p>“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”</p>

-

-<p>“See what it means to me&mdash;loss of property, perhaps

-life.”</p>

-

-<p>“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going

-to fight.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is madness!”</p>

-

-<p>“Give me my rifle and my sword.”</p>

-

-<p>Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.</p>

-

-<p>He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right&mdash;the

-people had but scant chance.</p>

-

-<p>That made Max all the more determined.</p>

-

-<p>He waved his sword above his head and rushed into

-the thickest of the fight.</p>

-

-<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>

-

-<p>At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.</p>

-

-<p>“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with

-you. The Mahdi is a native of your country, he is no

-foreigner. Strike for him, and let your cry be Egypt

-for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”</p>

-

-<p>The people lost their fear.</p>

-

-<p>Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers

-did not return the fire.</p>

-

-<p>Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.</p>

-

-<p>The Egyptian officer was enraged.</p>

-

-<p>“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.</p>

-

-<p>A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but

-the majority kept them reversed.</p>

-

-<p>Max saw the advantage he had gained.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[210]</span></p>

-

-<p>He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had

-fallen in the mêlée.</p>

-

-<p>Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant

-as he sat there, like a veritable centaur.</p>

-

-<p>“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I

-have fought with the great Mahdi. I have seen the

-thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he waved his

-wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights

-with his eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall

-back.”</p>

-

-<p>The enthusiasm was great.</p>

-

-<p>Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the

-others were undecided.</p>

-

-<p>The officer was furious.</p>

-

-<p>“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed

-the call.</p>

-

-<p>“Load! Aim! Fire!”</p>

-

-<p>Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to

-his great joy that the aim was too high to do any damage.</p>

-

-<p>“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our

-fight is not against you. The Mahdi is of your faith.

-Nay, more, he will restore the great Mameluke kingdom.

-Every soldier of his will be greater than a pasha,

-for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>

-

-<p>The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who

-wondered who this young paleface could be.</p>

-

-<p>The result was electrical.</p>

-

-<p>Every rifle was reversed.</p>

-

-<p>The officer was left alone to return to the fort&mdash;a

-commander without soldiers.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[211]</span></p>

-

-<p>At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the

-Mahdi, Mohammed Achmet was close to the gates of the

-city. He heard the cheering and the firing.</p>

-

-<p>His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.</p>

-

-<p>Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif

-el Habib and the Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into

-the main street of <a id="Ref_211" href="#BRef_211">Kordofan.</a></p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi!”</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>

-

-<p>The cheers rose on the air.</p>

-

-<p>Songs were sung&mdash;the soldiers fraternized with the

-people.</p>

-

-<p>Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.</p>

-

-<p>Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer

-handed his sword to the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my

-sword and use it for truth and our faith.”</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed

-it back, saying:</p>

-

-<p>“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for

-you will use it as only a brave man can.”</p>

-

-<p>The fires of joy were lighted.</p>

-

-<p>Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi

-was welcomed.</p>

-

-<p>Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was

-triumphant, came to offer the hospitality of his house

-to the conqueror.</p>

-

-<p>Max recognized him, and after the man had said all

-he intended, came forward.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[212]</span></p>

-

-<p>“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped

-him in a sack, and drowned him.”</p>

-

-<p>“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He

-has raised this man from the dead. All my wealth is his,”

-exclaimed Mahmoud.</p>

-

-<p>Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however,

-did not contradict him, but allowed him to think that

-the power of the Mahdi had indeed raised him from the

-dead.</p>

-

-<p>He spoke privately to the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.</p>

-

-<p>“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give

-this man the girl called Lalla.”</p>

-

-<p>Mahmoud fell to the ground.</p>

-

-<p>He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.</p>

-

-<p>“Woe is me, I cannot!”</p>

-

-<p>“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>“Indeed it is true. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>

-

-<p>Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max,

-and after throwing him into the river, Lalla had refused

-to be comforted, had called him a murderer, and refused

-to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in his

-anger he ordered her to be drowned.</p>

-

-<p>Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in

-the presence of a great concourse of citizens, said:</p>

-

-<p>“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at

-times made away with such of his wives that displeased

-him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how abhorrent

-such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet<span class="pagenum">[213]</span>

-be taken from here in the sack which he has provided for

-others, and that he be thrown into the Nile.”</p>

-

-<p>“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man&mdash;“mercy! I will give

-you wealth.”</p>

-

-<p>“I do not want it.”</p>

-

-<p>“All I have shall be yours!”</p>

-

-<p>“It is mine already.”</p>

-

-<p>One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem

-testified how the wives were constantly beaten with

-whips.</p>

-

-<p>“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,”

-said the Mahdi; “it is fate.”</p>

-

-<p>The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.</p>

-

-<p>Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of

-his own eunuch, and was drowned in the Nile.</p>

-

-<p>“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who

-were more than ever enthused with the prophet and his

-cause.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot

-haste, asked for the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif

-el Habib.</p>

-

-<p>When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[214]</span></p>

-

-<div class="blockquot">

-

-<p>“To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum

-and Mahdi:</p>

-

-<p>“<span class="smcap">Greeting</span>: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the

-flag of the Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is

-ours.</p>

-

-<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>

-</div>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot">

-

-<p>“Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter.

-“I was wounded in the right foot and lost two

-toes, but that was better than my life. The people were

-all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely. It was a

-tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which

-I will send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is

-Girzilla? Give her my love. Is Max the Madcap alive?

-Of course he is. Tell him not to play any pranks in

-Kordofan.</p>

-

-<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“Your loving nephew,</p>

-

-<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:15em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>

-</div>

-

-<p>When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his

-staff, he called Max to him.</p>

-

-<p>“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and

-we are victorious. You are Max Pasha; and your

-nephew”&mdash;turning to Sherif&mdash;“is also pasha, and is made

-governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor

-of Kordofan.”</p>

-

-<p>The people cheered the young governor.</p>

-

-<p>Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:</p>

-

-<p>“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline

-it.”</p>

-

-<p>“You must not.”</p>

-

-<p>“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to

-be governor and pasha for one day, because I am going

-back to America, and if I ever go on the lecture platform<span class="pagenum">[215]</span>

-the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a real

-live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap

-Max.”</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>

-

-<p>“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.</p>

-

-<p>“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired

-of being the Mahdi come over to New York and I will

-trot you round, and&mdash;oh, my! won’t the dollars just flow

-into our pockets.”</p>

-

-<p>But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch

-was placed in his hands.</p>

-

-<p>It was from a trusty agent in the North.</p>

-

-<p>“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under

-the command of Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read,

-“and is marching with five thousand men against you.

-Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men,

-is marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in

-two by these armies.”</p>

-

-<p>“No! by the prophet&mdash;no!” exclaimed the Mahdi.

-“We will attack both and exterminate them.”</p>

-

-<p>The bugles called the army together and the march

-was ordered.</p>

-

-<p>With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm,

-the followers of the Mahdi started to meet

-Yussuf Pasha Hassan.</p>

-

-<p>The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans,

-but they lacked enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi&mdash;still without weapon&mdash;rode at the head of

-his people and gave the words of command.</p>

-

-<p>Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western<span class="pagenum">[216]</span>

-prairie, the army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans

-commanded by Yussuf.</p>

-

-<p>The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but

-the Mahdists were more like fiends.</p>

-

-<p>They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately

-cut their throats.</p>

-

-<p>It was a horrible carnage.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort

-to defend himself, but was ever in the thickest of the

-fight.</p>

-

-<p>His brow shone as though it were gold.</p>

-

-<p>His presence was remarkable.</p>

-

-<p>Max fought with desperate valor.</p>

-

-<p>At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself

-more power in striking a blow.</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage

-blow.</p>

-

-<p>Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to

-the Mahdi, Max was the most powerful leader.</p>

-

-<p>Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>He was a trifle superstitious.</p>

-

-<p>If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not

-kill him, and Yussuf would not risk an encounter; so he

-rode through the fighting demons until he reached the

-side of Max.</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly

-wheeled round and aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.</p>

-

-<p>The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge

-at Max.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[217]</span></p>

-

-<p>But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic

-speed, and Yussuf’s sword merely struck the air.</p>

-

-<p>As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire

-flew out, and seemed to keep fiery time to the music of

-the steel.</p>

-

-<p>Yussuf got angry.</p>

-

-<p>“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly

-asked, during a pause in the duel.</p>

-

-<p>“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for

-liberty.”</p>

-

-<p>Again the fight was resumed.</p>

-

-<p>Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.</p>

-

-<p>The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to

-kick and trample down the dead and dying.</p>

-

-<p>It was a fearful sight.</p>

-

-<p>Yussuf fought bravely.</p>

-

-<p>His left arm had been broken by Max, just below

-the shoulder, but he would not give in.</p>

-

-<p>“Surrender!”</p>

-

-<p>“Never!”</p>

-

-<p>“Then die!”</p>

-

-<p>“I will, but you will go first.”</p>

-

-<p>Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging

-round his heavy scimiter with the strength of a giant.</p>

-

-<p>Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck

-the horse’s neck, almost severing the head from the body.</p>

-

-<p>Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.</p>

-

-<p>Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s

-side.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[218]</span></p>

-

-<p>“We are equal,” he said.</p>

-

-<p>But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one

-arm to fight with.</p>

-

-<p>The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he

-did so a sword still grasped by a dead man pierced his

-side.</p>

-

-<p>The brave man could stand no more.</p>

-

-<p>“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender

-to Max, but to the Great Creator, for as the man uttered

-the words the breath left his body.</p>

-

-<p>Out of four thousand seven hundred men&mdash;hale, hearty

-veterans&mdash;who had marched under the crescent of Egypt

-that morning, only two hundred and one survived at

-night.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred

-men all told.</p>

-

-<p>They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury

-the dead.</p>

-

-<p>Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks

-Pasha.</p>

-

-<p>It was a two days march to Tokar.</p>

-

-<p>At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred

-and forty-six men, met the advance guard of the

-Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and Max.</p>

-

-<p>The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable

-to the Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi

-himself arrived.</p>

-

-<p>There was a charm and magnetism about the man

-which made him irresistible.</p>

-

-<p>His presence was equal to a thousand men.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[219]</span></p>

-

-<p>In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead,

-and two thousand three hundred and seventy-three of his

-men lay stiffening under the tropical sun.</p>

-

-<p>The defeat was a thorough one.</p>

-

-<p>The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except

-Khartoum and Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.</p>

-

-<p>The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.</p>

-

-<p>Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum.

-In the mosques his name was mentioned with that of

-the prophet, and the people prostrated themselves when

-reference was made to him.</p>

-

-

-<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII.

-<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”</span></h2>

-</div>

-

-

-<p>A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.</p>

-

-<p>The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush

-any force which could be sent against it.</p>

-

-<p>The officers took things easy.</p>

-

-<p>Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s

-headquarters, and Ibrahim had received a furlough or

-leave of absence for two months.</p>

-

-<p>This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:</p>

-

-<p>“I have found him.”</p>

-

-<p>“Whom do you refer to?”</p>

-

-<p>“The last of the Mamelukes.”</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[220]</span></p>

-

-<p>“And he is&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“The Mahdi.”</p>

-

-<p>“Are you sure, Girzilla?”</p>

-

-<p>“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will

-restore the glories of his race and bring the whole world

-to believe in Mahomet.”</p>

-

-<p>Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.</p>

-

-<p>The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he

-heard Max tell his story; how he had lost his father

-in the caves of the bandits, and had been rescued by

-Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>When Max narrated how he had become enthused over

-the story of the great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed

-Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.</p>

-

-<p>“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me.

-Stay with me, my son, and share in my triumph.”</p>

-

-<p>“No&mdash;the work is done. I shall go back to my own

-land, and shall do as other Americans have done before

-me&mdash;write a book, or tell on the platform the story of

-the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”</p>

-

-<p>Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded

-with him to stay until after his wedding with Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a

-most impressive wedding took place in the vestibule of a

-mosque at Kordofan.</p>

-

-<p>The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.</p>

-

-<p>The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were

-worthy of the great prophet himself.</p>

-

-<p>To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:</p>

-

-<p>“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits<span class="pagenum">[221]</span>

-you to take three others; but take my advice&mdash;cleave

-to the one. It is better, and a new dispensation

-will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of our race

-have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is

-now written that if you be faithful to her on earth

-the gates of Paradise will open for you both, and she

-shall be your bride through all eternity.”</p>

-

-<p>After spending the customary seven days in prayer

-and religious observances, Ibrahim obtained permission

-to take his dusky bride on a trip up the Nile in company

-with Max.</p>

-

-<p>The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.</p>

-

-<p>Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey

-that her loving husband accompanied her to Suez, where

-they bade farewell to Madcap Max as the Peninsular

-and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.</p>

-

-<p>Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he

-had made the journey on three years before.</p>

-

-<p>He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium

-of the journey was broken by the story of adventure told

-by the madcap.</p>

-

-<p>When Max reached New York he found himself the

-head of the firm, and the cares of business life caused

-him to relinquish the thought of “coining dollars” on the

-lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise to the

-author that some day he would tell him the story of

-his life.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-<p>Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known

-and highly respected merchant to tell the story.</p>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum">[222]</span></p>

-

-<p>“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and

-you shall know all.”</p>

-

-<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>

-

-<p>“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”</p>

-

-<p>Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but

-many a time he declared that no more true one ever

-lived than the Arab maiden.</p>

-

-<p>When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion

-on the following day he was surprised to find so many

-evidences of the Orient everywhere; but when, an hour

-later, Max took the author by the hand and led him

-into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there

-stood, waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.</p>

-

-<p>Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the

-shawl manufactory, and found himself extremely wealthy.</p>

-

-<p>He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of

-the world, and so infatuated was he with the remembrance

-of Max, that nothing would satisfy him but to

-commence the journey proper from New York.</p>

-

-<p>That was how this story came to be written.</p>

-

-<p>Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a

-more lavish praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge

-he deserved.</p>

-

-<p>Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and

-his lovely bride, who does not look so dark and dusky

-in the modern American clothing as she did on the

-deserts of Africa.</p>

-

-<p>Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares

-that Girzilla occupies every bit of his heart, and<span class="pagenum">[223]</span>

-he could not take three more wives, even if his religion

-ordered it.</p>

-

-<p>Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap

-and his friend, and although his heart turns sick

-sometimes as he thinks of the carnage he witnessed, yet

-he says he shall always look back with pride to the

-intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and

-the Mameluke, the result of his trip “In the Volcano’s

-Mouth.”</p>

-

-<p class="center p1">THE END.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<div class="boxit">

-<p class="center xxlargefont" style="word-spacing:0.2em">TALES OF VICTORIES</p>

-

-<p>Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads

-of pluck and intelligence. Every true boy will

-be fascinated with these stories of the exciting adventures

-of boys who gladly gave their lives to

-freedom’s cause.</p>

-

-<p class="xlargefont center" style="word-spacing:0.2em"><em>BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY</em></p>

-

-

-<p class="numberitem1">3.&mdash;The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan</p>

-<p class="numberitem1">7.&mdash;The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan</p>

-<p class="numberitem2">11.&mdash;Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan</p>

-<p class="numberitem2">15.&mdash;By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>

-<p class="numberitem2">19.&mdash;A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>

-<p class="numberitem2">23.&mdash;The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>

-<p class="numberitem2">26.&mdash;The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>

-

-

-<p class="center xlargefont boldfont" style="word-spacing:0.15em">Only Ten Cents Per Copy<br />

-At All Newsdealers</p>

-

-<p class="center largefont"><em>If ordered by mail, add four cents to

-cover postage.</em></p>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH, Publishers<br />

-<span class="largefont">NEW YORK</span>

-</p>

-</div></div>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<div class="boxit1">

-

-<div class="center">

-<p class="displayinline center boldfont sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">BOUND TO WIN<br />

-LIBRARY</p>

-

-<p class="displayinline boldfont center" style="font-size:0.7em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em">A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature<br />

-for boys. Sept 14, 1905.</p>

-

-<p class="displayinline largefont" style="font-size:1.25em">NO. 134</p>

-</div>

-

-<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">Charles Garvice’s New Stories</p>

-

-<p>If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be

-waiting for the appearance of a new novel from the

-pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad to inform you

-that you will find it in</p>

-

-<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">SMITH’S MAGAZINE</p>

-

-<p>In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories

-will appear in this magazine, as he is under contract

-to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S DESTINY”

-is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing

-interest. It began in the April number and is still

-being published.</p>

-

-<p>If you are one of the vast army who have depended

-upon cheap, occasional issues of early non-copyrights,

-of which there are now no more by this author,

-you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.</p>

-

-<p>In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story,

-there are other features which make SMITH’S

-MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing

-of all ten-cent publications.</p>

-

-<p class="center largefont boldfont sansseriffont">PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS</p>

-

-<p class="center xlargefont boldfont sansseriffont p1">PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers</p>

-

-<div class="center">

-<p class="displayinline center xlargefont sansseriffont">THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,</p>

-

-<p class="displayinline center sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">156 FIFTH AVENUE<br />

-NEW YORK</p>

-</div></div>

-</div>

-

-<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />

-

-<div class="chapter">

-<div class="transnote">

-<h2 id="TN_end" style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>

-

-<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p>

-

-<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in

-the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors

-have been corrected.</p>

-

-<p>The following change was made:</p>

-

-<p><a id="BRef_211" href="#Ref_211">p. 211</a>: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)</p>

-</div></div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO&#039;S MOUTH ***</div>

-<div style='text-align:left'>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will

-be renamed.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright

-law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,

-so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United

-States without permission and without paying copyright

-royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part

-of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;

-concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,

-and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following

-the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use

-of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for

-copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very

-easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation

-of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project

-Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away&#8212;you may

-do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected

-by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark

-license, especially commercial redistribution.

-</div>

-

-<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div>

-<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div>

-<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free

-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work

-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project

-Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at

-www.gutenberg.org/license.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>

-Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to

-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property

-(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all

-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or

-destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your

-possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound

-by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person

-or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be

-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who

-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few

-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works

-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See

-paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this

-agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the

-Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection

-of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual

-works in the collection are in the public domain in the United

-States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the

-United States and you are located in the United States, we do not

-claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,

-displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as

-all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope

-that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting

-free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily

-comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the

-same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when

-you share it without charge with others.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern

-what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are

-in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,

-check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this

-agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,

-distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any

-other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no

-representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any

-country other than the United States.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other

-immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear

-prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work

-on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the

-phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,

-performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

-</div>

-

-<blockquote>

-  <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most

-    other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you

-    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws

-    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

-  </div>

-</blockquote>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is

-derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not

-contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the

-copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in

-the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are

-redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project

-Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply

-either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or

-obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted

-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution

-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any

-additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms

-will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works

-posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the

-beginning of this work.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this

-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without

-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with

-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; License.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,

-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including

-any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access

-to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format

-other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official

-version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website

-(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense

-to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means

-of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain

-Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the

-full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works

-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works

-provided that:

-</div>

-

-<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>

-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>

-        &#8226; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from

-        the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method

-        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed

-        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has

-        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project

-        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid

-        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are

-        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty

-        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project

-        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in

-        Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg

-        Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;

-    </div>

-

-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>

-        &#8226; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies

-        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he

-        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all

-        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue

-        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-        works.

-    </div>

-

-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>

-        &#8226; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of

-        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the

-        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of

-        receipt of the work.

-    </div>

-

-    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>

-        &#8226; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free

-        distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.

-    </div>

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than

-are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing

-from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of

-the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set

-forth in Section 3 below.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable

-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread

-works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may

-contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate

-or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other

-intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or

-other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or

-cannot be read by your equipment.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right

-of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all

-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal

-fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT

-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE

-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE

-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE

-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR

-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH

-DAMAGE.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a

-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can

-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a

-written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you

-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium

-with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you

-with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in

-lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person

-or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second

-opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If

-the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing

-without further opportunities to fix the problem.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth

-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO

-OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT

-LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of

-damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement

-violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the

-agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or

-limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or

-unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the

-remaining provisions.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the

-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone

-providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in

-accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the

-production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,

-including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of

-the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this

-or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or

-additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any

-Defect you cause.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>

-Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of

-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of

-computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It

-exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations

-from people in all walks of life.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;&#8217;s

-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will

-remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure

-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future

-generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see

-Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>

-Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit

-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the

-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal

-Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification

-number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by

-U.S. federal laws and your state&#8217;s laws.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,

-Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up

-to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website

-and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>

-Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread

-public support and donations to carry out its mission of

-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be

-freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest

-array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations

-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt

-status with the IRS.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating

-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United

-States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a

-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up

-with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations

-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND

-DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state

-visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we

-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition

-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who

-approach us with offers to donate.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make

-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from

-outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation

-methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other

-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To

-donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>

-Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project

-Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be

-freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and

-distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of

-volunteer support.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed

-editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in

-the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not

-necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper

-edition.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-Most people start at our website which has the main PG search

-facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.

