appeared to be the rugged face of the cliff; but soon the eye began to
make out a kind of order here and there, and that rugged ranges of
stones had been built up on shelves of the rock, with windows and doors,
but as far as could be made out these rock-dwellings had been roofless;
and were more like fortifications than anything else, the professor
said.
"Yes, effendi," said Yussuf gravely, "strongholds, but dwelling-places
as well. People had to live in spots where they would be safe in those
days. Are you going to climb up?"
"Certainly," was the reply.
"That is well, for up beyond there is a way to an old temple, and a
number of caves where people must have been living."
"But where is the road up?" said Lawrence.
"Along that rough ledge," replied Yussuf. "I will go first. Would it
not be better if the young effendi stayed below? The height is great,
the road dangerous; and not only is it hot, but there are many serpents
up among the ledges of the rock."
"What do you say, Lawrence?" said the professor.
"He is going to stop down with me," said Mr Burne shortly.
"No, sir; I am going up," replied Lawrence. "I may never be able to see
such wonders as these again."
"But, my dear boy, if you climb up here, I must go too," cried Mr
Burne.
"Come along, then, sir," cried Lawrence laughing; "the place looks so
interesting I would not miss going up for the world."
"Humph! I know I shall be broken before I've done," muttered Mr Burne,
taking out his handkerchief for a good blow; but glancing back in the
direction where they had left the horses, he altered his mind, as if he
dreaded the consequences, and replacing the silken square, he uttered a
low sigh, and prepared to climb.
CHAPTER TWENTY.
THE ANCIENT DWELLINGS.
"Look here; stop a minute," said Mr Burne; "if we've got to climb up
that break-neck place, hadn't we better leave these guns and things at
the bottom, so as to have our hands clear?"
"No--no--no," exclaimed Yussuf impatiently; "a man in this country
should never leave his weapons out of his reach."
"Bah! what nonsense, sir! Anyone would think we were at sea again, or
in a country where there are no laws."
"There are plenty of laws, Burne," said the professor, "but we are
getting out of their reach."
"Highwaymen and footpads about, I suppose?" said the old lawyer
mockingly. "My dear sir, don't put such romantic notions into the boy's
head. This is not Hounslow Heath. I suppose you will want to make me
believe next that there are bands of robbers close at hand, with a
captain whose belt is stuck full of pistols--eh, Yussuf?"
"Oh, yes, sir," said their guide quietly. "I should not be surprised.
There are plenty of brigands in the mountains."
"Rubbish, sir; stuff, sir; nonsense, sir!"
"It is true, sir," replied Yussuf sturdily.
"Then what do you mean, sir, if it is true, by bringing us into such a
place as this?"
Yussuf stared at him wonderingly; and Lawrence burst into a hearty fit
of laughter.
"Come, come, Burne," cried the professor; "if anyone is to blame, it is
I. Of course, this country is in a very lawless state, but all we have
to do is to preserve a bold front. Come along; we are wasting time."
Yussuf smiled and nodded, and led the way up over the crumbling stones,
climbing and pointing out the easiest paths, till they were at the first
ledge, and were able to inspect the first group of cliff-dwellings,
which proved to be strongly built roofless places, evidently of vast
antiquity, and everywhere suggesting that the people who had dwelt in
them had been those who lived in very troublous times, when one of the
first things to think about in a home was safety, for enemies must have
abounded on every side.
For about a couple of hours the professor examined, and climbed, and
turned over stones, finding here and there rough fragments of pottery,
while Mr Burne settled himself down in a shady corner and had a nap.
Yussuf was indefatigable, moving fragments of rock and trying to
contrive ways off the giddy slope to another group of the strange old
edifices, to which in due time, and not without some risk, the professor
and Lawrence climbed. But there was nothing more to reward them than
they had found below, only that the wisdom of the choice of the old
occupants was evident, for just as the professor had come to the
conclusion that the people who made these their strongholds must have
been at the mercy of the enemies who seized upon the spring down below
in the ravine, they came upon proof that there was plenty of foresight
exercised, and that these ancient inhabitants had arranged so as not to
be forced to surrender from thirst.
