Chapter IV: Front Matter (4)

A day passed, a night, and yet another day and they drove constantly southward, halting only for a brief time in the khors in order not to fatigue the camels too much, to water and feed them, and also to divide their provisions and water. From fear of the pursuit they turned yet farther to the west, for they did not have to concern themselves about water for some time. The downpour had lasted indeed not more than seven hours, but it was as tremendous as if a cloud-burst had occurred on the desert. Idris and Gebhr as well as the Bedouins knew that on the beds of the khors and in those places where the rocks formed natural cavities and wells they would, for a few days, find enough water to suffice not only for their and the camels' immediate wants but even for replenishing their supplies. After the great rain, as usual, splendid weather followed. The sky was cloudless, and the air so transparent that the view reached over an immeasurable distance. At night the heaven, studded with stars, twinkled and sparkled as if with thousands of diamonds. From the desert sands came a refreshing coolness.

The camel-humps already grew smaller but the animals, being well-fed, were, according to the Arabian expression, "harde," that is, they were unimpaired in strength and ran so willingly that the caravan advanced but little slower than on the first day after their departure from Gharak el-Sultani. Stas with astonishment observed that in some of the khors, in rocky fissures protected from rain, were supplies of durra and dates. He inferred from this that, before their abduction, certain preparations were made and everything was pre-arranged between Fatma, Idris, and Gebhr on one side and the Bedouins on the other. It was also easy to surmise that both the Bedouins were Mahdist adherents and believers, who wanted to join their leader, and for that reason were easily drawn into the plot by the Sudânese. In the neighborhood of Fayûm and ground Gharak el-Sultani there were quite a number of Bedouins who with their children and camels led a migratory life on the desert and came to Medinet and the railway stations for gain.

Stas, however, had never seen these two before, and they also could not have been in Medinet, for it appeared they did not know Saba.

The idea of attempting to bribe them occurred to the boy, but recollecting their shouts, full of fervor, whenever the name of the Mahdi was mentioned by them, he deemed this an impossibility. Nevertheless, he did not submit passively to the events, for in that boyish soul there was imbedded a really astonishing energy, which was inflamed by the past failures.

"Everything which I have undertaken," he soliloquized, "ended in my getting a whipping. But even if they flog me with that courbash every day and even kill me, I will not stop thinking of rescuing Nell and myself from the hands of these villains. If the pursuers capture them, so much the better. I, however, will act as if I did not expect them." And at the recollection of what he had met at the thought of those treacherous and cruel people who, after snatching away the rifle, had belabored him with fists and kicked him, his heart rebelled and rancor grew. He felt not only vanquished but humiliated by them in his pride as a white man. Above all, however, he felt Nell's wrong and this feeling, with the bitterness which intensified within him after the last failure, changed into an inexorable hatred of both Sudânese. He had often heard, indeed, from his father that hatred blinds, and that only such souls yield to it as are incapable of anything better; but for the time being he could not subdue it within him, and did not know how to conceal it.

He did not know to what extent Idris had observed it and had begun to get uneasy, understanding that, in case the pursuing party should capture them, he could not depend upon the boy's intercession. Idris was always ready for the most audacious deed, but as a man not deprived of reason, he thought that it was necessary to provide for everything and in case of misfortune to leave some gate of salvation open. For this reason, after the last occurrence he wanted in some manner to conciliate Stas and, with this object, at the first stop, he began the following conversation with him.

"After what you wanted to do," he said, "I had to punish you as otherwise they would have killed you, but I ordered the Bedouin not to strike you hard."

And when he received no reply, he, after a while, continued thus:

"Listen! you yourself have said that the white people always keep their oath. So if you will swear by your God and by the head of that little 'bint' that you will do nothing against us, then I will not order you to be bound for the night."

Stas did not answer a single word to this and only from the glitter of his eyes did Idris perceive that he spoke in vain.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the urging of Gebhr and the Bedouins, he did not order him to be bound for the night, and when Gebhr did not cease his importunities, he replied with anger:

"Instead of going to sleep, you will to-night stand on guard. I have decided that from this time one of us shall watch during the sleep of the others."

And in reality a change of guards was introduced permanently from that day. This rendered more difficult and completely frustrated all plans of Stas to whom every sentinel paid watchful attention.

But on the other hand the children were left in greater freedom so that they could approach each other and converse without hindrance. Immediately after the first stop Stas sat close to Nell for he was anxious to thank her for her aid.

But though he felt great gratitude to her he did not know how to express himself, either in a lofty style or tenderly; so he merely began to shake both of her little hands.

"Nell!" he said, "you are very good and I thank you; and besides this I frankly say that you acted like a person of at least thirteen years."

On Stas' lips words like these were the highest praise; so the heart of the little woman was consumed with joy and pride. It seemed to her at that moment that nothing was impossible. "Wait till I grow up, then they will see!" she replied, throwing a belligerent glance in the direction of the Sudânese.

But as she did not understand the cause of the trouble and why all the Arabs rushed at Stas, the boy told her how he had determined to purloin the rifle, kill the camels, and force all to return to the river.