-</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>

-This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,

-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to

-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

-</div>

-

-</div>

-</body>

-</html>

+<!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" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      In the Volcano’s Mouth, by Frank Sheridan&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    h1,h2 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+}
+
+.pminus1  {margin-top: -0.5em;}
+.p1       {margin-top: 1em;}
+.p2       {margin-top: 2em;}
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: 33.5%;
+    margin-right: 33.5%;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb   {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;}
+hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;}
+@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} }
+
+div.chapter {page-break-before: always;}
+.nobreak  {page-break-before: avoid;
+           padding-top: 0;}
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+/*Table of Contents format*/
+table.toc { max-width: 30em;}
+
+.tblb {text-align: left;padding-left:0.5em;vertical-align:top;}
+.tblc {text-align: left;vertical-align:top;}
+
+.tbra{text-align: right;padding-left:1em;vertical-align:top;}
+
+.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+    position: absolute;
+    left: 92%;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-align: right;
+    font-style: normal;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-variant: normal;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+.blockquot {
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.boxit{
+    max-width: 25em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0.15em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.boxit1{
+    max-width: 35em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.boxcontents{
+    max-width: 20em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.pcontents{
+  text-align:left;
+  text-indent:-2em;
+  padding-left:2em;
+  margin-top: 0.1em;
+  margin-bottom: 0.1em;
+}
+
+.displayinline{display:inline-block; line-height:1}
+
+/* Numbered list with hanging indent, for 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers */
+.numberitem1{
+  text-align: left;
+  vertical-align: top;
+  margin-left:1em;
+  text-indent: -0.8em;
+  padding-left: 0.8em; }
+
+.numberitem2{
+  text-align: left;
+  vertical-align: top;
+  margin-left:0.5em;
+  text-indent: -1.3em;
+  padding-left: 1.3em; }
+/*End of numbered indent CSS*/
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+/* Images */
+
+img {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    height: auto;
+}
+
+img.w100 {width: 100%;}
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* Poetry */
+.poetry-container {text-align: center;}
+
+.poetry{
+  display: inline-block;
+  text-align: left;
+}
+
+/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */
+
+@media print{
+  .poetry{
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 1.5em;
+  }
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .poetry{
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 1.5em;
+}
+
+.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}
+
+.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;}
+.poetry .indentquote0 {text-indent: -3.5em; padding-left: 3em;}
+/* End poetry*/
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+     font-size:smaller;
+     padding:0.5em;
+     margin-bottom:5em;
+     font-family:sans-serif, serif; }
+
+/*CSS to set font sizes*/
+/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/
+.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large}
+.xlargefont{font-size: x-large}
+.largefont{font-size: large}
+.mediumfont{font-size: medium}
+.cheaderfont{font-size:medium}
+.boldfont{font-weight:bold}
+.sansseriffont{font-family:sans-serif}
+
+/* Illustration classes */
+.illowp25 {width: 25%;}
+.illowp60 {width: 60%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp60 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp80 {width: 80%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp80 {width: 100%;}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 68164 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 107.4375em;">
+  <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" />
+</div>
+
+<div style="padding-top:4em">
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>
+
+<p>The Table of Contents was created by the transcriber and placed in
+the public domain.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#TN_end">Additional Transcriber’s Notes</a> are at the
+end.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxcontents">
+<p class="xlargefont center boldfont">CONTENTS</p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I. Madcap Max.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II. Emin Bey’s Escape.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Chapter III. In a Desert Tomb.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Chapter IV. Under the Pyramid.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Chapter V. Girzilla.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI. Was It an Echo?</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Chapter VII. Splendid Heroism.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Chapter VIII. Sherif El Habib.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Chapter IX. Ibrahim and Max.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Chapter X. The Petrified Forest.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Chapter XI. The Tribe of Klatch.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Chapter XII. “What Says Girzilla?”</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Chapter XIII. Dangerous Jests.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Chapter XIV. The Subterranean River.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Chapter XV. In the Volcano’s Mouth.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Chapter XVI. Beyond Human Imagination.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Chapter XVII. The Rainmaker.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Chapter XVIII. Why Our Heroes Desert.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Chapter XIX. Mohammed.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Chapter XX. “Where Is Girzilla?”</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Chapter XXI. The Mahdi.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">Chapter XXII. Trick or Miracle.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">Chapter XXIII. Under the Mahdi.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">Chapter XXIV. Counting Chickens.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">Chapter XXV. Victory.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">Chapter XXVI. A Plan of Campaign.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">Chapter XXVII. Sowing the Seed.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">Chapter XXVIII. An Unexpected Bath.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">Chapter XXIX. Saved!</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">Chapter XXX. The Mahdi’s Justice.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">Chapter XXXI. Victory All Along the Line.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">Chapter XXXII. “All’s Well That Ends Well.”</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center largefont">No. 134</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont"><span class="mediumfont">BY</span><br />
+FRANK SHERIDAN</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp80" style="max-width: 40.625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/cover_illo.jpg" alt="Cover illustration." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p>We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of
+adventure for boys by this name because we felt assured that
+it was “bound to win” its way into the heart of every true
+American lad. The stories are exceptionally bright, clean and
+interesting. The writers had the interest of our boys at heart
+when they wrote the stories, and have not failed to show what
+a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do. Remember,
+that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any
+other series. We give herewith a list of those already published
+and those scheduled for publication.</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont">To be Published During September</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">136&mdash;Spider and Stump</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">135&mdash;The Creature of the Pines</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">134&mdash;In the Volcano’s Mouth</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">133&mdash;Muscles of Steel</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During August</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">132&mdash;Home Base</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">131&mdash;The Jewel of Florida</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">130&mdash;The Boys’ Revolt</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">129&mdash;The Mystic Isle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">128&mdash;With the Mad Mullah</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During July</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr><td class="tblc">127&mdash;A Humble Hero</td><td class="tbra" style="min-width:12em">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">126&mdash;For Big Money</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">125&mdash;Too Fast to Last</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">124&mdash;Caught in a Trap</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">123&mdash;The Tattooed Boy</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">122&mdash;The Young Horseman</td><td class="tbra">By Herbert Bellwood</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">121&mdash;Sam Sawbones</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">120&mdash;On His Mettle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">119&mdash;Compound Interest</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">118&mdash;Runaway and Rover</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">117&mdash;Larry O’Keefe</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">116&mdash;The Boy Crusaders</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">115&mdash;Double Quick Dan</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">114&mdash;Money to Spend</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">113&mdash;Billy Barlow</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">112&mdash;A Battle with Fate</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">111&mdash;Gypsy Joe</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">110&mdash;Barred Out</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">109&mdash;Will Wilding</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">108&mdash;Frank Bolton’s Chase</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">107&mdash;Lucky-Stone Dick</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">106&mdash;Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">105&mdash;Fatherless Bob at Sea</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">104&mdash;Fatherless Bob</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">103&mdash;Hank the Hustler</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">102&mdash;Dick Stanhope Afloat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">101&mdash;The Golden Harpoon</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">100&mdash;Mischievous Matt’s Pranks</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">99&mdash;Mischievous Matt</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">98&mdash;Bert Chipley</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">97&mdash;Down-East Dave</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">96&mdash;The Young Diplomat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">95&mdash;The Fool of the Family</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">94&mdash;Slam, Bang &amp; Co</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">93&mdash;On the Road</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">92&mdash;The Blood-Red Hand</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">91&mdash;The Diamond King</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">90&mdash;The Double-Faced Mystery</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">89&mdash;The Young Theatrical Manager</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">88&mdash;The Young West-Pointer</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">87&mdash;Held for Ransom</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">86&mdash;Boot-Black Bob</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">85&mdash;Engineer Tom</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">84&mdash;The Mascot of Hoodooville</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1 class="nobreak">In the Volcano’s Mouth</h1>
+
+
+<p class="center xlargefont pminus1" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.25em"><span class="mediumfont">OR</span><br />
+A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY</p>
+
+<p class="center p1" style="margin-bottom:2em"><em>By</em> FRANK SHERIDAN, <em>author of</em> “<cite>Bert Fairfax</cite>,”<br />
+“<cite>Through Flame to Fame</cite>,” “<cite>Life-Line Larry</cite>,”<br /> “<cite>Lion-Hearted
+Jack</cite>,” <em>etc.</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp25" style="max-width: 8.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i004.jpg" alt="Publisher icon." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center largefont p2" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.5em">STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS<br />
+79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">Copyright, 1890<br />
+By Norman L. Munro</p>
+
+<p class="center p1">In the Volcano’s Mouth</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center xxlargefont nobreak" style="margin-bottom:1em" id="CHAPTER_I">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</p>
+
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MADCAP MAX.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“All aboard!”</p>
+
+<p>“All but passengers ashore.”</p>
+
+<p>The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent
+palace steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and
+Oriental Line, sounded all along the Southampton docks,
+up the streets to the old gates, and even penetrated into
+some of the business houses of the quaint old English
+town.</p>
+
+<p>The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton,
+was one of serious import to those gathered
+on the deck of the steamer.</p>
+
+<p>Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a
+long one, and it is known the absence is for years, the
+last words are always tearful.</p>
+
+<p>On the deck stood two men, alone.</p>
+
+<p>Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed
+on their journey.</p>
+
+<p>And yet tears filled the eyes of both.</p>
+
+<p>The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as
+that of any mulatto, his long, white mustache standing
+out in startling contrast to the color of his skin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[6]</span></p>
+
+<p>He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his
+hard muscles, and firm walk, would rather betoken a
+man of forty.</p>
+
+<p>By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in
+appearance, but perhaps only because of the contrast
+to his father; there was a brightness in his eyes which
+betokens an active spirit, and although so effeminate-looking,
+when he clinched his hand one could see the
+strong muscle rising beneath the sleeve.</p>
+
+<p>The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile
+firm of Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell, of New York.</p>
+
+<p>The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called
+Max by those who are intimate with him, and “Madcap
+Max” by his closest companions.</p>
+
+<p>Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell were interested in Egyptian
+produce, and for many years Maximilian Gordon
+had been a resident of Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been
+compelled to live in England, where young Max had
+been educated.</p>
+
+<p>The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and
+had just completed arrangements for them to return to
+Egypt with him when cholera broke out, and he arrived
+home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in death
+and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.</p>
+
+<p>Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English
+coast, which was by this time fast receding, their
+eyes were filled with tears, for they were leaving a plot
+of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a wife’s
+and mother’s grave.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p>
+
+<p>Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left
+the English Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted
+lad once again, laughing, chatting and larking with
+everyone he came in contact with.</p>
+
+<p>His father could not hide his grief so easily, but
+showed by his manner how nearly broken was his heart
+and ruined his life.</p>
+
+<p>When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were
+reached, Max had given plentiful evidence of his love of
+practical joking, and showed that he fully deserved his
+sobriquet of Madcap.</p>
+
+<p>One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.</p>
+
+<p>This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of
+Max, and was easily induced to adapt itself to the ways
+of the fun-loving youth.</p>
+
+<p>One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s
+nightcap, which he had obtained from a stewardess, and
+told Jocko he must lie in a certain bed.</p>
+
+<p>The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor,
+who declared that women and children were a nuisance.</p>
+
+<p>When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his
+utter astonishment, a head resting on his pillow.</p>
+
+<p>Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his
+room, shouting “Steward!” at the top of his voice.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer,
+startled by the frantic shouting.</p>
+
+<p>“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the
+vessel if the offender is not punished.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer
+Tunley.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course&mdash;but when? Why, in a week’s time, when
+everyone will have easily forgotten&mdash;no, sir, come at
+once.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence,
+that it may have been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned,
+and three bottles of strong ale, are likely to disturb the
+vision.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll report you, sir&mdash;mark me, I’ll report you. Come,
+now, to my room, and if there is not a nigger baby there
+I’ll eat my hat.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”</p>
+
+<p>By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had
+fled the room, and Max had stripped the cap from its
+head.</p>
+
+<p>The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning,
+as if it enjoyed the joke.</p>
+
+<p>The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.</p>
+
+<p>“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his
+bed.</p>
+
+<p>“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer,
+with proud indignation. “Take care, sir, that it
+does not occur again.”</p>
+
+<p>The passenger was speechless.</p>
+
+<p>Another day, when the steamer <em>L’Orient</em> was being<span class="pagenum">[9]</span>
+tossed about in the most fantastic manner, sometimes
+taking a swift pitch forward, then curving and twisting
+in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a baseball
+pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for
+a pleasant diversion.</p>
+
+<p>A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board,
+to enable the company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.</p>
+
+<p>Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and
+saw them, with one accord, make for the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>That was just what he wanted.</p>
+
+<p>A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her
+horror she fell on the back of a pig, who set up such a
+squeaking and squealing that, although the passengers
+were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria
+was sighted.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob.
+“I am glad I have to stay at Alexandria, for <em>L’Orient</em> is
+the worst disciplined ship I was ever in.”</p>
+
+<p>The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on
+board.</p>
+
+<p>And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths
+of the trouble was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do we land here?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”</p>
+
+<p>“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes
+still wider with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down
+at Alexandria.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[10]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am so glad.”</p>
+
+<p>Several scores of boats surrounded <em>L’Orient</em>, manned
+by swarthy and not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen
+or so seized upon Max and his father and literally
+dragged them to a boat.</p>
+
+<p>On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr.
+Gordon whispered to Max:</p>
+
+<p>“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your
+own.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full
+of fun as an undertaker.”</p>
+
+<p>“For your own sake be careful.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers
+met them.</p>
+
+<p>No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the
+face of the earth than these same Arab donkey boys.</p>
+
+<p>They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost
+intuitively.</p>
+
+<p>An American who had never been in Egypt before, was
+looking at the surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers
+with wonder, when one of them pushed forward and
+addressed him as follows:</p>
+
+<p>“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is<span class="pagenum">[11]</span>
+the one Pasha Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only
+ride on Hail Columbia?”</p>
+
+<p>Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by
+Alexander three hundred and thirty-three years before
+the birth of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the
+donkeys halted, and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.</p>
+
+<p>“This is home.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you live here, dad?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our
+journey to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone
+to that wonderful monolith of granite called “Pompey’s
+Pillar.”</p>
+
+<p>He sat down to think.</p>
+
+<p>He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and
+now he was actually looking on one of the wonders of
+that old country.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he heard a cry.</p>
+
+<p>It was like a girl’s voice.</p>
+
+<p>Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the
+sound.</p>
+
+<p>He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl&mdash;her face
+half covered with a white veil&mdash;rushed past him, shrieking
+and crying.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.</p>
+
+<p>Two men were in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[12]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max never stopped to think.</p>
+
+<p>He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did
+so, or whether it would be wise to interfere, he struck
+one of the Arabs to the earth, and threw himself against
+the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow, with
+muscles like iron.</p>
+
+<p>That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong,
+but he was unaccustomed to foul play.</p>
+
+<p>When, therefore, he found that the man he had
+knocked down had risen and drawn a long, sharp dagger,
+with which he threatened his life, Max saw the unwisdom
+of his defense of the Arab girl.</p>
+
+<p>A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his
+back brandishing a dagger, was enough to frighten an
+older man than Max.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max
+did not understand.</p>
+
+<p>He struck at the man in front of him and made him
+stagger back, then with a quick movement, he stooped
+as he turned and caught the armed Arab round the
+legs, throwing him over his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought
+discretion better than valor. Using his legs as well as he
+could he ran away, only to be stopped by the girl he had&mdash;as
+he thought&mdash;rescued.</p>
+
+<p>She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly&mdash;though
+in an unknown tongue to Max&mdash;held him fast
+until his pursuers were close upon him.</p>
+
+<p>With a wild shout they seized him, and would have<span class="pagenum">[13]</span>
+speedily rendered him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.</p>
+
+<p>A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in
+the prime of life, slowly and with deliberation took hold
+of one of the Arabs and flung him on one side.</p>
+
+<p>Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded
+him and the girl to go, and that quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Have I? Is it worth saving?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about
+Alexandria without weapons.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did they want with me?”</p>
+
+<p>“They would have captured you, and held you until
+ransomed.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You are not rich, you would say. What does that
+matter? A ten-dollar gold piece would seem a fortune to
+them. The girl practices that scream on hundreds of
+unsuspecting foreigners.”</p>
+
+<p>“You speak of American money; are you from the
+States?”</p>
+
+<p>“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world,
+a cosmopolitan.”</p>
+
+<p>“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.</p>
+
+<p>“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved
+your life, prove that your life is of some value.”</p>
+
+<p>The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented<span class="pagenum">[14]</span>
+streets of that city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting
+the admiration of all to the savage beauty of that</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;
+</div><div class="indent0">Brow-bound with burning gold.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and
+almost was inclined to doubt, for he was at that age when
+the laughing black eyes of a girl fascinate and lure,
+sometimes to ruin.</p>
+
+<p>Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from
+the Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>He saw that night how much his father was respected,
+but he saw that which made his heart sad. His father
+was bowed down with grief.</p>
+
+<p>And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion
+as strong as his love of life.</p>
+
+<p>When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only
+eight summers of life, all had seemed roseate.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon
+accompanied her husband to Egypt; but at the end of
+three years the malarious climate had rendered it impossible
+for her to live there, and she returned to England
+to be near Max.</p>
+
+<p>For seven years the husband had only been able to
+spend three months in the year with the wife he so
+loved.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the time when once more the mother of
+Max was ready to brave the treacherous climate of
+Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>How the husband had looked forward to that time, and<span class="pagenum">[15]</span>
+with what pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything
+to please her was obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no
+wonder that Mr. Gordon should feel most wretched when
+he returned to his Oriental home, and knew that she
+would never grace it with her presence.</p>
+
+<p>His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him
+there was anxiety, for the stern business man&mdash;the successful
+merchant had only seen the frivolous side of his
+son’s life.</p>
+
+<p>To him he was the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous
+lad, whose thoughts were of fun and amusement.</p>
+
+<p>Early next morning they took train to Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think
+of traveling by a railroad in that country, so famous in
+Bible stories!</p>
+
+<p>The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous
+fancy of traveling by means of steam through Egypt and
+Palestine:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!
+</div><div class="indent0">Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor
+shout out: “Gizeh&mdash;all out for Gizeh,” on the
+route between Alexandria and Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon
+roused up, and told Max of the slaughter of the
+Mamelukes&mdash;that wonderful body of men who, from
+being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[16]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed
+Ali, in 1811, was organizing his expedition against
+the Wahhabees, he heard that the Mamelukes designed
+to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their chief
+to be present at the investiture of his son with the command
+of the army.</p>
+
+<p>“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After
+receiving a most flattering welcome they were invited to
+parade in the courtyard of the citadel.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to
+impress them with his generosity?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled
+within its lofty walls; the portcullis fell behind the
+last of their glittering array; too late they perceived that
+their host had caught them in a trap, and they turned to
+effect a retreat.</p>
+
+<p>“In vain.</p>
+
+<p>“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred
+windows and blank, pitiless walls.</p>
+
+<p>“But they saw more.</p>
+
+<p>“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from
+those muskets incessant volleys were poured.</p>
+
+<p>“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage
+worthy of the past history of the Mamelukes.</p>
+
+<p>“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms,
+and stood waiting for death.”</p>
+
+<p>“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But
+some, with angry brows, drew their swords and charged
+upon the gunners.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[17]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the
+withering fire did its deadly work.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Only one escaped.”</p>
+
+<p>“How did he manage it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Emin Bey&mdash;for that was his name&mdash;spurred his Arabian
+charger over a pile of his dead and dying comrades.
+He sprang upon the battlements; the next moment
+he was in the air; another and he released himself
+from his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of
+bullets.”</p>
+
+<p>“What became of him?”</p>
+
+<p>“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and
+finally escaped into the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he dead?”</p>
+
+<p>“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged
+man at that time, and that is over seventy years ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“Had he any sons?”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe so. Why do you ask?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because I would like to see any of his descendants.
+I would like to speak to them. It would be a proud
+honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate salt, with the grandson
+of Emin Bey.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the
+merry, happy, careless boy.</p>
+
+<p>“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than
+slave hunters or pirates now.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope you are wrong, dad.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[18]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN A DESERT TOMB.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes
+filled Max with a restless ambition.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go
+“far from the madding crowd,” into the midst of the wild
+residents of the Dark Continent.</p>
+
+<p>Like those who believe the American Indians to be a
+grand race, persecuted without reason by the dominant
+power, so Max looked upon the residents of the Dark
+Continent as being a superior people.</p>
+
+<p>He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his
+boyish ideas would be laughed at, but he spent all his
+waking moments dreaming dreams of the savages of the
+jungles.</p>
+
+<p>The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was
+something too civilized about the houses.</p>
+
+<p>The lattices&mdash;which covered the windows instead of
+glass&mdash;pleased him, and many a time would he catch a
+glimpse of some white brow of a lady fair through the
+interstices of the lattice, and would feel like</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“The lover, all as frantic
+</div><div class="indent0">Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the
+wonders of the city&mdash;save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis&mdash;had
+been seen, and these had to be left to a future<span class="pagenum">[19]</span>
+visit, for business called the merchant back to
+Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>Max pleaded for one more day&mdash;or at least that their
+journey should be deferred until the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun,
+where existed the university at which Moses was educated,
+and the daughter of one of whose professors
+Joseph married.</p>
+
+<p>And so Mr. Gordon yielded.</p>
+
+<p>Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore
+tree, hollow, gnarled and almost leafless, beneath the
+branches of which tradition says that Joseph and Mary
+rested with the infant Christ in their flight into Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand
+years, was gazed at by young Madcap with a certain
+amount of awe.</p>
+
+<p>It was dark before Max was ready to return.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr.
+Gordon, to please Max, dispensed with the guides who
+had been good for nothing save the receipt of backsheesh,
+and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their right.</p>
+
+<p>They had not gone far before they came upon a number
+of wild-looking fellows, half Arab, half Nubian&mdash;a
+species of creature which is interesting as a study at
+long range, but whose acquaintance is not desirable.</p>
+
+<p>“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>“We must pass them.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it safe?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Max, far from it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why not retrace our steps?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[20]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”</p>
+
+<p>“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”</p>
+
+<p>“We might, but they would help these fellows rather
+than us in order to share the backsheesh.”</p>
+
+<p>While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed
+a circle round them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers
+closed in and stood shoulder to shoulder in firm and
+solid phalanx.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>“Money,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“You shall have all I have got with me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hand it over.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand,
+but no sooner had he put his hand into his pocket than
+they suspected danger.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your
+hands!”</p>
+
+<p>It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back
+ocean’s tidal waves with a broom as to oppose the demands
+of those robbers of the desert.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon raised his hands.</p>
+
+<p>“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English
+was intelligible.</p>
+
+<p>Max raised his hands as he was commanded.</p>
+
+<p>Every article of value was taken from them, and the
+robbers seemed to be satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!” the chief commanded.</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[21]</span></p>
+
+<p>But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart
+blow on the cheek which caused him to reel.</p>
+
+<p>That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered
+the blow with another.</p>
+
+<p>The chief interfered and stopped the fight.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!”</p>
+
+<p>Again Max pluckily asked:</p>
+
+<p>“What for?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding,
+even to the death.”</p>
+
+<p>“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his
+eyes flashed with defiance.</p>
+
+<p>“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are
+bidden; it will be better so.”</p>
+
+<p>But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused,
+and he turned to his father almost angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am
+an American, and I will not obey such a command without
+knowing the reason.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a fool!”</p>
+
+<p>It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand
+such a speech, and he rushed at the strong Arab chief,
+aiming a blow which, had it struck the man on the
+temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an
+expert boxer.</p>
+
+<p>The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was
+caught round the legs and thrown to the ground.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p>
+
+<p>A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and
+he was rendered powerless.</p>
+
+<p>“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a
+sneer.</p>
+
+<p>“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max,
+defiantly. “Frightened of a boy less than half your age.
+Oh! you are a brave chief, are you not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”</p>
+
+<p>“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send
+that young fool there”&mdash;pointing to Max&mdash;“with one of
+my men for twenty thousand piasters, and when he returns
+with it, both shall go free.”</p>
+
+<p>Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand
+dollars.</p>
+
+<p>“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.</p>
+
+<p>“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too
+much,” answered the chief, pointing with his dagger at
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>“But he cannot get the money.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it
+you shall die.”</p>
+
+<p>Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.</p>
+
+<p>He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with
+bandits such as these, and that the authorities made but
+a poor pretense of suppressing the lawless bands.</p>
+
+<p>He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He
+knew he had wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[23]</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and
+instantly all was in commotion.</p>
+
+<p>The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to
+the back of donkeys.</p>
+
+<p>The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away
+from the vicinity of the city at a speed that Max could
+not believe a donkey was capable of maintaining.</p>
+
+<p>But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed
+the secret of making the native donkey forget its natural
+laziness and go with the speed of a well-trained mule.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we going?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>He was answered by a slap across the face, which
+nearly capsized him.</p>
+
+<p>“Another word and the body of the American shall
+be but carrion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was
+trembling with fear.</p>
+
+<p>The chief led the way across a sandy desert.</p>
+
+<p>The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting
+sand look like so much dazzling silver.</p>
+
+<p>It was a scene of weird grandeur.</p>
+
+<p>In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments
+of a past civilization, which are alike the envy and the
+wonder of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The procession seemed to be winding round the city at
+an increasing distance, and nearing the pyramids.</p>
+
+<p>Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.</p>
+
+<p>The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he
+enjoyed it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[24]</span></p>
+
+<p>If he could but have talked to the chief&mdash;if he could
+have been free, his happiness would have been complete.</p>
+
+<p>But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.</p>
+
+<p>He dare not speak, and could not act.</p>
+
+<p>Before he was aware of it the scene changed.</p>
+
+<p>He could not understand in what way at first.</p>
+
+<p>The sand was there, the moon was shining, although
+not so brightly, but he could not see the pyramids.</p>
+
+<p>The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him
+that they had entered a broad, inclined road, and were
+descending below the level of the sandy desert.</p>
+
+<p>Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s
+rays were no longer seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed
+donkeys walked forward.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was
+over and between great rocks.</p>
+
+<p>Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had
+to be passed, and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently
+traversed the uncertain road.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>His voice sounded like a shout, although he had
+spoken under his breath.</p>
+
+<p>The stillness of the place was awful.</p>
+
+<p>Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.</p>
+
+<p>He began to think that the road he traveled led to
+death.</p>
+
+<p>But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere
+seemed to change.</p>
+
+<p>He could breathe freely.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[25]</span></p>
+
+<p>There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did
+not seem so much like that of the grave.</p>
+
+<p>“Halt!”</p>
+
+<p>The command was given in English, and all understood
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence
+of ceremony, Max and his father were dragged from
+their donkeys and thrown with unnecessary violence on
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Then again all was still.</p>
+
+<p>Were they alone?</p>
+
+<p>Max could not endure the silence any longer.</p>
+
+<p>“Dad!” he called out.</p>
+
+<p>A blow on the head reminded him that speech was
+forbidden.</p>
+
+<p>What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians&mdash;whatever
+nationality they might be&mdash;could see in the
+dark.</p>
+
+<p>He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of
+the night.</p>
+
+<p>The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds
+seeming like an hour, every hour as long as a day.</p>
+
+<p>With an almost supernatural quickness a score of
+pitch torches were lighted, and Max saw that he was in a
+great cave.</p>
+
+<p>Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every
+direction.</p>
+
+<p>One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the
+blocks of granite had been fashioned by man, and<span class="pagenum">[26]</span>
+brought to that cave at some period of Egypt’s greatness.</p>
+
+<p>He looked round for his father, and screamed with
+horror when he saw the bronzed face of the only relative
+he had all covered with blood.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey,
+his head struck a sharp piece of granite, and was
+severely wounded.</p>
+
+<p>The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered
+him to be lifted tenderly into the center of the cave.</p>
+
+<p>Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet
+had been again tied together.</p>
+
+<p>“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”</p>
+
+<p>The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was
+on his lips.</p>
+
+<p>“Max&mdash;I&mdash;am&mdash;going&mdash;av&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Was he going to say “Avenge me?”</p>
+
+<p>Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the
+dying man’s mouth, and the bandits commenced a wild,
+weird dance round the body.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max
+and tried to speak, but either the cloth still prevented
+him or his voice was hushed by the great shadow of
+death which was over him.</p>
+
+<p>A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s
+soul had gone into the “Great Beyond” to join that of
+his loved wife.</p>
+
+<p>Max knew he was now alone.</p>
+
+<p>He could not weep.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes were hot as burning coals.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[27]</span></p>
+
+<p>If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they
+would ease him; but no, his eyes were dry and his brain
+seemed scorched.</p>
+
+<p>His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak
+it appeared to fill up his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet,
+and instinct told him that he was alone&mdash;alone with the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>Not a sound disturbed the silence.</p>
+
+<p>A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.</p>
+
+<p>“What if he were left there to starve to death beside
+his father’s body?”</p>
+
+<p>Madcap Max was not a coward.</p>
+
+<p>He had no real fear of death, but he would rather
+meet the great destroyer on the open field, or in any
+way but that slow struggle in the solitude of a big grave&mdash;a
+death from starvation.</p>
+
+<p>The strongest soul would quake.</p>
+
+<p>The hours passed along.</p>
+
+<p>Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter
+who may wish to stay them.</p>
+
+<p>Max began to think of other things besides death.</p>
+
+<p>He wondered how he could escape. And if he did,
+how could he avenge his father’s death?</p>
+
+<p>Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Youth had conquered.</p>
+
+<p>Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have
+been a raving maniac.</p>
+
+<p>Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer,
+balmy sleep,” came to his relief and saved his reason.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[28]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE PYRAMID.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.</p>
+
+<p>When the visions of the night visited his brain, they
+shaped themselves in pleasing form.</p>
+
+<p>He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the
+sight seemed stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared
+to Max that the foul murder committed by Mohammed
+Ali was necessary&mdash;that from that murder would spring
+the regeneration of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that
+the brave Mameluke still lived, and was at the head
+of an all-conquering army, overcoming French and
+English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt
+from foreign rule.</p>
+
+<p>And as all this passed before the mental vision of
+the sleeping American boy, he thought that by the side
+of the conqueror he rode&mdash;not as he was then, a beardless
+youth, but with bronzed face and flowing beard&mdash;a
+turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed
+carried by his side.</p>
+
+<p>Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not
+dead, but living, and successful as a merchant. By his
+side was the wife whose love had been so lavishly given
+to her husband and her son.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of his father and mother brought tears to
+the dreamer’s eyes, and caused him to wake.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[29]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was some time before he could bring back to his
+memory the events of the preceding day.</p>
+
+<p>When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.</p>
+
+<p>Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it
+still in the cave?</p>
+
+<p>Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and
+escape from that living tomb?</p>
+
+<p>“Hush!”</p>
+
+<p>Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank
+of a gust of wind?</p>
+
+<p>Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.</p>
+
+<p>He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did
+not speak.</p>
+
+<p>“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone
+mad?”</p>
+
+<p>He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness
+with a vengeance.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou want to die?”</p>
+
+<p>The question came out of the darkness and sounded
+afar off, yet Max could almost fancy that the breath of
+the speaker fanned his cheek.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that speaks?”</p>
+
+<p>“Question not my name.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”</p>
+
+<p>The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft
+as a whisper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[30]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Am I then under the pyramid?”</p>
+
+<p>“That is how thou wouldst express it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will you aid me to escape?”</p>
+
+<p>“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay&mdash;thou art a woman.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Wah Illahi sahe!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>(By Allah, it is true.)</p>
+
+<p>“I would not harm thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the
+prophet that thou wilt not seek revenge.”</p>
+
+<p>“The price is too great.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent
+tone, which sounded almost ridiculous in the
+dark, but which would have been the signal for a burst
+of applause from the gallery of a theater had an actor so
+uttered the words on a stage.</p>
+
+<p>All was still as the grave.</p>
+
+<p>He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the
+cord cut into the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for
+death.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned,
+aloud, as the agony of the thought took possession of his
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>“Help!”</p>
+
+<p>He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back
+mockingly:</p>
+
+<p>“Help!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[31]</span></p>
+
+<p>He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint
+echo of his words.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall die,” he groaned.</p>
+
+<p>“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.</p>
+
+<p>His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh
+with boisterous guffaws.</p>
+
+<p>It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.</p>
+
+<p>The echo answered back.</p>
+
+<p>The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.</p>
+
+<p>“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning
+force on the rock.</p>
+
+<p>When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet
+breath of air was blowing on his face.</p>
+
+<p>He was being fanned.</p>
+
+<p>He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze
+might cease.</p>
+
+<p>The fanning continued until at last he could bear the
+silence no longer.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri,
+wilt thou follow me?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will.”</p>
+
+<p>By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its
+glare Max saw the horrible cave to which he had been
+removed by some unknown hands.</p>
+
+<p>Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and
+blocks of red granite in endless confusion.</p>
+
+<p>But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A girl.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[32]</span></p>
+
+<p>She was not what the fashionable world would call
+lovely.</p>
+
+<p>Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s
+wing.</p>
+
+<p>Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her
+head, almost like a halo of glory.</p>
+
+<p>Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle
+was a massive band of silver similar to those she wore
+on each arm above the elbow.</p>
+
+<p>Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could
+scarcely believe but that it was a phantasm of the mind
+which was before him, and not a living entity.</p>
+
+<p>She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might
+her wand, and in a voice of rare sweetness said:</p>
+
+<p>“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am bound,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she
+pointed laughingly at the severed cords, and again she
+said:</p>
+
+<p>“Come! Follow me!”</p>
+
+<p>“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”</p>
+
+<p>The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange
+thrill to pass through him.</p>
+
+<p>“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the
+light.</p>
+
+<p>“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.</p>
+
+<p>And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange<span class="pagenum">[33]</span>
+creature who had found him alone and suffering in the
+cave beneath the great pyramid.</p>
+
+<p>Followed! But where?</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">GIRZILLA.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl,
+Madcap Max followed her, without asking any question
+until she suddenly extinguished the torch.</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you do that?” he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously
+placed her hand over his mouth and held it there so
+tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.</p>
+
+<p>He struggled to release himself, but she was strong,
+and to add to her power, she whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”</p>
+
+<p>However disagreeable it might be it was better to
+have a pretty girl’s hand over his mouth than to be
+killed, and therefore Max made no further resistance.</p>
+
+<p>A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks,
+attracted his attention.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; what is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek
+thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if they find?”</p>
+
+<p>“Will kill. I will save, if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress
+and follow. The least noise may seal thy fate and
+mine.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I
+am Girzilla. Let that be my name.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will call thee Gazelle.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”</p>
+
+<p>Whoever the girl with the strange name might be,
+she evidently knew her way, for never once did her foot
+slip, although Max found his ankles turning every minute,
+and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress, which,
+though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen
+cord, he would have fallen frequently.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!”</p>
+
+<p>The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in
+the nature of a command.</p>
+
+<p>Max did as ordered, and sat in silence&mdash;a silence so
+great that he could hear the beating of his heart, and
+fancied that he could also distinguish the pulsations of
+his guide’s organ of life at the same time. The silence
+was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and restless.</p>
+
+<p>“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I
+confess this is the strangest,” he mused.</p>
+
+<p>“To save thee, thou must go through the place of
+the dead.”</p>
+
+<p>The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral
+that Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[35]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Hast thou courage?” she asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I&mdash;h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with
+nervous fear of the unknown.</p>
+
+<p>“Come!”</p>
+
+<p>Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla
+walked slower than before.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it
+made him groan with pain.</p>
+
+<p>“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.</p>
+
+<p>He could not go back, for he did not know the way,
+and he dare not go forward alone, for he was afraid.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed
+softly and murmured:</p>
+
+<p>“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she
+will save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher
+than his knees, he followed as well as he could.</p>
+
+<p>Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a
+glimmer of light showed that the sun had risen again,
+and found some crevice through which it sent its heavenly
+rays.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the light increased, and the road became
+better.</p>
+
+<p>The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes
+on his feet drying up, and even baking.</p>
+
+<p>He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered
+his tender feet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[36]</span></p>
+
+<p>High up above him was an opening, through which
+the light and heat came.</p>
+
+<p>“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone
+from there”&mdash;and Girzilla pointed upward&mdash;“would
+make thee fit for a mummy.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned
+to ice, and he was almost afraid to glance upward.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“Under the temple of great Isis.”</p>
+
+<p>“Under?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost
+stand.”</p>
+
+<p>“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious
+passages, but I am hungry and cold.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just now thou wert hot.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee
+where thou canst rest.”</p>
+
+<p>A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway
+gave place to a large plateau, on which huge
+bowlders were scattered promiscuously.</p>
+
+<p>Scattered&mdash;apparently too large for human hands to
+move, and yet they bore evidence of having been transported
+thither.</p>
+
+<p>They were of red granite, while the native rocks were
+of a different stone.</p>
+
+<p>Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite
+blocks, but he quickly left his seat.</p>
+
+<p>He leaped away as though he had been stung by a
+viper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[37]</span></p>
+
+<p>Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his
+annoyance.</p>
+
+<p>The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor
+Max felt he would be baked or fried if he stayed there
+a minute.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and
+began scratching away the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was
+sulking since she had laughed at him.</p>
+
+<p>“The way we must go is under this stone.”</p>
+
+<p>“Under that stone!” repeated Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go
+through it.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl was right.</p>
+
+<p>The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze
+herself through, while the madcap declared he would not
+descend.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to
+follow the girl, though in doing so he tore his clothes
+and scratched his face.</p>
+
+<p>But once down, he was amply repaid.</p>
+
+<p>The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere
+of which was charmingly cool.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on
+an open sarcophagus.</p>
+
+<p>She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing
+nothing, and having no superstitious dread of sitting
+on the stone coffin, wherein was dust, which had once
+been molded in human form.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[38]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have food here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Food?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Here?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; art thou not hungry?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am. But the place is a tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have been buried here, you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those
+who would kill him, and sought refuge here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me of him.”</p>
+
+<p>“He fought&mdash;oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right
+and left with his scimiter, and when he got tired he
+spurred his horse and made a run for liberty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you know him?”</p>
+
+<p>“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked
+coquettishly at Madcap.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier,
+a Mameluke&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What! Was it Emin Bey?”</p>
+
+<p>“That was how he was called.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he
+any sons? Tell me, I am all impatience.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see you are; but you must eat.”</p>
+
+<p>This houri of the caves&mdash;a strange child of the desert&mdash;pushed
+aside the lid of another sarcophagus and took
+therefrom a piece of confection known as Turkish delight.</p>
+
+<p>She offered it to Max, but he turned away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[39]</span></p>
+
+<p>Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with
+all the ardor with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.</p>
+
+<p>“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another
+bite.</p>
+
+<p>Approaching close to Max she held the confection
+close to his mouth, and he was tempted to take a small
+piece.</p>
+
+<p>It was so appetizing that he asked for more.</p>
+
+<p>When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some
+bread&mdash;cakes baked in the sun, not in an oven&mdash;and some
+fruit, but what kind it was Max did not know.</p>
+
+<p>He ate heartily and felt refreshed.</p>
+
+<p>But he was thirsty.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most
+delicious sherbet he had ever tasted.</p>
+
+<p>When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that
+he must stay there until she came for him.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I to be here alone?”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape
+for thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have my reasons.”</p>
+
+<p>“And will you not tell me?”</p>
+
+<p>“I heard thee speak to him who is not&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean my father?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“When?”</p>
+
+<p>“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to
+eat salt with the sons of Emin Bey.”</p>
+
+<p>“And are you interested?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[40]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant
+of Emin and he will restore Egypt to its greatness&mdash;I
+have said it, and the prophet hath spoken.”</p>
+
+<p>“And will you help me?”</p>
+
+<p>“If I can. I&mdash;had&mdash;another&mdash;reason&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked
+confused, and really blushed.</p>
+
+<p>“And that was&mdash;&mdash;” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even
+though I lose thee. I will prevent thy enemies taking
+thee, even if thou spurned me ever after. Oh! how
+shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever
+saw, and&mdash;I&mdash;love&mdash;thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Before Max could recover from his astonishment she
+had fled.</p>
+
+<p>Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as
+she was, she felt she could not meet the eyes of the
+youth to whom she had confessed her love.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WAS IT AN ECHO?</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and
+that self-interest, at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable
+to attempt to escape, he began to look about
+his strange abode.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.</p>
+
+<p>She was refined and educated&mdash;of that there could be
+no doubt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p>
+
+<p>She had said she had several names, but only one had
+she given him.</p>
+
+<p>What did the word mean?</p>
+
+<p>It had some special significance&mdash;of that he was sure.</p>
+
+<p>Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient
+language of the Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient
+Syrian?</p>
+
+<p>How did she overhear his conversation about the
+Mamelukes?</p>
+
+<p>“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head
+growing dizzy with puzzling over the matter.</p>
+
+<p>“How long am I to remain here?”</p>
+
+<p>There was no one to answer the question, so it had
+to remain still in the realm of doubt.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>That query he could answer with a positiveness that
+could not be controverted. He was in a tomb.</p>
+
+<p>At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got
+accustomed to the idea. After eating and drinking there,
+much of the superstitious fear had left him.</p>
+
+<p>“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am
+tired and exhausted. The sand man has been about a
+long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my eyes, up my
+nostrils, down my throat, in my ears&mdash;the sand man
+has done his work this time. What was that?”</p>
+
+<p>Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to
+be alone in a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise,
+and to be nearly suffocated with dust, to have the torch
+knocked over&mdash;fortunately not extinguished&mdash;would be
+sufficient to set the strongest nerves quivering, and make<span class="pagenum">[42]</span>
+the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid to open his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion
+was caused by a huge bat trying to escape from
+the inhabited tomb.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage
+enough to lift up the torch, which had nearly burned
+itself out.</p>
+
+<p>If his torch went out, what was he to do?</p>
+
+<p>He was far from being a madcap at that time.</p>
+
+<p>But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits
+rising, perhaps aided considerably by his eyes suddenly
+perceiving another torch.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh,
+old fellow?”</p>
+
+<p>Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies
+in the place?</p>
+
+<p>He lighted the torch, and began to look round his
+prison house.</p>
+
+<p>On the walls&mdash;which had once been smoothed by
+sculptor’s skill&mdash;were the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic
+inscriptions.</p>
+
+<p>“These old fellows believed in having their tombs
+beautiful!” exclaimed Max, aloud.</p>
+
+<p>And the words had scarcely left his lips when his
+hair began to rise on his head, for he heard a voice
+add, with sepulchral emphasis:</p>
+
+<p>“Beautiful!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[43]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>“There!”</p>
+
+<p>“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it
+was startling, especially when the voice of the tomb repeated
+the last syllable:</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!”</p>
+
+<p>But the sturdy young American laughed; and the
+whole tomb seemed alive with demoniac mirth, as the
+walls beat back the loud guffaws of the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Mad!” repeated the echo.</p>
+
+<p>With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent
+for a time, afraid of the echo, and yet not afraid to
+continue his search.</p>
+
+<p>Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables
+was a sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not
+been opened.</p>
+
+<p>Here was something to do.</p>
+
+<p>He resolved to open the stone casket.</p>
+
+<p>The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid
+was not fastened down, and Max was able to push it on
+one side.</p>
+
+<p>He brought over a torch so that he might the better
+look into the huge cavern-like coffin.</p>
+
+<p>When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by
+the cloths, was that of a woman.</p>
+
+<p>“Who can it have been?” he wondered.</p>
+
+<p>And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to
+unwrap the body, which may have been hidden from<span class="pagenum">[44]</span>
+the world two or three thousand years, and present the
+mummy to his strange girl friend.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now in his glory.</p>
+
+<p>He had something to do, and at the same time his
+spirit of mischief was aroused.</p>
+
+<p>He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened
+if she entered and saw a mummified Egyptian looking at
+her.</p>
+
+<p>It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that
+was all that Max did it for.</p>
+
+<p>He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily,
+but when he came to the second, he found that the ancient
+Egyptians knew how to make a strong bandage,
+for every fold had to be cut with his knife.</p>
+
+<p>Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of
+corn.</p>
+
+<p>The latter interested him, for while the grains looked
+like wheat, the general appearance was that of barley,
+only there were seven ears on every stalk.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to
+America I’ll plant it and see if embalmed wheat will
+grow.”</p>
+
+<p>As this thought passed through the mind of the daring
+young desecrator of the dead, he began to whistle
+“Yankee Doodle.”</p>
+
+<p>The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled
+the more distinct was the echo.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its
+depths as the thought crossed his mind that men who
+had been buried there thousands of years before America<span class="pagenum">[45]</span>
+was known to civilization were, through the echo, joining
+in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but
+I’d rather be an American citizen than&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“A mummy.”</p>
+
+<p>That was no echo.</p>
+
+<p>It was a human voice.</p>
+
+<p>Max could stand no more.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning,
+his lips were parched.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the
+floor, scattering the dust of centuries and causing the
+tomb to be filled with a cloud, suffocating and unpleasant.</p>
+
+<p>When he recovered consciousness he was still lying
+on the floor, but his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and
+she was fanning him with a palm leaf which she had
+brought in with her.</p>
+
+<p>“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”</p>
+
+<p>“I thought&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered
+the voice which perished before Isis’ great temple
+was built. You silly&mdash;silly boy. But what were
+you doing?”</p>
+
+<p>There was so much nineteenth century life about
+Girzilla that Max thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.</p>
+
+<p>He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she
+chided him for doing it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so
+high,” she said, placing her hand about two feet above
+the floor.</p>
+
+<p>“You have!”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You were?”</p>
+
+<p>“Did I not say so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing
+you found?”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not see any.”</p>
+
+<p>“I placed some there.”</p>
+
+<p>“When?”</p>
+
+<p>“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I
+placed it there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you find it? What is it about?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know; I could not read it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Get it for me.”</p>
+
+<p>“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy,
+and holds me down.”</p>
+
+<p>“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”</p>
+
+<p>“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using
+an Egyptian metaphor which in more modern English
+would mean: “You are a flatterer,” or “You have kissed
+the blarney stone.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought
+to be, so he sprang to his feet and reached over into
+the casket, drawing therefrom a package of papers which
+were decidedly modern.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>The language was a strange one to him, however, and
+his only hope was that once away from the strange
+tomb he might find some one who could translate the
+document for him.</p>
+
+<p>He had become an ardent Egyptologist.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SPLENDID HEROISM.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“We will leave here at once.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:</p>
+
+<p>“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I
+must search for Emin’s race.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”&mdash;god
+of the sun&mdash;“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart
+must be rent in twain.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore
+thy family to the powerful throne?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses
+care not for my people.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness.
+Girzilla will take thee from thine enemies and
+will return to the tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are sad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[48]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot,
+scalding tears poured from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly
+a week ago.</p>
+
+<p>A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had
+not been able to weep.</p>
+
+<p>The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than
+any other thing could have done.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him
+weep, for she knew the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.</p>
+
+<p>With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon
+herself as the consoler of the bereaved one, because she
+had been present when his eyes first opened to the great
+sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.</p>
+
+<p>She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.</p>
+
+<p>“Follow me,” she said, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, stay a while.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be
+free?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored
+this tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes
+flashed with scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly,
+causing the muscles upon her arms to distend until the
+silver armlets must have cut into the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[49]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and
+carry away its images, destroy its old ruins, ransack the
+temples, overthrow the gods, and, not satisfied with that,
+dare even to desecrate the tombs!”</p>
+
+<p>“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even
+though I knew I might die in thy place.”</p>
+
+<p>“What mean you? Are you in danger?”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla laughed bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>“Danger!&mdash;how silly you are!” And then, changing
+her manner, she added: “Have you any sense? Do you
+Franks ever think? I know these men who brought
+thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold
+and slit your nose&mdash;that they would slowly kill thee.
+Like the bird of prey looking for its victim were they.
+I saved thee&mdash;wilt not the vulture turn upon me? Thou
+knowest I shall die if I am caught.”</p>
+
+<p>There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner
+which seemed to raise her from the apathetic lazy
+Egyptian race and elevate her to the level of the American.</p>
+
+<p>Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned
+him to be silent.</p>
+
+<p>“I have been here since I was so high”&mdash;again measuring
+two feet from the ground. “Did I ever take the
+sacred bandages from the bodies of the embalmed?
+Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour
+without desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee&mdash;Osiris
+will return and claim his own.”</p>
+
+<p>Max listened.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[50]</span></p>
+
+<p>He was charmed.</p>
+
+<p>What a splendid actress this girl would make!</p>
+
+<p>What a magnificent woman she was!&mdash;and yet in years
+she could be only a girl.</p>
+
+<p>“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed
+in them,” Max ventured to say.</p>
+
+<p>“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape&mdash;if
+thou wouldst find the son’s son of Emin, get thee ready
+and I will lead thee to the desert, the way that Emin
+traveled.”</p>
+
+<p>“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and
+when thou art safe I may go.”</p>
+
+<p>She turned away her head to hide her tears.</p>
+
+<p>Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from
+a sarcophagus a scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor,
+a knife with double edge, keen as a dagger, and a small
+stiletto.</p>
+
+<p>These she handed to Max.</p>
+
+<p>“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared
+to leave the cave.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, and quickly.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have offended thee&mdash;&mdash;” Max commenced, but Girzilla
+had scrambled through the opening, and could not
+hear what he was saying.</p>
+
+<p>She led him across the burning sands; at every step
+his feet seemed to be blistering. There was no shade
+save from the great bowlders, and they were so hot
+that it was unpleasant to approach them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p>
+
+<p>On she went, keeping in advance of the American.</p>
+
+<p>Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted
+to speak she motioned him to be silent.</p>
+
+<p>It was like a new country&mdash;a land without inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>Where were they?</p>
+
+<p>So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living
+thing to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting
+sand, but never stopping.</p>
+
+<p>Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too
+proud to suggest it.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was high in the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.</p>
+
+<p>Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>He walked along mechanically.</p>
+
+<p>All control over himself appeared to be lost.</p>
+
+<p>Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving,
+without the power to stop.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes no longer saw the sand&mdash;they were hot and
+glassy with the glare of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in
+front of him.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.</p>
+
+<p>That was more eloquent than words.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was by his side in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and
+some water was poured down the youth’s throat.</p>
+
+<p>She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when
+he was helpless and suffering, she could not resist.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[52]</span></p>
+
+<p>She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin
+might not blister.</p>
+
+<p>He was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the
+heat&mdash;she was accustomed to it.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the
+man she referred to was many miles away.</p>
+
+<p>“I will try.”</p>
+
+<p>The speech was in answer to her thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped
+over the prostrate form of Madcap Max, and raised him
+as if he were a child.</p>
+
+<p>Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.</p>
+
+<p>She carried him a few steps.</p>
+
+<p>The perspiration ran in streams down her face.</p>
+
+<p>The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.</p>
+
+<p>She had to rest.</p>
+
+<p>Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards
+or so.</p>
+
+<p>It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die
+if she left him there.</p>
+
+<p>She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again
+took him in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>But her strength gave out.</p>
+
+<p>She fell with her burden on the hot sand.</p>
+
+<p>Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the
+battle.</p>
+
+<p>She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[53]</span></p>
+
+<p>The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on
+until she had scraped away the sand a foot deep.</p>
+
+<p>Into this hole she rolled Max.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence,
+but Girzilla cared not, if Max were but safe.</p>
+
+<p>She looked for something to shelter him.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing could be seen.</p>
+
+<p>With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen
+blouse which was the only covering of the upper part
+of her body, and sprinkling it well with water, laid it
+over the youth’s face.</p>
+
+<p>Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American,
+was exposed to the torture of the heat.</p>
+
+<p>The thermometer must have registered a hundred and
+fifty degrees, but Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and
+waited.</p>
+
+<p>She had placed herself in a position between the sun
+and Max.</p>
+
+<p>Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent
+heroine, shielded the American from the rays of
+the Egyptian sun.</p>
+
+<p>Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her
+skin. A slight breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across
+her, but it carried myriads of sand flies and atoms of
+sand with it.</p>
+
+<p>The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked
+the blistered flesh.</p>
+
+<p>The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.</p>
+
+<p>Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise,<span class="pagenum">[54]</span>
+but a look of self-denying heroism crossed her face,
+and she remained still.</p>
+
+<p>“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and
+that was enough.</p>
+
+<p>He must be saved at all costs.</p>
+
+<p>Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts
+became more indistinct.</p>
+
+<p>She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.</p>
+
+<p>But if it would save him, she was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his
+forehead.</p>
+
+<p>Her garment was still there, shielding his face from
+the sun.</p>
+
+<p>“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she
+moaned.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SHERIF EL HABIB.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his
+prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet,
+and had prostrated himself, bowing before the setting
+sun.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised!”</p>
+
+<p>The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate
+on the carpet.</p>
+
+<p>In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting
+for their chief to rise.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[55]</span></p>
+
+<p>When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked
+in the direction of the setting sun, bowed his head once
+more, and sat down on the sand to put on his sandals.</p>
+
+<p>The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.</p>
+
+<p>Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the
+manner of the chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most
+picturesque appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and
+folded up the carpet, placing it with great care on the
+back of a camel, which had been brought forward.</p>
+
+<p>The chief&mdash;Sherif el Habib&mdash;walked away from his
+servants, his companion being a youth, fair as a girl,
+but strong as a lion.</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to
+the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”</p>
+
+<p>“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine
+eyes have not seen the glory of his coming.”</p>
+
+<p>“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at
+Cairo?”</p>
+
+<p>“And why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through
+the lattices would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered
+Ibrahim, smiling, as he uttered the words.</p>
+
+<p>“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the
+holy prophet spoken of the Prophet of prophets, who
+should come and restore the ancient glory of Egypt, and
+after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the crescent
+and Mahomet in every land?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[56]</span></p>
+
+<p>“But why do you think he has come now?” asked
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet
+say out to me: ‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou
+the sea and go as I direct thee, and thine eyes shall see
+the glory of the last <em>imaum</em>’&mdash;leader&mdash;‘the rise of the
+Mahdi of whom I spake.’”</p>
+
+<p>“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed
+the Red Sea, wandered about these deserts for months,
+deserted the towns and left the pretty girls&mdash;I beg pardon&mdash;all
+because of a dream.”</p>
+
+<p>“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material.
+Is there nothing better than making shawls?”</p>
+
+<p>“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to
+Alexandria, to Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh,
+uncle, you are rich; give up these dreams, and let us enjoy
+life.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim, how old are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Eighteen, uncle.”</p>
+
+<p>“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years
+and all my wealth will be thine; then thou canst journey
+whither thou pleasest. But I have a mission. When I
+go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have
+seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”</p>
+
+<p>It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that
+before the end of the world there shall arise a mahdi&mdash;literally,
+a director who shall be of the family of Mahomet,
+whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and
+who should fill the world with righteousness. For six<span class="pagenum">[57]</span>
+hundred years the Mohammedans have been expecting
+their messiah to appear.</p>
+
+<p>“As thou wilt, uncle, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried
+salaam of Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential
+eunuch and secretary.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Effendi?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful
+girl hath fainted, and with her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as
+you do. Go along, I care not for all the girls of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech,
+for he had hurried away with Effendi.</p>
+
+<p>The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where
+Madcap Max had fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and
+seemed strangely disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and
+found that both were alive.</p>
+
+<p>“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then,
+turning to Effendi, he motioned him to follow.</p>
+
+<p>Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack
+a small bottle.</p>
+
+<p>On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which,
+if translated into good United States language, would
+signify that the contents were known to be that strange
+result of modern research, chloroform.</p>
+
+<p>Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[58]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It is my will that these people should go with us in a
+sleep as of death; do thou with this as is usual.”</p>
+
+<p>Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents
+on two pieces of linen, he returned to the Arab girl
+and Max and placed the linen over their mouths. When
+the fumes of the chloroform had done their work effectually
+he called some of the attendants, and ordered them
+to place Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.</p>
+
+<p>“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low
+salaam.</p>
+
+<p>“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.</p>
+
+<p>Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”</p>
+
+<p>“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was
+the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the
+youth, “I should declare that you were mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of
+the celestial, and now mine eyes have been directed to the
+approach of the great mahdi. In my dreams I heard a
+voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed. The
+guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct
+thee.’ Now did not this mean this youth and maiden?
+this brother and sister who were asleep and awaiting
+me?”</p>
+
+<p>“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love
+adventure; but I hope we shall return alive.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”</p>
+
+<p>The caravan started.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[59]</span></p>
+
+<p>More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of
+them carried baggage, tents, and provisions, the other
+eighteen bore upon their backs the bodyguard of Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same
+camel, being fastened to basket paniers, one on either
+side of the animal.</p>
+
+<p>As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will
+take the opportunity of more fully introducing the party
+to our readers.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was
+known as the most prosperous shawl manufacturer of all
+Persia.</p>
+
+<p>He gave employment to over a hundred men, and
+Sherif el Habib’s Persian shawls had been worn by the
+empresses and queens of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way.
+According to the custom of his land, he had several
+wives.</p>
+
+<p>In the palace of the Sherif&mdash;for this shawl manufacturer
+was ranked as a prince&mdash;every contrivance had been
+resorted to to render the happiness of the ladies complete.</p>
+
+<p>Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet
+long by thirty feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen
+feet of water in depth.</p>
+
+<p>By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water
+was so nicely regulated that a stream to the depth of four
+feet was always flowing through the bath.</p>
+
+<p>This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses,<span class="pagenum">[60]</span>
+and was so delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating
+pleasure to bathe.</p>
+
+<p>One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were
+disporting themselves in the bath, when by some accident
+the working gear got out of order and the water
+began to rise.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the water increased in volume until it was
+six feet deep.</p>
+
+<p>How merrily the ladies laughed!</p>
+
+<p>How delighted they were at this new experience!</p>
+
+<p>They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the
+bath.</p>
+
+<p>Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and
+made fun of each other.</p>
+
+<p>They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults
+as though they were amphibious animals.</p>
+
+<p>The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was
+water-tight, so that should Sherif el Habib at any time
+desire the whole fifteen feet of depth to be flooded, no
+water could escape into the other parts of the palace.</p>
+
+<p>When the ladies had grown weary they made a move
+to leave. But they were tired.</p>
+
+<p>The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.</p>
+
+<p>One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be
+loved, was so exhausted that she begged one of the others
+to save her.</p>
+
+<p>Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance,<span class="pagenum">[61]</span>
+but Lola clung so tightly to her that both became exhausted
+and sank, never to rise again in life.</p>
+
+<p>The others shrieked for help.</p>
+
+<p>No one heard them.</p>
+
+<p>They could not stand on the sides. The steps were
+slippery as glass, and could not be ascended.</p>
+
+<p>The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water
+was in the bath.</p>
+
+<p>When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the
+bathers, burst open the door, he was almost swept away
+by the overflow of the water.</p>
+
+<p>His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating
+on the surface of the water were the dead bodies of
+all his wives.</p>
+
+<p>Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled
+until he thought of his sister’s orphan child, the
+young Ibrahim, who was living in Teheran.</p>
+
+<p>From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart
+was centered on Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>European teachers were engaged, and by the time the
+young Persian was seventeen years old he could speak
+English, German and French fluently, besides having a
+good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental
+languages and dialects.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[62]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IBRAHIM AND MAX.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that
+he was about to make a pilgrimage.</p>
+
+<p>It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet
+at Mecca, across the Red Sea, and after exploring the
+wonders of Luxor, Carnac, and ancient Thebes, go up the
+Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and
+his heart beat so fast with expectancy that his uncle
+feared he might bring on a nervous fever. When Mecca
+was reached Sherif was so full of religious fervor that he
+began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the annoyance
+and yet amusement of Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced
+that he was to be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan
+Messiah. When Cairo was reached he said to
+Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they would
+cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure,
+with plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with
+his uncle’s ideas, and with but few murmurings agreed
+to leave civilization behind and go into the interior of that
+land of mystery&mdash;the great deserts of the Dark Continent.</p>
+
+<p>But we must return to our caravan.</p>
+
+<p>The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.</p>
+
+<p>The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but
+he had learned enough of his uncle’s ways to be assured<span class="pagenum">[63]</span>
+that he would fall into disgrace if he dared to intrude
+on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>The caravan stopped.</p>
+
+<p>The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and
+after devotions the meal for the evening was spread.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.</p>
+
+<p>They had been lifted with tender care from the camel,
+and laid down under the best and largest tent.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was the first to awake.</p>
+
+<p>She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she
+imagined she was dreaming.</p>
+
+<p>Again the temptation was so great that she gently
+raised her eyelids, and saw that the tent was hung with
+Oriental silk drapery, while a thick Persian carpet had
+been spread upon the sand.</p>
+
+<p>There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.</p>
+
+<p>Where could she be?</p>
+
+<p>Where was Max?</p>
+
+<p>Raising her head she saw on the other side of the
+tent another carpet, and on it reclined the form of Max.</p>
+
+<p>Should she awaken him?</p>
+
+<p>A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession
+of her, and she was determined to do all she could to
+remain near him.</p>
+
+<p>Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance
+of the tent.</p>
+
+<p>She was utterly bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[64]</span></p>
+
+<p>Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds&mdash;others
+were asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded
+with jets of brilliant light.</p>
+
+<p>The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a
+soothing influence pass over her.</p>
+
+<p>With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst
+forth into poetic declamation.</p>
+
+<p>Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the
+most beautiful imagery, she apostrophized the sky and
+the stars, speaking of the sky as the million-eyed goddess,
+looking down through the millions of stars on the earth,
+and directing the destinies of men.</p>
+
+<p>She thought she was unheard, but standing in the
+shadow of a tent was Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>He was entranced.</p>
+
+<p>“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More
+eloquent than the houris of Istaphan! Speak to me,
+and tell me who thou art.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla heard the voice.</p>
+
+<p>It was not that of Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>Who, then, could be speaking?</p>
+
+<p>All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ,
+champ, champ of the camels.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded
+him in darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate
+into the blackness.</p>
+
+<p>“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.</p>
+
+<p>“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness,
+should be able to see, though the clouds were blacker<span class="pagenum">[65]</span>
+than the tomb, and thy soul, which speaks through thy
+lips, should divine that one who loves the music of thy
+mouth is near to thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>She could not understand her surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.</p>
+
+<p>To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that
+’twas but a vision of the night, she returned silently to the
+carpets and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>The chloroform had not lost all its power.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached
+the tent.</p>
+
+<p>But Girzilla was asleep.</p>
+
+<p>“My own gazelle&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Max moved uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make
+thee a throne upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my
+heart.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah,
+I remember! I died out on the sand. Girzilla was with
+me. Where is she? Is this death? I am very comfortable.
+Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”</p>
+
+<p>Max pinched himself and smiled.</p>
+
+<p>“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t
+sand. By the great Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am
+in a tent. I have it&mdash;I am not dead, but only kidnaped.
+I’ll get up and have a look around.”</p>
+
+<p>“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son<span class="pagenum">[66]</span>
+of Iran hear the liquid notes that pour from the throat
+of my gentle gazelle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept
+close to the side of the tent until he reached the opening.</p>
+
+<p>“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”</p>
+
+<p>Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim
+went heels over head into the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.</p>
+
+<p>To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.</p>
+
+<p>“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much
+strength?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Mr. Abraham&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you.
+If it isn’t, I am also the madcap, and I can fight as well as
+talk. How do you feel?”</p>
+
+<p>“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the
+sand?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean
+I know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion
+displayed by Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan:
+and I am Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Where is Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that? Your sister?”</p>
+
+<p>“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is
+the sweetest music mine ears have ever heard?”</p>
+
+<p>“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked
+Max, abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t care who you are.”</p>
+
+<p>“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he
+is a sheriff, a policeman, or a soldier.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed.</p>
+
+<p>He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the
+Persian Sherif with the English sheriff amused him.</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t understand&mdash;that is my uncle’s name.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fetch him here and let me see him.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was astounded.</p>
+
+<p>The way Max spoke was something for which he was
+not prepared.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted
+with the morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and
+white tents, Max was dazzled.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief,
+Sherif el Habib. My uncle found you dying, and he
+brought you and your sister here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands&mdash;that is what we do
+in England and America&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>The youths clasped their hands.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[68]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”</p>
+
+<p>“We shall be comrades?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you a mother?”</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! no,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone&mdash;I have
+no one but my uncle.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have no one at all.”</p>
+
+<p>“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother.
+But who is she?”</p>
+
+<p>“I told you&mdash;she is my guide.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a
+beauty, as lovely as she is eloquent, and as poetic as the
+birds which fly above the gardens of Paradise.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE PETRIFIED FOREST.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla
+that Ibrahim refrained from approaching her, not because
+he had conquered the passion he felt for her, but entirely
+out of respect for the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he
+told him that he was on a pilgrimage to find the promised
+mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw himself into the<span class="pagenum">[69]</span>
+work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever
+in fate.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as
+she could see Max she was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her
+other than Max’s sister.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the journey was continued into the desert
+of Lybia.</p>
+
+<p>All had been tranquil.</p>
+
+<p>No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims,
+and Max began to yearn for adventure.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as
+a young elephant, and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to
+tire her.</p>
+
+<p>One day a forest was sighted.</p>
+
+<p>For many days not a leaf, not a tree&mdash;no, not so much
+as a blade of grass, had been seen.</p>
+
+<p>The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers
+as is a rain shower to the parched earth.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so
+impetuous was the spirit of the two youths that they obtained
+permission to go in advance of the party, and while
+Sherif el Habib rested&mdash;for he was getting to look jaded
+and tired&mdash;they would investigate and return to report.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward,
+joyously.</p>
+
+<p>They were both well armed, and carried enough rations
+to last them four days.</p>
+
+<p>It was noon on the following day before they were
+near to the forest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[70]</span></p>
+
+<p>Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.</p>
+
+<p>But there was something weird and strange about the
+trees.</p>
+
+<p>Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.</p>
+
+<p>They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing
+the clouds, as it were, but not a sign or movement was
+visible.</p>
+
+<p>A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not
+a bough swayed, not a tree bent its head before the wind.</p>
+
+<p>“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked
+forward at the unbending trees.</p>
+
+<p>“They look more like stone than wood,” commented
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”</p>
+
+<p>There was another peculiarity noticeable.</p>
+
+<p>Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance
+to the blazing rays of the sun, and ran forward.</p>
+
+<p>Max was the first to reach a tree.</p>
+
+<p>The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in
+diameter, as straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without
+leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,”
+answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”</p>
+
+<p>“Feel for yourself.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[71]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree
+must be burning.”</p>
+
+<p>Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke
+in two, and no impression was made on the tree.</p>
+
+<p>Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same
+result.</p>
+
+<p>A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with
+the hafts of their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced
+them that they had discovered a freak of nature&mdash;a
+veritable petrified forest.</p>
+
+<p>It was true.</p>
+
+<p>Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its
+allegiance from the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to
+stone.</p>
+
+<p>There was something appalling in those great stone
+statues.</p>
+
+<p>How many ages had they stood there?</p>
+
+<p>What action of nature had changed them from living,
+sap-flowing trees into blocks of granite, having only the
+appearance of their former reality?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was scared.</p>
+
+<p>His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not
+afraid of these big stones, are you?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim did not answer.</p>
+
+<p>He was awe-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s
+name very materially.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[72]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have
+remained prostrate had not some counter irritant appeared.</p>
+
+<p>A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck
+the trees, glancing off close to our young explorers.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us
+have a look at you,” shouted Max.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole
+forest seemed alive.</p>
+
+<p>It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet
+not a living creature had the explorers seen before.</p>
+
+<p>Where did all these savages come from?</p>
+
+<p>The savages were something superlative.</p>
+
+<p>They were almost as naked as when they came into the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking
+clay.</p>
+
+<p>The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks;
+two heavy bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms,
+just above the elbow; and on each wrist was a bracelet
+or ring, in which, by some cunning device, sharp pieces
+of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had been inserted.
+These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in
+a fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the
+manner of spears, only that they had four arrows in each
+hand&mdash;held between the fingers so that the heads of the
+arrows were stretched out fan shape.</p>
+
+<p>The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.</p>
+
+<p>The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[73]</span></p>
+
+<p>They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim
+understood.</p>
+
+<p>“We are in for it,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why
+did I ever come?”</p>
+
+<p>“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they
+mean to do.”</p>
+
+<p>The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled
+at times to dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened
+to mar the beauty of their faces, they were so near.</p>
+
+<p>“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned
+revolver&mdash;a weapon which must have been one
+of the first ever made, so primitive was its construction.
+It had been given to Max by Sherif el Habib, who believed
+it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.</p>
+
+<p>Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping
+from tree to tree, so he put back his revolver and raised
+his rifle, a more modern and more reliable weapon.</p>
+
+<p>The savages stood still.</p>
+
+<p>Surely this must be some magician or medicine man
+who had come among them.</p>
+
+<p>That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for
+they stood watching and waiting.</p>
+
+<p>But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.</p>
+
+<p>Carefully taking aim, Max fired.</p>
+
+<p>The savages screamed as they heard the report, and
+the monkey dropped dead.</p>
+
+<p>As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows
+were gathered together and held under the left arm.</p>
+
+<p>“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[74]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to
+escape.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”</p>
+
+<p>The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly
+the naked, ugly representatives of the genus man, as
+known in the petrified forests of Lybia, disappeared,
+leaving only the chief and perhaps a dozen to guard the
+white explorers.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive;
+every man had brought a woman with him.</p>
+
+<p>The women were more repulsive looking than the men.</p>
+
+<p>Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction,
+while all over their bodies deep furrows had been
+plowed out of the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>At a signal all began dancing. The men at every
+movement struck the women with their spiked bracelets,
+and soon the black bodies of the females were dripping
+with blood.</p>
+
+<p>But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed
+heartily when they managed to escape a more than
+usually vicious blow from their loving husband’s spiked
+bracelet.</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid not.”</p>
+
+<p>“I would like to kill the savages.”</p>
+
+<p>“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Or run away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let us try.”</p>
+
+<p>No sooner suggested than attempted.</p>
+
+<p>The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike<span class="pagenum">[75]</span>
+rushed after the runaways, capturing them easily, and
+holding them firmly until the dance was finished.</p>
+
+<p>When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another
+command.</p>
+
+<p>An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with
+only a few hairs on her head, was brought from some
+mysterious place and placed against one of the stone
+trees.</p>
+
+<p>Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he
+wanted Max to shoot her.</p>
+
+<p>To make the madcap understand, he took the dead
+monkey and held it in front of the old woman, then
+raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun, and pointed
+it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.</p>
+
+<p>Max shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>The gesture was not understood.</p>
+
+<p>The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the
+rifle to the madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise
+with his lips as he did so.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I
+shoot his nibs here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the
+slang expression.</p>
+
+<p>Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was
+given.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman had fallen forward&mdash;dead.</p>
+
+<p>Fright had killed her.</p>
+
+<p>But the savages believed that the white man’s magic
+had ended the poor, old creature’s life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[76]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.</p>
+
+<p>Songs of triumph&mdash;in gibberish which might mean anything&mdash;dances
+of the most grotesque kind were indulged
+in, and it was plain to be seen that these poor savages
+were nearly mad with joy.</p>
+
+<p>When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered
+to Ibrahim:</p>
+
+<p>“Let us run&mdash;but as we do so we had better point our
+guns at the fellows; then they won’t follow.”</p>
+
+<p>Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows
+started.</p>
+
+<p>The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p>A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.</p>
+
+<p>Max turned and raised his rifle.</p>
+
+<p>What a change took place!</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young
+men, a hundred backs could be seen, and every savage
+was trying to break the world’s record in running, not
+toward the explorers, but away from them.</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned,
+the American would never have been able to point the
+gun at them.</p>
+
+<p>“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon
+been above the forest, he would have seen a hundred
+savages fleeing in one direction, as though pursued by a
+regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys they were
+afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[77]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they
+easily persuaded the Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the
+petrified forest and its savage occupants.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an
+oasis.</p>
+
+<p>After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was
+pleasant to get among the tall marsh grass.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed strange that such a difference could exist
+in so short a distance.</p>
+
+<p>Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to
+be found, and then suddenly the sand would cease, and a
+patch of swampy ground, perhaps covering twenty
+square miles, would be entered upon.</p>
+
+<p>The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.</p>
+
+<p>There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation
+visible; no water could be obtained, even by sinking deep
+wells.</p>
+
+<p>Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered
+ankle deep with water.</p>
+
+<p>Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height,
+yams were found in abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables
+in plenty.</p>
+
+<p>A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme
+of much talk and great bewilderment.</p>
+
+<p>“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[78]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>Max looked at it intently.</p>
+
+<p>“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so
+thirsty it drinks itself all dry,” he said, speaking so
+seriously that his friends thought he must have evolved
+from his inner consciousness some new fact in nature.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child
+paddling in the surf at the seashore.</p>
+
+<p>“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed,
+and when asked to repeat, she replied:</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”</p>
+
+<p>The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything
+about her parentage or kith.</p>
+
+<p>She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max
+and his friends.</p>
+
+<p>She never seemed to have a thought away from them.</p>
+
+<p>The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the
+water, but after loading up with the refreshing liquid,
+they treated the water with haughty disdain, treading
+lazily along without a care.</p>
+
+<p>Following the banks of the stream they found the grass
+getting greener, but shorter, and the water less deep.</p>
+
+<p>After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they
+reached a little hillock well adapted for encampment, being
+perfectly dry, and the grass green and soft.</p>
+
+<p>But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for
+the tents to be pitched, Max came running back to his
+friends, declaring that there were plenty of savages to
+keep them company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[79]</span></p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided
+by Max, went to look at the savages.</p>
+
+<p>Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle,
+tended by naked natives.</p>
+
+<p>The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives
+moved about, they appeared as if they were in water.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly
+they did so.</p>
+
+<p>He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored
+Africans shouted for joy.</p>
+
+<p>Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.</p>
+
+<p>Every bone showed through their skin, and they were
+evidently half starved.</p>
+
+<p>They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when
+it happened to die of sickness.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted
+to think that he could make himself understood.</p>
+
+<p>“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the
+natives casting the harpoon at random among the reeds;
+thus, out of several hundred casts, they might, by good
+luck, catch one fish.</p>
+
+<p>The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and
+Sherif sent for him.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared,
+accompanied by two women.</p>
+
+<p>Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and
+a skull cap of white beads, with a crest of white ostrich<span class="pagenum">[80]</span>
+feathers; but the mantle which was slung across his
+shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the
+other as his daughter.</p>
+
+<p>“What want you?” asked Klatch.</p>
+
+<p>“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif
+el Habib, solemnly.</p>
+
+<p>“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending
+the question.</p>
+
+<p>It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.</p>
+
+<p>The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning
+appear.</p>
+
+<p>At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his
+daughter by the shoulders, gave her a push toward
+Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.</p>
+
+<p>“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will
+you do with her?”</p>
+
+<p>Sherif was amazed.</p>
+
+<p>His religious fervor was dampened.</p>
+
+<p>He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter,
+but the chief could not, or would not, understand.</p>
+
+<p>A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl,
+and then giving her back again to her father.</p>
+
+<p>When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick
+green turf, and all the party&mdash;save only Effendi&mdash;slept
+soundly.</p>
+
+<p>As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to<span class="pagenum">[81]</span>
+kill his master, and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least
+only allowed himself short intervals of sleep.</p>
+
+<p>When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the
+morning, he saw the chief’s daughter lying across the
+entrance fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor
+girl felt that she would be far happier with the white man
+than with her own people.</p>
+
+<p>All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small
+gourd shells to receive gifts of corn.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved
+blacks fell down before him and kissed his feet.</p>
+
+<p>Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own
+account, by offering to purchase a bull or a cow.</p>
+
+<p>But the natives would not sell.</p>
+
+<p>Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal,
+unfortunately a sacred bull.</p>
+
+<p>He was instantly surrounded by the natives who
+howled and yelled at him, threatening to tear him in
+pieces and drink his blood.</p>
+
+<p>He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe
+had a sacred bull, who was supposed to exert an influence
+over the prosperity of the flock.</p>
+
+<p>The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with
+tufts of feathers and strings of shells, which jingled as
+he moved along.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the
+cattle kraal, bidding him keep the cows from straying,
+and to see that they found the best grass, so that they
+could give the most milk.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[82]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.</p>
+
+<p>Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so
+disturbed his people.</p>
+
+<p>When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s
+death.</p>
+
+<p>“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.</p>
+
+<p>“Then he dies,” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no
+amount of beads or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase
+a sacred bull.</p>
+
+<p>Max must die.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.</p>
+
+<p>The natives said he had speared him.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is my spear?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>They pointed to his gun.</p>
+
+<p>He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.</p>
+
+<p>The bull was dead.</p>
+
+<p>That did not admit of any doubt.</p>
+
+<p>But how did it die?</p>
+
+<p>Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill
+a cow, if he could do so without a spear.</p>
+
+<p>Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but
+still better than an old musket.</p>
+
+<p>He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder,
+the natives watching him. There was a puff of smoke,
+a flash, a loud report, and the cow dropped dead.</p>
+
+<p>It was a miracle.</p>
+
+<p>“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated
+some good beefsteaks as his reward, picked off a bull
+who was looking at him very steadily.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[83]</span></p>
+
+<p>As a reward for these miracles Max was given the
+first bull, and the other dead animals were divided among
+the natives.</p>
+
+<p>After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey,
+Klatch and the entire tribe pleading hard to go with
+Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey,
+Sherif found the chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent.
+She had followed in the distance and under cover of
+the night reached the pasha’s tent.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and
+he threatened to use force to compel her.</p>
+
+<p>She explained that according to the custom of her
+people she would be killed.</p>
+
+<p>If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his
+bargain, the girl must die.</p>
+
+<p>“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but
+Sherif was obdurate, and when she did return it was
+easy to see that she expected she was going to her death.</p>
+
+<p>Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party
+of pilgrims never discovered.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“I would like to know where that river empties itself,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered
+Sherif el Habib, good-naturedly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.</p>
+
+<p>She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer,
+and had told him she believed that Mameluke
+blood ran in her veins.</p>
+
+<p>This set Sherif thinking.</p>
+
+<p>The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from
+the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom
+in 1517, he was compelled to allow twenty-four of
+their number to remain governors of provinces.</p>
+
+<p>Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared
+that at least three of them were descended from the
+Prophet Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important
+step, for he would have the record of his race, and might
+direct the pilgrims to the mahdi, who was shortly expected.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed
+Mameluke blood, for she would know the signs and signals
+which bound together that most powerful body
+of men.</p>
+
+<p>The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret
+signs, and possessed of all the fraternal strength of the
+Free Masons.</p>
+
+<p>That was the reason Sherif asked the question:</p>
+
+<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>The girl smiled, sadly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[85]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead.
+I am thy slave, do with me as thou wilt&mdash;I am thine.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong
+to anyone, ’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”</p>
+
+<p>A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face,
+and she bent down her head.</p>
+
+<p>“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not
+care for the dark&mdash;I am dark&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon.
+“I do care for thee, Girzilla. I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with
+thee&mdash;but it is great Sherif el Habib who is the master.
+As he pleases so I wilt do.”</p>
+
+<p>Had this child of the desert, around whose life there
+was so much of mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry
+and flattery?</p>
+
+<p>She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he
+become, that he took Max on one side, and in a mysterious
+manner whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“I have solved it.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you discovered who she is?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, but who she is going to be.”</p>
+
+<p>Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins
+of his face.</p>
+
+<p>In a whisper he asked:</p>
+
+<p>“Who is she to be?”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim shall marry her.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[86]</span></p>
+
+<p>The union would be a good one. The marriage of a
+Persian with an Arabian could not be considered a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mesalliance</i>,
+at least as regards race; but to Max there was a
+certain pride of rank which would be outraged.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla
+nothing; the Persian took rank as a pasha in his own
+land, while who knew anything about Girzilla?</p>
+
+<p>The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles
+betokened rank, but might not her father be a bandit, and
+bedecked his child with them?</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection
+to Max’s mind, for he could not help thinking
+that, perhaps, she was educated to serve as a decoy for
+the robber band.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>“If thou wouldst marry her yourself&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I, an American, marry an Arab?”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you
+of all men oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”</p>
+
+<p>“And why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that
+the great strength of your nation laid in the fact that you
+declared and recognized ‘that all are born free and
+equal.’”</p>
+
+<p>Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted
+with that very difficulty before.</p>
+
+<p>His father had told him that instead of being a reality,
+the present generation treated the time-honored declaration
+as a theory, very beautiful, but impractical.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p>
+
+<p>Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of
+Merchant Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>Max knew not what to answer.</p>
+
+<p>He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not
+want the bone, he was angry at any other dog getting it,
+and so Max, while he would not marry Girzilla, was
+furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim claiming
+her as his wife.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders
+were given to follow the course of the stream.</p>
+
+<p>For four hours the march was continued through the
+long grass.</p>
+
+<p>It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the
+sand.</p>
+
+<p>After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire
+prevented them from following the stream, and they had
+to make a detour to the right.</p>
+
+<p>The river was kept in sight, however, and for two
+days it could be seen flowing briskly along toward the
+realm of illimitable sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is the river?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>The mystery increased.</p>
+
+<p>The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.</p>
+
+<p>It was true.</p>
+
+<p>All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.</p>
+
+<p>The green grass was to give way to dry sand.</p>
+
+<p>That did not surprise them.</p>
+
+<p>They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a
+little stream, rising from springs at one end of the rectangular
+oasis, had swollen into a river, whose rippling<span class="pagenum">[88]</span>
+waves showed a strong current, and when some great
+lake was expected, or another river, of which it might
+be tributary, nothing was found but sand.</p>
+
+<p>“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, we only imagined the river.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the
+best of it.</p>
+
+<p>“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water
+must empty itself somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, where does it go to?”</p>
+
+<p>“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but
+that we are on the verge of a great discovery?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world
+as the mighty explorers who found the river Ibrahim,
+which had its rise in an atom of sand, and flowed into
+the lake of nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the
+shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You
+should go as the great Persian pasha, warranted genuine;
+while I would introduce you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib,
+coming up at the time; “and if I were your age&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“So you are, pasha,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[89]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I
+would find a way to solve the mystery.”</p>
+
+<p>“May we try it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”</p>
+
+<p>“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">DANGEROUS JESTS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in
+the oasis, and being supplied with provisions enough for
+several months, agreed to wait for the return of the young
+explorers.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp
+than they felt like boys.</p>
+
+<p>They were their own masters, and not only that, but
+they had two Arabs with them as stewards and porters.</p>
+
+<p>Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient
+form, and the four started.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very
+thing not to do, for Max was venturesome, and when
+freed from restraint a perfect madcap. However, Ibrahim
+believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed
+that Max should be captain.</p>
+
+<p>The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat,
+and to it they went.</p>
+
+<p>A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it,<span class="pagenum">[90]</span>
+but a few beads and a china doll were considered a
+princely recompense, and Max became the owner of the
+boat.</p>
+
+<p>He asked the native where the river led to, and was
+told that in the great quagmire was a fire that had been
+burning for hundreds of moons, and it took all the water
+to keep the fire down; if the water stopped the whole
+world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:</p>
+
+<p>“Even Klatch would be burned.”</p>
+
+<p>And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so
+frightened that Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of
+laughter.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”</p>
+
+<p>“We are going to see it; will you come?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will give you beads.”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“China doll”&mdash;holding another up to view.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!”</p>
+
+<p>The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the
+very personification of fear.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was a good, strong dugout.</p>
+
+<p>A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been
+hollowed out with rude tools.</p>
+
+<p>This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of
+canoe or boat known in Africa.</p>
+
+<p>There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out
+of a pure spirit of mischief, determined that the naked
+native should be one of the party.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p>
+
+<p>The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the
+arms and legs and lifted him into the boat.</p>
+
+<p>The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of
+those terrible agues so prevalent in some countries, and
+which makes one:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!
+</div><div class="indent0">Shudder, and cower, and quake,
+</div><div class="indent0">Till every nerve has its separate quiver,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every sinew its separate shiver,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every bone its particular ache;
+</div><div class="indent0">For either he or the chill must break!
+</div></div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!
+</div><div class="indent0">Till joints are loose and sinews slack,
+</div><div class="indent0">Till every bone is a torturing thing,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,
+</div><div class="indent0">While up and down the weary back
+</div><div class="indent0">An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,
+</div><div class="indent0">Marches along the spinal column.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>That was just how poor, wild Klatchman&mdash;as he called
+himself&mdash;felt when he was lifted into the boat and held
+there by fear that Max would kill him if he attempted
+to move.</p>
+
+<p>The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell
+by gestures to the cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe
+and his kindred.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat
+seemed to fly along.</p>
+
+<p>The water was rough.</p>
+
+<p>At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it
+were a paper shell.</p>
+
+<p>The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but
+rather to prevent it going too fast.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim
+was getting scared.</p>
+
+<p>“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in
+for mischief.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“A life on the ocean wave,
+</div><div class="indent0">A home on the rolling deep.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped
+out of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>A big, powerful fellow&mdash;swimming like a fish&mdash;he tried
+to reach the land.</p>
+
+<p>The current was too strong.</p>
+
+<p>He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to
+jump out.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t do it,” implored Max.</p>
+
+<p>But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that
+not only would the native perish, but that his Persian
+friend would be sacrificed also.</p>
+
+<p>“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”</p>
+
+<p>“And Klatchman?”</p>
+
+<p>“He will catch up to us.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to
+pull back to the place from which they started.</p>
+
+<p>A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.</p>
+
+<p>“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”</p>
+
+<p>“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good
+to give him a scare.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[93]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Please save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed long and heartily.</p>
+
+<p>“How serious you are. One would think we were in
+the rapids of Niagara.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow&mdash;Klatchman is a human being&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course he is.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”</p>
+
+<p>Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly
+heartless, but he was not.</p>
+
+<p>For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had
+played no practical jokes.</p>
+
+<p>Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and
+Ibrahim at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman
+was in any danger he would have been the first to
+have even risked his life to rescue him; but in the first
+place he did not believe in the danger, and then he looked
+upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland
+dog&mdash;one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be
+heartless, Max. Save the poor wretch.”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned
+himself to his fate.</p>
+
+<p>He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”</p>
+
+<p>Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled
+round at a furious rate.</p>
+
+<p>“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like
+a Fourth of July pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p>
+
+<p>Turning to the Arabs, he said:</p>
+
+<p>“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is not safe, your excellency.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tush! do as you are told.”</p>
+
+<p>The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool,
+but no sooner had they changed the position of the
+boat than it seemed to fly over the water, borne along
+by some fierce current below the surface.</p>
+
+<p>“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in
+for it now.”</p>
+
+<p>He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.</p>
+
+<p>It was useless to try and manage it.</p>
+
+<p>“Great Scott! What a race.”</p>
+
+<p>Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but
+even then he was more than delighted.</p>
+
+<p>There was the African whirling round in a smaller
+circle, while the boat was going equally fast in a larger
+one around him.</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! what was that?”</p>
+
+<p>Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.</p>
+
+<p>The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the
+head that the poor creature’s brains were spattered all
+over the boat.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but
+I didn’t mean to do so.”</p>
+