It was Lawrence who made the discovery, for having climbed a little
higher up the cliff face to a fresh ledge, he called to the professor to
follow, and upon his reaching the spot, a great niche right in the
cliff, deep and completely hidden, there were the remains of a
roughly-made tank or reservoir, formed by simply building a low wall of
stones and cement across the mouth, when it was evident that the water
that came down from above in rainy weather would be caught and preserved
for use.
It was all intensely interesting to everyone but Mr Burne, who could
not get up any enthusiasm on the subject of whom these people were, and
excused himself from climbing higher on account of his back.
They descended at length, and Mr Burne sighed with satisfaction; but
Yussuf had more wonders of the past to show the travellers, pointing out
a narrow path that ran diagonally up the side of the gully, and assuring
the party that if they only made up their minds to ascend bravely there
was no danger.
Again it was suggested that Mr Burne should sit down and wait; but the
only effect of this was to make him obstinate; and he started forward
and followed Yussuf up the steep path.
It was decidedly dangerous in places where the stones had crumbled away,
and a slip must have resulted in a terrible fall; but all got well over
the perilous parts, and at last they climbed to a platform on the side
of the huge rocky mass, where the low crumbling walls showed where a
kind of temple had once stood. Here they had an opportunity of gazing
down into a valley that was one mass of glorious verdure, through which
dashed a torrent, whose waters flashed and glittered where the sunbeams
pierced the overhanging trees, and made the scene one of the most
beautiful they had seen.
There were more wonders yet, for the face of the rock was honey-combed
with caverns which ran in a great distance, forming passages and
chambers connected one with the other.
These had evidently been inhabited, for there were marks of tools
showing how they had been enlarged, and curious well-like arrangements
which suggested tanks; but Yussuf assured the travellers that these
holes in the natural rock were used as stores for grain, this being the
manner in which it was stored or buried to the present day.
"There," cried Mr Burne, as they came out of the last cave, and stood
once more upon the platform of rock by the ruins, and had a glorious
panorama of the defile below--"there, I've been as patient as can be
with you, but now it's my turn. What I say is, that we must go back to
camp at once, and have a rest and a good lunch."
"Agreed," said Mr Preston. "You have been patient. What is it,
Yussuf?" he cried suddenly, as he saw the guide gazing intently down at
something about half a mile away, far along the winding defile.
"Travellers," said Yussuf; and in that wild, almost uninhabited region,
the appearance of fellow-creatures excited curiosity.
They were only seen for a few minutes before the party of mounted and
unmounted men with their baggage were seen to curve round a bold mass of
rock, and disappear into a narrow valley that turned off almost at right
angles to that by which they had come.
The descent proved more difficult than the ascent, and Mr Burne made
several attempts to plunge down or slide amongst the debris instead of
trusting to his feet; but these accidents were foreseen, and checked by
Yussuf, who went in front, and at the first sound of a slip threw
himself down and clung to the rock, making himself a check or drag upon
the old lawyer's progress.
They reached the bottom at last safely, but heated and weary with the
long and arduous descent.
Once on tolerably level ground in the bottom of the defile, however,
their progress was easy, and, with the anticipation of long hearty
drinks at the clear spring, and a good meal from the store on the
pack-horses' backs, they strode on bravely in spite of the heat. The
track up to the cliff-dwellings was passed; but now that they were
weary, the way seemed to be twice as far as when they were going in the
morning, and the defile looked so different upon the return journey that
at last Lawrence asked with a wistful look whether they had missed the
spring.
Yussuf smiled and replied that it was below, and not far distant now,
and a few minutes later they turned an angle in the defile, and came in
full view of the patch of verdure that marked its presence in the
sterile stony gorge.
"Hah!" ejaculated Mr Burne, "it makes one know the value of water,
travelling in a land like this. Only fancy how clear and cold and
refreshing it will be."
He nodded and smiled, for it was his custom after having been in any way
unamiable to try and make up for it by pleasant remarks and jocularity.
"Yes," said Mr Preston; "it does indeed. This mountain air, too, gives
one an appetite--eh, Lawrence?"
"Is that curious feeling one has appetite?" said the lad. "I fancied
that I was not well."
"But you feel as if you could eat?"
"Oh, yes; a great deal," cried the boy, "and I shall be glad to begin."
"Then it is hunger," said the professor laughing. "Eh, what?"