"If I had succeeded," he said, "we would now be free."

"But they awoke?" asked the little girl with palpitating heart.

"They did. That was caused by Saba, who came running toward me, barking loud enough to awaken the dead."

Then her indignation was directed against Saba.

"Nasty Saba! nasty! For this when he comes running up to me I won't speak a word to him and will tell him that he is horrid."

At this Stas, though he was not in a laughing mood, laughed and asked:

"How will you be able not to say a word to him and at the same time tell him he is horrid?"

Nell's eyebrows rose and her countenance reflected embarrassment, after which she said:

"He will know that from my looks."

"Perhaps. But he is not to blame, for he could not know what was happening. Remember also that afterwards he came to our rescue."

This recollection placated Nell's anger a little. She did not, however, want to grant pardon to the culprit at once.

"That is very well," she said, "but a real gentleman ought not to bark on greeting."

Stas burst out laughing again.

"Neither does a real gentleman bark on leave-taking unless he is a dog, and Saba is one."

But after a while sorrow dimmed the boy's eyes; he sighed once, then again; after which he rose from the stone on which they sat and said:

"The worst is that I could not free you."

And Nell raised herself on her little toes and threw her arms around his neck. She wanted to cheer him; she wanted, with her little nose close to his face, to whisper her gratitude, but, as she could not find appropriate words, she only squeezed his neck yet more tightly and kissed his ear. In the meantime Saba, always late--not so much because he was unable to keep pace with the camels, but because he hunted for jackals on the way, or drove away vultures perched on the crests of rocks with his barking--came rushing up, making his customary noise. The children at the sight of him forgot about everything, and notwithstanding their hard situation began their usual caresses and play until they were interrupted by the Arabs. Chamis gave the dog food and water, after which all mounted the camels and started with the greatest speed southward.

XII

It was their longest journey, for they rode with small interruption for eighteen hours. Only real saddle-camels, having a good supply of water in their stomachs, could endure such a drive. Idris did not spare them, for he really feared the pursuit. He understood that it must have started long ago, and he assumed that both engineers would be at its head and would not lose any time. Danger threatened from the direction of the river, for it was certain that immediately after the abduction telegraphic orders were despatched to all settlements on the banks directing the sheiks to start expeditions into the interior of the desert on both sides of the Nile, and to detain all parties riding southward. Chamis assured the others that the Government and engineers must have offered a large reward for their capture and that in consequence of this the desert was undoubtedly swarming with searching parties. The only course to pursue would be to turn as far as possible to the west; but on the west lay the great oasis of Kharga, to which despatches also could reach, and besides, if they rode too far west they would lack water after a few days, and death from thirst would await them.

And the question of food became a vital one. The Bedouins in the course of the two weeks preceding the abduction of the children had placed in hiding-places, supplies of durra, biscuits, and dates, but only for a distance of four days' journey from Medinet. Idris, with fear, thought that when provisions should be lacking it would be imperatively necessary to send men to purchase supplies at the villages on the river banks, and then these men, in view of the aroused vigilance and reward offered for the capture of the fugitives, might easily fall into the hands of the local sheiks,--and betray the whole caravan. The situation was indeed difficult, almost desperate, and Idris each day perceived more plainly upon what an insane undertaking he had ventured.

"If we could only pass Assuan! If we could only pass Assuan!" he said to himself with alarm and despair in his soul. He did not indeed believe Chamis who claimed that the Mahdi's warriors had already reached Assuan, as Stas denied this.

Idris long since perceived that the white "uled" knew more than all of them. But he supposed that beyond the first cataract, where the people were wilder and less susceptible to the influences of Englishmen and the Egyptian Government, he would find more adherents of the prophet, who in a case of emergency would give them succor, and would furnish food and camels. But it was, as the Bedouins reckoned, about five days' journey to Assuan over a road which became more and more desolate, and every stop visibly diminished their supplies for man and beast.

Fortunately they could urge the camels and drive with the greatest speed, for the heat did not exhaust their strength. During daytime, at the noon hour, the sun, indeed, scorched strongly but the air was continually invigorating and the nights so cool that Stas, with the consent of Idris, changed his seat to Nell's camel, desiring to watch over her and protect her from catching cold.

But his fears were vain, as Dinah, whose eyes, or rather, eye, improved considerably, watched with great solicitude over her little lady. The boy was even surprised that the little one's health thus far did not suffer any impairment and that she bore the journey, with everdecreasing stops, as well as himself. Grief, fear, and the tears which she shed from longing for her papa evidently did not harm her much. Perhaps her slightly emaciated and bright little countenance was tanned by the wind, but in the later days of the journey she felt far less fatigued than at the beginning. It is true that Idris gave her the easiest carrying camel and had made an excellent saddle so that she could sleep in it lying down; nevertheless the desert air, which she breathed day and night, mainly gave her strength to endure the hardships and irregular hours.