+<p>“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[95]</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before
+either of his comrades or Max could reach forward to
+save him, he had fallen out of the boat and was dashed to
+pieces in the whirlpool.</p>
+
+<p>“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned,
+now thoroughly serious and alive to his fate.</p>
+
+<p>Was it imagination?</p>
+
+<p>Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the
+dizzying whirl of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become
+stationary?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.</p>
+
+<p>The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to
+what had taken place.</p>
+
+<p>They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and
+the fury of the whirling waters had spent themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the
+Norwegian coast, the center was calm and still, while the
+outer rings were lashed everything with the greatest
+fury.</p>
+
+<p>Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one
+seemed to get tired and have a period of rest.</p>
+
+<p>“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim
+had seized the oar the dead Arab had let fall.</p>
+
+<p>Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the
+oars, and the boat moved as they willed it.</p>
+
+<p>“Change places with me&mdash;let me pull!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the
+rudely-shaped paddle from Max, which he had used to
+guide the boat in place of a rudder.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p>
+
+<p>The American was stronger than either the Persian or
+the Arab, and the force of his oar soon made itself felt.</p>
+
+<p>The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was
+reached, and Max uttered devoutly the words:</p>
+
+<p>“Thank Heaven!”</p>
+
+<p>While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised! <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Sin Syu!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Which latter was equivalent to saying:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised! I have said it!”</p>
+
+<p>“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“No, nor don’t want to.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the
+Ibrahim.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle,
+and&mdash;Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian.
+How she will listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on
+sea and land.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! we are drifting.”</p>
+
+<p>“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty
+miles an hour. Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”</p>
+
+<p>Max exerted all his strength.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.</p>
+
+<p>On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their
+sinews were like huge cords stretched under the skin.</p>
+
+<p>“Snap!”</p>
+
+<p>And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and
+Ibrahim groaned aloud.</p>
+
+<p>An oar had broken.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[97]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The paddle, quick!”</p>
+
+<p>Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use
+it like an oar.</p>
+
+<p>In vain.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants
+were at the mercy of the cruel river.</p>
+
+<p>Where was it taking them?</p>
+
+<p>Not to the whirlpool.</p>
+
+<p>That was passed long ago.</p>
+
+<p>They could see it again as they looked back.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a
+mimosa tree, but his effort was in vain.</p>
+
+<p>“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian
+as he saw the face of the dead Arab close to the
+boat, with its eyes open, and peering into the face of the
+young chief.</p>
+
+<p>“It is horrible!” groaned Max.</p>
+
+<p>On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.</p>
+
+<p>The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.</p>
+
+<p>He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head
+scarcely wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together,
+and he awaited death.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of
+the shadow of death, and had mentally wished his uncle
+farewell.</p>
+
+<p>As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to
+escape.</p>
+
+<p>And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.</p>
+
+<p>The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[98]</span></p>
+
+<p>All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the
+caravan had avoided.</p>
+
+<p>But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite
+could be noted.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that
+was imagination.</p>
+
+<p>A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing
+in the water.</p>
+
+<p>“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching
+his breath, as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>The boat tossed slightly.</p>
+
+<p>A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three
+occupants, was precipitated over a cataract, a seething
+cauldron of hissing, sputtering, bubbling water!</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge
+into the water beneath, had taken away their breath, and
+neither Max nor Ibrahim was able to speak.</p>
+
+<p>Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the
+sides of the dugout, and it was well that they did so, and
+maintained their grip like grim death.</p>
+
+<p>The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting
+itself, and its occupants got more baths in a few minutes
+than they cared for.</p>
+
+<p>They found the water quite warm, which was some<span class="pagenum">[99]</span>
+consolation, for had it been icy cold they would have been
+unable to retain their hold upon the boat.</p>
+
+<p>How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of
+strange noises were made in its descent.</p>
+
+<p>To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals
+of thunder had impressed themselves on the tympanum
+of their ears. The Arab might have been a statue of
+marble.</p>
+
+<p>He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features
+were as rigid as death. He had his eyes and mouth
+closed tightly, and had it not been for the swelling of
+his bosom he might have been thought dead.</p>
+
+<p>Every time the boat was submerged it was carried
+further away from the cataract, and in a very few minutes&mdash;but
+the few minutes seemed an eternity&mdash;the water
+grew calmer and the boat more steady.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that they opened their eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I?” echoed Max.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he
+answered in the negative.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.</p>
+
+<p>“Why so?”</p>
+
+<p>“We cannot see.”</p>
+
+<p>“True.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is not that sufficient evidence?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because we may be underground.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean&mdash;&mdash;?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[100]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river,
+flowing under the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps so.”</p>
+
+<p>The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a
+ripple passed over its surface.</p>
+
+<p>And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.</p>
+
+<p>Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his
+appetite.</p>
+
+<p>“I am hungry.”</p>
+
+<p>“So am I.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let us refresh.”</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in
+waterproof covering, a precaution which should always
+be taken by explorers. One of the packages was unfastened
+from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly good
+repast was partaken by all three.</p>
+
+<p>“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full
+stomach.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you feel, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner
+told his master that he felt bad.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before
+I ate salt with your excellency I wanted to die, but
+now&mdash;I don’t like it at all.”</p>
+
+<p>The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had
+been removed from the thought of death. His appetite<span class="pagenum">[101]</span>
+satisfied, his love of life grew stronger, and the very
+thought of his impending fate was horrible.</p>
+
+<p>“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“What are you going to do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded
+boat is so shaky I am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim
+held one hand.</p>
+
+<p>Max raised the other above his head.</p>
+
+<p>He was trying if he could touch anything which would
+satisfy him that they were really drifting through a
+tunnel.</p>
+
+<p>But he could not reach anything. If he really were in
+a subterranean cave or passage, the roof was too lofty
+for him to reach.</p>
+
+<p>On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.</p>
+
+<p>Its occupants were victims of fate.</p>
+
+<p>They were without paddle or oar, and had positively
+no means of guiding or directing the boat.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“It is hot!”</p>
+
+<p>Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water
+was many degrees warmer than it had been.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you make of it?” Max asked.</p>
+
+<p>“That the air being more confined causes the water to
+be warmer.”</p>
+
+<p>“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The
+water ought to be colder.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is your theory?”</p>
+
+<p>“We are approaching a boiling spring.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[102]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That is a pleasant reflection&mdash;see, can you discern
+anything?”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”</p>
+
+<p>“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered
+as to his choice of titles.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>“Fire!”</p>
+
+<p>“Where?”</p>
+
+<p>“Right ahead!”</p>
+
+<p>All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting,
+and saw unmistakable evidences of a big fire.</p>
+
+<p>“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We are not blind, are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”</p>
+
+<p>The light from the fire was now so great that they
+could see the walls and roof of the immense tunnel they
+were in.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of
+gems; huge stalactites hung from the roof, each one
+like a glittering diamond or dazzling emerald.</p>
+
+<p>The water was a river of precious stones, for every
+gem, every stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected
+in the clear, pellucid stream, giving it the appearance of a
+sheet of glass besprinkled with gems of the greatest value.</p>
+
+<p>“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!”
+Ibrahim exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[103]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“I would make millions out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”</p>
+
+<p>The perspiration poured from them in pints.</p>
+
+<p>They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and,
+as the vapor arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable
+rainbows in the cave.</p>
+
+<p>“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I
+shall jump overboard.”</p>
+
+<p>“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his
+hand into the water and felt that the skin had been
+taken off.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird
+and unearthly, as he found the water was many degrees
+hotter than human flesh could stand.</p>
+
+<p>The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was
+none.</p>
+
+<p>“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”</p>
+
+<p>“By Allah! it is not so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it is.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But he did not know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are we to do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Say our prayers and die.”</p>
+
+<p>“I should like&mdash;you won’t mind, will you, Ib?&mdash;it is a
+custom&mdash;I should like to shake hands with you.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better
+now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes&mdash;and yours, Selim. We are all in the same
+boat.”</p>
+
+<p>They were nearly suffocated.</p>
+
+<p>The air was filled with sulphur.</p>
+
+<p>“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die
+like men.”</p>
+
+<p>The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited
+death.</p>
+
+<p>Each mumbled something&mdash;perhaps their prayers.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.</p>
+
+<p>“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,”
+were the last words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he
+muffled up his face.</p>
+
+<p>Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference
+waited the solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>The boat began to rock violently. Something was
+agitating the water.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.</p>
+
+<p>The Persian was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.</p>
+
+<p>How can it be accounted for?</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would
+be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious
+grip, he prayed that he might not fall overboard, and<span class="pagenum">[105]</span>
+yet he felt certain his life would be ended by fire in a
+few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>It is recorded by one of the great English generals who
+was in India at the time of the mutiny&mdash;1859&mdash;that a
+sepoy on his way to execution, was scared at the thought
+of accidental death.</p>
+
+<p>The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the
+muzzle of a cannon, and blown to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or
+fancied he saw, an English soldier level his gun at him.</p>
+
+<p>He became hysterical.</p>
+
+<p>His shrieks rent the air.</p>
+
+<p>He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.</p>
+
+<p>He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the
+manual of arms, and gasped out nervously that he was
+afraid the gun might go off and he would be killed.</p>
+
+<p>And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his
+executioners to strap him to the cannon which was to
+blow him into eternity.</p>
+
+<p>It was so with Max.</p>
+
+<p>He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which
+the boat was speeding, but he was afraid he might fall
+overboard and be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>Selim sat as rigid as stone.</p>
+
+<p>Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.</p>
+
+<p>As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked
+less violently, there was but a slight rumbling to be heard,<span class="pagenum">[106]</span>
+but in its place a sizzing, as if gas was being forced
+through an open pipe.</p>
+
+<p>“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has
+come. Good-by, world&mdash;good-by.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind
+that the end was not yet.</p>
+
+<p>The water had become calm.</p>
+
+<p>Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of
+the boat, gradually threw off the covering from his head.</p>
+
+<p>A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with
+fear.</p>
+
+<p>Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental
+sky and the bright, twinkling stars.</p>
+
+<p>A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by
+volcanic action, rose above him.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the
+strange-looking liquid could be called by such a name.</p>
+
+<p>Strange looking!</p>
+
+<p>But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.</p>
+
+<p>That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but
+in it floated strange-looking lizards and fishes.</p>
+
+<p>Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[107]</span></p>
+
+<p>Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one
+of the fish as it floated by.</p>
+
+<p>He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.</p>
+
+<p>It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own&mdash;my love! Fit queen of
+my household, where art thou?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted
+Max so loudly that he was startled by the sound of his
+own voice.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he
+would capsize the boat.</p>
+
+<p>He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:</p>
+
+<p>“Wake up!”</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Uncover your head and see.”</p>
+
+<p>When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was
+as charmed as if he had awoke in an enchanted land.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah will save us.”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country
+that ‘God helps only those who try to help themselves.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing
+the American’s quotation.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano.
+We are in the crater&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[108]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Wha-at?”</p>
+
+<p>“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time.
+The boat is stationary, and if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush,
+up there.”</p>
+
+<p>As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.</p>
+
+<p>The slang expressions used by Max had raised him
+much in the estimation of the Persian, for he imagined
+the American was speaking in some language of which
+Ibrahim was ignorant.</p>
+
+<p>“How can we get out?”</p>
+
+<p>“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“No, not if my life depended on it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Could you, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and
+had to be asked several times before he would answer.</p>
+
+<p>He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>“I could.”</p>
+
+<p>“You could climb those walls?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; it is easy.”</p>
+
+<p>“Easy!”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty
+of footholds.”</p>
+
+<p>“Shall you do so?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[109]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the
+whole truth or not.</p>
+
+<p>“Because what?”</p>
+
+<p>“It seems our only chance of safety.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why not seek it?”</p>
+
+<p>“You cannot climb.”</p>
+
+<p>“What of that?”</p>
+
+<p>“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you could save yourself?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not.”</p>
+
+<p>But Max was confident he could do it.</p>
+
+<p>“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find
+some other way out.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save
+himself, but the American was firm.</p>
+
+<p>When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could
+cause him to change.</p>
+
+<p>“If we had only some oars&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“But we have not.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, and yet we must get away from here.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the way our ancestors did before they invented
+oars.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was that?”</p>
+
+<p>“With our hands.”</p>
+
+<p>And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of
+the boat with their hands agitating the water and acting
+as oars.</p>
+
+<p>It was slow&mdash;very slow work&mdash;but the boat moved.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[110]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Get it to the side.”</p>
+
+<p>To do so was a work of considerable time; but when
+they succeeded progression was much more rapid.</p>
+
+<p>The only chance of escape seemed to be in following
+the current; that is, if they were able to find it.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself
+into the crater of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.</p>
+
+<p>There must be some other outlet.</p>
+
+<p>When the other side of the crater had been reached,
+they were surprised at its immensity.</p>
+
+<p>When in the center they had imagined the diameter
+of the almost circular crater to be some fifty or sixty
+feet, but as they pushed their boat round, they discovered
+that it must be more than three times that distance.</p>
+
+<p>Another thing puzzled them.</p>
+
+<p>Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they
+floated or swam into the vortex, or was it only during
+an eruption?</p>
+
+<p>“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”</p>
+
+<p>“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”</p>
+
+<p>A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced
+eating; but he made such a grimace that Ibrahim
+laughed heartily.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed
+Max, who recalled that terrible time in the tomb near
+Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop making faces then.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will make a worse one when you taste&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your lunch.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is strong with sulphur.”</p>
+
+<p>Alas! all their food had become impregnated with
+sulphur fumes and almost turned them sick, but they
+could get no other and hunger is a tyrannic master.</p>
+
+<p>They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max
+telling them how civilized people will travel many miles
+and spend large sums of money in order to drink water
+impregnated with sulphur.</p>
+
+<p>“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked
+Ibrahim, when he had eaten all he possibly could.</p>
+
+<p>They had not thought of that.</p>
+
+<p>It was becoming serious. They might be a long
+time before they could obtain a fresh supply of food.</p>
+
+<p>“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.</p>
+
+<p>The water began to be agitated again and it was
+deemed advisable to get away from the crater.</p>
+
+<p>After a short journey through another tunnel they
+reached daylight.</p>
+
+<p>The river ran sluggishly along between two high
+cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”</p>
+
+<p>“I think so, too, Max.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have
+always been interested in African deserts.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found<span class="pagenum">[112]</span>
+in Sahara&mdash;white people whose knowledge is greater
+than ours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fact?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians
+knew many engineering secrets which are lost to us;
+they certainly had power of divination and many other
+things which puzzle the brains of our best men to-day.
+Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and
+founded a new country where they would be free from
+the incursions of other nations?”</p>
+
+<p>“But they died thousands of years ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants
+may be living.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make
+us start off in search at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or
+Girzilla again?”</p>
+
+<p>It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the
+same boat, and he had but little hope of escape.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so. Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash; Hello! we are in the dark again.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>As the crater was left behind, the water became more
+turbid, and flowed faster, carrying along with it the
+boat and its three adventurous occupants.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[113]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Max!”</p>
+
+<p>The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ibrahim.”</p>
+
+<p>“Isn’t this horrible?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know enough of the fearful&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And yet&mdash;perhaps what we don’t know is far more
+horrible.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ha! ha! ha!”</p>
+
+<p>The laugh was from Selim.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are you talking about, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>“This&mdash;look at it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut
+the very atmosphere?”</p>
+
+<p>“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid it is so.”</p>
+
+<p>No wonder! The strain was something frightful.</p>
+
+<p>It would require nerves of steel to withstand such
+a terrible tension.</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! what’s that?”</p>
+
+<p>Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into
+the boat and onto Max’s back.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim
+could do was to knock it off; but he almost fainted
+as he touched it.</p>
+
+<p>On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked
+to take it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[114]</span></p>
+
+<p>There was no means of guiding or steering it.</p>
+
+<p>They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance
+of saving themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers
+rejoiced.</p>
+
+<p>But their pleasure was but for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>The darkness was preferable.</p>
+
+<p>It hid from them the horrors of the river they had
+to traverse.</p>
+
+<p>Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls
+which confined the river to its bed.</p>
+
+<p>Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike
+the occupants of the boat as they passed by.</p>
+
+<p>Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen
+before, struggled on every little ledge of rock or piece
+of sandy ground.</p>
+
+<p>One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly
+devouring pieces of Selim’s leg.</p>
+
+<p>The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be
+a question of minutes before his soul would leave the
+mortal tenement.</p>
+
+<p>As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic
+with fear.</p>
+
+<p>“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three
+now, and a few moments more there will be but two.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.</p>
+
+<p>His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost
+a miracle he lived.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly his mood changed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood
+at terrific speed.</p>
+
+<p>The color of his face was almost purple, and as he
+tried to stand up in the little boat his head fell back, and
+Max only saved him by a hair’s breadth.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now alone.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his
+delirium, dangerous to himself and his companion.</p>
+
+<p>Selim was dead.</p>
+
+<p>It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard,
+but that was the only course which could be adopted.</p>
+
+<p>Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s
+back, he exerted all his strength and pushed the man
+overboard.</p>
+
+<p>It was horrible.</p>
+
+<p>Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that
+he dare not take his eyes away.</p>
+
+<p>Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost
+instantly crabs and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water
+newts, were covering the remains of the poor Arab and
+rapidly devouring all that was left of him.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was raving.</p>
+
+<p>He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes,
+wanting to tear him to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it
+was only a question of a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered
+whether they would ever again stand on land.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must
+have been imagination.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the very moment when the delicate cords of his
+brain seemed ready to snap asunder, a thought saved him.</p>
+
+<p>He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.</p>
+
+<p>That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground
+channels had been made by the sheer force of
+the water, and its petrifying action&mdash;that perhaps at some
+time the sand had drifted to the water and become by
+its action solid rock.</p>
+
+<p>If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe
+the open cuttings were through oases.</p>
+
+<p>How long had they been on the river?</p>
+
+<p>They had no means of keeping record of the time,
+but their food was nearly gone.</p>
+
+<p>Had he slept?</p>
+
+<p>He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet
+nature could not have endured the strain so long without
+sleep.</p>
+
+<p>These thoughts saved him from the delirium which
+afflicted his friend.</p>
+
+<p>He felt easier and more contented.</p>
+
+<p>A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled
+himself as comfortably as he could in the bottom of the
+boat and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe&mdash;darker
+in color than the Egyptians and yet less black
+than the Africans of the Soudan or Congo State&mdash;dwelt
+in comparative peace.</p>
+
+<p>This tribe is peculiar.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[117]</span></p>
+
+<p>Its members eat no animal food, neither do they
+hanker after fire water or tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they
+are compelled to resist by force of brute strength the
+onslaughts and invasions of their neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the
+domicile of each family is surrounded with a hedge of
+the almost impenetrable euphorbia, and the interior of the
+inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a cement of
+ashes, cow dung and sand.</p>
+
+<p>On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts
+surrounded by granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched
+and resting upon raised platforms.</p>
+
+<p>The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a
+shade, and the entrance is usually about two feet high.</p>
+
+<p>The men are well grown and rather refined.</p>
+
+<p>Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of
+leather&mdash;either a piece of cowhide or goatskin.</p>
+
+<p>Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their
+rank.</p>
+
+<p>The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his
+assistants or deputies have less in number, while the
+ordinary members of the tribe have only two lines.</p>
+
+<p>The women are not handsome. Their heads are
+shaved, and around their bald pates they wear a band
+of beads or shells.</p>
+
+<p>Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all
+their time to the cultivation of maize and other kinds of
+vegetable food.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[118]</span></p>
+
+<p>They make excellent butter and drink great quantities
+of milk.</p>
+
+<p>At the time we make their acquaintance they are
+greatly disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>The chief has called together all the tribe, and a
+strange-looking gathering it is.</p>
+
+<p>The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women
+taking positions outside.</p>
+
+<p>The chief called for silence, and instantly every man
+shouted: “<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi!</i>” which being interpreted
+means: “We obey, we obey.”</p>
+
+<p>The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable
+tattoo marks, adopted the catechetical method of addressing
+his people.</p>
+
+<p>“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a
+deputy chief answered:</p>
+
+<p>“From the innermost parts of the earth.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where
+the gods make the springs of water to flow?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; man could not live.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all
+who approach.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then what shall be done with those who have come
+from the fire?”</p>
+
+<p>“They shall be exalted.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi</i>!” shouted all the members of the
+tribe.</p>
+
+<p>The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we
+have recorded occupied considerable time, for the language<span class="pagenum">[119]</span>
+of this tribe of Gondos was very diffuse, abounding
+in metaphor, and making the repeating of whole
+sentences necessary where emphasis was required.</p>
+
+<p>The chief stepped down from the platform in front of
+his house, and calling on ten of his deputies headed the
+procession across the great square, round which the
+houses were placed.</p>
+
+<p>While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was
+observed.</p>
+
+<p>Not one spoke a word.</p>
+
+<p>Even the women were silent.</p>
+
+<p>Soon a great noise was heard.</p>
+
+<p>Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being
+played. The drums were original in their make.</p>
+
+<p>A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the
+top a sheepskin had been tightly stretched.</p>
+
+<p>Into the square the procession moved.</p>
+
+<p>First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed
+cymbals.</p>
+
+<p>Following them were five older girls, keeping time
+by striking shells together. Then came the drummers,
+boys whose strength seemed almost too frail for the
+big, heavy drums they carried.</p>
+
+<p>After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting
+noise by beating an old tin pan&mdash;which had
+been found in a deserted camp, and which the Gondos
+verily believed must have been the white man’s musical
+instrument.</p>
+
+<p>What meant all this pageantry and display?</p>
+
+<p>The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head<span class="pagenum">[120]</span>
+bowed down, led the way to where the people were
+standing. Immediately behind him were the ten deputies,
+carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder
+high.</p>
+
+<p>With measured tread these natives walked under their
+heavy burden.</p>
+
+<p>When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been
+reached, the chief ordered the men to set down their
+load.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man
+there assembled.</p>
+
+<p>The women pressed forward, and really screamed with
+delight.</p>
+
+<p>“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these
+poor, benighted savages really believed it.</p>
+
+<p>The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout
+two young men were sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.</p>
+
+<p>They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by
+the Gondos, and now the objects of their adoration.</p>
+
+<p>The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women,
+caused Max to awake.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet and looked round.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed,
+while the people fell on their faces and wriggled about
+on the ground.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[121]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE RAINMAKER.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>It was some time before Madcap Max could realize
+just where he was, and the significance of the demonstration
+of which he was the recipient.</p>
+
+<p>But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed
+it up, and with the natural smartness of his Yankee
+ancestry, saw the advantages of his position.</p>
+
+<p>He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.</p>
+
+<p>The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.</p>
+
+<p>They were more than ever convinced that he was a
+messenger from the mysterious powers which they, in
+their ignorance, worshiped.</p>
+
+<p>The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that
+of the ancient Scandinavians.</p>
+
+<p>They believed that the thunder was the angry voice
+of the storm god, that a deity presided over everything
+in nature, and that the entrance to the home of the most
+powerful of these deities was through the mysterious
+volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten
+lava and made the waters of the rivers so hot that
+no one could bathe in them and live.</p>
+
+<p>Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought
+Max and Ibrahim were sent by the presiding deity.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim continued to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left
+him when he awoke, Max made sure all would be well.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[122]</span></p>
+
+<p>He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be
+alone, and the boat was again raised on the shoulders of
+the deputy chiefs and carried to a large house which
+the chief had set apart for his honored guests.</p>
+
+<p>Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither
+did he, at that time, care.</p>
+
+<p>He was too hungry to be fastidious.</p>
+
+<p>He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim,
+and motioned the natives to leave the place.</p>
+
+<p>All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited
+his awakening.</p>
+
+<p>His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night
+Ibrahim awoke and raised his head.</p>
+
+<p>“Are we alive?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.</p>
+
+<p>“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the
+prophet, I have been beyond the grave.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his
+companion spoke, but Max persisted.</p>
+
+<p>“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as
+I tell you, we will coin the dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is like you Americans&mdash;always thinking of dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about
+them? I hate the very name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim,
+fretfully.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[123]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued
+talking, for he realized that there was no better
+way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant faculties than by a good
+discussion.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t,” he said&mdash;“neither do you. You will go on
+making shawls in Persia, no matter how many dollars
+you get. You want to travel&mdash;you must have the money
+or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never imagine
+that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s
+think tank being agitated?”</p>
+
+<p>“Think tank! What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it&mdash;thought
+factory, if you like it better. But, say! you were dead,
+and you have come to life again. I have brought you
+from the grave.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are insane.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a
+house belonging to the Gondos&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?”</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you sure?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you spoken to them?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not much.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can you understand what they say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Only a little.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[124]</span></p>
+
+<p>“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?”
+asked Max, with a broad brogue.</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos were originally Persians&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Your relatives?”</p>
+
+<p>“And were fire worshipers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is that so?”</p>
+
+<p>“And I have learned their language.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you, really?”</p>
+
+<p>“I thought they were extinct.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries
+on a bramble bush, and as lively as June bugs.”</p>
+
+<p>By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making
+Ibrahim vexed, and that was the very best thing for his
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became
+calm, and then Max told him how they had been rescued.</p>
+
+<p>“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we
+must be, or they must think so, and we shall be safe.
+Once let them get any other idea into their ugly heads,
+and we shall be made into soup.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking
+Max to mean what he said in a literal sense.</p>
+
+<p>“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can we?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”</p>
+
+<p>“If we fail?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[125]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see
+Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it
+rain. You know the language, you said?”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”</p>
+
+<p>“What can you do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would
+do anything to get it. I want you to hurry, or my power
+will be lost.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical
+joking, and that was just what he imagined the
+madcap was after.</p>
+
+<p>But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from
+the strange-looking house to the one occupied by the
+chief.</p>
+
+<p>The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground
+when he saw Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo
+language, the old fellow was so delighted that he danced
+about and shouted like a good fellow.</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the
+crops are spoiling. Tell them I will cause the rain
+to come.”</p>
+
+<p>Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the
+Gondo language.</p>
+
+<p>The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and
+the drums to be beaten.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[126]</span></p>
+
+<p>All the people gathered together, and Max raised his
+hands above his head as if in the act of supplicating.</p>
+
+<p>Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the
+people were delighted.</p>
+
+<p>The drops became larger and more numerous, until a
+good, healthy shower descended, and the Gondos were
+frantic with joy.</p>
+
+<p>Even Ibrahim was excited.</p>
+
+<p>“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max
+had pleaded for permission to return to their house.</p>
+
+<p>“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus
+on my part.”</p>
+
+<p>“But the rain&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a
+shower, and I meant to get the credit of it; that is all
+there is to it.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was a weather prophet.</p>
+
+<p>He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a
+so-called expert, and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud
+was gathering.</p>
+
+<p>The one happy chance of his life had come.</p>
+
+<p>It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and
+nothing was too good for Ibrahim and Max.</p>
+
+<p>But even among those primitive people there were
+skeptics, and a long discussion took place as to the
+powers possessed by Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the
+madcap, his face white as death.</p>
+
+<p>“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to
+jump down. If you fail your character is gone.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[127]</span></p>
+
+<p>“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm
+leaves, and I’ll not be afraid.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the
+following morning Max and the Persian were conducted
+by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max laughed heartily.</p>
+
+<p>But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand
+chances against him, and naturally felt nervous.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to
+jump off there would be no test. Anyone could do it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of
+yonder palm and leap from it.”</p>
+
+<p>The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily
+climbed, but the height was such that to jump from
+the top meant death.</p>
+
+<p>The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young
+madcap began his perilous ascent.</p>
+
+<p>When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the
+monster leaves, and rested a moment.</p>
+
+<p>From under his coat he took two palm leaves which
+he had succeeded in joining together.</p>
+
+<p>Opening them above his head, he held his breath and
+jumped.</p>
+
+<p>As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves
+like a parachute and Max came to the ground so gently
+that the most pronounced skeptic was enthused, and
+ready to do anything for the young hero.</p>
+
+<p>“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and
+thy people must help. In the desert there is an oasis,
+and on the oasis is a great man, one Sherif el Habib,<span class="pagenum">[128]</span>
+who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish to find
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as
+he could, and the chief recognized it as being a place
+some adventurous member of his tribe had told him
+about.</p>
+
+<p>After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed,
+and with girls playing cymbals and others beating drums,
+Max and Ibrahim started on their journey across the
+desert to find their friends.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For some hours the caravan passed through a country
+which was parklike, but parched by the dry weather.</p>
+
+<p>The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed
+with villages, all of which were surrounded with a strong
+fence of euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals
+and drums, and the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos,
+were so impressed with the importance of their mission
+that every hundred yards or so they would stop, congratulate
+each other, and make some wonderful salaams
+before they continued the journey.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile
+to the Gondos was encountered.</p>
+
+<p>Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well
+armed with lances, having flint heads, bows and arrows,<span class="pagenum">[129]</span>
+and a peculiar weapon shaped almost like a sledge hammer&mdash;one
+side of the flint head being sharpened to a
+fine point, while the other was a hammer.</p>
+
+<p>One of their number stepped forward, and addressing
+Ibrahim asked:</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you want ivory?”</p>
+
+<p>“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where do you come from?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim answered proudly:</p>
+
+<p>“From Persia.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“A Turk.”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>The chief pointed to Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is he?”</p>
+
+<p>“An American.”</p>
+
+<p>The native had never heard of such people, and he
+began to think Ibrahim was making a fool of him.</p>
+
+<p>The natives laughed and raised their weapons.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were
+going to be killed if they dared to touch Max; that he
+could cause the storm to come and the wind to blow, and
+advised them to ask the Gondos.</p>
+
+<p>Among the few things saved from the boat in which
+they had made their perilous journey was a bottle of
+araki&mdash;a native spirit almost equal in power to proof
+alcohol.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[130]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled
+with a little of the araki, and that his friendship should
+be purchased that way.</p>
+
+<p>The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max
+had any chance of opening it, for the hostile chief took
+the bottle from them, broke off the neck, and drank
+the contents as easily as he could have swallowed water.</p>
+
+<p>“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment
+a violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon
+them with terrific fury.</p>
+
+<p>The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives,
+remembering what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the
+storm to Max, and fled as though ten thousand soldiers
+were pursuing them.</p>
+
+<p>The American’s reputation was now well assured, and
+the musicians beat the cymbals louder than ever, while
+the men shouted themselves hoarse.</p>
+
+<p>Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but
+he saw no way out of it.</p>
+
+<p>One thing troubled both explorers&mdash;they were either
+going in the wrong direction, or the distance was greater
+than they had imagined.</p>
+
+<p>They, however, had to submit.</p>
+
+<p>They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes
+were in dilemmas from which it was difficult to extricate
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>One morning the deputy chief who was in command
+of the Gondos threw himself on his stomach in front
+of Max and wriggled like a snake to attract attention.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[131]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.</p>
+
+<p>“What hath he said?”</p>
+
+<p>“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could
+not be destroyed”&mdash;meaning Max&mdash;“must take all the
+cymbal girls as his wives, and his great friend, whose
+tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the drummer
+girls as his wives.”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.</p>
+
+<p>Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he
+got rid of the Gondo.</p>
+
+<p>“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when
+alone with his friend.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”</p>
+
+<p>“About thirty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mine?”</p>
+
+<p>“You have to marry them.”</p>
+
+<p>“The&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the
+name by which the prince of the power of the air is
+familiarly known, but he bit his lips and did not utter
+his thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”</p>
+
+<p>“What a lark!”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished
+to give them a lecture, they would seize their drums and<span class="pagenum">[132]</span>
+beat such a tattoo that you would acknowledge yourself
+vanquished.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost
+feared for his reason.</p>
+
+<p>Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.</p>
+
+<p>“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of
+tinkling cymbals?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Wha-at?”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not, because I dare not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires
+to honor him. He does so by giving him one or
+more wives&mdash;the more wives the greater honor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed!”</p>
+
+<p>“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the
+chief.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“And that can never be forgiven.”</p>
+
+<p>“What do I care about that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps nothing; only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your
+long pauses,” exclaimed Max, almost angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only
+roast the one who insults the chief.”</p>
+
+<p>“Really?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I<span class="pagenum">[133]</span>
+don’t want to be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I
+will have to accept the drummers, only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him,
+but remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”</p>
+
+<p>“We will get out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”</p>
+
+<p>Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated
+itself in the madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy
+chief, came forward, and this time standing erect, said:</p>
+
+<p>“We will all drink araki now.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the
+African tribes to realize that the espousal of the girls
+was to take place at once, and that the drinking of the
+powerful araki was the outward symbol of the marriage.</p>
+
+<p>“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”</p>
+
+<p>“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall
+drink first.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”</p>
+
+<p>“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit,
+there’s a good chap. Do just as I tell you, and all will
+be well.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max
+was ready to open the araki bottles, and all should drink.</p>
+
+<p>“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,”<span class="pagenum">[134]</span>
+answered M’Kamba, proving clearly that all had been
+arranged beforehand.</p>
+
+<p>The bottles&mdash;made of the bladders of cows, dried&mdash;were
+produced, and Max very quietly, in the presence
+of all, poured some white liquid in each of the bottles.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim,
+but don’t touch a drop yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it poison, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>“On my honor, no.”</p>
+
+<p>The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their
+lives.</p>
+
+<p>They were about to become brides, and they felt their
+importance.</p>
+
+<p>While they were single they were slaves; when they
+were married they would become free.</p>
+
+<p>It was a proud time for them, and they took deep
+draughts of the powerful spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld
+the credit of his stomach by drinking pretty heavily.</p>
+
+<p>But the spirit was too strong.</p>
+
+<p>One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell
+asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Then the men followed.</p>
+
+<p>In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim
+were awake.</p>
+
+<p>“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t
+wake for an hour.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you give them?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sleeping potion&mdash;pretty stiff dose, too.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What is that?”</p>
+
+<p>“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to
+sleep long.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you have some?”</p>
+
+<p>“I had. They have it now”&mdash;pointing to the sleeping
+Gondos. “I took it from the great Sherif el Habib’s
+medicine case.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences
+of the madcap’s theft, or as he would put it, enforced
+borrowing.</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should
+“git up and get.”</p>
+
+<p>This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>He began to believe that Max was really mad.</p>
+
+<p>The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering
+together food, and some other stores, enough to
+last several days, the two young men left their escorts
+fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched
+out for them, they turned to the right, determined to
+follow as far as possible the course of the river until
+the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their luck in
+finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[136]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MOHAMMED.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo
+escorts, and the young explorers soon found themselves
+on the terrible African desert.</p>
+
+<p>They were not pursued&mdash;at least, as far as they knew&mdash;and
+they were delighted at regaining their freedom.</p>
+
+<p>After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes
+were blistered, their nostrils swollen, and their ears
+deafened with the never-ending atoms, which drifted
+everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his companion
+to a cloud of sand in the distance.</p>
+
+<p>“What of it?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Camels.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be
+safe.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”</p>
+
+<p>“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because the caravan is coming this way.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bravo! So it is. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited
+until they could distinguish the outlines of the approaching
+caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Then they rose up and went to meet them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[137]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker
+than a Spaniard. He was dressed in Egyptian costume,
+and sat perfectly contented on his camel.</p>
+
+<p>A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern
+rifle was slung over the rider’s shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet,
+which acted as a kind of saddle cloth, and on which had
+been worked the symbolic sign of the crescent suspended
+over the cross.</p>
+
+<p>The combination was so strange that Max was inclined
+to believe the rider was some monomaniac, or, in
+modern parlance, a crank.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic,
+asked who he was, and whither he was going.</p>
+
+<p>The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes
+before answering, giving Max an opportunity to look
+at the people who composed the caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that
+they had not the sacred carpet with the double symbols,
+rode as many camels.</p>
+
+<p>With them were at least twenty women, their faces
+covered so that the eye of man could not invade the
+sanctity of the countenance, which Oriental law and custom
+declared to be sacred to the husband alone.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination
+of Ibrahim’s features was completed.</p>
+
+<p>“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”</p>
+
+<p>“And whither wilt thou go?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey
+to the south.”</p>
+
+<p>It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims
+were going, until the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entente cordiale</i> was fully
+established.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the
+Musselmen and beat his brow on the sand.</p>
+
+<p>The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the
+sacred carpet on the sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s
+side.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that the two followers of the prophet
+realized that they were friends and brothers in religion.</p>
+
+<p>“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule
+even all the countries of the world. I have said it. Just
+Allah!”</p>
+
+<p>“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You
+would be brothers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Of Khorassan?”</p>
+
+<p>“The same. Dost thou know him?”</p>
+
+<p>“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly
+into mine, Sherif el Habib was as a brother.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his
+hands, and all his followers prostrated themselves on
+the sand, bowing their heads toward the direction of the
+sacred shrine at Mecca.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[139]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful,
+will seek the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise
+the crescent above the cross and make the kingdom of
+the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the world.”</p>
+
+<p>The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great
+mental exaltation, and like Sherif el Habib, believed that
+the promised savior or leader of the Moslems had come,
+and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the Christian
+nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>Max was enchanted.</p>
+
+<p>He liked enthusiasts.</p>
+
+<p>He worshiped heroes.</p>
+
+<p>But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism
+that men never gave him credit for any idea
+beyond the making of dollars.</p>
+
+<p>“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture
+through the States. There will be millions in it.”</p>
+
+<p>How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he
+understood what Max said!</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an
+insult to his religion.</p>
+
+<p>But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:</p>
+
+<p>“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for
+the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p>“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,”
+said Mohammed, solemnly, “he gave to many provinces
+a bey of Mameluke blood. He did it to save his life. I,
+who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor Mohammed,
+the fearless, who was one of the beys.”</p>
+
+<p>“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes
+and joined the Turks.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”</p>
+
+<p>“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the
+moon by night.”</p>
+
+<p>“I would that I could find them.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is one who could guide thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! she is lost.”</p>
+
+<p>“She? Is it a woman?”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.</p>
+
+<p>Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent
+ague.</p>
+
+<p>The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like
+great drops of rain upon the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have
+I offended you? Oh, forgive me if I have.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will tell thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the
+caravan, and led them a hundred yards across the sand.</p>
+
+<p>He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade
+them do likewise.</p>
+
+<p>When all three were seated he took a small box of
+salt from his girdle and gave each a pinch.</p>
+
+<p>Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral,
+he knew that the partaking of it was a bond of
+brotherhood with the Arab.</p>
+
+<p>“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed,
+“but I will tell thee only the outlines, and some day, when
+beneath the palms or under the tent, thine ears shall listen<span class="pagenum">[141]</span>
+to the whole story. I loved&mdash;all young men do&mdash;but I
+loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet ever
+allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a
+daughter. On her I lavished all the love of a father.
+Being a girl without soul”&mdash;many of the Mohammedans
+teach that only man possesses an eternal soul&mdash;“I desired
+she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient Mamelukes.
+She was a diligent student, and when she reached
+the age of twelve years she had learned all the symbols
+and signs of the great brotherhood, and knew how to find
+any of the true Mamelukes who might still live. But
+then&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like
+rain from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>His agitation was painful to witness, and many times
+Max wished he had curbed his curiosity and so have
+saved the aged Arab.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was excited.</p>
+
+<p>He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and
+mysterious power.</p>
+
+<p>And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the
+whole of the story, and could hardly wait for the Arab’s
+emotion to cease.</p>
+
+<p>“Then my daughter, the pride of my life&mdash;by whom I
+hoped to appease the wrath of my ancient ancestors for
+deserting the Mamelukes&mdash;was stolen.”</p>
+
+<p>“Stolen!”</p>
+
+<p>“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks
+my wife must have gone mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“And does your wife live?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[142]</span></p>
+
+<p>“She is in yonder caravan.”</p>
+
+<p>“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man
+lord, and I would rather she be dead than never to see
+again her father.”</p>
+
+<p>The old man ceased.</p>
+
+<p>His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.</p>
+
+<p>The young explorers left him and went back to the
+caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling
+harem, had wandered to the place where the women
+were seated on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any
+intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over
+their faces, but it was too late.</p>
+
+<p>Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.</p>
+
+<p>His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim touched his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Madcap?”</p>
+
+<p>“She is there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?”</p>
+
+<p>“I saw her. How did she get there?”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom did you see?”</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are dreaming.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not.”</p>
+
+<p>“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”</p>
+
+<p>“I know not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come away, before&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[143]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Look! she uncovers.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless
+of all consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who
+had so indiscreetly uncovered her face.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he
+exclaimed, passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted
+by Mohammed, who indignantly marched up to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“And what if it is? She has been my wife these
+eighteen years,” answered Mohammed, proudly.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.</p>
+
+<p>“Who speaketh of Girzilla&mdash;my lost child&mdash;my beauteous
+Girzilla?”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.</p>
+
+<p>“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril
+quivering like that of a horse who scents the battle.</p>
+
+<p>“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth,
+and there she stands.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for
+eighteen years. Thrice has she been with me to the
+prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath she set foot
+on the deserts of Egypt until now.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,”
+said Ibrahim, scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is
+true?”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this
+pasha spoke of Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment
+later, the wife asked that none but Ibrahim and
+Mohammed should hear what she had to say.</p>
+
+<p>Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental
+nature, the Arab chief granted her request, and with
+Ibrahim entered his tent, followed by the wife unattended.</p>
+
+<p>“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet!
+Great is Allah!” she commenced. “Wilt thou allow me
+to unveil, so that this pasha see that I am not the Girzilla
+he seeketh?”</p>
+
+<p>“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back,
+completely bewildered at the entrancing beauty of the
+lady.</p>
+
+<p>He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his
+throat was husky, and he could not speak.</p>
+
+<p>It was not until the veil had been replaced that he
+found himself able to articulate.</p>
+
+<p>“It is Girzilla, and yet&mdash;no, my Girzilla differs&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>He was confused.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she
+counted? Is she thy wife?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, would to Allah she were!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[145]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who is she, then?”</p>
+
+<p>“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He
+it was who brought Girzilla to me.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably
+piqued.</p>
+
+<p>“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the
+Arab wondered, and was about to refuse when his wife
+pleaded in her musical Arabian:</p>
+
+<p>“Do, please, let me see this American.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be it as thou wish.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished
+American.</p>
+
+<p>After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>“I know not what her name may be,” commenced
+Max, “but when I asked her by what she should be
+known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”</p>
+
+<p>“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her
+mother&mdash;of her father?”</p>
+
+<p>“She told me her father had Mameluke blood&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion
+of the sentence.</p>
+
+<p>“It must be our own child,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked
+Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her
+to my room, and bade her remember that whenever she
+found one she could trust as a brother&mdash;one she could
+love with all the strength of her nature&mdash;she should bid<span class="pagenum">[146]</span>
+him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of
+my own land, ‘the true one.’”</p>
+
+<p>“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for
+she said, ‘Never mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’
+I called her Gazelle, but she stopped me and said, ‘No,
+no; Girzilla.’”</p>
+
+<p>Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the
+way in which he had been rescued by Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind
+that the guide who had been looked upon as the ally
+of brigands, and one not really to be trusted, was in
+reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth of
+Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is she?” asked the Arab.</p>
+
+<p>“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide
+us.”</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed
+Max, when he left the tent in company with Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if
+thou meanest we are lucky, then I agree.”</p>
+
+<p>“I meant that it was strange&mdash;very strange; some great
+mystery is here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s
+mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“Always thinking of her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my
+only hope and desire.”</p>
+
+<p>“And wouldst thou marry her?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[147]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall
+be mine; but if she be really the daughter of the great
+chief, Mohammed, then if he consents she shall be mine
+also.”</p>
+
+<p>“Infatuated youth!”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and
+for an hour he talked with Max and Ibrahim about the
+river and the volcano.</p>
+
+<p>He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el
+Habib had encamped was to the southwest; whereas Max
+had been going almost due east.</p>
+
+<p>“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if
+thou dost but find my Girzilla I care not which way thou
+goest.”</p>
+
+<p>At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met
+with nothing more terrible than the awful expanse of
+sand until they encamped.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages&mdash;living
+like birds of prey upon others&mdash;pounced down upon the
+cavalcade and sought to capture the women and the
+camels.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all
+disciplined.</p>
+
+<p>Hence the savages could do but little.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three
+of the savages were killed.</p>
+
+<p>A native had been captured and held as prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him
+go,” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the
+man wore.</p>
+
+<p>It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small
+to encircle his waist.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or
+would not, understand.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.</p>
+
+<p>“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking
+what he would get if he told all he knew.</p>
+
+<p>He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s
+mouth was opened and his tongue loosened.</p>
+
+<p>He said that his people had met some white men and
+a girl, and that all had been killed. The belt belonged
+to the girl, and she was nice.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become
+of the dead bodies.</p>
+
+<p>The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his
+abdomen, indicating that the murdered Girzilla and her
+friends had been eaten.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.</p>
+
+<p>The man was to have his freedom.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never
+expected.</p>
+
+<p>In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with
+one blow, severed the savage’s head from his body.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[149]</span></p>
+
+<p>The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened
+at the sight.</p>
+
+<p>Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for
+had it not encircled the waist of the one he loved?</p>
+
+<p>When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but
+with the fatalists’ philosophy, he only said:</p>
+
+<p>“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”</p>
+
+<p>Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side
+and told them that he did not believe the man’s story.
+He thought he should please them by telling it, and how
+was he to know that there were people who would be
+horrified at the idea of murder?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was
+fully convinced that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted
+into juicy steaks or luscious pot roasts, and had
+served to provide a feast to the tribe of cannibals at
+whose hands they had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high
+spirits of Max, who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his
+misery, the young Persian might never have lived to inherit
+his uncle’s great property.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s
+fate at rest, and so continued the journey.</p>
+
+<p>It was near the end of the third day that Max went
+forward to Mohammed and told him that a smoke was
+rising in the distance, and that it appeared like an encampment.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty
+Arabs to ride forward and reconnoiter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[150]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained,
+that Mohammed gave them up for lost.</p>
+
+<p>When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers
+were safe, there was joy in the camp of the Arab
+chief.</p>
+
+<p>The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to
+the most worthy pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed,
+and the other to the worthy Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained
+the welcome news that Sherif and all the party
+were well.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the
+morning, and after making Mohammed promise to start
+at sunrise they journeyed forth to meet their friends.</p>
+
+<p>Who can describe the meeting between uncle and
+nephew? and what pen can convey the faintest idea of
+the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla and Ibrahim?</p>
+
+<p>When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no
+one thought of returning to rest.</p>
+
+<p>True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were
+eager to learn of the adventures of the young explorers.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s
+belt had got into the possession of the cannibal,
+and she admitted that some time before she had lost it
+while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed
+Uncle Sherif believed that the grave held thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if it had?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[151]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside
+thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence
+in the glance from her dark eyes which told him
+all he wished to know.</p>
+
+<p>When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan
+arrived, there was a great commotion.</p>
+
+<p>Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage,
+and Mohammed was shocked to see his daughter going
+about unveiled.</p>
+
+<p>He recognized her instantly.</p>
+
+<p>The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt
+was an impossibility.</p>
+
+<p>Who can picture the happy scene when the mother
+once more folded her arms around the form of the
+daughter, only child of her heart and home?</p>
+
+<p>Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited,
+was once more complete.</p>
+
+<p>“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her
+as a daughter, and she will not leave me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha
+taken her to wife?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”</p>
+
+<p>“She shall accept.”</p>
+
+<p>“If she desires.”</p>
+
+<p>“She must.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no! let the young folks decide.”</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that those young folks were near<span class="pagenum">[152]</span>
+enough to overhear the conversation, and Ibrahim
+stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.</p>
+
+<p>“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”</p>
+
+<p>“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great
+bounties on you!” exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.</p>
+
+<p>And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred
+carpet, and in that humble position, appealed to Allah
+and his prophet to bless the couple.</p>
+
+<p>After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to
+take to reach the promised Mahdi, the caravan started.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of
+Khartoum, or in the district known as the Soudan, the
+Mahdi would be found.</p>
+
+<p>So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound
+friend that he agreed to follow him.</p>
+
+<p>Both were religious enthusiasts.</p>
+
+<p>Each believed that he should die happily only after
+seeing the promised one.</p>
+
+<p>For several days no event of importance occurred.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the
+commencement of our story, there had lived, in the strictest
+seclusion, a man whose name was suddenly to burst
+upon the world like the unexpected flash of a meteor
+across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[153]</span></p>
+
+<p>This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of
+religion.</p>
+
+<p>He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about
+his place, he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve
+hours out of the twenty-four in prayer.</p>
+
+<p>He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining
+eight were devoted to study and the obtaining of the
+necessaries of life.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred
+teacher who would ere long receive a mission from the
+prophet.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He
+removed to Bakara and commenced his hermit life about
+1870.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and
+intone the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i> of the Mueddins, which translated would
+read:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god
+but Allah. Come to prayer. I testify that Mahomet
+is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer, come to security!
+Prayer is better than sleep.”</p>
+
+<p>As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would
+he intone this <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>, and at midnight, after sleeping two
+hours, he would rise from his bed, open the door, and
+in a strong, musical voice would chant the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">ula</i>.</p>
+
+<p>“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion&mdash;to
+him belongeth the dominion&mdash;to him belongeth
+praise. He giveth life and causeth death. He is living
+and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is almighty.
+Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[154]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious
+hermit could be, but years passed, and never could they
+get an opportunity to speak with him.</p>
+
+<p>At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an
+ethereal radiance, his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.</p>
+
+<p>The hermit spoke&mdash;the first time to a human being
+for many years.</p>
+
+<p>“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth
+Imaum?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p>Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message
+to each governor and chief of a tribe, the burden
+of which was:</p>
+
+<p>“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the
+people. I, the Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish
+the oppressors of the poor. Prepare for my coming.”</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the
+Soudan, received the message.</p>
+
+<p>He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian,
+and showed him the message.</p>
+
+<p>“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“But would he not come from Mecca?”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i> His ways are not our ways,” answered
+Abu Saud.</p>
+
+<p>“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and
+find out whether this is indeed the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission
+than Rauf Pasha said to himself:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[155]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers
+shall go and bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum,
+and I will make him obey me.”</p>
+
+<p>Abu Saud held many theological discussions with
+Mohammed Ahmed, and embarked on the state steamer
+fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed come.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward
+journey than a company of soldiers arrived and demanded
+that the Mahdi should go with them to Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet went to the door and intoned the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with
+faces turned toward Mecca, they joined in the prayer
+offered by the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to
+the soldiers:</p>
+
+<p>“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he
+who must obey me.”</p>
+
+<p>The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:</p>
+
+<p>“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that
+we shall do.”</p>
+
+<p>The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun
+shone on the crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner
+of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight
+not against your <em>Imaum</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.</p>
+
+<p>“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the
+Mahdi will never surrender!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[156]</span></p>
+
+<p>That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers
+of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been
+annihilated, and all their arms and ammunition fell into
+the hands of the Arabs, together with the steamer which
+had brought them down the Nile from Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi
+had been victorious.</p>
+
+<p>The followers of Mohammed went on board the
+steamer, and sailed down the Nile in the direction of
+Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked
+to the standard of the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed
+was welcomed as the long-promised leader who was
+to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the
+Soudan and Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross,
+and the whole world should be subjugated to the faith
+of Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still
+more remarkable enthusiasm, which caused the plains
+of the Soudan to be dyed crimson with the blood of
+Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the
+people, and he sent to the governor of Fashoda stringent
+orders to crush the Mahdi and his followers.</p>
+
+<p>The orders were welcome, for the governor loved
+fighting, and his people were fond of plunder.</p>
+
+<p>He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in
+readiness for the march early on the following morning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p>
+
+<p>The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about
+half of them unarmed, however, set out for the Arab
+village of Senari.</p>
+
+<p>When the village was reached the governor himself
+raised the banner of Egypt, and shouted:</p>
+
+<p>“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”</p>
+
+<p>Senari was fired on.</p>
+
+<p>The people were panic-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to
+protect them.</p>
+
+<p>Women and children were shot down without mercy.</p>
+
+<p>The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent,
+was not more crimson than the streets of the Arab
+village.</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers pillaged every house.</p>
+
+<p>Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the
+heavy swords of the soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated
+in the most horrible manner, but were powerless
+to resist.</p>
+
+<p>They were unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to
+Bari, and again commenced a carnival of slaughter and
+plunder.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they
+armed themselves with knives, long sticks and various
+other weapons, and rushed upon the bayonets and muskets
+of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds and at
+great disadvantage.</p>
+
+<p>Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were
+witnessed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p>
+
+<p>The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust
+and sand was seen in the distance, and in a few minutes
+a gallant band of well-armed Arabs rode into the center
+of the village, and charged the Fashodians with an impetuosity
+entirely foreign to the Arab nature.</p>
+
+<p>“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good
+Arabian. “I don’t know what the quarrel is about, but
+the villagers are the weakest.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we
+always go to help the under dog of the fight.”</p>
+
+<p>Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants,
+Max and Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.</p>
+
+<p>The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had
+come.</p>
+
+<p>The villagers declared that Allah had answered their
+prayers, and that very thought caused them to fight with
+desperate courage, even though they were practically
+unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.</p>
+
+<p>“Great is the prophet!”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and
+it was not until a lull took place that Sherif el Habib was
+able to explain that the Mahdi had not come, that in fact
+they were seeking for him.</p>
+
+<p>Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was
+knocked from his hand he almost cried with vexation.</p>
+
+<p>But he created a consternation which led to a panic.</p>
+
+<p>It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.</p>
+
+<p>Max had amused himself on his journey in making a<span class="pagenum">[159]</span>
+number of giant cartridges&mdash;consisting of a paper shell
+and nearly half a pound of powder.</p>
+
+<p>He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge
+or blast, and when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally
+discovered one of these heavy cartridges in
+his saddlebag.</p>
+
+<p>Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a
+plan unique and terrible.</p>
+
+<p>Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard
+bearer of the Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge
+under the saddlebag and lighted the fuse.</p>
+
+<p>The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel,
+as he thought, the attack made by Max, but was
+surprised to see the American ride away.</p>
+
+<p>The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was
+heard, and the standard bearer was flying through space.</p>
+
+<p>Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended,
+for the madcap had charged the cartridge so well that
+the poor bearer of the crescent of Egypt was rent into a
+hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left scattered
+on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that
+the prophet must have indeed come.</p>
+
+<p>To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen
+approaching, and a great cry arose from the throng:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking
+man with clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[160]</span></p>
+
+<p>In a voice of authority he shouted:</p>
+
+<p>“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your <em>Imaum</em>,
+the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">TRICK OR MIRACLE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Long years of asceticism had made the man who
+claimed to be the long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly
+fascinated one.</p>
+
+<p>His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even
+and regular, his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black
+mustache and beard gave him a look of authority.</p>
+
+<p>It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a
+man, added to the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored
+Arabs with a belief in his pretensions.</p>
+
+<p>Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would
+have subjugated Europe easily.</p>
+
+<p>“I am the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated
+themselves on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of
+Fashoda fell back with his troops.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together
+and commenced the march into the mountain fastness.</p>
+
+<p>When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face,<span class="pagenum">[161]</span>
+and taking the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it
+to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent
+solemnity.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi bade him rise.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:</p>
+
+<p>“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the
+kingdoms of the world shall know it as well as thou.”</p>
+
+<p>Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath
+found me, because the time of your pleasure is near at
+hand.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded
+beneath his feet.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.</p>
+
+<p>“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I
+can read.”</p>
+
+<p>“And mine?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally
+themselves with me if they could gain by it. Curiosity
+would prompt them, but thy land I shall never see.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the
+Mahdi had referred to the British nation.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed
+infidel nation, the sword of the faithful would have
+pierced thee through.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of<span class="pagenum">[162]</span>
+those who went before, left thine own father, and through
+a girl didst thou escape.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever
+being a Mahdi fails, come over to New York and you will
+just make millions, see if you don’t.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed
+heartily at the characteristic speech delivered by Max. It
+so clearly corroborated the mind reading of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half
+vexed at Ibrahim, especially.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars
+in the States.”</p>
+
+<p>A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came
+to the camp and began asking questions of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the
+Mahdi answered with convincing eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>Others asked for signs and miracles.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi’s face darkened.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary
+that I should work signs and wonders before you believe
+me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the
+promised Mahdi,” said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed
+over sea and land, have been across the great
+desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”</p>
+
+<p>“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed
+one of the unbelievers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[163]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of
+England will crush all who follow the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were
+gaining ground, and he must do something to convince
+them.</p>
+
+<p>His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on
+his course.</p>
+
+<p>“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed,
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving
+ones, “stand in the center.”</p>
+
+<p>Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew
+from the folds of his dress a snake skin.</p>
+
+<p>He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was
+but the skin of a deadly snake.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you satisfied?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand
+until it was stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and
+was as stiff as a walking cane.</p>
+
+<p>He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers,
+and it laid there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.</p>
+
+<p>The men recoiled.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he
+asked, sneeringly. “Wait and see.”</p>
+
+<p>He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained
+stiff.</p>
+
+<p>The thing looked as if it was expanding.</p>
+
+<p>“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[164]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.</p>
+
+<p>There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed
+with life.</p>
+
+<p>Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its
+body writhed and wriggled, as if it resented being so
+tightly grasped by its tail.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if
+ready for a spring.</p>
+
+<p>The men shrieked.</p>
+
+<p>The unbelievers slunk away.</p>
+
+<p>The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at
+the miracle.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it
+was about to spring.</p>
+
+<p>The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.</p>
+
+<p>It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty
+piece of skin, so small that it could be held in the closed
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance
+or some freak of nature, the reader must determine.
+The Buddhist fakirs of India and the Mohammedan
+dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the same
+thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the
+sand and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is
+removed the skin has disappeared, and a live snake has
+taken its place.</p>
+
+<p>The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice
+declared:</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[165]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE MAHDI.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and
+soldiers, the experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was
+sufficient evidence of his power and of the truth of
+his mission.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.</p>
+
+<p>He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he
+wished that the Mahdi had shown his power in some
+other way.</p>
+
+<p>Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el
+Habib wanted to believe that the Mahdi possessed a
+power unlimited, and which no one could imitate.</p>
+
+<p>Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.</p>
+
+<p>“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the
+proof of my power must be adapted to those who are
+witnesses of it. Had I said to this mountain: ‘Get thee
+back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not have
+been more convincing than the snake transformation.”</p>
+
+<p>“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove
+the mountain even ten feet, I’ll give up my country and
+adopt yours.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>He treated the young American with contempt.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed
+bowed his head, grieved that anyone in his caravan<span class="pagenum">[166]</span>
+should speak so lightly or demand such a great
+miracle.</p>
+
+<p>Max was in disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>He wandered away and strolled near where the women
+members of the caravan were encamped.</p>
+
+<p>He walked about, his head bent down, for he was
+sorry that he had offended his friends.</p>
+
+<p>“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice
+at his side.</p>
+
+<p>He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily
+veiled.</p>
+
+<p>Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he
+caught a glimpse of Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.</p>
+
+<p>He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man,
+could never marry a dark-skinned Arabian.</p>
+
+<p>“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.</p>
+
+<p>Max told her of the offense he had given.</p>
+
+<p>“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will
+not be offended. If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt
+my brother for fear of offending Mohammed, my father,
+and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How
+strange that, through saving me, you should be restored
+to your friends.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon
+leave her and go with thy husband.”</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[167]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes&mdash;that&mdash;I&mdash;what shall I say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”</p>
+
+<p>“As a&mdash;brother. Ah, yes&mdash;but art thou going away?”</p>
+
+<p>“Going away?”</p>
+
+<p>“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”</p>
+
+<p>“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have
+no one to guide me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I could instruct thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max
+far happier than when she had joined him.</p>
+
+<p>He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature
+which characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am
+not of thy faith. You adopt the crescent, my sign is the
+cross. Mahomet did a grand work for your people, but
+my Savior is Jesus.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is one of our prophets.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You
+are beset with danger. Your enemies may league against
+you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“They may, but they cannot triumph.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I
+am in the camp, I will fight under your standard, and if
+the English came&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“They will not.”</p>
+
+<p>“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am<span class="pagenum">[168]</span>
+an American, and I would like to be able to tell the English
+to stay at home and mind their own business.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi
+could see it came from the heart.</p>
+
+<p>For several days the camp was undisturbed.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,”
+said the Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay
+with the new prophet, and to participate in what they believed
+to be his forthcoming triumphal march across the
+Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially
+human, grandly sublime in his ideas, and, although
+undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an able man.</p>
+
+<p>That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the
+Mahdi, no one could doubt.</p>
+
+<p>In his own estimation he was no impostor.</p>
+
+<p>His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all
+tended to make him believe in his mission.</p>
+
+<p>But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority,
+he was too good a soldier to neglect military precautions.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the
+soldiers and followers of the new prophet were drilled
+for an hour.</p>
+
+<p>At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in
+the manual of arms.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division,
+and he appointed Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max<span class="pagenum">[169]</span>
+occupied the same post of responsibility under Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>Each knew that at any moment they might have to
+fight, and our young heroes were eager for the fray.</p>
+
+<p>Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never
+so happy as when engaged in combat, either in a wordy
+war with his tongue or in the more deadly conflict with
+the sword.</p>
+
+<p>When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap
+proclivities were sure to manifest themselves, and he
+would make some one the victim of his practical jokes.</p>
+
+<p>His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before
+he left the Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and
+men go down to the valley of death by the thousand.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">COUNTING CHICKENS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than
+the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered
+by Rauf Pasha to remain on the defensive, he nevertheless
+conceived the idea that he could win renown and
+perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with
+the greatest ease.</p>
+
+<p>As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman,
+who had been compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously,
+or spend a few years in one of the English
+prisons.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[170]</span></p>
+
+<p>He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an
+adventurous disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on
+a special mission to Rauf Pasha, who transferred him to
+the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the
+English aristocracy, was educated at Oxford University,
+had been in the army, but resigned his commission just in
+time to escape being kicked out.</p>
+
+<p>But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but
+a great rascal.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.</p>
+
+<p>The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant.
+He feared that his winning ways might lure some of the
+court to the gaming table, for Ponsonby was a great
+gambler.</p>
+
+<p>Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending
+Ponsonby to the Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would
+soon run the country to suit himself, and he determined
+to get rid of him.</p>
+
+<p>He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a
+low part of Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and
+murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.</p>
+
+<p>The only thing he could think of was to send him with
+good recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign
+in his favor,” said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started
+from Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda
+governor, and, in fact, really ruled the province.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[171]</span></p>
+
+<p>Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby
+was closeted with the governor.</p>
+
+<p>“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman,
+insinuatingly.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should he be?”</p>
+
+<p>“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would
+be the greatest man in the Soudan, and I would go right
+off to the khedive and so work upon his feelings that you
+would be appointed governor-general of the Soudan.
+Once there you might aspire higher&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“The army wants a leader.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big
+Soudanese army would point to you as the man. Arabi
+Pasha would help you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian
+army?”</p>
+
+<p>“Greater than that.”</p>
+
+<p>“How so?”</p>
+
+<p>“The army could make you khedive.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you?”</p>
+
+<p>“You would make me minister of war, and I would
+get England’s influence, and Egypt should become an independent
+nation, with you as its first sultan.”</p>
+
+<p>The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and
+believed he was the only man fitted for the career
+sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>But what ambition had Ponsonby?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[172]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this
+fashion:</p>
+
+<p>“The governor is ambitious&mdash;he is a tool in my hands&mdash;he
+has no scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger
+just as readily as the soldier’s sword. The army wants
+a bold, dashing leader. Under my guidance he shall win
+everything until the last step&mdash;then I will, as minister
+of war, effect a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup d’etat</i>, and Hubert Ponsonby shall
+become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the
+Governor of Fashoda was to be used as a cat’s-paw to
+pull the chestnuts out of the fire for Ponsonby’s benefit.</p>
+
+<p>The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be
+defeated and crushed.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the
+Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the
+claims of the Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople
+the Mahdi was openly referred to as having made
+his appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all
+powerful.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered
+the old Irish story of the Skibbereen market
+women.</p>
+
+<p>As the two women were going home from market, one
+of them began to prophesy how many good things she
+would be able to get by the next gale&mdash;rent&mdash;day.</p>
+
+<p>She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she
+reasoned: Twenty-six eggs will bring me at least twenty<span class="pagenum">[173]</span>
+chickens; each chicken will begin laying in the spring. I
+shall get so many eggs every day; seven times twenty
+will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can
+sell them, and the money will buy&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend,
+who asked:</p>
+
+<p>“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”</p>
+
+<p>The other was sure they wouldn’t be.</p>
+
+<p>The women wrangled and got to high words, and at
+last one declared she could tell by the yolks whether the
+egg would produce a hen or a rooster.</p>
+
+<p>Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove
+her assertion; and then suddenly remembered that no
+chickens at all could be hatched from broken eggs.</p>
+
+<p>Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated
+the Mahdi before he counted his profits.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.</p>
+
+<p>Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they
+believed the triumph of the prophet was the triumph of
+religion.</p>
+
+<p>Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline
+was of the strictest, but they would have suffered torture
+if they thought by so doing they could assist the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe
+to his ideas, and five thousand men were ready to take the
+field against the Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.</p>
+
+<p>“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the
+chief of the Shiluk.</p>
+
+<p>“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of<span class="pagenum">[174]</span>
+Egypt, and you will be the governor general of the
+Soudan.”</p>
+
+<p>And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and
+ready to fight against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby
+should direct.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to
+Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim, one night.</p>
+
+<p>“Anything happen? What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may
+fall.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course, so may I.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand
+on his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine,
+and you will be all right.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I am not sick.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a
+lark I had with the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p>“What lark?”</p>
+
+<p>“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I
+could have split my sides with laughter, but I had to be
+sober as a judge.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you do, Madcap?”</p>
+
+<p>“Swear you won’t give me away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[175]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Swear it.”</p>
+
+<p>“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more
+ceremony shown him now than at first. His hands and
+feet are washed before he stretches himself on your
+uncle’s sacred carpet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I know that.”</p>
+
+<p>“You also know that he must pour the water into the
+basin himself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big
+Arab held the basin, another came with a leather bottle,
+filled with the sacred water. The Mahdi took the bottle
+and poured some into the basin; but he nearly fell with
+fright.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the
+basin. The Arab was so frightened that he dropped the
+bowl and fell on his knees. ‘Bring the other vessel,’
+commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought, and the
+same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted
+your uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a
+great uprising of the Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the
+boiling and frothing of the water subsided, so would his
+enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober face,
+because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you do?”</p>
+
+<p>“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three
+seidlitz powders in each bowl. The white powder was<span class="pagenum">[176]</span>
+not noticed because the Mahdi insists on the sacred sand
+from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”</p>
+
+<p>“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”</p>
+
+<p>“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to
+have been a miracle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only&mdash;&mdash;What was
+that?”</p>
+
+<p>“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”</p>
+
+<p>The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the
+soldier once again.</p>
+
+<p>He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.</p>
+
+<p>“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the
+Mahdi. “But not one will go back. The grave shall receive
+each one who fights beneath the crescent without
+the star.”</p>
+
+<p>Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed
+by the Governor of Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were
+seen approaching.</p>
+
+<p>On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode,
+looking kinglike and majestic.</p>
+
+<p>The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the
+tawny color of the soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly
+as he bestrode the back of the raven-colored horse.</p>
+
+<p>He did everything for effect.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same
+cry was repeated by the Fashodans.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[177]</span></p>
+
+<p>“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists,
+and the Fashodans replied with stentorian voices:</p>
+
+<p>“For Mahomet and the khedive.”</p>
+
+<p>The Fashodans commenced the battle.</p>
+
+<p>They were weary and wanted it over.</p>
+
+<p>They believed the victory would be an easy one. They
+had no water, and the wells were guarded by the
+Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was practically unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on
+which were written passages from the Koran.</p>
+
+<p>There was something grand about this religious fanatic.</p>
+
+<p>Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and
+guileless as a child.</p>
+
+<p>He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.</p>
+
+<p>He knew it was only by the sword that he could win,
+and yet he would not use the weapon himself.</p>
+
+<p>When the fight was hottest he was calm.</p>
+
+<p>The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed
+and as cool as if he knew the leaden hail could
+not hurt him.</p>
+
+<p>On came the legions from Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>But it was evident that they were disheartened.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that white man?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>“An Englishman?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[178]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered
+what had become of him. Wonder if he knows
+me? It is three years since we met, and I was only sixteen
+then.”</p>
+
+<p>Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write
+the words.</p>
+
+<p>He called his men to follow him, and swinging his
+scimiter above his head dashed into the very midst of the
+attacking force.</p>
+
+<p>He pushed his way through until he found himself by
+the side of Hubert’s coal-black horse.</p>
+
+<p>“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Who calls me by that name?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do.”</p>
+
+<p>“You; and who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”</p>
+
+<p>“You lie!”</p>
+
+<p>“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet
+itself in your flesh and prove my words.”</p>
+
+<p>Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force,
+but it cut the empty air.</p>
+
+<p>Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second
+blow.</p>
+
+<p>“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.</p>
+
+<p>“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is
+the difference,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades,
+but neither combatant was wounded.</p>
+
+<p>“Surrender!” cried Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[179]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Never!” answered Hubert.</p>
+
+<p>Again the two men came together.</p>
+
+<p>The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder,
+but Max was unhurt.</p>
+
+<p>The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.</p>
+
+<p>With his left hand, weak though it was from the
+wound, he drew his revolver.</p>
+
+<p>“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made
+an upward cut and sent the revolver careening through
+the air.</p>
+
+<p>The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they
+saw that Hubert was getting the worst of it, a dozen of
+them surrounded Max, cutting him off entirely from his
+followers.</p>
+
+<p>It was a critical moment.</p>
+
+<p>Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out
+terrible blows with it; but what could one man do against
+twelve?</p>
+
+<p>He felt he would have to succumb.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.</p>
+
+<p>He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted
+it he resolved that Ponsonby should not live to gloat
+over his defeat.</p>
+
+<p>He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him
+from his horse.</p>
+
+<p>Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped
+Hubert by the throat.</p>
+
+<p>A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring
+it down on the young American’s head, when the blow<span class="pagenum">[180]</span>
+was turned aside by the Mahdi’s spear, and instead of
+cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of the Mahdi,
+it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of
+the Koran.</p>
+
+<p>Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry
+the Mahdi rode; he had saved the madcap’s life at the
+risk of his own.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of
+the Fashodans had felt the keenness of his sword and the
+strength of his arm.</p>
+
+<p>His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor
+of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>When the day ended and the result of the fight was
+known, it was found that of the five thousand brave followers
+of Hubert Ponsonby and the Fashodan governor,
+not two hundred escaped.</p>
+
+<p>The carnage was fearful.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy
+over four thousand.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the
+Mahdi, in a loud voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as
+an adopted son of the prophet.</p>
+
+<p>Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi
+hath come!” the sun went down, and Mohammed Ahmed
+was the greatest warrior the Soudan had ever known.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[181]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was
+telegraphed all over the world.</p>
+
+<p>In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike
+with Cairo, the people could talk of nothing but the wonderful
+advance of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity
+of the Egyptians and Turks against him.</p>
+
+<p>A delay would be dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>The Soudan must be his, and that at once.</p>
+
+<p>He called together his chosen friends and told them
+that the victory must be followed up by still greater
+victories.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which
+made men rejoice in being martyrs, advised the instant
+march on Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must
+acknowledge your mission,” he said, and really believed
+that the Mahdi could scatter his enemies by a mere
+word.</p>
+
+<p>But the prophet shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is
+only by the sword that the prince of darkness can be
+crushed. To march now would be to invite defeat.”</p>
+
+<p>Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[182]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.</p>
+
+<p>“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied,
+modestly.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think.
+I will hear all and condemn not.”</p>
+
+<p>The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat
+made, for him, a long speech.</p>
+
+<p>“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began.
+“Fate, or, as you would say, Allah, guided me to
+you. I have fought under your banner.”</p>
+
+<p>“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”&mdash;looking
+at the Mahdi&mdash;“are by a long shot the best
+man in the Soudan to-day. As Englishmen have joined
+your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join you,
+and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged
+in. Now, I’ve got an idea&mdash;just forget that you
+are the Mahdi and, to put it plainly, a rebel&mdash;&mdash;Oh,
+don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest man who
+ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he
+was a patriot.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said
+Mohammed Ahmed. “I shall not be offended.”</p>
+
+<p>“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum,
+to Kordofan, and Senaar, and preach rebellion.
+Let whoever goes rouse the people&mdash;talk to them of the
+way they have been robbed, and then spring upon them
+the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You
+see, by this means you would have friends waiting for
+you in each place.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be
+killed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said
+to myself: ‘Max, old fellow, make your will, reconcile
+yourself to your enemies, and go in a buster.’”</p>
+
+<p>Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke
+seemed incoherent, his hearers knew that he was in earnest,
+and that the plan was a good one.</p>
+
+<p>“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let
+the plan be worked in other places first.”</p>
+
+<p>“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but
+who could carry it out?”</p>
+
+<p>“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:</p>
+
+<p>“What would become of your harem?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would
+never do. Both the illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed
+have too much to lose.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think we value our possessions more than
+principle?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to
+lose all, and perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to
+Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>“You?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; I can talk&mdash;why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in
+the adventure.”</p>
+
+<p>“But you are not of our faith.”</p>
+
+<p>“So much the better. I am an American, and every<span class="pagenum">[184]</span>
+body will know that the cause is a good one if an American
+takes it up.”</p>
+
+<p>“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”</p>
+
+<p>“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his
+uncle, with almost a sneer.</p>
+
+<p>“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will
+tell me what to do.”</p>
+
+<p>“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the
+truth.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet.
+When do we start, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed
+as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>He walked away to think out his plan of action, and
+was joined by Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>“You were going without bidding me good-by.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may
+be, I am not Kalula to you, but Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be
+happy.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from
+what Mohammed, her father, had told her, that the mission
+in which both Max and Ibrahim were to be engaged
+was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were that
+neither would ever be seen again alive.</p>
+
+<p>But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the
+young men went forth, their lives in their hands, in support
+of the cause they had espoused.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[185]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max was not quite so much in love with his mission
+when he entered Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all
+probability, was in antagonism to several regiments of
+soldiers and an excited populace.</p>
+
+<p>He needed rest.</p>
+
+<p>It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of
+caravan life on the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent
+that he dare not delay more than that one day.</p>
+
+<p>He had been provided with a letter of introduction
+to a merchant with whom Sherif el Habib had done business.
+That letter opened the merchant’s heart and home,
+for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s house his
+home during his stay in Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist,
+and a man of wealth, and therefore of great influence.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before he asked Max the pointed
+question:</p>
+
+<p>“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”</p>
+
+<p>Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s
+belief.</p>
+
+<p>“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said
+the merchant.</p>
+
+<p>“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked
+the American.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The people would be disappointed.”</p>
+
+<p>“In what way?”</p>
+
+<p>“You will laugh.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[186]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this
+Mohammedan Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“They expect too much.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that
+you would laugh.”</p>
+
+<p>“I apologize. I could not help it.”</p>
+
+<p>“They think, also, that he never walks.”</p>
+
+<p>“Never walks?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to
+reach any place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Anything else?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in
+his veins, as well as that of Emin Bey.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom did you say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, but the other name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Emin.”</p>
+
+<p>“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything,
+loved to tell a story, and one story was always entrancing
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco
+smoke to eddy and curl up to the ceiling before he commenced
+his story.</p>
+
+<p>“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that
+Mohammed Ali determined to destroy the Mamelukes&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that
+to do with the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[187]</span></p>
+
+<p>Shula looked at Max with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt
+me in the midst of a story?” He puffed away at his
+chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a minute or so, and
+then continued:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed
+Ali invited them, the portcullis fell behind the
+last of their splendid army, and they were trapped like
+rats.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”</p>
+
+<p>“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch
+Arabian over a pile of dead and dying. He sprang on
+the battlements, his horse was killed, but with a shout
+of <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i>, he leaped into the darkness and escaped
+to the mosque.”</p>
+
+<p>Again Shula paused.</p>
+
+<p>Max was impatient, and could not wait.</p>
+
+<p>“I would give my right hand to find the descendants
+of Emin,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Would you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed I would.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered
+the mosque without removing his shoes. He pleaded to
+his own conscience that his wound would excuse his sacrilege.
+He fell asleep, and as he slept he dreamed&mdash;that
+is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the
+time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and
+in the center, Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said
+the prophet, ‘thy wound is healed.’ Emin began to excuse
+the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but the prophet<span class="pagenum">[188]</span>
+stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said,
+and sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins
+of Thebes and hide thee until I bid thee go to the desert,
+and there thou shalt stay, thou and thy sons, but thy
+son’s son shall be the <em>Imaum</em> of his people.’ ‘But,’ said
+Emin, ‘the <em>Imaum</em> shall be of thy race, illustrious
+prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of
+my race, thou art blessed, indeed.”</p>
+
+<p>Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring
+some grapes.</p>
+
+<p>Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until
+the cup was full of the ruby-colored juice.</p>
+
+<p>Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant
+had withdrawn, Shula continued:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the
+grandson of Emin&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And I never thought of it&mdash;I, who have been seeking
+the last of the Mamelukes&mdash;I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”</p>
+
+<p>“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants,
+and I never told the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi
+sent me here. He is coming in all the glory of victory,
+and I am to prepare a way for him.”</p>
+
+<p>Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the
+American until poor Max began to think his breath would
+all be squeezed out.</p>
+
+<p>Had he wanted rest?</p>
+
+<p>If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[189]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SOWING THE SEED.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for
+three of his most particular friends and bade them hasten
+to his house.</p>
+
+<p>Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian,
+was the first, and he stared at Max with eyes which
+seemed to glitter with hate.</p>
+
+<p>He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin
+had been changed from olive to almost black through
+exposure to the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs,
+and he imagined Max to be some wealthy foreigner who
+was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah for business or
+pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin,
+a Persian, entered and embraced Shula most warmly.</p>
+
+<p>The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were
+drawn round the room and everything done to prevent
+the slightest sound being heard on the outside.</p>
+
+<p>“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this
+illustrious one is a messenger from the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low,
+and murmured some words of prayer.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you
+ready?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are we to do?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into
+the midst of an army; he had no weapon, the guns were
+firing, the swords and spears clashed around him and
+over his head, but he merely smiled and bade them cease
+their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong.
+Will you not raise his flag?”</p>
+
+<p>“We will.”</p>
+
+<p>“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die
+in a great cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum,
+pillaged by Egypt and taxed by Turkey. England now
+wants a share, and what will you have left?”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt,
+of Turkey and the whole of the Mohammedan world.
+The crescent and star will float above all other flags, for
+the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of shahs.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i> be praised.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically
+that no opposition was offered. A plan was adopted
+by which on the third day all the followers of the four
+wealthy citizens should revolt and raise the standard of
+the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet.
+It was not thought wise for him to interfere, as some
+thought it might be said he was a foreigner, and of
+alien faith, and therefore at work against the interests of
+the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[191]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather
+the fruit. He was quite willing that others should do
+that.</p>
+
+<p>So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and
+Nasr el Adin, and agreed to remain quiet in the city,
+while they kindled the torch of revolt.</p>
+
+<p>Max slept well that night. It had been many months
+since he reposed in a regular bed in a comfortable room,
+with both male and female servants to minister to his
+needs.</p>
+
+<p>True, the females were not lovely. They were very
+old, exceedingly ugly and bad tempered, but they did the
+work.</p>
+
+<p>It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth
+into the streets.</p>
+
+<p>He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked
+lazily at Max, who returned the gaze, and wondered
+whether he ought to attack the peculiar animal or not.</p>
+
+<p>While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled,
+ran screaming past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking
+man.</p>
+
+<p>Max thought that it was a case of father chastising
+his daughter, but even then his blood boiled with indignation,
+for the girl was too old to receive corporal
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p>The man overtook the girl and struck her over the
+shoulders with his cane.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant Max found he could not restrain
+the muscles of his arm, and his clinched fist managed to<span class="pagenum">[192]</span>
+come in contact with the fat man’s nose, causing that
+organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness, and inducing
+its owner to lie on the ground on his back.</p>
+
+<p>It was a curious accident&mdash;for so Max called it&mdash;but
+the girl did not hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen
+foe, but rather turned her black eyes in the direction of
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>He then saw that she was really pretty.</p>
+
+<p>Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging
+sparkling dark eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in
+the landscape.</p>
+
+<p>The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to
+resume the perpendicular while Max was around.</p>
+
+<p>The girl started running away, but Max called to her
+to stop.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to know her name, at least.</p>
+
+<p>He was an American, and did not realize how different
+were the customs of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.</p>
+
+<p>She smiled when he got alongside her.</p>
+
+<p>As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly
+teeth that really added to her beauty.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with
+charming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</i>.</p>
+
+<p>“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”</p>
+
+<p>She smiled.</p>
+
+<p>“You know you shouldn’t.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have knocked him down.”</p>
+
+<p>“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”</p>
+
+<p>“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”</p>
+
+<p>Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen,
+and was following them.</p>
+
+<p>“Go,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“Not until you tell me where you live and your
+name.”</p>
+
+<p>“My name is Lalla. I live&mdash;&mdash;But what good to tell
+you?&mdash;I shall never see you again.”</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course
+you will.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no! you must not; good-by&mdash;I live&mdash;here.”</p>
+
+<p>She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>“You do? May I come and see you?”</p>
+
+<p>She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion
+and laughed as well.</p>
+
+<p>“No; what absurdity&mdash;I am going to be married&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it
+again so quickly that Max could not get even the slightest
+glimpse of what was on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking
+quite disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged
+in just as expeditiously as the girl had done.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max.
+“I’ll see over that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p>
+
+<p>He looked for a good climbing place, and found a
+better one than he expected.</p>
+
+<p>“Here goes&mdash;Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced
+climbing the wall.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.</p>
+
+<p>The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number
+of fountains were sending up continuous sprays of
+water, which the slight breeze scattered over the turf,
+keeping the grass green and soft.</p>
+
+<p>A large house stood in the center, and near to its main
+entrance stood Lalla.</p>
+
+<p>She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would
+not understand her signals.</p>
+
+<p>He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and
+sheltered himself behind a clump of euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid that his presence might be known, and
+that he would be expelled from the grounds.</p>
+
+<p>He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not
+see why it should be considered wrong to do so.</p>
+
+<p>He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and
+that if he were caught his life might be the forfeit, but
+he was Madcap Max still.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway
+and enter the house.</p>
+
+<p>“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins!
+if he does, I’ll break into his place and steal her
+away&mdash;that I will!”</p>
+
+<p>But it soon became evident that his position would
+be an unpleasant one.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[195]</span></p>
+
+<p>Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to
+drive him from the grounds.</p>
+
+<p>A dozen male servants of the great man who owned
+the estate started down the steps of the portico and made
+straight for the euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>The gate was fastened.</p>
+
+<p>The wall was too high to climb on short notice.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw his peril.</p>
+
+<p>If caught&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close
+upon me?” he asked himself, and answered:</p>
+
+<p>“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be
+tired, you fresh; then race them for all that it is worth.”</p>
+
+<p>The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient
+romance was after them.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood
+ready.</p>
+
+<p>They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but
+had separated themselves so that they might surround
+him and thus effect an easy capture.</p>
+
+<p>He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward&mdash;going
+toward the house instead of away from it.</p>
+
+<p>As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him,
+Max put out his left foot and tripped the fellow up.</p>
+
+<p>As ill luck would have it&mdash;or perhaps it was Max’s
+good luck&mdash;the man fell on his face in a bed of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">euphorbia
+splendens</i>, a plant commonly known as the “crown of
+thorns.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p>
+
+<p>The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross
+fashion and made him wish he had never been born.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now pursued by the others.</p>
+
+<p>He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled
+on his pursuers.</p>
+
+<p>Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another
+advantage.</p>
+
+<p>He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to
+find some means of exit.</p>
+
+<p>But again he was mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>He, however, found something he did not bargain
+for, and that was a trap or cellar door.</p>
+
+<p>It was open.</p>
+
+<p>Max did not see it.</p>
+
+<p>It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning
+powers, or even much knowledge of the rules of logic,
+to comprehend the result.</p>
+
+<p>He fell through the open door.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">AN UNEXPECTED BATH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched
+the door and closed it, by accident, after him.</p>
+
+<p>It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.</p>
+
+<p>He was only shaken and slightly bruised.</p>
+
+<p>His pursuers reached the door and tried it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[197]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat&mdash;louder than
+he liked.</p>
+
+<p>But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers
+declare that he must have scaled the wall.</p>