This last was in answer to some words uttered loudly by Yussuf, who had
walked swiftly on, and entered the little depression where they had left
the man with the horses.
"Gone, excellency, gone!" he cried excitedly, for the place was empty;
the six horses and the man were not visible.
The little party stood gazing wonderingly at each other.
The water was there, gushing with great force from beneath the towering
mass of rock; but their supply of food, their means of progression, the
man whom they had engaged--where were they?
Yussuf stood with his hands clenched, and his brow contracted, gazing
down at the ground.
Mr Preston looked down the valley in the direction by which they had
come that morning.
Mr Burne took out his box, partook of a large pinch of snuff, and blew
his nose violently.
Lawrence walked to the spring, stooped down, and began drinking, dipping
up a little water at a time in the hollow of his hand.
Then there was a few moments' silence, and the professor spoke.
"It is very vexatious, just when we were so hungry, but it is plain
enough. Something has startled the horses. Your Ali Baba, Lawrence,
has been biting them, and they have all gone off back, and Hamed has
followed to catch them. There, let's have a draught of spring water and
trudge back."
"Humph! yes," said Mr Burne hopefully. "We may meet them coming back
before long."
They each drank and rose refreshed.
"Come, Yussuf," said the professor. "This way."
"No, effendi," he exclaimed sharply; "not that way, but this."
"What do you mean?" cried Mr Preston, for the guide pointed up the
ravine instead of down.
"The horses have not been frightened, but have been stolen--carried
off."
"Nonsense, man!" cried Mr Burne.
"See!" said Yussuf, pointing to the soil moistened by the stream that
ran from the source, "the horses have gone along this little valley by
the side of the stream--here are their hoof-marks--and come out again
higher up beyond this ridge of the mountain. Yes: I know. The valleys
join again there beyond where we were to-day, and I ought to have known
it," he cried, stamping his foot.
"Known? Known what, man?" cried Mr Burne angrily.
"That those men, who I said were travellers, were the robbers, who have
seized our horses, and carried everything off into the hills."
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
A SKIRMISH.
"This is a pretty state of affairs," cried Mr Burne, opening and
shutting his snuff-box to make it snap. "Now, what's to be done?"
"Tramp to the nearest village, I suppose, and buy more," replied the
professor coolly, "We must expect reverses. This is one."
"Hang your reverses, man! I don't expect and I will not have them, if I
can help it--serves us right for not watching over our baggage."
"Well, Yussuf, I suppose you are right," said the professor.
"Yes, effendi. What is to be done?"
"What I say."
"Yes; what you say," replied the Turk frowning; "and he is so young. We
are only three."
"What are you thinking, Yussuf?"
"That it makes my blood boil, effendi, to be robbed; and I feel that we
ought to follow and punish the dogs. They are cowards, and would fly.
A robber always shrinks from the man who faces him boldly."
"And you would follow them, Yussuf?"
"If your excellency would," he said eagerly.
The grave quiet professor's face flushed, his eyes brightened, and for a
few moments he felt as if his youthful days had come back, when he was
one of the leaders in his college in athletics, and had more than once
been in a town-and-gown row. All this before he had settled down into
the heavy serious absent-minded student. There was now a curious
tingling in his nerves, and he felt ready to agree to anything that
would result in the punishment of the cowardly thieves who had left them
in such a predicament; but just then his eyes fell upon Lawrence's
slight delicate figure, and from that they ranged to the face of Mr
Burne, and he was the grave professor again.
"Why, Preston," said the old lawyer, "you looked as if you meant
fighting."
"But I do not," he replied. "Discretion is the better part of valour,
they say." Then, turning to Yussuf--"What is the nearest place to where
we are now?"
Yussuf's face changed. There was a look of disappointment in it for a
few moments, but he turned grave and calm as usual, as he said:
"There is a village right up the valley, excellency. It is partly in
the way taken by the robbers, but they will be far distant by now. They
are riding and we are afoot."
"But is it far?"
"Half the distance that it would be were we to return to the place we
left this morning."
"Forward, then. Come, Lawrence, you must walk as far as you can, and
then I will stay with you, and we will send the others forward for
help."
"I do not feel so tired now," said the lad. "I am ready."