Stas not only watched over her but intentionally surrounded her with a worship which, notwithstanding his immense attachment to his little sister, he did not at all feel for her. He observed, however, that this affected the Arabs and that they involuntarily were fortified in the conviction that they were bearing something of unheard-of value, some exceptionally important female captive, with whom it was necessary to act with the greatest possible care. Idris had been accustomed to this while at Medinet; so now all treated her well. They did not spare water and dates for her. The cruel Gebhr would not now have dared to raise his hand against her. Perhaps the extraordinarily fine stature of the little girl contributed to this, and also that there was in her something of the nature of a flower and of a bird, and this charm even the savage and undeveloped souls of the Arabs could not resist. Often also, when at a resting place she stood by the fire fed by the roses of Jericho or thorns, rosy from the flame and silvery in the moonlight, the Sudânese as well as the Bedouins could not tear their eyes from her, smacking their lips from admiration, according to their habit, and murmuring:

"Allah! Mashallah! Bismillah!"

The second day at noon after that long rest, Stas and Nell who rode this time on the same camel, had a moment of joyful emotion. Immediately after sunrise a light and transparent mist rose over the desert, but it soon fell. Afterwards when the sun ascended higher, the heat became greater than during the previous days. At moments when the camels halted there could not be felt the slightest breeze, so that the air as well as the sands seemed to slumber in the warmth, in the light, and in the stillness. The caravan had just ridden upon a great monotonous level ground, unbroken by khors, when suddenly a wonderful spectacle presented itself to the eyes of the children. Groups of slender palms and pepper trees, plantations of mandarins, white houses, a small mosque with projecting minaret, and, lower, walls surrounding gardens, all these appeared with such distinctness and at distance so close that one might assume that after the lapse of half an hour the caravan would be amid the trees of the oasis.

"What is this?" exclaimed Stas. "Nell, Nell! Look!"

Nell rose, and for a time was silent with astonishment, but after a while began to cry with joy:

"Medinet! to papa! to papa!"

And Stas turned pale from emotion.

"Truly--Perhaps that is Kharga--But no! That is Medinet perhaps--I recognize the minaret and even see the windmills above the wells--"

In fact, in the distance the highly elevated American windmills resembling great white stars, actually glistened. On the verdant background of the trees they could be seen so perfectly that Stas' keen sight could distinguish the borders of the vanes painted red.

"That is Medinet!--"

Stas knew from books and narratives that there were on the desert phantasms known as "fata morgana" and that sometimes travelers happen to see oases, cities, tufts of trees and lakes, which are nothing more than an illusion, a play of light, and a reflection of real distant objects. But this time the phenomenon was so distinct, so well-nigh palpable that he could not doubt that he saw the real Medinet. There was the turret upon the Mudir's house, there the circular balcony near the summit of the minaret from which the muezzin called to prayers, there that familiar group of trees, and particularly those windmills. No,--that must be the reality. It occurred to the boy that the Sudânese, reflecting upon their situation, had come to the conclusion that they could not escape and, without saying anything to him, had turned back to Fayûm. But their calmness suggested to him the first doubts. If that really was Fayûm, would they gaze upon it so indifferently? They, of course, saw the phenomenon and pointed it out to each other with their fingers, but on their faces could not be seen the least perplexity or emotion. Stas gazed yet once more and perhaps this indifference of the Arabs caused the picture to seem fainter to him. He also thought that, if in truth they were returning, the caravan would be grouped together, and the men, though only from fear, would ride in a body. But, in the meanwhile, the Bedouins, who, by Idris' order, for the past few days drove considerably in advance, could not be seen at all; while Chamis, riding as a rear guard, appeared at a distance not greater than the vulture lying on the ground.

"Fata Morgana," said Stas to himself.

In the meantime Idris approached him and shouted:

"Heigh! Speed your camel! You see Medinet!"

He evidently spoke jokingly and there was so much spite in his voice that the last hope that the real Medinet was before him vanished in the boy's heart.

And with sorrow in his heart he turned to Nell to dispel her delusion, when unexpectedly an incident occurred which drew the attention of all in another direction.

At first a Bedouin appeared, running towards them at full speed and brandishing from afar a long Arabian rifle which no one in the caravan possessed before that time. Reaching Idris, he exchanged a few hurried words with him, after which the caravan turned precipitately into the interior of the desert. But, after a time, the other Bedouin appeared leading by a rope a fat she-camel, with a saddle on its hump and leather bags hanging on its sides. A short conversation commenced, of which Stas could not catch a word. The caravan in full speed made for the west. It halted only when they chanced upon a narrow khor full of rocks scattered in wild disorder, and of fissures and caverns. One of these was so spacious that the Sudânese hid the people and camels in it. Stas, although he conjectured more or less what had happened, lay beside Idris and pretended to sleep, hoping that the Arabs, who thus far had exchanged but a few words about the occurrence, would now begin to speak about it. In fact, his hope was not disappointed, for immediately after pouring out fodder for the camels, the Bedouins and the Sudânese with Chamis sat down for a consultation.

"Henceforth we can ride only in the night; in the daytime we will have to hide!" spoke out the one-eyed Bedouin. "There will be many khors now and in each one of them we will find a safe hiding-place."