+
+<p>“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered
+one of the eunuchs.</p>
+
+<p>“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the
+declaration.</p>
+
+<p>His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the
+eunuch call off his men and declare that the “infidel” had
+escaped.</p>
+
+<p>When the footsteps died away Max began to think
+about his prison house.</p>
+
+<p>If the door had not been opened for a week, was there
+any way of egress or ingress?</p>
+
+<p>If not, then might he not starve to death?</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall
+be saved.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was looking on the bright side of the subject,
+and his spirits rose correspondingly.</p>
+
+<p>The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately
+had a small pocket lantern with him, and after
+being there an hour he felt it was safe to light the lamp.</p>
+
+<p>He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without
+any flooring save the mud.</p>
+
+<p>The roof was very high in some places, and in others
+so low that Max could not stand upright.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent
+was so great.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[198]</span></p>
+
+<p>A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with
+Max, but those were the only living things he saw.</p>
+
+<p>Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a
+house, is not the most inspiring exercise, and Max was
+not very elated.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard a flow of water.</p>
+
+<p>Was he mistaken?</p>
+
+<p>No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar,
+only separated by a very thin partition or wall of baked
+clay, ran the river Nile.</p>
+
+<p>Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river,
+but they were both fastened.</p>
+
+<p>“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m
+in for a good time, and I’ll have one.”</p>
+
+<p>Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper
+story.</p>
+
+<p>They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as
+stone.</p>
+
+<p>He walked up them, and found a door at the top.</p>
+
+<p>Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some
+more steps which led to a long corridor.</p>
+
+<p>There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the
+hallway, and he followed that as his guide.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his
+mind he was mistaken. There were no signs of anyone
+dwelling there, everything was deserted and desolate.</p>
+
+<p>He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole
+thoughts being now bent on escape.</p>
+
+<p>He reached the end of the corridor, and found that<span class="pagenum">[199]</span>
+the little ray of light proceeded from a transom over
+another door.</p>
+
+<p>That door he pushed open, and saw before him another
+flight of stairs.</p>
+
+<p>“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I
+only get out at last.”</p>
+
+<p>He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door
+confronted him.</p>
+
+<p>He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight
+which met his gaze.</p>
+
+<p>No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with
+the beauty and grandeur of what he saw.</p>
+
+<p>The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many
+feet wide.</p>
+
+<p>The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the
+most exquisite patterns and quality.</p>
+
+<p>The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.</p>
+
+<p>Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a
+different tinted shade, shed a brilliant light over the
+scene.</p>
+
+<p>But that was not all.</p>
+
+<p>Round the great room were divans covered with the
+most costly silks.</p>
+
+<p>And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a
+beauteous woman.</p>
+
+<p>Each woman had a little table by her side, on which
+cigarettes and sherbet were placed.</p>
+
+<p>Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco
+Max had ever sniffed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[200]</span></p>
+
+<p>He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without
+the beauteous creatures having any idea that their
+privacy had been invaded.</p>
+
+<p>But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl
+Lalla.</p>
+
+<p>Why should he not go to her?</p>
+
+<p>He was an American, and knew no fear.</p>
+
+<p>He walked down the center of the room, and instantly
+there was a shriek&mdash;a tiny little scream&mdash;and a flutter
+of a score of beauties.</p>
+
+<p>But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry
+for it, for never before had any man save their lord
+entered the grand <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i> of the harem, and the novelty
+was refreshing.</p>
+
+<p>Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and
+some offered to hide him.</p>
+
+<p>There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by
+the shoulders and pushed him behind the drapery which
+covered the walls.</p>
+
+<p>She was only just in time.</p>
+
+<p>Three eunuchs entered.</p>
+
+<p>“You screamed,” said the chief.</p>
+
+<p>“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.</p>
+
+<p>“And you all saw it at the same time?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” answered another.</p>
+
+<p>“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a
+hat, which Max had dropped on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Max!</p>
+
+<p>He had never missed his hat.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[201]</span></p>
+
+<p>He had carried it under his arm when he entered the
+<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped
+his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chapeau</i> and never missed it.</p>
+
+<p>The women could not explain how it came about that
+a mouse wore a soft felt helmet.</p>
+
+<p>The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission
+of discovery.</p>
+
+<p>He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought
+might cover a man, and was approaching the place where
+Max was hidden, when Lalla fell on her knees.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, spare him!”</p>
+
+<p>“Who do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never
+saw him before, but he is so handsome! Do not kill
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with
+arms folded before the servants of the pasha.</p>
+
+<p>“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar
+and was trying to get away. I found myself here by
+mistake. Do with me as you like.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others
+took up the prayer.</p>
+
+<p>But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.</p>
+
+<p>“He must die,” said they.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst
+of their cries Max was seized, his hands tied by his sides,
+after which he was carried down the steps into the great
+noisome cellar by which he had entered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[202]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max did not try to bribe his captors.</p>
+
+<p>He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.</p>
+
+<p>“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”</p>
+
+<p>But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to
+escape, when they produced a great sack and covered
+him with it.</p>
+
+<p>Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they
+lifted him shoulder high, and he soon felt the strange
+sensation of being whirled through space.</p>
+
+<p>His senses were almost numbed when he realized that
+he was in water.</p>
+
+<p>He had been thrown into the Nile!</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SAVED!</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of
+the Nile discussing the best way to assist the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the
+prophet, and calling on all good religionists to rally round
+his standard.</p>
+
+<p>But Barbasson was crafty.</p>
+
+<p>He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.</p>
+
+<p>“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if
+he fails&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“He won’t fail.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope not; but suppose he did?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[203]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“We should lose our property, and perhaps&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you
+don’t mind killing others,” Shula retorted, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>“What mean you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”</p>
+
+<p>“By the beard of the prophet, no!”</p>
+
+<p>“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was
+watching a dahabeah on the Nile; I saw something bulky
+thrown overboard&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile
+was the best place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle
+and found&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“A most lovely girl.”</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your
+wives took a great dislike to her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“One of my wives?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”</p>
+
+<p>Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and
+I took her into my harem.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is your business. What is it to me?”</p>
+
+<p>“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw
+Leila into the water.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bah! that was only a girl&mdash;and they are not missed.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[204]</span></p>
+
+<p>Barbasson suggested&mdash;when he had got over his annoyance&mdash;that
+secret agents should be sent out and that
+riots should be organized.</p>
+
+<p>Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was
+in disorder, Shula should come forward and proclaim the
+advent of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now
+joined by Rashid and Nasr el Adin, started on their
+homeward journey.</p>
+
+<p>“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a
+splash was heard in the water.</p>
+
+<p>“A crocodile, most likely.”</p>
+
+<p>“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”</p>
+
+<p>“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet will stop all that.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses
+of the government here, and he is never molested
+for beating or drowning his wives. Of course, he never
+touches a man.”</p>
+
+<p>Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the
+time that a woman’s life was considered of no more value
+than that of a dog or any common animal.</p>
+
+<p>A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he
+could drown her, providing he did it decently&mdash;that is,
+place her body in a sack, with some heavy weights, so
+that the body should not rise to the surface.</p>
+
+<p>While the conspirators were discussing the morality<span class="pagenum">[205]</span>
+of Mahmoud Achmet, their eyes were strained in an endeavor
+to discover what had caused the splashing sound.</p>
+
+<p>A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more
+humane than the majority of Kordofans, stepped into a
+boat anchored by the bank, and pushed out in the stream.</p>
+
+<p>He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to
+stick it in the canvas sack.</p>
+
+<p>He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.</p>
+
+<p>He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud
+Achmet, and hoped she would be young and pretty, because
+by the laws she would be his slave.</p>
+
+<p>To his astonishment&mdash;and equally so to the surprise of
+the other&mdash;instead of a woman the sack contained a man,
+and that man our young friend&mdash;Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>Max was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously
+he struggled all he knew how to free himself.</p>
+
+<p>What could he do?</p>
+
+<p>He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.</p>
+
+<p>His body was doubled so that he could not use his
+hands to tear the bag or strike out.</p>
+
+<p>In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.</p>
+
+<p>He began to wish that he had never heard of the
+Mahdi, or the Mameluke.</p>
+
+<p>But regrets were useless.</p>
+
+<p>He knew he had to die.</p>
+
+<p>Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe,
+he would have been proud to die&mdash;because he knew no
+disgrace would be attached to it.</p>
+
+<p>But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat,<span class="pagenum">[206]</span>
+was so hurtful to his self-respect and so humiliating that
+he cried with vexation.</p>
+
+<p>The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of
+it. His brain grew dizzy.</p>
+
+<p>The singing in his ears had become like the roaring
+of the waters of a great cataract.</p>
+
+<p>Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators
+been discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion
+at night by the banks of the Nile, Madcap Max
+would never have been the hero of this story.</p>
+
+<p>Shula rubbed Max briskly.</p>
+
+<p>He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face
+downward.</p>
+
+<p>The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s
+back&mdash;sitting on it, treading it, kneeling on it, and using
+every means of which they knew to restore life.</p>
+
+<p>“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”</p>
+
+<p>The words startled the conspirators.</p>
+
+<p>They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with
+the treatment he had been subjected to, had revived
+with great suddenness.</p>
+
+<p>He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was
+being hurt, hence his calling out.</p>
+
+<p>He jumped to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>“Shula!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“Max!”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned?
+Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water,<span class="pagenum">[207]</span>
+and the less you say the longer you will be likely to live.
+Come&mdash;let us get home. Can you walk?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I can.”</p>
+
+<p>Max started forward, but before his legs had moved
+a dozen times he fell on his face.</p>
+
+<p>The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances
+were to be found in Kordofan at that hour of the night,
+they had to carry him to Shula’s residence.</p>
+
+<p>Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and
+laughed at the escapade.</p>
+
+<p>“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to
+see Lalla,” he said. “I want to know more about her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter
+any man’s harem,” said Shula.</p>
+
+<p>“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally
+weak from his struggles in the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel
+that he was the strong athlete again.</p>
+
+<p>When he awoke on the morning of the third day he
+heard cries which roused him:</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>“Down with the foreigner!”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.</p>
+
+<p>His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that
+he had staked all his property and his life on the riot
+which was then in progress.</p>
+
+<p>“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[208]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”</p>
+
+<p>A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows
+were shaken, and some panes of glass broken.</p>
+
+<p>“What does it mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“They are fighting,” answered Shula.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the
+head of the Mahdi’s friends?”</p>
+
+<p>“I&mdash;stayed&mdash;with you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come! where is my sword?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed&mdash;the
+soldiers wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting
+the people down.”</p>
+
+<p>“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is madness.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I
+wasn’t I’d scorn to be a coward.”</p>
+
+<p>“A coward?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I said so, and I repeat&mdash;a coward.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army
+of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and
+are now afraid&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”</p>
+
+<p>“Risk all&mdash;if by that means you save your honor.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[209]</span></p>
+
+<p>“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”</p>
+
+<p>“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”</p>
+
+<p>“See what it means to me&mdash;loss of property, perhaps
+life.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going
+to fight.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is madness!”</p>
+
+<p>“Give me my rifle and my sword.”</p>
+
+<p>Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right&mdash;the
+people had but scant chance.</p>
+
+<p>That made Max all the more determined.</p>
+
+<p>He waved his sword above his head and rushed into
+the thickest of the fight.</p>
+
+<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.</p>
+
+<p>“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with
+you. The Mahdi is a native of your country, he is no
+foreigner. Strike for him, and let your cry be Egypt
+for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”</p>
+
+<p>The people lost their fear.</p>
+
+<p>Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers
+did not return the fire.</p>
+
+<p>Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian officer was enraged.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.</p>
+
+<p>A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but
+the majority kept them reversed.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the advantage he had gained.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[210]</span></p>
+
+<p>He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had
+fallen in the mêlée.</p>
+
+<p>Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant
+as he sat there, like a veritable centaur.</p>
+
+<p>“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I
+have fought with the great Mahdi. I have seen the
+thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he waved his
+wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights
+with his eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall
+back.”</p>
+
+<p>The enthusiasm was great.</p>
+
+<p>Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the
+others were undecided.</p>
+
+<p>The officer was furious.</p>
+
+<p>“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed
+the call.</p>
+
+<p>“Load! Aim! Fire!”</p>
+
+<p>Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to
+his great joy that the aim was too high to do any damage.</p>
+
+<p>“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our
+fight is not against you. The Mahdi is of your faith.
+Nay, more, he will restore the great Mameluke kingdom.
+Every soldier of his will be greater than a pasha,
+for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p>The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who
+wondered who this young paleface could be.</p>
+
+<p>The result was electrical.</p>
+
+<p>Every rifle was reversed.</p>
+
+<p>The officer was left alone to return to the fort&mdash;a
+commander without soldiers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[211]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the
+Mahdi, Mohammed Achmet was close to the gates of the
+city. He heard the cheering and the firing.</p>
+
+<p>His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif
+el Habib and the Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into
+the main street of <a id="Ref_211" href="#BRef_211">Kordofan.</a></p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>The cheers rose on the air.</p>
+
+<p>Songs were sung&mdash;the soldiers fraternized with the
+people.</p>
+
+<p>Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.</p>
+
+<p>Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer
+handed his sword to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my
+sword and use it for truth and our faith.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed
+it back, saying:</p>
+
+<p>“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for
+you will use it as only a brave man can.”</p>
+
+<p>The fires of joy were lighted.</p>
+
+<p>Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi
+was welcomed.</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was
+triumphant, came to offer the hospitality of his house
+to the conqueror.</p>
+
+<p>Max recognized him, and after the man had said all
+he intended, came forward.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[212]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped
+him in a sack, and drowned him.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He
+has raised this man from the dead. All my wealth is his,”
+exclaimed Mahmoud.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however,
+did not contradict him, but allowed him to think that
+the power of the Mahdi had indeed raised him from the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke privately to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give
+this man the girl called Lalla.”</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud fell to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.</p>
+
+<p>“Woe is me, I cannot!”</p>
+
+<p>“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed it is true. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max,
+and after throwing him into the river, Lalla had refused
+to be comforted, had called him a murderer, and refused
+to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in his
+anger he ordered her to be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in
+the presence of a great concourse of citizens, said:</p>
+
+<p>“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at
+times made away with such of his wives that displeased
+him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how abhorrent
+such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet<span class="pagenum">[213]</span>
+be taken from here in the sack which he has provided for
+others, and that he be thrown into the Nile.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man&mdash;“mercy! I will give
+you wealth.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not want it.”</p>
+
+<p>“All I have shall be yours!”</p>
+
+<p>“It is mine already.”</p>
+
+<p>One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem
+testified how the wives were constantly beaten with
+whips.</p>
+
+<p>“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,”
+said the Mahdi; “it is fate.”</p>
+
+<p>The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of
+his own eunuch, and was drowned in the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who
+were more than ever enthused with the prophet and his
+cause.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot
+haste, asked for the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[214]</span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum
+and Mahdi:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Greeting</span>: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the
+flag of the Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is
+ours.</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter.
+“I was wounded in the right foot and lost two
+toes, but that was better than my life. The people were
+all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely. It was a
+tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which
+I will send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is
+Girzilla? Give her my love. Is Max the Madcap alive?
+Of course he is. Tell him not to play any pranks in
+Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“Your loving nephew,</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:15em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his
+staff, he called Max to him.</p>
+
+<p>“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and
+we are victorious. You are Max Pasha; and your
+nephew”&mdash;turning to Sherif&mdash;“is also pasha, and is made
+governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor
+of Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>The people cheered the young governor.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:</p>
+
+<p>“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“You must not.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to
+be governor and pasha for one day, because I am going
+back to America, and if I ever go on the lecture platform<span class="pagenum">[215]</span>
+the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a real
+live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap
+Max.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired
+of being the Mahdi come over to New York and I will
+trot you round, and&mdash;oh, my! won’t the dollars just flow
+into our pockets.”</p>
+
+<p>But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch
+was placed in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>It was from a trusty agent in the North.</p>
+
+<p>“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under
+the command of Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read,
+“and is marching with five thousand men against you.
+Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men,
+is marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in
+two by these armies.”</p>
+
+<p>“No! by the prophet&mdash;no!” exclaimed the Mahdi.
+“We will attack both and exterminate them.”</p>
+
+<p>The bugles called the army together and the march
+was ordered.</p>
+
+<p>With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm,
+the followers of the Mahdi started to meet
+Yussuf Pasha Hassan.</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans,
+but they lacked enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi&mdash;still without weapon&mdash;rode at the head of
+his people and gave the words of command.</p>
+
+<p>Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western<span class="pagenum">[216]</span>
+prairie, the army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans
+commanded by Yussuf.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but
+the Mahdists were more like fiends.</p>
+
+<p>They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately
+cut their throats.</p>
+
+<p>It was a horrible carnage.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort
+to defend himself, but was ever in the thickest of the
+fight.</p>
+
+<p>His brow shone as though it were gold.</p>
+
+<p>His presence was remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>Max fought with desperate valor.</p>
+
+<p>At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself
+more power in striking a blow.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage
+blow.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to
+the Mahdi, Max was the most powerful leader.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>He was a trifle superstitious.</p>
+
+<p>If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not
+kill him, and Yussuf would not risk an encounter; so he
+rode through the fighting demons until he reached the
+side of Max.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly
+wheeled round and aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.</p>
+
+<p>The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge
+at Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[217]</span></p>
+
+<p>But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic
+speed, and Yussuf’s sword merely struck the air.</p>
+
+<p>As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire
+flew out, and seemed to keep fiery time to the music of
+the steel.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf got angry.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly
+asked, during a pause in the duel.</p>
+
+<p>“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for
+liberty.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the fight was resumed.</p>
+
+<p>Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to
+kick and trample down the dead and dying.</p>
+
+<p>It was a fearful sight.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf fought bravely.</p>
+
+<p>His left arm had been broken by Max, just below
+the shoulder, but he would not give in.</p>
+
+<p>“Surrender!”</p>
+
+<p>“Never!”</p>
+
+<p>“Then die!”</p>
+
+<p>“I will, but you will go first.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging
+round his heavy scimiter with the strength of a giant.</p>
+
+<p>Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck
+the horse’s neck, almost severing the head from the body.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.</p>
+
+<p>Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s
+side.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[218]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We are equal,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one
+arm to fight with.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he
+did so a sword still grasped by a dead man pierced his
+side.</p>
+
+<p>The brave man could stand no more.</p>
+
+<p>“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender
+to Max, but to the Great Creator, for as the man uttered
+the words the breath left his body.</p>
+
+<p>Out of four thousand seven hundred men&mdash;hale, hearty
+veterans&mdash;who had marched under the crescent of Egypt
+that morning, only two hundred and one survived at
+night.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred
+men all told.</p>
+
+<p>They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury
+the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks
+Pasha.</p>
+
+<p>It was a two days march to Tokar.</p>
+
+<p>At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred
+and forty-six men, met the advance guard of the
+Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and Max.</p>
+
+<p>The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable
+to the Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi
+himself arrived.</p>
+
+<p>There was a charm and magnetism about the man
+which made him irresistible.</p>
+
+<p>His presence was equal to a thousand men.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[219]</span></p>
+
+<p>In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead,
+and two thousand three hundred and seventy-three of his
+men lay stiffening under the tropical sun.</p>
+
+<p>The defeat was a thorough one.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except
+Khartoum and Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.</p>
+
+<p>The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.</p>
+
+<p>Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum.
+In the mosques his name was mentioned with that of
+the prophet, and the people prostrated themselves when
+reference was made to him.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.</p>
+
+<p>The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush
+any force which could be sent against it.</p>
+
+<p>The officers took things easy.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s
+headquarters, and Ibrahim had received a furlough or
+leave of absence for two months.</p>
+
+<p>This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“I have found him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom do you refer to?”</p>
+
+<p>“The last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[220]</span></p>
+
+<p>“And he is&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you sure, Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will
+restore the glories of his race and bring the whole world
+to believe in Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.</p>
+
+<p>The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he
+heard Max tell his story; how he had lost his father
+in the caves of the bandits, and had been rescued by
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>When Max narrated how he had become enthused over
+the story of the great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed
+Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.</p>
+
+<p>“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me.
+Stay with me, my son, and share in my triumph.”</p>
+
+<p>“No&mdash;the work is done. I shall go back to my own
+land, and shall do as other Americans have done before
+me&mdash;write a book, or tell on the platform the story of
+the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”</p>
+
+<p>Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded
+with him to stay until after his wedding with Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a
+most impressive wedding took place in the vestibule of a
+mosque at Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were
+worthy of the great prophet himself.</p>
+
+<p>To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:</p>
+
+<p>“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits<span class="pagenum">[221]</span>
+you to take three others; but take my advice&mdash;cleave
+to the one. It is better, and a new dispensation
+will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of our race
+have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is
+now written that if you be faithful to her on earth
+the gates of Paradise will open for you both, and she
+shall be your bride through all eternity.”</p>
+
+<p>After spending the customary seven days in prayer
+and religious observances, Ibrahim obtained permission
+to take his dusky bride on a trip up the Nile in company
+with Max.</p>
+
+<p>The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey
+that her loving husband accompanied her to Suez, where
+they bade farewell to Madcap Max as the Peninsular
+and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.</p>
+
+<p>Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he
+had made the journey on three years before.</p>
+
+<p>He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium
+of the journey was broken by the story of adventure told
+by the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>When Max reached New York he found himself the
+head of the firm, and the cares of business life caused
+him to relinquish the thought of “coining dollars” on the
+lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise to the
+author that some day he would tell him the story of
+his life.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known
+and highly respected merchant to tell the story.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[222]</span></p>
+
+<p>“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and
+you shall know all.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”</p>
+
+<p>Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but
+many a time he declared that no more true one ever
+lived than the Arab maiden.</p>
+
+<p>When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion
+on the following day he was surprised to find so many
+evidences of the Orient everywhere; but when, an hour
+later, Max took the author by the hand and led him
+into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there
+stood, waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the
+shawl manufactory, and found himself extremely wealthy.</p>
+
+<p>He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of
+the world, and so infatuated was he with the remembrance
+of Max, that nothing would satisfy him but to
+commence the journey proper from New York.</p>
+
+<p>That was how this story came to be written.</p>
+
+<p>Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a
+more lavish praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge
+he deserved.</p>
+
+<p>Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and
+his lovely bride, who does not look so dark and dusky
+in the modern American clothing as she did on the
+deserts of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares
+that Girzilla occupies every bit of his heart, and<span class="pagenum">[223]</span>
+he could not take three more wives, even if his religion
+ordered it.</p>
+
+<p>Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap
+and his friend, and although his heart turns sick
+sometimes as he thinks of the carnage he witnessed, yet
+he says he shall always look back with pride to the
+intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and
+the Mameluke, the result of his trip “In the Volcano’s
+Mouth.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p1">THE END.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxit">
+<p class="center xxlargefont" style="word-spacing:0.2em">TALES OF VICTORIES</p>
+
+<p>Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads
+of pluck and intelligence. Every true boy will
+be fascinated with these stories of the exciting adventures
+of boys who gladly gave their lives to
+freedom’s cause.</p>
+
+<p class="xlargefont center" style="word-spacing:0.2em"><em>BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY</em></p>
+
+
+<p class="numberitem1">3.&mdash;The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem1">7.&mdash;The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">11.&mdash;Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">15.&mdash;By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">19.&mdash;A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">23.&mdash;The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">26.&mdash;The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont" style="word-spacing:0.15em">Only Ten Cents Per Copy<br />
+At All Newsdealers</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont"><em>If ordered by mail, add four cents to
+cover postage.</em></p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH, Publishers<br />
+<span class="largefont">NEW YORK</span>
+</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxit1">
+
+<div class="center">
+<p class="displayinline center boldfont sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">BOUND TO WIN<br />
+LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline boldfont center" style="font-size:0.7em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em">A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature<br />
+for boys. Sept 14, 1905.</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline largefont" style="font-size:1.25em">NO. 134</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">Charles Garvice’s New Stories</p>
+
+<p>If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be
+waiting for the appearance of a new novel from the
+pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad to inform you
+that you will find it in</p>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">SMITH’S MAGAZINE</p>
+
+<p>In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories
+will appear in this magazine, as he is under contract
+to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S DESTINY”
+is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing
+interest. It began in the April number and is still
+being published.</p>
+
+<p>If you are one of the vast army who have depended
+upon cheap, occasional issues of early non-copyrights,
+of which there are now no more by this author,
+you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story,
+there are other features which make SMITH’S
+MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing
+of all ten-cent publications.</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont sansseriffont">PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont sansseriffont p1">PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<p class="displayinline center xlargefont sansseriffont">THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline center sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">156 FIFTH AVENUE<br />
+NEW YORK</p>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2 id="TN_end" style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>
+
+<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p>
+
+<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
+the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors
+have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>The following change was made:</p>
+
+<p><a id="BRef_211" href="#Ref_211">p. 211</a>: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 68164 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/old/68164-0.txt b/old/68164-0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b5d534
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/68164-0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9135 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the volcano's mouth, by Frank
+Sheridan
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: In the volcano's mouth
+       or, A boy against an army
+
+Author: Frank Sheridan
+
+Release Date: May 24, 2022 [eBook #68164]
+
+Language: English
+
+Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed
+             Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy
+             of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO'S MOUTH ***
+
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
+
+Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+No. 134
+
+BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY
+
+IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH
+
+BY FRANK SHERIDAN
+
+[Illustration]
+
+STREET & SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY
+
+We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of adventure
+for boys by this name because we felt assured that it was “bound to
+win” its way into the heart of every true American lad. The stories
+are exceptionally bright, clean and interesting. The writers had the
+interest of our boys at heart when they wrote the stories, and have not
+failed to show what a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do.
+Remember, that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any
+other series. We give herewith a list of those already published and
+those scheduled for publication.
+
+PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK
+
+To be Published During September
+
+  136--Spider and Stump                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  135--The Creature of the Pines                By John De Morgan
+  134--In the Volcano’s Mouth                   By Frank Sheridan
+  133--Muscles of Steel                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+
+To be Published During August
+
+  132--Home Base                            By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  131--The Jewel of Florida                     By Cornelius Shea
+  130--The Boys’ Revolt                  By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  129--The Mystic Isle                             By Fred Thorpe
+  128--With the Mad Mullah                      By Weldon J. Cobb
+
+To be Published During July
+
+  127--A Humble Hero                            By John De Morgan
+  126--For Big Money                               By Fred Thorpe
+  125--Too Fast to Last                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  124--Caught in a Trap                  By Harrie Irving Hancock
+
+  123--The Tattooed Boy                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+  122--The Young Horseman                     By Herbert Bellwood
+  121--Sam Sawbones                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  120--On His Mettle                               By Fred Thorpe
+  119--Compound Interest                 By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  118--Runaway and Rover                        By Weldon J. Cobb
+  117--Larry O’Keefe                        By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  116--The Boy Crusaders                        By John De Morgan
+  115--Double Quick Dan                            By Fred Thorpe
+  114--Money to Spend                    By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  113--Billy Barlow                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  112--A Battle with Fate                       By Weldon J. Cobb
+  111--Gypsy Joe                                By John De Morgan
+  110--Barred Out                                  By Fred Thorpe
+  109--Will Wilding                         By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  108--Frank Bolton’s Chase              By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  107--Lucky-Stone Dick                         By Weldon J. Cobb
+  106--Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe  By Frank Sheridan
+  105--Fatherless Bob at Sea                By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  104--Fatherless Bob                       By Bracebridge Hemyng
+  103--Hank the Hustler                            By Fred Thorpe
+  102--Dick Stanhope Afloat              By Harrie Irving Hancock
+  101--The Golden Harpoon                       By Weldon J. Cobb
+  100--Mischievous Matt’s Pranks            By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   99--Mischievous Matt                     By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   98--Bert Chipley                             By John De Morgan
+   97--Down-East Dave                              By Fred Thorpe
+   96--The Young Diplomat                By Harrie Irving Hancock
+   95--The Fool of the Family               By Bracebridge Hemyng
+   94--Slam, Bang & Co                          By Weldon J. Cobb
+   93--On the Road                              By Stanley Norris
+   92--The Blood-Red Hand                       By John De Morgan
+   91--The Diamond King                         By Cornelius Shea
+   90--The Double-Faced Mystery                    By Fred Thorpe
+   89--The Young Theatrical Manager             By Stanley Norris
+   88--The Young West-Pointer            By Harrie Irving Hancock
+   87--Held for Ransom                          By Weldon J. Cobb
+   86--Boot-Black Bob                           By John De Morgan
+   85--Engineer Tom                             By Cornelius Shea
+   84--The Mascot of Hoodooville                   By Fred Thorpe
+
+
+
+
+In the Volcano’s Mouth
+
+
+  OR
+  A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY
+
+  _By_ FRANK SHERIDAN, _author of_ “_Bert Fairfax_,”
+  “_Through Flame to Fame_,” “_Life-Line Larry_,” “_Lion-Hearted
+  Jack_,” _etc._
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS
+  79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  Copyright, 1890
+  By Norman L. Munro
+
+  In the Volcano’s Mouth
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I. MADCAP MAX.
+
+
+“All aboard!”
+
+“All but passengers ashore.”
+
+The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent palace
+steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and Oriental Line, sounded all
+along the Southampton docks, up the streets to the old gates, and even
+penetrated into some of the business houses of the quaint old English
+town.
+
+The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton, was one of
+serious import to those gathered on the deck of the steamer.
+
+Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a long one, and it
+is known the absence is for years, the last words are always tearful.
+
+On the deck stood two men, alone.
+
+Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed on their journey.
+
+And yet tears filled the eyes of both.
+
+The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as that of any
+mulatto, his long, white mustache standing out in startling contrast to
+the color of his skin.
+
+He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his hard muscles, and
+firm walk, would rather betoken a man of forty.
+
+By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in appearance,
+but perhaps only because of the contrast to his father; there was a
+brightness in his eyes which betokens an active spirit, and although so
+effeminate-looking, when he clinched his hand one could see the strong
+muscle rising beneath the sleeve.
+
+The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile firm of Gordon,
+Welter & Maxwell, of New York.
+
+The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called Max by those who
+are intimate with him, and “Madcap Max” by his closest companions.
+
+Gordon, Welter & Maxwell were interested in Egyptian produce, and for
+many years Maximilian Gordon had been a resident of Alexandria.
+
+His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been compelled to live
+in England, where young Max had been educated.
+
+The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and had just completed
+arrangements for them to return to Egypt with him when cholera broke
+out, and he arrived home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in
+death and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.
+
+Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English coast, which
+was by this time fast receding, their eyes were filled with tears, for
+they were leaving a plot of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a
+wife’s and mother’s grave.
+
+Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left the English
+Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted lad once again, laughing,
+chatting and larking with everyone he came in contact with.
+
+His father could not hide his grief so easily, but showed by his manner
+how nearly broken was his heart and ruined his life.
+
+When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were reached, Max had
+given plentiful evidence of his love of practical joking, and showed
+that he fully deserved his sobriquet of Madcap.
+
+One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.
+
+This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of Max, and was easily
+induced to adapt itself to the ways of the fun-loving youth.
+
+One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s nightcap, which he
+had obtained from a stewardess, and told Jocko he must lie in a certain
+bed.
+
+The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor, who declared
+that women and children were a nuisance.
+
+When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his utter astonishment,
+a head resting on his pillow.
+
+Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his room, shouting
+“Steward!” at the top of his voice.
+
+“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer, startled by the
+frantic shouting.
+
+“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”
+
+“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”
+
+“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the vessel if the
+offender is not punished.”
+
+“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer Tunley.
+
+“Of course--but when? Why, in a week’s time, when everyone will have
+easily forgotten--no, sir, come at once.”
+
+“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence, that it may have
+been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale----”
+
+“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate----”
+
+“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned, and three bottles
+of strong ale, are likely to disturb the vision.”
+
+“I’ll report you, sir--mark me, I’ll report you. Come, now, to my room,
+and if there is not a nigger baby there I’ll eat my hat.”
+
+“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”
+
+By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had fled the room, and Max
+had stripped the cap from its head.
+
+The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning, as if it enjoyed
+the joke.
+
+The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.
+
+“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his bed.
+
+“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer, with proud
+indignation. “Take care, sir, that it does not occur again.”
+
+The passenger was speechless.
+
+Another day, when the steamer _L’Orient_ was being tossed about in the
+most fantastic manner, sometimes taking a swift pitch forward, then
+curving and twisting in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a
+baseball pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for a pleasant
+diversion.
+
+A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board, to enable the
+company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.
+
+Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and saw them, with
+one accord, make for the saloon.
+
+That was just what he wanted.
+
+A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her horror she fell
+on the back of a pig, who set up such a squeaking and squealing that,
+although the passengers were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.
+
+After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria was sighted.
+
+“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob. “I am glad I have to
+stay at Alexandria, for _L’Orient_ is the worst disciplined ship I was
+ever in.”
+
+The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on board.
+
+And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths of the trouble
+was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.
+
+“Do we land here?” asked Max.
+
+“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”
+
+“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes still wider with
+astonishment.
+
+“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down at Alexandria.”
+
+“I am so glad.”
+
+Several scores of boats surrounded _L’Orient_, manned by swarthy and
+not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen or so seized upon Max and his
+father and literally dragged them to a boat.
+
+On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr. Gordon whispered
+to Max:
+
+“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your own.”
+
+“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full of fun as an
+undertaker.”
+
+“For your own sake be careful.”
+
+“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II. EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.
+
+
+When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers met them.
+
+No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the face of the earth
+than these same Arab donkey boys.
+
+They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost intuitively.
+
+An American who had never been in Egypt before, was looking at the
+surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers with wonder, when one of them
+pushed forward and addressed him as follows:
+
+“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is the one Pasha
+Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”
+
+“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only ride on Hail
+Columbia?”
+
+Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by Alexander three
+hundred and thirty-three years before the birth of Christ.
+
+Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the donkeys halted,
+and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.
+
+“This is home.”
+
+“Do you live here, dad?”
+
+“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our journey to-morrow.”
+
+Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone to that wonderful
+monolith of granite called “Pompey’s Pillar.”
+
+He sat down to think.
+
+He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and now he was actually
+looking on one of the wonders of that old country.
+
+Suddenly he heard a cry.
+
+It was like a girl’s voice.
+
+Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the sound.
+
+He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl--her face half covered
+with a white veil--rushed past him, shrieking and crying.
+
+“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.
+
+Two men were in pursuit.
+
+Max never stopped to think.
+
+He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did so, or whether it
+would be wise to interfere, he struck one of the Arabs to the earth,
+and threw himself against the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow,
+with muscles like iron.
+
+That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong, but he was
+unaccustomed to foul play.
+
+When, therefore, he found that the man he had knocked down had risen
+and drawn a long, sharp dagger, with which he threatened his life, Max
+saw the unwisdom of his defense of the Arab girl.
+
+A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his back brandishing a
+dagger, was enough to frighten an older man than Max.
+
+The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max did not understand.
+
+He struck at the man in front of him and made him stagger back, then
+with a quick movement, he stooped as he turned and caught the armed
+Arab round the legs, throwing him over his shoulder.
+
+He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought discretion better
+than valor. Using his legs as well as he could he ran away, only to be
+stopped by the girl he had--as he thought--rescued.
+
+She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly--though in an
+unknown tongue to Max--held him fast until his pursuers were close upon
+him.
+
+With a wild shout they seized him, and would have speedily rendered
+him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.
+
+A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in the prime of life,
+slowly and with deliberation took hold of one of the Arabs and flung
+him on one side.
+
+Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded him and
+the girl to go, and that quickly.
+
+“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.
+
+“Have I? Is it worth saving?”
+
+“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose it.”
+
+“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about Alexandria without
+weapons.”
+
+“What did they want with me?”
+
+“They would have captured you, and held you until ransomed.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“You are not rich, you would say. What does that matter? A ten-dollar
+gold piece would seem a fortune to them. The girl practices that scream
+on hundreds of unsuspecting foreigners.”
+
+“You speak of American money; are you from the States?”
+
+“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world, a cosmopolitan.”
+
+“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.
+
+“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved your life, prove
+that your life is of some value.”
+
+The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented streets of that
+city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting the admiration of all to
+the savage beauty of that
+
+  “Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;
+   Brow-bound with burning gold.”
+
+Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and almost was inclined
+to doubt, for he was at that age when the laughing black eyes of a girl
+fascinate and lure, sometimes to ruin.
+
+Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from the Arabs.
+
+He saw that night how much his father was respected, but he saw that
+which made his heart sad. His father was bowed down with grief.
+
+And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion as strong as his
+love of life.
+
+When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only eight summers of
+life, all had seemed roseate.
+
+Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon accompanied her husband
+to Egypt; but at the end of three years the malarious climate had
+rendered it impossible for her to live there, and she returned to
+England to be near Max.
+
+For seven years the husband had only been able to spend three months in
+the year with the wife he so loved.
+
+Then came the time when once more the mother of Max was ready to brave
+the treacherous climate of Egypt.
+
+How the husband had looked forward to that time, and with what
+pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything to please her was
+obtained.
+
+Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no wonder that Mr.
+Gordon should feel most wretched when he returned to his Oriental home,
+and knew that she would never grace it with her presence.
+
+His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him there was anxiety,
+for the stern business man--the successful merchant had only seen the
+frivolous side of his son’s life.
+
+To him he was the madcap.
+
+To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous lad, whose
+thoughts were of fun and amusement.
+
+Early next morning they took train to Cairo.
+
+How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think of traveling by
+a railroad in that country, so famous in Bible stories!
+
+The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous fancy of traveling
+by means of steam through Egypt and Palestine:
+
+  “Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!
+   Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”
+
+has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor shout out:
+“Gizeh--all out for Gizeh,” on the route between Alexandria and Cairo.
+
+At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon roused up, and
+told Max of the slaughter of the Mamelukes--that wonderful body of men
+who, from being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.
+
+“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed Ali, in 1811, was
+organizing his expedition against the Wahhabees, he heard that the
+Mamelukes designed to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their
+chief to be present at the investiture of his son with the command of
+the army.
+
+“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After receiving a most
+flattering welcome they were invited to parade in the courtyard of the
+citadel.”
+
+“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to impress them with his
+generosity?”
+
+“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled within its lofty
+walls; the portcullis fell behind the last of their glittering array;
+too late they perceived that their host had caught them in a trap, and
+they turned to effect a retreat.
+
+“In vain.
+
+“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred windows and
+blank, pitiless walls.
+
+“But they saw more.
+
+“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from those muskets
+incessant volleys were poured.
+
+“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage worthy of the
+past history of the Mamelukes.
+
+“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms, and stood waiting
+for death.”
+
+“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.
+
+“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But some, with angry
+brows, drew their swords and charged upon the gunners.
+
+“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the withering fire did
+its deadly work.”
+
+“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.
+
+“Only one escaped.”
+
+“How did he manage it?”
+
+“Emin Bey--for that was his name--spurred his Arabian charger over a
+pile of his dead and dying comrades. He sprang upon the battlements;
+the next moment he was in the air; another and he released himself from
+his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of bullets.”
+
+“What became of him?”
+
+“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and finally escaped
+into the desert.”
+
+“Is he dead?”
+
+“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged man at that time, and
+that is over seventy years ago.”
+
+“Had he any sons?”
+
+“I believe so. Why do you ask?”
+
+“Because I would like to see any of his descendants. I would like to
+speak to them. It would be a proud honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate
+salt, with the grandson of Emin Bey.’”
+
+“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”
+
+“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”
+
+Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the merry, happy,
+careless boy.
+
+“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than slave hunters or
+pirates now.”
+
+“I hope you are wrong, dad.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III. IN A DESERT TOMB.
+
+
+The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes filled Max with a
+restless ambition.
+
+He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go “far from the madding
+crowd,” into the midst of the wild residents of the Dark Continent.
+
+Like those who believe the American Indians to be a grand race,
+persecuted without reason by the dominant power, so Max looked upon the
+residents of the Dark Continent as being a superior people.
+
+He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his boyish ideas would
+be laughed at, but he spent all his waking moments dreaming dreams of
+the savages of the jungles.
+
+The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was something too
+civilized about the houses.
+
+The lattices--which covered the windows instead of glass--pleased him,
+and many a time would he catch a glimpse of some white brow of a lady
+fair through the interstices of the lattice, and would feel like
+
+  “The lover, all as frantic
+   Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”
+
+It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the wonders of the
+city--save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis--had been seen, and these
+had to be left to a future visit, for business called the merchant
+back to Alexandria.
+
+Max pleaded for one more day--or at least that their journey should be
+deferred until the morrow.
+
+He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun, where existed the
+university at which Moses was educated, and the daughter of one of
+whose professors Joseph married.
+
+And so Mr. Gordon yielded.
+
+Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore tree, hollow, gnarled
+and almost leafless, beneath the branches of which tradition says that
+Joseph and Mary rested with the infant Christ in their flight into
+Egypt.
+
+The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand years, was
+gazed at by young Madcap with a certain amount of awe.
+
+It was dark before Max was ready to return.
+
+Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr. Gordon, to please
+Max, dispensed with the guides who had been good for nothing save the
+receipt of backsheesh, and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their
+right.
+
+They had not gone far before they came upon a number of wild-looking
+fellows, half Arab, half Nubian--a species of creature which is
+interesting as a study at long range, but whose acquaintance is not
+desirable.
+
+“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.
+
+“We must pass them.”
+
+“Is it safe?”
+
+“No, Max, far from it.”
+
+“Then why not retrace our steps?”
+
+“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”
+
+“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”
+
+“We might, but they would help these fellows rather than us in order to
+share the backsheesh.”
+
+While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed a circle round
+them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.
+
+Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers closed in and stood
+shoulder to shoulder in firm and solid phalanx.
+
+“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.
+
+“Money,” was the reply.
+
+“You shall have all I have got with me.”
+
+“Hand it over.”
+
+Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand, but no sooner had he
+put his hand into his pocket than they suspected danger.
+
+“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your hands!”
+
+It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back ocean’s tidal waves
+with a broom as to oppose the demands of those robbers of the desert.
+
+Mr. Gordon raised his hands.
+
+“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English was intelligible.
+
+Max raised his hands as he was commanded.
+
+Every article of value was taken from them, and the robbers seemed to
+be satisfied.
+
+“Sit down!” the chief commanded.
+
+“What for?” asked Max.
+
+But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart blow on the cheek
+which caused him to reel.
+
+That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered the blow with
+another.
+
+The chief interfered and stopped the fight.
+
+“Sit down!”
+
+Again Max pluckily asked:
+
+“What for?”
+
+“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”
+
+“Are you?”
+
+“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding, even to the
+death.”
+
+“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his eyes flashed with
+defiance.
+
+“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are bidden; it will be
+better so.”
+
+But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused, and he turned to
+his father almost angrily.
+
+“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am an American, and I
+will not obey such a command without knowing the reason.”
+
+“You are a fool!”
+
+It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand such a speech, and he
+rushed at the strong Arab chief, aiming a blow which, had it struck the
+man on the temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an expert
+boxer.
+
+The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was caught round the legs
+and thrown to the ground.
+
+A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and he was rendered
+powerless.
+
+“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a sneer.
+
+“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max, defiantly. “Frightened
+of a boy less than half your age. Oh! you are a brave chief, are you
+not?”
+
+“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”
+
+“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.
+
+“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.
+
+“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send that young fool
+there”--pointing to Max--“with one of my men for twenty thousand
+piasters, and when he returns with it, both shall go free.”
+
+Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand dollars.
+
+“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.
+
+“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too much,” answered
+the chief, pointing with his dagger at Max.
+
+“But he cannot get the money.”
+
+“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it you shall die.”
+
+Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.
+
+He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with bandits such as these,
+and that the authorities made but a poor pretense of suppressing the
+lawless bands.
+
+He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He knew he had
+wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.
+
+One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and instantly all was
+in commotion.
+
+The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to the back of donkeys.
+
+The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away from the vicinity of
+the city at a speed that Max could not believe a donkey was capable of
+maintaining.
+
+But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed the secret of
+making the native donkey forget its natural laziness and go with the
+speed of a well-trained mule.
+
+“Where are we going?” asked Max.
+
+He was answered by a slap across the face, which nearly capsized him.
+
+“Another word and the body of the American shall be but carrion.”
+
+“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was trembling with fear.
+
+The chief led the way across a sandy desert.
+
+The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting sand look like
+so much dazzling silver.
+
+It was a scene of weird grandeur.
+
+In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments of a past
+civilization, which are alike the envy and the wonder of the world.
+
+The procession seemed to be winding round the city at an increasing
+distance, and nearing the pyramids.
+
+Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.
+
+The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he enjoyed it.
+
+If he could but have talked to the chief--if he could have been free,
+his happiness would have been complete.
+
+But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.
+
+He dare not speak, and could not act.
+
+Before he was aware of it the scene changed.
+
+He could not understand in what way at first.
+
+The sand was there, the moon was shining, although not so brightly, but
+he could not see the pyramids.
+
+The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him that they had
+entered a broad, inclined road, and were descending below the level of
+the sandy desert.
+
+Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s rays were no longer
+seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed donkeys walked forward.
+
+Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was over and
+between great rocks.
+
+Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had to be passed,
+and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently traversed the
+uncertain road.
+
+“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.
+
+His voice sounded like a shout, although he had spoken under his breath.
+
+The stillness of the place was awful.
+
+Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.
+
+He began to think that the road he traveled led to death.
+
+But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere seemed to
+change.
+
+He could breathe freely.
+
+There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did not seem so
+much like that of the grave.
+
+“Halt!”
+
+The command was given in English, and all understood it.
+
+Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence of ceremony,
+Max and his father were dragged from their donkeys and thrown with
+unnecessary violence on the ground.
+
+Then again all was still.
+
+Were they alone?
+
+Max could not endure the silence any longer.
+
+“Dad!” he called out.
+
+A blow on the head reminded him that speech was forbidden.
+
+What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians--whatever nationality
+they might be--could see in the dark.
+
+He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of the night.
+
+The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds seeming like an
+hour, every hour as long as a day.
+
+With an almost supernatural quickness a score of pitch torches were
+lighted, and Max saw that he was in a great cave.
+
+Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every direction.
+
+One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the blocks of granite
+had been fashioned by man, and brought to that cave at some period of
+Egypt’s greatness.
+
+He looked round for his father, and screamed with horror when he saw
+the bronzed face of the only relative he had all covered with blood.
+
+When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey, his head struck a
+sharp piece of granite, and was severely wounded.
+
+The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered him to be lifted
+tenderly into the center of the cave.
+
+Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet had been again tied
+together.
+
+“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”
+
+The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was on his lips.
+
+“Max--I--am--going--av----”
+
+Was he going to say “Avenge me?”
+
+Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the dying man’s mouth, and
+the bandits commenced a wild, weird dance round the body.
+
+Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max and tried to speak,
+but either the cloth still prevented him or his voice was hushed by the
+great shadow of death which was over him.
+
+A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s soul had gone into
+the “Great Beyond” to join that of his loved wife.
+
+Max knew he was now alone.
+
+He could not weep.
+
+His eyes were hot as burning coals.
+
+If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they would ease him;
+but no, his eyes were dry and his brain seemed scorched.
+
+His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak it appeared to
+fill up his mouth.
+
+The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet, and instinct
+told him that he was alone--alone with the dead.
+
+Not a sound disturbed the silence.
+
+A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.
+
+“What if he were left there to starve to death beside his father’s
+body?”
+
+Madcap Max was not a coward.
+
+He had no real fear of death, but he would rather meet the great
+destroyer on the open field, or in any way but that slow struggle in
+the solitude of a big grave--a death from starvation.
+
+The strongest soul would quake.
+
+The hours passed along.
+
+Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter who may wish to
+stay them.
+
+Max began to think of other things besides death.
+
+He wondered how he could escape. And if he did, how could he avenge his
+father’s death?
+
+Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.
+
+Youth had conquered.
+
+Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have been a raving maniac.
+
+Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep,” came
+to his relief and saved his reason.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV. UNDER THE PYRAMID.
+
+
+Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.
+
+When the visions of the night visited his brain, they shaped themselves
+in pleasing form.
+
+He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the sight seemed
+stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared to Max that the foul
+murder committed by Mohammed Ali was necessary--that from that murder
+would spring the regeneration of Egypt.
+
+Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that the brave Mameluke
+still lived, and was at the head of an all-conquering army, overcoming
+French and English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt from
+foreign rule.
+
+And as all this passed before the mental vision of the sleeping
+American boy, he thought that by the side of the conqueror he rode--not
+as he was then, a beardless youth, but with bronzed face and flowing
+beard--a turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed carried
+by his side.
+
+Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not dead, but living,
+and successful as a merchant. By his side was the wife whose love had
+been so lavishly given to her husband and her son.
+
+The sight of his father and mother brought tears to the dreamer’s eyes,
+and caused him to wake.
+
+It was some time before he could bring back to his memory the events of
+the preceding day.
+
+When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.
+
+Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it still in the cave?
+
+Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and escape from that
+living tomb?
+
+“Hush!”
+
+Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank of a gust of wind?
+
+Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.
+
+He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did not speak.
+
+“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”
+
+“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone mad?”
+
+He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the darkness.
+
+“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness with a
+vengeance.”
+
+“Dost thou want to die?”
+
+The question came out of the darkness and sounded afar off, yet Max
+could almost fancy that the breath of the speaker fanned his cheek.
+
+“Who is that speaks?”
+
+“Question not my name.”
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”
+
+The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft as a whisper.
+
+“Am I then under the pyramid?”
+
+“That is how thou wouldst express it.”
+
+“Will you aid me to escape?”
+
+“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”
+
+“Nay--thou art a woman.”
+
+“_Wah Illahi sahe!_”
+
+(By Allah, it is true.)
+
+“I would not harm thee.”
+
+“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the prophet that
+thou wilt not seek revenge.”
+
+“The price is too great.”
+
+“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”
+
+“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent tone, which
+sounded almost ridiculous in the dark, but which would have been the
+signal for a burst of applause from the gallery of a theater had an
+actor so uttered the words on a stage.
+
+All was still as the grave.
+
+He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the cord cut into the
+flesh.
+
+His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for death.
+
+“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned, aloud, as the
+agony of the thought took possession of his mind.
+
+“Help!”
+
+He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back mockingly:
+
+“Help!”
+
+He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint echo of his words.
+
+“I shall die,” he groaned.
+
+“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.
+
+His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh with boisterous
+guffaws.
+
+It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.
+
+The echo answered back.
+
+The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.
+
+“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning force on the
+rock.
+
+When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet breath of air was
+blowing on his face.
+
+He was being fanned.
+
+He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze might cease.
+
+The fanning continued until at last he could bear the silence no longer.
+
+“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.
+
+“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri, wilt thou follow me?”
+
+“I will.”
+
+By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its glare Max saw the
+horrible cave to which he had been removed by some unknown hands.
+
+Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and blocks of red granite
+in endless confusion.
+
+But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw--
+
+A girl.
+
+She was not what the fashionable world would call lovely.
+
+Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s wing.
+
+Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her head, almost like a
+halo of glory.
+
+Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle was a massive
+band of silver similar to those she wore on each arm above the elbow.
+
+Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could scarcely believe but that
+it was a phantasm of the mind which was before him, and not a living
+entity.
+
+She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might her wand, and in
+a voice of rare sweetness said:
+
+“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”
+
+“I am bound,” answered Max.
+
+Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she pointed laughingly at
+the severed cords, and again she said:
+
+“Come! Follow me!”
+
+“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.
+
+“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”
+
+The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange thrill to pass
+through him.
+
+“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the light.
+
+“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.
+
+And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange creature who had found
+him alone and suffering in the cave beneath the great pyramid.
+
+Followed! But where?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V. GIRZILLA.
+
+
+With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl, Madcap
+Max followed her, without asking any question until she suddenly
+extinguished the torch.
+
+“Why did you do that?” he inquired.
+
+The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously placed her hand over
+his mouth and held it there so tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.
+
+He struggled to release himself, but she was strong, and to add to her
+power, she whispered:
+
+“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”
+
+However disagreeable it might be it was better to have a pretty girl’s
+hand over his mouth than to be killed, and therefore Max made no
+further resistance.
+
+A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks, attracted his
+attention.
+
+“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.
+
+“Yes; what is it?”
+
+“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek thee.”
+
+“And if they find?”
+
+“Will kill. I will save, if----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress and follow. The least
+noise may seal thy fate and mine.”
+
+“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”
+
+“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I am Girzilla. Let
+that be my name.”
+
+“I will call thee Gazelle.”
+
+“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”
+
+Whoever the girl with the strange name might be, she evidently knew her
+way, for never once did her foot slip, although Max found his ankles
+turning every minute, and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress,
+which, though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen cord, he
+would have fallen frequently.
+
+“Sit down!”
+
+The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in the nature of a
+command.
+
+Max did as ordered, and sat in silence--a silence so great that he
+could hear the beating of his heart, and fancied that he could also
+distinguish the pulsations of his guide’s organ of life at the same
+time. The silence was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and
+restless.
+
+“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I confess this is
+the strangest,” he mused.
+
+“To save thee, thou must go through the place of the dead.”
+
+The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral that
+Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.
+
+“Hast thou courage?” she asked.
+
+“I--h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with nervous fear of
+the unknown.
+
+“Come!”
+
+Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla walked slower than
+before.
+
+Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it made him groan with
+pain.
+
+“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.
+
+Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.
+
+He could not go back, for he did not know the way, and he dare not go
+forward alone, for he was afraid.
+
+Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed softly and
+murmured:
+
+“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she will save him.”
+
+Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher than his knees, he
+followed as well as he could.
+
+Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a glimmer of light
+showed that the sun had risen again, and found some crevice through
+which it sent its heavenly rays.
+
+Gradually the light increased, and the road became better.
+
+The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes on his feet
+drying up, and even baking.
+
+He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered his tender feet.
+
+High up above him was an opening, through which the light and heat came.
+
+“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone from
+there”--and Girzilla pointed upward--“would make thee fit for a mummy.”
+
+Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned to ice, and he was
+almost afraid to glance upward.
+
+“Where are we?”
+
+“Under the temple of great Isis.”
+
+“Under?”
+
+“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost stand.”
+
+“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious passages, but I am
+hungry and cold.”
+
+“Just now thou wert hot.”
+
+“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”
+
+“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee where thou canst
+rest.”
+
+A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway gave place to
+a large plateau, on which huge bowlders were scattered promiscuously.
+
+Scattered--apparently too large for human hands to move, and yet they
+bore evidence of having been transported thither.
+
+They were of red granite, while the native rocks were of a different
+stone.
+
+Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite blocks, but he
+quickly left his seat.
+
+He leaped away as though he had been stung by a viper.
+
+Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his annoyance.
+
+The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor Max felt he would be
+baked or fried if he stayed there a minute.
+
+Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and began scratching
+away the sand.
+
+“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was sulking since she had
+laughed at him.
+
+“The way we must go is under this stone.”
+
+“Under that stone!” repeated Max.
+
+“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go through it.”
+
+The girl was right.
+
+The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze herself through,
+while the madcap declared he would not descend.
+
+“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”
+
+The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to follow the girl,
+though in doing so he tore his clothes and scratched his face.
+
+But once down, he was amply repaid.
+
+The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere of which was
+charmingly cool.
+
+Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on an open
+sarcophagus.
+
+She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing nothing, and having
+no superstitious dread of sitting on the stone coffin, wherein was
+dust, which had once been molded in human form.
+
+“I have food here.”
+
+“Food?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Here?”
+
+“Yes; art thou not hungry?”
+
+“I am. But the place is a tomb.”
+
+“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”
+
+“Have been buried here, you mean?”
+
+“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those who would kill him,
+and sought refuge here.”
+
+“Tell me of him.”
+
+“He fought--oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right and left with his
+scimiter, and when he got tired he spurred his horse and made a run for
+liberty.”
+
+“Did you know him?”
+
+“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked coquettishly at
+Madcap.
+
+“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”
+
+“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier, a Mameluke----”
+
+“What! Was it Emin Bey?”
+
+“That was how he was called.”
+
+“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he any sons? Tell me, I am
+all impatience.”
+
+“I see you are; but you must eat.”
+
+This houri of the caves--a strange child of the desert--pushed aside
+the lid of another sarcophagus and took therefrom a piece of confection
+known as Turkish delight.
+
+She offered it to Max, but he turned away.
+
+Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with all the ardor
+with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.
+
+“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another bite.
+
+Approaching close to Max she held the confection close to his mouth,
+and he was tempted to take a small piece.
+
+It was so appetizing that he asked for more.
+
+When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some bread--cakes baked
+in the sun, not in an oven--and some fruit, but what kind it was Max
+did not know.
+
+He ate heartily and felt refreshed.
+
+But he was thirsty.
+
+Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most delicious sherbet
+he had ever tasted.
+
+When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that he must stay there
+until she came for him.
+
+“Am I to be here alone?”
+
+“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape for thee.”
+
+“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”
+
+“I have my reasons.”
+
+“And will you not tell me?”
+
+“I heard thee speak to him who is not----”
+
+“You mean my father?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“When?”
+
+“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to eat salt with the
+sons of Emin Bey.”
+
+“And are you interested?”
+
+“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant of Emin and he
+will restore Egypt to its greatness--I have said it, and the prophet
+hath spoken.”
+
+“And will you help me?”
+
+“If I can. I--had--another--reason----”
+
+Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked confused, and
+really blushed.
+
+“And that was----” asked Max.
+
+“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even though I lose thee.
+I will prevent thy enemies taking thee, even if thou spurned me ever
+after. Oh! how shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever saw,
+and--I--love--thee.”
+
+Before Max could recover from his astonishment she had fled.
+
+Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as she was, she felt
+she could not meet the eyes of the youth to whom she had confessed her
+love.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI. WAS IT AN ECHO?
+
+
+When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and that self-interest,
+at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable to attempt to escape, he
+began to look about his strange abode.
+
+Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.
+
+She was refined and educated--of that there could be no doubt.
+
+She had said she had several names, but only one had she given him.
+
+What did the word mean?
+
+It had some special significance--of that he was sure.
+
+Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient language of the
+Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient Syrian?
+
+How did she overhear his conversation about the Mamelukes?
+
+“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head growing dizzy
+with puzzling over the matter.
+
+“How long am I to remain here?”
+
+There was no one to answer the question, so it had to remain still in
+the realm of doubt.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+That query he could answer with a positiveness that could not be
+controverted. He was in a tomb.
+
+At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got accustomed to the
+idea. After eating and drinking there, much of the superstitious fear
+had left him.
+
+“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am tired and exhausted.
+The sand man has been about a long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my
+eyes, up my nostrils, down my throat, in my ears--the sand man has done
+his work this time. What was that?”
+
+Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to be alone in
+a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise, and to be nearly
+suffocated with dust, to have the torch knocked over--fortunately
+not extinguished--would be sufficient to set the strongest nerves
+quivering, and make the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise
+his head.
+
+He was afraid to open his eyes.
+
+Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion was caused by a
+huge bat trying to escape from the inhabited tomb.
+
+Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage enough to lift up the
+torch, which had nearly burned itself out.
+
+If his torch went out, what was he to do?
+
+He was far from being a madcap at that time.
+
+But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits rising, perhaps
+aided considerably by his eyes suddenly perceiving another torch.
+
+“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh, old fellow?”
+
+Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies in the place?
+
+He lighted the torch, and began to look round his prison house.
+
+On the walls--which had once been smoothed by sculptor’s skill--were
+the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
+
+“These old fellows believed in having their tombs beautiful!” exclaimed
+Max, aloud.
+
+And the words had scarcely left his lips when his hair began to rise on
+his head, for he heard a voice add, with sepulchral emphasis:
+
+“Beautiful!”
+
+“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own voice.
+
+“There!”
+
+“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it was startling,
+especially when the voice of the tomb repeated the last syllable:
+
+“Oh!”
+
+But the sturdy young American laughed; and the whole tomb seemed alive
+with demoniac mirth, as the walls beat back the loud guffaws of the
+youth.
+
+“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.
+
+“Mad!” repeated the echo.
+
+With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent for a time, afraid of
+the echo, and yet not afraid to continue his search.
+
+Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables was a
+sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not been opened.
+
+Here was something to do.
+
+He resolved to open the stone casket.
+
+The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid was not fastened
+down, and Max was able to push it on one side.
+
+He brought over a torch so that he might the better look into the huge
+cavern-like coffin.
+
+When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by the cloths, was
+that of a woman.
+
+“Who can it have been?” he wondered.
+
+And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to unwrap the body,
+which may have been hidden from the world two or three thousand years,
+and present the mummy to his strange girl friend.
+
+Max was now in his glory.
+
+He had something to do, and at the same time his spirit of mischief was
+aroused.
+
+He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened if she entered and
+saw a mummified Egyptian looking at her.
+
+It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that was all that Max did
+it for.
+
+He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily, but when he came
+to the second, he found that the ancient Egyptians knew how to make a
+strong bandage, for every fold had to be cut with his knife.
+
+Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of corn.
+
+The latter interested him, for while the grains looked like wheat, the
+general appearance was that of barley, only there were seven ears on
+every stalk.
+
+“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to America I’ll plant
+it and see if embalmed wheat will grow.”
+
+As this thought passed through the mind of the daring young desecrator
+of the dead, he began to whistle “Yankee Doodle.”
+
+The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled the more
+distinct was the echo.
+
+Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its depths as the
+thought crossed his mind that men who had been buried there thousands
+of years before America was known to civilization were, through the
+echo, joining in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”
+
+“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but I’d rather be an
+American citizen than----”
+
+“A mummy.”
+
+That was no echo.
+
+It was a human voice.
+
+Max could stand no more.
+
+His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning, his lips
+were parched.
+
+“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the floor, scattering
+the dust of centuries and causing the tomb to be filled with a cloud,
+suffocating and unpleasant.
+
+When he recovered consciousness he was still lying on the floor, but
+his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and she was fanning him with a palm
+leaf which she had brought in with her.
+
+“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”
+
+“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”
+
+“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”
+
+“I thought----”
+
+“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered the voice which
+perished before Isis’ great temple was built. You silly--silly boy. But
+what were you doing?”
+
+There was so much nineteenth century life about Girzilla that Max
+thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.
+
+He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she chided him for doing
+it.
+
+“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so high,” she said,
+placing her hand about two feet above the floor.
+
+“You have!”
+
+“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to you.”
+
+“You were?”
+
+“Did I not say so?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing you found?”
+
+“I did not see any.”
+
+“I placed some there.”
+
+“When?”
+
+“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I placed it there.”
+
+“Where did you find it? What is it about?”
+
+“I don’t know; I could not read it.”
+
+“Get it for me.”
+
+“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy, and holds me down.”
+
+“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”
+
+“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using an Egyptian
+metaphor which in more modern English would mean: “You are a
+flatterer,” or “You have kissed the blarney stone.”
+
+Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought to be, so he sprang
+to his feet and reached over into the casket, drawing therefrom a
+package of papers which were decidedly modern.
+
+The language was a strange one to him, however, and his only hope was
+that once away from the strange tomb he might find some one who could
+translate the document for him.
+
+He had become an ardent Egyptologist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII. SPLENDID HEROISM.
+
+
+“We will leave here at once.”
+
+There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:
+
+“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”
+
+“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I must search for
+Emin’s race.”
+
+“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”--god of the
+sun--“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart must be rent in twain.”
+
+“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore thy family to the
+powerful throne?”
+
+“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses care not for my
+people.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness. Girzilla
+will take thee from thine enemies and will return to the tomb.”
+
+“You are sad.”
+
+“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”
+
+Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot, scalding tears poured
+from his eyes.
+
+She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly a week ago.
+
+A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had not been able
+to weep.
+
+The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than any other thing
+could have done.
+
+Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him weep, for she knew
+the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.
+
+Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.
+
+With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon herself as the
+consoler of the bereaved one, because she had been present when his
+eyes first opened to the great sorrow.
+
+When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.
+
+She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.
+
+“Follow me,” she said, coldly.
+
+“Nay, stay a while.”
+
+“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be free?”
+
+“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored this tomb.”
+
+Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes flashed with
+scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly, causing the muscles upon
+her arms to distend until the silver armlets must have cut into the
+flesh.
+
+Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.
+
+“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and carry away its images,
+destroy its old ruins, ransack the temples, overthrow the gods, and,
+not satisfied with that, dare even to desecrate the tombs!”
+
+“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.
+
+“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even though I knew I
+might die in thy place.”
+
+“What mean you? Are you in danger?”
+
+Girzilla laughed bitterly.
+
+“Danger!--how silly you are!” And then, changing her manner, she added:
+“Have you any sense? Do you Franks ever think? I know these men who
+brought thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold and slit
+your nose--that they would slowly kill thee. Like the bird of prey
+looking for its victim were they. I saved thee--wilt not the vulture
+turn upon me? Thou knowest I shall die if I am caught.”
+
+There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner which seemed to
+raise her from the apathetic lazy Egyptian race and elevate her to the
+level of the American.
+
+Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned him to be silent.
+
+“I have been here since I was so high”--again measuring two feet from
+the ground. “Did I ever take the sacred bandages from the bodies of
+the embalmed? Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour without
+desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee--Osiris will return and
+claim his own.”
+
+Max listened.
+
+He was charmed.
+
+What a splendid actress this girl would make!
+
+What a magnificent woman she was!--and yet in years she could be only a
+girl.
+
+“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed in them,” Max
+ventured to say.
+
+“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape--if thou wouldst find the
+son’s son of Emin, get thee ready and I will lead thee to the desert,
+the way that Emin traveled.”
+
+“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”
+
+“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and when thou art safe I
+may go.”
+
+She turned away her head to hide her tears.
+
+Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from a sarcophagus a
+scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor, a knife with double edge,
+keen as a dagger, and a small stiletto.
+
+These she handed to Max.
+
+“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared to leave the cave.
+
+“Come, and quickly.”
+
+“I have offended thee----” Max commenced, but Girzilla had scrambled
+through the opening, and could not hear what he was saying.
+
+She led him across the burning sands; at every step his feet seemed to
+be blistering. There was no shade save from the great bowlders, and
+they were so hot that it was unpleasant to approach them.
+
+On she went, keeping in advance of the American.
+
+Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted to speak she
+motioned him to be silent.
+
+It was like a new country--a land without inhabitants.
+
+Where were they?
+
+So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living thing to be
+seen.
+
+Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting sand, but never
+stopping.
+
+Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too proud to suggest it.
+
+The sun was high in the heavens.
+
+The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.
+
+Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.
+
+He walked along mechanically.
+
+All control over himself appeared to be lost.
+
+Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving, without the power
+to stop.
+
+His eyes no longer saw the sand--they were hot and glassy with the
+glare of the sun.
+
+Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in front of him.
+
+Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.
+
+That was more eloquent than words.
+
+Girzilla was by his side in a moment.
+
+A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and some water was
+poured down the youth’s throat.
+
+She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when he was helpless
+and suffering, she could not resist.
+
+She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin might not blister.
+
+He was unconscious.
+
+“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”
+
+Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the heat--she was
+accustomed to it.
+
+“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the man she referred to
+was many miles away.
+
+“I will try.”
+
+The speech was in answer to her thoughts.
+
+Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped over the prostrate form
+of Madcap Max, and raised him as if he were a child.
+
+Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.
+
+She carried him a few steps.
+
+The perspiration ran in streams down her face.
+
+The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.
+
+She had to rest.
+
+Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards or so.
+
+It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die if she left him
+there.
+
+She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again took him in her
+arms.
+
+But her strength gave out.
+
+She fell with her burden on the hot sand.
+
+Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the battle.
+
+She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.
+
+The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on until she had
+scraped away the sand a foot deep.
+
+Into this hole she rolled Max.
+
+The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence, but Girzilla
+cared not, if Max were but safe.
+
+She looked for something to shelter him.
+
+Nothing could be seen.
+
+With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen blouse which was
+the only covering of the upper part of her body, and sprinkling it well
+with water, laid it over the youth’s face.
+
+Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American, was exposed to
+the torture of the heat.
+
+The thermometer must have registered a hundred and fifty degrees, but
+Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and waited.
+
+She had placed herself in a position between the sun and Max.
+
+Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent heroine,
+shielded the American from the rays of the Egyptian sun.
+
+Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her skin. A slight
+breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across her, but it carried
+myriads of sand flies and atoms of sand with it.
+
+The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked the blistered
+flesh.
+
+The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.
+
+Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise, but a look of
+self-denying heroism crossed her face, and she remained still.
+
+“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and that was enough.
+
+He must be saved at all costs.
+
+Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts became more
+indistinct.
+
+She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.
+
+But if it would save him, she was satisfied.
+
+She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his forehead.
+
+Her garment was still there, shielding his face from the sun.
+
+“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she moaned.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII. SHERIF EL HABIB.
+
+
+“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his prophet.”
+
+The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet, and had
+prostrated himself, bowing before the setting sun.
+
+“Allah be praised!”
+
+The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate on the carpet.
+
+In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting for their chief
+to rise.
+
+When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked in the direction
+of the setting sun, bowed his head once more, and sat down on the sand
+to put on his sandals.
+
+The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.
+
+Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the manner of the
+chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most picturesque appearance.
+
+Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and folded up the carpet,
+placing it with great care on the back of a camel, which had been
+brought forward.
+
+The chief--Sherif el Habib--walked away from his servants, his
+companion being a youth, fair as a girl, but strong as a lion.
+
+“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to the youth.
+
+“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”
+
+“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine eyes have not seen the
+glory of his coming.”
+
+“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at Cairo?”
+
+“And why not?”
+
+“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through the lattices
+would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered Ibrahim, smiling, as
+he uttered the words.
+
+“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the holy prophet spoken
+of the Prophet of prophets, who should come and restore the ancient
+glory of Egypt, and after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the
+crescent and Mahomet in every land?”
+
+“But why do you think he has come now?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet say out to me:
+‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou the sea and go as I direct thee,
+and thine eyes shall see the glory of the last _imaum_’--leader--‘the
+rise of the Mahdi of whom I spake.’”
+
+“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed the Red Sea,
+wandered about these deserts for months, deserted the towns and left
+the pretty girls--I beg pardon--all because of a dream.”
+
+“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material. Is there nothing
+better than making shawls?”
+
+“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to Alexandria, to
+Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh, uncle, you are rich; give up
+these dreams, and let us enjoy life.”
+
+“Ibrahim, how old are you?”
+
+“Eighteen, uncle.”
+
+“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years and all my wealth will
+be thine; then thou canst journey whither thou pleasest. But I have a
+mission. When I go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have
+seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”
+
+It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that before the end of
+the world there shall arise a mahdi--literally, a director who shall be
+of the family of Mahomet, whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and who
+should fill the world with righteousness. For six hundred years the
+Mohammedans have been expecting their messiah to appear.
+
+“As thou wilt, uncle, but----”
+
+Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried salaam of
+Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential eunuch and secretary.
+
+“What is it, Effendi?”
+
+“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful girl hath
+fainted, and with her----”
+
+“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”
+
+“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou----”
+
+“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as you do. Go along, I
+care not for all the girls of Egypt.”
+
+Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech, for he had hurried
+away with Effendi.
+
+The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where Madcap Max had
+fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.
+
+Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and seemed strangely
+disturbed.
+
+He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and found that both
+were alive.
+
+“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then, turning to
+Effendi, he motioned him to follow.
+
+Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack a small bottle.
+
+On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which, if translated
+into good United States language, would signify that the contents were
+known to be that strange result of modern research, chloroform.
+
+Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:
+
+“It is my will that these people should go with us in a sleep as of
+death; do thou with this as is usual.”
+
+Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents on two pieces
+of linen, he returned to the Arab girl and Max and placed the linen
+over their mouths. When the fumes of the chloroform had done their work
+effectually he called some of the attendants, and ordered them to place
+Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.
+
+“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low salaam.
+
+“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.
+
+Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim alone.
+
+“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”
+
+“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was the reply.
+
+“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the youth, “I should
+declare that you were mad.”
+
+“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of the celestial, and
+now mine eyes have been directed to the approach of the great mahdi. In
+my dreams I heard a voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed.
+The guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct thee.’
+Now did not this mean this youth and maiden? this brother and sister
+who were asleep and awaiting me?”
+
+“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love adventure; but I
+hope we shall return alive.”
+
+“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”
+
+The caravan started.
+
+More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of them carried
+baggage, tents, and provisions, the other eighteen bore upon their
+backs the bodyguard of Sherif el Habib.
+
+Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same camel, being
+fastened to basket paniers, one on either side of the animal.
+
+As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will take the
+opportunity of more fully introducing the party to our readers.
+
+Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was known as the most
+prosperous shawl manufacturer of all Persia.
+
+He gave employment to over a hundred men, and Sherif el Habib’s Persian
+shawls had been worn by the empresses and queens of the world.
+
+Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way. According to the
+custom of his land, he had several wives.
+
+In the palace of the Sherif--for this shawl manufacturer was ranked
+as a prince--every contrivance had been resorted to to render the
+happiness of the ladies complete.
+
+Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet long by thirty
+feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen feet of water in depth.
+
+By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water was so nicely
+regulated that a stream to the depth of four feet was always flowing
+through the bath.
+
+This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses, and was so
+delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating pleasure to bathe.
+
+One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were disporting
+themselves in the bath, when by some accident the working gear got out
+of order and the water began to rise.
+
+The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.
+
+Gradually the water increased in volume until it was six feet deep.
+
+How merrily the ladies laughed!
+
+How delighted they were at this new experience!
+
+They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the bath.
+
+Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and made fun of each
+other.
+
+They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults as though
+they were amphibious animals.
+
+The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was water-tight, so that
+should Sherif el Habib at any time desire the whole fifteen feet of
+depth to be flooded, no water could escape into the other parts of the
+palace.
+
+When the ladies had grown weary they made a move to leave. But they
+were tired.
+
+The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.
+
+One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be loved, was so
+exhausted that she begged one of the others to save her.
+
+Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance, but Lola clung
+so tightly to her that both became exhausted and sank, never to rise
+again in life.
+
+The others shrieked for help.
+
+No one heard them.
+
+They could not stand on the sides. The steps were slippery as glass,
+and could not be ascended.
+
+The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water was in the bath.
+
+When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the bathers, burst open the
+door, he was almost swept away by the overflow of the water.
+
+His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating on the surface
+of the water were the dead bodies of all his wives.
+
+Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled until he
+thought of his sister’s orphan child, the young Ibrahim, who was living
+in Teheran.
+
+From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart was centered on
+Ibrahim.
+
+European teachers were engaged, and by the time the young Persian was
+seventeen years old he could speak English, German and French fluently,
+besides having a good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental
+languages and dialects.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX. IBRAHIM AND MAX.
+
+
+When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that he was about to make
+a pilgrimage.
+
+It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet at Mecca,
+across the Red Sea, and after exploring the wonders of Luxor, Carnac,
+and ancient Thebes, go up the Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.
+
+It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and his heart beat
+so fast with expectancy that his uncle feared he might bring on a
+nervous fever. When Mecca was reached Sherif was so full of religious
+fervor that he began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the
+annoyance and yet amusement of Ibrahim.
+
+Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced that he was to
+be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan Messiah. When Cairo was
+reached he said to Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they
+would cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.
+
+As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure, with
+plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with his uncle’s ideas, and with
+but few murmurings agreed to leave civilization behind and go into
+the interior of that land of mystery--the great deserts of the Dark
+Continent.
+
+But we must return to our caravan.
+
+The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.
+
+The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but he had learned enough
+of his uncle’s ways to be assured that he would fall into disgrace if
+he dared to intrude on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.
+
+The caravan stopped.
+
+The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and after devotions the
+meal for the evening was spread.
+
+Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.
+
+They had been lifted with tender care from the camel, and laid down
+under the best and largest tent.
+
+Girzilla was the first to awake.
+
+She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she imagined she was
+dreaming.
+
+Again the temptation was so great that she gently raised her eyelids,
+and saw that the tent was hung with Oriental silk drapery, while a
+thick Persian carpet had been spread upon the sand.
+
+There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.
+
+Where could she be?
+
+Where was Max?
+
+Raising her head she saw on the other side of the tent another carpet,
+and on it reclined the form of Max.
+
+Should she awaken him?
+
+A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession of her, and she
+was determined to do all she could to remain near him.
+
+Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance of the tent.
+
+She was utterly bewildered.
+
+A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.
+
+Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds--others were asleep.
+
+Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded with jets of
+brilliant light.
+
+The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a soothing
+influence pass over her.
+
+With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst forth into poetic
+declamation.
+
+Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the most beautiful
+imagery, she apostrophized the sky and the stars, speaking of the sky
+as the million-eyed goddess, looking down through the millions of stars
+on the earth, and directing the destinies of men.
+
+She thought she was unheard, but standing in the shadow of a tent was
+Ibrahim.
+
+He was entranced.
+
+“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More eloquent than the
+houris of Istaphan! Speak to me, and tell me who thou art.”
+
+Girzilla heard the voice.
+
+It was not that of Madcap Max.
+
+Who, then, could be speaking?
+
+All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ, champ, champ of
+the camels.
+
+Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded him in
+darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate into the blackness.
+
+“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.
+
+“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness, should be able
+to see, though the clouds were blacker than the tomb, and thy soul,
+which speaks through thy lips, should divine that one who loves the
+music of thy mouth is near to thee.”
+
+Girzilla made no answer.
+
+She could not understand her surroundings.
+
+All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.
+
+To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that ’twas but a vision
+of the night, she returned silently to the carpets and fell asleep.
+
+The chloroform had not lost all its power.
+
+Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer him.
+
+“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached the tent.
+
+But Girzilla was asleep.
+
+“My own gazelle----”
+
+Max moved uneasily.
+
+“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make thee a throne
+upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my heart.”
+
+“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah, I remember! I died out
+on the sand. Girzilla was with me. Where is she? Is this death? I am
+very comfortable. Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”
+
+Max pinched himself and smiled.
+
+“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t sand. By the great
+Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am in a tent. I have it--I am not dead,
+but only kidnaped. I’ll get up and have a look around.”
+
+“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son of Iran hear the
+liquid notes that pour from the throat of my gentle gazelle.”
+
+“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.
+
+He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept close to the side of
+the tent until he reached the opening.
+
+“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could----”
+
+“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”
+
+Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim went heels over head
+into the sand.
+
+“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.
+
+To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.
+
+“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much strength?”
+
+“Who are you?” asked Max.
+
+“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”
+
+“Well, Mr. Abraham----”
+
+“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.
+
+“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you. If it isn’t, I am
+also the madcap, and I can fight as well as talk. How do you feel?”
+
+“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the sand?”
+
+“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean I know----”
+
+“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion displayed by
+Max.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan: and I am
+Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”
+
+“Where is Girzilla?”
+
+“Who is that? Your sister?”
+
+“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my----”
+
+“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is the sweetest music
+mine ears have ever heard?”
+
+“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked Max, abruptly.
+
+“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”
+
+“I don’t care who you are.”
+
+“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he is a sheriff, a
+policeman, or a soldier.”
+
+Ibrahim laughed.
+
+He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the Persian Sherif with
+the English sheriff amused him.
+
+“You don’t understand--that is my uncle’s name.”
+
+“Fetch him here and let me see him.”
+
+Ibrahim was astounded.
+
+The way Max spoke was something for which he was not prepared.
+
+The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted with the
+morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and white tents, Max was
+dazzled.
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief, Sherif el Habib.
+My uncle found you dying, and he brought you and your sister here.”
+
+“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands--that is what we do in England and
+America----”
+
+The youths clasped their hands.
+
+“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.
+
+“I hope so.”
+
+“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.
+
+“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”
+
+“We shall be comrades?”
+
+“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”
+
+“Have you a mother?”
+
+“Alas! no,” answered Max.
+
+“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone--I have no one but my
+uncle.”
+
+“I have no one at all.”
+
+“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother. But who is she?”
+
+“I told you--she is my guide.”
+
+“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a beauty, as lovely as
+she is eloquent, and as poetic as the birds which fly above the gardens
+of Paradise.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X. THE PETRIFIED FOREST.
+
+
+Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla that Ibrahim
+refrained from approaching her, not because he had conquered the
+passion he felt for her, but entirely out of respect for the madcap.
+
+Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he told him that he
+was on a pilgrimage to find the promised mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw
+himself into the work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever
+in fate.
+
+Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as she could see Max
+she was satisfied.
+
+Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her other than Max’s
+sister.
+
+In this way the journey was continued into the desert of Lybia.
+
+All had been tranquil.
+
+No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims, and Max
+began to yearn for adventure.
+
+Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as a young elephant,
+and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to tire her.
+
+One day a forest was sighted.
+
+For many days not a leaf, not a tree--no, not so much as a blade of
+grass, had been seen.
+
+The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers as is a rain
+shower to the parched earth.
+
+It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so impetuous was
+the spirit of the two youths that they obtained permission to go in
+advance of the party, and while Sherif el Habib rested--for he was
+getting to look jaded and tired--they would investigate and return to
+report.
+
+Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward, joyously.
+
+They were both well armed, and carried enough rations to last them four
+days.
+
+It was noon on the following day before they were near to the forest.
+
+Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.
+
+But there was something weird and strange about the trees.
+
+Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.
+
+They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing the clouds, as
+it were, but not a sign or movement was visible.
+
+A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not a bough swayed,
+not a tree bent its head before the wind.
+
+“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked forward at the
+unbending trees.
+
+“They look more like stone than wood,” commented Ibrahim.
+
+“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”
+
+There was another peculiarity noticeable.
+
+Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.
+
+So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance to the blazing
+rays of the sun, and ran forward.
+
+Max was the first to reach a tree.
+
+The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in diameter, as
+straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without leaves.
+
+Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.
+
+“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”
+
+“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,” answered Max.
+
+“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”
+
+“Feel for yourself.”
+
+“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree must be burning.”
+
+Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke in two, and no
+impression was made on the tree.
+
+Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same result.
+
+A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with the hafts of
+their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced them that they had
+discovered a freak of nature--a veritable petrified forest.
+
+It was true.
+
+Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its allegiance from
+the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.
+
+Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to stone.
+
+There was something appalling in those great stone statues.
+
+How many ages had they stood there?
+
+What action of nature had changed them from living, sap-flowing trees
+into blocks of granite, having only the appearance of their former
+reality?
+
+Ibrahim was scared.
+
+His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on the ground.
+
+“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not afraid of these big
+stones, are you?”
+
+Ibrahim did not answer.
+
+He was awe-stricken.
+
+“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s name very
+materially.
+
+It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have remained prostrate
+had not some counter irritant appeared.
+
+A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck the trees,
+glancing off close to our young explorers.
+
+“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us have a look at
+you,” shouted Max.
+
+He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole forest seemed alive.
+
+It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet not a living
+creature had the explorers seen before.
+
+Where did all these savages come from?
+
+The savages were something superlative.
+
+They were almost as naked as when they came into the world.
+
+Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking clay.
+
+The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks; two heavy
+bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms, just above the elbow;
+and on each wrist was a bracelet or ring, in which, by some cunning
+device, sharp pieces of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had
+been inserted. These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in a
+fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the manner of spears,
+only that they had four arrows in each hand--held between the fingers
+so that the heads of the arrows were stretched out fan shape.
+
+The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.
+
+The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.
+
+They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim understood.
+
+“We are in for it,” said Max.
+
+“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why did I ever come?”
+
+“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they mean to do.”
+
+The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled at times to
+dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened to mar the beauty of their
+faces, they were so near.
+
+“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned
+revolver--a weapon which must have been one of the first ever made, so
+primitive was its construction. It had been given to Max by Sherif el
+Habib, who believed it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.
+
+Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping from tree to tree, so
+he put back his revolver and raised his rifle, a more modern and more
+reliable weapon.
+
+The savages stood still.
+
+Surely this must be some magician or medicine man who had come among
+them.
+
+That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for they stood
+watching and waiting.
+
+But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.
+
+Carefully taking aim, Max fired.
+
+The savages screamed as they heard the report, and the monkey dropped
+dead.
+
+As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows were gathered
+together and held under the left arm.
+
+“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to escape.”
+
+“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”
+
+The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly the naked,
+ugly representatives of the genus man, as known in the petrified
+forests of Lybia, disappeared, leaving only the chief and perhaps a
+dozen to guard the white explorers.
+
+A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive; every man had
+brought a woman with him.
+
+The women were more repulsive looking than the men.
+
+Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction, while all over
+their bodies deep furrows had been plowed out of the flesh.
+
+At a signal all began dancing. The men at every movement struck the
+women with their spiked bracelets, and soon the black bodies of the
+females were dripping with blood.
+
+But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed heartily when they
+managed to escape a more than usually vicious blow from their loving
+husband’s spiked bracelet.
+
+“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.
+
+“I am afraid not.”
+
+“I would like to kill the savages.”
+
+“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it----”
+
+“Or run away.”
+
+“Let us try.”
+
+No sooner suggested than attempted.
+
+The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike rushed after the
+runaways, capturing them easily, and holding them firmly until the
+dance was finished.
+
+When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another command.
+
+An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with only a few hairs on
+her head, was brought from some mysterious place and placed against one
+of the stone trees.
+
+Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he wanted Max to
+shoot her.
+
+To make the madcap understand, he took the dead monkey and held it in
+front of the old woman, then raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun,
+and pointed it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.
+
+Max shook his head.
+
+The gesture was not understood.
+
+The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the rifle to the
+madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise with his lips as he did so.
+
+“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I shoot his nibs here.”
+
+“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the slang expression.
+
+Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was given.
+
+The old woman had fallen forward--dead.
+
+Fright had killed her.
+
+But the savages believed that the white man’s magic had ended the poor,
+old creature’s life.
+
+Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.
+
+Songs of triumph--in gibberish which might mean anything--dances of the
+most grotesque kind were indulged in, and it was plain to be seen that
+these poor savages were nearly mad with joy.
+
+When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered to Ibrahim:
+
+“Let us run--but as we do so we had better point our guns at the
+fellows; then they won’t follow.”
+
+Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows started.
+
+The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.
+
+A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.
+
+Max turned and raised his rifle.
+
+What a change took place!
+
+Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young men, a hundred backs
+could be seen, and every savage was trying to break the world’s record
+in running, not toward the explorers, but away from them.
+
+Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned, the American
+would never have been able to point the gun at them.
+
+“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”
+
+Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon been above the
+forest, he would have seen a hundred savages fleeing in one direction,
+as though pursued by a regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys
+they were afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI. THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.
+
+
+When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they easily persuaded the
+Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the petrified forest and its savage
+occupants.
+
+Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an oasis.
+
+After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was pleasant to get
+among the tall marsh grass.
+
+It seemed strange that such a difference could exist in so short a
+distance.
+
+Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to be found, and
