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diff --git a/old/68164-0.txt b/old/68164-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7b5d534..0000000 --- a/old/68164-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9135 +0,0 @@ -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. 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