"Are you sure that he was a sentinel?" asked Idris.

"Allah! We spoke with him. Luckily there was only one. He stood hidden by a rock, so that we could not see him, but we heard from a distance the cry of his camel. Then we slackened our speed and rode up so quietly that he saw us only when we were a few paces away. He became very frightened and wanted to aim his rifle at us. If he had fired, though he might not have killed any of us, the other sentinels would have heard the shot; so, as hurriedly as possible, I yelled to him: 'Halt! we are pursuing men who kidnapped two white children, and soon the whole pursuit will be here!' The boy was young and foolish, so he believed us; only he ordered us to swear on the Koran that such was the case. We got off our camels and swore--"

"The Mahdi will absolve us--"

"And bless you," said Idris. "Speak! what did you do afterwards?"

"Now," continued the Bedouin, "when we swore, I said to the boy: 'But who can vouch that you yourself do not belong to the outlaws who are running away with the white children, and whether they did not leave you here to hold back the pursuit?' And I ordered him also to take an oath. To this he assented and this caused him to believe us all the more. We began to ask him whether any orders had come over the copper wire to the sheiks and whether a pursuit was organized. He replied: 'Yes!' and told us that a great reward was offered, and that all khors at a two days' distance from the river were guarded, and that the great 'baburs' (steamers), with Englishmen and troops are continually floating over the river."

"Neither the 'baburs' nor the troops can avail against the might of Allah and the prophet--"

"May it be as you say!"

"Tell us how you finished with the boy?"

The one-eyed Bedouin pointed at his companion.

"Abu-Anga," he said, "asked him whether there was not another sentinel near-by, and the sentinel replied that there was not; then Abu-Anga thrust his knife into the sentinel's throat so suddenly that he did not utter a word. We threw him into a deep cleft and covered him with stones and thorns. In the village they will think that he ran away to the Mahdi, for he told us that this does happen."

"May God bless those who run away as he blessed you," answered Idris.

"Yes! He did bless us," retorted Abu-Anga, "for we now know that we will have to keep at a three days' distance from the river, and besides we captured a rifle which we needed and a milch she-camel."

"The gourds," added the one-eyed, "are filled with water and there is considerable millet in the sacks; but we found but little powder."

"Chamis is carrying a few hundred cartridges for the white boy's rifle, from which we cannot shoot. Powder is always the same and can be used in ours."

Saying this, Idris nevertheless pondered, and heavy anxiety was reflected in his dark face, for he understood that when once a corpse had fallen to the ground, Stas' intercession would not secure immunity for them from trial and punishment, if they should fall into the hands of the Egyptian Government.

Stas listened with palpitating heart and strained attention. In that conversation there were some comforting things, especially that a pursuit was organized, that a reward was offered, and that the sheiks of the tribes on the river banks had received orders to detain caravans going southward. The boy was comforted also by the intelligence about steamers filled with English troops plying on the upper river. The dervishes of the Mahdi might cope with the Egyptian army and even defeat it, but it was an entirely different matter with English people, and Stas did not doubt for a moment that the first battle would result in the total rout of the savage multitude. So, with comfort in his soul, he soliloquized thus: "Even though they wish to bring us to the Mahdi, it may happen that before we reach his camp there will not be any Mahdi or his dervishes." But this solace was embittered by the thought that in such case there awaited them whole weeks of travel, which in the end must exhaust Nell's strength, and during all this time they would be forced to remain in the company of knaves and murderers. At the recollection of that young Arab, whom the Bedouins had butchered like a lamb, fear and sorrow beset Stas. He decided not to speak of it to Nell in order not to frighten her and augment the sorrow she felt after the disappearance of the illusory picture of the oasis of Fayûm and the city of Medinet. He saw before their arrival at the ravine that tears were involuntarily surging to her eyes; therefore, when he had learned everything which he wished to know from the Bedouins' narratives, he pretended to awake and walked towards her. She sat in a corner near Dinah, eating dates, moistened a little with her tears. But seeing Stas, she recollected that not long before he declared that her conduct was worthy of a person of at least thirteen years; so, not desiring to appear again as a child, she bit the kernel of a date with the full strength of her little teeth, so as to suppress her sobs.

"Nell," said the boy, "Medinet--that was an illusion, but I know for a certainty that we are being pursued; so don't grieve, and don't cry."

At this the little girl raised towards him her tearful pupils and replied in a broken voice:

"No, Stas--I do not want to cry--only my eyes--perspire so."

But at that moment her chin began to quiver; from under her closed eyelashes big tears gushed and she wept in earnest.

However, as she was ashamed of her tears and expected a rebuke for them from Stas, a little from shame and a little from fear she hid her head on his bosom, wetting his clothes copiously.

But he at once consoled her.

"Nell, don't be a fountain. You saw that they took away from some Arab a rifle and a she-camel. Do you know what that means? It means that the desert is full of soldiers. Once these wretches succeeded in trapping a sentinel, but the next time they themselves will get caught. A large number of steamboats are plying over the Nile also--Why, of course, Nell, we will return. We will return, and in a steamer to boot. Don't be afraid."