Yussuf took the lead again and they set off, walking steadily on
straight past the cliff-dwellings, and the ruins by the cave, till they
reached the spot in the beautifully-wooded vale where, from far above,
they had seen the horsemen pass, little thinking at the time that they
were bearing off their strong helps to a journey through the mountains,
and all the food.
Here the beaten track curved off to the left, and the traces left by the
horses were plain enough to see, for there was a little patch of marshy
ground made by a little spring here, and this they had passed, Yussuf
eagerly scanning them, and making out that somewhere about twelve horses
had crossed here, and there were also the footprints of five or six men.
"If we go this way we may overtake the scoundrels," said the old lawyer,
"but it will not do. Yussuf, I am a man of peace, and I should prove to
be a very poor creature in another fight. I had quite enough to last me
the rest of my life on board that boat. Here, let's rest a few hours."
"No, excellency; we must go on, even if it is slowly. This part of the
valley is marshy, and there are fevers caught here. I have been along
here twice, and there is a narrow track over that shoulder of the
mountain that we can easily follow afoot, though we could not take
horses. It is far shorter, too. Can the young effendi walk so far?"
Lawrence declared that he could, for the mountain air gave him strength.
So they left the beaten track, to continue along a narrow water-course
for a couple of miles, and then rapidly ascend the side of one of the
vast masses of cliff, the path being literally a shelf in places not
more than a foot wide, with the mountain on their left rising up like a
wall, and on their right the rock sank right down to the stream, which
gurgled among the masses of stone which had fallen from above, a couple
of hundred feet below them and quite out of sight.
"'Pon my word, Yussuf, this is a pretty sort of a place!" panted Mr
Burne. "Hang it, man! It is dangerous."
"There is no danger, effendi, if you do not think of danger."
"But I do think of danger, sir. Why, bless my heart, sir, there isn't
room for a man to turn round and comfortably blow his nose."
"There is plenty of room for the feet, effendi," replied Yussuf; "the
path is level, and if you will think of the beautiful rocks, and hills,
and listen to the birds singing below there, where the stream is
foaming, and the bushes grow amongst the rocks, there is no danger."
"But I can't think about the beauty of all these things, Yussuf, my man,
and I can only think I am going to turn giddy, and that my feet are
about to slip."
"Why should you, effendi?" replied the Turk gravely. "Is it not given
to man to be calm and confident, and to walk bravely on, in such places
as this? He can train himself to go through what is dangerous to the
timid without risk. Look at the young effendi!" he added in a whisper;
"he sees no danger upon the path."
"Upon my word! Really! Bless my heart! I say, Preston, do you hear
how this fellow is talking to me?"
"Yes, I hear," replied the professor. "He is quite right."
"Quite right!"
"Certainly. I have several times over felt nervous, both in our climb
this morning, and since we have been up here; but I feel now as if I
have mastered my timidity, and I do not mind the path half so much as I
did."
"Then I've got your share and my own, and--now, just look at that boy.
It is absurd."
"What is absurd?" said the professor quietly.
"Why, to see him walking on like that. Ill! Invalid! He is an
impostor."
The professor smiled.
"I say, is it safe to let him go on like that?"
"So long as he feels no fear. See how confident he is!" said Mr
Preston.
Just then Lawrence stopped for the others to overtake him.
"Have you noticed what beautiful white stone this is, Mr Preston?" he
said.
He pointed down at the path they were on, for every here and there the
rock was worn smooth and shiny by the action of the air and water,
perhaps, too, by the footsteps of men for thousands of years, and was
almost as white as snow.
"Yes," said the professor, "I have been making a mental note of it, and
wishing I had a geologist's hammer. You know what it is, I suppose?"
"White stone, of course," said Mr Burne.
"Fine white marble," said the professor.
"Nonsense, sir! What! in quantities like this?"
"To be sure."
"But it would be worth a large fortune in London."
"Exactly, and it is worth next to nothing here, because it could not be
got down to the sea-shore, and the carriage would be enormous."
"What a pity!" exclaimed the old lawyer. "Dear me! Fine white marble!
So it is. What a company one might get up. The Asia Minor Major Marble
Quarry Company--eh, Preston?"
"Yes, in hundred-pound shares that would be worth nothing."
"Humph! I suppose not. Well, never mind. I'd rather have a chicken
pie and a loaf of bread now than all the marble in the universe. Let's
get on."