+then suddenly the sand would cease, and a patch of swampy ground,
+perhaps covering twenty square miles, would be entered upon.
+
+The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.
+
+There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation visible; no water
+could be obtained, even by sinking deep wells.
+
+Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered ankle deep with
+water.
+
+Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height, yams were found in
+abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables in plenty.
+
+A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme of much talk and
+great bewilderment.
+
+“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif el Habib.
+
+Max looked at it intently.
+
+“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so thirsty it drinks
+itself all dry,” he said, speaking so seriously that his friends
+thought he must have evolved from his inner consciousness some new fact
+in nature.
+
+Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child paddling in the surf
+at the seashore.
+
+“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed, and when asked to
+repeat, she replied:
+
+“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”
+
+The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything about her
+parentage or kith.
+
+She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max and his friends.
+
+She never seemed to have a thought away from them.
+
+The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the water, but after
+loading up with the refreshing liquid, they treated the water with
+haughty disdain, treading lazily along without a care.
+
+Following the banks of the stream they found the grass getting greener,
+but shorter, and the water less deep.
+
+After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they reached a little
+hillock well adapted for encampment, being perfectly dry, and the grass
+green and soft.
+
+But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for the tents to be
+pitched, Max came running back to his friends, declaring that there
+were plenty of savages to keep them company.
+
+Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided by Max, went to look
+at the savages.
+
+Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle, tended by
+naked natives.
+
+The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives moved about, they
+appeared as if they were in water.
+
+Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly they did so.
+
+He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored Africans
+shouted for joy.
+
+Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.
+
+Every bone showed through their skin, and they were evidently half
+starved.
+
+They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when it happened to
+die of sickness.
+
+“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted to think that he
+could make himself understood.
+
+“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.
+
+The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the natives casting the
+harpoon at random among the reeds; thus, out of several hundred casts,
+they might, by good luck, catch one fish.
+
+The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and Sherif sent for him.
+
+A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared, accompanied by two
+women.
+
+Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and a skull cap of
+white beads, with a crest of white ostrich feathers; but the mantle
+which was slung across his shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.
+
+He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the other as his daughter.
+
+“What want you?” asked Klatch.
+
+“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif el Habib, solemnly.
+
+“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending the question.
+
+It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.
+
+The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning appear.
+
+At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his daughter by the
+shoulders, gave her a push toward Sherif.
+
+“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”
+
+Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.
+
+“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will you do with her?”
+
+Sherif was amazed.
+
+His religious fervor was dampened.
+
+He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter, but the chief
+could not, or would not, understand.
+
+A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl, and then giving
+her back again to her father.
+
+When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick green turf, and
+all the party--save only Effendi--slept soundly.
+
+As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to kill his master,
+and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least only allowed himself short
+intervals of sleep.
+
+When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the morning, he saw the
+chief’s daughter lying across the entrance fast asleep.
+
+She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor girl felt that she
+would be far happier with the white man than with her own people.
+
+All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small gourd shells to
+receive gifts of corn.
+
+Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved blacks
+fell down before him and kissed his feet.
+
+Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own account, by
+offering to purchase a bull or a cow.
+
+But the natives would not sell.
+
+Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal, unfortunately a
+sacred bull.
+
+He was instantly surrounded by the natives who howled and yelled at
+him, threatening to tear him in pieces and drink his blood.
+
+He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe had a sacred
+bull, who was supposed to exert an influence over the prosperity of the
+flock.
+
+The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with tufts of feathers and
+strings of shells, which jingled as he moved along.
+
+Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the cattle kraal,
+bidding him keep the cows from straying, and to see that they found the
+best grass, so that they could give the most milk.
+
+It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.
+
+Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so disturbed his
+people.
+
+When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s death.
+
+“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.
+
+“Then he dies,” answered the chief.
+
+Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no amount of beads
+or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase a sacred bull.
+
+Max must die.
+
+Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.
+
+The natives said he had speared him.
+
+“Where is my spear?” asked Max.
+
+They pointed to his gun.
+
+He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.
+
+The bull was dead.
+
+That did not admit of any doubt.
+
+But how did it die?
+
+Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill a cow, if he could
+do so without a spear.
+
+Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but still better than an
+old musket.
+
+He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder, the natives
+watching him. There was a puff of smoke, a flash, a loud report, and
+the cow dropped dead.
+
+It was a miracle.
+
+“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated some good beefsteaks
+as his reward, picked off a bull who was looking at him very steadily.
+
+As a reward for these miracles Max was given the first bull, and the
+other dead animals were divided among the natives.
+
+After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey, Klatch and the
+entire tribe pleading hard to go with Sherif.
+
+When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey, Sherif found the
+chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent. She had followed in the distance
+and under cover of the night reached the pasha’s tent.
+
+Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and he threatened
+to use force to compel her.
+
+She explained that according to the custom of her people she would be
+killed.
+
+If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his bargain, the girl
+must die.
+
+“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.
+
+The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but Sherif was
+obdurate, and when she did return it was easy to see that she expected
+she was going to her death.
+
+Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party of pilgrims never
+discovered.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII. “WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”
+
+
+“I would like to know where that river empties itself,” said Max.
+
+“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered Sherif el Habib,
+good-naturedly.
+
+“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.
+
+“What says Girzilla?”
+
+Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.
+
+She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer, and had told him
+she believed that Mameluke blood ran in her veins.
+
+This set Sherif thinking.
+
+The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from the Caucasus.
+
+When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom in 1517, he was
+compelled to allow twenty-four of their number to remain governors of
+provinces.
+
+Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared that at least three
+of them were descended from the Prophet Mahomet.
+
+To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important step, for he would
+have the record of his race, and might direct the pilgrims to the
+mahdi, who was shortly expected.
+
+Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed Mameluke
+blood, for she would know the signs and signals which bound together
+that most powerful body of men.
+
+The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret signs, and possessed of
+all the fraternal strength of the Free Masons.
+
+That was the reason Sherif asked the question:
+
+“What says Girzilla?”
+
+The girl smiled, sadly.
+
+“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead. I am thy slave, do
+with me as thou wilt--I am thine.”
+
+“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong to anyone,
+’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”
+
+A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face, and she bent
+down her head.
+
+“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not care for the
+dark--I am dark----”
+
+“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon. “I do care for
+thee, Girzilla. I----”
+
+“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with thee--but it is
+great Sherif el Habib who is the master. As he pleases so I wilt do.”
+
+Had this child of the desert, around whose life there was so much of
+mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry and flattery?
+
+She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he become, that he
+took Max on one side, and in a mysterious manner whispered:
+
+“I have solved it.”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Girzilla.”
+
+“Have you discovered who she is?”
+
+“No, but who she is going to be.”
+
+Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins of his face.
+
+In a whisper he asked:
+
+“Who is she to be?”
+
+“Ibrahim shall marry her.”
+
+The union would be a good one. The marriage of a Persian with an
+Arabian could not be considered a _mesalliance_, at least as regards
+race; but to Max there was a certain pride of rank which would be
+outraged.
+
+Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla nothing; the
+Persian took rank as a pasha in his own land, while who knew anything
+about Girzilla?
+
+The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles betokened rank, but
+might not her father be a bandit, and bedecked his child with them?
+
+Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection to Max’s
+mind, for he could not help thinking that, perhaps, she was educated to
+serve as a decoy for the robber band.
+
+Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s silence.
+
+“If thou wouldst marry her yourself----”
+
+“I, an American, marry an Arab?”
+
+“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you of all men
+oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”
+
+“And why?”
+
+“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that the great
+strength of your nation laid in the fact that you declared and
+recognized ‘that all are born free and equal.’”
+
+Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted with that very
+difficulty before.
+
+His father had told him that instead of being a reality, the present
+generation treated the time-honored declaration as a theory, very
+beautiful, but impractical.
+
+Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of Merchant Gordon.
+
+Max knew not what to answer.
+
+He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not want the bone,
+he was angry at any other dog getting it, and so Max, while he would
+not marry Girzilla, was furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim
+claiming her as his wife.
+
+Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders were given to
+follow the course of the stream.
+
+For four hours the march was continued through the long grass.
+
+It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the sand.
+
+After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire prevented them from
+following the stream, and they had to make a detour to the right.
+
+The river was kept in sight, however, and for two days it could be seen
+flowing briskly along toward the realm of illimitable sand.
+
+“Where is the river?” asked Max.
+
+The mystery increased.
+
+The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.
+
+It was true.
+
+All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.
+
+The green grass was to give way to dry sand.
+
+That did not surprise them.
+
+They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a little stream,
+rising from springs at one end of the rectangular oasis, had swollen
+into a river, whose rippling waves showed a strong current, and when
+some great lake was expected, or another river, of which it might be
+tributary, nothing was found but sand.
+
+“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.
+
+“What do you mean?”
+
+“Why, we only imagined the river.”
+
+“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.
+
+Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the best of it.
+
+“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water must empty itself
+somewhere.”
+
+“Of course.”
+
+“Well, where does it go to?”
+
+“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.
+
+“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but that we are on the verge
+of a great discovery?”
+
+“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world as the mighty
+explorers who found the river Ibrahim, which had its rise in an atom of
+sand, and flowed into the lake of nothing.”
+
+Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the shoulder.
+
+“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You should go as the great
+Persian pasha, warranted genuine; while I would introduce you----”
+
+“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib, coming up at the
+time; “and if I were your age----”
+
+“So you are, pasha,” said Max.
+
+“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I would find a way to
+solve the mystery.”
+
+“May we try it?”
+
+“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”
+
+“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.
+
+“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII. DANGEROUS JESTS.
+
+
+Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in the oasis, and being
+supplied with provisions enough for several months, agreed to wait for
+the return of the young explorers.
+
+No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp than they felt like
+boys.
+
+They were their own masters, and not only that, but they had two Arabs
+with them as stewards and porters.
+
+Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient form, and the four
+started.
+
+Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very thing not to do, for
+Max was venturesome, and when freed from restraint a perfect madcap.
+However, Ibrahim believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed
+that Max should be captain.
+
+The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat, and to it they
+went.
+
+A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it, but a few beads
+and a china doll were considered a princely recompense, and Max became
+the owner of the boat.
+
+He asked the native where the river led to, and was told that in the
+great quagmire was a fire that had been burning for hundreds of moons,
+and it took all the water to keep the fire down; if the water stopped
+the whole world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:
+
+“Even Klatch would be burned.”
+
+And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so frightened that
+Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
+
+“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”
+
+“We are going to see it; will you come?”
+
+“No, no.”
+
+“Will give you beads.”
+
+“No.”
+
+“China doll”--holding another up to view.
+
+“No, no, no!”
+
+The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the very
+personification of fear.
+
+The boat was a good, strong dugout.
+
+A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been hollowed out
+with rude tools.
+
+This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of canoe or boat known in
+Africa.
+
+There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out of a pure spirit
+of mischief, determined that the naked native should be one of the
+party.
+
+The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the arms and legs and
+lifted him into the boat.
+
+The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of those terrible agues
+so prevalent in some countries, and which makes one:
+
+  “Shake! shake! shake!
+   Shudder, and cower, and quake,
+   Till every nerve has its separate quiver,
+   And every sinew its separate shiver,
+   And every bone its particular ache;
+   For either he or the chill must break!
+
+  “Shake! shake! shake!
+   Till joints are loose and sinews slack,
+   Till every bone is a torturing thing,
+   And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,
+   While up and down the weary back
+   An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,
+   Marches along the spinal column.”
+
+That was just how poor, wild Klatchman--as he called himself--felt when
+he was lifted into the boat and held there by fear that Max would kill
+him if he attempted to move.
+
+The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell by gestures to the
+cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe and his kindred.
+
+The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat seemed to fly along.
+
+The water was rough.
+
+At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it were a paper
+shell.
+
+The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but rather to prevent it
+going too fast.
+
+“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim was getting scared.
+
+“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in for mischief.
+
+“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:
+
+  “A life on the ocean wave,
+   A home on the rolling deep.”
+
+Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped out of the boat.
+
+A big, powerful fellow--swimming like a fish--he tried to reach the
+land.
+
+The current was too strong.
+
+He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.
+
+Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to jump out.
+
+“Don’t do it,” implored Max.
+
+But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that not only would the
+native perish, but that his Persian friend would be sacrificed also.
+
+“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”
+
+“And Klatchman?”
+
+“He will catch up to us.”
+
+Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to pull back to the
+place from which they started.
+
+A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.
+
+“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”
+
+“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good to give him a
+scare.”
+
+“Please save him.”
+
+Max laughed long and heartily.
+
+“How serious you are. One would think we were in the rapids of Niagara.”
+
+“My dear fellow--Klatchman is a human being----”
+
+“Is he?”
+
+“Of course he is.”
+
+“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”
+
+Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly heartless, but he
+was not.
+
+For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had played no practical
+jokes.
+
+Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and Ibrahim at the same
+time.
+
+That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman was in any
+danger he would have been the first to have even risked his life to
+rescue him; but in the first place he did not believe in the danger,
+and then he looked upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland
+dog--one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.
+
+“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be heartless, Max. Save
+the poor wretch.”
+
+Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned himself to his
+fate.
+
+He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.
+
+“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”
+
+Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled round at a furious
+rate.
+
+“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like a Fourth of July
+pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.
+
+Turning to the Arabs, he said:
+
+“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”
+
+“It is not safe, your excellency.”
+
+“Tush! do as you are told.”
+
+The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool, but no sooner
+had they changed the position of the boat than it seemed to fly over
+the water, borne along by some fierce current below the surface.
+
+“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.
+
+“I am afraid.”
+
+“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in for it now.”
+
+He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.
+
+It was useless to try and manage it.
+
+“Great Scott! What a race.”
+
+Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but even then he was
+more than delighted.
+
+There was the African whirling round in a smaller circle, while the
+boat was going equally fast in a larger one around him.
+
+“Jewilikins! what was that?”
+
+Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.
+
+The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the head that the poor
+creature’s brains were spattered all over the boat.
+
+“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.
+
+“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but I didn’t mean to
+do so.”
+
+“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”
+
+One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before either of his
+comrades or Max could reach forward to save him, he had fallen out of
+the boat and was dashed to pieces in the whirlpool.
+
+“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned, now thoroughly
+serious and alive to his fate.
+
+Was it imagination?
+
+Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the dizzying whirl
+of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become stationary?
+
+Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.
+
+The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to what had taken
+place.
+
+They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and the fury of the
+whirling waters had spent themselves.
+
+Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the Norwegian coast, the
+center was calm and still, while the outer rings were lashed everything
+with the greatest fury.
+
+Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one seemed to get
+tired and have a period of rest.
+
+“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim had seized the
+oar the dead Arab had let fall.
+
+Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the oars, and the
+boat moved as they willed it.
+
+“Change places with me--let me pull!” exclaimed Max.
+
+Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the rudely-shaped
+paddle from Max, which he had used to guide the boat in place of a
+rudder.
+
+The American was stronger than either the Persian or the Arab, and the
+force of his oar soon made itself felt.
+
+The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was reached, and Max
+uttered devoutly the words:
+
+“Thank Heaven!”
+
+While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:
+
+“Allah be praised! _Sin Syu!_”
+
+Which latter was equivalent to saying:
+
+“Allah be praised! I have said it!”
+
+“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.
+
+“No, nor don’t want to.”
+
+“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the Ibrahim.’”
+
+“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle, and--Girzilla.”
+
+“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian. How she will
+listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on sea and land.’”
+
+“Hush! we are drifting.”
+
+“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty miles an hour.
+Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”
+
+Max exerted all his strength.
+
+The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.
+
+On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their sinews were like
+huge cords stretched under the skin.
+
+“Snap!”
+
+And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and Ibrahim groaned
+aloud.
+
+An oar had broken.
+
+“The paddle, quick!”
+
+Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use it like an oar.
+
+In vain.
+
+The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants were at the
+mercy of the cruel river.
+
+Where was it taking them?
+
+Not to the whirlpool.
+
+That was passed long ago.
+
+They could see it again as they looked back.
+
+Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a mimosa tree, but
+his effort was in vain.
+
+“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian as he saw the
+face of the dead Arab close to the boat, with its eyes open, and
+peering into the face of the young chief.
+
+“It is horrible!” groaned Max.
+
+On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.
+
+The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.
+
+He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head scarcely
+wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together, and he awaited death.
+
+Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of the shadow of
+death, and had mentally wished his uncle farewell.
+
+As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to escape.
+
+And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.
+
+The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.
+
+All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the caravan had avoided.
+
+But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite could be noted.
+
+It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that was imagination.
+
+A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing in the water.
+
+“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching his breath, as he
+spoke.
+
+The boat tossed slightly.
+
+A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three occupants,
+was precipitated over a cataract, a seething cauldron of hissing,
+sputtering, bubbling water!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV. THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.
+
+
+The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge into the water
+beneath, had taken away their breath, and neither Max nor Ibrahim was
+able to speak.
+
+Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the sides of the
+dugout, and it was well that they did so, and maintained their grip
+like grim death.
+
+The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting itself, and its
+occupants got more baths in a few minutes than they cared for.
+
+They found the water quite warm, which was some consolation, for had
+it been icy cold they would have been unable to retain their hold upon
+the boat.
+
+How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of strange noises were made
+in its descent.
+
+To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals of thunder had
+impressed themselves on the tympanum of their ears. The Arab might have
+been a statue of marble.
+
+He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features were as rigid as
+death. He had his eyes and mouth closed tightly, and had it not been
+for the swelling of his bosom he might have been thought dead.
+
+Every time the boat was submerged it was carried further away from the
+cataract, and in a very few minutes--but the few minutes seemed an
+eternity--the water grew calmer and the boat more steady.
+
+Then it was that they opened their eyes.
+
+“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“Am I?” echoed Max.
+
+The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he answered in the
+negative.
+
+“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.
+
+“Why so?”
+
+“We cannot see.”
+
+“True.”
+
+“Is not that sufficient evidence?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because we may be underground.”
+
+“You mean----?”
+
+“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river, flowing under the
+desert.”
+
+“You mean it?”
+
+“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”
+
+“Perhaps so.”
+
+The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a ripple passed over
+its surface.
+
+And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.
+
+Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his appetite.
+
+“I am hungry.”
+
+“So am I.”
+
+“Let us refresh.”
+
+Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in waterproof
+covering, a precaution which should always be taken by explorers. One
+of the packages was unfastened from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly
+good repast was partaken by all three.
+
+“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.
+
+“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full stomach.”
+
+“How do you feel, Selim?”
+
+The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner told his master that
+he felt bad.
+
+“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before I ate salt
+with your excellency I wanted to die, but now--I don’t like it at all.”
+
+The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had been removed from
+the thought of death. His appetite satisfied, his love of life grew
+stronger, and the very thought of his impending fate was horrible.
+
+“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.
+
+“What are you going to do?”
+
+“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded boat is so shaky I
+am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”
+
+Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim held one hand.
+
+Max raised the other above his head.
+
+He was trying if he could touch anything which would satisfy him that
+they were really drifting through a tunnel.
+
+But he could not reach anything. If he really were in a subterranean
+cave or passage, the roof was too lofty for him to reach.
+
+On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.
+
+Its occupants were victims of fate.
+
+They were without paddle or oar, and had positively no means of guiding
+or directing the boat.
+
+Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:
+
+“It is hot!”
+
+Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water was many degrees
+warmer than it had been.
+
+“What do you make of it?” Max asked.
+
+“That the air being more confined causes the water to be warmer.”
+
+“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The water ought to be
+colder.”
+
+“What is your theory?”
+
+“We are approaching a boiling spring.”
+
+“That is a pleasant reflection--see, can you discern anything?”
+
+Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.
+
+“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”
+
+“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered as to his
+choice of titles.
+
+“What is it, Selim?”
+
+“Fire!”
+
+“Where?”
+
+“Right ahead!”
+
+All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting, and saw
+unmistakable evidences of a big fire.
+
+“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,” said Max.
+
+“We are not blind, are we?”
+
+“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”
+
+The light from the fire was now so great that they could see the walls
+and roof of the immense tunnel they were in.
+
+The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of gems; huge
+stalactites hung from the roof, each one like a glittering diamond or
+dazzling emerald.
+
+The water was a river of precious stones, for every gem, every
+stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected in the clear, pellucid
+stream, giving it the appearance of a sheet of glass besprinkled with
+gems of the greatest value.
+
+“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!” Ibrahim exclaimed.
+
+“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,” said Max.
+
+“Why?”
+
+“I would make millions out of it.”
+
+“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”
+
+The perspiration poured from them in pints.
+
+They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and, as the vapor
+arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable rainbows in the cave.
+
+“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I shall jump overboard.”
+
+“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his hand into the water
+and felt that the skin had been taken off.
+
+Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird and unearthly, as
+he found the water was many degrees hotter than human flesh could stand.
+
+The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was none.
+
+“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”
+
+“By Allah! it is not so.”
+
+“Yes, it is.”
+
+“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”
+
+“But he did not know----”
+
+“Did you?”
+
+“No, but----”
+
+“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”
+
+“What are we to do?”
+
+“Say our prayers and die.”
+
+“I should like--you won’t mind, will you, Ib?--it is a custom--I should
+like to shake hands with you.”
+
+“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better now?”
+
+“Yes--and yours, Selim. We are all in the same boat.”
+
+They were nearly suffocated.
+
+The air was filled with sulphur.
+
+“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die like men.”
+
+The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited death.
+
+Each mumbled something--perhaps their prayers.
+
+“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.
+
+“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,” were the last
+words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he muffled up his face.
+
+Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference waited the
+solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.
+
+The boat began to rock violently. Something was agitating the water.
+
+“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.
+
+The Persian was unconscious.
+
+A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.
+
+How can it be accounted for?
+
+He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would be drowned.
+
+And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious grip, he prayed
+that he might not fall overboard, and yet he felt certain his life
+would be ended by fire in a few minutes.
+
+It is recorded by one of the great English generals who was in India at
+the time of the mutiny--1859--that a sepoy on his way to execution, was
+scared at the thought of accidental death.
+
+The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the muzzle of a
+cannon, and blown to pieces.
+
+Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or fancied he saw, an
+English soldier level his gun at him.
+
+He became hysterical.
+
+His shrieks rent the air.
+
+He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.
+
+He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the manual of arms,
+and gasped out nervously that he was afraid the gun might go off and he
+would be killed.
+
+And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his executioners to
+strap him to the cannon which was to blow him into eternity.
+
+It was so with Max.
+
+He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which the boat was
+speeding, but he was afraid he might fall overboard and be drowned.
+
+Selim sat as rigid as stone.
+
+Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.
+
+As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked less violently,
+there was but a slight rumbling to be heard, but in its place a
+sizzing, as if gas was being forced through an open pipe.
+
+“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has come. Good-by,
+world--good-by.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV. IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.
+
+
+But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind that the end was
+not yet.
+
+The water had become calm.
+
+Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of the boat,
+gradually threw off the covering from his head.
+
+A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with fear.
+
+Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental sky and the
+bright, twinkling stars.
+
+A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by volcanic action,
+rose above him.
+
+It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.
+
+The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the strange-looking
+liquid could be called by such a name.
+
+Strange looking!
+
+But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.
+
+That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but in it floated
+strange-looking lizards and fishes.
+
+Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish themselves.
+
+Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one of the fish as it
+floated by.
+
+He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.
+
+It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.
+
+“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own--my love! Fit queen of my household, where
+art thou?”
+
+Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.
+
+“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted Max so loudly that he
+was startled by the sound of his own voice.
+
+Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he would capsize the boat.
+
+He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:
+
+“Wake up!”
+
+“Where am I?”
+
+“Uncover your head and see.”
+
+When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was as charmed as if
+he had awoke in an enchanted land.
+
+“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.
+
+“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”
+
+“Allah will save us.”
+
+“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country that ‘God helps
+only those who try to help themselves.’”
+
+“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing the American’s
+quotation.
+
+“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano. We are in the
+crater----”
+
+“Wha-at?”
+
+“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time. The boat is
+stationary, and if----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush, up there.”
+
+As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.
+
+The slang expressions used by Max had raised him much in the estimation
+of the Persian, for he imagined the American was speaking in some
+language of which Ibrahim was ignorant.
+
+“How can we get out?”
+
+“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.
+
+“No, not if my life depended on it.”
+
+“Could you, Selim?”
+
+The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and had to be asked
+several times before he would answer.
+
+He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.
+
+“I could.”
+
+“You could climb those walls?”
+
+“Yes; it is easy.”
+
+“Easy!”
+
+Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.
+
+“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty of footholds.”
+
+“Shall you do so?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Why not?”
+
+“Because----”
+
+Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the whole truth or not.
+
+“Because what?”
+
+“It seems our only chance of safety.”
+
+“Then why not seek it?”
+
+“You cannot climb.”
+
+“What of that?”
+
+“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”
+
+“And you could save yourself?”
+
+“Perhaps not.”
+
+But Max was confident he could do it.
+
+“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find some other way
+out.”
+
+Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save himself, but the
+American was firm.
+
+When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could cause him to change.
+
+“If we had only some oars----”
+
+“But we have not.”
+
+“No, and yet we must get away from here.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“In the way our ancestors did before they invented oars.”
+
+“How was that?”
+
+“With our hands.”
+
+And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of the boat with
+their hands agitating the water and acting as oars.
+
+It was slow--very slow work--but the boat moved.
+
+“Get it to the side.”
+
+To do so was a work of considerable time; but when they succeeded
+progression was much more rapid.
+
+The only chance of escape seemed to be in following the current; that
+is, if they were able to find it.
+
+It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself into the crater
+of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.
+
+There must be some other outlet.
+
+When the other side of the crater had been reached, they were surprised
+at its immensity.
+
+When in the center they had imagined the diameter of the almost
+circular crater to be some fifty or sixty feet, but as they pushed
+their boat round, they discovered that it must be more than three times
+that distance.
+
+Another thing puzzled them.
+
+Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they floated or swam into
+the vortex, or was it only during an eruption?
+
+“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”
+
+“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”
+
+A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced eating; but he made
+such a grimace that Ibrahim laughed heartily.
+
+“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed Max, who recalled
+that terrible time in the tomb near Cairo.
+
+“Stop making faces then.”
+
+“You will make a worse one when you taste----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Your lunch.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“It is strong with sulphur.”
+
+Alas! all their food had become impregnated with sulphur fumes and
+almost turned them sick, but they could get no other and hunger is a
+tyrannic master.
+
+They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max telling them how
+civilized people will travel many miles and spend large sums of money
+in order to drink water impregnated with sulphur.
+
+“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked Ibrahim, when he
+had eaten all he possibly could.
+
+They had not thought of that.
+
+It was becoming serious. They might be a long time before they could
+obtain a fresh supply of food.
+
+“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.
+
+The water began to be agitated again and it was deemed advisable to get
+away from the crater.
+
+After a short journey through another tunnel they reached daylight.
+
+The river ran sluggishly along between two high cliffs.
+
+“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”
+
+“I think so, too, Max.”
+
+“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have always been
+interested in African deserts.”
+
+“You have?”
+
+“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found in Sahara--white
+people whose knowledge is greater than ours.”
+
+“Fact?”
+
+“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians knew many
+engineering secrets which are lost to us; they certainly had power
+of divination and many other things which puzzle the brains of our
+best men to-day. Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and
+founded a new country where they would be free from the incursions of
+other nations?”
+
+“But they died thousands of years ago.”
+
+“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants may be
+living.”
+
+“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make us start off in
+search at once.”
+
+“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or Girzilla again?”
+
+It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the same boat, and he
+had but little hope of escape.
+
+“I hope so. Why not?”
+
+“Because---- Hello! we are in the dark again.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI. BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.
+
+
+As the crater was left behind, the water became more turbid, and flowed
+faster, carrying along with it the boat and its three adventurous
+occupants.
+
+“Max!”
+
+The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.
+
+“Yes, Ibrahim.”
+
+“Isn’t this horrible?”
+
+“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”
+
+“I know enough of the fearful----”
+
+“And yet--perhaps what we don’t know is far more horrible.”
+
+“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”
+
+“Ha! ha! ha!”
+
+The laugh was from Selim.
+
+“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”
+
+“What are you talking about, Selim?”
+
+“This--look at it.”
+
+“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut the very atmosphere?”
+
+“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.
+
+“I am afraid it is so.”
+
+No wonder! The strain was something frightful.
+
+It would require nerves of steel to withstand such a terrible tension.
+
+“Jewilikins! what’s that?”
+
+Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into the boat and onto
+Max’s back.
+
+It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim could do was
+to knock it off; but he almost fainted as he touched it.
+
+On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked to take it.
+
+There was no means of guiding or steering it.
+
+They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance of saving
+themselves.
+
+Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers rejoiced.
+
+But their pleasure was but for a moment.
+
+The darkness was preferable.
+
+It hid from them the horrors of the river they had to traverse.
+
+Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls which confined the
+river to its bed.
+
+Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike the occupants of
+the boat as they passed by.
+
+Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen before, struggled
+on every little ledge of rock or piece of sandy ground.
+
+One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly devouring pieces
+of Selim’s leg.
+
+The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be a question of
+minutes before his soul would leave the mortal tenement.
+
+As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic with fear.
+
+“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three now, and a few
+moments more there will be but two.”
+
+Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.
+
+His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost a miracle he lived.
+
+Suddenly his mood changed.
+
+His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood at terrific speed.
+
+The color of his face was almost purple, and as he tried to stand up in
+the little boat his head fell back, and Max only saved him by a hair’s
+breadth.
+
+Max was now alone.
+
+Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his delirium,
+dangerous to himself and his companion.
+
+Selim was dead.
+
+It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard, but that was the
+only course which could be adopted.
+
+Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s back, he exerted all
+his strength and pushed the man overboard.
+
+It was horrible.
+
+Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that he dare not take
+his eyes away.
+
+Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost instantly crabs
+and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water newts, were covering the
+remains of the poor Arab and rapidly devouring all that was left of him.
+
+Ibrahim was raving.
+
+He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes, wanting to tear him
+to pieces.
+
+“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it was only a
+question of a few minutes.
+
+The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered whether they would ever
+again stand on land.
+
+Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must have been
+imagination.
+
+At the very moment when the delicate cords of his brain seemed ready to
+snap asunder, a thought saved him.
+
+He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.
+
+That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground channels
+had been made by the sheer force of the water, and its petrifying
+action--that perhaps at some time the sand had drifted to the water and
+become by its action solid rock.
+
+If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe the open cuttings
+were through oases.
+
+How long had they been on the river?
+
+They had no means of keeping record of the time, but their food was
+nearly gone.
+
+Had he slept?
+
+He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet nature could not
+have endured the strain so long without sleep.
+
+These thoughts saved him from the delirium which afflicted his friend.
+
+He felt easier and more contented.
+
+A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled himself as
+comfortably as he could in the bottom of the boat and fell asleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe--darker in color than
+the Egyptians and yet less black than the Africans of the Soudan or
+Congo State--dwelt in comparative peace.
+
+This tribe is peculiar.
+
+Its members eat no animal food, neither do they hanker after fire water
+or tobacco.
+
+They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they are compelled to
+resist by force of brute strength the onslaughts and invasions of their
+neighbors.
+
+Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the domicile of each
+family is surrounded with a hedge of the almost impenetrable euphorbia,
+and the interior of the inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a
+cement of ashes, cow dung and sand.
+
+On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts surrounded by
+granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched and resting upon raised
+platforms.
+
+The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a shade, and the
+entrance is usually about two feet high.
+
+The men are well grown and rather refined.
+
+Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of leather--either a
+piece of cowhide or goatskin.
+
+Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their rank.
+
+The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his assistants or
+deputies have less in number, while the ordinary members of the tribe
+have only two lines.
+
+The women are not handsome. Their heads are shaved, and around their
+bald pates they wear a band of beads or shells.
+
+Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all their time to
+the cultivation of maize and other kinds of vegetable food.
+
+They make excellent butter and drink great quantities of milk.
+
+At the time we make their acquaintance they are greatly disturbed.
+
+The chief has called together all the tribe, and a strange-looking
+gathering it is.
+
+The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women taking positions
+outside.
+
+The chief called for silence, and instantly every man shouted:
+“_Mkrasi! mkrasi!_” which being interpreted means: “We obey, we obey.”
+
+The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable tattoo marks,
+adopted the catechetical method of addressing his people.
+
+“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a deputy chief answered:
+
+“From the innermost parts of the earth.”
+
+“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where the gods make the
+springs of water to flow?”
+
+“No; man could not live.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all who approach.”
+
+“Then what shall be done with those who have come from the fire?”
+
+“They shall be exalted.”
+
+“_Mkrasi! mkrasi_!” shouted all the members of the tribe.
+
+The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we have recorded
+occupied considerable time, for the language of this tribe of Gondos
+was very diffuse, abounding in metaphor, and making the repeating of
+whole sentences necessary where emphasis was required.
+
+The chief stepped down from the platform in front of his house, and
+calling on ten of his deputies headed the procession across the great
+square, round which the houses were placed.
+
+While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was observed.
+
+Not one spoke a word.
+
+Even the women were silent.
+
+Soon a great noise was heard.
+
+Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being played. The drums were
+original in their make.
+
+A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the top a sheepskin had
+been tightly stretched.
+
+Into the square the procession moved.
+
+First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed cymbals.
+
+Following them were five older girls, keeping time by striking shells
+together. Then came the drummers, boys whose strength seemed almost too
+frail for the big, heavy drums they carried.
+
+After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting noise by beating
+an old tin pan--which had been found in a deserted camp, and which
+the Gondos verily believed must have been the white man’s musical
+instrument.
+
+What meant all this pageantry and display?
+
+The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head bowed down, led the
+way to where the people were standing. Immediately behind him were the
+ten deputies, carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder high.
+
+With measured tread these natives walked under their heavy burden.
+
+When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been reached, the chief
+ordered the men to set down their load.
+
+Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man there assembled.
+
+The women pressed forward, and really screamed with delight.
+
+“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these poor, benighted savages
+really believed it.
+
+The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout two young men were
+sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.
+
+They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by the Gondos, and now
+the objects of their adoration.
+
+The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women, caused Max to
+awake.
+
+He sprang to his feet and looked round.
+
+“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed, while the
+people fell on their faces and wriggled about on the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII. THE RAINMAKER.
+
+
+It was some time before Madcap Max could realize just where he was, and
+the significance of the demonstration of which he was the recipient.
+
+But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed it up, and with
+the natural smartness of his Yankee ancestry, saw the advantages of his
+position.
+
+He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.
+
+The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.
+
+They were more than ever convinced that he was a messenger from the
+mysterious powers which they, in their ignorance, worshiped.
+
+The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that of the ancient
+Scandinavians.
+
+They believed that the thunder was the angry voice of the storm god,
+that a deity presided over everything in nature, and that the entrance
+to the home of the most powerful of these deities was through the
+mysterious volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten lava
+and made the waters of the rivers so hot that no one could bathe in
+them and live.
+
+Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought Max and Ibrahim
+were sent by the presiding deity.
+
+Ibrahim continued to sleep.
+
+That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left him when he awoke,
+Max made sure all would be well.
+
+He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be alone, and the boat
+was again raised on the shoulders of the deputy chiefs and carried to a
+large house which the chief had set apart for his honored guests.
+
+Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate heartily.
+
+He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither did he, at that
+time, care.
+
+He was too hungry to be fastidious.
+
+He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim, and motioned the
+natives to leave the place.
+
+All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited his awakening.
+
+His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night Ibrahim awoke and
+raised his head.
+
+“Are we alive?” he asked.
+
+“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.
+
+“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the prophet, I have been
+beyond the grave.”
+
+“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”
+
+Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his companion spoke,
+but Max persisted.
+
+“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as I tell you,
+we will coin the dollars.”
+
+“That is like you Americans--always thinking of dollars.”
+
+“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”
+
+“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about them? I hate the very
+name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim, fretfully.
+
+“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued talking, for
+he realized that there was no better way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant
+faculties than by a good discussion.
+
+“I don’t,” he said--“neither do you. You will go on making shawls in
+Persia, no matter how many dollars you get. You want to travel--you
+must have the money or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never
+imagine that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s think tank
+being agitated?”
+
+“Think tank! What do you mean?”
+
+“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it--thought factory, if you
+like it better. But, say! you were dead, and you have come to life
+again. I have brought you from the grave.”
+
+“You are mad.”
+
+“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”
+
+“You are insane.”
+
+“Am I?”
+
+“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”
+
+“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a house belonging to
+the Gondos----”
+
+“Who?”
+
+“The Gondos.”
+
+“Are you sure?”
+
+“Yes, why?”
+
+“Have you spoken to them?”
+
+“Not much.”
+
+“Can you understand what they say?”
+
+“Only a little.”
+
+“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”
+
+“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?” asked Max, with a broad
+brogue.
+
+“The Gondos were originally Persians----”
+
+“Your relatives?”
+
+“And were fire worshipers.”
+
+“Is that so?”
+
+“And I have learned their language.”
+
+“Have you, really?”
+
+“I thought they were extinct.”
+
+“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries on a bramble bush,
+and as lively as June bugs.”
+
+By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making Ibrahim vexed, and
+that was the very best thing for his mind.
+
+When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became calm, and then Max
+told him how they had been rescued.
+
+“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we must be, or they must
+think so, and we shall be safe. Once let them get any other idea into
+their ugly heads, and we shall be made into soup.”
+
+“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking Max to mean what he
+said in a literal sense.
+
+“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”
+
+“Can we?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”
+
+“If we fail?”
+
+“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.
+
+“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it rain. You know the
+language, you said?”
+
+“I believe so.”
+
+“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”
+
+“What can you do?”
+
+“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would do anything to get it. I
+want you to hurry, or my power will be lost.”
+
+Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical joking, and
+that was just what he imagined the madcap was after.
+
+But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from the strange-looking
+house to the one occupied by the chief.
+
+The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground when he saw Ibrahim.
+
+But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo language, the old
+fellow was so delighted that he danced about and shouted like a good
+fellow.
+
+“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the crops are spoiling.
+Tell them I will cause the rain to come.”
+
+Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the Gondo language.
+
+The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and the drums to be
+beaten.
+
+All the people gathered together, and Max raised his hands above his
+head as if in the act of supplicating.
+
+Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the people were
+delighted.
+
+The drops became larger and more numerous, until a good, healthy shower
+descended, and the Gondos were frantic with joy.
+
+Even Ibrahim was excited.
+
+“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max had pleaded for
+permission to return to their house.
+
+“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus on my part.”
+
+“But the rain----”
+
+“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a shower, and I
+meant to get the credit of it; that is all there is to it.”
+
+Max was a weather prophet.
+
+He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a so-called expert,
+and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud was gathering.
+
+The one happy chance of his life had come.
+
+It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and nothing was too
+good for Ibrahim and Max.
+
+But even among those primitive people there were skeptics, and a long
+discussion took place as to the powers possessed by Max.
+
+Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the madcap, his face
+white as death.
+
+“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to jump down. If you
+fail your character is gone.”
+
+“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm leaves, and I’ll not
+be afraid.”
+
+Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the following morning
+Max and the Persian were conducted by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max
+laughed heartily.
+
+But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand chances against
+him, and naturally felt nervous.
+
+“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to jump off there
+would be no test. Anyone could do it.”
+
+“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”
+
+“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of yonder palm and
+leap from it.”
+
+The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily climbed, but the
+height was such that to jump from the top meant death.
+
+The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young madcap began his
+perilous ascent.
+
+When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the monster leaves,
+and rested a moment.
+
+From under his coat he took two palm leaves which he had succeeded in
+joining together.
+
+Opening them above his head, he held his breath and jumped.
+
+As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves like a parachute
+and Max came to the ground so gently that the most pronounced skeptic
+was enthused, and ready to do anything for the young hero.
+
+“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and thy people must
+help. In the desert there is an oasis, and on the oasis is a great man,
+one Sherif el Habib, who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish
+to find him.”
+
+Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as he could, and
+the chief recognized it as being a place some adventurous member of his
+tribe had told him about.
+
+After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed, and with girls
+playing cymbals and others beating drums, Max and Ibrahim started on
+their journey across the desert to find their friends.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII. WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.
+
+
+For some hours the caravan passed through a country which was parklike,
+but parched by the dry weather.
+
+The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed with villages, all of
+which were surrounded with a strong fence of euphorbia.
+
+The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals and drums, and
+the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos, were so impressed with the
+importance of their mission that every hundred yards or so they would
+stop, congratulate each other, and make some wonderful salaams before
+they continued the journey.
+
+At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile to the Gondos was
+encountered.
+
+Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well armed with lances,
+having flint heads, bows and arrows, and a peculiar weapon shaped
+almost like a sledge hammer--one side of the flint head being sharpened
+to a fine point, while the other was a hammer.
+
+One of their number stepped forward, and addressing Ibrahim asked:
+
+“Who are you?”
+
+“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”
+
+“Do you want ivory?”
+
+“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”
+
+“Where do you come from?”
+
+Ibrahim answered proudly:
+
+“From Persia.”
+
+“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.
+
+“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”
+
+“A Turk.”
+
+“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.
+
+The chief pointed to Max.
+
+“Who is he?”
+
+“An American.”
+
+The native had never heard of such people, and he began to think
+Ibrahim was making a fool of him.
+
+The natives laughed and raised their weapons.
+
+Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were going to be killed
+if they dared to touch Max; that he could cause the storm to come and
+the wind to blow, and advised them to ask the Gondos.
+
+Among the few things saved from the boat in which they had made their
+perilous journey was a bottle of araki--a native spirit almost equal in
+power to proof alcohol.
+
+Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled with a little of
+the araki, and that his friendship should be purchased that way.
+
+The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max had any chance of
+opening it, for the hostile chief took the bottle from them, broke off
+the neck, and drank the contents as easily as he could have swallowed
+water.
+
+“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment a violent storm of
+thunder and rain burst upon them with terrific fury.
+
+The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives, remembering
+what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the storm to Max, and fled as though
+ten thousand soldiers were pursuing them.
+
+The American’s reputation was now well assured, and the musicians beat
+the cymbals louder than ever, while the men shouted themselves hoarse.
+
+Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but he saw no way out of
+it.
+
+One thing troubled both explorers--they were either going in the wrong
+direction, or the distance was greater than they had imagined.
+
+They, however, had to submit.
+
+They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes were in dilemmas
+from which it was difficult to extricate themselves.
+
+One morning the deputy chief who was in command of the Gondos threw
+himself on his stomach in front of Max and wriggled like a snake to
+attract attention.
+
+“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.
+
+“What hath he said?”
+
+“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could not be
+destroyed”--meaning Max--“must take all the cymbal girls as his wives,
+and his great friend, whose tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the
+drummer girls as his wives.”
+
+“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.
+
+Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he got rid of the Gondo.
+
+“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when alone with his
+friend.
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”
+
+“About thirty.”
+
+“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”
+
+“Mine?”
+
+“You have to marry them.”
+
+“The----”
+
+Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the name by which the prince
+of the power of the air is familiarly known, but he bit his lips and
+did not utter his thoughts.
+
+“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”
+
+“What a lark!”
+
+“Eh?”
+
+“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.
+
+“Do you think so?”
+
+“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished to give them a
+lecture, they would seize their drums and beat such a tattoo that you
+would acknowledge yourself vanquished.”
+
+Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost feared for his
+reason.
+
+Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.
+
+“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of tinkling cymbals?”
+
+“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”
+
+“I did not.”
+
+“Wha-at?”
+
+“I did not, because I dare not.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”
+
+“No.”
+
+“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires to honor
+him. He does so by giving him one or more wives--the more wives the
+greater honor.”
+
+“Indeed!”
+
+“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the chief.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“And that can never be forgiven.”
+
+“What do I care about that?”
+
+“Perhaps nothing; only----”
+
+“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your long pauses,”
+exclaimed Max, almost angrily.
+
+“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only roast the one who
+insults the chief.”
+
+“Really?”
+
+“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I don’t want to
+be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I will have to accept the
+drummers, only----”
+
+Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him, but remained silent.
+
+“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”
+
+“We will get out of it.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”
+
+Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated itself in the
+madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy chief, came forward, and this time
+standing erect, said:
+
+“We will all drink araki now.”
+
+Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the African tribes to
+realize that the espousal of the girls was to take place at once, and
+that the drinking of the powerful araki was the outward symbol of the
+marriage.
+
+“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.
+
+“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”
+
+“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested it.”
+
+“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall drink first.”
+
+“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”
+
+“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit, there’s a good chap.
+Do just as I tell you, and all will be well.”
+
+Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max was ready to open the
+araki bottles, and all should drink.
+
+“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,” answered M’Kamba,
+proving clearly that all had been arranged beforehand.
+
+The bottles--made of the bladders of cows, dried--were produced, and
+Max very quietly, in the presence of all, poured some white liquid in
+each of the bottles.
+
+Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.
+
+“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim, but don’t touch a
+drop yourself.”
+
+“Is it poison, Max?”
+
+“On my honor, no.”
+
+The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their lives.
+
+They were about to become brides, and they felt their importance.
+
+While they were single they were slaves; when they were married they
+would become free.
+
+It was a proud time for them, and they took deep draughts of the
+powerful spirit.
+
+Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld the credit of his
+stomach by drinking pretty heavily.
+
+But the spirit was too strong.
+
+One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell asleep.
+
+Then the men followed.
+
+In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim were awake.
+
+“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t wake for an hour.”
+
+“What did you give them?”
+
+“Sleeping potion--pretty stiff dose, too.”
+
+“What is that?”
+
+“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to sleep long.”
+
+“And you have some?”
+
+“I had. They have it now”--pointing to the sleeping Gondos. “I took it
+from the great Sherif el Habib’s medicine case.”
+
+“Oh!”
+
+Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences of the madcap’s
+theft, or as he would put it, enforced borrowing.
+
+Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should “git up and get.”
+
+This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.
+
+He began to believe that Max was really mad.
+
+The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering together food,
+and some other stores, enough to last several days, the two young men
+left their escorts fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.
+
+Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched out for them, they
+turned to the right, determined to follow as far as possible the course
+of the river until the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their
+luck in finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX. MOHAMMED.
+
+
+The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo escorts, and the
+young explorers soon found themselves on the terrible African desert.
+
+They were not pursued--at least, as far as they knew--and they were
+delighted at regaining their freedom.
+
+After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes were blistered,
+their nostrils swollen, and their ears deafened with the never-ending
+atoms, which drifted everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his
+companion to a cloud of sand in the distance.
+
+“What of it?” asked Max.
+
+“Camels.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be safe.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”
+
+“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.
+
+“Why?”
+
+“Because the caravan is coming this way.”
+
+“Bravo! So it is. _Inshallah!_”
+
+Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited until they could
+distinguish the outlines of the approaching caravan.
+
+Then they rose up and went to meet them.
+
+In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker than a Spaniard.
+He was dressed in Egyptian costume, and sat perfectly contented on his
+camel.
+
+A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern rifle was slung
+over the rider’s shoulders.
+
+But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet, which acted as a kind
+of saddle cloth, and on which had been worked the symbolic sign of the
+crescent suspended over the cross.
+
+The combination was so strange that Max was inclined to believe the
+rider was some monomaniac, or, in modern parlance, a crank.
+
+Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic, asked who he
+was, and whither he was going.
+
+The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes before answering,
+giving Max an opportunity to look at the people who composed the
+caravan.
+
+Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that they had not the
+sacred carpet with the double symbols, rode as many camels.
+
+With them were at least twenty women, their faces covered so that the
+eye of man could not invade the sanctity of the countenance, which
+Oriental law and custom declared to be sacred to the husband alone.
+
+“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination of Ibrahim’s
+features was completed.
+
+“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.
+
+“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”
+
+“And whither wilt thou go?”
+
+“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey to the south.”
+
+It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims were going,
+until the _entente cordiale_ was fully established.
+
+Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the Musselmen and beat
+his brow on the sand.
+
+The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the sacred carpet on the
+sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s side.
+
+Then it was that the two followers of the prophet realized that they
+were friends and brothers in religion.
+
+“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule even all the
+countries of the world. I have said it. Just Allah!”
+
+“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You would be brothers.”
+
+“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”
+
+“Sherif el Habib----”
+
+“Of Khorassan?”
+
+“The same. Dost thou know him?”
+
+“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly into mine, Sherif el
+Habib was as a brother.”
+
+“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”
+
+“Dost thou mean it?”
+
+“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”
+
+Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his hands, and all his
+followers prostrated themselves on the sand, bowing their heads toward
+the direction of the sacred shrine at Mecca.
+
+“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful, will seek
+the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise the crescent above the cross
+and make the kingdom of the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the
+world.”
+
+The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great mental exaltation,
+and like Sherif el Habib, believed that the promised savior or leader
+of the Moslems had come, and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the
+Christian nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.
+
+Max was enchanted.
+
+He liked enthusiasts.
+
+He worshiped heroes.
+
+But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism that men
+never gave him credit for any idea beyond the making of dollars.
+
+“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture through the
+States. There will be millions in it.”
+
+How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he understood what Max said!
+
+Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an insult to his religion.
+
+But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:
+
+“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for the last of the
+Mamelukes.”
+
+“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,” said Mohammed,
+solemnly, “he gave to many provinces a bey of Mameluke blood. He did
+it to save his life. I, who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor
+Mohammed, the fearless, who was one of the beys.”
+
+“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”
+
+“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes and joined the Turks.”
+
+“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”
+
+“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the moon by night.”
+
+“I would that I could find them.”
+
+“There is one who could guide thee.”
+
+“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.
+
+“Alas! she is lost.”
+
+“She? Is it a woman?”
+
+Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.
+
+Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent ague.
+
+The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like great drops of rain
+upon the sand.
+
+“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have I offended you? Oh,
+forgive me if I have.”
+
+“I will tell thee.”
+
+Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the caravan, and led them a
+hundred yards across the sand.
+
+He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade them do likewise.
+
+When all three were seated he took a small box of salt from his girdle
+and gave each a pinch.
+
+Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral, he knew that
+the partaking of it was a bond of brotherhood with the Arab.
+
+“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed, “but I will tell thee
+only the outlines, and some day, when beneath the palms or under
+the tent, thine ears shall listen to the whole story. I loved--all
+young men do--but I loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet
+ever allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a daughter.
+On her I lavished all the love of a father. Being a girl without
+soul”--many of the Mohammedans teach that only man possesses an eternal
+soul--“I desired she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient
+Mamelukes. She was a diligent student, and when she reached the age of
+twelve years she had learned all the symbols and signs of the great
+brotherhood, and knew how to find any of the true Mamelukes who might
+still live. But then----”
+
+Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like rain from his eyes.
+
+His agitation was painful to witness, and many times Max wished he had
+curbed his curiosity and so have saved the aged Arab.
+
+Ibrahim was excited.
+
+He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and mysterious power.
+
+And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the whole of the story, and
+could hardly wait for the Arab’s emotion to cease.
+
+“Then my daughter, the pride of my life--by whom I hoped to appease the
+wrath of my ancient ancestors for deserting the Mamelukes--was stolen.”
+
+“Stolen!”
+
+“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks my wife must have gone
+mad.”
+
+“And does your wife live?”
+
+“She is in yonder caravan.”
+
+“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”
+
+“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man lord, and I would
+rather she be dead than never to see again her father.”
+
+The old man ceased.
+
+His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.
+
+The young explorers left him and went back to the caravan.
+
+Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling harem, had wandered
+to the place where the women were seated on the ground.
+
+Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any intrusion.
+
+When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over their faces, but it
+was too late.
+
+Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.
+
+His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.
+
+Ibrahim touched his shoulder.
+
+“What is it, Madcap?”
+
+“She is there.”
+
+“Who?”
+
+“I saw her. How did she get there?”
+
+“Whom did you see?”
+
+“Girzilla.”
+
+“You are dreaming.”
+
+“I am not.”
+
+“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”
+
+“I know not.”
+
+“Come away, before----”
+
+“Look! she uncovers.”
+
+Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless of all
+consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who had so indiscreetly
+uncovered her face.
+
+“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he exclaimed,
+passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted by Mohammed, who
+indignantly marched up to him.
+
+“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”
+
+“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“And what if it is? She has been my wife these eighteen years,”
+answered Mohammed, proudly.
+
+“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.
+
+A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.
+
+“Who speaketh of Girzilla--my lost child--my beauteous Girzilla?”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX. “WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”
+
+
+“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.
+
+“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril quivering like that
+of a horse who scents the battle.
+
+“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth, and there she
+stands.”
+
+“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for eighteen years. Thrice
+has she been with me to the prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath
+she set foot on the deserts of Egypt until now.”
+
+“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,” said Ibrahim,
+scornfully.
+
+“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is true?”
+
+“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this pasha spoke of
+Girzilla.”
+
+It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment later, the wife
+asked that none but Ibrahim and Mohammed should hear what she had to
+say.
+
+Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental nature, the Arab
+chief granted her request, and with Ibrahim entered his tent, followed
+by the wife unattended.
+
+“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet! Great is Allah!” she
+commenced. “Wilt thou allow me to unveil, so that this pasha see that I
+am not the Girzilla he seeketh?”
+
+“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”
+
+When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back, completely bewildered
+at the entrancing beauty of the lady.
+
+He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his throat was husky,
+and he could not speak.
+
+It was not until the veil had been replaced that he found himself able
+to articulate.
+
+“It is Girzilla, and yet--no, my Girzilla differs----”
+
+He was confused.
+
+“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she counted? Is she
+thy wife?”
+
+“No, would to Allah she were!”
+
+“Who is she, then?”
+
+“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He it was who brought
+Girzilla to me.”
+
+Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably piqued.
+
+“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the Arab wondered, and was
+about to refuse when his wife pleaded in her musical Arabian:
+
+“Do, please, let me see this American.”
+
+“Be it as thou wish.”
+
+Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished American.
+
+After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this Girzilla.
+
+“I know not what her name may be,” commenced Max, “but when I asked her
+by what she should be known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”
+
+“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her mother--of her
+father?”
+
+“She told me her father had Mameluke blood----”
+
+A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion of the sentence.
+
+“It must be our own child,” she said.
+
+“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked Mohammed.
+
+“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her to my room, and
+bade her remember that whenever she found one she could trust as a
+brother--one she could love with all the strength of her nature--she
+should bid him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of my
+own land, ‘the true one.’”
+
+“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for she said, ‘Never
+mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’ I called her Gazelle, but
+she stopped me and said, ‘No, no; Girzilla.’”
+
+Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the way in which he
+had been rescued by Girzilla.
+
+Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind that the guide who
+had been looked upon as the ally of brigands, and one not really to be
+trusted, was in reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth
+of Mohammed.
+
+“Where is she?” asked the Arab.
+
+“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered Ibrahim.
+
+“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide us.”
+
+“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed Max, when he left the
+tent in company with Ibrahim.
+
+“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if thou meanest we are
+lucky, then I agree.”
+
+“I meant that it was strange--very strange; some great mystery is here.”
+
+“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s mother.”
+
+“Always thinking of her.”
+
+“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my only hope and
+desire.”
+
+“And wouldst thou marry her?”
+
+“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall be mine; but if
+she be really the daughter of the great chief, Mohammed, then if he
+consents she shall be mine also.”
+
+“Infatuated youth!”
+
+Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and for an hour he
+talked with Max and Ibrahim about the river and the volcano.
+
+He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el Habib had encamped was
+to the southwest; whereas Max had been going almost due east.
+
+“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if thou dost but find my
+Girzilla I care not which way thou goest.”
+
+At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met with nothing more
+terrible than the awful expanse of sand until they encamped.
+
+Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages--living like birds of
+prey upon others--pounced down upon the cavalcade and sought to capture
+the women and the camels.
+
+Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all disciplined.
+
+Hence the savages could do but little.
+
+One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three of the savages were
+killed.
+
+A native had been captured and held as prisoner.
+
+“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.
+
+“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him go,” answered the
+chief.
+
+Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the man wore.
+
+It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by Girzilla.
+
+The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small to encircle his
+waist.
+
+Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or would not,
+understand.
+
+One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.
+
+“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.
+
+The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking what he would get if
+he told all he knew.
+
+He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s mouth was opened and
+his tongue loosened.
+
+He said that his people had met some white men and a girl, and that all
+had been killed. The belt belonged to the girl, and she was nice.
+
+Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become of the dead
+bodies.
+
+The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his abdomen, indicating
+that the murdered Girzilla and her friends had been eaten.
+
+Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.
+
+The man was to have his freedom.
+
+Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never expected.
+
+In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with one blow,
+severed the savage’s head from his body.
+
+The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened at the sight.
+
+Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for had it not
+encircled the waist of the one he loved?
+
+When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but with the fatalists’
+philosophy, he only said:
+
+“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”
+
+Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side and told them
+that he did not believe the man’s story. He thought he should please
+them by telling it, and how was he to know that there were people who
+would be horrified at the idea of murder?
+
+Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was fully convinced
+that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted into juicy steaks or
+luscious pot roasts, and had served to provide a feast to the tribe of
+cannibals at whose hands they had fallen.
+
+He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high spirits of Max,
+who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his misery, the young Persian might
+never have lived to inherit his uncle’s great property.
+
+Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s fate at rest, and
+so continued the journey.
+
+It was near the end of the third day that Max went forward to Mohammed
+and told him that a smoke was rising in the distance, and that it
+appeared like an encampment.
+
+Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty Arabs to ride forward
+and reconnoiter.
+
+It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained, that
+Mohammed gave them up for lost.
+
+When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers were safe, there
+was joy in the camp of the Arab chief.
+
+The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to the most worthy
+pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed, and the other to the worthy
+Ibrahim.
+
+Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained the welcome
+news that Sherif and all the party were well.
+
+Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the morning, and after
+making Mohammed promise to start at sunrise they journeyed forth to
+meet their friends.
+
+Who can describe the meeting between uncle and nephew? and what pen can
+convey the faintest idea of the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla
+and Ibrahim?
+
+When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no one thought of
+returning to rest.
+
+True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were eager to learn of
+the adventures of the young explorers.
+
+Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s belt had got
+into the possession of the cannibal, and she admitted that some time
+before she had lost it while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.
+
+“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.
+
+“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed Uncle Sherif believed
+that the grave held thee.”
+
+“And if it had?”
+
+“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside thee.”
+
+“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”
+
+She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence in the glance
+from her dark eyes which told him all he wished to know.
+
+When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan arrived, there was a
+great commotion.
+
+Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage, and Mohammed was
+shocked to see his daughter going about unveiled.
+
+He recognized her instantly.
+
+The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt was an
+impossibility.
+
+Who can picture the happy scene when the mother once more folded her
+arms around the form of the daughter, only child of her heart and home?
+
+Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited, was once
+more complete.
+
+“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her as a daughter,
+and she will not leave me.”
+
+“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha taken her to wife?”
+
+“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”
+
+“She shall accept.”
+
+“If she desires.”
+
+“She must.”
+
+“No, no! let the young folks decide.”
+
+It so happened that those young folks were near enough to overhear the
+conversation, and Ibrahim stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.
+
+“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”
+
+“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great bounties on you!”
+exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.
+
+And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred carpet, and in
+that humble position, appealed to Allah and his prophet to bless the
+couple.
+
+After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to take to reach the
+promised Mahdi, the caravan started.
+
+Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of Khartoum, or in the
+district known as the Soudan, the Mahdi would be found.
+
+So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound friend that he agreed
+to follow him.
+
+Both were religious enthusiasts.
+
+Each believed that he should die happily only after seeing the promised
+one.
+
+For several days no event of importance occurred.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI. THE MAHDI.
+
+
+In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the commencement
+of our story, there had lived, in the strictest seclusion, a man whose
+name was suddenly to burst upon the world like the unexpected flash of
+a meteor across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.
+
+This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of religion.
+
+He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about his place,
+he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve hours out of the
+twenty-four in prayer.
+
+He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining eight were
+devoted to study and the obtaining of the necessaries of life.
+
+The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred teacher who would
+ere long receive a mission from the prophet.
+
+Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He removed to Bakara and
+commenced his hermit life about 1870.
+
+Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and intone the _Adan_
+of the Mueddins, which translated would read:
+
+“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah. Come to
+prayer. I testify that Mahomet is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer,
+come to security! Prayer is better than sleep.”
+
+As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would he intone this _Adan_,
+and at midnight, after sleeping two hours, he would rise from his bed,
+open the door, and in a strong, musical voice would chant the _ula_.
+
+“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion--to him belongeth
+the dominion--to him belongeth praise. He giveth life and causeth
+death. He is living and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is
+almighty. Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”
+
+The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious hermit could be, but
+years passed, and never could they get an opportunity to speak with him.
+
+At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an ethereal radiance,
+his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.
+
+“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.
+
+The hermit spoke--the first time to a human being for many years.
+
+“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth Imaum?”
+
+“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.
+
+Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message to each
+governor and chief of a tribe, the burden of which was:
+
+“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the people. I, the
+Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish the oppressors of the poor.
+Prepare for my coming.”
+
+Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the Soudan, received the
+message.
+
+He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian, and showed him
+the message.
+
+“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.
+
+“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”
+
+“But would he not come from Mecca?”
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_ His ways are not our ways,” answered Abu Saud.
+
+“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and find out whether
+this is indeed the Mahdi.”
+
+No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission than Rauf Pasha
+said to himself:
+
+“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers shall go and
+bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum, and I will make him obey me.”
+
+Abu Saud held many theological discussions with Mohammed Ahmed, and
+embarked on the state steamer fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed
+come.
+
+No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward journey than a company
+of soldiers arrived and demanded that the Mahdi should go with them to
+Khartoum.
+
+The prophet went to the door and intoned the _Adan_.
+
+A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with faces turned toward
+Mecca, they joined in the prayer offered by the Mahdi.
+
+When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to the soldiers:
+
+“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he who must obey
+me.”
+
+The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:
+
+“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that we shall do.”
+
+The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun shone on the
+crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner of Egypt.
+
+“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight not against your
+_Imaum_.”
+
+The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.
+
+“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the Mahdi will never
+surrender!”
+
+That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers of the Mahdi.
+
+In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been annihilated,
+and all their arms and ammunition fell into the hands of the Arabs,
+together with the steamer which had brought them down the Nile from
+Khartoum.
+
+The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi had been
+victorious.
+
+The followers of Mohammed went on board the steamer, and sailed down
+the Nile in the direction of Kordofan.
+
+Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked to the standard of
+the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed was welcomed as the long-promised leader
+who was to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the Soudan and
+Egypt.
+
+The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross, and the whole world
+should be subjugated to the faith of Mahomet.
+
+Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still more remarkable
+enthusiasm, which caused the plains of the Soudan to be dyed crimson
+with the blood of Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.
+
+Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the people, and he sent to
+the governor of Fashoda stringent orders to crush the Mahdi and his
+followers.
+
+The orders were welcome, for the governor loved fighting, and his
+people were fond of plunder.
+
+He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in readiness for the
+march early on the following morning.
+
+The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about half of them
+unarmed, however, set out for the Arab village of Senari.
+
+When the village was reached the governor himself raised the banner of
+Egypt, and shouted:
+
+“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”
+
+Senari was fired on.
+
+The people were panic-stricken.
+
+Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to protect them.
+
+Women and children were shot down without mercy.
+
+The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent, was not more
+crimson than the streets of the Arab village.
+
+The soldiers pillaged every house.
+
+Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the heavy swords of the
+soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated in the most horrible manner,
+but were powerless to resist.
+
+They were unarmed.
+
+From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to Bari, and again
+commenced a carnival of slaughter and plunder.
+
+The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they armed themselves
+with knives, long sticks and various other weapons, and rushed upon the
+bayonets and muskets of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds
+and at great disadvantage.
+
+Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were witnessed.
+
+The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust and sand was seen
+in the distance, and in a few minutes a gallant band of well-armed
+Arabs rode into the center of the village, and charged the Fashodians
+with an impetuosity entirely foreign to the Arab nature.
+
+“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good Arabian. “I don’t
+know what the quarrel is about, but the villagers are the weakest.”
+
+“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we always go to help the
+under dog of the fight.”
+
+Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants, Max and
+Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.
+
+The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had come.
+
+The villagers declared that Allah had answered their prayers, and that
+very thought caused them to fight with desperate courage, even though
+they were practically unarmed.
+
+“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.
+
+“Great is the prophet!”
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_”
+
+The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and it was not until a
+lull took place that Sherif el Habib was able to explain that the Mahdi
+had not come, that in fact they were seeking for him.
+
+Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was knocked from his hand
+he almost cried with vexation.
+
+But he created a consternation which led to a panic.
+
+It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.
+
+Max had amused himself on his journey in making a number of giant
+cartridges--consisting of a paper shell and nearly half a pound of
+powder.
+
+He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge or blast, and
+when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally discovered one of these
+heavy cartridges in his saddlebag.
+
+Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a plan unique and
+terrible.
+
+Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard bearer of the
+Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge under the saddlebag and
+lighted the fuse.
+
+The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel, as he
+thought, the attack made by Max, but was surprised to see the American
+ride away.
+
+The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was heard, and the
+standard bearer was flying through space.
+
+Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended, for the madcap
+had charged the cartridge so well that the poor bearer of the crescent
+of Egypt was rent into a hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left
+scattered on the ground.
+
+The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that the prophet must
+have indeed come.
+
+To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen approaching, and
+a great cry arose from the throng:
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking man with
+clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.
+
+In a voice of authority he shouted:
+
+“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your _Imaum_, the Mahdi.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII. TRICK OR MIRACLE.
+
+
+Long years of asceticism had made the man who claimed to be the
+long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in appearance.
+
+There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly fascinated one.
+
+His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even and regular,
+his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black mustache and beard
+gave him a look of authority.
+
+It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a man, added to
+the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored Arabs with a belief
+in his pretensions.
+
+Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would have subjugated
+Europe easily.
+
+“I am the Mahdi!”
+
+Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated themselves on the
+ground.
+
+The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of Fashoda fell back
+with his troops.
+
+The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together and
+commenced the march into the mountain fastness.
+
+When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face, and taking
+the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it to his lips.
+
+“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent solemnity.
+
+The Mahdi bade him rise.
+
+Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:
+
+“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the kingdoms of the
+world shall know it as well as thou.”
+
+Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:
+
+“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath found me, because
+the time of your pleasure is near at hand.”
+
+Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded beneath his feet.
+
+The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.
+
+“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I can read.”
+
+“And mine?” asked Max.
+
+For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:
+
+“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally themselves with me
+if they could gain by it. Curiosity would prompt them, but thy land I
+shall never see.”
+
+“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the Mahdi had referred
+to the British nation.
+
+“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed infidel nation,
+the sword of the faithful would have pierced thee through.”
+
+“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.
+
+“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of those who went
+before, left thine own father, and through a girl didst thou escape.”
+
+“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever being a Mahdi
+fails, come over to New York and you will just make millions, see if
+you don’t.”
+
+Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed heartily at the
+characteristic speech delivered by Max. It so clearly corroborated the
+mind reading of the Mahdi.
+
+“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half vexed at Ibrahim,
+especially.
+
+“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.
+
+“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars in the States.”
+
+A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came to the camp and
+began asking questions of the Mahdi.
+
+Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the Mahdi answered
+with convincing eloquence.
+
+Others asked for signs and miracles.
+
+The Mahdi’s face darkened.
+
+“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary that I should
+work signs and wonders before you believe me?”
+
+“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”
+
+“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the promised Mahdi,”
+said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed over sea and land, have been
+across the great desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”
+
+“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed one of the
+unbelievers.
+
+“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of England will crush
+all who follow the Mahdi.”
+
+The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were gaining ground,
+and he must do something to convince them.
+
+His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on his course.
+
+“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed, quickly.
+
+“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving ones,
+“stand in the center.”
+
+Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew from the folds of
+his dress a snake skin.
+
+He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was but the skin of a
+deadly snake.
+
+“Are you satisfied?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand until it was
+stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and was as stiff as a
+walking cane.
+
+He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers, and it laid
+there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.
+
+The men recoiled.
+
+The Mahdi laughed.
+
+“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he asked, sneeringly.
+“Wait and see.”
+
+He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained stiff.
+
+The thing looked as if it was expanding.
+
+“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.
+
+“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.
+
+There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed with life.
+
+Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its body writhed and
+wriggled, as if it resented being so tightly grasped by its tail.
+
+The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if ready for a
+spring.
+
+The men shrieked.
+
+The unbelievers slunk away.
+
+The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at the miracle.
+
+The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it was about to
+spring.
+
+The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.
+
+It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty piece of skin, so
+small that it could be held in the closed hand.
+
+Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance or some
+freak of nature, the reader must determine. The Buddhist fakirs of
+India and the Mohammedan dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the
+same thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the sand
+and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is removed the skin has
+disappeared, and a live snake has taken its place.
+
+The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice declared:
+
+“Thou art the Mahdi!”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII. UNDER THE MAHDI.
+
+
+To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and soldiers, the
+experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was sufficient evidence of his
+power and of the truth of his mission.
+
+Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.
+
+He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he wished that the
+Mahdi had shown his power in some other way.
+
+Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el Habib wanted to
+believe that the Mahdi possessed a power unlimited, and which no one
+could imitate.
+
+Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.
+
+“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the proof of my power
+must be adapted to those who are witnesses of it. Had I said to this
+mountain: ‘Get thee back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not
+have been more convincing than the snake transformation.”
+
+“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove the mountain even
+ten feet, I’ll give up my country and adopt yours.”
+
+The Mahdi made no answer.
+
+He treated the young American with contempt.
+
+Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed bowed his
+head, grieved that anyone in his caravan should speak so lightly or
+demand such a great miracle.
+
+Max was in disgrace.
+
+He wandered away and strolled near where the women members of the
+caravan were encamped.
+
+He walked about, his head bent down, for he was sorry that he had
+offended his friends.
+
+“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice at his side.
+
+He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily veiled.
+
+Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he caught a glimpse of
+Girzilla.
+
+Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.
+
+He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man, could never marry a
+dark-skinned Arabian.
+
+“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.
+
+Max told her of the offense he had given.
+
+“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will not be offended.
+If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt my brother for fear of
+offending Mohammed, my father, and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”
+
+“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How strange that,
+through saving me, you should be restored to your friends.”
+
+“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”
+
+“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon leave her and go
+with thy husband.”
+
+“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.
+
+“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”
+
+“Yes--that--I--what shall I say?”
+
+“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”
+
+“As a--brother. Ah, yes--but art thou going away?”
+
+“Going away?”
+
+“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”
+
+“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have no one to guide
+me.”
+
+“I could instruct thee.”
+
+“Will you?”
+
+“Perhaps, but----”
+
+Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max far happier than
+when she had joined him.
+
+He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature which
+characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.
+
+“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am not of thy faith.
+You adopt the crescent, my sign is the cross. Mahomet did a grand work
+for your people, but my Savior is Jesus.”
+
+“He is one of our prophets.”
+
+“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You are beset with
+danger. Your enemies may league against you----”
+
+“They may, but they cannot triumph.”
+
+“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I am in the camp, I
+will fight under your standard, and if the English came----”
+
+“They will not.”
+
+“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am an American, and
+I would like to be able to tell the English to stay at home and mind
+their own business.”
+
+It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi could see it came
+from the heart.
+
+For several days the camp was undisturbed.
+
+“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,” said the
+Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”
+
+Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay with the new prophet,
+and to participate in what they believed to be his forthcoming
+triumphal march across the Soudan.
+
+Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially human, grandly
+sublime in his ideas, and, although undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an
+able man.
+
+That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the Mahdi, no one could
+doubt.
+
+In his own estimation he was no impostor.
+
+His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all tended to make
+him believe in his mission.
+
+But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority, he was too
+good a soldier to neglect military precautions.
+
+Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the soldiers and
+followers of the new prophet were drilled for an hour.
+
+At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in the manual of
+arms.
+
+Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division, and he appointed
+Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max occupied the same post of
+responsibility under Mohammed.
+
+Each knew that at any moment they might have to fight, and our young
+heroes were eager for the fray.
+
+Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never so happy as when
+engaged in combat, either in a wordy war with his tongue or in the more
+deadly conflict with the sword.
+
+When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap proclivities were
+sure to manifest themselves, and he would make some one the victim of
+his practical jokes.
+
+His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before he left the
+Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and men go down to the valley of
+death by the thousand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV. COUNTING CHICKENS.
+
+
+In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than the Governor of
+Fashoda.
+
+Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered by Rauf Pasha to
+remain on the defensive, he nevertheless conceived the idea that he
+could win renown and perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with
+the greatest ease.
+
+As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman, who had been
+compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously, or spend a few
+years in one of the English prisons.
+
+He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an adventurous
+disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on a special mission to Rauf
+Pasha, who transferred him to the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the English aristocracy,
+was educated at Oxford University, had been in the army, but resigned
+his commission just in time to escape being kicked out.
+
+But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but a great rascal.
+
+Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.
+
+The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant. He feared that his
+winning ways might lure some of the court to the gaming table, for
+Ponsonby was a great gambler.
+
+Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending Ponsonby to the
+Soudan.
+
+Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would soon run the country to
+suit himself, and he determined to get rid of him.
+
+He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a low part of
+Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.
+
+The only thing he could think of was to send him with good
+recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign in his favor,”
+said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started from Khartoum.
+
+This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda governor, and, in fact,
+really ruled the province.
+
+Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby was closeted with the
+governor.
+
+“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman, insinuatingly.
+
+“Why should he be?”
+
+“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would be the greatest man
+in the Soudan, and I would go right off to the khedive and so work
+upon his feelings that you would be appointed governor-general of the
+Soudan. Once there you might aspire higher----”
+
+“How?”
+
+“The army wants a leader.”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big Soudanese army
+would point to you as the man. Arabi Pasha would help you.”
+
+“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian army?”
+
+“Greater than that.”
+
+“How so?”
+
+“The army could make you khedive.”
+
+“And you?”
+
+“You would make me minister of war, and I would get England’s
+influence, and Egypt should become an independent nation, with you as
+its first sultan.”
+
+The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and believed he was the
+only man fitted for the career sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.
+
+But what ambition had Ponsonby?
+
+In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this fashion:
+
+“The governor is ambitious--he is a tool in my hands--he has no
+scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger just as readily as the
+soldier’s sword. The army wants a bold, dashing leader. Under my
+guidance he shall win everything until the last step--then I will, as
+minister of war, effect a _coup d’etat_, and Hubert Ponsonby shall
+become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”
+
+So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the Governor of Fashoda
+was to be used as a cat’s-paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for
+Ponsonby’s benefit.
+
+The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be defeated and crushed.
+
+Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the Mahdi.
+
+Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the claims of the
+Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople the Mahdi was openly
+referred to as having made his appearance.
+
+The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all powerful.
+
+It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered the old
+Irish story of the Skibbereen market women.
+
+As the two women were going home from market, one of them began to
+prophesy how many good things she would be able to get by the next
+gale--rent--day.
+
+She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she reasoned: Twenty-six
+eggs will bring me at least twenty chickens; each chicken will begin
+laying in the spring. I shall get so many eggs every day; seven times
+twenty will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can sell them,
+and the money will buy----
+
+But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend, who asked:
+
+“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”
+
+The other was sure they wouldn’t be.
+
+The women wrangled and got to high words, and at last one declared
+she could tell by the yolks whether the egg would produce a hen or a
+rooster.
+
+Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove her assertion;
+and then suddenly remembered that no chickens at all could be hatched
+from broken eggs.
+
+Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated the Mahdi
+before he counted his profits.
+
+The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.
+
+Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they believed the
+triumph of the prophet was the triumph of religion.
+
+Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline was of the
+strictest, but they would have suffered torture if they thought by so
+doing they could assist the Mahdi.
+
+Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe to his ideas, and
+five thousand men were ready to take the field against the Mahdists.
+
+“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.
+
+“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the chief of the Shiluk.
+
+“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of Egypt, and you will be
+the governor general of the Soudan.”
+
+And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and ready to fight
+against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby should direct.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV. VICTORY.
+
+
+“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to Girzilla?” asked
+Ibrahim, one night.
+
+“Anything happen? What do you mean?”
+
+“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may fall.”
+
+“Of course, so may I.”
+
+“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand on his forehead.
+
+“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine, and you will be
+all right.”
+
+“No, I am not sick.”
+
+“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a lark I had with
+the Mahdi?”
+
+“What lark?”
+
+“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I could have split my
+sides with laughter, but I had to be sober as a judge.”
+
+“What did you do, Madcap?”
+
+“Swear you won’t give me away.”
+
+“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.
+
+“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”
+
+“No.”
+
+“Swear it.”
+
+“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”
+
+“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more ceremony shown him
+now than at first. His hands and feet are washed before he stretches
+himself on your uncle’s sacred carpet.”
+
+“Yes, I know that.”
+
+“You also know that he must pour the water into the basin himself.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big Arab held the basin,
+another came with a leather bottle, filled with the sacred water. The
+Mahdi took the bottle and poured some into the basin; but he nearly
+fell with fright.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the basin. The Arab
+was so frightened that he dropped the bowl and fell on his knees.
+‘Bring the other vessel,’ commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought,
+and the same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted your
+uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a great uprising of the
+Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the boiling and frothing of the water
+subsided, so would his enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober
+face, because----”
+
+“What did you do?”
+
+“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three seidlitz powders in
+each bowl. The white powder was not noticed because the Mahdi insists
+on the sacred sand from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”
+
+“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”
+
+“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to have been a
+miracle.”
+
+“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”
+
+“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only----What was that?”
+
+“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”
+
+The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the soldier once again.
+
+He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.
+
+“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the Mahdi. “But not
+one will go back. The grave shall receive each one who fights beneath
+the crescent without the star.”
+
+Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed by the Governor of
+Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were seen approaching.
+
+On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode, looking kinglike and
+majestic.
+
+The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the tawny color of
+the soldiers.
+
+He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly as he bestrode the
+back of the raven-colored horse.
+
+He did everything for effect.
+
+“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same cry was repeated
+by the Fashodans.
+
+“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists, and the Fashodans
+replied with stentorian voices:
+
+“For Mahomet and the khedive.”
+
+The Fashodans commenced the battle.
+
+They were weary and wanted it over.
+
+They believed the victory would be an easy one. They had no water, and
+the wells were guarded by the Mahdists.
+
+Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.
+
+The Mahdi was practically unarmed.
+
+He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on which were written
+passages from the Koran.
+
+There was something grand about this religious fanatic.
+
+Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and guileless as a
+child.
+
+He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.
+
+He knew it was only by the sword that he could win, and yet he would
+not use the weapon himself.
+
+When the fight was hottest he was calm.
+
+The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed and as cool
+as if he knew the leaden hail could not hurt him.
+
+On came the legions from Fashoda.
+
+But it was evident that they were disheartened.
+
+“Who is that white man?” asked Max.
+
+“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.
+
+“An Englishman?”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered what had
+become of him. Wonder if he knows me? It is three years since we met,
+and I was only sixteen then.”
+
+Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write the words.
+
+He called his men to follow him, and swinging his scimiter above his
+head dashed into the very midst of the attacking force.
+
+He pushed his way through until he found himself by the side of
+Hubert’s coal-black horse.
+
+“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.
+
+“Who calls me by that name?”
+
+“I do.”
+
+“You; and who are you?”
+
+“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”
+
+“You lie!”
+
+“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet itself in your flesh and
+prove my words.”
+
+Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force, but it cut the
+empty air.
+
+Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second blow.
+
+“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.
+
+“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is the difference,”
+answered Max.
+
+Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades, but neither
+combatant was wounded.
+
+“Surrender!” cried Max.
+
+“Never!” answered Hubert.
+
+Again the two men came together.
+
+The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder, but Max was
+unhurt.
+
+The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.
+
+With his left hand, weak though it was from the wound, he drew his
+revolver.
+
+“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made an upward cut and
+sent the revolver careening through the air.
+
+The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they saw that Hubert
+was getting the worst of it, a dozen of them surrounded Max, cutting
+him off entirely from his followers.
+
+It was a critical moment.
+
+Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out terrible blows
+with it; but what could one man do against twelve?
+
+He felt he would have to succumb.
+
+Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.
+
+He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.
+
+He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted it he resolved that
+Ponsonby should not live to gloat over his defeat.
+
+He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him from his horse.
+
+Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped Hubert by the throat.
+
+A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring it down on the
+young American’s head, when the blow was turned aside by the Mahdi’s
+spear, and instead of cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of
+the Mahdi, it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of
+the Koran.
+
+Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry the Mahdi rode;
+he had saved the madcap’s life at the risk of his own.
+
+Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of the Fashodans had
+felt the keenness of his sword and the strength of his arm.
+
+His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor of Fashoda.
+
+When the day ended and the result of the fight was known, it was found
+that of the five thousand brave followers of Hubert Ponsonby and the
+Fashodan governor, not two hundred escaped.
+
+The carnage was fearful.
+
+The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy over four thousand.
+
+Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the Mahdi, in a loud
+voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as an adopted son of the prophet.
+
+Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi hath come!” the sun
+went down, and Mohammed Ahmed was the greatest warrior the Soudan had
+ever known.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI. A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.
+
+
+The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was telegraphed all over
+the world.
+
+In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike with Cairo, the
+people could talk of nothing but the wonderful advance of the Mahdi.
+
+Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.
+
+He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity of the Egyptians
+and Turks against him.
+
+A delay would be dangerous.
+
+The Soudan must be his, and that at once.
+
+He called together his chosen friends and told them that the victory
+must be followed up by still greater victories.
+
+Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which made men rejoice
+in being martyrs, advised the instant march on Khartoum.
+
+“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must acknowledge your
+mission,” he said, and really believed that the Mahdi could scatter his
+enemies by a mere word.
+
+But the prophet shook his head.
+
+“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is only by the sword
+that the prince of darkness can be crushed. To march now would be to
+invite defeat.”
+
+Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.
+
+“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.
+
+Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.
+
+“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied, modestly.
+
+“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think. I will hear all and
+condemn not.”
+
+The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat made, for him, a
+long speech.
+
+“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began. “Fate, or,
+as you would say, Allah, guided me to you. I have fought under your
+banner.”
+
+“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.
+
+“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”--looking at
+the Mahdi--“are by a long shot the best man in the Soudan to-day. As
+Englishmen have joined your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join
+you, and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged in.
+Now, I’ve got an idea--just forget that you are the Mahdi and, to put
+it plainly, a rebel----Oh, don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest
+man who ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he was a
+patriot.”
+
+“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said Mohammed Ahmed.
+“I shall not be offended.”
+
+“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum, to Kordofan,
+and Senaar, and preach rebellion. Let whoever goes rouse the
+people--talk to them of the way they have been robbed, and then spring
+upon them the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You see,
+by this means you would have friends waiting for you in each place.”
+
+“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be killed.”
+
+“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said to myself: ‘Max, old
+fellow, make your will, reconcile yourself to your enemies, and go in a
+buster.’”
+
+Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke seemed incoherent, his
+hearers knew that he was in earnest, and that the plan was a good one.
+
+“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let the plan be worked
+in other places first.”
+
+“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but who could carry it
+out?”
+
+“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.
+
+Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:
+
+“What would become of your harem?”
+
+“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.
+
+“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would never do. Both the
+illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed have too much to lose.”
+
+“Do you think we value our possessions more than principle?”
+
+“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to lose all, and
+perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to Kordofan.”
+
+“You?”
+
+“Yes; I can talk--why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in the adventure.”
+
+“But you are not of our faith.”
+
+“So much the better. I am an American, and every body will know that
+the cause is a good one if an American takes it up.”
+
+“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”
+
+“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.
+
+“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his uncle, with almost a
+sneer.
+
+“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will tell me what to do.”
+
+“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the truth.”
+
+“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet. When do we
+start, Max?”
+
+“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed as he spoke.
+
+He walked away to think out his plan of action, and was joined by
+Girzilla.
+
+“You were going without bidding me good-by.”
+
+“Yes.”
+
+“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may be, I am not Kalula to
+you, but Girzilla.”
+
+“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be happy.”
+
+The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from what Mohammed, her
+father, had told her, that the mission in which both Max and Ibrahim
+were to be engaged was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were
+that neither would ever be seen again alive.
+
+But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the young men went
+forth, their lives in their hands, in support of the cause they had
+espoused.
+
+Max was not quite so much in love with his mission when he entered
+Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all probability, was in antagonism
+to several regiments of soldiers and an excited populace.
+
+He needed rest.
+
+It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of caravan life on
+the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent that he dare not delay more
+than that one day.
+
+He had been provided with a letter of introduction to a merchant
+with whom Sherif el Habib had done business. That letter opened the
+merchant’s heart and home, for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s
+house his home during his stay in Kordofan.
+
+Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist, and a man of
+wealth, and therefore of great influence.
+
+It was not long before he asked Max the pointed question:
+
+“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”
+
+Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s belief.
+
+“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said the merchant.
+
+“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked the American.
+
+“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”
+
+“Why?”
+
+“The people would be disappointed.”
+
+“In what way?”
+
+“You will laugh.”
+
+“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this Mohammedan
+Mahdi.”
+
+“They expect too much.”
+
+“How?”
+
+“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that you would laugh.”
+
+“I apologize. I could not help it.”