And he would have comforted her further in this manner, were not his attention attracted by a strange sound coming from the outside, from the sand-drifts, which the hurricane blew onto the bottom of the ravine. It was something resembling the thin, metallic notes of a reed pipe. Stas broke off the conversation and began to listen. After a while these very thin and mournful sounds came from many sides simultaneously. Through the boy's mind the thought flashed that these might be Arabian guards surrounding the ravine and summoning aid with whistles. His heart began to beat. He glanced once and again at the Sudânese, hoping that he would behold consternation on their faces; but no! Idris, Gebhr and the two Bedouins calmly chewed biscuits, only Chamis appeared a little surprised. The sounds continued. After a while Idris rose and looked out of the cavern; returning, he stopped near the children, and said:

"The sands are beginning to sing."

Stas' curiosity was so aroused that he forgot that he had determined not to speak to Idris any more and asked:

"Sands? What does it mean?"

"It happens thus, and means that for a long time there will be no rain. But the heat will not distress us, since as far as Assuan we will ride only during the night."

And no more could be learned from him. Stas and Nell listened long to these peculiar sounds which continued until the sun descended in the west, after which night fell and the caravan started on its further journey.

XIII

In the daytime they hid in places concealed and difficult of access, amid rocks and chasms, and during the night they hurried, without respite, until they passed the First Cataract. When finally the Bedouins discerned from the situation and form of the khors that Assuan was behind them, a great burden fell off Idris' breast. As they suffered already from want of water they drew nearer to the river a half day's distance. There Idris, concealing the caravan, sent all the camels with the Bedouins to the Nile in order to water them well and for a longer time. Beyond Assuan the fertile belt along the river was narrower. In some places the desert reached the river; the villages lay at a considerable distance from each other. The Bedouins, therefore, returned successfully, unseen by any one, with a considerable supply of water. It was necessary now to think of provisions. As the animals had been fed sparingly during the past week they grew lean; their necks lengthened, their humps sank, and their legs became weak. The durra and the supplies for the people, with the greatest stint, would suffice for two days more. Idris thought, however, that they might, if not during daytime then at night, approach the pastures on the river banks and perhaps buy biscuits and dates in some village. Saba already was given nothing at all to eat or drink, and the children hid leavings of food for him, but he somehow managed to take care of himself and came running to the stopping places with bleeding jaws and marks of bites on his neck and breast. Whether the victim of these fights was a jackal, or a hyena, or perhaps a desert fox or a gazelle no one knew; it was enough that there were no signs of great hunger on him. At times also his black lips were moist as if he drank. The Bedouins surmised that he must have dug deep holes at the bottom of the ravines, and in this manner reached water which he scented under the ground. In this manner travelers who get lost dig the bottoms of chasms and, if they do not often find water, they almost always reach damp sand and, sucking it, cheat in this way the pangs of thirst. In Saba, however, considerable changes took place. He still had a powerful breast and neck, but his sides were sunken, through which he appeared taller. In his eyes, about the reddened whites, there was now something savage and threatening. To Nell and to Stas he was as attached as previously and permitted them to do with him whatever they pleased. He still at times wagged his tail at Chamis, but he growled at the Bedouins and Sudânese or snapped with his terrible teeth, which at such times clashed against each other like steel nails. Idris and Gebhr plainly began to fear and hate him to the extent that they would have killed him with the captured rifle, were it not that they desired to bring this extraordinary animal to Smain, and were it not also that they had already passed Assuan.

They had passed Assuan! Stas thought of this continually, and doubt that the pursuit would ever overtake them stole gradually into his soul. He knew, indeed, that not only Egypt proper, which ends at Wâdi Haifa, that is, at the Second Cataract, but the whole of Nubia was up to that time in the hands of the Egyptian Government, but he also understood that beyond Assuan and particularly Wâdi Haifa the pursuit would be more difficult and the commands of the Government would be executed carelessly. His only hope was that his father with Mr. Rawlinson, after making arrangements for the pursuit from Fayûm, would go to Wâdi Haifa by steamer, and there securing troops of the camel-corps, would endeavor to intercept the caravan from the south. The boy reasoned that if he were in their place he would do just this, and for that reason he assumed that his supposition was very probable.

He did not, however, abandon the thought of a rescue on his own account. The Sudânese wanted to have powder for the captured rifle and with this object decided to disjoin a score of the rifle cartridges, so he told them that he alone was able to do that, and that if any one of them should undertake the task unskilfully, the cartridge would explode in his fingers and tear off his hands. Idris, fearing English inventions and unknown things generally, determined finally to entrust the boy with this undertaking. Stas went at it willingly, hoping in the first place that the powerful English powder at the first shot would burst the old Arabian rifle to pieces, and, again, that he might be able to hide a few cartridges. In fact, he succeeded more easily than he expected. Apparently they watched him at the work, but the Arabs began at once to talk among themselves and soon they were more occupied with their conversation than with their supervision. Finally this loquacity and inbred carelessness permitted Stas to conceal in his bosom seven cartridges. Now all that was necessary was to secure the rifle.

The boy judged that beyond Wâdi Haifa, the Second Cataract, this would not be a very difficult matter as he foresaw that as they drew nearer to their destination the Arabs' vigilance would relax. The thought that he would have to kill the Sudânese, the Bedouins, and even Chamis, always caused him to shudder, but after the murder which the Bedouins had committed, he did not have any scruples. He said to himself that the defense, liberty, and life of Nell were involved, and in view of this the lives of his adversaries did not deserve any consideration, especially if they did not surrender and it came to a fight.

But he was anxious about the short rifle. Stas resolved to secure it by stratagem, whenever the opportunity presented itself, and not to wait until they reached Wâdi Haifa, but perform the deed as soon as possible.

Accordingly he did not wait.

Two days had elapsed since they passed Assuan, and Idris finally at the dawn of the third day was forced to despatch the Bedouins for provisions, which were totally lacking. In view of the diminished number of adversaries Stas said to himself: "Now or never!" and immediately turned to the Sudânese with the following question:

"Idris, do you know that the country which begins not far beyond Wâdi Haifa is really Nubia?"

"I know. I was fifteen years old and Gebhr eight, when my father took us from the Sudân to Fayûm, and I remember that we rode at that time on camels over the whole of Nubia. But this country belongs still to the Turks (Egyptians)."

"Yes. The Mahdi is only before Khartûm and you see how foolishly Chamis chattered when he told you that the army of dervishes reached as far as Assuan. However, I shall ask you something else. Now I have read that in Nubia there are many wild animals and many brigands who do not serve any one and who attack alike the Egyptians and the faithful Mahdists. With what will you defend yourself, if wild animals or brigands attack you?"

Stas purposely exaggerated in speaking of wild animals, but, on the other hand, highway robberies in Nubia, from the time of the war, occurred quite frequently, particularly in the southern part of the country bordering upon the Sudân.

Idris pondered for a while over the question, which surprised him, as heretofore he had not thought of these new dangers, and replied:

"We have knives and a rifle."

"Such a rifle is good for nothing."

"I know. Yours is better, but we do not know how to shoot from it, and we will not place it in your hands."

"Even unloaded?"

"Yes, for it may be bewitched."

Stas shrugged his shoulders.

"Idris, if Gebhr said that, I would not be surprised, but I thought that you had more sense. From an unloaded rifle even your Mahdi could not fire--"

"Silence!" interrupted Idris sternly. "The Mahdi is able to fire even from his finger."

"Then you also can fire in that way."

The Sudânese looked keenly into the boy's eyes.

"Why do you want me to give you the rifle?"

"I want to teach you how to fire from it."

"Why should that concern you?"

"A great deal, for if the brigands attack us they might kill us all. But if you are afraid of the rifle and of me then it does not matter."

Idris was silent. In reality he was afraid, but did not want to admit it. He was anxious, however, to get acquainted with the English weapon, for its possession and skill in its use would increase his importance in the Mahdists' camp, to say nothing of the fact that it would be easier for him to defend himself in case of an attack.

So after a brief consideration he said:

"Good. Let Chamis hand you the rifle-case and you can take it out."

Chamis indifferently performed the order, which Gebhr could not oppose, as he was occupied at some distance with the camels. Stas with quivering hands took out the stock and afterwards the barrels, and handed them to Idris.

"You see they are empty."

Idris took the barrels and peered upwards through them.

"Yes, there is nothing in them."

"Now observe," said Stas. "This is the way to put a rifle together" (and saying this he united the barrel and stock). "This is the way to open it. Do you see? I will take it apart again and you can put it together."

The Sudânese, who watched Stas' motions with great attention, tried to imitate him. At first it was not easy for him, but as Arabians are well known for their skilfulness, the rifle, after a while, was put together.

"Open!" commanded Stas.

Idris opened the rifle easily.

"Close."

This was done yet more easily.

"Now give me two empty shells. I will teach you how to load the cartridges."

The Arabs had kept the empty cartridges as they had a value for them as brass; so Idris handed two of them to Stas and the instruction began anew.

The Sudânese at first was frightened a little by the crack of the caps of the shells, but finally became convinced that no one was able to fire from empty barrels and empty shells. In addition, his trust in Stas returned because the boy handed the weapon to him every little while.

"Yes," said Stas, "you already know how to put a rifle together, you know how to open, to close, and to pull the trigger. But now it is necessary for you to learn to aim. That is the most difficult thing. Take that empty water gourd and place it at a hundred paces--on those stones, and afterwards return to me; I will show you how to aim."

Idris took the gourd and without the slightest hesitation walked to the place by the stones which Stas had indicated. But before he made the first hundred steps, Stas extracted the empty shells and substituted loaded cartridges. Not only his heart but the arteries in his temples began to throb with such a force that he thought that his head would burst. The decisive moment arrived--the moment of freedom for Nell and himself--the moment of victory--terrible and at the same time desirable.