+
+“They think, also, that he never walks.”
+
+“Never walks?”
+
+“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to reach any
+place.”
+
+“Anything else?”
+
+“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in his veins, as well
+as that of Emin Bey.”
+
+“Whom did you say?”
+
+“Mahomet.”
+
+“Yes, but the other name?”
+
+“Emin.”
+
+“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.
+
+Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything, loved to tell a
+story, and one story was always entrancing to him.
+
+He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco smoke to eddy and
+curl up to the ceiling before he commenced his story.
+
+“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that Mohammed Ali
+determined to destroy the Mamelukes----”
+
+“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that to do with the
+Mahdi?”
+
+Shula looked at Max with astonishment.
+
+It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt me in the midst of a
+story?” He puffed away at his chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a
+minute or so, and then continued:
+
+“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed Ali invited them,
+the portcullis fell behind the last of their splendid army, and they
+were trapped like rats.”
+
+“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”
+
+“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch Arabian over a pile
+of dead and dying. He sprang on the battlements, his horse was killed,
+but with a shout of _Allah il Allah_, he leaped into the darkness and
+escaped to the mosque.”
+
+Again Shula paused.
+
+Max was impatient, and could not wait.
+
+“I would give my right hand to find the descendants of Emin,” he said.
+
+“Would you?”
+
+“Indeed I would.”
+
+“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered the mosque without
+removing his shoes. He pleaded to his own conscience that his wound
+would excuse his sacrilege. He fell asleep, and as he slept he
+dreamed--that is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the
+time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and in the center,
+Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said the prophet, ‘thy wound is
+healed.’ Emin began to excuse the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but
+the prophet stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said, and
+sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins of Thebes and hide
+thee until I bid thee go to the desert, and there thou shalt stay, thou
+and thy sons, but thy son’s son shall be the _Imaum_ of his people.’
+‘But,’ said Emin, ‘the _Imaum_ shall be of thy race, illustrious
+prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of my race, thou art
+blessed, indeed.”
+
+Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring some grapes.
+
+Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until the cup was full
+of the ruby-colored juice.
+
+Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant had withdrawn,
+Shula continued:
+
+“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the grandson of Emin----”
+
+“And I never thought of it--I, who have been seeking the last of the
+Mamelukes--I----”
+
+“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”
+
+“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants, and I never told
+the Mahdi.”
+
+“Do you know the Mahdi?”
+
+“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi sent me here. He is
+coming in all the glory of victory, and I am to prepare a way for him.”
+
+Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the American until poor
+Max began to think his breath would all be squeezed out.
+
+Had he wanted rest?
+
+If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII. SOWING THE SEED.
+
+
+For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for three of his most
+particular friends and bade them hasten to his house.
+
+Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian, was the first, and
+he stared at Max with eyes which seemed to glitter with hate.
+
+He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin had been changed from
+olive to almost black through exposure to the sun.
+
+Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs, and he imagined Max
+to be some wealthy foreigner who was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah
+for business or pleasure.
+
+He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin, a Persian, entered
+and embraced Shula most warmly.
+
+The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were drawn round the
+room and everything done to prevent the slightest sound being heard on
+the outside.
+
+“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this illustrious one
+is a messenger from the Mahdi.”
+
+The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low, and murmured
+some words of prayer.
+
+“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you ready?”
+
+“What are we to do?”
+
+“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”
+
+“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.
+
+“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into the midst of an
+army; he had no weapon, the guns were firing, the swords and spears
+clashed around him and over his head, but he merely smiled and bade
+them cease their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong. Will
+you not raise his flag?”
+
+“We will.”
+
+“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die in a great
+cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum, pillaged by Egypt and taxed by
+Turkey. England now wants a share, and what will you have left?”
+
+“Nothing.”
+
+“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt, of Turkey and the
+whole of the Mohammedan world. The crescent and star will float above
+all other flags, for the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of
+shahs.”
+
+“_Allah il Allah_ be praised.”
+
+“_Inshallah!_”
+
+“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically that no
+opposition was offered. A plan was adopted by which on the third day
+all the followers of the four wealthy citizens should revolt and raise
+the standard of the Mahdi.
+
+In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet. It was not thought
+wise for him to interfere, as some thought it might be said he was
+a foreigner, and of alien faith, and therefore at work against the
+interests of the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.
+
+Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather the fruit. He was
+quite willing that others should do that.
+
+So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and Nasr el Adin, and
+agreed to remain quiet in the city, while they kindled the torch of
+revolt.
+
+Max slept well that night. It had been many months since he reposed in
+a regular bed in a comfortable room, with both male and female servants
+to minister to his needs.
+
+True, the females were not lovely. They were very old, exceedingly ugly
+and bad tempered, but they did the work.
+
+It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth into the streets.
+
+He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.
+
+A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked lazily at Max, who
+returned the gaze, and wondered whether he ought to attack the peculiar
+animal or not.
+
+While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled, ran screaming
+past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking man.
+
+Max thought that it was a case of father chastising his daughter, but
+even then his blood boiled with indignation, for the girl was too old
+to receive corporal punishment.
+
+The man overtook the girl and struck her over the shoulders with his
+cane.
+
+At the same instant Max found he could not restrain the muscles of his
+arm, and his clinched fist managed to come in contact with the fat
+man’s nose, causing that organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness,
+and inducing its owner to lie on the ground on his back.
+
+It was a curious accident--for so Max called it--but the girl did not
+hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen foe, but rather turned her
+black eyes in the direction of Max.
+
+He then saw that she was really pretty.
+
+Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging sparkling dark
+eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in the landscape.
+
+The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to resume the
+perpendicular while Max was around.
+
+The girl started running away, but Max called to her to stop.
+
+He wanted to know her name, at least.
+
+He was an American, and did not realize how different were the customs
+of Egypt.
+
+She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.
+
+She smiled when he got alongside her.
+
+As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly teeth that really
+added to her beauty.
+
+“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with charming _naïveté_.
+
+“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”
+
+She smiled.
+
+“You know you shouldn’t.”
+
+“What?”
+
+“Have knocked him down.”
+
+“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”
+
+“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”
+
+“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.
+
+“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”
+
+Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen, and was following
+them.
+
+“Go,” she said.
+
+“Not until you tell me where you live and your name.”
+
+“My name is Lalla. I live----But what good to tell you?--I shall never
+see you again.”
+
+“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course you will.”
+
+“No, no, no! you must not; good-by--I live--here.”
+
+She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big wall.
+
+“You do? May I come and see you?”
+
+She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion and laughed
+as well.
+
+“No; what absurdity--I am going to be married----”
+
+The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it again so quickly
+that Max could not get even the slightest glimpse of what was on the
+other side.
+
+“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought Max.
+
+But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking quite
+disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged in just as
+expeditiously as the girl had done.
+
+“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max. “I’ll see over
+that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”
+
+He looked for a good climbing place, and found a better one than he
+expected.
+
+“Here goes--Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced climbing the
+wall.
+
+When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.
+
+The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number of fountains
+were sending up continuous sprays of water, which the slight breeze
+scattered over the turf, keeping the grass green and soft.
+
+A large house stood in the center, and near to its main entrance stood
+Lalla.
+
+She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would not understand her
+signals.
+
+He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and sheltered himself
+behind a clump of euphorbia.
+
+He was afraid that his presence might be known, and that he would be
+expelled from the grounds.
+
+He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not see why it should be
+considered wrong to do so.
+
+He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and that if he were caught
+his life might be the forfeit, but he was Madcap Max still.
+
+He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway and enter the house.
+
+“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins! if he does,
+I’ll break into his place and steal her away--that I will!”
+
+But it soon became evident that his position would be an unpleasant
+one.
+
+Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to drive him from the
+grounds.
+
+A dozen male servants of the great man who owned the estate started
+down the steps of the portico and made straight for the euphorbia.
+
+The gate was fastened.
+
+The wall was too high to climb on short notice.
+
+Max saw his peril.
+
+If caught----
+
+“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.
+
+“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close upon me?” he
+asked himself, and answered:
+
+“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be tired, you fresh;
+then race them for all that it is worth.”
+
+The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient romance was after them.
+
+When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood ready.
+
+They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but had separated
+themselves so that they might surround him and thus effect an easy
+capture.
+
+He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward--going toward the house
+instead of away from it.
+
+As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him, Max put out his
+left foot and tripped the fellow up.
+
+As ill luck would have it--or perhaps it was Max’s good luck--the man
+fell on his face in a bed of _euphorbia splendens_, a plant commonly
+known as the “crown of thorns.”
+
+The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross fashion and made
+him wish he had never been born.
+
+Max was now pursued by the others.
+
+He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled on his pursuers.
+
+Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another advantage.
+
+He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to find some means
+of exit.
+
+But again he was mistaken.
+
+He, however, found something he did not bargain for, and that was a
+trap or cellar door.
+
+It was open.
+
+Max did not see it.
+
+It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning powers, or even
+much knowledge of the rules of logic, to comprehend the result.
+
+He fell through the open door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII. AN UNEXPECTED BATH.
+
+
+Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched the door and
+closed it, by accident, after him.
+
+It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.
+
+Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.
+
+He was only shaken and slightly bruised.
+
+His pursuers reached the door and tried it.
+
+Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat--louder than he liked.
+
+But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers declare that he
+must have scaled the wall.
+
+“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.
+
+“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered one of the eunuchs.
+
+“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the declaration.
+
+His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the eunuch call off his
+men and declare that the “infidel” had escaped.
+
+When the footsteps died away Max began to think about his prison house.
+
+If the door had not been opened for a week, was there any way of egress
+or ingress?
+
+If not, then might he not starve to death?
+
+“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall be saved.”
+
+Max was looking on the bright side of the subject, and his spirits rose
+correspondingly.
+
+The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately had a small
+pocket lantern with him, and after being there an hour he felt it was
+safe to light the lamp.
+
+He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without any flooring
+save the mud.
+
+The roof was very high in some places, and in others so low that Max
+could not stand upright.
+
+It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent was so
+great.
+
+A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with Max, but those
+were the only living things he saw.
+
+Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a house, is not the
+most inspiring exercise, and Max was not very elated.
+
+Once he thought he heard a flow of water.
+
+Was he mistaken?
+
+No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar, only separated by a
+very thin partition or wall of baked clay, ran the river Nile.
+
+Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river, but they were
+both fastened.
+
+“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m in for a good
+time, and I’ll have one.”
+
+Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper story.
+
+They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as stone.
+
+He walked up them, and found a door at the top.
+
+Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some more steps which led
+to a long corridor.
+
+There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the hallway, and he
+followed that as his guide.
+
+Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his mind he was mistaken.
+There were no signs of anyone dwelling there, everything was deserted
+and desolate.
+
+He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole thoughts being
+now bent on escape.
+
+He reached the end of the corridor, and found that the little ray of
+light proceeded from a transom over another door.
+
+That door he pushed open, and saw before him another flight of stairs.
+
+“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I only get out at
+last.”
+
+He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door confronted him.
+
+He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight which met his
+gaze.
+
+No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with the beauty and
+grandeur of what he saw.
+
+The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many feet wide.
+
+The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the most exquisite
+patterns and quality.
+
+The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.
+
+Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a different tinted
+shade, shed a brilliant light over the scene.
+
+But that was not all.
+
+Round the great room were divans covered with the most costly silks.
+
+And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a beauteous woman.
+
+Each woman had a little table by her side, on which cigarettes and
+sherbet were placed.
+
+Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco Max had ever
+sniffed.
+
+He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without the beauteous
+creatures having any idea that their privacy had been invaded.
+
+But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl Lalla.
+
+Why should he not go to her?
+
+He was an American, and knew no fear.
+
+He walked down the center of the room, and instantly there was a
+shriek--a tiny little scream--and a flutter of a score of beauties.
+
+But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry for it, for never
+before had any man save their lord entered the grand _salon_ of the
+harem, and the novelty was refreshing.
+
+Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and some offered to
+hide him.
+
+There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by the shoulders and
+pushed him behind the drapery which covered the walls.
+
+She was only just in time.
+
+Three eunuchs entered.
+
+“You screamed,” said the chief.
+
+“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.
+
+“And you all saw it at the same time?”
+
+“Yes,” answered another.
+
+“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a hat, which Max
+had dropped on the floor.
+
+Poor Max!
+
+He had never missed his hat.
+
+He had carried it under his arm when he entered the _salon_.
+
+So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped his _chapeau_
+and never missed it.
+
+The women could not explain how it came about that a mouse wore a soft
+felt helmet.
+
+The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission of discovery.
+
+He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought might cover a
+man, and was approaching the place where Max was hidden, when Lalla
+fell on her knees.
+
+“Oh, spare him!”
+
+“Who do you mean?”
+
+“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never saw him before, but
+he is so handsome! Do not kill him.”
+
+“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.
+
+Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with arms folded before
+the servants of the pasha.
+
+“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar and was trying to
+get away. I found myself here by mistake. Do with me as you like.”
+
+“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others took up the prayer.
+
+But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.
+
+“He must die,” said they.
+
+“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst of their cries Max
+was seized, his hands tied by his sides, after which he was carried
+down the steps into the great noisome cellar by which he had entered.
+
+Max did not try to bribe his captors.
+
+He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.
+
+“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”
+
+But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to escape, when they
+produced a great sack and covered him with it.
+
+Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they lifted him shoulder
+high, and he soon felt the strange sensation of being whirled through
+space.
+
+His senses were almost numbed when he realized that he was in water.
+
+He had been thrown into the Nile!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX. SAVED!
+
+
+Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of the Nile discussing
+the best way to assist the Mahdi.
+
+Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the prophet, and calling
+on all good religionists to rally round his standard.
+
+But Barbasson was crafty.
+
+He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.
+
+“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if he fails----”
+
+“He won’t fail.”
+
+“I hope not; but suppose he did?”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“We should lose our property, and perhaps----”
+
+“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”
+
+“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”
+
+“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you don’t mind killing
+others,” Shula retorted, sharply.
+
+“What mean you?”
+
+“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”
+
+“By the beard of the prophet, no!”
+
+“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was watching a dahabeah on
+the Nile; I saw something bulky thrown overboard----”
+
+“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile was the best place.”
+
+“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle and found----”
+
+“What?”
+
+“A most lovely girl.”
+
+“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”
+
+“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your wives took a great
+dislike to her----”
+
+“One of my wives?”
+
+“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”
+
+Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.
+
+“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and I took her into my
+harem.”
+
+“That is your business. What is it to me?”
+
+“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw Leila into the
+water.”
+
+“Bah! that was only a girl--and they are not missed.”
+
+Barbasson suggested--when he had got over his annoyance--that secret
+agents should be sent out and that riots should be organized.
+
+Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was in disorder, Shula
+should come forward and proclaim the advent of the Mahdi.
+
+This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now joined by Rashid and
+Nasr el Adin, started on their homeward journey.
+
+“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a splash was heard in the
+water.
+
+“A crocodile, most likely.”
+
+“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”
+
+“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”
+
+“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”
+
+“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”
+
+“The prophet will stop all that.”
+
+“I hope so.”
+
+“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses of the government
+here, and he is never molested for beating or drowning his wives. Of
+course, he never touches a man.”
+
+Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the time that a woman’s
+life was considered of no more value than that of a dog or any common
+animal.
+
+A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he could drown her,
+providing he did it decently--that is, place her body in a sack, with
+some heavy weights, so that the body should not rise to the surface.
+
+While the conspirators were discussing the morality of Mahmoud Achmet,
+their eyes were strained in an endeavor to discover what had caused the
+splashing sound.
+
+A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more humane than the
+majority of Kordofans, stepped into a boat anchored by the bank, and
+pushed out in the stream.
+
+He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to stick it in the
+canvas sack.
+
+He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.
+
+He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud Achmet, and hoped
+she would be young and pretty, because by the laws she would be his
+slave.
+
+To his astonishment--and equally so to the surprise of the
+other--instead of a woman the sack contained a man, and that man our
+young friend--Madcap Max.
+
+Max was unconscious.
+
+When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously he struggled
+all he knew how to free himself.
+
+What could he do?
+
+He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.
+
+His body was doubled so that he could not use his hands to tear the bag
+or strike out.
+
+In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.
+
+He began to wish that he had never heard of the Mahdi, or the Mameluke.
+
+But regrets were useless.
+
+He knew he had to die.
+
+Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe, he would have
+been proud to die--because he knew no disgrace would be attached to it.
+
+But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat, was so hurtful
+to his self-respect and so humiliating that he cried with vexation.
+
+The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of it. His brain grew
+dizzy.
+
+The singing in his ears had become like the roaring of the waters of a
+great cataract.
+
+Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators been
+discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion at night by the banks
+of the Nile, Madcap Max would never have been the hero of this story.
+
+Shula rubbed Max briskly.
+
+He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face downward.
+
+The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s back--sitting on it,
+treading it, kneeling on it, and using every means of which they knew
+to restore life.
+
+“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”
+
+The words startled the conspirators.
+
+They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with the treatment he had
+been subjected to, had revived with great suddenness.
+
+He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was being hurt, hence
+his calling out.
+
+He jumped to his feet.
+
+“Shula!” he exclaimed.
+
+“Max!”
+
+“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned? Where am I?”
+
+“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water, and the less you
+say the longer you will be likely to live. Come--let us get home. Can
+you walk?”
+
+“Of course I can.”
+
+Max started forward, but before his legs had moved a dozen times he
+fell on his face.
+
+The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances were to be found
+in Kordofan at that hour of the night, they had to carry him to Shula’s
+residence.
+
+Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and laughed at the
+escapade.
+
+“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to see Lalla,” he said.
+“I want to know more about her.”
+
+“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter any man’s
+harem,” said Shula.
+
+“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”
+
+Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally weak from his
+struggles in the Nile.
+
+Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel that he was the
+strong athlete again.
+
+When he awoke on the morning of the third day he heard cries which
+roused him:
+
+“_Allah il Allah!_”
+
+“Long live the Mahdi!”
+
+“Down with the foreigner!”
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.
+
+His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that he had staked all
+his property and his life on the riot which was then in progress.
+
+“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”
+
+“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”
+
+A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows were shaken,
+and some panes of glass broken.
+
+“What does it mean?”
+
+“They are fighting,” answered Shula.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX. THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.
+
+
+“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the head of the Mahdi’s
+friends?”
+
+“I--stayed--with you.”
+
+“Come! where is my sword?”
+
+“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed--the soldiers
+wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting the people down.”
+
+“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”
+
+“It is madness.”
+
+“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I wasn’t I’d scorn to be
+a coward.”
+
+“A coward?”
+
+“Yes, I said so, and I repeat--a coward.”
+
+“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army of Egypt.”
+
+“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and are now afraid----”
+
+“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”
+
+“Risk all--if by that means you save your honor.”
+
+“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”
+
+“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”
+
+“See what it means to me--loss of property, perhaps life.”
+
+“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going to fight.”
+
+“It is madness!”
+
+“Give me my rifle and my sword.”
+
+Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.
+
+He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right--the people had but
+scant chance.
+
+That made Max all the more determined.
+
+He waved his sword above his head and rushed into the thickest of the
+fight.
+
+“Long live the Mahdi!”
+
+At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.
+
+“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with you. The Mahdi is a
+native of your country, he is no foreigner. Strike for him, and let
+your cry be Egypt for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”
+
+The people lost their fear.
+
+Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers did not
+return the fire.
+
+Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.
+
+The Egyptian officer was enraged.
+
+“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.
+
+A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but the majority kept
+them reversed.
+
+Max saw the advantage he had gained.
+
+He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had fallen in the mêlée.
+
+Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant as he sat there,
+like a veritable centaur.
+
+“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I have fought with the
+great Mahdi. I have seen the thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he
+waved his wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights with his
+eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall back.”
+
+The enthusiasm was great.
+
+Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the others were undecided.
+
+The officer was furious.
+
+“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed the call.
+
+“Load! Aim! Fire!”
+
+Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to his great joy that
+the aim was too high to do any damage.
+
+“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our fight is not
+against you. The Mahdi is of your faith. Nay, more, he will restore the
+great Mameluke kingdom. Every soldier of his will be greater than a
+pasha, for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”
+
+The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who wondered who
+this young paleface could be.
+
+The result was electrical.
+
+Every rifle was reversed.
+
+The officer was left alone to return to the fort--a commander without
+soldiers.
+
+At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the Mahdi, Mohammed
+Achmet was close to the gates of the city. He heard the cheering and
+the firing.
+
+His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.
+
+Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif el Habib and the
+Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into the main street of Kordofan.
+
+“The Mahdi!”
+
+“The Mahdi has come!”
+
+The cheers rose on the air.
+
+Songs were sung--the soldiers fraternized with the people.
+
+Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.
+
+Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer handed his
+sword to the Mahdi.
+
+“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my sword and use it for
+truth and our faith.”
+
+The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed it back, saying:
+
+“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for you will use it as
+only a brave man can.”
+
+The fires of joy were lighted.
+
+Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi was welcomed.
+
+Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was triumphant, came to
+offer the hospitality of his house to the conqueror.
+
+Max recognized him, and after the man had said all he intended, came
+forward.
+
+“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped him in a sack, and
+drowned him.”
+
+“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He has raised this man
+from the dead. All my wealth is his,” exclaimed Mahmoud.
+
+Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however, did not contradict
+him, but allowed him to think that the power of the Mahdi had indeed
+raised him from the dead.
+
+He spoke privately to the Mahdi.
+
+“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.
+
+“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give this man the girl
+called Lalla.”
+
+Mahmoud fell to the ground.
+
+He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.
+
+“Woe is me, I cannot!”
+
+“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.
+
+“Indeed it is true. _Inshallah!_”
+
+Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max, and after throwing
+him into the river, Lalla had refused to be comforted, had called him a
+murderer, and refused to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in
+his anger he ordered her to be drowned.
+
+Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.
+
+The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in the presence of a
+great concourse of citizens, said:
+
+“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at times made away with such
+of his wives that displeased him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how
+abhorrent such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet be taken
+from here in the sack which he has provided for others, and that he be
+thrown into the Nile.”
+
+“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man--“mercy! I will give you wealth.”
+
+“I do not want it.”
+
+“All I have shall be yours!”
+
+“It is mine already.”
+
+One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem testified how the
+wives were constantly beaten with whips.
+
+“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,” said the Mahdi; “it
+is fate.”
+
+The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.
+
+Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of his own eunuch, and
+was drowned in the Nile.
+
+“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who were more than
+ever enthused with the prophet and his cause.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI. VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.
+
+
+Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot haste, asked for
+the Mahdi.
+
+He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif el Habib.
+
+When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:
+
+  “To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum and Mahdi:
+
+  “GREETING: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the flag of the
+  Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is ours.
+
+  “IBRAHIM.”
+
+Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.
+
+  “Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter. “I was wounded
+  in the right foot and lost two toes, but that was better than my
+  life. The people were all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely.
+  It was a tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which I will
+  send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is Girzilla? Give her my
+  love. Is Max the Madcap alive? Of course he is. Tell him not to play
+  any pranks in Kordofan.
+
+  “Your loving nephew,
+
+  “IBRAHIM.”
+
+When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his staff, he called Max
+to him.
+
+“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and we are victorious.
+You are Max Pasha; and your nephew”--turning to Sherif--“is also pasha,
+and is made governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor of
+Kordofan.”
+
+The people cheered the young governor.
+
+Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:
+
+“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline it.”
+
+“You must not.”
+
+“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to be governor and
+pasha for one day, because I am going back to America, and if I ever go
+on the lecture platform the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a
+real live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap Max.”
+
+The Mahdi laughed.
+
+“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.
+
+“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired of being the Mahdi
+come over to New York and I will trot you round, and--oh, my! won’t the
+dollars just flow into our pockets.”
+
+But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch was placed in his
+hands.
+
+It was from a trusty agent in the North.
+
+“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under the command of
+Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read, “and is marching with five thousand men
+against you. Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men, is
+marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in two by these armies.”
+
+“No! by the prophet--no!” exclaimed the Mahdi. “We will attack both and
+exterminate them.”
+
+The bugles called the army together and the march was ordered.
+
+With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm, the
+followers of the Mahdi started to meet Yussuf Pasha Hassan.
+
+The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans, but they
+lacked enthusiasm.
+
+The Mahdi--still without weapon--rode at the head of his people and
+gave the words of command.
+
+Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western prairie, the
+army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans commanded by Yussuf.
+
+The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but the Mahdists
+were more like fiends.
+
+They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately cut their
+throats.
+
+It was a horrible carnage.
+
+The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort to defend himself,
+but was ever in the thickest of the fight.
+
+His brow shone as though it were gold.
+
+His presence was remarkable.
+
+Max fought with desperate valor.
+
+At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself more power in
+striking a blow.
+
+“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage blow.
+
+Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to the Mahdi, Max was
+the most powerful leader.
+
+Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.
+
+He was a trifle superstitious.
+
+If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not kill him, and Yussuf
+would not risk an encounter; so he rode through the fighting demons
+until he reached the side of Max.
+
+“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly wheeled round and
+aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.
+
+The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge at Max.
+
+But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic speed, and Yussuf’s
+sword merely struck the air.
+
+As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire flew out, and
+seemed to keep fiery time to the music of the steel.
+
+Yussuf got angry.
+
+“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly asked, during a pause
+in the duel.
+
+“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for liberty.”
+
+Again the fight was resumed.
+
+Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.
+
+The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to kick and trample down
+the dead and dying.
+
+It was a fearful sight.
+
+Yussuf fought bravely.
+
+His left arm had been broken by Max, just below the shoulder, but he
+would not give in.
+
+“Surrender!”
+
+“Never!”
+
+“Then die!”
+
+“I will, but you will go first.”
+
+Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging round his heavy
+scimiter with the strength of a giant.
+
+Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck the horse’s neck,
+almost severing the head from the body.
+
+Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.
+
+Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s side.
+
+“We are equal,” he said.
+
+But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one arm to fight
+with.
+
+The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he did so a sword still
+grasped by a dead man pierced his side.
+
+The brave man could stand no more.
+
+“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender to Max, but to the
+Great Creator, for as the man uttered the words the breath left his
+body.
+
+Out of four thousand seven hundred men--hale, hearty veterans--who had
+marched under the crescent of Egypt that morning, only two hundred and
+one survived at night.
+
+The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred men all told.
+
+They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury the dead.
+
+Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks Pasha.
+
+It was a two days march to Tokar.
+
+At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred and forty-six
+men, met the advance guard of the Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and
+Max.
+
+The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable to the
+Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi himself arrived.
+
+There was a charm and magnetism about the man which made him
+irresistible.
+
+His presence was equal to a thousand men.
+
+In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead, and two thousand
+three hundred and seventy-three of his men lay stiffening under the
+tropical sun.
+
+The defeat was a thorough one.
+
+The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except Khartoum and
+Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.
+
+The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.
+
+Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum. In the mosques his
+name was mentioned with that of the prophet, and the people prostrated
+themselves when reference was made to him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII. “ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”
+
+
+A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.
+
+The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush any force which
+could be sent against it.
+
+The officers took things easy.
+
+Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s headquarters, and Ibrahim
+had received a furlough or leave of absence for two months.
+
+This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.
+
+One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:
+
+“I have found him.”
+
+“Whom do you refer to?”
+
+“The last of the Mamelukes.”
+
+“And he is----”
+
+“The Mahdi.”
+
+“Are you sure, Girzilla?”
+
+“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will restore the glories
+of his race and bring the whole world to believe in Mahomet.”
+
+Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.
+
+The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he heard Max tell his
+story; how he had lost his father in the caves of the bandits, and had
+been rescued by Girzilla.
+
+When Max narrated how he had become enthused over the story of the
+great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.
+
+“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me. Stay with me, my
+son, and share in my triumph.”
+
+“No--the work is done. I shall go back to my own land, and shall do
+as other Americans have done before me--write a book, or tell on the
+platform the story of the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”
+
+Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded with him to stay until
+after his wedding with Girzilla.
+
+This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a most impressive
+wedding took place in the vestibule of a mosque at Kordofan.
+
+The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.
+
+The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were worthy of the great
+prophet himself.
+
+To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:
+
+“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits you to take
+three others; but take my advice--cleave to the one. It is better, and
+a new dispensation will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of
+our race have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is now
+written that if you be faithful to her on earth the gates of Paradise
+will open for you both, and she shall be your bride through all
+eternity.”
+
+After spending the customary seven days in prayer and religious
+observances, Ibrahim obtained permission to take his dusky bride on a
+trip up the Nile in company with Max.
+
+The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.
+
+Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey that her loving
+husband accompanied her to Suez, where they bade farewell to Madcap Max
+as the Peninsular and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.
+
+Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he had made the journey
+on three years before.
+
+He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium of the journey was
+broken by the story of adventure told by the madcap.
+
+When Max reached New York he found himself the head of the firm, and
+the cares of business life caused him to relinquish the thought of
+“coining dollars” on the lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise
+to the author that some day he would tell him the story of his life.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known and highly
+respected merchant to tell the story.
+
+“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and you shall know all.”
+
+“But----”
+
+“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”
+
+Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but many a time he
+declared that no more true one ever lived than the Arab maiden.
+
+When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion on the following day
+he was surprised to find so many evidences of the Orient everywhere;
+but when, an hour later, Max took the author by the hand and led him
+into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there stood,
+waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.
+
+Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the shawl manufactory,
+and found himself extremely wealthy.
+
+He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of the world, and so
+infatuated was he with the remembrance of Max, that nothing would
+satisfy him but to commence the journey proper from New York.
+
+That was how this story came to be written.
+
+Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a more lavish
+praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge he deserved.
+
+Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and his lovely bride,
+who does not look so dark and dusky in the modern American clothing as
+she did on the deserts of Africa.
+
+Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares that Girzilla
+occupies every bit of his heart, and he could not take three more
+wives, even if his religion ordered it.
+
+Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap and his friend,
+and although his heart turns sick sometimes as he thinks of the carnage
+he witnessed, yet he says he shall always look back with pride to the
+intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and the Mameluke, the
+result of his trip “In the Volcano’s Mouth.”
+
+THE END.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+TALES OF VICTORIES
+
+Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads of pluck and intelligence.
+Every true boy will be fascinated with these stories of the exciting
+adventures of boys who gladly gave their lives to freedom’s cause.
+
+_BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY_
+
+   3.--The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan
+   7.--The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan
+  11.--Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan
+  15.--By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  19.--A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  23.--The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+  26.--The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry
+
+Only Ten Cents Per Copy At All Newsdealers
+
+_If ordered by mail, add four cents to cover postage._
+
+  STREET & SMITH, Publishers
+  NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY
+
+A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature for boys. Sept
+14, 1905.
+
+NO. 134
+
+Charles Garvice’s New Stories
+
+If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be waiting for the
+appearance of a new novel from the pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad
+to inform you that you will find it in
+
+SMITH’S MAGAZINE
+
+In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories will appear in this
+magazine, as he is under contract to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S
+DESTINY” is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing
+interest. It began in the April number and is still being published.
+
+If you are one of the vast army who have depended upon cheap,
+occasional issues of early non-copyrights, of which there are now no
+more by this author, you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.
+
+In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story, there are other
+features which make SMITH’S MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing
+of all ten-cent publications.
+
+PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS
+
+PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers
+
+THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,
+
+156 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+Punctuation has been made consistent.
+
+Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
+the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
+been corrected.
+
+The following change was made:
+
+p. 211: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO'S MOUTH ***
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
+be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
+United States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+
+START: FULL LICENSE
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
+person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
+1.E.8.
+
+1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
+Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
+on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+
+  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+  most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the
+  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
+  you are located before using this eBook.
+
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
+other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
+Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+provided that:
+
+* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
+  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+  Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
+  works.
+
+* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+  receipt of the work.
+
+* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
+www.gutenberg.org
+
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
+widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
+state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
+
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: www.gutenberg.org
+
+This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/68164-0.zip b/old/68164-0.zip
index 9b8033a..9b8033a 100644
--- a/68164-0.zip
+++ b/old/68164-0.zip
diff --git a/68164-h.zip b/old/68164-h.zip
index 3857c03..3857c03 100644
--- a/68164-h.zip
+++ b/old/68164-h.zip
diff --git a/old/68164-h/68164-h.htm b/old/68164-h/68164-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..499bbd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/68164-h/68164-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,10952 @@
+<!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" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      In the Volcano’s Mouth, by Frank Sheridan&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    h1,h2 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+}
+
+.pminus1  {margin-top: -0.5em;}
+.p1       {margin-top: 1em;}
+.p2       {margin-top: 2em;}
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: 33.5%;
+    margin-right: 33.5%;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+hr.tb   {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;}
+hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;}
+@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} }
+
+div.chapter {page-break-before: always;}
+.nobreak  {page-break-before: avoid;
+           padding-top: 0;}
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+}
+
+/*Table of Contents format*/
+table.toc { max-width: 30em;}
+
+.tblb {text-align: left;padding-left:0.5em;vertical-align:top;}
+.tblc {text-align: left;vertical-align:top;}
+
+.tbra{text-align: right;padding-left:1em;vertical-align:top;}
+
+.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+    position: absolute;
+    left: 92%;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-align: right;
+    font-style: normal;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-variant: normal;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+.blockquot {
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.boxit{
+    max-width: 25em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0.15em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.boxit1{
+    max-width: 35em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.boxcontents{
+    max-width: 20em;
+    padding: 1em;
+    border: 0em solid black;
+    margin: 0 auto; }
+
+.pcontents{
+  text-align:left;
+  text-indent:-2em;
+  padding-left:2em;
+  margin-top: 0.1em;
+  margin-bottom: 0.1em;
+}
+
+.displayinline{display:inline-block; line-height:1}
+
+/* Numbered list with hanging indent, for 1, 2, and 3 digit numbers */
+.numberitem1{
+  text-align: left;
+  vertical-align: top;
+  margin-left:1em;
+  text-indent: -0.8em;
+  padding-left: 0.8em; }
+
+.numberitem2{
+  text-align: left;
+  vertical-align: top;
+  margin-left:0.5em;
+  text-indent: -1.3em;
+  padding-left: 1.3em; }
+/*End of numbered indent CSS*/
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+/* Images */
+
+img {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    height: auto;
+}
+
+img.w100 {width: 100%;}
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* Poetry */
+.poetry-container {text-align: center;}
+
+.poetry{
+  display: inline-block;
+  text-align: left;
+}
+
+/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */
+
+@media print{
+  .poetry{
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 1.5em;
+  }
+}
+
+.x-ebookmaker .poetry{
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 1.5em;
+}
+
+.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;}
+
+.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;}
+.poetry .indentquote0 {text-indent: -3.5em; padding-left: 3em;}
+/* End poetry*/
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+     font-size:smaller;
+     padding:0.5em;
+     margin-bottom:5em;
+     font-family:sans-serif, serif; }
+
+/*CSS to set font sizes*/
+/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/
+.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large}
+.xlargefont{font-size: x-large}
+.largefont{font-size: large}
+.mediumfont{font-size: medium}
+.cheaderfont{font-size:medium}
+.boldfont{font-weight:bold}
+.sansseriffont{font-family:sans-serif}
+
+/* Illustration classes */
+.illowp25 {width: 25%;}
+.illowp60 {width: 60%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp60 {width: 100%;}
+.illowp80 {width: 80%;}
+.x-ebookmaker .illowp80 {width: 100%;}
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the volcano&#039;s mouth, by Frank Sheridan</p>
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: In the volcano&#039;s mouth</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>or, A boy against an army</p>
+<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Frank Sheridan</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 24, 2022 [eBook #68164]</p>
+<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
+  <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)</p>
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO&#039;S MOUTH ***</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp60" style="max-width: 107.4375em;">
+  <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" />
+</div>
+
+<div style="padding-top:4em">
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>
+
+<p>The Table of Contents was created by the transcriber and placed in
+the public domain.</p>
+
+<p><a href="#TN_end">Additional Transcriber’s Notes</a> are at the
+end.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxcontents">
+<p class="xlargefont center boldfont">CONTENTS</p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Chapter I. Madcap Max.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Chapter II. Emin Bey’s Escape.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Chapter III. In a Desert Tomb.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Chapter IV. Under the Pyramid.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Chapter V. Girzilla.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Chapter VI. Was It an Echo?</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">Chapter VII. Splendid Heroism.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Chapter VIII. Sherif El Habib.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Chapter IX. Ibrahim and Max.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Chapter X. The Petrified Forest.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Chapter XI. The Tribe of Klatch.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">Chapter XII. “What Says Girzilla?”</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Chapter XIII. Dangerous Jests.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Chapter XIV. The Subterranean River.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Chapter XV. In the Volcano’s Mouth.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Chapter XVI. Beyond Human Imagination.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Chapter XVII. The Rainmaker.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Chapter XVIII. Why Our Heroes Desert.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Chapter XIX. Mohammed.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Chapter XX. “Where Is Girzilla?”</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Chapter XXI. The Mahdi.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">Chapter XXII. Trick or Miracle.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">Chapter XXIII. Under the Mahdi.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">Chapter XXIV. Counting Chickens.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">Chapter XXV. Victory.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">Chapter XXVI. A Plan of Campaign.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">Chapter XXVII. Sowing the Seed.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">Chapter XXVIII. An Unexpected Bath.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">Chapter XXIX. Saved!</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">Chapter XXX. The Mahdi’s Justice.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">Chapter XXXI. Victory All Along the Line.</a></p>
+<p class="pcontents"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">Chapter XXXII. “All’s Well That Ends Well.”</a></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center largefont">No. 134</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">BOUND-TO-WIN LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont"><span class="mediumfont">BY</span><br />
+FRANK SHERIDAN</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp80" style="max-width: 40.625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/cover_illo.jpg" alt="Cover illustration." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont">THE BOUND TO WIN LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p>We called this new line of high-class copyrighted stories of
+adventure for boys by this name because we felt assured that
+it was “bound to win” its way into the heart of every true
+American lad. The stories are exceptionally bright, clean and
+interesting. The writers had the interest of our boys at heart
+when they wrote the stories, and have not failed to show what
+a pure-minded lad with courage and mettle can do. Remember,
+that these stories are copyrighted and cannot be had in any
+other series. We give herewith a list of those already published
+and those scheduled for publication.</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont">PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont">To be Published During September</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">136&mdash;Spider and Stump</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">135&mdash;The Creature of the Pines</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">134&mdash;In the Volcano’s Mouth</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">133&mdash;Muscles of Steel</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During August</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">132&mdash;Home Base</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">131&mdash;The Jewel of Florida</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">130&mdash;The Boys’ Revolt</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">129&mdash;The Mystic Isle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">128&mdash;With the Mad Mullah</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont p1">To be Published During July</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="toc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Book list">
+<tr><td class="tblc">127&mdash;A Humble Hero</td><td class="tbra" style="min-width:12em">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">126&mdash;For Big Money</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">125&mdash;Too Fast to Last</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">124&mdash;Caught in a Trap</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">123&mdash;The Tattooed Boy</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">122&mdash;The Young Horseman</td><td class="tbra">By Herbert Bellwood</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">121&mdash;Sam Sawbones</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">120&mdash;On His Mettle</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">119&mdash;Compound Interest</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">118&mdash;Runaway and Rover</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">117&mdash;Larry O’Keefe</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">116&mdash;The Boy Crusaders</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">115&mdash;Double Quick Dan</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">114&mdash;Money to Spend</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">113&mdash;Billy Barlow</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">112&mdash;A Battle with Fate</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">111&mdash;Gypsy Joe</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">110&mdash;Barred Out</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">109&mdash;Will Wilding</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">108&mdash;Frank Bolton’s Chase</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">107&mdash;Lucky-Stone Dick</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">106&mdash;Tom Scott, the American Robinson Crusoe</td><td class="tbra">By Frank Sheridan</td></tr>
+<tr class="largefont boldfont"><td class="tblc">105&mdash;Fatherless Bob at Sea</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">104&mdash;Fatherless Bob</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">103&mdash;Hank the Hustler</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">102&mdash;Dick Stanhope Afloat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">101&mdash;The Golden Harpoon</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblc">100&mdash;Mischievous Matt’s Pranks</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">99&mdash;Mischievous Matt</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">98&mdash;Bert Chipley</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">97&mdash;Down-East Dave</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">96&mdash;The Young Diplomat</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">95&mdash;The Fool of the Family</td><td class="tbra">By Bracebridge Hemyng</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">94&mdash;Slam, Bang &amp; Co</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">93&mdash;On the Road</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">92&mdash;The Blood-Red Hand</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">91&mdash;The Diamond King</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">90&mdash;The Double-Faced Mystery</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">89&mdash;The Young Theatrical Manager</td><td class="tbra">By Stanley Norris</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">88&mdash;The Young West-Pointer</td><td class="tbra">By Harrie Irving Hancock</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">87&mdash;Held for Ransom</td><td class="tbra">By Weldon J. Cobb</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">86&mdash;Boot-Black Bob</td><td class="tbra">By John De Morgan</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">85&mdash;Engineer Tom</td><td class="tbra">By Cornelius Shea</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="tblb">84&mdash;The Mascot of Hoodooville</td><td class="tbra">By Fred Thorpe</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1 class="nobreak">In the Volcano’s Mouth</h1>
+
+
+<p class="center xlargefont pminus1" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.25em"><span class="mediumfont">OR</span><br />
+A BOY AGAINST AN ARMY</p>
+
+<p class="center p1" style="margin-bottom:2em"><em>By</em> FRANK SHERIDAN, <em>author of</em> “<cite>Bert Fairfax</cite>,”<br />
+“<cite>Through Flame to Fame</cite>,” “<cite>Life-Line Larry</cite>,”<br /> “<cite>Lion-Hearted
+Jack</cite>,” <em>etc.</em></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter illowp25" style="max-width: 8.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/i004.jpg" alt="Publisher icon." />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center largefont p2" style="line-height:2; word-spacing:0.5em">STREET AND SMITH, PUBLISHERS<br />
+79-89 SEVENTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
+</p>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">Copyright, 1890<br />
+By Norman L. Munro</p>
+
+<p class="center p1">In the Volcano’s Mouth</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center xxlargefont nobreak" style="margin-bottom:1em" id="CHAPTER_I">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</p>
+
+
+<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MADCAP MAX.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“All aboard!”</p>
+
+<p>“All but passengers ashore.”</p>
+
+<p>The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent
+palace steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and
+Oriental Line, sounded all along the Southampton docks,
+up the streets to the old gates, and even penetrated into
+some of the business houses of the quaint old English
+town.</p>
+
+<p>The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton,
+was one of serious import to those gathered
+on the deck of the steamer.</p>
+
+<p>Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a
+long one, and it is known the absence is for years, the
+last words are always tearful.</p>
+
+<p>On the deck stood two men, alone.</p>
+
+<p>Not one had come to bid them good-by or a godspeed
+on their journey.</p>
+
+<p>And yet tears filled the eyes of both.</p>
+
+<p>The elder was a bronzed veteran, his face as dark as
+that of any mulatto, his long, white mustache standing
+out in startling contrast to the color of his skin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[6]</span></p>
+
+<p>He was sixty years of age, but his strong body, his
+hard muscles, and firm walk, would rather betoken a
+man of forty.</p>
+
+<p>By his side stood his son, a youth almost effeminate in
+appearance, but perhaps only because of the contrast
+to his father; there was a brightness in his eyes which
+betokens an active spirit, and although so effeminate-looking,
+when he clinched his hand one could see the
+strong muscle rising beneath the sleeve.</p>
+
+<p>The elder man is Maximilian Gordon, of the mercantile
+firm of Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell, of New York.</p>
+
+<p>The son is Maximilian Gordon, also, but always called
+Max by those who are intimate with him, and “Madcap
+Max” by his closest companions.</p>
+
+<p>Gordon, Welter &amp; Maxwell were interested in Egyptian
+produce, and for many years Maximilian Gordon
+had been a resident of Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>His wife, sickly and delicate at all times, had been
+compelled to live in England, where young Max had
+been educated.</p>
+
+<p>The elder man paid a yearly visit to his family, and
+had just completed arrangements for them to return to
+Egypt with him when cholera broke out, and he arrived
+home only just in time to close his wife’s eyes in death
+and see her body committed to its eternal resting place.</p>
+
+<p>Hence it was that, as father and son looked at the English
+coast, which was by this time fast receding, their
+eyes were filled with tears, for they were leaving a plot
+of earth hallowed and sacred, because it was a wife’s
+and mother’s grave.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p>
+
+<p>Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left
+the English Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted
+lad once again, laughing, chatting and larking with
+everyone he came in contact with.</p>
+
+<p>His father could not hide his grief so easily, but
+showed by his manner how nearly broken was his heart
+and ruined his life.</p>
+
+<p>When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were
+reached, Max had given plentiful evidence of his love of
+practical joking, and showed that he fully deserved his
+sobriquet of Madcap.</p>
+
+<p>One of the passengers had on board an African monkey.</p>
+
+<p>This little, frolicsome animal became very fond of
+Max, and was easily induced to adapt itself to the ways
+of the fun-loving youth.</p>
+
+<p>One night Max took Jocko and dressed him in a lady’s
+nightcap, which he had obtained from a stewardess, and
+told Jocko he must lie in a certain bed.</p>
+
+<p>The stateroom was occupied by a snarling old bachelor,
+who declared that women and children were a nuisance.</p>
+
+<p>When the old fellow entered his room he saw, to his
+utter astonishment, a head resting on his pillow.</p>
+
+<p>Without staying to investigate, he rushed out of his
+room, shouting “Steward!” at the top of his voice.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Mr. Lawrence?” asked the first officer,
+startled by the frantic shouting.</p>
+
+<p>“Some one has placed a nigger baby in my bed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nonsense, Mr. Lawrence!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I say they have, and I’ll report every officer of the
+vessel if the offender is not punished.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will see that the matter is investigated,” said Officer
+Tunley.</p>
+
+<p>“Of course&mdash;but when? Why, in a week’s time, when
+everyone will have easily forgotten&mdash;no, sir, come at
+once.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will do so; but allow me to suggest, Mr. Lawrence,
+that it may have been the extra bottle of Bass’ ale&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you dare, officer, to insinuate&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing, save that Welsh rarebit, highly seasoned,
+and three bottles of strong ale, are likely to disturb the
+vision.”</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll report you, sir&mdash;mark me, I’ll report you. Come,
+now, to my room, and if there is not a nigger baby there
+I’ll eat my hat.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, sir, I will come with you.”</p>
+
+<p>By the time the stateroom was reached, Jocko had
+fled the room, and Max had stripped the cap from its
+head.</p>
+
+<p>The monkey sat on the table in the saloon, grinning,
+as if it enjoyed the joke.</p>
+
+<p>The officer and Mr. Lawrence entered the stateroom.</p>
+
+<p>“By Jove!” exclaimed Lawrence, as he looked at his
+bed.</p>
+
+<p>“I was afraid you were romancing, sir,” said the officer,
+with proud indignation. “Take care, sir, that it
+does not occur again.”</p>
+
+<p>The passenger was speechless.</p>
+
+<p>Another day, when the steamer <em>L’Orient</em> was being<span class="pagenum">[9]</span>
+tossed about in the most fantastic manner, sometimes
+taking a swift pitch forward, then curving and twisting
+in a way which would bring joy to the heart of a baseball
+pitcher, Madcap Max thought the time had come for
+a pleasant diversion.</p>
+
+<p>A drove of pigs, with other animals, was on board,
+to enable the company to provide fresh meat for the passengers.</p>
+
+<p>Max quietly released the pigs from their quarters, and
+saw them, with one accord, make for the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>That was just what he wanted.</p>
+
+<p>A lady was tossed off her bed to the floor, but to her
+horror she fell on the back of a pig, who set up such a
+squeaking and squealing that, although the passengers
+were feeling sick, they were compelled to laugh.</p>
+
+<p>After a voyage of fourteen days the city of Alexandria
+was sighted.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank goodness!” exclaimed an old Indian nabob.
+“I am glad I have to stay at Alexandria, for <em>L’Orient</em> is
+the worst disciplined ship I was ever in.”</p>
+
+<p>The verdict was concurred in by nearly everyone on
+board.</p>
+
+<p>And yet it was not the officers’ fault, for nine-tenths
+of the trouble was caused by the pranks of Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do we land here?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We shall finish our journey overland.”</p>
+
+<p>“Our journey?” repeated Max, opening his bright eyes
+still wider with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We go to Cairo before we settle down
+at Alexandria.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[10]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am so glad.”</p>
+
+<p>Several scores of boats surrounded <em>L’Orient</em>, manned
+by swarthy and not too-much dressed Arabs; a dozen
+or so seized upon Max and his father and literally
+dragged them to a boat.</p>
+
+<p>On the way from the steamer to the landing dock, Mr.
+Gordon whispered to Max:</p>
+
+<p>“No jokes with these fellows, or your life is not your
+own.”</p>
+
+<p>“All right, dad; I’ll be as sober as a judge and as full
+of fun as an undertaker.”</p>
+
+<p>“For your own sake be careful.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will, dad. That is, as careful as I can be.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">EMIN BEY’S ESCAPE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When the passengers landed, a rabble of donkey drivers
+met them.</p>
+
+<p>No more clever, impudent little gossoons exist on the
+face of the earth than these same Arab donkey boys.</p>
+
+<p>They hit upon the nationality of the stranger almost
+intuitively.</p>
+
+<p>An American who had never been in Egypt before, was
+looking at the surging, struggling lot of donkey drivers
+with wonder, when one of them pushed forward and
+addressed him as follows:</p>
+
+<p>“I’se looking for you, sah. Here he is; my donkey is<span class="pagenum">[11]</span>
+the one Pasha Grant rode on; him called ‘Yankee Doodle.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Get away with yer. Can’t yer see the bey will only
+ride on Hail Columbia?”</p>
+
+<p>Seated on a donkey, Max entered the city founded by
+Alexander three hundred and thirty-three years before
+the birth of Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Before a strange-looking, square, flat-topped house the
+donkeys halted, and Mr. Gordon bade Max dismount.</p>
+
+<p>“This is home.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you live here, dad?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Max. We will rest here to-night, and go on our
+journey to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was delighted, and late in the day wandered alone
+to that wonderful monolith of granite called “Pompey’s
+Pillar.”</p>
+
+<p>He sat down to think.</p>
+
+<p>He had always been fond of books on Egypt, and
+now he was actually looking on one of the wonders of
+that old country.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he heard a cry.</p>
+
+<p>It was like a girl’s voice.</p>
+
+<p>Max was up in an instant and trying to locate the
+sound.</p>
+
+<p>He had no difficulty in so doing, for a girl&mdash;her face
+half covered with a white veil&mdash;rushed past him, shrieking
+and crying.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah! Allah!” she shouted.</p>
+
+<p>Two men were in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[12]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max never stopped to think.</p>
+
+<p>He leaped forward, and without knowing why he did
+so, or whether it would be wise to interfere, he struck
+one of the Arabs to the earth, and threw himself against
+the other, who was a strong, powerful fellow, with
+muscles like iron.</p>
+
+<p>That did not worry Max, for he was lithe and strong,
+but he was unaccustomed to foul play.</p>
+
+<p>When, therefore, he found that the man he had
+knocked down had risen and drawn a long, sharp dagger,
+with which he threatened his life, Max saw the unwisdom
+of his defense of the Arab girl.</p>
+
+<p>A muscular Arab in front of him, and another at his
+back brandishing a dagger, was enough to frighten an
+older man than Max.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs jabbered away in a gibberish which Max
+did not understand.</p>
+
+<p>He struck at the man in front of him and made him
+stagger back, then with a quick movement, he stooped
+as he turned and caught the armed Arab round the
+legs, throwing him over his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>He had not disabled his opponents, so he thought
+discretion better than valor. Using his legs as well as he
+could he ran away, only to be stopped by the girl he had&mdash;as
+he thought&mdash;rescued.</p>
+
+<p>She flung her arms round his neck, and talking rapidly&mdash;though
+in an unknown tongue to Max&mdash;held him fast
+until his pursuers were close upon him.</p>
+
+<p>With a wild shout they seized him, and would have<span class="pagenum">[13]</span>
+speedily rendered him insensible had not a deliverer appeared.</p>
+
+<p>A man, bronzed and weather-beaten, though only in
+the prime of life, slowly and with deliberation took hold
+of one of the Arabs and flung him on one side.</p>
+
+<p>Presenting a revolver at the head of the other, he commanded
+him and the girl to go, and that quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“You have saved my life, sir,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Have I? Is it worth saving?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not, but all the same I do not want to lose
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Take care of it, then, and don’t go wandering about
+Alexandria without weapons.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did they want with me?”</p>
+
+<p>“They would have captured you, and held you until
+ransomed.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You are not rich, you would say. What does that
+matter? A ten-dollar gold piece would seem a fortune to
+them. The girl practices that scream on hundreds of
+unsuspecting foreigners.”</p>
+
+<p>“You speak of American money; are you from the
+States?”</p>
+
+<p>“From them? Yes; but I am a citizen of the world,
+a cosmopolitan.”</p>
+
+<p>“Might I ask your name?” inquired Max.</p>
+
+<p>“You might; but it does not signify. If I have saved
+your life, prove that your life is of some value.”</p>
+
+<p>The stranger left Max in one of the most frequented<span class="pagenum">[14]</span>
+streets of that city where Cleopatra often rode, attracting
+the admiration of all to the savage beauty of that</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Queen, with swarthy cheeks and bold, black eyes;
+</div><div class="indent0">Brow-bound with burning gold.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>Max wondered whether the stranger spoke truly, and
+almost was inclined to doubt, for he was at that age when
+the laughing black eyes of a girl fascinate and lure,
+sometimes to ruin.</p>
+
+<p>Anyway, he was thankful for having been saved from
+the Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>He saw that night how much his father was respected,
+but he saw that which made his heart sad. His father
+was bowed down with grief.</p>
+
+<p>And no wonder. He had loved his wife with a passion
+as strong as his love of life.</p>
+
+<p>When they had left New York with Max, a boy of only
+eight summers of life, all had seemed roseate.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Max at a school in England, Mrs. Gordon
+accompanied her husband to Egypt; but at the end of
+three years the malarious climate had rendered it impossible
+for her to live there, and she returned to England
+to be near Max.</p>
+
+<p>For seven years the husband had only been able to
+spend three months in the year with the wife he so
+loved.</p>
+
+<p>Then came the time when once more the mother of
+Max was ready to brave the treacherous climate of
+Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>How the husband had looked forward to that time, and<span class="pagenum">[15]</span>
+with what pleasure had he refurnished his house. Everything
+to please her was obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Alas! her earthly eyes never saw them, and it was no
+wonder that Mr. Gordon should feel most wretched when
+he returned to his Oriental home, and knew that she
+would never grace it with her presence.</p>
+
+<p>His only tie to life now was Max, but even with him
+there was anxiety, for the stern business man&mdash;the successful
+merchant had only seen the frivolous side of his
+son’s life.</p>
+
+<p>To him he was the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>To him the boy was the practical joker, the mischievous
+lad, whose thoughts were of fun and amusement.</p>
+
+<p>Early next morning they took train to Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>How strange it seems to the Biblical student, to think
+of traveling by a railroad in that country, so famous in
+Bible stories!</p>
+
+<p>The comic rhyme of one who indulged in the ludicrous
+fancy of traveling by means of steam through Egypt and
+Palestine:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Stop her. Now, then, for Joppa!
+</div><div class="indent0">Ease her. Anyone for Gizeh?”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>has come to be literally true, for Max heard the conductor
+shout out: “Gizeh&mdash;all out for Gizeh,” on the
+route between Alexandria and Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>At the citadel of the narrow-streeted city, Mr. Gordon
+roused up, and told Max of the slaughter of the
+Mamelukes&mdash;that wonderful body of men who, from
+being slaves, became the rulers of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[16]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It was here,” said Mr. Gordon, “that when Mohammed
+Ali, in 1811, was organizing his expedition against
+the Wahhabees, he heard that the Mamelukes designed
+to rebel in his absence. He therefore invited their chief
+to be present at the investiture of his son with the command
+of the army.</p>
+
+<p>“Above four hundred accepted the invitation. After
+receiving a most flattering welcome they were invited to
+parade in the courtyard of the citadel.”</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Max. “Did Mohammed want to
+impress them with his generosity?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” answered Mr. Gordon. “The Mamelukes defiled
+within its lofty walls; the portcullis fell behind the
+last of their glittering array; too late they perceived that
+their host had caught them in a trap, and they turned to
+effect a retreat.</p>
+
+<p>“In vain.</p>
+
+<p>“Wherever they looked their eyes rested on the barred
+windows and blank, pitiless walls.</p>
+
+<p>“But they saw more.</p>
+
+<p>“A thousand muskets were pointed at them, and from
+those muskets incessant volleys were poured.</p>
+
+<p>“This sudden and terrible death was met with a courage
+worthy of the past history of the Mamelukes.</p>
+
+<p>“Some folded their arms across their mailed bosoms,
+and stood waiting for death.”</p>
+
+<p>“How brave!” ejaculated Max, in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>“Others bent their turbaned heads in prayer. But
+some, with angry brows, drew their swords and charged
+upon the gunners.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[17]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It was of no avail. They were shot down, and the
+withering fire did its deadly work.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did all perish?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Only one escaped.”</p>
+
+<p>“How did he manage it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Emin Bey&mdash;for that was his name&mdash;spurred his Arabian
+charger over a pile of his dead and dying comrades.
+He sprang upon the battlements; the next moment
+he was in the air; another and he released himself
+from his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of
+bullets.”</p>
+
+<p>“What became of him?”</p>
+
+<p>“He fled, took refuge in a sanctuary of a mosque, and
+finally escaped into the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he dead?”</p>
+
+<p>“What a question, Max! Emin was a middle-aged
+man at that time, and that is over seventy years ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“Had he any sons?”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe so. Why do you ask?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because I would like to see any of his descendants.
+I would like to speak to them. It would be a proud
+honor to say, ‘I shook hands, or ate salt, with the grandson
+of Emin Bey.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Madcap, I never saw you so serious before!”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you not, dad? Oh, I often get fits of that kind.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed as he spoke, and seemed once again the
+merry, happy, careless boy.</p>
+
+<p>“Depend upon it, Max, they are nothing better than
+slave hunters or pirates now.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope you are wrong, dad.”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[18]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN A DESERT TOMB.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The conversation about the last of the Mamelukes
+filled Max with a restless ambition.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to leave civilization behind him and go
+“far from the madding crowd,” into the midst of the wild
+residents of the Dark Continent.</p>
+
+<p>Like those who believe the American Indians to be a
+grand race, persecuted without reason by the dominant
+power, so Max looked upon the residents of the Dark
+Continent as being a superior people.</p>
+
+<p>He said nothing to his father, knowing well that his
+boyish ideas would be laughed at, but he spent all his
+waking moments dreaming dreams of the savages of the
+jungles.</p>
+
+<p>The wonders of Cairo fascinated him, but there was
+something too civilized about the houses.</p>
+
+<p>The lattices&mdash;which covered the windows instead of
+glass&mdash;pleased him, and many a time would he catch a
+glimpse of some white brow of a lady fair through the
+interstices of the lattice, and would feel like</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“The lover, all as frantic
+</div><div class="indent0">Who saw Helen’s beauty on a brow of Egypt.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>It was to be his father’s last day in Cairo. All the
+wonders of the city&mdash;save the nearby pyramids and Heliopolis&mdash;had
+been seen, and these had to be left to a future<span class="pagenum">[19]</span>
+visit, for business called the merchant back to
+Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>Max pleaded for one more day&mdash;or at least that their
+journey should be deferred until the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to see that wonderful City of the Sun,
+where existed the university at which Moses was educated,
+and the daughter of one of whose professors
+Joseph married.</p>
+
+<p>And so Mr. Gordon yielded.</p>
+
+<p>Joyously the two passed by the venerable sycamore
+tree, hollow, gnarled and almost leafless, beneath the
+branches of which tradition says that Joseph and Mary
+rested with the infant Christ in their flight into Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>The obelisk of Osertasen I., which has stood five thousand
+years, was gazed at by young Madcap with a certain
+amount of awe.</p>
+
+<p>It was dark before Max was ready to return.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of taking the nearest route to the city, Mr.
+Gordon, to please Max, dispensed with the guides who
+had been good for nothing save the receipt of backsheesh,
+and made a detour, leaving Heliopolis on their right.</p>
+
+<p>They had not gone far before they came upon a number
+of wild-looking fellows, half Arab, half Nubian&mdash;a
+species of creature which is interesting as a study at
+long range, but whose acquaintance is not desirable.</p>
+
+<p>“What shall we do, dad?” asked Max, anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>“We must pass them.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it safe?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Max, far from it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why not retrace our steps?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[20]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We have been seen and should be overtaken.”</p>
+
+<p>“But could we not reach the men we feed so liberally?”</p>
+
+<p>“We might, but they would help these fellows rather
+than us in order to share the backsheesh.”</p>
+
+<p>While the two had been talking the Arabs had formed
+a circle round them, at a distance of fifty or sixty yards.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the circle diminished until the robbers
+closed in and stood shoulder to shoulder in firm and
+solid phalanx.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you want?” asked Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>“Money,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“You shall have all I have got with me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hand it over.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon was about to comply with the demand,
+but no sooner had he put his hand into his pocket than
+they suspected danger.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, by the beard of the prophet put up your
+hands!”</p>
+
+<p>It would be just as feasible to try and sweep back
+ocean’s tidal waves with a broom as to oppose the demands
+of those robbers of the desert.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon raised his hands.</p>
+
+<p>“Now yours, also,” said the spokesman, whose English
+was intelligible.</p>
+
+<p>Max raised his hands as he was commanded.</p>
+
+<p>Every article of value was taken from them, and the
+robbers seemed to be satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!” the chief commanded.</p>
+
+<p>“What for?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[21]</span></p>
+
+<p>But instead of receiving a reply he received a smart
+blow on the cheek which caused him to reel.</p>
+
+<p>That was more than the boy could stand, and he answered
+the blow with another.</p>
+
+<p>The chief interfered and stopped the fight.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!”</p>
+
+<p>Again Max pluckily asked:</p>
+
+<p>“What for?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because I order it, and I am the stronger.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; besides, I have men here who will do my bidding,
+even to the death.”</p>
+
+<p>“Coward!” hissed Max, through his teeth, while his
+eyes flashed with defiance.</p>
+
+<p>“Hush, Max!” whispered Mr. Gordon. “Do as we are
+bidden; it will be better so.”</p>
+
+<p>But all the defiance of the boy’s nature was aroused,
+and he turned to his father almost angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“You may, dad, you have lived here so long; but I am
+an American, and I will not obey such a command without
+knowing the reason.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a fool!”</p>
+
+<p>It was the chief who spoke. Max could not stand
+such a speech, and he rushed at the strong Arab chief,
+aiming a blow which, had it struck the man on the
+temple, might have knocked him low, for Max was an
+expert boxer.</p>
+
+<p>The blow only struck the empty air, and Max was
+caught round the legs and thrown to the ground.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p>
+
+<p>A cord was quickly fastened round his ankles, and
+he was rendered powerless.</p>
+
+<p>“What have you gained?” asked the chief, with a
+sneer.</p>
+
+<p>“A knowledge of your cowardice,” answered Max,
+defiantly. “Frightened of a boy less than half your age.
+Oh! you are a brave chief, are you not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Cease, you young fool, or I will gag you!”</p>
+
+<p>“For my sake, hush!” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>“Go on, tell us what you want,” Max said, bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>“Monsieur Gordon, your wealth is well known. Send
+that young fool there”&mdash;pointing to Max&mdash;“with one of
+my men for twenty thousand piasters, and when he returns
+with it, both shall go free.”</p>
+
+<p>Twenty thousand piasters is equal to about one thousand
+dollars.</p>
+
+<p>“And if I refuse?” asked Mr. Gordon, nervously.</p>
+
+<p>“He shall lose his tongue; it has already wagged too
+much,” answered the chief, pointing with his dagger at
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>“But he cannot get the money.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t he? Well, I can; and if you don’t send for it
+you shall die.”</p>
+
+<p>Merchant Gordon knew not what to do.</p>
+
+<p>He knew well enough that Egypt was overrun with
+bandits such as these, and that the authorities made but
+a poor pretense of suppressing the lawless bands.</p>
+
+<p>He tried to temporize, but the chief was cautious. He
+knew he had wandered nearer to Cairo than was safe.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[23]</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the men spoke in a low tone to the Arab, and
+instantly all was in commotion.</p>
+
+<p>The two Americans were bound quickly and raised to
+the back of donkeys.</p>
+
+<p>The whole gang of robbers mounted and hurried away
+from the vicinity of the city at a speed that Max could
+not believe a donkey was capable of maintaining.</p>
+
+<p>But the wild tribes of the Nile have long possessed
+the secret of making the native donkey forget its natural
+laziness and go with the speed of a well-trained mule.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we going?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>He was answered by a slap across the face, which
+nearly capsized him.</p>
+
+<p>“Another word and the body of the American shall
+be but carrion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t speak, Max,” entreated Mr. Gordon, who was
+trembling with fear.</p>
+
+<p>The chief led the way across a sandy desert.</p>
+
+<p>The moon shone brightly, and its rays made the drifting
+sand look like so much dazzling silver.</p>
+
+<p>It was a scene of weird grandeur.</p>
+
+<p>In the distance rose the pyramids, those monuments
+of a past civilization, which are alike the envy and the
+wonder of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The procession seemed to be winding round the city at
+an increasing distance, and nearing the pyramids.</p>
+
+<p>Max forgot all fear and was oblivious to any danger.</p>
+
+<p>The scene was to him one of rare beauty, and he
+enjoyed it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[24]</span></p>
+
+<p>If he could but have talked to the chief&mdash;if he could
+have been free, his happiness would have been complete.</p>
+
+<p>But he was a prisoner, mistrusted and abused.</p>
+
+<p>He dare not speak, and could not act.</p>
+
+<p>Before he was aware of it the scene changed.</p>
+
+<p>He could not understand in what way at first.</p>
+
+<p>The sand was there, the moon was shining, although
+not so brightly, but he could not see the pyramids.</p>
+
+<p>The shadows thrown across the desert convinced him
+that they had entered a broad, inclined road, and were
+descending below the level of the sandy desert.</p>
+
+<p>Of this he was speedily assured, for now the moon’s
+rays were no longer seen, and in the darkness the sure-footed
+donkeys walked forward.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a level plain of drifting sand, the road was
+over and between great rocks.</p>
+
+<p>Massive pieces of granite, several tons in weight, had
+to be passed, and it was evident that the donkeys had frequently
+traversed the uncertain road.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we going?” whispered Mr. Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>His voice sounded like a shout, although he had
+spoken under his breath.</p>
+
+<p>The stillness of the place was awful.</p>
+
+<p>Max felt his heart beat fast and then faster.</p>
+
+<p>He began to think that the road he traveled led to
+death.</p>
+
+<p>But when his thoughts were the most gloomy, the atmosphere
+seemed to change.</p>
+
+<p>He could breathe freely.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[25]</span></p>
+
+<p>There was still the same oppressive silence, but it did
+not seem so much like that of the grave.</p>
+
+<p>“Halt!”</p>
+
+<p>The command was given in English, and all understood
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Without a word of apology, and with an entire absence
+of ceremony, Max and his father were dragged from
+their donkeys and thrown with unnecessary violence on
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Then again all was still.</p>
+
+<p>Were they alone?</p>
+
+<p>Max could not endure the silence any longer.</p>
+
+<p>“Dad!” he called out.</p>
+
+<p>A blow on the head reminded him that speech was
+forbidden.</p>
+
+<p>What puzzled him was how these Arabs or Nubians&mdash;whatever
+nationality they might be&mdash;could see in the
+dark.</p>
+
+<p>He could not distinguish anything in the blackness of
+the night.</p>
+
+<p>The minutes dragged along wearily, every sixty seconds
+seeming like an hour, every hour as long as a day.</p>
+
+<p>With an almost supernatural quickness a score of
+pitch torches were lighted, and Max saw that he was in a
+great cave.</p>
+
+<p>Rocks, or rather pieces of granite, were lying in every
+direction.</p>
+
+<p>One thing which flashed across his mind was, that the
+blocks of granite had been fashioned by man, and<span class="pagenum">[26]</span>
+brought to that cave at some period of Egypt’s greatness.</p>
+
+<p>He looked round for his father, and screamed with
+horror when he saw the bronzed face of the only relative
+he had all covered with blood.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey,
+his head struck a sharp piece of granite, and was
+severely wounded.</p>
+
+<p>The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered
+him to be lifted tenderly into the center of the cave.</p>
+
+<p>Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet
+had been again tied together.</p>
+
+<p>“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”</p>
+
+<p>The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was
+on his lips.</p>
+
+<p>“Max&mdash;I&mdash;am&mdash;going&mdash;av&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Was he going to say “Avenge me?”</p>
+
+<p>Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the
+dying man’s mouth, and the bandits commenced a wild,
+weird dance round the body.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gordon turned his eyes in the direction of Max
+and tried to speak, but either the cloth still prevented
+him or his voice was hushed by the great shadow of
+death which was over him.</p>
+
+<p>A convulsive shudder, and the American merchant’s
+soul had gone into the “Great Beyond” to join that of
+his loved wife.</p>
+
+<p>Max knew he was now alone.</p>
+
+<p>He could not weep.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes were hot as burning coals.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[27]</span></p>
+
+<p>If only the tear-drops would start, he felt that they
+would ease him; but no, his eyes were dry and his brain
+seemed scorched.</p>
+
+<p>His tongue began to swell, and when he tried to speak
+it appeared to fill up his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>The torches were extinguished, the place became quiet,
+and instinct told him that he was alone&mdash;alone with the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>Not a sound disturbed the silence.</p>
+
+<p>A horrible thought passed through his burning brain.</p>
+
+<p>“What if he were left there to starve to death beside
+his father’s body?”</p>
+
+<p>Madcap Max was not a coward.</p>
+
+<p>He had no real fear of death, but he would rather
+meet the great destroyer on the open field, or in any
+way but that slow struggle in the solitude of a big grave&mdash;a
+death from starvation.</p>
+
+<p>The strongest soul would quake.</p>
+
+<p>The hours passed along.</p>
+
+<p>Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter
+who may wish to stay them.</p>
+
+<p>Max began to think of other things besides death.</p>
+
+<p>He wondered how he could escape. And if he did,
+how could he avenge his father’s death?</p>
+
+<p>Weary and exhausted, Max at last fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Youth had conquered.</p>
+
+<p>Had he remained awake an hour longer he would have
+been a raving maniac.</p>
+
+<p>Youth asserted itself, and “nature’s sweet restorer,
+balmy sleep,” came to his relief and saved his reason.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[28]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE PYRAMID.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Max slept soundly, and for hours did not dream.</p>
+
+<p>When the visions of the night visited his brain, they
+shaped themselves in pleasing form.</p>
+
+<p>He saw again the massacre of the Mamelukes, but the
+sight seemed stripped of its hideousness, and it appeared
+to Max that the foul murder committed by Mohammed
+Ali was necessary&mdash;that from that murder would spring
+the regeneration of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the flight of Emin Bey, and fancied that
+the brave Mameluke still lived, and was at the head
+of an all-conquering army, overcoming French and
+English and Turk, and proclaiming the freedom of Egypt
+from foreign rule.</p>
+
+<p>And as all this passed before the mental vision of
+the sleeping American boy, he thought that by the side
+of the conqueror he rode&mdash;not as he was then, a beardless
+youth, but with bronzed face and flowing beard&mdash;a
+turban on his head, and the sacred carpet of Mohammed
+carried by his side.</p>
+
+<p>Then his vision changed, and he saw his father, not
+dead, but living, and successful as a merchant. By his
+side was the wife whose love had been so lavishly given
+to her husband and her son.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of his father and mother brought tears to
+the dreamer’s eyes, and caused him to wake.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[29]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was some time before he could bring back to his
+memory the events of the preceding day.</p>
+
+<p>When they recurred to him he felt most wretched.</p>
+
+<p>Had the bandits removed his father’s body, or was it
+still in the cave?</p>
+
+<p>Could he not snap the cords which bound him, and
+escape from that living tomb?</p>
+
+<p>“Hush!”</p>
+
+<p>Was that a human voice, or only the playful prank
+of a gust of wind?</p>
+
+<p>Max, madcap as he was, had learned wisdom.</p>
+
+<p>He was not going to fall into any trap, and so he did
+not speak.</p>
+
+<p>“Son of the morning, thou wilt die.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I dreaming,” Max wondered, “or have I gone
+mad?”</p>
+
+<p>He raised his head, but his eyes could not penetrate the
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>“Confound it!” he muttered, “this is Egyptian darkness
+with a vengeance.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou want to die?”</p>
+
+<p>The question came out of the darkness and sounded
+afar off, yet Max could almost fancy that the breath of
+the speaker fanned his cheek.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that speaks?”</p>
+
+<p>“Question not my name.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the depths of the storehouse of the great Gizeh.”</p>
+
+<p>The answer was given in a low voice, almost as soft
+as a whisper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[30]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Am I then under the pyramid?”</p>
+
+<p>“That is how thou wouldst express it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will you aid me to escape?”</p>
+
+<p>“And thou wouldst destroy those who saved thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay&mdash;thou art a woman.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Wah Illahi sahe!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>(By Allah, it is true.)</p>
+
+<p>“I would not harm thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“I can save thee if thou wilt swear by the beard of the
+prophet that thou wilt not seek revenge.”</p>
+
+<p>“The price is too great.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if thou refusest, death will be thy portion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Better death than dishonor,” said Max, in a grandiloquent
+tone, which sounded almost ridiculous in the
+dark, but which would have been the signal for a burst
+of applause from the gallery of a theater had an actor so
+uttered the words on a stage.</p>
+
+<p>All was still as the grave.</p>
+
+<p>He fancied his ankles and wrists were swelling as the
+cord cut into the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>His brain began to reel, and he almost wished for
+death.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I to die like this? Oh, it is horrible!” he moaned,
+aloud, as the agony of the thought took possession of his
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>“Help!”</p>
+
+<p>He shouted and the echo of the vault answered back
+mockingly:</p>
+
+<p>“Help!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[31]</span></p>
+
+<p>He shouted again, but the only reply was the faint
+echo of his words.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall die,” he groaned.</p>
+
+<p>“Die,” said the echo, with taunting emphasis.</p>
+
+<p>His brain became frenzied, and he began to laugh
+with boisterous guffaws.</p>
+
+<p>It was the laughter of delirium and not of mirth.</p>
+
+<p>The echo answered back.</p>
+
+<p>The whole cave seemed peopled with laughing demons.</p>
+
+<p>“Fiends!” he shouted, and his head fell back with stunning
+force on the rock.</p>
+
+<p>When he recovered consciousness, a calmly sweet
+breath of air was blowing on his face.</p>
+
+<p>He was being fanned.</p>
+
+<p>He dare not speak for fear that the delicious breeze
+might cease.</p>
+
+<p>The fanning continued until at last he could bear the
+silence no longer.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art an angel!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“I know not what thou meanest. If I am thy houri,
+wilt thou follow me?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will.”</p>
+
+<p>By some means a pitch torch was lighted and in its
+glare Max saw the horrible cave to which he had been
+removed by some unknown hands.</p>
+
+<p>Skeletons and mummies, rude stone sarcophagi, and
+blocks of red granite in endless confusion.</p>
+
+<p>But in the circle of light made by the torch he saw&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A girl.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[32]</span></p>
+
+<p>She was not what the fashionable world would call
+lovely.</p>
+
+<p>Her skin was dark, her hair was black as a raven’s
+wing.</p>
+
+<p>Over her dark tresses a silver band encircled her
+head, almost like a halo of glory.</p>
+
+<p>Her limbs were bare to the knees, but round each ankle
+was a massive band of silver similar to those she wore
+on each arm above the elbow.</p>
+
+<p>Her dress was of a gauzy tissue and Max could
+scarcely believe but that it was a phantasm of the mind
+which was before him, and not a living entity.</p>
+
+<p>She smiled and waved her torch as a fairy queen might
+her wand, and in a voice of rare sweetness said:</p>
+
+<p>“If thou wouldst save thy life, follow me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am bound,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>Two rows of shiny, white teeth were shown as she
+pointed laughingly at the severed cords, and again she
+said:</p>
+
+<p>“Come! Follow me!”</p>
+
+<p>“To the death,” answered Max, forgetful of all danger.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, and thou shalt be one of my people.”</p>
+
+<p>The houri took Max by the hand, causing a strange
+thrill to pass through him.</p>
+
+<p>“Be not afraid,” she said, as she extinguished the
+light.</p>
+
+<p>“With you, never!” answered Max, gallantly.</p>
+
+<p>And Madcap Max followed in the dark the strange<span class="pagenum">[33]</span>
+creature who had found him alone and suffering in the
+cave beneath the great pyramid.</p>
+
+<p>Followed! But where?</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">GIRZILLA.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>With the greatest confidence in the strange Arab girl,
+Madcap Max followed her, without asking any question
+until she suddenly extinguished the torch.</p>
+
+<p>“Why did you do that?” he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>The girl did not answer in words, but dextrously
+placed her hand over his mouth and held it there so
+tightly that Max could scarcely breathe.</p>
+
+<p>He struggled to release himself, but she was strong,
+and to add to her power, she whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“Get free and I’ll kill thee!”</p>
+
+<p>However disagreeable it might be it was better to
+have a pretty girl’s hand over his mouth than to be
+killed, and therefore Max made no further resistance.</p>
+
+<p>A slight noise, like the dropping of water on rocks,
+attracted his attention.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you hear that?” asked his guide.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; what is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! Speak in whisper only. Thine enemies seek
+thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if they find?”</p>
+
+<p>“Will kill. I will save, if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou hast courage. Come, then, hold to my dress
+and follow. The least noise may seal thy fate and
+mine.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who art thou, mysterious one? What is thy name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Name, as thou wouldst say, I have several; to thee I
+am Girzilla. Let that be my name.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will call thee Gazelle.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no. Girzilla, or nothing at all. Come.”</p>
+
+<p>Whoever the girl with the strange name might be,
+she evidently knew her way, for never once did her foot
+slip, although Max found his ankles turning every minute,
+and had he not a firm hold on Girzilla’s dress, which,
+though of gauzy linen, seemed as strong as a hempen
+cord, he would have fallen frequently.</p>
+
+<p>“Sit down!”</p>
+
+<p>The words were uttered very abruptly, and were in
+the nature of a command.</p>
+
+<p>Max did as ordered, and sat in silence&mdash;a silence so
+great that he could hear the beating of his heart, and
+fancied that he could also distinguish the pulsations of
+his guide’s organ of life at the same time. The silence
+was almost unbearable, and Max grew fidgety and restless.</p>
+
+<p>“I have got into some queer streets before this, but I
+confess this is the strangest,” he mused.</p>
+
+<p>“To save thee, thou must go through the place of
+the dead.”</p>
+
+<p>The voice was that of Girzilla, but it sounded so sepulchral
+that Madcap Max felt a cold shiver pass over him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[35]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Hast thou courage?” she asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I&mdash;h-have,” he stammered, his teeth chattering with
+nervous fear of the unknown.</p>
+
+<p>“Come!”</p>
+
+<p>Once more the journey was resumed, and Girzilla
+walked slower than before.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly Max got such a rap on the head that it
+made him groan with pain.</p>
+
+<p>“Stoop. Better still, crawl,” said the girl, almost contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>Max felt humiliated, but he was in a quandary.</p>
+
+<p>He could not go back, for he did not know the way,
+and he dare not go forward alone, for he was afraid.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla seemed to read his thoughts, for she laughed
+softly and murmured:</p>
+
+<p>“Poor boy! He will have to trust his Girzilla; she
+will save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Stooping until his head was only a few inches higher
+than his knees, he followed as well as he could.</p>
+
+<p>Very soon the way became easier to travel, and a
+glimmer of light showed that the sun had risen again,
+and found some crevice through which it sent its heavenly
+rays.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the light increased, and the road became
+better.</p>
+
+<p>The sand was so hot, however, that Max felt the shoes
+on his feet drying up, and even baking.</p>
+
+<p>He resolved to remove them, and the hot sand blistered
+his tender feet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[36]</span></p>
+
+<p>High up above him was an opening, through which
+the light and heat came.</p>
+
+<p>“If one of thy enemies shouldst see thee, a little stone
+from there”&mdash;and Girzilla pointed upward&mdash;“would
+make thee fit for a mummy.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the spinal marrow in Max’s back seemed turned
+to ice, and he was almost afraid to glance upward.</p>
+
+<p>“Where are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“Under the temple of great Isis.”</p>
+
+<p>“Under?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Isis had the temple high above where thou dost
+stand.”</p>
+
+<p>“Lead on; I would know more of these mysterious
+passages, but I am hungry and cold.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just now thou wert hot.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I am chilled and yet feverish.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come, my gentle boy, and Girzilla will take thee
+where thou canst rest.”</p>
+
+<p>A few yards and a sudden turn, and the narrow passageway
+gave place to a large plateau, on which huge
+bowlders were scattered promiscuously.</p>
+
+<p>Scattered&mdash;apparently too large for human hands to
+move, and yet they bore evidence of having been transported
+thither.</p>
+
+<p>They were of red granite, while the native rocks were
+of a different stone.</p>
+
+<p>Max, tired and weary, sat down on one of the granite
+blocks, but he quickly left his seat.</p>
+
+<p>He leaped away as though he had been stung by a
+viper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[37]</span></p>
+
+<p>Girzilla laughed at him, which of course added to his
+annoyance.</p>
+
+<p>The stone was as hot as an oven bottom, and poor
+Max felt he would be baked or fried if he stayed there
+a minute.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla moved round one of the great bowlders and
+began scratching away the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Come and help,” she called out to Max, who was
+sulking since she had laughed at him.</p>
+
+<p>“The way we must go is under this stone.”</p>
+
+<p>“Under that stone!” repeated Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; there is only a small hole, but we must go
+through it.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl was right.</p>
+
+<p>The hole was so small that she could only just squeeze
+herself through, while the madcap declared he would not
+descend.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well, then, you must save yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>The prospect was not pleasing, and Max managed to
+follow the girl, though in doing so he tore his clothes
+and scratched his face.</p>
+
+<p>But once down, he was amply repaid.</p>
+
+<p>The cave, or hole, led to a large room, the atmosphere
+of which was charmingly cool.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had lighted her torch, and seated herself on
+an open sarcophagus.</p>
+
+<p>She was a happy-go-lucky kind of creature, fearing
+nothing, and having no superstitious dread of sitting
+on the stone coffin, wherein was dust, which had once
+been molded in human form.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[38]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have food here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Food?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Here?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; art thou not hungry?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am. But the place is a tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! Better men than thou lived here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have been buried here, you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Years and years ago a brave man fled from those
+who would kill him, and sought refuge here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me of him.”</p>
+
+<p>“He fought&mdash;oh, my, didn’t he fight? He cut right
+and left with his scimiter, and when he got tired he
+spurred his horse and made a run for liberty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you know him?”</p>
+
+<p>“Stupid! do I look so old, then?” and Girzilla looked
+coquettishly at Madcap.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know how long it is ago; how should I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get naughty again. The man was a soldier,
+a Mameluke&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What! Was it Emin Bey?”</p>
+
+<p>“That was how he was called.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me all about him. Where did he go? Had he
+any sons? Tell me, I am all impatience.”</p>
+
+<p>“I see you are; but you must eat.”</p>
+
+<p>This houri of the caves&mdash;a strange child of the desert&mdash;pushed
+aside the lid of another sarcophagus and took
+therefrom a piece of confection known as Turkish delight.</p>
+
+<p>She offered it to Max, but he turned away.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[39]</span></p>
+
+<p>Girzilla bit off a large piece and sat chewing it with
+all the ardor with which a Kentucky girl chews gum.</p>
+
+<p>“Good!” she said, as she helped herself to another
+bite.</p>
+
+<p>Approaching close to Max she held the confection
+close to his mouth, and he was tempted to take a small
+piece.</p>
+
+<p>It was so appetizing that he asked for more.</p>
+
+<p>When the gum candy was all eaten Girzilla found some
+bread&mdash;cakes baked in the sun, not in an oven&mdash;and some
+fruit, but what kind it was Max did not know.</p>
+
+<p>He ate heartily and felt refreshed.</p>
+
+<p>But he was thirsty.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla knew that, and produced a bottle of the most
+delicious sherbet he had ever tasted.</p>
+
+<p>When the repast was finished Girzilla told Max that
+he must stay there until she came for him.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I to be here alone?”</p>
+
+<p>“Certainly. I must go and provide a means of escape
+for thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me first why you have done all this for me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have my reasons.”</p>
+
+<p>“And will you not tell me?”</p>
+
+<p>“I heard thee speak to him who is not&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean my father?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“When?”</p>
+
+<p>“When thou didst tell him that thou wouldst like to
+eat salt with the sons of Emin Bey.”</p>
+
+<p>“And are you interested?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[40]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have Mameluke blood in my veins. Find the descendant
+of Emin and he will restore Egypt to its greatness&mdash;I
+have said it, and the prophet hath spoken.”</p>
+
+<p>“And will you help me?”</p>
+
+<p>“If I can. I&mdash;had&mdash;another&mdash;reason&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla hesitated, paused between her words, looked
+confused, and really blushed.</p>
+
+<p>“And that was&mdash;&mdash;” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should I not tell thee? I will save thee, even
+though I lose thee. I will prevent thy enemies taking
+thee, even if thou spurned me ever after. Oh! how
+shall I say it? Thou art the handsomest man I ever
+saw, and&mdash;I&mdash;love&mdash;thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Before Max could recover from his astonishment she
+had fled.</p>
+
+<p>Her secret had been revealed, and, modest maiden as
+she was, she felt she could not meet the eyes of the
+youth to whom she had confessed her love.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WAS IT AN ECHO?</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Madcap Max felt that he was a prisoner, and
+that self-interest, at least, for a time, rendered it inadvisable
+to attempt to escape, he began to look about
+his strange abode.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was more than ever a puzzle to him.</p>
+
+<p>She was refined and educated&mdash;of that there could be
+no doubt.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[41]</span></p>
+
+<p>She had said she had several names, but only one had
+she given him.</p>
+
+<p>What did the word mean?</p>
+
+<p>It had some special significance&mdash;of that he was sure.</p>
+
+<p>Was it Arabic or Nubian? Was it of the ancient
+language of the Pharoahs, or the almost as ancient
+Syrian?</p>
+
+<p>How did she overhear his conversation about the
+Mamelukes?</p>
+
+<p>“I begin to think she is a fairy,” said Max, his head
+growing dizzy with puzzling over the matter.</p>
+
+<p>“How long am I to remain here?”</p>
+
+<p>There was no one to answer the question, so it had
+to remain still in the realm of doubt.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>That query he could answer with a positiveness that
+could not be controverted. He was in a tomb.</p>
+
+<p>At first the thought nearly drove him mad, but he got
+accustomed to the idea. After eating and drinking there,
+much of the superstitious fear had left him.</p>
+
+<p>“Where shall I sleep?” he asked himself, “for I am
+tired and exhausted. The sand man has been about a
+long time,” he laughed; “yes, sand in my eyes, up my
+nostrils, down my throat, in my ears&mdash;the sand man
+has done his work this time. What was that?”</p>
+
+<p>Max possessed a splendid amount of courage, but to
+be alone in a tomb and suddenly to hear a terrible noise,
+and to be nearly suffocated with dust, to have the torch
+knocked over&mdash;fortunately not extinguished&mdash;would be
+sufficient to set the strongest nerves quivering, and make<span class="pagenum">[42]</span>
+the most valiant man tremble. He dare not raise his
+head.</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid to open his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Had he done so, he would have known that the commotion
+was caused by a huge bat trying to escape from
+the inhabited tomb.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly an hour passed before Max found courage
+enough to lift up the torch, which had nearly burned
+itself out.</p>
+
+<p>If his torch went out, what was he to do?</p>
+
+<p>He was far from being a madcap at that time.</p>
+
+<p>But youth asserted itself, and Max found his spirits
+rising, perhaps aided considerably by his eyes suddenly
+perceiving another torch.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll have a gay old time. Why shouldn’t I? Eh,
+old fellow?”</p>
+
+<p>Was Max addressing himself or one of the mummies
+in the place?</p>
+
+<p>He lighted the torch, and began to look round his
+prison house.</p>
+
+<p>On the walls&mdash;which had once been smoothed by
+sculptor’s skill&mdash;were the remains of paintings and hieroglyphic
+inscriptions.</p>
+
+<p>“These old fellows believed in having their tombs
+beautiful!” exclaimed Max, aloud.</p>
+
+<p>And the words had scarcely left his lips when his
+hair began to rise on his head, for he heard a voice
+add, with sepulchral emphasis:</p>
+
+<p>“Beautiful!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[43]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who’s there?” asked Max, half afraid of his own
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>“There!”</p>
+
+<p>“It was only an echo,” said Max; but all the same it
+was startling, especially when the voice of the tomb repeated
+the last syllable:</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!”</p>
+
+<p>But the sturdy young American laughed; and the
+whole tomb seemed alive with demoniac mirth, as the
+walls beat back the loud guffaws of the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall go mad!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Mad!” repeated the echo.</p>
+
+<p>With wonderful courage Madcap Max remained silent
+for a time, afraid of the echo, and yet not afraid to
+continue his search.</p>
+
+<p>Close to the place where Girzilla had kept the eatables
+was a sarcophagus, which seemed as if it had not
+been opened.</p>
+
+<p>Here was something to do.</p>
+
+<p>He resolved to open the stone casket.</p>
+
+<p>The work was easier than he anticipated, for the lid
+was not fastened down, and Max was able to push it on
+one side.</p>
+
+<p>He brought over a torch so that he might the better
+look into the huge cavern-like coffin.</p>
+
+<p>When he did so he saw a mummy; the face, outlined by
+the cloths, was that of a woman.</p>
+
+<p>“Who can it have been?” he wondered.</p>
+
+<p>And then, with a pure love of fun, he resolved to
+unwrap the body, which may have been hidden from<span class="pagenum">[44]</span>
+the world two or three thousand years, and present the
+mummy to his strange girl friend.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now in his glory.</p>
+
+<p>He had something to do, and at the same time his
+spirit of mischief was aroused.</p>
+
+<p>He never imagined that Girzilla would be frightened
+if she entered and saw a mummified Egyptian looking at
+her.</p>
+
+<p>It would be fun to watch her countenance. And that
+was all that Max did it for.</p>
+
+<p>He managed to get the first wrapper off very easily,
+but when he came to the second, he found that the ancient
+Egyptians knew how to make a strong bandage,
+for every fold had to be cut with his knife.</p>
+
+<p>Under this he found spices, lotos leaves and ears of
+corn.</p>
+
+<p>The latter interested him, for while the grains looked
+like wheat, the general appearance was that of barley,
+only there were seven ears on every stalk.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll pocket some of this, and if ever I get back to
+America I’ll plant it and see if embalmed wheat will
+grow.”</p>
+
+<p>As this thought passed through the mind of the daring
+young desecrator of the dead, he began to whistle
+“Yankee Doodle.”</p>
+
+<p>The echo kept pace with him, and the louder he whistled
+the more distinct was the echo.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly stopping, his patriotic soul was stirred to its
+depths as the thought crossed his mind that men who
+had been buried there thousands of years before America<span class="pagenum">[45]</span>
+was known to civilization were, through the echo, joining
+in the chorus of “Yankee Doodle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Old Pharoah was a fine old fellow,” said Max, “but
+I’d rather be an American citizen than&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“A mummy.”</p>
+
+<p>That was no echo.</p>
+
+<p>It was a human voice.</p>
+
+<p>Max could stand no more.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes seemed like coals of fire, his brain was burning,
+his lips were parched.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, God! I am dying!” he gasped, as he fell on the
+floor, scattering the dust of centuries and causing the
+tomb to be filled with a cloud, suffocating and unpleasant.</p>
+
+<p>When he recovered consciousness he was still lying
+on the floor, but his head rested on Girzilla’s knee, and
+she was fanning him with a palm leaf which she had
+brought in with her.</p>
+
+<p>“You silly boy, did I frighten you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Was it you who said ‘a mummy?’”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course it was. Who else could it be?”</p>
+
+<p>“I thought&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“That these dead-and-gone people had suddenly recovered
+the voice which perished before Isis’ great temple
+was built. You silly&mdash;silly boy. But what were
+you doing?”</p>
+
+<p>There was so much nineteenth century life about
+Girzilla that Max thought but little of the bygone Pharoahs.</p>
+
+<p>He told her about unwrapping the mummy, and she
+chided him for doing it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[46]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I have looked on that mummy ever since I was so
+high,” she said, placing her hand about two feet above
+the floor.</p>
+
+<p>“You have!”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I have, and I was going to show her to
+you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You were?”</p>
+
+<p>“Did I not say so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why ask me? What did you do with the writing
+you found?”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not see any.”</p>
+
+<p>“I placed some there.”</p>
+
+<p>“When?”</p>
+
+<p>“The Nile did rise and fall and rise again since I
+placed it there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where did you find it? What is it about?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know; I could not read it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Get it for me.”</p>
+
+<p>“You silly boy, how can I? Your head is heavy,
+and holds me down.”</p>
+
+<p>“My head resteth on a nice pillow.”</p>
+
+<p>“Osiris must have fanned thy cheeks,” she said, using
+an Egyptian metaphor which in more modern English
+would mean: “You are a flatterer,” or “You have kissed
+the blarney stone.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was not so gallant as an American youth ought
+to be, so he sprang to his feet and reached over into
+the casket, drawing therefrom a package of papers which
+were decidedly modern.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[47]</span></p>
+
+<p>The language was a strange one to him, however, and
+his only hope was that once away from the strange
+tomb he might find some one who could translate the
+document for him.</p>
+
+<p>He had become an ardent Egyptologist.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SPLENDID HEROISM.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“We will leave here at once.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a sadness in Girzilla’s voice as she answered:</p>
+
+<p>“And art thou tired of the houri of the cave?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not tired of you, Girzilla, but I want freedom. I
+must search for Emin’s race.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, yes. Fate wills it. Isis must be obeyed. Ra”&mdash;god
+of the sun&mdash;“ordains it. And Girzilla’s heart
+must be rent in twain.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why so? Art thou not my guide? Shall I not restore
+thy family to the powerful throne?”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not deceived. You of the great storehouses
+care not for my people.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, thou silly boy; the sun does not mate with darkness.
+Girzilla will take thee from thine enemies and
+will return to the tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are sad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Did I not look upon thy face when it was sad?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[48]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max sat down on a broken sarcophagus, and hot,
+scalding tears poured from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>She had recalled to him the death of his father, nearly
+a week ago.</p>
+
+<p>A veil of oblivion had been over his senses, and he had
+not been able to weep.</p>
+
+<p>The tears eased his heart and soothed him more than
+any other thing could have done.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla, with womanly tact, withdrew and let him
+weep, for she knew the value of tears to the sorrow-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>Truly, this girl was more than ever a mystery.</p>
+
+<p>With the simple innocence of her race she looked upon
+herself as the consoler of the bereaved one, because she
+had been present when his eyes first opened to the great
+sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>When his grief had subsided, Girzilla was transformed.</p>
+
+<p>She was no longer the lively girl, but the stern guide.</p>
+
+<p>“Follow me,” she said, coldly.</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, stay a while.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why should I? Does not the Frank desire to be
+free?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou knowest I do; but I have not yet explored
+this tomb.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla raised herself to her full height; her eyes
+flashed with scorn, her little hands were clinched tightly,
+causing the muscles upon her arms to distend until the
+silver armlets must have cut into the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>Her face was crimson, her body trembled with excitement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[49]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Explore! Yes, you Franks come to my land and
+carry away its images, destroy its old ruins, ransack the
+temples, overthrow the gods, and, not satisfied with that,
+dare even to desecrate the tombs!”</p>
+
+<p>“You brought me here,” pleaded Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I brought thee to save thy life. I brought thee, even
+though I knew I might die in thy place.”</p>
+
+<p>“What mean you? Are you in danger?”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla laughed bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>“Danger!&mdash;how silly you are!” And then, changing
+her manner, she added: “Have you any sense? Do you
+Franks ever think? I know these men who brought
+thee here. I know that they would take all thy gold
+and slit your nose&mdash;that they would slowly kill thee.
+Like the bird of prey looking for its victim were they.
+I saved thee&mdash;wilt not the vulture turn upon me? Thou
+knowest I shall die if I am caught.”</p>
+
+<p>There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner
+which seemed to raise her from the apathetic lazy
+Egyptian race and elevate her to the level of the American.</p>
+
+<p>Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned
+him to be silent.</p>
+
+<p>“I have been here since I was so high”&mdash;again measuring
+two feet from the ground. “Did I ever take the
+sacred bandages from the bodies of the embalmed?
+Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour
+without desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee&mdash;Osiris
+will return and claim his own.”</p>
+
+<p>Max listened.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[50]</span></p>
+
+<p>He was charmed.</p>
+
+<p>What a splendid actress this girl would make!</p>
+
+<p>What a magnificent woman she was!&mdash;and yet in years
+she could be only a girl.</p>
+
+<p>“You speak of Isis and Osiris as though you believed
+in them,” Max ventured to say.</p>
+
+<p>“My belief is my own. If thou wouldst escape&mdash;if
+thou wouldst find the son’s son of Emin, get thee ready
+and I will lead thee to the desert, the way that Emin
+traveled.”</p>
+
+<p>“Lead me from here and I will ask no more.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art a Frank! Thou askest me to risk all, and
+when thou art safe I may go.”</p>
+
+<p>She turned away her head to hide her tears.</p>
+
+<p>Going to a secluded part of the cave she took from
+a sarcophagus a scimiter with edge as sharp as any razor,
+a knife with double edge, keen as a dagger, and a small
+stiletto.</p>
+
+<p>These she handed to Max.</p>
+
+<p>“They may be useful,” she said, coldly, and prepared
+to leave the cave.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, and quickly.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have offended thee&mdash;&mdash;” Max commenced, but Girzilla
+had scrambled through the opening, and could not
+hear what he was saying.</p>
+
+<p>She led him across the burning sands; at every step
+his feet seemed to be blistering. There was no shade
+save from the great bowlders, and they were so hot
+that it was unpleasant to approach them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p>
+
+<p>On she went, keeping in advance of the American.</p>
+
+<p>Not one word would she utter; and when he attempted
+to speak she motioned him to be silent.</p>
+
+<p>It was like a new country&mdash;a land without inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>Where were they?</p>
+
+<p>So near, as it seemed, to the city, and yet not a living
+thing to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Hour after hour they walked, blinded by the drifting
+sand, but never stopping.</p>
+
+<p>Max would not ask Girzilla to rest, and she was too
+proud to suggest it.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was high in the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>The air seemed like the hot blast from a furnace.</p>
+
+<p>Max found his tongue swelling in his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>He walked along mechanically.</p>