Now Idris' life was in his hands. One pull of the trigger and the traitor who had kidnapped Nell would fall a corpse. But Stas, who had in his veins both Polish and French blood, suddenly felt that for nothing in the world could he be capable of shooting a man in the back. Let him at least turn around and face death in the eye. And after that, what? After that, Gebhr would come rushing up, and before he ran ten paces he also would bite the dust. Chamis would remain. But Chamis would lose his head, and even though he should not lose it, there would be time to insert new cartridges in the barrels. When the Bedouins arrived, they would find three corpses, and meet a fate they richly deserved. After that he would only have to guide the camels to the river.

All these thoughts and pictures flew like a whirlwind through Stas' brain. He felt that what was to happen after a few minutes was at the same time horrible and imperative. The pride of a conqueror surged in his breast with a feeling of aversion for the dreadful deed. There was a moment when he hesitated, but he recalled the tortures which the white prisoners endured; he recalled his father, Mr. Rawlinson, Nell, also Gebhr, who struck the little girl with a courbash, and hatred burst out in him with renewed force. "It is necessary!" he said through his set teeth, and inflexible determination was reflected on his countenance, which became as if carved out of stone.

In the meantime Idris placed the gourd on a stone about a hundred paces distant and turned around. Stas saw his smiling face and his whole tall form upon the plain. For the last time the thought flashed through his mind that this living man would fall after a moment upon the ground, clutching the sand with his fingers in the last convulsions of the throes of death. But the hesitation of the boy ended, and when Idris sauntered fifty paces toward him, he began slowly to raise the weapon to his eye.

But before he touched the trigger with his finger, from beyond the dunes, about a few hundred paces distant, could be heard tumultuous cheers, and in the same minute about twenty riders on horses and camels debouched on the plain. Idris became petrified at the sight. Stas was amazed no less, but at once amazement gave way to insane joy. The expected pursuit at last! Yes! That could not be anything else. Evidently the Bedouins had been captured in a village and were showing where the rest of the caravan was concealed! Idris thought the same. When he collected himself he ran to Stas, with face ashen from terror, and, kneeling at his feet, began to repeat in a voice out of breath:

"Sir, I was kind to you! I was kind to the little 'bint'! Remember that!"

Stas mechanically extracted the cartridges from the barrels and gazed. The riders drove horses and camels at the fullest speed, shouting from joy and flinging upwards their long Arabian rifles, which they caught while in full gallop with extraordinary dexterity. In the bright transparent air they could be seen perfectly. In the middle, at the van, ran the two Bedouins waving their hands and burnooses as if possessed.

After a few minutes the whole band dashed to the caravan. Some of the riders leaped off the horses and camels; some remained on their saddles, yelling at the top of their voices. Amid these shouts only two words could be distinguished.

"Khartûm! Gordon! Gordon! Khartûm!"

Finally one of the Bedouins--the one whom his companion called Abu-Anga--ran up to Idris cringing at Stas' feet, and began to exclaim:

"Khartûm is taken! Gordon is killed! The Mahdi is victorious!"

Idris stood erect but did not yet believe his ears.

"And these men?" he asked with quivering lips.

"These men were to seize us, but now are going together with us to the prophet."

Stas' head swam.

XIV

It was evident that the last hope of escaping during the journey had become extinct. Stas now knew that his schemes would avail nothing; that the pursuit would not overtake them, and that if they endured the hardships of the journey they would reach the Mahdi and would be surrendered to Smain. The only consolation now was the thought that they were kidnapped so that Smain might exchange them for his children. But when would that happen, and what would they encounter before that time? What dreadful misfortune awaited them among the savage hordes intoxicated with blood? Would Nell be able to endure all these fatigues and privations?

This no one could answer. On the other hand, it was known that the Mahdi and his dervishes hated Christians, and Europeans in general; so in the soul of the boy there was bred a fear that the influence of Smain might not be sufficient to shield them from indignities, from rough treatment, from the cruelties and the rage of the Mahdist believers, who even murdered Mohammedans loyal to the Government. For the first time since the abduction deep despair beset the boy, and at the same time some kind of vague notion that an untoward fate was persecuting them. Why, the idea itself of abducting them from Fayûm and conveying them to Khartûm was sheer madness which could be committed only by such wild and foolish men as Idris and Gebhr, not understanding that they would have to traverse thousands of kilometers over a country subject to the Egyptian Government or, more properly, English people. With proper methods they ought to have been caught on the second day, and nevertheless everything combined so that now they were not far from the Second Cataract and none of the preceding pursuing parties had overtaken them, and the last one which could have detained them joined the kidnappers and, from this time, would aid them. To Stas' despair, to his fears about little Nell's fate, was linked a feeling of humiliation that he was unequal to the situation and, what was more, was unable now to devise anything, for even if they returned the rifle and cartridges to him, he could not, of course, shoot all the Arabs composing the caravan.

And he was gnawed all the more by these thoughts because deliverance had been already so near. If Khartûm had not fallen, or if it had fallen only a few days later, these same men, who went over to the side of the Mahdi, would have seized their captors and delivered them to the Government. Stas, sitting on the camel behind Idris and listening to their conversation, became convinced that this undoubtedly would have happened. For, immediately after they proceeded upon their further journey, the leader of the pursuing party began to relate to Idris what induced them to commit treason to the Khedive. They knew previously that a great army--not an Egyptian now but an English one--had started southward against the dervishes under the command of General Wolseley. They saw a multitude of steamers, which carried formidable English soldiers from Assuan to Wâdi Haifa, from whence a railroad was built for them to Abu Hâmed. For a long time all the sheiks on the river banks,--those who remained loyal to the Government as well as those who in the depth of their souls favored the Mahdi,--were certain that the destruction of the dervishes and their prophet was inevitable, for no one had ever vanquished the Englishmen.

"Akbar Allah!" interrupted Idris, raising his hands upwards. "Nevertheless, they have been vanquished."

"No," replied the leader of the pursuing party. "The Mahdi sent against them the tribes of Jaalin, Barabra, and Janghey, nearly thirty thousand in all of his best warriors, under the command of Musa, the son of Helu. At Abu Klea a terrible battle took place in which God awarded the victory to the unbelievers.--Yes, it is so. Musa, the son of Helu, fell, and of his soldiers only a handful returned to the Mahdi. The souls of the others are in Paradise, while their bodies lie upon the sands, awaiting the day of resurrection. News of this spread rapidly over the Nile. Then we thought that the English would go farther south and relieve Khartûm. The people repeated, 'The end! the end!' And in the meantime God disposed otherwise."

"How? What happened?" asked Idris feverishly.

"What happened?" said the leader with a brightened countenance. "Why, in the meantime the Mahdi captured Khartûm, and during the assault Gordon's head was cut off. And as the Englishmen were concerned only about Gordon, learning of his death, they returned to the north. Allah! We again saw the steamers with the stalwart soldiers floating down the river, but did not understand what it meant. The English publish good news immediately and suppress bad. Some of our people said that the Mahdi had already perished. But finally the truth came to the surface. This region belongs yet to the Government. In Wâdi Haifa and farther, as far as the Third and perhaps the Fourth Cataract, the soldiers of the Khedive can be found; nevertheless, after the retirement of the English troops, we believe now that the Mahdi will subdue not only Nubia and Egypt, not only Mecca and Medina, but the whole world. For that reason instead of capturing you and delivering you to the hands of the Government we are going together with you to the prophet."

"So orders came to capture us?"

"To all the villages, to all the sheiks, to the military garrisons. Wherever the copper wire, over which fly the commands of the Khedive, does not reach, there came the 'zabdis' (gendarmes) with the announcement that whoever captures you will receive one thousand pounds reward. Mashallah!--That is great wealth!--Great!"

Idris glanced suspiciously at the speaker.

"But you prefer the blessing of the Mahdi?"

"Yes. He captured such immense booty and so much money in Khartûm that he measures the Egyptian pounds in fodder sacks and distributes them among his faithful--"

"Nevertheless, if the Egyptian troops are yet in Wâdi Haifa, and further, they may seize us on the way."

"No. It is necessary only to hurry before they recover their wits. Now since the retreat of the Englishmen they have lost their heads entirely--the sheiks, the loyal to the Government, as well as the soldiers and 'zabdis.' All think that the Mahdi at any moment will arrive; for that reason those of us who in our souls favored him are now running to him boldly, and nobody is pursuing us, for in the first moments no one is issuing orders and no one knows whom to obey."

"Yes," replied Idris, "you say truly that it is necessary to hurry, before they recover their wits, since Khartûm is yet far--"

For an instant a faint gleam of hope glimmered again for Stas. If the Egyptian soldiers up to that time occupied various localities on the banks in Nubia, then in view of the fact that the English troops had taken all the steamers, they would have to retreat before the Mahdi's hordes by land. In such case it might happen that the caravan would encounter some retreating detachment and might be surrounded. Stas reckoned also that before the news of the capture of Khartûm circulated among the Arabian tribes north of Wâdi Haifa, considerable time would elapse; the more so as the Egyptian Government and the English people suppressed it. He therefore assumed that the panic which must have prevailed among the Egyptians in the first moment must have already passed away. To the inexperienced boy it never occurred that in any event the downfall of Khartûm and the death of Gordon would cause people to forget about everything else, and that the sheiks loyal to the Government as well as the local authorities would now have something else to do than to think of rescuing two white children.

And in fact the Arabs who joined the caravan did not fear the pursuit very much. They rode with great haste and did not spare the camels, but they kept close to the Nile and often during the night turned to the river to water the animals and to fill the leather bags with water. At times they ventured to ride to villages even in daytime. For safety they sent in advance for scouting a few men who, under the pretext of buying provisions, inquired for news of the locality; whether there were any Egyptian troops near-by and whether the inhabitants belonged to "the loyal Turks." If they met residents secretly favoring the Mahdi, then the entire caravan would visit the village, and often it happened that it was increased by a few or even a dozen or more young Arabs who also wanted to fly to the Mahdi.