+
+<p>All control over himself appeared to be lost.</p>
+
+<p>Like the fabled Wandering Jew, he continued moving,
+without the power to stop.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes no longer saw the sand&mdash;they were hot and
+glassy with the glare of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Still he kept on, following that never-tiring figure in
+front of him.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly his foot slipped into a little hole, and he fell.</p>
+
+<p>That was more eloquent than words.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was by his side in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>A little leather bottle she carried was unslung, and
+some water was poured down the youth’s throat.</p>
+
+<p>She had resolved not to offer her aid, but now, when
+he was helpless and suffering, she could not resist.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[52]</span></p>
+
+<p>She bathed his face, and fanned it so that the skin
+might not blister.</p>
+
+<p>He was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>“He is dying,” she moaned. “And I cannot save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Her bare arms and ankles seemed impervious to the
+heat&mdash;she was accustomed to it.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, if Jockian were but here!” she moaned; but the
+man she referred to was many miles away.</p>
+
+<p>“I will try.”</p>
+
+<p>The speech was in answer to her thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>Removing the armlets from her arms, she stooped
+over the prostrate form of Madcap Max, and raised him
+as if he were a child.</p>
+
+<p>Strong she undoubtedly was, but Max was heavy.</p>
+
+<p>She carried him a few steps.</p>
+
+<p>The perspiration ran in streams down her face.</p>
+
+<p>The muscles of her arms were strained to their utmost.</p>
+
+<p>She had to rest.</p>
+
+<p>Again she raised him, and carried him a dozen yards
+or so.</p>
+
+<p>It was but slow progress, but she knew he would die
+if she left him there.</p>
+
+<p>She tightened the girdle round her waist, and again
+took him in her arms.</p>
+
+<p>But her strength gave out.</p>
+
+<p>She fell with her burden on the hot sand.</p>
+
+<p>Exhausted herself, yet she would not give up the
+battle.</p>
+
+<p>She worked like a slave, making a hole in the sand.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[53]</span></p>
+
+<p>The blood spurted from her fingers, but she kept on
+until she had scraped away the sand a foot deep.</p>
+
+<p>Into this hole she rolled Max.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was pouring its hot rays with deadly vehemence,
+but Girzilla cared not, if Max were but safe.</p>
+
+<p>She looked for something to shelter him.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing could be seen.</p>
+
+<p>With splendid devotion, she took off the loose linen
+blouse which was the only covering of the upper part
+of her body, and sprinkling it well with water, laid it
+over the youth’s face.</p>
+
+<p>Her own skin, almost as fair as that of the American,
+was exposed to the torture of the heat.</p>
+
+<p>The thermometer must have registered a hundred and
+fifty degrees, but Girzilla merely clinched her teeth and
+waited.</p>
+
+<p>She had placed herself in a position between the sun
+and Max.</p>
+
+<p>Hour after hour this child of the desert, this magnificent
+heroine, shielded the American from the rays of
+the Egyptian sun.</p>
+
+<p>Her own shoulders were bare. The sun blistered her
+skin. A slight breeze, but as a furnace blast, swept across
+her, but it carried myriads of sand flies and atoms of
+sand with it.</p>
+
+<p>The flies settled on her bare shoulders; they attacked
+the blistered flesh.</p>
+
+<p>The pain must have been intense, but she never moved.</p>
+
+<p>Once she shrieked with agony and resolved to rise,<span class="pagenum">[54]</span>
+but a look of self-denying heroism crossed her face,
+and she remained still.</p>
+
+<p>“If I move they will attack him,” she thought, and
+that was enough.</p>
+
+<p>He must be saved at all costs.</p>
+
+<p>Her senses were leaving her, gradually her thoughts
+became more indistinct.</p>
+
+<p>She fell forward across Max, and knew she must die.</p>
+
+<p>But if it would save him, she was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>She stretched forth her hand and placed it on his
+forehead.</p>
+
+<p>Her garment was still there, shielding his face from
+the sun.</p>
+
+<p>“He will be saved,” she said. “Allah be praised,” she
+moaned.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SHERIF EL HABIB.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Allah! Allah! Great is Allah, and Mahomet is his
+prophet.”</p>
+
+<p>The speaker had spread before him a square of carpet,
+and had prostrated himself, bowing before the setting
+sun.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised!”</p>
+
+<p>The prayers were ended, but the man remained prostrate
+on the carpet.</p>
+
+<p>In the distance a score of men stood, evidently waiting
+for their chief to rise.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[55]</span></p>
+
+<p>When his devotions were concluded he stood up, looked
+in the direction of the setting sun, bowed his head once
+more, and sat down on the sand to put on his sandals.</p>
+
+<p>The man was evidently an Arab of high rank.</p>
+
+<p>Dressed in white, his face partly covered, after the
+manner of the chiefs of Arabia, he presented a most
+picturesque appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Several of his escort, or guard, came forward and
+folded up the carpet, placing it with great care on the
+back of a camel, which had been brought forward.</p>
+
+<p>The chief&mdash;Sherif el Habib&mdash;walked away from his
+servants, his companion being a youth, fair as a girl,
+but strong as a lion.</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim, my heart is sad,” said Sherif el Habib to
+the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“Sad! and why so, my uncle?”</p>
+
+<p>“For all these moons have we journeyed, but mine
+eyes have not seen the glory of his coming.”</p>
+
+<p>“Uncle, you did not expect to see the Great One at
+Cairo?”</p>
+
+<p>“And why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Methinks the eyes of the houris as they peer through
+the lattices would spoil even the prophet’s mission,” answered
+Ibrahim, smiling, as he uttered the words.</p>
+
+<p>“Those eyes were nearly thy ruin. But hath not the
+holy prophet spoken of the Prophet of prophets, who
+should come and restore the ancient glory of Egypt, and
+after visiting Mecca, plant the banner of the crescent
+and Mahomet in every land?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[56]</span></p>
+
+<p>“But why do you think he has come now?” asked
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“In a vision of the night I heard the voice of Mahomet
+say out to me: ‘Arise, Sherif el Habib; cross thou
+the sea and go as I direct thee, and thine eyes shall see
+the glory of the last <em>imaum</em>’&mdash;leader&mdash;‘the rise of the
+Mahdi of whom I spake.’”</p>
+
+<p>“So, uncle, we made a pilgrimage to Mecca, crossed
+the Red Sea, wandered about these deserts for months,
+deserted the towns and left the pretty girls&mdash;I beg pardon&mdash;all
+because of a dream.”</p>
+
+<p>“You young men,” said Sherif el Habib, “are material.
+Is there nothing better than making shawls?”</p>
+
+<p>“There may be; I like to travel. I would like to go to
+Alexandria, to Constantinople, to Paris, London. Oh,
+uncle, you are rich; give up these dreams, and let us enjoy
+life.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim, how old are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Eighteen, uncle.”</p>
+
+<p>“And I am sixty-eight. Wait but a few more years
+and all my wealth will be thine; then thou canst journey
+whither thou pleasest. But I have a mission. When I
+go down to the grave of my fathers, my soul will have
+seen the light of great Mahdi’s face.”</p>
+
+<p>It is believed by devout followers of Mahomet that
+before the end of the world there shall arise a mahdi&mdash;literally,
+a director who shall be of the family of Mahomet,
+whose name should be Mahomet Achmet, and
+who should fill the world with righteousness. For six<span class="pagenum">[57]</span>
+hundred years the Mohammedans have been expecting
+their messiah to appear.</p>
+
+<p>“As thou wilt, uncle, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s speech was cut short abruptly by the hurried
+salaam of Effendi, the Sherif el Habib’s confidential
+eunuch and secretary.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Effendi?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your excellency! I know not, but a young and beautiful
+girl hath fainted, and with her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is she?” asked Ibrahim. “Lead me to her!”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, nephew, it is not fit that thou&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Go along, uncle; when I am your age I shall do as
+you do. Go along, I care not for all the girls of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib had not heard all the boy’s speech,
+for he had hurried away with Effendi.</p>
+
+<p>The eunuch led him across the sands to the place where
+Madcap Max had fallen, and over him the girl, Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib looked at the youthful couple, and
+seemed strangely disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>He stooped and placed his hand over their hearts, and
+found that both were alive.</p>
+
+<p>“It is well,” he said, in a half-audible voice. Then,
+turning to Effendi, he motioned him to follow.</p>
+
+<p>Going to his camel, Sherif el Habib took from the pack
+a small bottle.</p>
+
+<p>On the side of the vial were some hieroglyphics which,
+if translated into good United States language, would
+signify that the contents were known to be that strange
+result of modern research, chloroform.</p>
+
+<p>Giving the bottle to Effendi, Sherif el Habib said:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[58]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It is my will that these people should go with us in a
+sleep as of death; do thou with this as is usual.”</p>
+
+<p>Effendi took the vial, and pouring some of the contents
+on two pieces of linen, he returned to the Arab girl
+and Max and placed the linen over their mouths. When
+the fumes of the chloroform had done their work effectually
+he called some of the attendants, and ordered them
+to place Max and Girzilla on the backs of camels.</p>
+
+<p>“It is done,” he said to Sherif el Habib, making a low
+salaam.</p>
+
+<p>“It is well,” was the chief’s answer.</p>
+
+<p>Effendi moved away, leaving his master and Ibrahim
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>“What new fancy has taken possession of you, uncle?”</p>
+
+<p>“The glory of the great Mahomet surrounds me,” was
+the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“If I were not the most loving of nephews,” said the
+youth, “I should declare that you were mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear boy, for years I have hoped for a vision of
+the celestial, and now mine eyes have been directed to the
+approach of the great mahdi. In my dreams I heard a
+voice saying: ‘Go thou, and thou shalt be directed. The
+guides even are sleeping, but they shall awake and direct
+thee.’ Now did not this mean this youth and maiden?
+this brother and sister who were asleep and awaiting
+me?”</p>
+
+<p>“As you like, uncle. I will go with thee, for I love
+adventure; but I hope we shall return alive.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of that there is no doubt. Come, Effendi awaits us.”</p>
+
+<p>The caravan started.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[59]</span></p>
+
+<p>More than thirty camels were in procession; twelve of
+them carried baggage, tents, and provisions, the other
+eighteen bore upon their backs the bodyguard of Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Girzilla, still unconscious, were on the same
+camel, being fastened to basket paniers, one on either
+side of the animal.</p>
+
+<p>As the caravan moved across the sandy plain we will
+take the opportunity of more fully introducing the party
+to our readers.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was a Persian. In Khorassan he was
+known as the most prosperous shawl manufacturer of all
+Persia.</p>
+
+<p>He gave employment to over a hundred men, and
+Sherif el Habib’s Persian shawls had been worn by the
+empresses and queens of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib became a widower in a peculiar way.
+According to the custom of his land, he had several
+wives.</p>
+
+<p>In the palace of the Sherif&mdash;for this shawl manufacturer
+was ranked as a prince&mdash;every contrivance had been
+resorted to to render the happiness of the ladies complete.</p>
+
+<p>Among other things was a large marble bath, fifty feet
+long by thirty feet wide, and capable of holding fifteen
+feet of water in depth.</p>
+
+<p>By clever mechanical contrivances the supply of water
+was so nicely regulated that a stream to the depth of four
+feet was always flowing through the bath.</p>
+
+<p>This water was highly perfumed with attar of roses,<span class="pagenum">[60]</span>
+and was so delicious to the senses that it was an intoxicating
+pleasure to bathe.</p>
+
+<p>One day the ladies of Sherif el Habib’s household were
+disporting themselves in the bath, when by some accident
+the working gear got out of order and the water
+began to rise.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies were not alarmed, for all were good swimmers.</p>
+
+<p>Gradually the water increased in volume until it was
+six feet deep.</p>
+
+<p>How merrily the ladies laughed!</p>
+
+<p>How delighted they were at this new experience!</p>
+
+<p>They could no longer touch the marble bottom of the
+bath.</p>
+
+<p>Like children paddling in the surf, they laughed and
+made fun of each other.</p>
+
+<p>They floated and swam about, dived and turned somersaults
+as though they were amphibious animals.</p>
+
+<p>The entrance to the bathroom was locked. It was
+water-tight, so that should Sherif el Habib at any time
+desire the whole fifteen feet of depth to be flooded, no
+water could escape into the other parts of the palace.</p>
+
+<p>When the ladies had grown weary they made a move
+to leave. But they were tired.</p>
+
+<p>The water was ten feet deep, and still rising.</p>
+
+<p>One, the beauteous Lola, a sweet creature made to be
+loved, was so exhausted that she begged one of the others
+to save her.</p>
+
+<p>Buba, another Persian beauty, went to her assistance,<span class="pagenum">[61]</span>
+but Lola clung so tightly to her that both became exhausted
+and sank, never to rise again in life.</p>
+
+<p>The others shrieked for help.</p>
+
+<p>No one heard them.</p>
+
+<p>They could not stand on the sides. The steps were
+slippery as glass, and could not be ascended.</p>
+
+<p>The water gradually rose until twelve feet of water
+was in the bath.</p>
+
+<p>When Sherif, alarmed at the long absence of the
+bathers, burst open the door, he was almost swept away
+by the overflow of the water.</p>
+
+<p>His mind was unstrung, as well it might be, for floating
+on the surface of the water were the dead bodies of
+all his wives.</p>
+
+<p>Almost beside himself with grief, he refused to be consoled
+until he thought of his sister’s orphan child, the
+young Ibrahim, who was living in Teheran.</p>
+
+<p>From that day the love of this merchant prince’s heart
+was centered on Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>European teachers were engaged, and by the time the
+young Persian was seventeen years old he could speak
+English, German and French fluently, besides having a
+good knowledge of Persian, Arabic and other Oriental
+languages and dialects.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[62]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IBRAHIM AND MAX.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Ibrahim was seventeen his uncle told him that
+he was about to make a pilgrimage.</p>
+
+<p>It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet
+at Mecca, across the Red Sea, and after exploring the
+wonders of Luxor, Carnac, and ancient Thebes, go up the
+Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.</p>
+
+<p>It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and
+his heart beat so fast with expectancy that his uncle
+feared he might bring on a nervous fever. When Mecca
+was reached Sherif was so full of religious fervor that he
+began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the annoyance
+and yet amusement of Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>Among other things, Sherif el Habib became convinced
+that he was to be the discoverer of the Mahdi, or Mohammedan
+Messiah. When Cairo was reached he said to
+Ibrahim that, instead of going to Alexandria, they would
+cross the Libyan desert in search of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>As the promised route was likely to be one of wild adventure,
+with plenty of excitement, Ibrahim fell in with
+his uncle’s ideas, and with but few murmurings agreed
+to leave civilization behind and go into the interior of that
+land of mystery&mdash;the great deserts of the Dark Continent.</p>
+
+<p>But we must return to our caravan.</p>
+
+<p>The cavalcade had moved in silence for several hours.</p>
+
+<p>The time was a most miserable one to Ibrahim, but
+he had learned enough of his uncle’s ways to be assured<span class="pagenum">[63]</span>
+that he would fall into disgrace if he dared to intrude
+on the silent meditations of Sherif el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>The caravan stopped.</p>
+
+<p>The camels were unloaded, tents were pitched, and
+after devotions the meal for the evening was spread.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Girzilla had not yet roused from their unconsciousness.</p>
+
+<p>They had been lifted with tender care from the camel,
+and laid down under the best and largest tent.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was the first to awake.</p>
+
+<p>She opened her eyes and closed them suddenly; she
+imagined she was dreaming.</p>
+
+<p>Again the temptation was so great that she gently
+raised her eyelids, and saw that the tent was hung with
+Oriental silk drapery, while a thick Persian carpet had
+been spread upon the sand.</p>
+
+<p>There was so much reality about it that she felt elated.</p>
+
+<p>Where could she be?</p>
+
+<p>Where was Max?</p>
+
+<p>Raising her head she saw on the other side of the
+tent another carpet, and on it reclined the form of Max.</p>
+
+<p>Should she awaken him?</p>
+
+<p>A deep affection for the madcap had taken possession
+of her, and she was determined to do all she could to
+remain near him.</p>
+
+<p>Cautiously she moved from the carpet and to the entrance
+of the tent.</p>
+
+<p>She was utterly bewildered.</p>
+
+<p>A score of tents surrounded the one she had just left.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[64]</span></p>
+
+<p>Camels were lying down, chewing their cuds&mdash;others
+were asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Over all was the sky like a bright, blue canopy, studded
+with jets of brilliant light.</p>
+
+<p>The night air was calm and sweet, and Girzilla felt a
+soothing influence pass over her.</p>
+
+<p>With all the passionate fervor of her race she burst
+forth into poetic declamation.</p>
+
+<p>Clothing her ideas in Oriental language, developing the
+most beautiful imagery, she apostrophized the sky and
+the stars, speaking of the sky as the million-eyed goddess,
+looking down through the millions of stars on the earth,
+and directing the destinies of men.</p>
+
+<p>She thought she was unheard, but standing in the
+shadow of a tent was Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>He was entranced.</p>
+
+<p>“More beauteous than the daughters of Iran! More
+eloquent than the houris of Istaphan! Speak to me,
+and tell me who thou art.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla heard the voice.</p>
+
+<p>It was not that of Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>Who, then, could be speaking?</p>
+
+<p>All was silent, the stillness only broken by the champ,
+champ, champ of the camels.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim could see her, but the shadow of the tent enshrouded
+him in darkness, and her eyes could not penetrate
+into the blackness.</p>
+
+<p>“Who spake?” she whispered in her own language.</p>
+
+<p>“Thine eyes, which rival the stars in their brightness,
+should be able to see, though the clouds were blacker<span class="pagenum">[65]</span>
+than the tomb, and thy soul, which speaks through thy
+lips, should divine that one who loves the music of thy
+mouth is near to thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>She could not understand her surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>All was so pleasant that she feared it was a dream.</p>
+
+<p>To avert the calamity of awakening and finding that
+’twas but a vision of the night, she returned silently to the
+carpets and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<p>The chloroform had not lost all its power.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached
+the tent.</p>
+
+<p>But Girzilla was asleep.</p>
+
+<p>“My own gazelle&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Max moved uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make
+thee a throne upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my
+heart.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah,
+I remember! I died out on the sand. Girzilla was with
+me. Where is she? Is this death? I am very comfortable.
+Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”</p>
+
+<p>Max pinched himself and smiled.</p>
+
+<p>“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t
+sand. By the great Jehosaphat! it is carpet, and I am
+in a tent. I have it&mdash;I am not dead, but only kidnaped.
+I’ll get up and have a look around.”</p>
+
+<p>“My beauteous one, speak to me again, and let the son<span class="pagenum">[66]</span>
+of Iran hear the liquid notes that pour from the throat
+of my gentle gazelle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is there?” asked Max, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet, and moved slowly, and kept
+close to the side of the tent until he reached the opening.</p>
+
+<p>“My sweet enchantress, I feel that I could&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You could, eh? Well, how do you feel now?”</p>
+
+<p>Max had struck out from the shoulder, and Ibrahim
+went heels over head into the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“How do you feel?” asked Max, in English.</p>
+
+<p>To his surprise, he was answered in the same language.</p>
+
+<p>“Feel! Very sore. Where did you get so much
+strength?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Ibrahim of Khorassan; and who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Mr. Abraham&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim,” corrected the youth.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, Ibrahim, I am Max; that is enough for you.
+If it isn’t, I am also the madcap, and I can fight as well as
+talk. How do you feel?”</p>
+
+<p>“So you are the young fellow we picked up in the
+sand?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know. I only know that I don’t know, I mean
+I know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You know plenty,” said Ibrahim, laughing at the confusion
+displayed by Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the tent belonging to Sherif el Habib of Khorassan:
+and I am Ibrahim, his nephew and friend.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Where is Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that? Your sister?”</p>
+
+<p>“My sister? No; my friend, my guide, my&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean the charming creature whose eloquence is
+the sweetest music mine ears have ever heard?”</p>
+
+<p>“When did you hear? What do you know?” asked
+Max, abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get mad. I am Ibrahim of Khorassan.”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t care who you are.”</p>
+
+<p>“But my uncle is the great chief, Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t care for that, either; I don’t care whether he
+is a sheriff, a policeman, or a soldier.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed.</p>
+
+<p>He understood Max, and the idea of confusing the
+Persian Sherif with the English sheriff amused him.</p>
+
+<p>“You don’t understand&mdash;that is my uncle’s name.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fetch him here and let me see him.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was astounded.</p>
+
+<p>The way Max spoke was something for which he was
+not prepared.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was rising very rapidly, and as its rays, tinted
+with the morning hues, fell upon the glittering sand and
+white tents, Max was dazzled.</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are with the caravan of the great Persian chief,
+Sherif el Habib. My uncle found you dying, and he
+brought you and your sister here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thanks, awfully! Shake hands&mdash;that is what we do
+in England and America&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>The youths clasped their hands.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[68]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We shall be friends?” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you a father?” asked the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! no. He was murdered at Cairo.”</p>
+
+<p>“We shall be comrades?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I hope it, indeed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you a mother?”</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! no,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we shall be brothers. I, too, am alone&mdash;I have
+no one but my uncle.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have no one at all.”</p>
+
+<p>“He shall be your uncle, and I will be your brother.
+But who is she?”</p>
+
+<p>“I told you&mdash;she is my guide.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Max. She may be a princess, a queen; she is a
+beauty, as lovely as she is eloquent, and as poetic as the
+birds which fly above the gardens of Paradise.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE PETRIFIED FOREST.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Max asserted himself so strongly in favor of Girzilla
+that Ibrahim refrained from approaching her, not because
+he had conquered the passion he felt for her, but entirely
+out of respect for the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib treated Max as a guest, and when he
+told him that he was on a pilgrimage to find the promised
+mahdi, Max so thoroughly threw himself into the<span class="pagenum">[69]</span>
+work that the Persian devotee believed more than ever
+in fate.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had never been away so far, and so long as
+she could see Max she was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing would make the chiefs of the caravan treat her
+other than Max’s sister.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the journey was continued into the desert
+of Lybia.</p>
+
+<p>All had been tranquil.</p>
+
+<p>No hordes of savages had disturbed the religious pilgrims,
+and Max began to yearn for adventure.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a month had passed, and Max was as strong as
+a young elephant, and as for Girzilla, nothing seemed to
+tire her.</p>
+
+<p>One day a forest was sighted.</p>
+
+<p>For many days not a leaf, not a tree&mdash;no, not so much
+as a blade of grass, had been seen.</p>
+
+<p>The unmistakable forest was as acceptable to the travelers
+as is a rain shower to the parched earth.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to reach the forest that day, but so
+impetuous was the spirit of the two youths that they obtained
+permission to go in advance of the party, and while
+Sherif el Habib rested&mdash;for he was getting to look jaded
+and tired&mdash;they would investigate and return to report.</p>
+
+<p>Max and Ibrahim, now the best of friends, went forward,
+joyously.</p>
+
+<p>They were both well armed, and carried enough rations
+to last them four days.</p>
+
+<p>It was noon on the following day before they were
+near to the forest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[70]</span></p>
+
+<p>Never before had they seen such gigantic trees.</p>
+
+<p>But there was something weird and strange about the
+trees.</p>
+
+<p>Not one of them appeared to have any foliage.</p>
+
+<p>They stood erect, with their topmost branches piercing
+the clouds, as it were, but not a sign or movement was
+visible.</p>
+
+<p>A slight breeze whistled through the forest, but not
+a bough swayed, not a tree bent its head before the wind.</p>
+
+<p>“Haughty old fellows,” exclaimed Max, as he looked
+forward at the unbending trees.</p>
+
+<p>“They look more like stone than wood,” commented
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“You are right. I wonder what timber they are.”</p>
+
+<p>There was another peculiarity noticeable.</p>
+
+<p>Not a bit of brush, nor tuft of grass was to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>So excited were the explorers that they bid defiance
+to the blazing rays of the sun, and ran forward.</p>
+
+<p>Max was the first to reach a tree.</p>
+
+<p>The monarch who guarded the earth was many feet in
+diameter, as straight as a flagstaff, and entirely without
+leaves.</p>
+
+<p>Max touched the bark, and withdrew his hand, suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Madcap? A viper stung you?”</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know. It seems as if the tree was red-hot,”
+answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“That is good. How could a tree be red-hot?”</p>
+
+<p>“Feel for yourself.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[71]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You are right. By the beard of the prophet the tree
+must be burning.”</p>
+
+<p>Max struck the trunk with a knife, but the blade broke
+in two, and no impression was made on the tree.</p>
+
+<p>Another, and still another tree was tried, with the same
+result.</p>
+
+<p>A couple of hours wandering about, striking trees with
+the hafts of their knives, or the butt of their guns, convinced
+them that they had discovered a freak of nature&mdash;a
+veritable petrified forest.</p>
+
+<p>It was true.</p>
+
+<p>Every tree, by some action of nature, had changed its
+allegiance from the vegetable to the mineral kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>Each of the monarchs of the forest had been turned to
+stone.</p>
+
+<p>There was something appalling in those great stone
+statues.</p>
+
+<p>How many ages had they stood there?</p>
+
+<p>What action of nature had changed them from living,
+sap-flowing trees into blocks of granite, having only the
+appearance of their former reality?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was scared.</p>
+
+<p>His face lost its color, and he prostrated himself on
+the ground.</p>
+
+<p>“Come along, old fellow,” said Max. “You are not
+afraid of these big stones, are you?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim did not answer.</p>
+
+<p>He was awe-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, Ib,” exclaimed Max, shortening his companion’s
+name very materially.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[72]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is a matter of doubt how long Ibrahim would have
+remained prostrate had not some counter irritant appeared.</p>
+
+<p>A couple of arrows were fired, and fortunately struck
+the trees, glancing off close to our young explorers.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop that, old fellow, whoever you are, and let us
+have a look at you,” shouted Max.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely uttered the words when the whole
+forest seemed alive.</p>
+
+<p>It looked as if every tree had hidden a man, and yet
+not a living creature had the explorers seen before.</p>
+
+<p>Where did all these savages come from?</p>
+
+<p>The savages were something superlative.</p>
+
+<p>They were almost as naked as when they came into the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>Their bodies were rubbed all over with some filthy-looking
+clay.</p>
+
+<p>The men wore heavy coils of beads round their necks;
+two heavy bracelets of ivory, rudely carved, on their arms,
+just above the elbow; and on each wrist was a bracelet
+or ring, in which, by some cunning device, sharp pieces
+of flint, and in some cases lions’ claws, had been inserted.
+These fellows surrounded Max and Ibrahim, dancing in
+a fantastic manner and flourishing their arrows in the
+manner of spears, only that they had four arrows in each
+hand&mdash;held between the fingers so that the heads of the
+arrows were stretched out fan shape.</p>
+
+<p>The circle of savages closed in upon the explorers.</p>
+
+<p>The faces of the blacks increased in savagery of expression.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[73]</span></p>
+
+<p>They spoke a language which neither Max nor Ibrahim
+understood.</p>
+
+<p>“We are in for it,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall die,” asserted Ibrahim, solemnly. “Oh, why
+did I ever come?”</p>
+
+<p>“To have some fun. Wait, and we will see what they
+mean to do.”</p>
+
+<p>The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled
+at times to dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened
+to mar the beauty of their faces, they were so near.</p>
+
+<p>“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned
+revolver&mdash;a weapon which must have been one
+of the first ever made, so primitive was its construction.
+It had been given to Max by Sherif el Habib, who believed
+it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.</p>
+
+<p>Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping
+from tree to tree, so he put back his revolver and raised
+his rifle, a more modern and more reliable weapon.</p>
+
+<p>The savages stood still.</p>
+
+<p>Surely this must be some magician or medicine man
+who had come among them.</p>
+
+<p>That must have been the burden of their thoughts, for
+they stood watching and waiting.</p>
+
+<p>But each man held his fan of arrows ready for use.</p>
+
+<p>Carefully taking aim, Max fired.</p>
+
+<p>The savages screamed as they heard the report, and
+the monkey dropped dead.</p>
+
+<p>As if by the stroke of a magician’s wand the arrows
+were gathered together and held under the left arm.</p>
+
+<p>“You conquered them,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[74]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It seems so; but I don’t know how we are going to
+escape.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, nor I. What are they up to now?”</p>
+
+<p>The chief had said something to the tribe, and instantly
+the naked, ugly representatives of the genus man, as
+known in the petrified forests of Lybia, disappeared,
+leaving only the chief and perhaps a dozen to guard the
+white explorers.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes elapsed, and again the forest was alive;
+every man had brought a woman with him.</p>
+
+<p>The women were more repulsive looking than the men.</p>
+
+<p>Their backs were gashed and scarred in every direction,
+while all over their bodies deep furrows had been
+plowed out of the flesh.</p>
+
+<p>At a signal all began dancing. The men at every
+movement struck the women with their spiked bracelets,
+and soon the black bodies of the females were dripping
+with blood.</p>
+
+<p>But the women made no effort to escape, but laughed
+heartily when they managed to escape a more than
+usually vicious blow from their loving husband’s spiked
+bracelet.</p>
+
+<p>“Can’t we stop it?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid not.”</p>
+
+<p>“I would like to kill the savages.”</p>
+
+<p>“So would I; but we can’t, and so must endure it&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Or run away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let us try.”</p>
+
+<p>No sooner suggested than attempted.</p>
+
+<p>The dance was stopped, and the men and women alike<span class="pagenum">[75]</span>
+rushed after the runaways, capturing them easily, and
+holding them firmly until the dance was finished.</p>
+
+<p>When the dancing was concluded, the chief gave another
+command.</p>
+
+<p>An aged woman, toothless and haggard-looking, with
+only a few hairs on her head, was brought from some
+mysterious place and placed against one of the stone
+trees.</p>
+
+<p>Then the chief, by pantomimic action, showed that he
+wanted Max to shoot her.</p>
+
+<p>To make the madcap understand, he took the dead
+monkey and held it in front of the old woman, then
+raised an arrow, as Max had done his gun, and pointed
+it at the woman, letting the monkey fall as he did so.</p>
+
+<p>Max shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>The gesture was not understood.</p>
+
+<p>The chief stood by the side of Max, and raised the
+rifle to the madcap’s shoulder, making a peculiar noise
+with his lips as he did so.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t shoot,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am not going to do so,” answered Max, “unless I
+shoot his nibs here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?” asked the Persian, not understanding the
+slang expression.</p>
+
+<p>Max was about to explain, when a loud whoop was
+given.</p>
+
+<p>The old woman had fallen forward&mdash;dead.</p>
+
+<p>Fright had killed her.</p>
+
+<p>But the savages believed that the white man’s magic
+had ended the poor, old creature’s life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[76]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.</p>
+
+<p>Songs of triumph&mdash;in gibberish which might mean anything&mdash;dances
+of the most grotesque kind were indulged
+in, and it was plain to be seen that these poor savages
+were nearly mad with joy.</p>
+
+<p>When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered
+to Ibrahim:</p>
+
+<p>“Let us run&mdash;but as we do so we had better point our
+guns at the fellows; then they won’t follow.”</p>
+
+<p>Awaiting a favorable moment, the young fellows
+started.</p>
+
+<p>The dancing stopped, and the savages went in pursuit.</p>
+
+<p>A shower of arrows fell round the explorers.</p>
+
+<p>Max turned and raised his rifle.</p>
+
+<p>What a change took place!</p>
+
+<p>Instead of a hundred warriors pursuing two young
+men, a hundred backs could be seen, and every savage
+was trying to break the world’s record in running, not
+toward the explorers, but away from them.</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed so heartily, that had the savages turned,
+the American would never have been able to point the
+gun at them.</p>
+
+<p>“Come along, Max, or they may repent and follow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max needed no second invitation, and had a balloon
+been above the forest, he would have seen a hundred
+savages fleeing in one direction, as though pursued by a
+regiment of well-trained soldiers, and the boys they were
+afraid of, running just as fast in an opposite one.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[77]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE TRIBE OF KLATCH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When Ibrahim and Max returned to the camp, they
+easily persuaded the Sherif el Habib to steer clear of the
+petrified forest and its savage occupants.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the southeast, the caravan entered upon an
+oasis.</p>
+
+<p>After the sand which had nearly choked them, it was
+pleasant to get among the tall marsh grass.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed strange that such a difference could exist
+in so short a distance.</p>
+
+<p>Mile after mile of sand, without one drop of water to
+be found, and then suddenly the sand would cease, and a
+patch of swampy ground, perhaps covering twenty
+square miles, would be entered upon.</p>
+
+<p>The oasis was the exact antithesis of the desert.</p>
+
+<p>There everything was dry, not a leaf of vegetation
+visible; no water could be obtained, even by sinking deep
+wells.</p>
+
+<p>Now, on the oasis, the land appeared to be covered
+ankle deep with water.</p>
+
+<p>Palm and mimosa trees grew to an enormous height,
+yams were found in abundance, and wild fruits and vegetables
+in plenty.</p>
+
+<p>A river flowed through the oasis, and was the theme
+of much talk and great bewilderment.</p>
+
+<p>“Where does it empty itself?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[78]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It seems to flow to the desert,” answered the Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>Max looked at it intently.</p>
+
+<p>“I guess by the time it reaches the desert it gets so
+thirsty it drinks itself all dry,” he said, speaking so
+seriously that his friends thought he must have evolved
+from his inner consciousness some new fact in nature.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla danced in the water. She was like a child
+paddling in the surf at the seashore.</p>
+
+<p>“Would that my father could see this,” she exclaimed,
+and when asked to repeat, she replied:</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing, nothing! I was only thinking.”</p>
+
+<p>The mysterious girl could never be induced to say anything
+about her parentage or kith.</p>
+
+<p>She had left her tribe or home, and was loyal to Max
+and his friends.</p>
+
+<p>She never seemed to have a thought away from them.</p>
+
+<p>The camels were at first delighted at meeting with the
+water, but after loading up with the refreshing liquid,
+they treated the water with haughty disdain, treading
+lazily along without a care.</p>
+
+<p>Following the banks of the stream they found the grass
+getting greener, but shorter, and the water less deep.</p>
+
+<p>After an hour’s march through the marsh grass they
+reached a little hillock well adapted for encampment, being
+perfectly dry, and the grass green and soft.</p>
+
+<p>But just as the eunuch Effendi had given orders for
+the tents to be pitched, Max came running back to his
+friends, declaring that there were plenty of savages to
+keep them company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[79]</span></p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, accompanied by Ibrahim and guided
+by Max, went to look at the savages.</p>
+
+<p>Across the little stream they saw large herds of cattle,
+tended by naked natives.</p>
+
+<p>The grass was so high that, as the cattle and natives
+moved about, they appeared as if they were in water.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif motioned for the natives to approach, and timidly
+they did so.</p>
+
+<p>He held up some strings of glass beads, and the untutored
+Africans shouted for joy.</p>
+
+<p>Never had the party seen more miserable-looking creatures.</p>
+
+<p>Every bone showed through their skin, and they were
+evidently half starved.</p>
+
+<p>They would not kill the cattle, and only ate one when
+it happened to die of sickness.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you eat?” asked Sherif, and was delighted
+to think that he could make himself understood.</p>
+
+<p>“Rats, snakes, lizards, and fish,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>The fish, they found, were caught by spearing, the
+natives casting the harpoon at random among the reeds;
+thus, out of several hundred casts, they might, by good
+luck, catch one fish.</p>
+
+<p>The natives said the chief’s name was Klatch, and
+Sherif sent for him.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes and a tall, well-formed man appeared,
+accompanied by two women.</p>
+
+<p>Klatch wore a leopard skin across his shoulders, and
+a skull cap of white beads, with a crest of white ostrich<span class="pagenum">[80]</span>
+feathers; but the mantle which was slung across his
+shoulders was his only attempt at clothing.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke of one of the women as his wife, and the
+other as his daughter.</p>
+
+<p>“What want you?” asked Klatch.</p>
+
+<p>“We seek the white man’s mahdi,” answered Sherif
+el Habib, solemnly.</p>
+
+<p>“What you give for him?” asked Klatch, not comprehending
+the question.</p>
+
+<p>It was in vain that Sherif tried to explain.</p>
+
+<p>The more he tried, the more obscure did his meaning
+appear.</p>
+
+<p>At last Klatch thought he understood, and taking his
+daughter by the shoulders, gave her a push toward
+Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>“She is yours; give Klatch beads and feathers.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed heartily at the mistake.</p>
+
+<p>“Uncle, you have bought the dusky maiden; what will
+you do with her?”</p>
+
+<p>Sherif was amazed.</p>
+
+<p>His religious fervor was dampened.</p>
+
+<p>He explained to Klatch that he did not want his daughter,
+but the chief could not, or would not, understand.</p>
+
+<p>A compromise was reached, Sherif purchasing the girl,
+and then giving her back again to her father.</p>
+
+<p>When night came it was pleasant to sleep on the thick
+green turf, and all the party&mdash;save only Effendi&mdash;slept
+soundly.</p>
+
+<p>As for Effendi, he imagined everyone was going to<span class="pagenum">[81]</span>
+kill his master, and, therefore, he kept awake, or at least
+only allowed himself short intervals of sleep.</p>
+
+<p>When Sherif el Habib emerged from his tent in the
+morning, he saw the chief’s daughter lying across the
+entrance fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>She had gone to her purchaser, and no doubt the poor
+girl felt that she would be far happier with the white man
+than with her own people.</p>
+
+<p>All day the natives came to the camp, carrying small
+gourd shells to receive gifts of corn.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif treated them so generously that the poor, half-starved
+blacks fell down before him and kissed his feet.</p>
+
+<p>Max thought of doing a stroke of business on his own
+account, by offering to purchase a bull or a cow.</p>
+
+<p>But the natives would not sell.</p>
+
+<p>Exasperated, Max raised his gun and shot an animal,
+unfortunately a sacred bull.</p>
+
+<p>He was instantly surrounded by the natives who
+howled and yelled at him, threatening to tear him in
+pieces and drink his blood.</p>
+
+<p>He learned that to every herd of cattle, Klatch’s tribe
+had a sacred bull, who was supposed to exert an influence
+over the prosperity of the flock.</p>
+
+<p>The horns of the sacred bull were ornamented with
+tufts of feathers and strings of shells, which jingled as
+he moved along.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning the natives addressed the bull in the
+cattle kraal, bidding him keep the cows from straying,
+and to see that they found the best grass, so that they
+could give the most milk.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[82]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was one of the sacred bulls that Max had killed.</p>
+
+<p>Klatch, hearing the howling, went to see what had so
+disturbed his people.</p>
+
+<p>When they saw the chief, they clamored for Max’s
+death.</p>
+
+<p>“He killed the sacred bull,” said one.</p>
+
+<p>“Then he dies,” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib offered to pay for the animal, but no
+amount of beads or rings, shells or jewelry, would purchase
+a sacred bull.</p>
+
+<p>Max must die.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim asked how Max had killed the bull.</p>
+
+<p>The natives said he had speared him.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is my spear?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>They pointed to his gun.</p>
+
+<p>He raised it and showed that it was no spear at all.</p>
+
+<p>The bull was dead.</p>
+
+<p>That did not admit of any doubt.</p>
+
+<p>But how did it die?</p>
+
+<p>Klatch was so curious that he told Max he might kill
+a cow, if he could do so without a spear.</p>
+
+<p>Max had a repeating gun, an old-fashioned one, but
+still better than an old musket.</p>
+
+<p>He singled out a cow, raised his gun to his shoulder,
+the natives watching him. There was a puff of smoke,
+a flash, a loud report, and the cow dropped dead.</p>
+
+<p>It was a miracle.</p>
+
+<p>“Another!” cried Klatch, and Max, who anticipated
+some good beefsteaks as his reward, picked off a bull
+who was looking at him very steadily.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[83]</span></p>
+
+<p>As a reward for these miracles Max was given the
+first bull, and the other dead animals were divided among
+the natives.</p>
+
+<p>After two days rest the caravan resumed its journey,
+Klatch and the entire tribe pleading hard to go with
+Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>When the caravan rested after the next day’s journey,
+Sherif found the chief’s daughter sleeping by his tent.
+She had followed in the distance and under cover of
+the night reached the pasha’s tent.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif ordered her back, but she refused to return, and
+he threatened to use force to compel her.</p>
+
+<p>She explained that according to the custom of her
+people she would be killed.</p>
+
+<p>If a girl was sold to a man, and he repented of his
+bargain, the girl must die.</p>
+
+<p>“But I sold you back again,” said Sherif.</p>
+
+<p>The girl wept as bitterly as ever did white woman, but
+Sherif was obdurate, and when she did return it was
+easy to see that she expected she was going to her death.</p>
+
+<p>Whether she was killed or allowed to live, our party
+of pilgrims never discovered.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHAT SAYS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“I would like to know where that river empties itself,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We will follow its course, if you like,” answered
+Sherif el Habib, good-naturedly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That will suit me,” assented Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla had become a most important factor to consider.</p>
+
+<p>She had conversed with the Persian shawl manufacturer,
+and had told him she believed that Mameluke
+blood ran in her veins.</p>
+
+<p>This set Sherif thinking.</p>
+
+<p>The Mamelukes were originally slaves, brought from
+the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>When Selim the First overthrew the Mameluke kingdom
+in 1517, he was compelled to allow twenty-four of
+their number to remain governors of provinces.</p>
+
+<p>Ten of these beys were Arabians, and rumor declared
+that at least three of them were descended from the
+Prophet Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>To find the last of the Mamelukes was an important
+step, for he would have the record of his race, and might
+direct the pilgrims to the mahdi, who was shortly expected.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla could help them in this, if she really possessed
+Mameluke blood, for she would know the signs and signals
+which bound together that most powerful body
+of men.</p>
+
+<p>The Mamelukes were a brotherhood, having secret
+signs, and possessed of all the fraternal strength of the
+Free Masons.</p>
+
+<p>That was the reason Sherif asked the question:</p>
+
+<p>“What says Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>The girl smiled, sadly.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[85]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I am away from my people; they mourn me as dead.
+I am thy slave, do with me as thou wilt&mdash;I am thine.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong
+to anyone, ’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”</p>
+
+<p>A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face,
+and she bent down her head.</p>
+
+<p>“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not
+care for the dark&mdash;I am dark&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon.
+“I do care for thee, Girzilla. I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with
+thee&mdash;but it is great Sherif el Habib who is the master.
+As he pleases so I wilt do.”</p>
+
+<p>Had this child of the desert, around whose life there
+was so much of mystery, learned the lessons of coquetry
+and flattery?</p>
+
+<p>She pleased the old merchant, and so infatuated did he
+become, that he took Max on one side, and in a mysterious
+manner whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“I have solved it.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you discovered who she is?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, but who she is going to be.”</p>
+
+<p>Max started. A crimson tide passed through the veins
+of his face.</p>
+
+<p>In a whisper he asked:</p>
+
+<p>“Who is she to be?”</p>
+
+<p>“Ibrahim shall marry her.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[86]</span></p>
+
+<p>The union would be a good one. The marriage of a
+Persian with an Arabian could not be considered a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mesalliance</i>,
+at least as regards race; but to Max there was a
+certain pride of rank which would be outraged.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was worth, perhaps, a million dollars, Girzilla
+nothing; the Persian took rank as a pasha in his own
+land, while who knew anything about Girzilla?</p>
+
+<p>The silver bands she wore round her arms and ankles
+betokened rank, but might not her father be a bandit, and
+bedecked his child with them?</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla was well educated, but even that was an objection
+to Max’s mind, for he could not help thinking
+that, perhaps, she was educated to serve as a decoy for
+the robber band.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was surprised at the young American’s
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>“If thou wouldst marry her yourself&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I, an American, marry an Arab?”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow,” said Sherif el Habib, earnestly, “you
+of all men oughtn’t to think her race an objection.”</p>
+
+<p>“And why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Simply because your minister to Teheran told me that
+the great strength of your nation laid in the fact that you
+declared and recognized ‘that all are born free and
+equal.’”</p>
+
+<p>Max knew not what to say. He had been confronted
+with that very difficulty before.</p>
+
+<p>His father had told him that instead of being a reality,
+the present generation treated the time-honored declaration
+as a theory, very beautiful, but impractical.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p>
+
+<p>Alas! there is too much truth in that statement of
+Merchant Gordon.</p>
+
+<p>Max knew not what to answer.</p>
+
+<p>He was in a peculiar humor. Like the dog who did not
+want the bone, he was angry at any other dog getting it,
+and so Max, while he would not marry Girzilla, was
+furious and jealous at the thought of Ibrahim claiming
+her as his wife.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib walked back to the camp, and orders
+were given to follow the course of the stream.</p>
+
+<p>For four hours the march was continued through the
+long grass.</p>
+
+<p>It was almost as wearisome as journeying across the
+sand.</p>
+
+<p>After two hours journey on the next day, a quagmire
+prevented them from following the stream, and they had
+to make a detour to the right.</p>
+
+<p>The river was kept in sight, however, and for two
+days it could be seen flowing briskly along toward the
+realm of illimitable sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is the river?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>The mystery increased.</p>
+
+<p>The river seemed to end abruptly in a sand bank.</p>
+
+<p>It was true.</p>
+
+<p>All vegetation ceased; the oasis had been crossed.</p>
+
+<p>The green grass was to give way to dry sand.</p>
+
+<p>That did not surprise them.</p>
+
+<p>They expected it, but what puzzled them was that a
+little stream, rising from springs at one end of the rectangular
+oasis, had swollen into a river, whose rippling<span class="pagenum">[88]</span>
+waves showed a strong current, and when some great
+lake was expected, or another river, of which it might
+be tributary, nothing was found but sand.</p>
+
+<p>“It was all a mirage,” suggested Max.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, we only imagined the river.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a fool!” angrily exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you; we are brothers,” retorted Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim laughed, and acknowledged that Max had the
+best of it.</p>
+
+<p>“Seriously, though, there was a river and the water
+must empty itself somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, where does it go to?”</p>
+
+<p>“To the place where it empties itself,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Confound you, Max! be serious. Who knows but
+that we are on the verge of a great discovery?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and that we may be heralded all over the world
+as the mighty explorers who found the river Ibrahim,
+which had its rise in an atom of sand, and flowed into
+the lake of nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>Then, pausing, he suddenly slapped Ibrahim on the
+shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>“Say, wouldn’t we make money as lecturers? You
+should go as the great Persian pasha, warranted genuine;
+while I would introduce you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Boys, there is a mystery here,” said Sherif el Habib,
+coming up at the time; “and if I were your age&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“So you are, pasha,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[89]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes, my boy, and older. But if I were young I
+would find a way to solve the mystery.”</p>
+
+<p>“May we try it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and may Allah and the Prophet guide you.”</p>
+
+<p>“But what says Girzilla?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“She is willing,” responded Sherif, solemnly.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">DANGEROUS JESTS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, having chosen a camping ground in
+the oasis, and being supplied with provisions enough for
+several months, agreed to wait for the return of the young
+explorers.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner were Max and Ibrahim away from the camp
+than they felt like boys.</p>
+
+<p>They were their own masters, and not only that, but
+they had two Arabs with them as stewards and porters.</p>
+
+<p>Provisions for two weeks were packed into convenient
+form, and the four started.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim insisted on Max taking the lead, the very
+thing not to do, for Max was venturesome, and when
+freed from restraint a perfect madcap. However, Ibrahim
+believed in him most implicitly, and it was agreed
+that Max should be captain.</p>
+
+<p>The madcap had seen, some hours journey back, a boat,
+and to it they went.</p>
+
+<p>A native, who was fishing, objected to them having it,<span class="pagenum">[90]</span>
+but a few beads and a china doll were considered a
+princely recompense, and Max became the owner of the
+boat.</p>
+
+<p>He asked the native where the river led to, and was
+told that in the great quagmire was a fire that had been
+burning for hundreds of moons, and it took all the water
+to keep the fire down; if the water stopped the whole
+world would be burned up, and, added the native, naïvely:</p>
+
+<p>“Even Klatch would be burned.”</p>
+
+<p>And the terrible climax made the naked savage look so
+frightened that Max burst into an uncontrollable fit of
+laughter.</p>
+
+<p>“Did you ever see the fire?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no! but Baas must not ask.”</p>
+
+<p>“We are going to see it; will you come?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will give you beads.”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“China doll”&mdash;holding another up to view.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!”</p>
+
+<p>The answer was very emphatic, and the man looked the
+very personification of fear.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was a good, strong dugout.</p>
+
+<p>A log of the talha, a species of mimosa tree, had been
+hollowed out with rude tools.</p>
+
+<p>This dugout formed one of the strongest kinds of
+canoe or boat known in Africa.</p>
+
+<p>There was room for seven or eight in it, and Max, out
+of a pure spirit of mischief, determined that the naked
+native should be one of the party.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[91]</span></p>
+
+<p>The man objected, but the Arabs seized him by the
+arms and legs and lifted him into the boat.</p>
+
+<p>The poor fellow trembled as though he had one of
+those terrible agues so prevalent in some countries, and
+which makes one:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!
+</div><div class="indent0">Shudder, and cower, and quake,
+</div><div class="indent0">Till every nerve has its separate quiver,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every sinew its separate shiver,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every bone its particular ache;
+</div><div class="indent0">For either he or the chill must break!
+</div></div><div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“Shake! shake! shake!
+</div><div class="indent0">Till joints are loose and sinews slack,
+</div><div class="indent0">Till every bone is a torturing thing,
+</div><div class="indent0">And every nerve is a hornet’s sting,
+</div><div class="indent0">While up and down the weary back
+</div><div class="indent0">An army of icebergs, stern and solemn,
+</div><div class="indent0">Marches along the spinal column.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>That was just how poor, wild Klatchman&mdash;as he called
+himself&mdash;felt when he was lifted into the boat and held
+there by fear that Max would kill him if he attempted
+to move.</p>
+
+<p>The man gave himself up for lost, and bade farewell
+by gestures to the cows and the sacred bulls, to his tribe
+and his kindred.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs bent themselves to the oars and the boat
+seemed to fly along.</p>
+
+<p>The water was rough.</p>
+
+<p>At times waves buffeted the boat and rocked it as if it
+were a paper shell.</p>
+
+<p>The oars were needed, not to propel the boat, but
+rather to prevent it going too fast.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Hurrah for the rapids!” shouted Max, but Ibrahim
+was getting scared.</p>
+
+<p>“Pull us to the land,” he commanded, but Max was in
+for mischief.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t do it. On we go,” and then he began to sing:</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="indentquote0">“A life on the ocean wave,
+</div><div class="indent0">A home on the rolling deep.”
+</div></div></div></div>
+
+<p>Poor Klatchman overcame his fear of Max and jumped
+out of the boat.</p>
+
+<p>A big, powerful fellow&mdash;swimming like a fish&mdash;he tried
+to reach the land.</p>
+
+<p>The current was too strong.</p>
+
+<p>He struck out vigorously, but was carried along backward.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was so frightened that he threatened to
+jump out.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t do it,” implored Max.</p>
+
+<p>But Ibrahim was determined and Max was afraid that
+not only would the native perish, but that his Persian
+friend would be sacrificed also.</p>
+
+<p>“It is only a joke,” said Max, “we will pull back now.”</p>
+
+<p>“And Klatchman?”</p>
+
+<p>“He will catch up to us.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim sat down again, and Max ordered the Arabs to
+pull back to the place from which they started.</p>
+
+<p>A few strokes and Ibrahim again interfered.</p>
+
+<p>“Save the poor wretch, Max, for my sake.”</p>
+
+<p>“If you like, but Klatcher can catch up to us; it is good
+to give him a scare.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[93]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Please save him.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed long and heartily.</p>
+
+<p>“How serious you are. One would think we were in
+the rapids of Niagara.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow&mdash;Klatchman is a human being&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Is he?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course he is.”</p>
+
+<p>“Thought perhaps he was Darwin’s missing link.”</p>
+
+<p>Max may appear to the reader to have been thoroughly
+heartless, but he was not.</p>
+
+<p>For weeks he had curbed his spirit of fun and had
+played no practical jokes.</p>
+
+<p>Now he had a chance to frighten the poor savage and
+Ibrahim at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>That was his only idea. If he had thought poor Klatchman
+was in any danger he would have been the first to
+have even risked his life to rescue him; but in the first
+place he did not believe in the danger, and then he looked
+upon the savage much as he would upon a Newfoundland
+dog&mdash;one quite as much at home in the water as out of it.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind what he is,” said Ibrahim, “don’t be
+heartless, Max. Save the poor wretch.”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked round and saw that the native had resigned
+himself to his fate.</p>
+
+<p>He had ceased to make any effort to save himself.</p>
+
+<p>“Look, Ib. It’s a whirlpool, by all that’s holy!”</p>
+
+<p>Max was right; Klatchman’s body was being whirled
+round at a furious rate.</p>
+
+<p>“If only he had a torch in his hand he would look like
+a Fourth of July pin-wheel,” continued the madcap.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p>
+
+<p>Turning to the Arabs, he said:</p>
+
+<p>“Pull to the wretch and drag him into the boat.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is not safe, your excellency.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tush! do as you are told.”</p>
+
+<p>The men bent to the oars and pulled toward the whirlpool,
+but no sooner had they changed the position of the
+boat than it seemed to fly over the water, borne along
+by some fierce current below the surface.</p>
+
+<p>“This is awful,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Awfully jolly, you mean,” replied the American.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you? Whyou!” whistled Max, “but we are in
+for it now.”</p>
+
+<p>He was right; the boat whirled round like a teetotum.</p>
+
+<p>It was useless to try and manage it.</p>
+
+<p>“Great Scott! What a race.”</p>
+
+<p>Max could scarcely get enough breath to speak, but
+even then he was more than delighted.</p>
+
+<p>There was the African whirling round in a smaller
+circle, while the boat was going equally fast in a larger
+one around him.</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! what was that?”</p>
+
+<p>Even Max turned sick when he knew what it was.</p>
+
+<p>The boat had struck Klatchman such a blow on the
+head that the poor creature’s brains were spattered all
+over the boat.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, Max!” gasped Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, old fellow! I have brought you to death, but
+I didn’t mean to do so.”</p>
+
+<p>“I forgive you. Poor Girzilla!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[95]</span></p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs had fainted with fright, and before
+either of his comrades or Max could reach forward to
+save him, he had fallen out of the boat and was dashed to
+pieces in the whirlpool.</p>
+
+<p>“Gone only a few minutes before us,” Max groaned,
+now thoroughly serious and alive to his fate.</p>
+
+<p>Was it imagination?</p>
+
+<p>Were their senses so numbed that they did not feel the
+dizzying whirl of the boat, or had the boat suddenly become
+stationary?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked with bloodshot eyes at Max.</p>
+
+<p>The madcap returned the look, equally puzzled as to
+what had taken place.</p>
+
+<p>They had reached the very center of the whirlpool, and
+the fury of the whirling waters had spent themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Like the famous Moskoestrom or Maelstrom, off the
+Norwegian coast, the center was calm and still, while the
+outer rings were lashed everything with the greatest
+fury.</p>
+
+<p>Like that European whirlpool, the smaller African one
+seemed to get tired and have a period of rest.</p>
+
+<p>“Pull back, boys,” said Max, when he saw that Ibrahim
+had seized the oar the dead Arab had let fall.</p>
+
+<p>Both bent themselves with their whole strength to the
+oars, and the boat moved as they willed it.</p>
+
+<p>“Change places with me&mdash;let me pull!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was nothing loath to do so, and he took the
+rudely-shaped paddle from Max, which he had used to
+guide the boat in place of a rudder.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p>
+
+<p>The American was stronger than either the Persian or
+the Arab, and the force of his oar soon made itself felt.</p>
+
+<p>The outer ring of the now quiescent whirlpool was
+reached, and Max uttered devoutly the words:</p>
+
+<p>“Thank Heaven!”</p>
+
+<p>While Ibrahim, after the manner of his people, exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised! <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Sin Syu!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Which latter was equivalent to saying:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised! I have said it!”</p>
+
+<p>“We have not found the outlet of the river,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“No, nor don’t want to.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do, and I have already named the whirlpool ‘the
+Ibrahim.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Thanks for the honor. But let us get back to uncle,
+and&mdash;Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“My dear fellow, you are in love with the pretty Egyptian.
+How she will listen to your ‘hairbreadth ’scapes on
+sea and land.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Hush! we are drifting.”</p>
+
+<p>“Drifting isn’t the word for it, we are going thirty
+miles an hour. Pull, you lazy Arab, pull!”</p>
+
+<p>Max exerted all his strength.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab became purple in the face with the strain.</p>
+
+<p>On both the perspiration stood in great drops; their
+sinews were like huge cords stretched under the skin.</p>
+
+<p>“Snap!”</p>
+
+<p>And as the sound broke upon his ears, both Max and
+Ibrahim groaned aloud.</p>
+
+<p>An oar had broken.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[97]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The paddle, quick!”</p>
+
+<p>Max seized the badly-shaped paddle, and tried to use
+it like an oar.</p>
+
+<p>In vain.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab’s oar was broken, and the boat and its occupants
+were at the mercy of the cruel river.</p>
+
+<p>Where was it taking them?</p>
+
+<p>Not to the whirlpool.</p>
+
+<p>That was passed long ago.</p>
+
+<p>They could see it again as they looked back.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim reached out his hand to seize a branch of a
+mimosa tree, but his effort was in vain.</p>
+
+<p>“See, what is that? Oh, Allah!” exclaimed the Persian
+as he saw the face of the dead Arab close to the
+boat, with its eyes open, and peering into the face of the
+young chief.</p>
+
+<p>“It is horrible!” groaned Max.</p>
+
+<p>On sped the boat, faster and yet faster.</p>
+
+<p>The living Arab was the picture of stoicism.</p>
+
+<p>He sat erect, his arms folded, the turban on his head
+scarcely wrinkled; but his teeth were clinched together,
+and he awaited death.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim had passed through the terror of the valley of
+the shadow of death, and had mentally wished his uncle
+farewell.</p>
+
+<p>As for Max, he was occupied thinking of a way to
+escape.</p>
+
+<p>And yet a few minutes of life only remained to them.</p>
+
+<p>The water had changed to dull, heavy red in color.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[98]</span></p>
+
+<p>All along the banks Max could see the quagmire the
+caravan had avoided.</p>
+
+<p>But the boat sped on so rapidly that nothing definite
+could be noted.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed the boat was going uphill, but of course that
+was imagination.</p>
+
+<p>A few yards before them was tall marsh grass growing
+in the water.</p>
+
+<p>“Our troubles are at an end,” gasped Max, catching
+his breath, as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>The boat tossed slightly.</p>
+
+<p>A sudden lurch, and the small dugout, with its three
+occupants, was precipitated over a cataract, a seething
+cauldron of hissing, sputtering, bubbling water!</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE SUBTERRANEAN RIVER.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The sudden shooting of the cataract, the wild plunge
+into the water beneath, had taken away their breath, and
+neither Max nor Ibrahim was able to speak.</p>
+
+<p>Instinctively, the three men caught hold tightly of the
+sides of the dugout, and it was well that they did so, and
+maintained their grip like grim death.</p>
+
+<p>The boat rolled over and over, constantly righting
+itself, and its occupants got more baths in a few minutes
+than they cared for.</p>
+
+<p>They found the water quite warm, which was some<span class="pagenum">[99]</span>
+consolation, for had it been icy cold they would have been
+unable to retain their hold upon the boat.</p>
+
+<p>How the water came tumbling down! All sorts of
+strange noises were made in its descent.</p>
+
+<p>To Max and Ibrahim it seemed that ten thousand peals
+of thunder had impressed themselves on the tympanum
+of their ears. The Arab might have been a statue of
+marble.</p>
+
+<p>He clutched the boat with both hands, but his features
+were as rigid as death. He had his eyes and mouth
+closed tightly, and had it not been for the swelling of
+his bosom he might have been thought dead.</p>
+
+<p>Every time the boat was submerged it was carried
+further away from the cataract, and in a very few minutes&mdash;but
+the few minutes seemed an eternity&mdash;the water
+grew calmer and the boat more steady.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that they opened their eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I blind?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I?” echoed Max.</p>
+
+<p>The Arab was asked if he could see anything, and he
+answered in the negative.</p>
+
+<p>“Then we are blind!” Max solemnly asserted.</p>
+
+<p>“Why so?”</p>
+
+<p>“We cannot see.”</p>
+
+<p>“True.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is not that sufficient evidence?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because we may be underground.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean&mdash;&mdash;?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[100]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That we are on the breast of a subterranean river,
+flowing under the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“You mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it not as probable as that we are all blind?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps so.”</p>
+
+<p>The water was as calm as a stagnant pool. Scarcely a
+ripple passed over its surface.</p>
+
+<p>And yet the boat was borne along quietly and slowly.</p>
+
+<p>Max had recovered his good spirits, and with them his
+appetite.</p>
+
+<p>“I am hungry.”</p>
+
+<p>“So am I.”</p>
+
+<p>“Let us refresh.”</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately the packages of food were all incased in
+waterproof covering, a precaution which should always
+be taken by explorers. One of the packages was unfastened
+from the Arab’s back, and a thoroughly good
+repast was partaken by all three.</p>
+
+<p>“I feel ever so much braver,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, there is a great satisfaction in having a full
+stomach.”</p>
+
+<p>“How do you feel, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>The man groaned, wearily, and in a quaint manner
+told his master that he felt bad.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall die,” he said, “and I don’t want to do so. Before
+I ate salt with your excellency I wanted to die, but
+now&mdash;I don’t like it at all.”</p>
+
+<p>The Arab had been so miserable that all terror had
+been removed from the thought of death. His appetite<span class="pagenum">[101]</span>
+satisfied, his love of life grew stronger, and the very
+thought of his impending fate was horrible.</p>
+
+<p>“Hold my hand,” suddenly exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“What are you going to do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind; I want to stand up, and this confounded
+boat is so shaky I am afraid I’ll fall over into the water.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim grasped Max around the legs, while Selim
+held one hand.</p>
+
+<p>Max raised the other above his head.</p>
+
+<p>He was trying if he could touch anything which would
+satisfy him that they were really drifting through a
+tunnel.</p>
+
+<p>But he could not reach anything. If he really were in
+a subterranean cave or passage, the roof was too lofty
+for him to reach.</p>
+
+<p>On went the boat, its speed gradually increasing.</p>
+
+<p>Its occupants were victims of fate.</p>
+
+<p>They were without paddle or oar, and had positively
+no means of guiding or directing the boat.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim put his hand into the water, and exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“It is hot!”</p>
+
+<p>Max repeated the experiment, and found that the water
+was many degrees warmer than it had been.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you make of it?” Max asked.</p>
+
+<p>“That the air being more confined causes the water to
+be warmer.”</p>
+
+<p>“Absurd! It would be the exact opposite of that. The
+water ought to be colder.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is your theory?”</p>
+
+<p>“We are approaching a boiling spring.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[102]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That is a pleasant reflection&mdash;see, can you discern
+anything?”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked all around, but failed to see anything.</p>
+
+<p>“Am I imagining a rosy tint in the distance?”</p>
+
+<p>“Excellency, pasha, bey!” exclaimed Selim, utterly bewildered
+as to his choice of titles.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>“Fire!”</p>
+
+<p>“Where?”</p>
+
+<p>“Right ahead!”</p>
+
+<p>All three looked in the direction the boat was drifting,
+and saw unmistakable evidences of a big fire.</p>
+
+<p>“Klatchee was right, the water runs to the fire,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“We are not blind, are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; see the falls. Jewilikins, what beauty!”</p>
+
+<p>The light from the fire was now so great that they
+could see the walls and roof of the immense tunnel they
+were in.</p>
+
+<p>The rocks glistened as if bestudded with millions of
+gems; huge stalactites hung from the roof, each one
+like a glittering diamond or dazzling emerald.</p>
+
+<p>The water was a river of precious stones, for every
+gem, every stalactite, each piece of quartz, was reflected
+in the clear, pellucid stream, giving it the appearance of a
+sheet of glass besprinkled with gems of the greatest value.</p>
+
+<p>“The palace of Aladdin contained not so many gems!”
+Ibrahim exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“I wish this was in America and belonged to me,”
+said Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[103]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“I would make millions out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Inshallah! Isn’t it hot?”</p>
+
+<p>The perspiration poured from them in pints.</p>
+
+<p>They steamed as the heat dried their wet clothes, and,
+as the vapor arose, it acted like a prism, and made innumerable
+rainbows in the cave.</p>
+
+<p>“Better be drowned than burned,” said Ibrahim. “I
+shall jump overboard.”</p>
+
+<p>“And be boiled,” laughed Max, who had just put his
+hand into the water and felt that the skin had been
+taken off.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim put down his hand, but gave a shriek, weird
+and unearthly, as he found the water was many degrees
+hotter than human flesh could stand.</p>
+
+<p>The heat was getting unbearable, but escape there was
+none.</p>
+
+<p>“Ib, old fellow, I brought you to this.”</p>
+
+<p>“By Allah! it is not so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, it is.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, old chap. Uncle Sherif suggested it.”</p>
+
+<p>“But he did not know&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Did you?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, then, how can you be responsible?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are we to do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Say our prayers and die.”</p>
+
+<p>“I should like&mdash;you won’t mind, will you, Ib?&mdash;it is a
+custom&mdash;I should like to shake hands with you.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You silly fellow, give me your hand. You feel better
+now?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes&mdash;and yours, Selim. We are all in the same
+boat.”</p>
+
+<p>They were nearly suffocated.</p>
+
+<p>The air was filled with sulphur.</p>
+
+<p>“Throw your coat over your head, Max, and let us die
+like men.”</p>
+
+<p>The three hastily muffled up their faces and awaited
+death.</p>
+
+<p>Each mumbled something&mdash;perhaps their prayers.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall soon be with you, father,” Max said.</p>
+
+<p>“Poor Girzilla! how bright life seemed by your side,”
+were the last words Max heard Ibrahim utter, as he
+muffled up his face.</p>
+
+<p>Selim called on Allah, and with Oriental indifference
+waited the solution of the great mystery of the hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>The boat began to rock violently. Something was
+agitating the water.</p>
+
+<p>“Good-by, Ib,” Max called out, but there was no answer.</p>
+
+<p>The Persian was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>A strange, nervous fear took possession of Max.</p>
+
+<p>How can it be accounted for?</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid the boat would capsize, and he would
+be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>And as he clutched the side of the boat with tenacious
+grip, he prayed that he might not fall overboard, and<span class="pagenum">[105]</span>
+yet he felt certain his life would be ended by fire in a
+few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>It is recorded by one of the great English generals who
+was in India at the time of the mutiny&mdash;1859&mdash;that a
+sepoy on his way to execution, was scared at the thought
+of accidental death.</p>
+
+<p>The sentence had been, that he was to be tied to the
+muzzle of a cannon, and blown to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Horrible as the death was to be, the man saw, or
+fancied he saw, an English soldier level his gun at him.</p>
+
+<p>He became hysterical.</p>
+
+<p>His shrieks rent the air.</p>
+
+<p>He was asked what had so suddenly unnerved him.</p>
+
+<p>He pointed to the soldier, who was only practicing the
+manual of arms, and gasped out nervously that he was
+afraid the gun might go off and he would be killed.</p>
+
+<p>And yet ten minutes later that very man assisted his
+executioners to strap him to the cannon which was to
+blow him into eternity.</p>
+
+<p>It was so with Max.</p>
+
+<p>He had nerved himself for death in the flames to which
+the boat was speeding, but he was afraid he might fall
+overboard and be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>Selim sat as rigid as stone.</p>
+
+<p>Save the movement of his chest no sign of life was perceptible.</p>
+
+<p>As if by magic the air became cooler, the boat rocked
+less violently, there was but a slight rumbling to be heard,<span class="pagenum">[106]</span>
+but in its place a sizzing, as if gas was being forced
+through an open pipe.</p>
+
+<p>“What does it mean?” thought Max. “The end has
+come. Good-by, world&mdash;good-by.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">IN THE VOLCANO’S MOUTH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>But gradually a belief stole into the American’s mind
+that the end was not yet.</p>
+
+<p>The water had become calm.</p>
+
+<p>Max, while keeping his right hand firm on the side of
+the boat, gradually threw off the covering from his head.</p>
+
+<p>A sight met his gaze which caused him to shiver with
+fear.</p>
+
+<p>Above his head he could see the clear, blue Oriental
+sky and the bright, twinkling stars.</p>
+
+<p>A shaft, yet not regularly made, but one excavated by
+volcanic action, rose above him.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed hundreds of feet to the top.</p>
+
+<p>The boat was resting placidly on the water, if the
+strange-looking liquid could be called by such a name.</p>
+
+<p>Strange looking!</p>
+
+<p>But few ever saw a lake or river like unto it.</p>
+
+<p>That there was water was not a matter of doubt, but
+in it floated strange-looking lizards and fishes.</p>
+
+<p>Pieces of stone, or glass, seemed as buoyant as the fish
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[107]</span></p>
+
+<p>Curiosity got the better of fear, and Max grabbed one
+of the fish as it floated by.</p>
+
+<p>He dropped it in the boat, and it broke in two.</p>
+
+<p>It was petrified, or rather changed into lava.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla! Girzilla! my own&mdash;my love! Fit queen of
+my household, where art thou?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was talking in his delirium.</p>
+
+<p>“Get up, old fellow; stop your dreaming!” shouted
+Max so loudly that he was startled by the sound of his
+own voice.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim moved so uneasily that Max was afraid he
+would capsize the boat.</p>
+
+<p>He held him firmly on his seat, and shouted in his ear:</p>
+
+<p>“Wake up!”</p>
+
+<p>“Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Uncover your head and see.”</p>
+
+<p>When Ibrahim was sufficiently awake to do so, he was
+as charmed as if he had awoke in an enchanted land.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah be praised!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, old fellow, but how are we going to get out?”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah will save us.”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe it, Ib; but we have a saying in my country
+that ‘God helps only those who try to help themselves.’”</p>
+
+<p>“Where is the fire?” asked the Persian, not noticing
+the American’s quotation.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t know, but I have an idea.”</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“The fire we saw was an erratic eruption of some volcano.
+We are in the crater&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[108]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Wha-at?”</p>
+
+<p>“We are in the crater, I repeat, at the present time.
+The boat is stationary, and if&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“If the eruption starts again we shall go ge-whiz, ker-slush,
+up there.”</p>
+
+<p>As Max spoke Ibrahim looked up the shaft and shuddered.</p>
+
+<p>The slang expressions used by Max had raised him
+much in the estimation of the Persian, for he imagined
+the American was speaking in some language of which
+Ibrahim was ignorant.</p>
+
+<p>“How can we get out?”</p>
+
+<p>“Could you climb that shaft?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“No, not if my life depended on it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Could you, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>The Arab was staring upward at the clear sky, and
+had to be asked several times before he would answer.</p>
+
+<p>He shook his head, and Max shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>“I could.”</p>
+
+<p>“You could climb those walls?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; it is easy.”</p>
+
+<p>“Easy!”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim could only repeat the word in an inane manner.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; the surface is so irregular that there are plenty
+of footholds.”</p>
+
+<p>“Shall you do so?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[109]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max stopped. He was hesitating whether to tell the
+whole truth or not.</p>
+
+<p>“Because what?”</p>
+
+<p>“It seems our only chance of safety.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then why not seek it?”</p>
+
+<p>“You cannot climb.”</p>
+
+<p>“What of that?”</p>
+
+<p>“We will be saved together or die in each other’s company.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you could save yourself?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not.”</p>
+
+<p>But Max was confident he could do it.</p>
+
+<p>“Since you think that is impracticable, we must find
+some other way out.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim pleaded with Max, and implored him to save
+himself, but the American was firm.</p>
+
+<p>When once he had resolved on a thing, nothing could
+cause him to change.</p>
+
+<p>“If we had only some oars&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“But we have not.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, and yet we must get away from here.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“In the way our ancestors did before they invented
+oars.”</p>
+
+<p>“How was that?”</p>
+
+<p>“With our hands.”</p>
+
+<p>And the three set to work, leaning over the sides of
+the boat with their hands agitating the water and acting
+as oars.</p>
+
+<p>It was slow&mdash;very slow work&mdash;but the boat moved.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[110]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Get it to the side.”</p>
+
+<p>To do so was a work of considerable time; but when
+they succeeded progression was much more rapid.</p>
+
+<p>The only chance of escape seemed to be in following
+the current; that is, if they were able to find it.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed certain that the water did not empty itself
+into the crater of the volcano alone, as the natives believed.</p>
+
+<p>There must be some other outlet.</p>
+
+<p>When the other side of the crater had been reached,
+they were surprised at its immensity.</p>
+
+<p>When in the center they had imagined the diameter
+of the almost circular crater to be some fifty or sixty
+feet, but as they pushed their boat round, they discovered
+that it must be more than three times that distance.</p>
+
+<p>Another thing puzzled them.</p>
+
+<p>Were fish and lizards constantly petrified as they
+floated or swam into the vortex, or was it only during
+an eruption?</p>
+
+<p>“Shall we go on or wait here?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“We will go on after we have had something to eat.”</p>
+
+<p>“Happy thought that, Max, for I am hungry.”</p>
+
+<p>A package of food was opened out, and Max commenced
+eating; but he made such a grimace that Ibrahim
+laughed heartily.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop that. The echo will drive me mad!” exclaimed
+Max, who recalled that terrible time in the tomb near
+Cairo.</p>
+
+<p>“Stop making faces then.”</p>
+
+<p>“You will make a worse one when you taste&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your lunch.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is strong with sulphur.”</p>
+
+<p>Alas! all their food had become impregnated with
+sulphur fumes and almost turned them sick, but they
+could get no other and hunger is a tyrannic master.</p>
+
+<p>They ate heartily, notwithstanding the sulphur, Max
+telling them how civilized people will travel many miles
+and spend large sums of money in order to drink water
+impregnated with sulphur.</p>
+
+<p>“Had we better commence to limit our rations?” asked
+Ibrahim, when he had eaten all he possibly could.</p>
+
+<p>They had not thought of that.</p>
+
+<p>It was becoming serious. They might be a long
+time before they could obtain a fresh supply of food.</p>
+
+<p>“We will start to-morrow,” Max decided.</p>
+
+<p>The water began to be agitated again and it was
+deemed advisable to get away from the crater.</p>
+
+<p>After a short journey through another tunnel they
+reached daylight.</p>
+
+<p>The river ran sluggishly along between two high
+cliffs.</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure we are the first to navigate this river.”</p>
+
+<p>“I think so, too, Max.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have
+always been interested in African deserts.”</p>
+
+<p>“You have?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found<span class="pagenum">[112]</span>
+in Sahara&mdash;white people whose knowledge is greater
+than ours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Fact?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians
+knew many engineering secrets which are lost to us;
+they certainly had power of divination and many other
+things which puzzle the brains of our best men to-day.
+Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and
+founded a new country where they would be free from
+the incursions of other nations?”</p>
+
+<p>“But they died thousands of years ago.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants
+may be living.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make
+us start off in search at once.”</p>
+
+<p>“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or
+Girzilla again?”</p>
+
+<p>It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the
+same boat, and he had but little hope of escape.</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so. Why not?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because&mdash;&mdash; Hello! we are in the dark again.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>As the crater was left behind, the water became more
+turbid, and flowed faster, carrying along with it the
+boat and its three adventurous occupants.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[113]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Max!”</p>
+
+<p>The voice sounded almost sepulchral in the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Ibrahim.”</p>
+
+<p>“Isn’t this horrible?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is, but we are gaining knowledge.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know enough of the fearful&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And yet&mdash;perhaps what we don’t know is far more
+horrible.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t talk like that, or I shall go mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ha! ha! ha!”</p>
+
+<p>The laugh was from Selim.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ve got it. It is here. Great prophet, isn’t it beautiful?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are you talking about, Selim?”</p>
+
+<p>“This&mdash;look at it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Look at what? Isn’t it so dark that you could cut
+the very atmosphere?”</p>
+
+<p>“He has gone mad,” whispered Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am afraid it is so.”</p>
+
+<p>No wonder! The strain was something frightful.</p>
+
+<p>It would require nerves of steel to withstand such
+a terrible tension.</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! what’s that?”</p>
+
+<p>Some strange, slimy water monster had crawled into
+the boat and onto Max’s back.</p>
+
+<p>It was impossible to see what it was, and all that Ibrahim
+could do was to knock it off; but he almost fainted
+as he touched it.</p>
+
+<p>On went the boat, drifting just where the current liked
+to take it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[114]</span></p>
+
+<p>There was no means of guiding or steering it.</p>
+
+<p>They were victims of their curiosity, without a chance
+of saving themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Again there was a glimmer of light, and the explorers
+rejoiced.</p>
+
+<p>But their pleasure was but for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>The darkness was preferable.</p>
+
+<p>It hid from them the horrors of the river they had
+to traverse.</p>
+
+<p>Monster lizards crawled up and down the slimy walls
+which confined the river to its bed.</p>
+
+<p>Fish, with wings, would fly from the water and strike
+the occupants of the boat as they passed by.</p>
+
+<p>Great crabs, the like of which have never been seen
+before, struggled on every little ledge of rock or piece
+of sandy ground.</p>
+
+<p>One big fellow had got into the boat, and was slowly
+devouring pieces of Selim’s leg.</p>
+
+<p>The poor Arab was unconscious, and it could only be
+a question of minutes before his soul would leave the
+mortal tenement.</p>
+
+<p>As Max and Ibrahim realized it they were almost frantic
+with fear.</p>
+
+<p>“Five when we started,” said Max, “but only three
+now, and a few moments more there will be but two.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s face was as white as death.</p>
+
+<p>His pulses were beating so slowly that it was almost
+a miracle he lived.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly his mood changed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[115]</span></p>
+
+<p>His heart began throbbing and pumping out blood
+at terrific speed.</p>
+
+<p>The color of his face was almost purple, and as he
+tried to stand up in the little boat his head fell back, and
+Max only saved him by a hair’s breadth.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now alone.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his
+delirium, dangerous to himself and his companion.</p>
+
+<p>Selim was dead.</p>
+
+<p>It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard,
+but that was the only course which could be adopted.</p>
+
+<p>Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s
+back, he exerted all his strength and pushed the man
+overboard.</p>
+
+<p>It was horrible.</p>
+
+<p>Max was sickened at the sight, and yet he felt that
+he dare not take his eyes away.</p>
+
+<p>Horrible water monsters sought the body, and almost
+instantly crabs and lizards, fish with ugly fins, and water
+newts, were covering the remains of the poor Arab and
+rapidly devouring all that was left of him.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was raving.</p>
+
+<p>He imagined he saw all sorts of frightful shapes,
+wanting to tear him to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall go mad,” exclaimed Max, and he felt that it
+was only a question of a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>The boat drifted along slowly, and Max wondered
+whether they would ever again stand on land.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard human voices, but it must
+have been imagination.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the very moment when the delicate cords of his
+brain seemed ready to snap asunder, a thought saved him.</p>
+
+<p>He wondered how the water had made the tunnels.</p>
+
+<p>That set him thinking, and he fancied that the underground
+channels had been made by the sheer force of
+the water, and its petrifying action&mdash;that perhaps at some
+time the sand had drifted to the water and become by
+its action solid rock.</p>
+
+<p>If so, the tunnels were under the desert, and maybe
+the open cuttings were through oases.</p>
+
+<p>How long had they been on the river?</p>
+
+<p>They had no means of keeping record of the time,
+but their food was nearly gone.</p>
+
+<p>Had he slept?</p>
+
+<p>He could not recall whether he had done so, and yet
+nature could not have endured the strain so long without
+sleep.</p>
+
+<p>These thoughts saved him from the delirium which
+afflicted his friend.</p>
+
+<p>He felt easier and more contented.</p>
+
+<p>A strange drowsiness came over him, and he settled
+himself as comfortably as he could in the bottom of the
+boat and fell asleep.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>On the banks of a tributary of the Nile a tribe&mdash;darker
+in color than the Egyptians and yet less black
+than the Africans of the Soudan or Congo State&mdash;dwelt
+in comparative peace.</p>
+
+<p>This tribe is peculiar.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[117]</span></p>
+
+<p>Its members eat no animal food, neither do they
+hanker after fire water or tobacco.</p>
+
+<p>They do not believe in fighting, and yet at times they
+are compelled to resist by force of brute strength the
+onslaughts and invasions of their neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>Their dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness; the
+domicile of each family is surrounded with a hedge of
+the almost impenetrable euphorbia, and the interior of the
+inclosure is a yard neatly plastered with a cement of
+ashes, cow dung and sand.</p>
+
+<p>On this cleanly swept surface are one or more huts
+surrounded by granaries of neat wickerwork, thatched
+and resting upon raised platforms.</p>
+
+<p>The huts have projecting roofs in order to afford a
+shade, and the entrance is usually about two feet high.</p>
+
+<p>The men are well grown and rather refined.</p>
+
+<p>Their dress is very limited, usually only an apron of
+leather&mdash;either a piece of cowhide or goatskin.</p>
+
+<p>Tattoo marks or lines across their forehead denote their
+rank.</p>
+
+<p>The chief has his forehead lined closely together, his
+assistants or deputies have less in number, while the
+ordinary members of the tribe have only two lines.</p>
+
+<p>The women are not handsome. Their heads are
+shaved, and around their bald pates they wear a band
+of beads or shells.</p>
+
+<p>Living peaceably and not even fishing, they devote all
+their time to the cultivation of maize and other kinds of
+vegetable food.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[118]</span></p>
+
+<p>They make excellent butter and drink great quantities
+of milk.</p>
+
+<p>At the time we make their acquaintance they are
+greatly disturbed.</p>
+
+<p>The chief has called together all the tribe, and a
+strange-looking gathering it is.</p>
+
+<p>The men stood round the chief in a circle, the women
+taking positions outside.</p>
+
+<p>The chief called for silence, and instantly every man
+shouted: “<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi!</i>” which being interpreted
+means: “We obey, we obey.”</p>
+
+<p>The chief, looking very wrinkled with his innumerable
+tattoo marks, adopted the catechetical method of addressing
+his people.</p>
+
+<p>“Where does the river come from?” he asked, and a
+deputy chief answered:</p>
+
+<p>“From the innermost parts of the earth.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good! And hath man ever been to the place where
+the gods make the springs of water to flow?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; man could not live.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The water comes from the fire god, who burns all
+who approach.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then what shall be done with those who have come
+from the fire?”</p>
+
+<p>“They shall be exalted.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Mkrasi! mkrasi</i>!” shouted all the members of the
+tribe.</p>
+
+<p>The conversation, or rather public discussion, which we
+have recorded occupied considerable time, for the language<span class="pagenum">[119]</span>
+of this tribe of Gondos was very diffuse, abounding
+in metaphor, and making the repeating of whole
+sentences necessary where emphasis was required.</p>
+
+<p>The chief stepped down from the platform in front of
+his house, and calling on ten of his deputies headed the
+procession across the great square, round which the
+houses were placed.</p>
+
+<p>While the chief was away, the utmost decorum was
+observed.</p>
+
+<p>Not one spoke a word.</p>
+
+<p>Even the women were silent.</p>
+
+<p>Soon a great noise was heard.</p>
+
+<p>Drums were beating and rude cymbals were being
+played. The drums were original in their make.</p>
+
+<p>A piece of wood had been hollowed out, and over the
+top a sheepskin had been tightly stretched.</p>
+
+<p>Into the square the procession moved.</p>
+
+<p>First came ten young girls, playing very rudely constructed
+cymbals.</p>
+
+<p>Following them were five older girls, keeping time
+by striking shells together. Then came the drummers,
+boys whose strength seemed almost too frail for the
+big, heavy drums they carried.</p>
+
+<p>After them was a drummer who made a most ear-splitting
+noise by beating an old tin pan&mdash;which had
+been found in a deserted camp, and which the Gondos
+verily believed must have been the white man’s musical
+instrument.</p>
+
+<p>What meant all this pageantry and display?</p>
+
+<p>The chief emerged from his yard, and, with head<span class="pagenum">[120]</span>
+bowed down, led the way to where the people were
+standing. Immediately behind him were the ten deputies,
+carrying a strange-looking log of wood shoulder
+high.</p>
+
+<p>With measured tread these natives walked under their
+heavy burden.</p>
+
+<p>When the center of the tribe’s gathering had been
+reached, the chief ordered the men to set down their
+load.</p>
+
+<p>Instantly there was a cry of rapture from every man
+there assembled.</p>
+
+<p>The women pressed forward, and really screamed with
+delight.</p>
+
+<p>“From the gods!” exclaimed the chief, and these
+poor, benighted savages really believed it.</p>
+
+<p>The log was in reality a dugout, and in the dugout
+two young men were sleeping the sleep of exhaustion.</p>
+
+<p>They were our friends, Ibrahim and Max, rescued by
+the Gondos, and now the objects of their adoration.</p>
+
+<p>The shouting of the men, the screeching of the women,
+caused Max to awake.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet and looked round.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, jewilikins! this caps the climax!” he exclaimed,
+while the people fell on their faces and wriggled about
+on the ground.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[121]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE RAINMAKER.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>It was some time before Madcap Max could realize
+just where he was, and the significance of the demonstration
+of which he was the recipient.</p>
+
+<p>But when once his mind got a clew, he quickly followed
+it up, and with the natural smartness of his Yankee
+ancestry, saw the advantages of his position.</p>
+
+<p>He very carefully abstained from uttering a word.</p>
+
+<p>The silence impressed the Gondos with awe.</p>
+
+<p>They were more than ever convinced that he was a
+messenger from the mysterious powers which they, in
+their ignorance, worshiped.</p>
+
+<p>The Gondos had a religious belief almost akin to that
+of the ancient Scandinavians.</p>
+
+<p>They believed that the thunder was the angry voice
+of the storm god, that a deity presided over everything
+in nature, and that the entrance to the home of the most
+powerful of these deities was through the mysterious
+volcanoes which at times emitted vast columns of molten
+lava and made the waters of the rivers so hot that
+no one could bathe in them and live.</p>
+
+<p>Having this belief, it was no wonder that they thought
+Max and Ibrahim were sent by the presiding deity.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim continued to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>That was a good sign, and if only the delirium left
+him when he awoke, Max made sure all would be well.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[122]</span></p>
+
+<p>He managed to convey to the chief a desire to be
+alone, and the boat was again raised on the shoulders of
+the deputy chiefs and carried to a large house which
+the chief had set apart for his honored guests.</p>
+
+<p>Max was hungry, and when food was brought he ate
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>He had no idea of what the dish was composed, neither
+did he, at that time, care.</p>
+
+<p>He was too hungry to be fastidious.</p>
+
+<p>He reserved some of the savory food for Ibrahim,
+and motioned the natives to leave the place.</p>
+
+<p>All that day Max stayed by Ibrahim’s side, and awaited
+his awakening.</p>
+
+<p>His devoted patience was rewarded, and toward night
+Ibrahim awoke and raised his head.</p>
+
+<p>“Are we alive?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“I am,” was the madcap’s answer.</p>
+
+<p>“Then I think I must be; but, by the beard of the
+prophet, I have been beyond the grave.”</p>
+
+<p>“Good! Stick to that, Ib, and your fortune is made.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was indignant at the light way in which his
+companion spoke, but Max persisted.</p>
+
+<p>“I tell you, Ib, if only you will stick to that, and do as
+I tell you, we will coin the dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is like you Americans&mdash;always thinking of dollars.”</p>
+
+<p>“And why not? Can you get along without dollars?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not; but why be always thinking about
+them? I hate the very name of money,” exclaimed Ibrahim,
+fretfully.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[123]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Do you? Well, I don’t,” answered Max, and continued
+talking, for he realized that there was no better
+way to rouse Ibrahim’s dormant faculties than by a good
+discussion.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t,” he said&mdash;“neither do you. You will go on
+making shawls in Persia, no matter how many dollars
+you get. You want to travel&mdash;you must have the money
+or you cannot do it. Say, old chap! did you never imagine
+that every dollar is coined through some fellow’s
+think tank being agitated?”</p>
+
+<p>“Think tank! What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“Brain, if you like. Think tank, I call it&mdash;thought
+factory, if you like it better. But, say! you were dead,
+and you have come to life again. I have brought you
+from the grave.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“Madcap, please; don’t abbreviate my sobriquet.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are insane.”</p>
+
+<p>“Am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. But tell me, Max, where are we?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are in a boat, I am on the floor; we are in a
+house belonging to the Gondos&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?”</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you sure?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you spoken to them?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not much.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can you understand what they say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Only a little.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[124]</span></p>
+
+<p>“If they are Gondos, I am safe.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you? And why so, Mister Ibrahim Pasha?”
+asked Max, with a broad brogue.</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos were originally Persians&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Your relatives?”</p>
+
+<p>“And were fire worshipers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is that so?”</p>
+
+<p>“And I have learned their language.”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you, really?”</p>
+
+<p>“I thought they were extinct.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not by any means; they are as thick as blackberries
+on a bramble bush, and as lively as June bugs.”</p>
+
+<p>By talking in this fashion, Max succeeded in making
+Ibrahim vexed, and that was the very best thing for his
+mind.</p>
+
+<p>When his temper had cooled a little, Ibrahim became
+calm, and then Max told him how they had been rescued.</p>
+
+<p>“They think we are from the storm gods, and so we
+must be, or they must think so, and we shall be safe.
+Once let them get any other idea into their ugly heads,
+and we shall be made into soup.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos never eat meat,” said Ibrahim, taking
+Max to mean what he said in a literal sense.</p>
+
+<p>“Anyway, we must keep up the delusion.”</p>
+
+<p>“Can we?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“You must do just what I tell you. I have it all arranged.”</p>
+
+<p>“If we fail?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[125]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We shall die; but if we succeed, we shall soon see
+Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And Girzilla,” added Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“We shall. Now to begin. I am going to make it
+rain. You know the language, you said?”</p>
+
+<p>“I believe so.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then you must tell them what I am going to do.”</p>
+
+<p>“What can you do?”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind. I know they want rain, and would
+do anything to get it. I want you to hurry, or my power
+will be lost.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was of too serious a nature to care for practical
+joking, and that was just what he imagined the
+madcap was after.</p>
+
+<p>But Max was in earnest, and he led Ibrahim from
+the strange-looking house to the one occupied by the
+chief.</p>
+
+<p>The tattooed chieftain bowed himself to the ground
+when he saw Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>But when the Persian spoke a few words in the Gondo
+language, the old fellow was so delighted that he danced
+about and shouted like a good fellow.</p>
+
+<p>“The Gondos want rain. Their fields are dry, the
+crops are spoiling. Tell them I will cause the rain
+to come.”</p>
+
+<p>Max spoke in English and Ibrahim translated into the
+Gondo language.</p>
+
+<p>The chief ordered the girls to play the cymbals and
+the drums to be beaten.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[126]</span></p>
+
+<p>All the people gathered together, and Max raised his
+hands above his head as if in the act of supplicating.</p>
+
+<p>Almost immediately a few drops of rain fell, and the
+people were delighted.</p>
+
+<p>The drops became larger and more numerous, until a
+good, healthy shower descended, and the Gondos were
+frantic with joy.</p>
+
+<p>Even Ibrahim was excited.</p>
+
+<p>“How did you do it?” he asked, earnestly, when Max
+had pleaded for permission to return to their house.</p>
+
+<p>“You silly fellow, I did nothing. It was all hocus-pocus
+on my part.”</p>
+
+<p>“But the rain&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Came; of course it did. I saw that we were in for a
+shower, and I meant to get the credit of it; that is all
+there is to it.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was a weather prophet.</p>
+
+<p>He had a better knowledge of meteorology than many a
+so-called expert, and he saw clear indications that a rain-cloud
+was gathering.</p>
+
+<p>The one happy chance of his life had come.</p>
+
+<p>It was a miracle, at least so thought the Gondos, and
+nothing was too good for Ibrahim and Max.</p>
+
+<p>But even among those primitive people there were
+skeptics, and a long discussion took place as to the
+powers possessed by Max.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim heard the discussion, and returned to the
+madcap, his face white as death.</p>
+
+<p>“You are to be taken to some high rock and ordered to
+jump down. If you fail your character is gone.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[127]</span></p>
+
+<p>“And life, too. Never mind. Get me some giant palm
+leaves, and I’ll not be afraid.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim obeyed without question, and when on the
+following morning Max and the Persian were conducted
+by the tribe to a steep cliff, Max laughed heartily.</p>
+
+<p>But when he looked over, he saw that he had a thousand
+chances against him, and naturally felt nervous.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell them,” he said, in English, to Ibrahim, “that to
+jump off there would be no test. Anyone could do it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course they could, but they would be killed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t say that, but say that I will go to the top of
+yonder palm and leap from it.”</p>
+
+<p>The palm was a tall one, the trunk slender and easily
+climbed, but the height was such that to jump from
+the top meant death.</p>
+
+<p>The offer made by Max was accepted, and the young
+madcap began his perilous ascent.</p>
+
+<p>When near the top he stood on the stem of one of the
+monster leaves, and rested a moment.</p>
+
+<p>From under his coat he took two palm leaves which
+he had succeeded in joining together.</p>
+
+<p>Opening them above his head, he held his breath and
+jumped.</p>
+
+<p>As he expected, the wind filled out the palm leaves
+like a parachute and Max came to the ground so gently
+that the most pronounced skeptic was enthused, and
+ready to do anything for the young hero.</p>
+
+<p>“We have a mission!” Ibrahim said to the chief, “and
+thy people must help. In the desert there is an oasis,
+and on the oasis is a great man, one Sherif el Habib,<span class="pagenum">[128]</span>
+who is seeking the Mahdi of his people. We wish to find
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim explained the locations of the oasis as well as
+he could, and the chief recognized it as being a place
+some adventurous member of his tribe had told him
+about.</p>
+
+<p>After some days absolute rest a caravan was formed,
+and with girls playing cymbals and others beating drums,
+Max and Ibrahim started on their journey across the
+desert to find their friends.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">WHY OUR HEROES DESERT.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For some hours the caravan passed through a country
+which was parklike, but parched by the dry weather.</p>
+
+<p>The ground was sandy, but firm, and interspersed
+with villages, all of which were surrounded with a strong
+fence of euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>The girls kept up an incessant discord on the cymbals
+and drums, and the men, sent by the chief of the Gondos,
+were so impressed with the importance of their mission
+that every hundred yards or so they would stop, congratulate
+each other, and make some wonderful salaams
+before they continued the journey.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the second day’s march, a tribe hostile
+to the Gondos was encountered.</p>
+
+<p>Five or six hundred naked savages appeared, well
+armed with lances, having flint heads, bows and arrows,<span class="pagenum">[129]</span>
+and a peculiar weapon shaped almost like a sledge hammer&mdash;one
+side of the flint head being sharpened to a
+fine point, while the other was a hammer.</p>
+
+<p>One of their number stepped forward, and addressing
+Ibrahim asked:</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“A traveler, wishing to cross the desert.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you want ivory?”</p>
+
+<p>“We would hunt the elephant, and divide the spoil.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where do you come from?”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim answered proudly:</p>
+
+<p>“From Persia.”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s a lie!” was the emphatic reply made by the chief.</p>
+
+<p>“Very well,” answered Ibrahim; “what am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“A Turk.”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah forbid!” muttered the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>The chief pointed to Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is he?”</p>
+
+<p>“An American.”</p>
+
+<p>The native had never heard of such people, and he
+began to think Ibrahim was making a fool of him.</p>
+
+<p>The natives laughed and raised their weapons.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, in a loud voice, told them that they were
+going to be killed if they dared to touch Max; that he
+could cause the storm to come and the wind to blow, and
+advised them to ask the Gondos.</p>
+
+<p>Among the few things saved from the boat in which
+they had made their perilous journey was a bottle of
+araki&mdash;a native spirit almost equal in power to proof
+alcohol.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[130]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max suggested that the hostile chief should be regaled
+with a little of the araki, and that his friendship should
+be purchased that way.</p>
+
+<p>The bottle was produced, but neither Ibrahim nor Max
+had any chance of opening it, for the hostile chief took
+the bottle from them, broke off the neck, and drank
+the contents as easily as he could have swallowed water.</p>
+
+<p>“Good, good! more!” he exclaimed; but at that moment
+a violent storm of thunder and rain burst upon
+them with terrific fury.</p>
+
+<p>The rain fell like a veritable cloudburst, and the natives,
+remembering what Ibrahim had said, ascribed the
+storm to Max, and fled as though ten thousand soldiers
+were pursuing them.</p>
+
+<p>The American’s reputation was now well assured, and
+the musicians beat the cymbals louder than ever, while
+the men shouted themselves hoarse.</p>
+
+<p>Max was getting tired of the assumed position, but
+he saw no way out of it.</p>
+
+<p>One thing troubled both explorers&mdash;they were either
+going in the wrong direction, or the distance was greater
+than they had imagined.</p>
+
+<p>They, however, had to submit.</p>
+
+<p>They were treated as superior mortals, and oftentimes
+were in dilemmas from which it was difficult to extricate
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>One morning the deputy chief who was in command
+of the Gondos threw himself on his stomach in front
+of Max and wriggled like a snake to attract attention.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, M’Kamba?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[131]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The great chief hath said it,” answered the native.</p>
+
+<p>“What hath he said?”</p>
+
+<p>“That the wonderful medicine man whose life could
+not be destroyed”&mdash;meaning Max&mdash;“must take all the
+cymbal girls as his wives, and his great friend, whose
+tongue speaketh wonders, shall take all the drummer
+girls as his wives.”</p>
+
+<p>“Allah forbid!” ejaculated Ibrahim, under his breath.</p>
+
+<p>Making an excuse that he must consult with Max, he
+got rid of the Gondo.</p>
+
+<p>“Here is a fix we’ve got into,” said Ibrahim, when
+alone with his friend.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know how many cymbal players we have?”</p>
+
+<p>“About thirty.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I suppose so. Well, they are all yours.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mine?”</p>
+
+<p>“You have to marry them.”</p>
+
+<p>“The&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Max stopped. His thoughts evidently formed the
+name by which the prince of the power of the air is
+familiarly known, but he bit his lips and did not utter
+his thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; and I am to marry all the drummers.”</p>
+
+<p>“What a lark!”</p>
+
+<p>“Eh?”</p>
+
+<p>“I said it would be fun,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think so?”</p>
+
+<p>“Fancy, if you offended your wives, or if you wished
+to give them a lecture, they would seize their drums and<span class="pagenum">[132]</span>
+beat such a tattoo that you would acknowledge yourself
+vanquished.”</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost
+feared for his reason.</p>
+
+<p>Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.</p>
+
+<p>“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of
+tinkling cymbals?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Wha-at?”</p>
+
+<p>“I did not, because I dare not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires
+to honor him. He does so by giving him one or
+more wives&mdash;the more wives the greater honor.”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed!”</p>
+
+<p>“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the
+chief.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“And that can never be forgiven.”</p>
+
+<p>“What do I care about that?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps nothing; only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t hesitate. You drive a fellow mad with your
+long pauses,” exclaimed Max, almost angrily.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t get mad, there’s a good chap. They only
+roast the one who insults the chief.”</p>
+
+<p>“Really?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, really. It is true; ask any of them. Now I<span class="pagenum">[133]</span>
+don’t want to be either roasted, baked, or boiled, so I
+will have to accept the drummers, only&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Again Ibrahim paused, and Max stood staring at him,
+but remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>“Only I shall delay as long as I can.”</p>
+
+<p>“We will get out of it.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“Leave that to me. I will find a way.”</p>
+
+<p>Before Ibrahim could ask again what plan had formulated
+itself in the madcap’s brain, M’Kamba, the deputy
+chief, came forward, and this time standing erect, said:</p>
+
+<p>“We will all drink araki now.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim knew enough of the marriage customs of the
+African tribes to realize that the espousal of the girls
+was to take place at once, and that the drinking of the
+powerful araki was the outward symbol of the marriage.</p>
+
+<p>“It is all over with us,” sighed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t think so. Who has any araki?”</p>
+
+<p>“M’Kamba must have, or he would not have suggested
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then let him bring the bottles here, and the girls shall
+drink first.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are a mystery, Max. What do you intend doing?”</p>
+
+<p>“Wait and see. Curb your impatience a little bit,
+there’s a good chap. Do just as I tell you, and all will
+be well.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim approached M’Kamba and told him that Max
+was ready to open the araki bottles, and all should drink.</p>
+
+<p>“The great chief did send the araki for the wives,”<span class="pagenum">[134]</span>
+answered M’Kamba, proving clearly that all had been
+arranged beforehand.</p>
+
+<p>The bottles&mdash;made of the bladders of cows, dried&mdash;were
+produced, and Max very quietly, in the presence
+of all, poured some white liquid in each of the bottles.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked on in astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>“Give a good drink to each of your wives, Ibrahim,
+but don’t touch a drop yourself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is it poison, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>“On my honor, no.”</p>
+
+<p>The girls drank heartily. It was the gala day of their
+lives.</p>
+
+<p>They were about to become brides, and they felt their
+importance.</p>
+
+<p>While they were single they were slaves; when they
+were married they would become free.</p>
+
+<p>It was a proud time for them, and they took deep
+draughts of the powerful spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Gondos took the bottles, and each man upheld
+the credit of his stomach by drinking pretty heavily.</p>
+
+<p>But the spirit was too strong.</p>
+
+<p>One by one the girls began to feel drowsy, and fell
+asleep.</p>
+
+<p>Then the men followed.</p>
+
+<p>In less than half an hour only Max and Ibrahim
+were awake.</p>
+
+<p>“Now is our time; we must run for it. They won’t
+wake for an hour.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you give them?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sleeping potion&mdash;pretty stiff dose, too.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p>
+
+<p>“What is that?”</p>
+
+<p>“What your uncle uses when he wishes anyone to
+sleep long.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you have some?”</p>
+
+<p>“I had. They have it now”&mdash;pointing to the sleeping
+Gondos. “I took it from the great Sherif el Habib’s
+medicine case.”</p>
+
+<p>“Oh!”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim evidently was alarmed at the consequences
+of the madcap’s theft, or as he would put it, enforced
+borrowing.</p>
+
+<p>Max laughed heartily, and suggested that they should
+“git up and get.”</p>
+
+<p>This Yankeeism was too much for the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>He began to believe that Max was really mad.</p>
+
+<p>The suggestion, however, was a good one, and gathering
+together food, and some other stores, enough to
+last several days, the two young men left their escorts
+fast asleep and proceeded alone on their journey.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of following the route M’Kamba had sketched
+out for them, they turned to the right, determined to
+follow as far as possible the course of the river until
+the oasis was crossed, and then to trust to their luck in
+finding the encampment of Sherif el Habib.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[136]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">MOHAMMED.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The oasis was nearly crossed when they left the Gondo
+escorts, and the young explorers soon found themselves
+on the terrible African desert.</p>
+
+<p>They were not pursued&mdash;at least, as far as they knew&mdash;and
+they were delighted at regaining their freedom.</p>
+
+<p>After a day of misery on the sand, when their eyes
+were blistered, their nostrils swollen, and their ears
+deafened with the never-ending atoms, which drifted
+everywhere, Ibrahim directed the attention of his companion
+to a cloud of sand in the distance.</p>
+
+<p>“What of it?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Camels.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is a caravan, and if we can reach it we shall be
+safe.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind any buts; come along, Max.”</p>
+
+<p>“I shan’t stir one inch,” asserted Max, resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“Because the caravan is coming this way.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bravo! So it is. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Resting in the hot burning sand, the young men waited
+until they could distinguish the outlines of the approaching
+caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Then they rose up and went to meet them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[137]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the front rode a man, with olive skin, not darker
+than a Spaniard. He was dressed in Egyptian costume,
+and sat perfectly contented on his camel.</p>
+
+<p>A spear rested across the animal’s back, and a modern
+rifle was slung over the rider’s shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>But what was most remarkable was a sacred carpet,
+which acted as a kind of saddle cloth, and on which had
+been worked the symbolic sign of the crescent suspended
+over the cross.</p>
+
+<p>The combination was so strange that Max was inclined
+to believe the rider was some monomaniac, or, in
+modern parlance, a crank.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, stepping up to the rider, and in good Arabic,
+asked who he was, and whither he was going.</p>
+
+<p>The rider looked at the young Persian some minutes
+before answering, giving Max an opportunity to look
+at the people who composed the caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Some thirty men, dressed like the leader, save that
+they had not the sacred carpet with the double symbols,
+rode as many camels.</p>
+
+<p>With them were at least twenty women, their faces
+covered so that the eye of man could not invade the
+sanctity of the countenance, which Oriental law and custom
+declared to be sacred to the husband alone.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Mohammed!” said the leader, when his examination
+of Ibrahim’s features was completed.</p>
+
+<p>“Mohammed!” repeated Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I am Mohammed, and am of the family of the faithful.”</p>
+
+<p>“And whither wilt thou go?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The sun will cast my shadow to the north as I journey
+to the south.”</p>
+
+<p>It was useless asking to what part of Africa the pilgrims
+were going, until the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">entente cordiale</i> was fully
+established.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim prostrated himself after the manner of the
+Musselmen and beat his brow on the sand.</p>
+
+<p>The Mohammedan left the saddle, and spreading the
+sacred carpet on the sand, prostrated himself by Ibrahim’s
+side.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that the two followers of the prophet
+realized that they were friends and brothers in religion.</p>
+
+<p>“Behold, the crescent shall be exalted, and shall rule
+even all the countries of the world. I have said it. Just
+Allah!”</p>
+
+<p>“You ought to know my uncle,” said Ibrahim. “You
+would be brothers.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who is it that callest thee nephew?”</p>
+
+<p>“Sherif el Habib&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Of Khorassan?”</p>
+
+<p>“The same. Dost thou know him?”</p>
+
+<p>“In youth, when the eyes of houris shone brightly
+into mine, Sherif el Habib was as a brother.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is in the desert seeking the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou mean it?”</p>
+
+<p>“Even so. Is it not so, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>Max was unable to answer, for Mohammed clapped his
+hands, and all his followers prostrated themselves on
+the sand, bowing their heads toward the direction of the
+sacred shrine at Mecca.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[139]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I, too, dust as I am, yet of the family of the faithful,
+will seek the Mahdi, for he it is who will raise
+the crescent above the cross and make the kingdom of
+the prophet co-equal with the kingdoms of the world.”</p>
+
+<p>The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great
+mental exaltation, and like Sherif el Habib, believed that
+the promised savior or leader of the Moslems had come,
+and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the Christian
+nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>Max was enchanted.</p>
+
+<p>He liked enthusiasts.</p>
+
+<p>He worshiped heroes.</p>
+
+<p>But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism
+that men never gave him credit for any idea
+beyond the making of dollars.</p>
+
+<p>“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture
+through the States. There will be millions in it.”</p>
+
+<p>How disgusted Mohammed would have been had he
+understood what Max said!</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was annoyed. It sounded so much like an
+insult to his religion.</p>
+
+<p>But he deftly turned the conversation by saying:</p>
+
+<p>“Max, my friend, has a mission. He is searching for
+the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p>“When Selim, the tyrant, destroyed the Mamelukes,”
+said Mohammed, solemnly, “he gave to many provinces
+a bey of Mameluke blood. He did it to save his life. I,
+who speak unto thee, had for my great ancestor Mohammed,
+the fearless, who was one of the beys.”</p>
+
+<p>“Didst thou come from the line of great Emin?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[140]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Alas, no! My ancestors did eschew the Mamelukes
+and joined the Turks.”</p>
+
+<p>“Dost thou think Emin’s descendants live?”</p>
+
+<p>“As sure as that the sun does shine by day and the
+moon by night.”</p>
+
+<p>“I would that I could find them.”</p>
+
+<p>“There is one who could guide thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Where may I find that one?” Max asked, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Alas! she is lost.”</p>
+
+<p>“She? Is it a woman?”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed turned away his head to hide his emotion.</p>
+
+<p>Strong man as he was, his body shook as if with violent
+ague.</p>
+
+<p>The tears streamed from his eyes and dropped like
+great drops of rain upon the sand.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me,” cried Max, “is she anything to you? Have
+I offended you? Oh, forgive me if I have.”</p>
+
+<p>“I will tell thee.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed drew Max and Ibrahim away from the
+caravan, and led them a hundred yards across the sand.</p>
+
+<p>He sat down after the manner of his people, and bade
+them do likewise.</p>
+
+<p>When all three were seated he took a small box of
+salt from his girdle and gave each a pinch.</p>
+
+<p>Although Max disliked the flavor of the saline mineral,
+he knew that the partaking of it was a bond of
+brotherhood with the Arab.</p>
+
+<p>“The story is a long one,” commenced Mohammed,
+“but I will tell thee only the outlines, and some day, when
+beneath the palms or under the tent, thine ears shall listen<span class="pagenum">[141]</span>
+to the whole story. I loved&mdash;all young men do&mdash;but I
+loved the most beautiful woman whom the prophet ever
+allowed to live this side of paradise. She bore me a
+daughter. On her I lavished all the love of a father.
+Being a girl without soul”&mdash;many of the Mohammedans
+teach that only man possesses an eternal soul&mdash;“I desired
+she should learn all the mysteries of the ancient Mamelukes.
+She was a diligent student, and when she reached
+the age of twelve years she had learned all the symbols
+and signs of the great brotherhood, and knew how to find
+any of the true Mamelukes who might still live. But
+then&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed again broke down, and the tears fell like
+rain from his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>His agitation was painful to witness, and many times
+Max wished he had curbed his curiosity and so have
+saved the aged Arab.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was excited.</p>
+
+<p>He felt drawn toward the Arab by some unknown and
+mysterious power.</p>
+
+<p>And yet he was impatient. He wanted to hear the
+whole of the story, and could hardly wait for the Arab’s
+emotion to cease.</p>
+
+<p>“Then my daughter, the pride of my life&mdash;by whom I
+hoped to appease the wrath of my ancient ancestors for
+deserting the Mamelukes&mdash;was stolen.”</p>
+
+<p>“Stolen!”</p>
+
+<p>“Even so. By the beard of the prophet, methinks
+my wife must have gone mad.”</p>
+
+<p>“And does your wife live?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[142]</span></p>
+
+<p>“She is in yonder caravan.”</p>
+
+<p>“Has nothing been heard of her you loved?”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing. She is dead, or taught to call some man
+lord, and I would rather she be dead than never to see
+again her father.”</p>
+
+<p>The old man ceased.</p>
+
+<p>His head was bent down, and he asked to be alone.</p>
+
+<p>The young explorers left him and went back to the
+caravan.</p>
+
+<p>Max, ignorant of the laws which govern a traveling
+harem, had wandered to the place where the women
+were seated on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Their faces were uncovered, for they feared not any
+intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>When they saw Max they hastily threw the veils over
+their faces, but it was too late.</p>
+
+<p>Max had caught sight of one, and was spellbound.</p>
+
+<p>His heart was in his mouth; he could not speak.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim touched his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>“What is it, Madcap?”</p>
+
+<p>“She is there.”</p>
+
+<p>“Who?”</p>
+
+<p>“I saw her. How did she get there?”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom did you see?”</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are dreaming.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not.”</p>
+
+<p>“How could Girzilla be in the harem of Mohammed?”</p>
+
+<p>“I know not.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come away, before&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[143]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Look! she uncovers.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim looked across at the women, and, regardless
+of all consequences, threw himself at the feet of her who
+had so indiscreetly uncovered her face.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla, my heart’s love! how came you here?” he
+exclaimed, passionately; but his lover’s rhapsody was interrupted
+by Mohammed, who indignantly marched up to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>“Seize him! He has desecrated the law of hospitality.”</p>
+
+<p>“Is not that Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“And what if it is? She has been my wife these
+eighteen years,” answered Mohammed, proudly.</p>
+
+<p>“Girzilla! oh, my Girzilla!” moaned Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>A soft, sweet voice was borne across the sands.</p>
+
+<p>“Who speaketh of Girzilla&mdash;my lost child&mdash;my beauteous
+Girzilla?”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“WHERE IS GIRZILLA?”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“I spoke of Girzilla,” exclaimed Ibrahim, proudly.</p>
+
+<p>“And who is Girzilla?” asked Mohammed, his nostril
+quivering like that of a horse who scents the battle.</p>
+
+<p>“The best, the dearest, the most lovely girl on earth,
+and there she stands.”</p>
+
+<p>“You are mad. That is my wife, and has been for
+eighteen years. Thrice has she been with me to the
+prophet’s shrine at Mecca, but never hath she set foot
+on the deserts of Egypt until now.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I’ll not believe it, unless she herself declares it,”
+said Ibrahim, scornfully.</p>
+
+<p>“Answer, fair wife; have I spoken that which is
+true?”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed, my lord and master, it is true, and yet this
+pasha spoke of Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>It was Mohammed’s turn to be surprised, when, a moment
+later, the wife asked that none but Ibrahim and
+Mohammed should hear what she had to say.</p>
+
+<p>Loving his wife with a passion foreign to Oriental
+nature, the Arab chief granted her request, and with
+Ibrahim entered his tent, followed by the wife unattended.</p>
+
+<p>“My lord and master, great servant of the prophet!
+Great is Allah!” she commenced. “Wilt thou allow me
+to unveil, so that this pasha see that I am not the Girzilla
+he seeketh?”</p>
+
+<p>“My wife, I can deny thee nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>When the veil was removed, Ibrahim stepped back,
+completely bewildered at the entrancing beauty of the
+lady.</p>
+
+<p>He felt his heart beat with tumultuous frenzy, his
+throat was husky, and he could not speak.</p>
+
+<p>It was not until the veil had been replaced that he
+found himself able to articulate.</p>
+
+<p>“It is Girzilla, and yet&mdash;no, my Girzilla differs&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>He was confused.</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me, where is thy Girzilla? What years hath she
+counted? Is she thy wife?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, would to Allah she were!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[145]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Who is she, then?”</p>
+
+<p>“Wilt thou allow my friend Max to come here? He
+it was who brought Girzilla to me.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was interested, but at the same time considerably
+piqued.</p>
+
+<p>“Would Max want to see his wife unveiled?” the
+Arab wondered, and was about to refuse when his wife
+pleaded in her musical Arabian:</p>
+
+<p>“Do, please, let me see this American.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be it as thou wish.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim went out, and shortly returned with the astonished
+American.</p>
+
+<p>After a short pause, Mohammed asked who was this
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>“I know not what her name may be,” commenced
+Max, “but when I asked her by what she should be
+known, she said, ‘To thee I will be Girzilla.’”</p>
+
+<p>“It is the same. Oh, tell me, did she speak of her
+mother&mdash;of her father?”</p>
+
+<p>“She told me her father had Mameluke blood&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>A scream from Mohammed’s wife stopped the conclusion
+of the sentence.</p>
+
+<p>“It must be our own child,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“Know ye not that she was called Kalula?” asked
+Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>“Even so; but when she could scarcely talk I took her
+to my room, and bade her remember that whenever she
+found one she could trust as a brother&mdash;one she could
+love with all the strength of her nature&mdash;she should bid<span class="pagenum">[146]</span>
+him call her Girzilla, which means, in the language of
+my own land, ‘the true one.’”</p>
+
+<p>“That is it, then, sweet lady,” answered Max, “for
+she said, ‘Never mind my name, to thee I will be Girzilla.’
+I called her Gazelle, but she stopped me and said, ‘No,
+no; Girzilla.’”</p>
+
+<p>Max told of his adventures, and dwelt lovingly on the
+way in which he had been rescued by Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Every word seemed to bring proof to the lady’s mind
+that the guide who had been looked upon as the ally
+of brigands, and one not really to be trusted, was in
+reality her daughter, the heiress of the great wealth of
+Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>“Where is she?” asked the Arab.</p>
+
+<p>“She is with my uncle, Sherif el Habib,” answered
+Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“Together we will search for her, and she shall guide
+us.”</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! but this bangs Banagher!” exclaimed
+Max, when he left the tent in company with Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“I understand not thy idiom,” said Ibrahim, “but if
+thou meanest we are lucky, then I agree.”</p>
+
+<p>“I meant that it was strange&mdash;very strange; some great
+mystery is here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, Allah hath led us to the side of Girzilla’s
+mother.”</p>
+
+<p>“Always thinking of her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Always. By night I dream of her, by day she is my
+only hope and desire.”</p>
+
+<p>“And wouldst thou marry her?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[147]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Why not? If she is Girzilla, the bandit, she shall
+be mine; but if she be really the daughter of the great
+chief, Mohammed, then if he consents she shall be mine
+also.”</p>
+
+<p>“Infatuated youth!”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was impatient to continue the journey, and
+for an hour he talked with Max and Ibrahim about the
+river and the volcano.</p>
+
+<p>He formed an idea that the oasis where Sherif el
+Habib had encamped was to the southwest; whereas Max
+had been going almost due east.</p>
+
+<p>“Lead, worthy chief,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “and if
+thou dost but find my Girzilla I care not which way thou
+goest.”</p>
+
+<p>At sunrise the next day the caravan started, and met
+with nothing more terrible than the awful expanse of
+sand until they encamped.</p>
+
+<p>Then it was that a tribe of wandering savages&mdash;living
+like birds of prey upon others&mdash;pounced down upon the
+cavalcade and sought to capture the women and the
+camels.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed had been a soldier, and his men were all
+disciplined.</p>
+
+<p>Hence the savages could do but little.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs was slightly wounded, while three
+of the savages were killed.</p>
+
+<p>A native had been captured and held as prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>“What shall you do with him?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Keep him an hour to frighten him and then let him
+go,” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was attracted to the only article of attire the
+man wore.</p>
+
+<p>It was a belt, and strangely like the one worn by
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>The man wore it as a necklet, it being far too small
+to encircle his waist.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim interrogated him, but the man could not, or
+would not, understand.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Arabs, however, was able to act as interpreter.</p>
+
+<p>“Ask him where he got the belt,” said Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>The man was smart and cute, and replied by asking
+what he would get if he told all he knew.</p>
+
+<p>He was promised his freedom, and then the man’s
+mouth was opened and his tongue loosened.</p>
+
+<p>He said that his people had met some white men and
+a girl, and that all had been killed. The belt belonged
+to the girl, and she was nice.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, horrified at the story, asked what had become
+of the dead bodies.</p>
+
+<p>The man pointed to his mouth, and then rubbed his
+abdomen, indicating that the murdered Girzilla and her
+friends had been eaten.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim was so enraged that he forgot his promise.</p>
+
+<p>The man was to have his freedom.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim gave it to him in a way the wretch never
+expected.</p>
+
+<p>In a fit of anger at the revelation made, Ibrahim, with
+one blow, severed the savage’s head from his body.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[149]</span></p>
+
+<p>The blood ran over the belt, and the Persian sickened
+at the sight.</p>
+
+<p>Wiping the belt clean, he kissed it many times, for
+had it not encircled the waist of the one he loved?</p>
+
+<p>When Mohammed heard the story he looked sad, but
+with the fatalists’ philosophy, he only said:</p>
+
+<p>“If Allah willed it, who am I to repine?”</p>
+
+<p>Later, however, he called Ibrahim and Max to one side
+and told them that he did not believe the man’s story.
+He thought he should please them by telling it, and how
+was he to know that there were people who would be
+horrified at the idea of murder?</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, however, looked on the blackest side, and was
+fully convinced that his uncle and Girzilla had been converted
+into juicy steaks or luscious pot roasts, and had
+served to provide a feast to the tribe of cannibals at
+whose hands they had fallen.</p>
+
+<p>He was inconsolable, and had it not been for the high
+spirits of Max, who made Ibrahim smile in spite of his
+misery, the young Persian might never have lived to inherit
+his uncle’s great property.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed was determined to set the matter of Sherif’s
+fate at rest, and so continued the journey.</p>
+
+<p>It was near the end of the third day that Max went
+forward to Mohammed and told him that a smoke was
+rising in the distance, and that it appeared like an encampment.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed gave orders for two of his most trusty
+Arabs to ride forward and reconnoiter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[150]</span></p>
+
+<p>It was so late before any sign of their return was obtained,
+that Mohammed gave them up for lost.</p>
+
+<p>When, however, a shout proclaimed that the messengers
+were safe, there was joy in the camp of the Arab
+chief.</p>
+
+<p>The messengers conveyed two letters, one addressed to
+the most worthy pasha and illustrious chief, Mohammed,
+and the other to the worthy Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>Both were signed by Sherif el Habib, and each contained
+the welcome news that Sherif and all the party
+were well.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim and Max were too impatient to await the
+morning, and after making Mohammed promise to start
+at sunrise they journeyed forth to meet their friends.</p>
+
+<p>Who can describe the meeting between uncle and
+nephew? and what pen can convey the faintest idea of
+the rapture felt and expressed by Girzilla and Ibrahim?</p>
+
+<p>When the excitement of the meeting had subsided, no
+one thought of returning to rest.</p>
+
+<p>True, all had been roused at midnight, but all were
+eager to learn of the adventures of the young explorers.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim, however, was anxious to find out how Girzilla’s
+belt had got into the possession of the cannibal,
+and she admitted that some time before she had lost it
+while out looking for the return of Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“And didst thou look for my return?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p>“Daily I journeyed forth, and as the weeks passed
+Uncle Sherif believed that the grave held thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“And if it had?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[151]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I should have found it if I could and laid down beside
+thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you then love me so much, Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>She made no answer in words, but there was an eloquence
+in the glance from her dark eyes which told him
+all he wished to know.</p>
+
+<p>When, some hours later, Mohammed and his caravan
+arrived, there was a great commotion.</p>
+
+<p>Not a word had been said about Girzilla’s parentage,
+and Mohammed was shocked to see his daughter going
+about unveiled.</p>
+
+<p>He recognized her instantly.</p>
+
+<p>The likeness to his wife was so striking that doubt
+was an impossibility.</p>
+
+<p>Who can picture the happy scene when the mother
+once more folded her arms around the form of the
+daughter, only child of her heart and home?</p>
+
+<p>Explanations were made, and a happy family, long disunited,
+was once more complete.</p>
+
+<p>“I can share in your joy,” said Sherif, “for I love her
+as a daughter, and she will not leave me.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not leave? Hath the great and illustrious pasha
+taken her to wife?”</p>
+
+<p>“No, Mohammed, but I ask her for my nephew.”</p>
+
+<p>“She shall accept.”</p>
+
+<p>“If she desires.”</p>
+
+<p>“She must.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no! let the young folks decide.”</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that those young folks were near<span class="pagenum">[152]</span>
+enough to overhear the conversation, and Ibrahim
+stepped forward, a joyous smile on his face.</p>
+
+<p>“We have decided, uncle. Girzilla is mine.”</p>
+
+<p>“Blessings on you both. May Allah shower his great
+bounties on you!” exclaimed Mohammed, reverently.</p>
+
+<p>And Sherif el Habib prostrated himself on the sacred
+carpet, and in that humble position, appealed to Allah
+and his prophet to bless the couple.</p>
+
+<p>After a rest and a discussion as to the best route to
+take to reach the promised Mahdi, the caravan started.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed believed that in the neighborhood of
+Khartoum, or in the district known as the Soudan, the
+Mahdi would be found.</p>
+
+<p>So pleased was Sherif el Habib with his newfound
+friend that he agreed to follow him.</p>
+
+<p>Both were religious enthusiasts.</p>
+
+<p>Each believed that he should die happily only after
+seeing the promised one.</p>
+
+<p>For several days no event of importance occurred.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the wild district of Bakara, for ten years prior to the
+commencement of our story, there had lived, in the strictest
+seclusion, a man whose name was suddenly to burst
+upon the world like the unexpected flash of a meteor
+across the sky, and to leave behind a trail of blood.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[153]</span></p>
+
+<p>This man devoted his whole life to the exercises of
+religion.</p>
+
+<p>He lived on the wild fruit and roots which grew about
+his place, he drank nothing but water, and he spent twelve
+hours out of the twenty-four in prayer.</p>
+
+<p>He slept only four hours each night, and the remaining
+eight were devoted to study and the obtaining of the
+necessaries of life.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs who lived near looked upon him as a sacred
+teacher who would ere long receive a mission from the
+prophet.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed Ahmed was born at Dongola in 1843. He
+removed to Bakara and commenced his hermit life about
+1870.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning he would go to the door of his hut and
+intone the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i> of the Mueddins, which translated would
+read:</p>
+
+<p>“Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god
+but Allah. Come to prayer. I testify that Mahomet
+is the apostle of Allah. Come to prayer, come to security!
+Prayer is better than sleep.”</p>
+
+<p>As regularly as the Mueddins of the mosque would
+he intone this <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>, and at midnight, after sleeping two
+hours, he would rise from his bed, open the door, and
+in a strong, musical voice would chant the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">ula</i>.</p>
+
+<p>“There is no deity but Allah. He hath no companion&mdash;to
+him belongeth the dominion&mdash;to him belongeth
+praise. He giveth life and causeth death. He is living
+and shall never die. In his hand is blessing, he is almighty.
+Great is Allah! His perfection I extol!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[154]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Arab neighbors wondered who this mysterious
+hermit could be, but years passed, and never could they
+get an opportunity to speak with him.</p>
+
+<p>At last he wandered forth, his face shining with an
+ethereal radiance, his bright eyes piercing and beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>“Who are you?” asked an exiled Arab chief.</p>
+
+<p>The hermit spoke&mdash;the first time to a human being
+for many years.</p>
+
+<p>“Have you not heard that there should arise a twelfth
+Imaum?”</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!” answered the chief.</p>
+
+<p>Within a few days the Arab chief was sent with a message
+to each governor and chief of a tribe, the burden
+of which was:</p>
+
+<p>“Turn from your evil ways of living. Oppress not the
+people. I, the Mahdi, have ordered it. I will punish
+the oppressors of the poor. Prepare for my coming.”</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha, the Egyptian governor general of the
+Soudan, received the message.</p>
+
+<p>He sent for Abu Saud, the great Mohammedan theologian,
+and showed him the message.</p>
+
+<p>“What thinkest thou?” asked Rauf Pasha.</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet foretold the coming of the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“But would he not come from Mecca?”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i> His ways are not our ways,” answered
+Abu Saud.</p>
+
+<p>“Go thou to Bakara as my special commissioner, and
+find out whether this is indeed the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had the theologian started out on his mission
+than Rauf Pasha said to himself:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[155]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Abu Saud will represent the prophet, but my soldiers
+shall go and bring this so-called Mahdi to Khartoum,
+and I will make him obey me.”</p>
+
+<p>Abu Saud held many theological discussions with
+Mohammed Ahmed, and embarked on the state steamer
+fully convinced that the Mahdi had indeed come.</p>
+
+<p>No sooner had Abu Saud started on his homeward
+journey than a company of soldiers arrived and demanded
+that the Mahdi should go with them to Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet went to the door and intoned the <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Adan</i>.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred Arabs obeyed the call to prayer, and with
+faces turned toward Mecca, they joined in the prayer
+offered by the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>When the prayer was over Mohammed Ahmed said to
+the soldiers:</p>
+
+<p>“Go thou and tell thy master, Rauf Pasha, that it is he
+who must obey me.”</p>
+
+<p>The captain of the Egyptian soldiers made reply:</p>
+
+<p>“We have orders to take you to Khartoum, and that
+we shall do.”</p>
+
+<p>The standard bearer unfurled his flag, and the sun
+shone on the crescent emblazoned on the blood-red banner
+of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah is with me,” said the Mahdi, devoutly. “Fight
+not against your <em>Imaum</em>.”</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers laughed and called on Mohammed to surrender.</p>
+
+<p>“By the great Allah and the illustrious prophet, the
+Mahdi will never surrender!”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[156]</span></p>
+
+<p>That was the signal for an order to fire on the followers
+of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>In less than an hour every Egyptian soldier had been
+annihilated, and all their arms and ammunition fell into
+the hands of the Arabs, together with the steamer which
+had brought them down the Nile from Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>The first blood had been shed, and the alleged Mahdi
+had been victorious.</p>
+
+<p>The followers of Mohammed went on board the
+steamer, and sailed down the Nile in the direction of
+Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>Long before Kordofan was reached, the people flocked
+to the standard of the Mahdi, and Mohammed Ahmed
+was welcomed as the long-promised leader who was
+to triumph over the Turks and drive them from the
+Soudan and Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi would raise the crescent above the cross,
+and the whole world should be subjugated to the faith
+of Mahomet.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the rise of that wonderful man, and still
+more remarkable enthusiasm, which caused the plains
+of the Soudan to be dyed crimson with the blood of
+Egyptian and Turkish and English soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha was alarmed at the enthusiasm of the
+people, and he sent to the governor of Fashoda stringent
+orders to crush the Mahdi and his followers.</p>
+
+<p>The orders were welcome, for the governor loved
+fighting, and his people were fond of plunder.</p>
+
+<p>He therefore gave orders for his soldiers to be in
+readiness for the march early on the following morning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p>
+
+<p>The trumpet sounded, and nine hundred soldiers, about
+half of them unarmed, however, set out for the Arab
+village of Senari.</p>
+
+<p>When the village was reached the governor himself
+raised the banner of Egypt, and shouted:</p>
+
+<p>“Down with the Arabs! Death to the infidels!”</p>
+
+<p>Senari was fired on.</p>
+
+<p>The people were panic-stricken.</p>
+
+<p>Men rushed for their houses, and called on Allah to
+protect them.</p>
+
+<p>Women and children were shot down without mercy.</p>
+
+<p>The blood-red flag of Egypt, with its golden crescent,
+was not more crimson than the streets of the Arab
+village.</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers pillaged every house.</p>
+
+<p>Men saw their children hewn into pieces with the
+heavy swords of the soldiers; they saw their wives mutilated
+in the most horrible manner, but were powerless
+to resist.</p>
+
+<p>They were unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>From Senari the victorious Fashodians marched to
+Bari, and again commenced a carnival of slaughter and
+plunder.</p>
+
+<p>The Arabs of Bari showed considerable spirit, for they
+armed themselves with knives, long sticks and various
+other weapons, and rushed upon the bayonets and muskets
+of the invaders, fighting against terrible odds and at
+great disadvantage.</p>
+
+<p>Again the same scenes of horrible brutality were
+witnessed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p>
+
+<p>The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust
+and sand was seen in the distance, and in a few minutes
+a gallant band of well-armed Arabs rode into the center
+of the village, and charged the Fashodians with an impetuosity
+entirely foreign to the Arab nature.</p>
+
+<p>“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good
+Arabian. “I don’t know what the quarrel is about, but
+the villagers are the weakest.”</p>
+
+<p>“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we
+always go to help the under dog of the fight.”</p>
+
+<p>Our friends, Mohammed and Sherif, with their lieutenants,
+Max and Ibrahim, arrived at the very nick of time.</p>
+
+<p>The governor of Fashoda believed that the Mahdi had
+come.</p>
+
+<p>The villagers declared that Allah had answered their
+prayers, and that very thought caused them to fight with
+desperate courage, even though they were practically
+unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi!” shouted the people.</p>
+
+<p>“Great is the prophet!”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>The air was filled with the shouts of the Arabs, and
+it was not until a lull took place that Sherif el Habib was
+able to explain that the Mahdi had not come, that in fact
+they were seeking for him.</p>
+
+<p>Max fought desperately, and when the scimiter was
+knocked from his hand he almost cried with vexation.</p>
+
+<p>But he created a consternation which led to a panic.</p>
+
+<p>It was unexpected and to the Fashodians inexplainable.</p>
+
+<p>Max had amused himself on his journey in making a<span class="pagenum">[159]</span>
+number of giant cartridges&mdash;consisting of a paper shell
+and nearly half a pound of powder.</p>
+
+<p>He had intended them for any rock he wanted to dislodge
+or blast, and when he felt for his revolver, he accidentally
+discovered one of these heavy cartridges in
+his saddlebag.</p>
+
+<p>Madcap as he was even when fighting, he conceived a
+plan unique and terrible.</p>
+
+<p>Quietly riding forward on his camel to the standard
+bearer of the Fashodians, he managed to place the cartridge
+under the saddlebag and lighted the fuse.</p>
+
+<p>The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel,
+as he thought, the attack made by Max, but was
+surprised to see the American ride away.</p>
+
+<p>The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was
+heard, and the standard bearer was flying through space.</p>
+
+<p>Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended,
+for the madcap had charged the cartridge so well that
+the poor bearer of the crescent of Egypt was rent into a
+hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left scattered
+on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that
+the prophet must have indeed come.</p>
+
+<p>To add to their terror, a great army of Arabs was seen
+approaching, and a great cry arose from the throng:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>And into the thickest of the fight rode a stately looking
+man with clear, bright eyes and intelligent, broad forehead.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[160]</span></p>
+
+<p>In a voice of authority he shouted:</p>
+
+<p>“To your homes! Repent ye. I am your <em>Imaum</em>,
+the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">TRICK OR MIRACLE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Long years of asceticism had made the man who
+claimed to be the long-promised Mahdi almost ethereal in
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>There was a brightness about his eyes which fairly
+fascinated one.</p>
+
+<p>His skin was as smooth as that of a child, his teeth even
+and regular, his forehead high and broad, while his jet-black
+mustache and beard gave him a look of authority.</p>
+
+<p>It is very easy to believe that the appearance of such a
+man, added to the sanctity of his life, impressed the untutored
+Arabs with a belief in his pretensions.</p>
+
+<p>Had this Mahdi lived five hundred years ago, he would
+have subjugated Europe easily.</p>
+
+<p>“I am the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>Soldiers dropped their weapons and many prostrated
+themselves on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The victory was a very easy one, and the governor of
+Fashoda fell back with his troops.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi did not pursue, but gathered his forces together
+and commenced the march into the mountain fastness.</p>
+
+<p>When a halt was called Sherif el Habib fell on his face,<span class="pagenum">[161]</span>
+and taking the Mahdi’s garment in his hands, pressed it
+to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>“I know thou art the Mahdi!” he said, with reverent
+solemnity.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi bade him rise.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to Mohammed, the Mahdi said:</p>
+
+<p>“Thou, too, believest; I see it in thy mind. Verily the
+kingdoms of the world shall know it as well as thou.”</p>
+
+<p>Looking at Ibrahim, this mysterious man exclaimed:</p>
+
+<p>“Young man, thou art delighted because thy uncle hath
+found me, because the time of your pleasure is near at
+hand.”</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim started as if a bomb had suddenly exploded
+beneath his feet.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi had read his thoughts exactly.</p>
+
+<p>“It is a wonder to thee,” he said, “but thy thoughts I
+can read.”</p>
+
+<p>“And mine?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment the Mahdi was silent and then replied:</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. Thy people are commercial. They would ally
+themselves with me if they could gain by it. Curiosity
+would prompt them, but thy land I shall never see.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not English!” said Max, who thought that the
+Mahdi had referred to the British nation.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou speakest truly. Hadst thou been of that accursed
+infidel nation, the sword of the faithful would have
+pierced thee through.”</p>
+
+<p>“Tell me what thou knowest of me?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou hast been in the grave, and mid the bones of<span class="pagenum">[162]</span>
+those who went before, left thine own father, and through
+a girl didst thou escape.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is true. Thy mind reading is wonderful. If ever
+being a Mahdi fails, come over to New York and you will
+just make millions, see if you don’t.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed, Sherif el Habib and Ibrahim laughed
+heartily at the characteristic speech delivered by Max. It
+so clearly corroborated the mind reading of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“What are you laughing at?” Max inquired, half
+vexed at Ibrahim, especially.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi read your thoughts,” answered Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“That is just why I said he would rake in the dollars
+in the States.”</p>
+
+<p>A number of the followers of Fashoda’s governor came
+to the camp and began asking questions of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Some asked on matters of faith and doctrine, and the
+Mahdi answered with convincing eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>Others asked for signs and miracles.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi’s face darkened.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, ye of little faith!” he commenced, “is it necessary
+that I should work signs and wonders before you believe
+me?”</p>
+
+<p>“Moses did,” suggested one. “So did Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>“And a greater than Mahomet is here, for he is the
+promised Mahdi,” said Sherif el Habib. “I have journeyed
+over sea and land, have been across the great
+desert, to meet this Imaum, and I can die happy.”</p>
+
+<p>“The governor says all will die that follow him,” exclaimed
+one of the unbelievers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[163]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes, the army of Rauf Pasha, and of Egypt and of
+England will crush all who follow the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi saw that the unbelievers in his mission were
+gaining ground, and he must do something to convince
+them.</p>
+
+<p>His face wore a scowling expression as he resolved on
+his course.</p>
+
+<p>“Stand in a circle,” he ordered, and the crowd obeyed,
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>“You, and you, and you,” he said, pointing to the unbelieving
+ones, “stand in the center.”</p>
+
+<p>Tremblingly the doubters obeyed, and the Mahdi drew
+from the folds of his dress a snake skin.</p>
+
+<p>He showed it to them all, and they admitted it was
+but the skin of a deadly snake.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you satisfied?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>He opened out the skin and drew it through his hand
+until it was stretched to a length of six or seven feet, and
+was as stiff as a walking cane.</p>
+
+<p>He threw it on the ground in front of the unbelievers,
+and it laid there, stiff, inert, but yet terribly lifelike.</p>
+
+<p>The men recoiled.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“And are you frightened of a poor snake skin?” he
+asked, sneeringly. “Wait and see.”</p>
+
+<p>He took up the snake by the end of the tail and it remained
+stiff.</p>
+
+<p>The thing looked as if it was expanding.</p>
+
+<p>“Surely it is moving,” exclaimed Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[164]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Yes; look. Isn’t it splendid?” asked Max, admiringly.</p>
+
+<p>There was no mistake about it. The thing was endowed
+with life.</p>
+
+<p>Its forked tongue shot in and out its ugly mouth. Its
+body writhed and wriggled, as if it resented being so
+tightly grasped by its tail.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi dropped it. The reptile coiled itself as if
+ready for a spring.</p>
+
+<p>The men shrieked.</p>
+
+<p>The unbelievers slunk away.</p>
+
+<p>The believers were delighted and yet awe-stricken at
+the miracle.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi grasped the snake round its neck just as it
+was about to spring.</p>
+
+<p>The body straightened out, and looked stiff and lifeless.</p>
+
+<p>It gradually shrunk until it became again the empty
+piece of skin, so small that it could be held in the closed
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>Whether this was trick or miracle, sleight-of-hand performance
+or some freak of nature, the reader must determine.
+The Buddhist fakirs of India and the Mohammedan
+dervishes of Persia and Turkey perform the same
+thing to-day, save that they place the snake skin on the
+sand and cover it with a paper cone. When the cone is
+removed the skin has disappeared, and a live snake has
+taken its place.</p>
+
+<p>The unbelievers fell on their faces, and with one voice
+declared:</p>
+
+<p>“Thou art the Mahdi!”</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[165]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">UNDER THE MAHDI.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>To the simple minds of those Soudanese peasants and
+soldiers, the experiment, or trick, of the Mahdi, was
+sufficient evidence of his power and of the truth of
+his mission.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, however, was grieved.</p>
+
+<p>He had seen the dervishes do a similar thing, and he
+wished that the Mahdi had shown his power in some
+other way.</p>
+
+<p>Not that any doubt crossed his mind, but Sherif el
+Habib wanted to believe that the Mahdi possessed a
+power unlimited, and which no one could imitate.</p>
+
+<p>Reading his thoughts, the Mahdi turned to him.</p>
+
+<p>“Believer from the glorious mosque of Khorassan, the
+proof of my power must be adapted to those who are
+witnesses of it. Had I said to this mountain: ‘Get thee
+back ten leagues,’ and it had obeyed, it would not have
+been more convincing than the snake transformation.”</p>
+
+<p>“To me it would,” said Max, “and if you will remove
+the mountain even ten feet, I’ll give up my country and
+adopt yours.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi made no answer.</p>
+
+<p>He treated the young American with contempt.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib apologized for his speech, while Mohammed
+bowed his head, grieved that anyone in his caravan<span class="pagenum">[166]</span>
+should speak so lightly or demand such a great
+miracle.</p>
+
+<p>Max was in disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>He wandered away and strolled near where the women
+members of the caravan were encamped.</p>
+
+<p>He walked about, his head bent down, for he was
+sorry that he had offended his friends.</p>
+
+<p>“What grieveth my brother?” asked a low, sweet voice
+at his side.</p>
+
+<p>He turned, and a female form stood beside him, heavily
+veiled.</p>
+
+<p>Coquettishly the veil was removed a little, and he
+caught a glimpse of Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Max was pleased. He felt his heart throb with delight.</p>
+
+<p>He almost envied Ibrahim, and yet he, a white man,
+could never marry a dark-skinned Arabian.</p>
+
+<p>“Why art thou sad?” Girzilla asked again.</p>
+
+<p>Max told her of the offense he had given.</p>
+
+<p>“If he be the Mahdi,” said she, consolingly, “he will
+not be offended. If he be not the Mahdi, he will not hurt
+my brother for fear of offending Mohammed, my father,
+and the illustrious Sherif el Habib.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is fair reasoning, my true one, my Girzilla. How
+strange that, through saving me, you should be restored
+to your friends.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is indeed. Oh, Max, my mother is lovely.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am glad you are so happy, and yet you will soon
+leave her and go with thy husband.”</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose so;” and Girzilla sighed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[167]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Tell me, Girzilla, do you not love Ibrahim?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes&mdash;that&mdash;I&mdash;what shall I say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Speak to me as a brother, dear one.”</p>
+
+<p>“As a&mdash;brother. Ah, yes&mdash;but art thou going away?”</p>
+
+<p>“Going away?”</p>
+
+<p>“To seek the last of the Mamelukes?”</p>
+
+<p>“I must. I feel that I would like to do so, but I have
+no one to guide me.”</p>
+
+<p>“I could instruct thee.”</p>
+
+<p>“Will you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps, but&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max
+far happier than when she had joined him.</p>
+
+<p>He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature
+which characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am
+not of thy faith. You adopt the crescent, my sign is the
+cross. Mahomet did a grand work for your people, but
+my Savior is Jesus.”</p>
+
+<p>“He is one of our prophets.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You
+are beset with danger. Your enemies may league against
+you&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“They may, but they cannot triumph.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not. But if I can be of use to you while I
+am in the camp, I will fight under your standard, and if
+the English came&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“They will not.”</p>
+
+<p>“If they do, I will not leave you till the end. I am<span class="pagenum">[168]</span>
+an American, and I would like to be able to tell the English
+to stay at home and mind their own business.”</p>
+
+<p>It was a long speech for Max to make, but the Mahdi
+could see it came from the heart.</p>
+
+<p>For several days the camp was undisturbed.</p>
+
+<p>“I shall remain here until the end of the rainy season,”
+said the Mahdi, “and then I shall march on Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed and Sherif el Habib determined to stay
+with the new prophet, and to participate in what they believed
+to be his forthcoming triumphal march across the
+Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>Max began to love the Mahdi, for the man was essentially
+human, grandly sublime in his ideas, and, although
+undoubtedly a religious fanatic, an able man.</p>
+
+<p>That Mohammed Ahmed really believed he was the
+Mahdi, no one could doubt.</p>
+
+<p>In his own estimation he was no impostor.</p>
+
+<p>His asceticism, his study, his extreme self-denial, all
+tended to make him believe in his mission.</p>
+
+<p>But, although the Mahdi had faith in his divine authority,
+he was too good a soldier to neglect military precautions.</p>
+
+<p>Every morning at sunrise the bugle sounded, and the
+soldiers and followers of the new prophet were drilled
+for an hour.</p>
+
+<p>At ten o’clock they were again mustered and drilled in
+the manual of arms.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was given the command of a division,
+and he appointed Ibrahim as his chief of staff, while Max<span class="pagenum">[169]</span>
+occupied the same post of responsibility under Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>Each knew that at any moment they might have to
+fight, and our young heroes were eager for the fray.</p>
+
+<p>Truth to tell, Max was a soldier born. He was never
+so happy as when engaged in combat, either in a wordy
+war with his tongue or in the more deadly conflict with
+the sword.</p>
+
+<p>When not engaged in some work of the kind his madcap
+proclivities were sure to manifest themselves, and he
+would make some one the victim of his practical jokes.</p>
+
+<p>His wish for a fight was soon to be gratified, and before
+he left the Mahdi he saw blood flow like water, and
+men go down to the valley of death by the thousand.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">COUNTING CHICKENS.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In all Africa there was not a more conceited man than
+the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>Defeated and driven back by the Mahdists, and ordered
+by Rauf Pasha to remain on the defensive, he nevertheless
+conceived the idea that he could win renown and
+perhaps become governor-general of the Soudan with
+the greatest ease.</p>
+
+<p>As his principal adviser he had a young Englishman,
+who had been compelled to leave his own country surreptitiously,
+or spend a few years in one of the English
+prisons.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[170]</span></p>
+
+<p>He managed to slip away to Egypt, and being of an
+adventurous disposition, Hubert Ponsonby was sent on
+a special mission to Rauf Pasha, who transferred him to
+the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>Hubert Ponsonby, whose father was a member of the
+English aristocracy, was educated at Oxford University,
+had been in the army, but resigned his commission just in
+time to escape being kicked out.</p>
+
+<p>But he was brilliant in every way, a good fellow, but
+a great rascal.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody liked him in spite of his faults.</p>
+
+<p>The Khedive of Egypt thought he was too brilliant.
+He feared that his winning ways might lure some of the
+court to the gaming table, for Ponsonby was a great
+gambler.</p>
+
+<p>Hence the khedive hit upon the happy plan of sending
+Ponsonby to the Soudan.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha saw that the young Englishman would
+soon run the country to suit himself, and he determined
+to get rid of him.</p>
+
+<p>He dared not kill him; he did try to get him into a
+low part of Khartoum, hoping he might be robbed and
+murdered, but Ponsonby escaped.</p>
+
+<p>The only thing he could think of was to send him with
+good recommendations to the Governor of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>“If ever the fellow gets away from there, I’ll resign
+in his favor,” said Rauf Pasha, when Ponsonby started
+from Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>This was the Englishman who advised the Fashoda
+governor, and, in fact, really ruled the province.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[171]</span></p>
+
+<p>Two weeks after the defeat by the Mahdi, Ponsonby
+was closeted with the governor.</p>
+
+<p>“You see, Rauf is jealous of you,” said the Englishman,
+insinuatingly.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should he be?”</p>
+
+<p>“If you defeated this Mohammed Ahmed, you would
+be the greatest man in the Soudan, and I would go right
+off to the khedive and so work upon his feelings that you
+would be appointed governor-general of the Soudan.
+Once there you might aspire higher&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“The army wants a leader.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“Your defeat of the Mahdi, the organization of a big
+Soudanese army would point to you as the man. Arabi
+Pasha would help you.”</p>
+
+<p>“You think I might be commander of the Egyptian
+army?”</p>
+
+<p>“Greater than that.”</p>
+
+<p>“How so?”</p>
+
+<p>“The army could make you khedive.”</p>
+
+<p>“And you?”</p>
+
+<p>“You would make me minister of war, and I would
+get England’s influence, and Egypt should become an independent
+nation, with you as its first sultan.”</p>
+
+<p>The Governor of Fashoda was vain and egotistic, and
+believed he was the only man fitted for the career
+sketched out by the brilliant Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>But what ambition had Ponsonby?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[172]</span></p>
+
+<p>In the recesses of his own heart he reasoned in this
+fashion:</p>
+
+<p>“The governor is ambitious&mdash;he is a tool in my hands&mdash;he
+has no scruples; he would use the assassin’s dagger
+just as readily as the soldier’s sword. The army wants
+a bold, dashing leader. Under my guidance he shall win
+everything until the last step&mdash;then I will, as minister
+of war, effect a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup d’etat</i>, and Hubert Ponsonby shall
+become Sultan Hubert the First of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>So we see, with an author’s privilege, just how the
+Governor of Fashoda was to be used as a cat’s-paw to
+pull the chestnuts out of the fire for Ponsonby’s benefit.</p>
+
+<p>The whole thing was feasible if the Mahdi could be
+defeated and crushed.</p>
+
+<p>Rauf Pasha was afraid of the growing power of the
+Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Egypt itself was being converted to the belief in the
+claims of the Mahdi, and in the mosques of Constantinople
+the Mahdi was openly referred to as having made
+his appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The conquerer of the Mahdi would therefore be all
+powerful.</p>
+
+<p>It would have been as well if Hubert Ponsonby had remembered
+the old Irish story of the Skibbereen market
+women.</p>
+
+<p>As the two women were going home from market, one
+of them began to prophesy how many good things she
+would be able to get by the next gale&mdash;rent&mdash;day.</p>
+
+<p>She had two sitting of eggs to take home, and she
+reasoned: Twenty-six eggs will bring me at least twenty<span class="pagenum">[173]</span>
+chickens; each chicken will begin laying in the spring. I
+shall get so many eggs every day; seven times twenty
+will be one hundred and forty eggs every week. I can
+sell them, and the money will buy&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>But a stop was put to her calculation by her friend,
+who asked:</p>
+
+<p>“But what’ll you do if the chickens are all roosters?”</p>
+
+<p>The other was sure they wouldn’t be.</p>
+
+<p>The women wrangled and got to high words, and at
+last one declared she could tell by the yolks whether the
+egg would produce a hen or a rooster.</p>
+
+<p>Challenged to the proof, she broke all the eggs to prove
+her assertion; and then suddenly remembered that no
+chickens at all could be hatched from broken eggs.</p>
+
+<p>Ponsonby should have thought of that, and have defeated
+the Mahdi before he counted his profits.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was receiving recruits daily.</p>
+
+<p>Men who were fanatics; desperate fighters because they
+believed the triumph of the prophet was the triumph of
+religion.</p>
+
+<p>Every day these recruits were drilled; the discipline
+was of the strictest, but they would have suffered torture
+if they thought by so doing they could assist the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Ponsonby had won over the chief of the Shiluk tribe
+to his ideas, and five thousand men were ready to take the
+field against the Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>“Why wait?” asked Hubert Pasha, as he was called.</p>
+
+<p>“Will the Governor of the Soudan object?” asked the
+chief of the Shiluk.</p>
+
+<p>“The Governor of Fashoda will soon be Sultan of<span class="pagenum">[174]</span>
+Egypt, and you will be the governor general of the
+Soudan.”</p>
+
+<p>And the poor barbarian was fired with ambition, and
+ready to fight against anybody, or any nation, as Ponsonby
+should direct.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Max, if anything happens to me, will you be good to
+Girzilla?” asked Ibrahim, one night.</p>
+
+<p>“Anything happen? What do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“I feel that we are about to have a battle, and I may
+fall.”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course, so may I.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; but I feel it here,” and Ibrahim placed his hand
+on his forehead.</p>
+
+<p>“Premonition, eh? Take a good stiff dose of quinine,
+and you will be all right.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, I am not sick.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps not, but talking of being sick. Wasn’t that a
+lark I had with the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p>“What lark?”</p>
+
+<p>“I forgot you were not there. It was good fun. I
+could have split my sides with laughter, but I had to be
+sober as a judge.”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you do, Madcap?”</p>
+
+<p>“Swear you won’t give me away.”</p>
+
+<p>“Give you away?” repeated Ibrahim, surprisedly.</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell even Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[175]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Swear it.”</p>
+
+<p>“By the beard of the prophet, I swear!”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, you know the Mahdi has a great deal more
+ceremony shown him now than at first. His hands and
+feet are washed before he stretches himself on your
+uncle’s sacred carpet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I know that.”</p>
+
+<p>“You also know that he must pour the water into the
+basin himself.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, the Mahdi stood ready for the water. A big
+Arab held the basin, another came with a leather bottle,
+filled with the sacred water. The Mahdi took the bottle
+and poured some into the basin; but he nearly fell with
+fright.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The water foamed and sizzed until it overflowed the
+basin. The Arab was so frightened that he dropped the
+bowl and fell on his knees. ‘Bring the other vessel,’
+commanded the Mahdi. The other was brought, and the
+same thing occurred. ‘A miracle! A miracle!’ shouted
+your uncle, and Mohammed declared that it signified a
+great uprising of the Mahdi’s enemies; but just as the
+boiling and frothing of the water subsided, so would his
+enemies. Hadn’t I hard work to preserve a sober face,
+because&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What did you do?”</p>
+
+<p>“I got your uncle’s medicine chest and put three
+seidlitz powders in each bowl. The white powder was<span class="pagenum">[176]</span>
+not noticed because the Mahdi insists on the sacred sand
+from Mecca being at the bottom of the basin.”</p>
+
+<p>“It was a shame, Max. How could you do it?”</p>
+
+<p>“You ought to thank me, for everyone believes it to
+have been a miracle.”</p>
+
+<p>“Max, Max, I am afraid that you are indeed an infidel.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not at all, Ibrahim, old fellow, only&mdash;&mdash;What was
+that?”</p>
+
+<p>“A bugle call ‘to arms.’”</p>
+
+<p>The conversation was over; Madcap Max became the
+soldier once again.</p>
+
+<p>He buckled on his scimiter and joined his men.</p>
+
+<p>“The cohorts of the infidels are coming,” shouted the
+Mahdi. “But not one will go back. The grave shall receive
+each one who fights beneath the crescent without
+the star.”</p>
+
+<p>Through a mountain pass five thousand men, headed
+by the Governor of Fashoda and the Chief of Shiluk, were
+seen approaching.</p>
+
+<p>On a jet-black Arab horse Hubert Ponsonby rode,
+looking kinglike and majestic.</p>
+
+<p>The whiteness of his skin contrasted strangely with the
+tawny color of the soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>He was clad in white, and he looked almost ghostly
+as he bestrode the back of the raven-colored horse.</p>
+
+<p>He did everything for effect.</p>
+
+<p>“Allah il Allah!” shouted the Mahdists, and the same
+cry was repeated by the Fashodans.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[177]</span></p>
+
+<p>“For Mahomet and the Mahdi!” cried the Mahdists,
+and the Fashodans replied with stentorian voices:</p>
+
+<p>“For Mahomet and the khedive.”</p>
+
+<p>The Fashodans commenced the battle.</p>
+
+<p>They were weary and wanted it over.</p>
+
+<p>They believed the victory would be an easy one. They
+had no water, and the wells were guarded by the
+Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>Hence it was that they precipitated the struggle.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was practically unarmed.</p>
+
+<p>He carried a spear, but from it streamed pennons on
+which were written passages from the Koran.</p>
+
+<p>There was something grand about this religious fanatic.</p>
+
+<p>Strong and brave as a lion, yet he was as simple and
+guileless as a child.</p>
+
+<p>He hated war, and yet believed it to be a sacred mission.</p>
+
+<p>He knew it was only by the sword that he could win,
+and yet he would not use the weapon himself.</p>
+
+<p>When the fight was hottest he was calm.</p>
+
+<p>The bullets flew about him like hail, but he sat unharmed
+and as cool as if he knew the leaden hail could
+not hurt him.</p>
+
+<p>On came the legions from Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>But it was evident that they were disheartened.</p>
+
+<p>“Who is that white man?” asked Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Hubert Ponsonby,” answered one of the Mahdists.</p>
+
+<p>“An Englishman?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[178]</span></p>
+
+<p>“It is the same. He cheated my father’s firm. I wondered
+what had become of him. Wonder if he knows
+me? It is three years since we met, and I was only sixteen
+then.”</p>
+
+<p>Max thought all this quicker than the pen can write
+the words.</p>
+
+<p>He called his men to follow him, and swinging his
+scimiter above his head dashed into the very midst of the
+attacking force.</p>
+
+<p>He pushed his way through until he found himself by
+the side of Hubert’s coal-black horse.</p>
+
+<p>“Hubert Ponsonby!” exclaimed Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Who calls me by that name?”</p>
+
+<p>“I do.”</p>
+
+<p>“You; and who are you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Max Gordon, of the firm you robbed.”</p>
+
+<p>“You lie!”</p>
+
+<p>“Do I, Hubert Ponsonby? My scimiter shall whet
+itself in your flesh and prove my words.”</p>
+
+<p>Hubert swung his scimiter round with terrific force,
+but it cut the empty air.</p>
+
+<p>Max wheeled round quickly and parried a second
+blow.</p>
+
+<p>“So ho! You are a renegade, are you?” sneered Ponsonby.</p>
+
+<p>“You wear the Turk’s colors, I the Mahdi’s; that is
+the difference,” answered Max.</p>
+
+<p>Steel clashed on steel, the sparks flew from the blades,
+but neither combatant was wounded.</p>
+
+<p>“Surrender!” cried Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[179]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Never!” answered Hubert.</p>
+
+<p>Again the two men came together.</p>
+
+<p>The blood was now flowing from Hubert’s left shoulder,
+but Max was unhurt.</p>
+
+<p>The Englishman was getting weak from loss of blood.</p>
+
+<p>With his left hand, weak though it was from the
+wound, he drew his revolver.</p>
+
+<p>“No, that will never do,” Max exclaimed, as he made
+an upward cut and sent the revolver careening through
+the air.</p>
+
+<p>The Soudanese very seldom fight fairly, and when they
+saw that Hubert was getting the worst of it, a dozen of
+them surrounded Max, cutting him off entirely from his
+followers.</p>
+
+<p>It was a critical moment.</p>
+
+<p>Max swung his scimiter round vigorously, dealing out
+terrible blows with it; but what could one man do against
+twelve?</p>
+
+<p>He felt he would have to succumb.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim’s premonition came to his mind.</p>
+
+<p>He was to be the one to die, not the Persian.</p>
+
+<p>He was ready for his fate, but even as he admitted
+it he resolved that Ponsonby should not live to gloat
+over his defeat.</p>
+
+<p>He threw himself forward on Ponsonby, bearing him
+from his horse.</p>
+
+<p>Like a lightning flash Max dismounted and grasped
+Hubert by the throat.</p>
+
+<p>A Soudanese raised his scimiter and was about to bring
+it down on the young American’s head, when the blow<span class="pagenum">[180]</span>
+was turned aside by the Mahdi’s spear, and instead of
+cutting off the head of the young lieutenant of the Mahdi,
+it did no other damage than the destruction of a verse of
+the Koran.</p>
+
+<p>Amid the flashing of steel and the cracking of musketry
+the Mahdi rode; he had saved the madcap’s life at the
+risk of his own.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim had fought with terrible fury, and scores of
+the Fashodans had felt the keenness of his sword and the
+strength of his arm.</p>
+
+<p>His latest achievement was the capture of the Governor
+of Fashoda.</p>
+
+<p>When the day ended and the result of the fight was
+known, it was found that of the five thousand brave followers
+of Hubert Ponsonby and the Fashodan governor,
+not two hundred escaped.</p>
+
+<p>The carnage was fearful.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy
+over four thousand.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the
+Mahdi, in a loud voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as
+an adopted son of the prophet.</p>
+
+<p>Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi
+hath come!” the sun went down, and Mohammed Ahmed
+was the greatest warrior the Soudan had ever known.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[181]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The victory of the Mahdi over the Fashodans was
+telegraphed all over the world.</p>
+
+<p>In London as well as Constantinople, in Paris alike
+with Cairo, the people could talk of nothing but the wonderful
+advance of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity
+of the Egyptians and Turks against him.</p>
+
+<p>A delay would be dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>The Soudan must be his, and that at once.</p>
+
+<p>He called together his chosen friends and told them
+that the victory must be followed up by still greater
+victories.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which
+made men rejoice in being martyrs, advised the instant
+march on Khartoum.</p>
+
+<p>“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must
+acknowledge your mission,” he said, and really believed
+that the Mahdi could scatter his enemies by a mere
+word.</p>
+
+<p>But the prophet shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>“No, my friend, Allah works by men’s hands, and it is
+only by the sword that the prince of darkness can be
+crushed. To march now would be to invite defeat.”</p>
+
+<p>Max opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.</p>
+
+<p>“Speak, my son,” said the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[182]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max blushed a deep crimson as he was thus addressed.</p>
+
+<p>“I am the youngest here and I may offend,” he replied,
+modestly.</p>
+
+<p>“Thou canst not offend me. Speak just as you think.
+I will hear all and condemn not.”</p>
+
+<p>The madcap was emboldened, and clearing his throat
+made, for him, a long speech.</p>
+
+<p>“I left Cairo on a special mission of my own,” he began.
+“Fate, or, as you would say, Allah, guided me to
+you. I have fought under your banner.”</p>
+
+<p>“And right bravely, too,” the Mahdi interjected.</p>
+
+<p>“I don’t believe in your religion, but I know that you”&mdash;looking
+at the Mahdi&mdash;“are by a long shot the best
+man in the Soudan to-day. As Englishmen have joined
+your enemies, I don’t see why I should not join you,
+and I’ll be hanged if it isn’t a good work you are engaged
+in. Now, I’ve got an idea&mdash;just forget that you
+are the Mahdi and, to put it plainly, a rebel&mdash;&mdash;Oh,
+don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest man who
+ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he
+was a patriot.”</p>
+
+<p>“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said
+Mohammed Ahmed. “I shall not be offended.”</p>
+
+<p>“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum,
+to Kordofan, and Senaar, and preach rebellion.
+Let whoever goes rouse the people&mdash;talk to them of the
+way they have been robbed, and then spring upon them
+the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. You
+see, by this means you would have friends waiting for
+you in each place.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[183]</span></p>
+
+<p>“That is good, my son, but the messengers may be
+killed.”</p>
+
+<p>“Very likely. When I took up the sword I just said
+to myself: ‘Max, old fellow, make your will, reconcile
+yourself to your enemies, and go in a buster.’”</p>
+
+<p>Although the slangy manner in which Max spoke
+seemed incoherent, his hearers knew that he was in earnest,
+and that the plan was a good one.</p>
+
+<p>“Better leave out Khartoum,” said the prophet; “let
+the plan be worked in other places first.”</p>
+
+<p>“The plan is a good one,” said Sherif el Habib, “but
+who could carry it out?”</p>
+
+<p>“I would go to one place,” exclaimed Mohammed.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:</p>
+
+<p>“What would become of your harem?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would
+never do. Both the illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed
+have too much to lose.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you think we value our possessions more than
+principle?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to
+lose all, and perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to
+Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>“You?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; I can talk&mdash;why, great Cæsar! I’d just glory in
+the adventure.”</p>
+
+<p>“But you are not of our faith.”</p>
+
+<p>“So much the better. I am an American, and every<span class="pagenum">[184]</span>
+body will know that the cause is a good one if an American
+takes it up.”</p>
+
+<p>“Go, my son, and may Allah bless you!”</p>
+
+<p>“May I not go to Senaar?” asked Ibrahim.</p>
+
+<p>“What do you know about revolutions?” asked his
+uncle, with almost a sneer.</p>
+
+<p>“Not much, unky, and that’s a fact; but Max will
+tell me what to do.”</p>
+
+<p>“Go, then; and if you die, you will know it was for the
+truth.”</p>
+
+<p>“Just so, only we shall not die; at least, not just yet.
+When do we start, Max?”</p>
+
+<p>“At once; earlier, if possible,” and the madcap laughed
+as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>He walked away to think out his plan of action, and
+was joined by Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>“You were going without bidding me good-by.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p>“Cruel brother. Remember, Max, wherever you may
+be, I am not Kalula to you, but Girzilla.”</p>
+
+<p>“I shall never forget it, my true one. May you be
+happy.”</p>
+
+<p>The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from
+what Mohammed, her father, had told her, that the mission
+in which both Max and Ibrahim were to be engaged
+was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were that
+neither would ever be seen again alive.</p>
+
+<p>But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the
+young men went forth, their lives in their hands, in support
+of the cause they had espoused.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[185]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max was not quite so much in love with his mission
+when he entered Kordofan alone, and knew that he, in all
+probability, was in antagonism to several regiments of
+soldiers and an excited populace.</p>
+
+<p>He needed rest.</p>
+
+<p>It was a treat to reach a town after all the horrors of
+caravan life on the desert. Yet his mission was so urgent
+that he dare not delay more than that one day.</p>
+
+<p>He had been provided with a letter of introduction
+to a merchant with whom Sherif el Habib had done business.
+That letter opened the merchant’s heart and home,
+for Max was at once invited to make Shula’s house his
+home during his stay in Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was a shrewd business man, a faithful religionist,
+and a man of wealth, and therefore of great influence.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before he asked Max the pointed
+question:</p>
+
+<p>“Do you believe the Mahdi has come?”</p>
+
+<p>Max parried the question in order to find out Shula’s
+belief.</p>
+
+<p>“I believe Mohammed Ahmed to be the Mahdi,” said
+the merchant.</p>
+
+<p>“Do the people of Kordofan believe it also?” asked
+the American.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; but I hope the Mahdi may not come here.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why?”</p>
+
+<p>“The people would be disappointed.”</p>
+
+<p>“In what way?”</p>
+
+<p>“You will laugh.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[186]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Indeed I will not. Tell me, for I am interested in this
+Mohammedan Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“They expect too much.”</p>
+
+<p>“How?”</p>
+
+<p>“They say the Mahdi is ten feet high. I told you that
+you would laugh.”</p>
+
+<p>“I apologize. I could not help it.”</p>
+
+<p>“They think, also, that he never walks.”</p>
+
+<p>“Never walks?”</p>
+
+<p>“No; they imagine that he floats whenever he desires to
+reach any place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Anything else?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; they say that he has the blood of Mahomet in
+his veins, as well as that of Emin Bey.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom did you say?”</p>
+
+<p>“Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, but the other name?”</p>
+
+<p>“Emin.”</p>
+
+<p>“What Emin?” asked Max, excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was now in his glory, for he, above everything,
+loved to tell a story, and one story was always entrancing
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>He sipped his sherbet and caused a cloud of tobacco
+smoke to eddy and curl up to the ceiling before he commenced
+his story.</p>
+
+<p>“It was in the year 1811, as you would call it, that
+Mohammed Ali determined to destroy the Mamelukes&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” interrupted Max, “I know, but what has that
+to do with the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[187]</span></p>
+
+<p>Shula looked at Max with astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>It was as much as to say: “How dare you interrupt
+me in the midst of a story?” He puffed away at his
+chibouk, closed his eyes, paused for a minute or so, and
+then continued:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mamelukes attended the banquet to which Mohammed
+Ali invited them, the portcullis fell behind the
+last of their splendid army, and they were trapped like
+rats.”</p>
+
+<p>“I know, but one escaped the slaughter.”</p>
+
+<p>“One, didst thou say? Yes. Emin spurred his stanch
+Arabian over a pile of dead and dying. He sprang on
+the battlements, his horse was killed, but with a shout
+of <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i>, he leaped into the darkness and escaped
+to the mosque.”</p>
+
+<p>Again Shula paused.</p>
+
+<p>Max was impatient, and could not wait.</p>
+
+<p>“I would give my right hand to find the descendants
+of Emin,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Would you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed I would.”</p>
+
+<p>“Then listen. Emin was wounded. He had entered
+the mosque without removing his shoes. He pleaded to
+his own conscience that his wound would excuse his sacrilege.
+He fell asleep, and as he slept he dreamed&mdash;that
+is, some say so; he declared that he was awake all the
+time. But he fancied he saw a great ring of light, and
+in the center, Mahomet, the great prophet. ‘Rise,’ said
+the prophet, ‘thy wound is healed.’ Emin began to excuse
+the wearing of shoes in the mosque, but the prophet<span class="pagenum">[188]</span>
+stopped him. ‘Thy shoes were removed by me,’ he said,
+and sure enough, Emin was shoeless. ‘Go to the ruins
+of Thebes and hide thee until I bid thee go to the desert,
+and there thou shalt stay, thou and thy sons, but thy
+son’s son shall be the <em>Imaum</em> of his people.’ ‘But,’ said
+Emin, ‘the <em>Imaum</em> shall be of thy race, illustrious
+prophet;’ and then the prophet answered: ‘Thou art of
+my race, thou art blessed, indeed.”</p>
+
+<p>Shula called for his servant and ordered him to bring
+some grapes.</p>
+
+<p>Holding a cup, the servant squeezed the grapes until
+the cup was full of the ruby-colored juice.</p>
+
+<p>Another cup was filled for Max, and when the servant
+had withdrawn, Shula continued:</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi, according to tradition, should be the
+grandson of Emin&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“And I never thought of it&mdash;I, who have been seeking
+the last of the Mamelukes&mdash;I&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What! do you know the story of the Mamelukes?”</p>
+
+<p>“I have given my life to finding Emin’s descendants,
+and I never told the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do you know the Mahdi?”</p>
+
+<p>“I will reveal all, most noble Shula. The Mahdi
+sent me here. He is coming in all the glory of victory,
+and I am to prepare a way for him.”</p>
+
+<p>Shula sprang to his feet and hugged and kissed the
+American until poor Max began to think his breath would
+all be squeezed out.</p>
+
+<p>Had he wanted rest?</p>
+
+<p>If so he made a mistake in telling Shula his mission.</p>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p><span class="pagenum">[189]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SOWING THE SEED.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For no sooner had he done so than Shula sent out for
+three of his most particular friends and bade them hasten
+to his house.</p>
+
+<p>Rashid, who looked more like a Jew than an Egyptian,
+was the first, and he stared at Max with eyes which
+seemed to glitter with hate.</p>
+
+<p>He was quickly followed by Barbasson, whose skin
+had been changed from olive to almost black through
+exposure to the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Barbasson was the owner of a number of Dahabeahs,
+and he imagined Max to be some wealthy foreigner who
+was desirous of engaging a Dahabeah for business or
+pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>He had scarcely made his salaam before Nasr el Adin,
+a Persian, entered and embraced Shula most warmly.</p>
+
+<p>The door was closed, curtains of heavy chenille were
+drawn round the room and everything done to prevent
+the slightest sound being heard on the outside.</p>
+
+<p>“We ought to remove our shoes,” said Shula, “for this
+illustrious one is a messenger from the Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>The three visitors rose to their feet, salaamed very low,
+and murmured some words of prayer.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi is coming,” said Max, “but are you
+ready?”</p>
+
+<p>“What are we to do?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Raise his standard over Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>“But the soldiers?” Rashid interjected.</p>
+
+<p>“Are you afraid of them? I saw the Mahdi ride into
+the midst of an army; he had no weapon, the guns were
+firing, the swords and spears clashed around him and
+over his head, but he merely smiled and bade them cease
+their strife. And you in his name ought to be strong.
+Will you not raise his flag?”</p>
+
+<p>“We will.”</p>
+
+<p>“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die
+in a great cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum,
+pillaged by Egypt and taxed by Turkey. England now
+wants a share, and what will you have left?”</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing.”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt,
+of Turkey and the whole of the Mohammedan world.
+The crescent and star will float above all other flags, for
+the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of shahs.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah</i> be praised.”</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>“We will do it,” exclaimed Nasr el Adin, so emphatically
+that no opposition was offered. A plan was adopted
+by which on the third day all the followers of the four
+wealthy citizens should revolt and raise the standard of
+the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Max was advised to remain quiet.
+It was not thought wise for him to interfere, as some
+thought it might be said he was a foreigner, and of
+alien faith, and therefore at work against the interests of
+the religion, while wearing the garb of the prophet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[191]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max had sown the seed, and he had no desire to gather
+the fruit. He was quite willing that others should do
+that.</p>
+
+<p>So he fell in with the views of Rashid, Barbasson and
+Nasr el Adin, and agreed to remain quiet in the city,
+while they kindled the torch of revolt.</p>
+
+<p>Max slept well that night. It had been many months
+since he reposed in a regular bed in a comfortable room,
+with both male and female servants to minister to his
+needs.</p>
+
+<p>True, the females were not lovely. They were very
+old, exceedingly ugly and bad tempered, but they did the
+work.</p>
+
+<p>It was noon the next day before Max ventured forth
+into the streets.</p>
+
+<p>He left the city and followed the course of the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>A huge crocodile was basking on the bank, and looked
+lazily at Max, who returned the gaze, and wondered
+whether he ought to attack the peculiar animal or not.</p>
+
+<p>While he was looking at the reptile a girl, unveiled,
+ran screaming past him, followed by a fat, ugly-looking
+man.</p>
+
+<p>Max thought that it was a case of father chastising
+his daughter, but even then his blood boiled with indignation,
+for the girl was too old to receive corporal
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p>The man overtook the girl and struck her over the
+shoulders with his cane.</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant Max found he could not restrain
+the muscles of his arm, and his clinched fist managed to<span class="pagenum">[192]</span>
+come in contact with the fat man’s nose, causing that
+organ to bleed with refreshing copiousness, and inducing
+its owner to lie on the ground on his back.</p>
+
+<p>It was a curious accident&mdash;for so Max called it&mdash;but
+the girl did not hurry to assuage the grief of her fallen
+foe, but rather turned her black eyes in the direction of
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>He then saw that she was really pretty.</p>
+
+<p>Her olive skin, her long, black eyelashes overhanging
+sparkling dark eyes, made her quite a pretty feature in
+the landscape.</p>
+
+<p>The fat man lay on the ground with no inclination to
+resume the perpendicular while Max was around.</p>
+
+<p>The girl started running away, but Max called to her
+to stop.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to know her name, at least.</p>
+
+<p>He was an American, and did not realize how different
+were the customs of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>She ran swiftly, but Max could outrun her.</p>
+
+<p>She smiled when he got alongside her.</p>
+
+<p>As she did so she revealed two rows of shiny, pearly
+teeth that really added to her beauty.</p>
+
+<p>“Thank you, but it was very wrong,” she said, with
+charming <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïveté</i>.</p>
+
+<p>“What was wrong, mademoiselle?”</p>
+
+<p>She smiled.</p>
+
+<p>“You know you shouldn’t.”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“Have knocked him down.”</p>
+
+<p>“But he shouldn’t have struck you.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p>
+
+<p>“I was wrong. I went out without a veil.”</p>
+
+<p>“As ladies always do in my country,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“Do they? Isn’t that nice?”</p>
+
+<p>Turning round they saw that the fat man had risen,
+and was following them.</p>
+
+<p>“Go,” she said.</p>
+
+<p>“Not until you tell me where you live and your
+name.”</p>
+
+<p>“My name is Lalla. I live&mdash;&mdash;But what good to tell
+you?&mdash;I shall never see you again.”</p>
+
+<p>“Jewilikins! Hark at that! Not see me? Of course
+you will.”</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no! you must not; good-by&mdash;I live&mdash;here.”</p>
+
+<p>She had stopped in front of a small gate in a very big
+wall.</p>
+
+<p>“You do? May I come and see you?”</p>
+
+<p>She laughed so boisterously that Max caught the contagion
+and laughed as well.</p>
+
+<p>“No; what absurdity&mdash;I am going to be married&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>The gate opened, and Lalla slipped in and closed it
+again so quickly that Max could not get even the slightest
+glimpse of what was on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>“Never mind, I will when his nibs goes in,” thought
+Max.</p>
+
+<p>But again he was mistaken, for the old party, looking
+quite disreputable in his blood-stained clothes, dodged
+in just as expeditiously as the girl had done.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll be hanged if I’ll be treated this way!” said Max.
+“I’ll see over that wall, or I’ll know the reason why.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p>
+
+<p>He looked for a good climbing place, and found a
+better one than he expected.</p>
+
+<p>“Here goes&mdash;Mahdi or no Mahdi,” he said, as he commenced
+climbing the wall.</p>
+
+<p>When he reached the top he saw an elegant estate.</p>
+
+<p>The lawn was as beautiful as Central Park, and a number
+of fountains were sending up continuous sprays of
+water, which the slight breeze scattered over the turf,
+keeping the grass green and soft.</p>
+
+<p>A large house stood in the center, and near to its main
+entrance stood Lalla.</p>
+
+<p>She was motioning to Max to go back, but he would
+not understand her signals.</p>
+
+<p>He quietly dropped from the wall to the ground, and
+sheltered himself behind a clump of euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid that his presence might be known, and
+that he would be expelled from the grounds.</p>
+
+<p>He was determined to speak with Lalla, and did not
+see why it should be considered wrong to do so.</p>
+
+<p>He knew how the Eastern women were guarded, and
+that if he were caught his life might be the forfeit, but
+he was Madcap Max still.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the fat old party waddle along the driveway
+and enter the house.</p>
+
+<p>“I wonder if he will beat her?” thought Max. “Jewilikins!
+if he does, I’ll break into his place and steal her
+away&mdash;that I will!”</p>
+
+<p>But it soon became evident that his position would
+be an unpleasant one.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[195]</span></p>
+
+<p>Either Lalla or the fat old party had determined to
+drive him from the grounds.</p>
+
+<p>A dozen male servants of the great man who owned
+the estate started down the steps of the portico and made
+straight for the euphorbia.</p>
+
+<p>The gate was fastened.</p>
+
+<p>The wall was too high to climb on short notice.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw his peril.</p>
+
+<p>If caught&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>“But I won’t be,” he said to himself, very emphatically.</p>
+
+<p>“Shall I break cover now, or wait until they are close
+upon me?” he asked himself, and answered:</p>
+
+<p>“Wait until they are close upon you. They will be
+tired, you fresh; then race them for all that it is worth.”</p>
+
+<p>The men ran as if the very old bogey of ancient
+romance was after them.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the euphorbia hedge Max stood
+ready.</p>
+
+<p>They were only half a dozen yards away from him, but
+had separated themselves so that they might surround
+him and thus effect an easy capture.</p>
+
+<p>He saw their maneuver and made a spring forward&mdash;going
+toward the house instead of away from it.</p>
+
+<p>As he passed at a bound the eunuch waiting for him,
+Max put out his left foot and tripped the fellow up.</p>
+
+<p>As ill luck would have it&mdash;or perhaps it was Max’s
+good luck&mdash;the man fell on his face in a bed of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">euphorbia
+splendens</i>, a plant commonly known as the “crown of
+thorns.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p>
+
+<p>The sharp thorns tore the man’s face in a criss-cross
+fashion and made him wish he had never been born.</p>
+
+<p>Max was now pursued by the others.</p>
+
+<p>He ran fast, and when he saw an opportunity, doubled
+on his pursuers.</p>
+
+<p>Two of them he tripped up, and thus gained another
+advantage.</p>
+
+<p>He thought if he kept by the wall he would be able to
+find some means of exit.</p>
+
+<p>But again he was mistaken.</p>
+
+<p>He, however, found something he did not bargain
+for, and that was a trap or cellar door.</p>
+
+<p>It was open.</p>
+
+<p>Max did not see it.</p>
+
+<p>It did not require a great exercise of his reasoning
+powers, or even much knowledge of the rules of logic,
+to comprehend the result.</p>
+
+<p>He fell through the open door.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">AN UNEXPECTED BATH.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Throwing out his hands to save himself, Max clutched
+the door and closed it, by accident, after him.</p>
+
+<p>It had a spring lock, and he was a prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, the fall did not hurt him.</p>
+
+<p>He was only shaken and slightly bruised.</p>
+
+<p>His pursuers reached the door and tried it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[197]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max felt his heart go pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat&mdash;louder than
+he liked.</p>
+
+<p>But to his great astonishment he heard his pursuers
+declare that he must have scaled the wall.</p>
+
+<p>“The cellar,” said one, by way of suggestion.</p>
+
+<p>“The door has not been opened for a week,” answered
+one of the eunuchs.</p>
+
+<p>“How blind they were!” mused Max, as he heard the
+declaration.</p>
+
+<p>His heart gave a big leap for joy when he heard the
+eunuch call off his men and declare that the “infidel” had
+escaped.</p>
+
+<p>When the footsteps died away Max began to think
+about his prison house.</p>
+
+<p>If the door had not been opened for a week, was there
+any way of egress or ingress?</p>
+
+<p>If not, then might he not starve to death?</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps the Mahdi will capture the place, and I shall
+be saved.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was looking on the bright side of the subject,
+and his spirits rose correspondingly.</p>
+
+<p>The cellar or basement was very dark, but Max fortunately
+had a small pocket lantern with him, and after
+being there an hour he felt it was safe to light the lamp.</p>
+
+<p>He saw that he was in a great, excavated cellar, without
+any flooring save the mud.</p>
+
+<p>The roof was very high in some places, and in others
+so low that Max could not stand upright.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to be under a whole series of houses, its extent
+was so great.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[198]</span></p>
+
+<p>A few rats shared the pleasures of the solitude with
+Max, but those were the only living things he saw.</p>
+
+<p>Wandering about a dark cavern, even if it is under a
+house, is not the most inspiring exercise, and Max was
+not very elated.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard a flow of water.</p>
+
+<p>Was he mistaken?</p>
+
+<p>No; he soon found that on one side of the cellar,
+only separated by a very thin partition or wall of baked
+clay, ran the river Nile.</p>
+
+<p>Two narrow doors opened from the cellar to the river,
+but they were both fastened.</p>
+
+<p>“I may break one of these,” he said, “but not yet. I’m
+in for a good time, and I’ll have one.”</p>
+
+<p>Max discovered some broad steps leading to the upper
+story.</p>
+
+<p>They were made of the baked clay, and as hard as
+stone.</p>
+
+<p>He walked up them, and found a door at the top.</p>
+
+<p>Groping his way along by the wall, he came to some
+more steps which led to a long corridor.</p>
+
+<p>There was a feeble glimmer of light at the end of the
+hallway, and he followed that as his guide.</p>
+
+<p>Once he thought he heard voices, but made up his
+mind he was mistaken. There were no signs of anyone
+dwelling there, everything was deserted and desolate.</p>
+
+<p>He had no particular desire to meet anyone, his whole
+thoughts being now bent on escape.</p>
+
+<p>He reached the end of the corridor, and found that<span class="pagenum">[199]</span>
+the little ray of light proceeded from a transom over
+another door.</p>
+
+<p>That door he pushed open, and saw before him another
+flight of stairs.</p>
+
+<p>“Up, up, up!” he ejaculated. “Well, never mind, if I
+only get out at last.”</p>
+
+<p>He ascended the stairs, and at the top another door
+confronted him.</p>
+
+<p>He opened that, and nearly fell backward at the sight
+which met his gaze.</p>
+
+<p>No scene in the “Arabian Nights” could compare with
+the beauty and grandeur of what he saw.</p>
+
+<p>The room was a hundred feet long, by half as many
+feet wide.</p>
+
+<p>The walls were hung with silk and tapestry of the
+most exquisite patterns and quality.</p>
+
+<p>The floor was covered an inch thick with padded carpets.</p>
+
+<p>Great chandeliers with oil lamps, each one having a
+different tinted shade, shed a brilliant light over the
+scene.</p>
+
+<p>But that was not all.</p>
+
+<p>Round the great room were divans covered with the
+most costly silks.</p>
+
+<p>And on each divan reposed, in Oriental languor, a
+beauteous woman.</p>
+
+<p>Each woman had a little table by her side, on which
+cigarettes and sherbet were placed.</p>
+
+<p>Many of them were smoking the most fragrant tobacco
+Max had ever sniffed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[200]</span></p>
+
+<p>He had not been seen, and so he stood watching without
+the beauteous creatures having any idea that their
+privacy had been invaded.</p>
+
+<p>But his eyes recognized on one of the divans the girl
+Lalla.</p>
+
+<p>Why should he not go to her?</p>
+
+<p>He was an American, and knew no fear.</p>
+
+<p>He walked down the center of the room, and instantly
+there was a shriek&mdash;a tiny little scream&mdash;and a flutter
+of a score of beauties.</p>
+
+<p>But no sooner had they screamed than they felt sorry
+for it, for never before had any man save their lord
+entered the grand <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i> of the harem, and the novelty
+was refreshing.</p>
+
+<p>Each one pressed forward to touch the American, and
+some offered to hide him.</p>
+
+<p>There was a noise outside, and Lalla took Max by
+the shoulders and pushed him behind the drapery which
+covered the walls.</p>
+
+<p>She was only just in time.</p>
+
+<p>Three eunuchs entered.</p>
+
+<p>“You screamed,” said the chief.</p>
+
+<p>“A mouse,” simpered one of the beauties.</p>
+
+<p>“And you all saw it at the same time?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” answered another.</p>
+
+<p>“And did the mouse wear this?” he asked, holding up a
+hat, which Max had dropped on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>Poor Max!</p>
+
+<p>He had never missed his hat.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[201]</span></p>
+
+<p>He had carried it under his arm when he entered the
+<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">salon</i>.</p>
+
+<p>So excited was he at the sight of Lalla, that he dropped
+his <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chapeau</i> and never missed it.</p>
+
+<p>The women could not explain how it came about that
+a mouse wore a soft felt helmet.</p>
+
+<p>The eunuch took his scimiter and started on his mission
+of discovery.</p>
+
+<p>He slashed at every piece of drapery which he thought
+might cover a man, and was approaching the place where
+Max was hidden, when Lalla fell on her knees.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh, spare him!”</p>
+
+<p>“Who do you mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“He came here, I know not why; I hid him. I never
+saw him before, but he is so handsome! Do not kill
+him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Get up,” ordered the eunuch, gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>Max emerged from his hiding place, and stood with
+arms folded before the servants of the pasha.</p>
+
+<p>“I am to blame. I was pursued. I fell in your cellar
+and was trying to get away. I found myself here by
+mistake. Do with me as you like.”</p>
+
+<p>“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Lalla, and all the others
+took up the prayer.</p>
+
+<p>But the men were inexorable, they knew their duty.</p>
+
+<p>“He must die,” said they.</p>
+
+<p>“No, no, no!” shrieked the women, but in the midst
+of their cries Max was seized, his hands tied by his sides,
+after which he was carried down the steps into the great
+noisome cellar by which he had entered.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[202]</span></p>
+
+<p>Max did not try to bribe his captors.</p>
+
+<p>He never made a sound, but kept his teeth close together.</p>
+
+<p>“If I die,” he thought, “they shall see I can die game.”</p>
+
+<p>But he felt that he had not a hope nor a chance to
+escape, when they produced a great sack and covered
+him with it.</p>
+
+<p>Tying the mouth of the sack above his head, they
+lifted him shoulder high, and he soon felt the strange
+sensation of being whirled through space.</p>
+
+<p>His senses were almost numbed when he realized that
+he was in water.</p>
+
+<p>He had been thrown into the Nile!</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">SAVED!</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Barbasson and Shula were walking along the banks of
+the Nile discussing the best way to assist the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>Shula was for openly proclaiming the advent of the
+prophet, and calling on all good religionists to rally round
+his standard.</p>
+
+<p>But Barbasson was crafty.</p>
+
+<p>He was richer than Shula, and not so hot-headed.</p>
+
+<p>“If the Mahdi wins that would be a good plan, but if
+he fails&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“He won’t fail.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope not; but suppose he did?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[203]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Well?”</p>
+
+<p>“We should lose our property, and perhaps&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Our lives. Just so. I am ready to risk that.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not; I have a great horror of death.”</p>
+
+<p>“Yourself, perhaps, my worthy Barbasson; but you
+don’t mind killing others,” Shula retorted, sharply.</p>
+
+<p>“What mean you?”</p>
+
+<p>“Why, Barbasson, don’t you know?”</p>
+
+<p>“By the beard of the prophet, no!”</p>
+
+<p>“Then let me remind you. Four moons ago I was
+watching a dahabeah on the Nile; I saw something bulky
+thrown overboard&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, what of that? Some refuse for which the Nile
+was the best place.”</p>
+
+<p>“Possibly. Only I was curious. I fished up the bundle
+and found&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“What?”</p>
+
+<p>“A most lovely girl.”</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet be praised! Was she dead?”</p>
+
+<p>“Not much. She told me her story. How one of your
+wives took a great dislike to her&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“One of my wives?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; the girl was called Leila.”</p>
+
+<p>Barbasson was about to speak, but Shula stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>“I liked Leila. I found she was pretty and good, and
+I took her into my harem.”</p>
+
+<p>“That is your business. What is it to me?”</p>
+
+<p>“You said you had a horror of death, but you threw
+Leila into the water.”</p>
+
+<p>“Bah! that was only a girl&mdash;and they are not missed.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[204]</span></p>
+
+<p>Barbasson suggested&mdash;when he had got over his annoyance&mdash;that
+secret agents should be sent out and that
+riots should be organized.</p>
+
+<p>Then, when every part of the city of Kordofan was
+in disorder, Shula should come forward and proclaim the
+advent of the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>This was agreed upon, and the conspirators, now
+joined by Rashid and Nasr el Adin, started on their
+homeward journey.</p>
+
+<p>“What was that?” Shula suddenly exclaimed, as a
+splash was heard in the water.</p>
+
+<p>“A crocodile, most likely.”</p>
+
+<p>“Pish! there are no crocodiles so near the city.”</p>
+
+<p>“I suppose it is some recalcitrant from yonder harem.”</p>
+
+<p>“What! Mahmoud Achmet?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; he drowns a dozen girls a month.”</p>
+
+<p>“The prophet will stop all that.”</p>
+
+<p>“I hope so.”</p>
+
+<p>“It depends. Mahmoud Achmet pays most of the expenses
+of the government here, and he is never molested
+for beating or drowning his wives. Of course, he never
+touches a man.”</p>
+
+<p>Such was the state of morality in the Soudan at the
+time that a woman’s life was considered of no more value
+than that of a dog or any common animal.</p>
+
+<p>A man got angry with his wife or daughter, and he
+could drown her, providing he did it decently&mdash;that is,
+place her body in a sack, with some heavy weights, so
+that the body should not rise to the surface.</p>
+
+<p>While the conspirators were discussing the morality<span class="pagenum">[205]</span>
+of Mahmoud Achmet, their eyes were strained in an endeavor
+to discover what had caused the splashing sound.</p>
+
+<p>A dark object was seen, and Shula, who was more
+humane than the majority of Kordofans, stepped into a
+boat anchored by the bank, and pushed out in the stream.</p>
+
+<p>He made a prod with the boat hook, and managed to
+stick it in the canvas sack.</p>
+
+<p>He towed it to land, and soon opened the sack.</p>
+
+<p>He expected to find some discarded wife of Mahmoud
+Achmet, and hoped she would be young and pretty, because
+by the laws she would be his slave.</p>
+
+<p>To his astonishment&mdash;and equally so to the surprise of
+the other&mdash;instead of a woman the sack contained a man,
+and that man our young friend&mdash;Madcap Max.</p>
+
+<p>Max was unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>When he had been thrown into the river so unceremoniously
+he struggled all he knew how to free himself.</p>
+
+<p>What could he do?</p>
+
+<p>He struggled, but the sack was securely fastened.</p>
+
+<p>His body was doubled so that he could not use his
+hands to tear the bag or strike out.</p>
+
+<p>In two minutes he had relinquished all hope.</p>
+
+<p>He began to wish that he had never heard of the
+Mahdi, or the Mameluke.</p>
+
+<p>But regrets were useless.</p>
+
+<p>He knew he had to die.</p>
+
+<p>Had it been on the battlefield, pitted against a foe,
+he would have been proud to die&mdash;because he knew no
+disgrace would be attached to it.</p>
+
+<p>But to die in a sack, like a mangy dog or vicious cat,<span class="pagenum">[206]</span>
+was so hurtful to his self-respect and so humiliating that
+he cried with vexation.</p>
+
+<p>The water got to his lungs. His stomach was full of
+it. His brain grew dizzy.</p>
+
+<p>The singing in his ears had become like the roaring
+of the waters of a great cataract.</p>
+
+<p>Mercifully unconsciousness came, and had not the conspirators
+been discussing their schemes of rioting and rebellion
+at night by the banks of the Nile, Madcap Max
+would never have been the hero of this story.</p>
+
+<p>Shula rubbed Max briskly.</p>
+
+<p>He straightened out the madcap’s body and laid it face
+downward.</p>
+
+<p>The conspirators began kneading the poor fellow’s
+back&mdash;sitting on it, treading it, kneeling on it, and using
+every means of which they knew to restore life.</p>
+
+<p>“Get out of that and meet a fellow face to face.”</p>
+
+<p>The words startled the conspirators.</p>
+
+<p>They were uttered by Max, who, black and blue with
+the treatment he had been subjected to, had revived
+with great suddenness.</p>
+
+<p>He did not realize where he was, but he knew he was
+being hurt, hence his calling out.</p>
+
+<p>He jumped to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>“Shula!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p>“Max!”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes. How did you find me? Was I drowned?
+Where am I?”</p>
+
+<p>“You are not drowned; you are by the Nile’s water,<span class="pagenum">[207]</span>
+and the less you say the longer you will be likely to live.
+Come&mdash;let us get home. Can you walk?”</p>
+
+<p>“Of course I can.”</p>
+
+<p>Max started forward, but before his legs had moved
+a dozen times he fell on his face.</p>
+
+<p>The conspirators lifted him up, and as no conveyances
+were to be found in Kordofan at that hour of the night,
+they had to carry him to Shula’s residence.</p>
+
+<p>Before morning’s dawn he had told his adventures and
+laughed at the escapade.</p>
+
+<p>“If ever the Mahdi rules in Kordofan I am going to
+see Lalla,” he said. “I want to know more about her.”</p>
+
+<p>“Not even the prophet could give you the right to enter
+any man’s harem,” said Shula.</p>
+
+<p>“Then your Mahdi must be a queer sort of fellow.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was unable to talk longer, for he was naturally
+weak from his struggles in the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty-four hours elapsed before he was able to feel
+that he was the strong athlete again.</p>
+
+<p>When he awoke on the morning of the third day he
+heard cries which roused him:</p>
+
+<p>“<i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Allah il Allah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>“Down with the foreigner!”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>Max looked at Shula, but the merchant did not speak.</p>
+
+<p>His face was white as that of a corpse. He knew that
+he had staked all his property and his life on the riot
+which was then in progress.</p>
+
+<p>“Is it true? Has the Mahdi come?”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[208]</span></p>
+
+<p>“No, Max, but the people are expecting him.”</p>
+
+<p>A heavy fusillade was heard on the streets, the windows
+were shaken, and some panes of glass broken.</p>
+
+<p>“What does it mean?”</p>
+
+<p>“They are fighting,” answered Shula.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">THE MAHDI’S JUSTICE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>“Fighting, and you here? Why are not you at the
+head of the Mahdi’s friends?”</p>
+
+<p>“I&mdash;stayed&mdash;with you.”</p>
+
+<p>“Come! where is my sword?”</p>
+
+<p>“It is here; but don’t go out. You will be killed&mdash;the
+soldiers wouldn’t join the Mahdi, and they are shooting
+the people down.”</p>
+
+<p>“Give me my Winchester and my sword.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is madness.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I am the madcap,” laughed Max; “but if I
+wasn’t I’d scorn to be a coward.”</p>
+
+<p>“A coward?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes, I said so, and I repeat&mdash;a coward.”</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you call me that? I have fought in the army
+of Egypt.”</p>
+
+<p>“Perhaps so. But did you not stir up this riot and
+are now afraid&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“I am not afraid; but is it policy to risk so much?”</p>
+
+<p>“Risk all&mdash;if by that means you save your honor.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[209]</span></p>
+
+<p>“But the people have no chance against the soldiers.”</p>
+
+<p>“All the more reason why you should not desert them.”</p>
+
+<p>“See what it means to me&mdash;loss of property, perhaps
+life.”</p>
+
+<p>“Do as you like, most excellent Shula, but I am going
+to fight.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is madness!”</p>
+
+<p>“Give me my rifle and my sword.”</p>
+
+<p>Max seized the weapons and rushed into the street.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right&mdash;the
+people had but scant chance.</p>
+
+<p>That made Max all the more determined.</p>
+
+<p>He waved his sword above his head and rushed into
+the thickest of the fight.</p>
+
+<p>“Long live the Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.</p>
+
+<p>“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with
+you. The Mahdi is a native of your country, he is no
+foreigner. Strike for him, and let your cry be Egypt
+for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”</p>
+
+<p>The people lost their fear.</p>
+
+<p>Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers
+did not return the fire.</p>
+
+<p>Instead, they reversed their guns and retired.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian officer was enraged.</p>
+
+<p>“I’ll shoot the first man who deserts!” he shouted.</p>
+
+<p>A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but
+the majority kept them reversed.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the advantage he had gained.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[210]</span></p>
+
+<p>He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had
+fallen in the mêlée.</p>
+
+<p>Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant
+as he sat there, like a veritable centaur.</p>
+
+<p>“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I
+have fought with the great Mahdi. I have seen the
+thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he waved his
+wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights
+with his eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall
+back.”</p>
+
+<p>The enthusiasm was great.</p>
+
+<p>Max had won over most of the soldiers, and the
+others were undecided.</p>
+
+<p>The officer was furious.</p>
+
+<p>“Ready!” he shouted, but very few of his men obeyed
+the call.</p>
+
+<p>“Load! Aim! Fire!”</p>
+
+<p>Half a dozen rifle shots were fired, but Max saw to
+his great joy that the aim was too high to do any damage.</p>
+
+<p>“Men! soldiers of the crescent!” he called out, “our
+fight is not against you. The Mahdi is of your faith.
+Nay, more, he will restore the great Mameluke kingdom.
+Every soldier of his will be greater than a pasha,
+for the Mahdi is the last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p>The speech was listened to by soldiers and people, who
+wondered who this young paleface could be.</p>
+
+<p>The result was electrical.</p>
+
+<p>Every rifle was reversed.</p>
+
+<p>The officer was left alone to return to the fort&mdash;a
+commander without soldiers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[211]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the time when Max so eloquently proclaimed the
+Mahdi, Mohammed Achmet was close to the gates of the
+city. He heard the cheering and the firing.</p>
+
+<p>His face paled visibly, for he disliked bloodshed.</p>
+
+<p>Half an hour later, riding between the Persian Sherif
+el Habib and the Arab Mohammed, the Mahdi rode into
+the main street of <a id="Ref_211" href="#BRef_211">Kordofan.</a></p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi!”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi has come!”</p>
+
+<p>The cheers rose on the air.</p>
+
+<p>Songs were sung&mdash;the soldiers fraternized with the
+people.</p>
+
+<p>Everywhere the enthusiasm was intense.</p>
+
+<p>Even the garrison joined in the cheering, and the officer
+handed his sword to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“I cannot fight without men,” he said, “so take my
+sword and use it for truth and our faith.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi took the weapon, and immediately handed
+it back, saying:</p>
+
+<p>“General, you are a brave man. Take the sword, for
+you will use it as only a brave man can.”</p>
+
+<p>The fires of joy were lighted.</p>
+
+<p>Houses were thrown open, and everywhere the Mahdi
+was welcomed.</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud Achmet, when he saw that the Mahdi was
+triumphant, came to offer the hospitality of his house
+to the conqueror.</p>
+
+<p>Max recognized him, and after the man had said all
+he intended, came forward.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[212]</span></p>
+
+<p>“You threw a young man into the Nile. You enveloped
+him in a sack, and drowned him.”</p>
+
+<p>“It is he! I know it! The Mahdi is the Mahdi. He
+has raised this man from the dead. All my wealth is his,”
+exclaimed Mahmoud.</p>
+
+<p>Max saw the mistake the man had made. He, however,
+did not contradict him, but allowed him to think that
+the power of the Mahdi had indeed raised him from the
+dead.</p>
+
+<p>He spoke privately to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“Let him give me Lalla,” said Max.</p>
+
+<p>“You spoke of your wealth,” said the Mahdi; “give
+this man the girl called Lalla.”</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud fell to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>He tore his hair and pulled out his beard.</p>
+
+<p>“Woe is me, I cannot!”</p>
+
+<p>“She is dead?” queried the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>“Indeed it is true. <i lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">Inshallah!</i>”</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud then admitted that he was jealous of Max,
+and after throwing him into the river, Lalla had refused
+to be comforted, had called him a murderer, and refused
+to allow him to approach her. Then it was that in his
+anger he ordered her to be drowned.</p>
+
+<p>Max told of the brutal way in which Mahmoud acted.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi called the pashas and beys together, and in
+the presence of a great concourse of citizens, said:</p>
+
+<p>“One of your number, Mahmoud Achmet, has at
+times made away with such of his wives that displeased
+him. Now, therefore, to prove to you how abhorrent
+such a thing is, it is my order that Mahmoud Achmet<span class="pagenum">[213]</span>
+be taken from here in the sack which he has provided for
+others, and that he be thrown into the Nile.”</p>
+
+<p>“Mercy!” cried the wealthy man&mdash;“mercy! I will give
+you wealth.”</p>
+
+<p>“I do not want it.”</p>
+
+<p>“All I have shall be yours!”</p>
+
+<p>“It is mine already.”</p>
+
+<p>One of the eunuchs connected with Mahmoud’s harem
+testified how the wives were constantly beaten with
+whips.</p>
+
+<p>“The same measure shall be meted out to Mahmoud,”
+said the Mahdi; “it is fate.”</p>
+
+<p>The man pleaded for his life, but the Mahdi was inexorable.</p>
+
+<p>Mahmoud suffered the scourging from the hands of
+his own eunuch, and was drowned in the Nile.</p>
+
+<p>“It is fate! It is justice!” exclaimed the people, who
+were more than ever enthused with the prophet and his
+cause.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAPTER XXXI.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">VICTORY ALL ALONG THE LINE.</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Early on the following morning a man, riding at hot
+haste, asked for the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>He bore a letter to the prophet, and another to Sherif
+el Habib.</p>
+
+<p>When the dispatch was opened the Mahdi read:</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[214]</span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“To the illustrious Mahomet Ahmed, the Prophet, Imaum
+and Mahdi:</p>
+
+<p>“<span class="smcap">Greeting</span>: Senaar resisted for several hours, but the
+flag of the Mahdi floats over its fortress. The day is
+ours.</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib handed his document to the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p>“Dear uncle, we have fought and won,” ran the letter.
+“I was wounded in the right foot and lost two
+toes, but that was better than my life. The people were
+all with us, but the soldiers fought bravely. It was a
+tough battle. The commander gave me his sword, which
+I will send to the Mahdi when I hear from him. How is
+Girzilla? Give her my love. Is Max the Madcap alive?
+Of course he is. Tell him not to play any pranks in
+Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:5em">“Your loving nephew,</p>
+
+<p class="center pminus1" style="padding-left:15em">“<span class="smcap">Ibrahim.</span>”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>When the Mahdi had read the letters aloud to his
+staff, he called Max to him.</p>
+
+<p>“It was your plan which we adopted,” he said, “and
+we are victorious. You are Max Pasha; and your
+nephew”&mdash;turning to Sherif&mdash;“is also pasha, and is made
+governor of Senaar, while Max, here, shall be governor
+of Kordofan.”</p>
+
+<p>The people cheered the young governor.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the Mahdi, Max said:</p>
+
+<p>“I thank you for the honor, but I am about to decline
+it.”</p>
+
+<p>“You must not.”</p>
+
+<p>“I am about to decline it after to-morrow. I want to
+be governor and pasha for one day, because I am going
+back to America, and if I ever go on the lecture platform<span class="pagenum">[215]</span>
+the people will sooner pay a dollar to hear a real
+live pasha, than a quarter if the speaker is only Madcap
+Max.”</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi laughed.</p>
+
+<p>“Still thinking of the dollars?” he said.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” answered Max; “and whenever you get tired
+of being the Mahdi come over to New York and I will
+trot you round, and&mdash;oh, my! won’t the dollars just flow
+into our pockets.”</p>
+
+<p>But before the Mahdi could reply another dispatch
+was placed in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>It was from a trusty agent in the North.</p>
+
+<p>“Giegler Pasha has placed the army of Khartoum under
+the command of Yussuf Pasha Hassan,” it read,
+“and is marching with five thousand men against you.
+Hicks Pasha, an Englishman, with three thousand men,
+is marching from the northeast. You are to be cut in
+two by these armies.”</p>
+
+<p>“No! by the prophet&mdash;no!” exclaimed the Mahdi.
+“We will attack both and exterminate them.”</p>
+
+<p>The bugles called the army together and the march
+was ordered.</p>
+
+<p>With a speed accelerated by the most fanatical enthusiasm,
+the followers of the Mahdi started to meet
+Yussuf Pasha Hassan.</p>
+
+<p>The soldiers of Khartoum were well disciplined veterans,
+but they lacked enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi&mdash;still without weapon&mdash;rode at the head of
+his people and gave the words of command.</p>
+
+<p>Like a cyclone tearing everything before it on a Western<span class="pagenum">[216]</span>
+prairie, the army of the Mahdi swept on the veterans
+commanded by Yussuf.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptians made a stubborn resistance at first, but
+the Mahdists were more like fiends.</p>
+
+<p>They seized the soldiers by their hair and deliberately
+cut their throats.</p>
+
+<p>It was a horrible carnage.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi never struck a blow, never made any effort
+to defend himself, but was ever in the thickest of the
+fight.</p>
+
+<p>His brow shone as though it were gold.</p>
+
+<p>His presence was remarkable.</p>
+
+<p>Max fought with desperate valor.</p>
+
+<p>At times he stood up in the stirrups to give himself
+more power in striking a blow.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi forever!” he shouted, with every savage
+blow.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf saw the young fellow and knew that, next to
+the Mahdi, Max was the most powerful leader.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf would not touch the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>He was a trifle superstitious.</p>
+
+<p>If Mohammed was the Mahdi, steel weapons could not
+kill him, and Yussuf would not risk an encounter; so he
+rode through the fighting demons until he reached the
+side of Max.</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi forever!” shouted Max, as he suddenly
+wheeled round and aimed a blow at Yussuf’s head.</p>
+
+<p>The veteran officer parried the blow and made a lunge
+at Max.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[217]</span></p>
+
+<p>But the American’s sword swung round with cyclonic
+speed, and Yussuf’s sword merely struck the air.</p>
+
+<p>As the heavy scimiters clashed together sparks of fire
+flew out, and seemed to keep fiery time to the music of
+the steel.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf got angry.</p>
+
+<p>“Do you also bear a charmed life?” he sneeringly
+asked, during a pause in the duel.</p>
+
+<p>“I am an American,” answered Max, “and fight for
+liberty.”</p>
+
+<p>Again the fight was resumed.</p>
+
+<p>Great heaps of dead were to be found in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>The horses ridden by Yussuf and Max often had to
+kick and trample down the dead and dying.</p>
+
+<p>It was a fearful sight.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf fought bravely.</p>
+
+<p>His left arm had been broken by Max, just below
+the shoulder, but he would not give in.</p>
+
+<p>“Surrender!”</p>
+
+<p>“Never!”</p>
+
+<p>“Then die!”</p>
+
+<p>“I will, but you will go first.”</p>
+
+<p>Max was of a different opinion, and he kept swinging
+round his heavy scimiter with the strength of a giant.</p>
+
+<p>Once, when Yussuf parried a blow, the weapon struck
+the horse’s neck, almost severing the head from the body.</p>
+
+<p>Yussuf was now at a disadvantage.</p>
+
+<p>Max leaped from the saddle and stood by the Egyptian’s
+side.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[218]</span></p>
+
+<p>“We are equal,” he said.</p>
+
+<p>But it was scarcely the truth, for Yussuf had only one
+arm to fight with.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian slipped in a pool of blood, and as he
+did so a sword still grasped by a dead man pierced his
+side.</p>
+
+<p>The brave man could stand no more.</p>
+
+<p>“I surrender!” he gasped, but it was not a surrender
+to Max, but to the Great Creator, for as the man uttered
+the words the breath left his body.</p>
+
+<p>Out of four thousand seven hundred men&mdash;hale, hearty
+veterans&mdash;who had marched under the crescent of Egypt
+that morning, only two hundred and one survived at
+night.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdists did not lose more than four hundred
+men all told.</p>
+
+<p>They did not stop to care for the wounded or bury
+the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Another blow had to be struck, and this time at Hicks
+Pasha.</p>
+
+<p>It was a two days march to Tokar.</p>
+
+<p>At that place Hicks, with three thousand seven hundred
+and forty-six men, met the advance guard of the
+Mahdists, led by Sherif el Habib and Max.</p>
+
+<p>The fighting was desperate, but seemed to be as favorable
+to the Egyptians as the Mahdists, until the Mahdi
+himself arrived.</p>
+
+<p>There was a charm and magnetism about the man
+which made him irresistible.</p>
+
+<p>His presence was equal to a thousand men.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[219]</span></p>
+
+<p>In less than an hour the unfortunate Hicks was dead,
+and two thousand three hundred and seventy-three of his
+men lay stiffening under the tropical sun.</p>
+
+<p>The defeat was a thorough one.</p>
+
+<p>The Mahdi was now master of all the Soudan except
+Khartoum and Equatoria, over which Emin Bey presided.</p>
+
+<p>The people flocked to the Mahdi’s tent.</p>
+
+<p>Dervishes proclaimed him to be the promised Imaum.
+In the mosques his name was mentioned with that of
+the prophet, and the people prostrated themselves when
+reference was made to him.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAPTER XXXII.
+<br /><span class="cheaderfont">“ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.”</span></h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>A week of peace after the storm of war was delightful.</p>
+
+<p>The army of the Mahdists was large enough to crush
+any force which could be sent against it.</p>
+
+<p>The officers took things easy.</p>
+
+<p>Mohammed had brought his harem to the Mahdi’s
+headquarters, and Ibrahim had received a furlough or
+leave of absence for two months.</p>
+
+<p>This gave him plenty of time to be with Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>One day Girzilla sought out Max and whispered:</p>
+
+<p>“I have found him.”</p>
+
+<p>“Whom do you refer to?”</p>
+
+<p>“The last of the Mamelukes.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[220]</span></p>
+
+<p>“And he is&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“The Mahdi.”</p>
+
+<p>“Are you sure, Girzilla?”</p>
+
+<p>“Yes; by secret signs I discovered him, and he will
+restore the glories of his race and bring the whole world
+to believe in Mahomet.”</p>
+
+<p>Max went to the Mahdi and told him of his mission.</p>
+
+<p>The tears came into the warrior prophet’s eyes as he
+heard Max tell his story; how he had lost his father
+in the caves of the bandits, and had been rescued by
+Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>When Max narrated how he had become enthused over
+the story of the great Mameluke who escaped from Mohammed
+Ali, the Mahdi embraced him.</p>
+
+<p>“For my ancestors’ sake, you are doubly dear to me.
+Stay with me, my son, and share in my triumph.”</p>
+
+<p>“No&mdash;the work is done. I shall go back to my own
+land, and shall do as other Americans have done before
+me&mdash;write a book, or tell on the platform the story of
+the Mahdi, and the Mameluke.”</p>
+
+<p>Max wanted to start at once, but Ibrahim pleaded
+with him to stay until after his wedding with Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>This Max consented to do, and three weeks later a
+most impressive wedding took place in the vestibule of a
+mosque at Kordofan.</p>
+
+<p>The couple were united and blessed by the Mahdi.</p>
+
+<p>The Imaum made some pertinent remarks, which were
+worthy of the great prophet himself.</p>
+
+<p>To Ibrahim, after praising his courage, he said:</p>
+
+<p>“You have taken to yourself a wife. The Koran permits<span class="pagenum">[221]</span>
+you to take three others; but take my advice&mdash;cleave
+to the one. It is better, and a new dispensation
+will so order. Treat Girzilla, not as others of our race
+have been treated, but let her be your equal; for it is
+now written that if you be faithful to her on earth
+the gates of Paradise will open for you both, and she
+shall be your bride through all eternity.”</p>
+
+<p>After spending the customary seven days in prayer
+and religious observances, Ibrahim obtained permission
+to take his dusky bride on a trip up the Nile in company
+with Max.</p>
+
+<p>The cataracts were passed, and Cairo reached.</p>
+
+<p>Girzilla pleaded so earnestly to continue the journey
+that her loving husband accompanied her to Suez, where
+they bade farewell to Madcap Max as the Peninsular
+and Oriental steamer steamed out of the port.</p>
+
+<p>Max had not noticed that it was the very vessel he
+had made the journey on three years before.</p>
+
+<p>He made himself known to the captain, and the tedium
+of the journey was broken by the story of adventure told
+by the madcap.</p>
+
+<p>When Max reached New York he found himself the
+head of the firm, and the cares of business life caused
+him to relinquish the thought of “coining dollars” on the
+lecture platform; but he made a solemn promise to the
+author that some day he would tell him the story of
+his life.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>Two years passed, and the author asked the well-known
+and highly respected merchant to tell the story.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum">[222]</span></p>
+
+<p>“To-morrow come to us, be our guest for a week, and
+you shall know all.”</p>
+
+<p>“But&mdash;&mdash;”</p>
+
+<p>“My wife will welcome you as an old friend.”</p>
+
+<p>Max had married a fairer woman than Girzilla, but
+many a time he declared that no more true one ever
+lived than the Arab maiden.</p>
+
+<p>When the author reached the Gordon uptown mansion
+on the following day he was surprised to find so many
+evidences of the Orient everywhere; but when, an hour
+later, Max took the author by the hand and led him
+into a large parlor, he was still more surprised, for there
+stood, waiting to receive him, Ibrahim and Girzilla.</p>
+
+<p>Sherif el Habib was dead. His nephew had sold the
+shawl manufactory, and found himself extremely wealthy.</p>
+
+<p>He at once determined to make the “grand tour” of
+the world, and so infatuated was he with the remembrance
+of Max, that nothing would satisfy him but to
+commence the journey proper from New York.</p>
+
+<p>That was how this story came to be written.</p>
+
+<p>Max narrated it, but Ibrahim and Girzilla insisted on a
+more lavish praise of the madcap than he would acknowledge
+he deserved.</p>
+
+<p>Never was there a happier couple than the Persian and
+his lovely bride, who does not look so dark and dusky
+in the modern American clothing as she did on the
+deserts of Africa.</p>
+
+<p>Ibrahim accepted the advice of the Mahdi, and declares
+that Girzilla occupies every bit of his heart, and<span class="pagenum">[223]</span>
+he could not take three more wives, even if his religion
+ordered it.</p>
+
+<p>Our story is told. All has ended happily for our madcap
+and his friend, and although his heart turns sick
+sometimes as he thinks of the carnage he witnessed, yet
+he says he shall always look back with pride to the
+intimacy he had with Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi and
+the Mameluke, the result of his trip “In the Volcano’s
+Mouth.”</p>
+
+<p class="center p1">THE END.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxit">
+<p class="center xxlargefont" style="word-spacing:0.2em">TALES OF VICTORIES</p>
+
+<p>Gained in the Pre-Revolutionary wars by lads
+of pluck and intelligence. Every true boy will
+be fascinated with these stories of the exciting adventures
+of boys who gladly gave their lives to
+freedom’s cause.</p>
+
+<p class="xlargefont center" style="word-spacing:0.2em"><em>BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY</em></p>
+
+
+<p class="numberitem1">3.&mdash;The Young Ambassador. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem1">7.&mdash;The Young Guardsman. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">11.&mdash;Fighting Hal. By John De Morgan</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">15.&mdash;By Order of the Colonel. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">19.&mdash;A Call to Duty. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">23.&mdash;The Young Patriot. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+<p class="numberitem2">26.&mdash;The Trader’s Captive. By Lieut. Lounsberry</p>
+
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont" style="word-spacing:0.15em">Only Ten Cents Per Copy<br />
+At All Newsdealers</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont"><em>If ordered by mail, add four cents to
+cover postage.</em></p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont">STREET &amp; SMITH, Publishers<br />
+<span class="largefont">NEW YORK</span>
+</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="boxit1">
+
+<div class="center">
+<p class="displayinline center boldfont sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">BOUND TO WIN<br />
+LIBRARY</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline boldfont center" style="font-size:0.7em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em">A weekly publication devoted to high-class literature<br />
+for boys. Sept 14, 1905.</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline largefont" style="font-size:1.25em">NO. 134</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">Charles Garvice’s New Stories</p>
+
+<p>If you are a novel reader, you certainly must be
+waiting for the appearance of a new novel from the
+pen of Charles Garvice. We are glad to inform you
+that you will find it in</p>
+
+<p class="center xxlargefont boldfont sansseriffont">SMITH’S MAGAZINE</p>
+
+<p>In the future, all of Charles Garvice’s new stories
+will appear in this magazine, as he is under contract
+to write for it exclusively. “DIANA’S DESTINY”
+is the title of a bright, original story, of absorbing
+interest. It began in the April number and is still
+being published.</p>
+
+<p>If you are one of the vast army who have depended
+upon cheap, occasional issues of early non-copyrights,
+of which there are now no more by this author,
+you will find this new tale distinctly refreshing.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to a long installment of the Garvice story,
+there are other features which make SMITH’S
+MAGAZINE one of the best and most pleasing
+of all ten-cent publications.</p>
+
+<p class="center largefont boldfont sansseriffont">PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY THE BEST ARTISTS</p>
+
+<p class="center xlargefont boldfont sansseriffont p1">PRICE, TEN CENTS Sold by all Newsdealers</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<p class="displayinline center xlargefont sansseriffont">THE SMITH PUBLISHING HOUSE,</p>
+
+<p class="displayinline center sansseriffont" style="font-size:0.7em">156 FIFTH AVENUE<br />
+NEW YORK</p>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop" />
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote">
+<h2 id="TN_end" style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2>
+
+<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p>
+
+<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
+the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors
+have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>The following change was made:</p>
+
+<p><a id="BRef_211" href="#Ref_211">p. 211</a>: Korfodan changed to Kordofan (street of Kordofan.)</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE VOLCANO&#039;S MOUTH ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Updated editions will replace the previous one&#8212;the old editions will
+be renamed.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
+law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
+so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
+States without permission and without paying copyright
+royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
+of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG&#8482;
+concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
+and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
+the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
+of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
+copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
+easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
+of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
+Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away&#8212;you may
+do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
+by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
+license, especially commercial redistribution.
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div>
+<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+To protect the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221;), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; License available with this file or online at
+www.gutenberg.org/license.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
+destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in your
+possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
+by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
+or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.B. &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is a registered trademark. It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
+paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works if you follow the terms of this
+agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (&#8220;the
+Foundation&#8221; or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
+of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works. Nearly all the individual
+works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
+States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
+United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
+claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
+displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
+all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
+that you will support the Project Gutenberg&#8482; mission of promoting
+free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; name associated with the work. You can easily
+comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
+same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License when
+you share it without charge with others.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
+in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
+check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
+agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
+distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
+other Project Gutenberg&#8482; work. The Foundation makes no
+representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
+country other than the United States.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
+immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License must appear
+prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work (any work
+on which the phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; appears, or with which the
+phrase &#8220;Project Gutenberg&#8221; is associated) is accessed, displayed,
+performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
+</div>
+
+<blockquote>
+  <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+    other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+    are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
+    of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
+  </div>
+</blockquote>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is
+derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
+contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
+copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
+the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
+redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase &#8220;Project
+Gutenberg&#8221; associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
+either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
+obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
+additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
+will be linked to the Project Gutenberg&#8482; License for all works
+posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
+beginning of this work.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg&#8482;.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; License.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
+any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
+to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg&#8482; work in a format
+other than &#8220;Plain Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other format used in the official
+version posted on the official Project Gutenberg&#8482; website
+(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
+to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
+of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original &#8220;Plain
+Vanilla ASCII&#8221; or other form. Any alternate format must include the
+full Project Gutenberg&#8482; License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg&#8482; works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+provided that:
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'>
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+        the use of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works calculated using the method
+        you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
+        to the owner of the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, but he has
+        agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
+        within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
+        legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
+        payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
+        Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
+        Section 4, &#8220;Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
+        Literary Archive Foundation.&#8221;
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+        you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+        does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
+        copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
+        all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+        works.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
+        any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+        electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
+        receipt of the work.
+    </div>
+
+    <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'>
+        &#8226; You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+        distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482; works.
+    </div>
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work or group of works on different terms than
+are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
+from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
+the Project Gutenberg&#8482; trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
+forth in Section 3 below.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
+contain &#8220;Defects,&#8221; such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
+or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
+other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
+cannot be read by your equipment.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the &#8220;Right
+of Replacement or Refund&#8221; described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
+with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
+with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
+lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
+or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
+opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
+the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
+without further opportunities to fix the problem.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you &#8216;AS-IS&#8217;, WITH NO
+OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
+damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
+violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
+agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
+limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
+unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
+remaining provisions.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works in
+accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
+production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
+including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
+the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
+or any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, (b) alteration, modification, or
+additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg&#8482; work, and (c) any
+Defect you cause.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg&#8482;
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
+computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
+exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
+from people in all walks of life.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg&#8482;&#8217;s
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg&#8482; collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg&#8482; and future
+generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
+Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service. The Foundation&#8217;s EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
+U.S. federal laws and your state&#8217;s laws.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation&#8217;s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
+Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
+to date contact information can be found at the Foundation&#8217;s website
+and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
+public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
+DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
+visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
+donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'>
+Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg&#8482; electronic works
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
+Gutenberg&#8482; concept of a library of electronic works that could be
+freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
+distributed Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks with only a loose network of
+volunteer support.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Project Gutenberg&#8482; eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
+the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
+necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
+edition.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
+facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This website includes information about Project Gutenberg&#8482;,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+</div>
+
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/old/68164-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/68164-h/images/cover.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8e2767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/68164-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/old/68164-h/images/cover_illo.jpg b/old/68164-h/images/cover_illo.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dca99db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/68164-h/images/cover_illo.jpg
diff --git a/old/68164-h/images/i004.jpg b/old/68164-h/images/i004.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8024e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/68164-h/images/i004.jpg