Their progress was slow, for in spite of all that Yussuf had said they
had to exercise a great deal of care, especially as the narrow track
rose higher and higher, till they were at a dizzy height above the
little stream, whose source they passed just as the sun was getting low;
and then their way lay between two steep cliffs; and next round a sunny
slope that was dotted with huge walnut-trees, the soil being; evidently
deep and moist consequent upon a spring that crossed their path.
The trees were of great girth, but not lofty, and a peculiarity about
them was that they were ill-grown, and gnarled and knotted in a way that
made them seem as if they were diseased. For every now and then one of
them displayed a huge lump or boss, such as is sometimes seen upon elms
at home.
"There's another little fortune there, Burne," said the professor
quietly.
"Nonsense, sir! There isn't a tree in the lot out of which you could
cut a good board. Might do for gun-stocks."
"My dear Burne," said the professor, "don't you know that these large
ugly bosses go to Europe to be steamed till they are soft, and then
shaved off into leaves as thin almost as coarse brown paper, and then
used and polished for all our handsome pianofortes?"
"No," said Mr Burne shortly, "I didn't know it, and I didn't want to
know it. I'm starving, and my back is getting bad again. Here, Yussuf,
how much farther is it?"
"Two hours' journey, excellency; but as soon as we reach that gap in the
rocks we come to a road that leads directly to the village, and the
walking will be easier."
"Hadn't we better try and shoot a bird or an animal, and make a fire
under those trees, and see if we can find some walnuts? I must eat
something. I cannot devour snuff!"
The professor smiled.
"There is nothing to shoot," he said; "and as to the walnuts, they are
very nice after dinner with wine, but for a meal--"
"Here, Lawrence, you are tired out, my boy," cried Mr Burne
interrupting.
"Yes, I am very tired," said Lawrence, "but I can go on."
"It is dreary work to rest without food," said Yussuf, "but it might be
better to get on to the spring yonder, and pick out a sheltered place
among the rocks, where we could lie down and sleep for a few hours, till
the moon rises, and then continue our journey."
"That's the plan, Yussuf; agreed _nem con_," cried Mr Burne.
"Perhaps it will be best," said Mr Preston, and they journeyed on for
another half hour, till they reached the gap which their guide had
pointed out, one which proved to be the embouchure of another ravine,
along the bottom of which meandered a rough road that had probably never
been repaired since the Romans ruled the land.
"Let us go a little way in," said Yussuf; "we shall then be sheltered
from the wind. It will blow coldly when the sun has set."
He led the way into a wild and awful-looking chasm, for the shadows were
growing deeper, and to the weary and hungry travellers the place had a
strangely forbidding look, suggestive of hidden dangers. But for the
calm and confident way in which Yussuf marched forward, the others would
have hesitated to plunge into a gorge of so weird a character, until the
sun had lightened its gloomy depths.
"I think this will do," said Yussuf, as they turned an angle about a
couple of hundred yards from the entrance. "I will climb up here first.
These rocks look cave-like and offer shelter. Hist!"
He held up his hand, for a trampling sound seemed to come from the face
of the rocks a couple of hundred feet above them, and all involuntarily
turned to gaze up at a spot where the shadows were blackest.
All except Yussuf, who gazed straight onward into the ravine.
It was strange. There was quite a precipice up there, and it was
impossible for people to be walking. What was more strange, there was
the trampling of horses' feet, and then it struck the professor that
they were listening to the echoes of the sounds made by a party some
distance in.
"How lucky!" said Mr Burne. "People coming. We shall get something to
eat."
"Hush, effendi!" said Yussuf sternly. "These may not be friends."
"What?" exclaimed Mr Burne, cocking his gun.
"Yes; that is right, excellencies; look to your arms. If they are
friends there is no harm done. They will respect us the more. If they
are enemies, we must be prepared."
"Stop!" said Mr Preston, glancing at Lawrence. "We must hide or run."
"There is time for neither, effendi," said Yussuf, taking out his
revolver. "They will be upon us in a minute, and to run would be to
draw their fire upon us."
"Run!" exclaimed Mr Burne; "no, sir. As I'm an Englishman I won't run.
If it was Napoleon Bonaparte and his army coming, and these were the
Alps, I would not run now, hungry as I am, and I certainly will not go
for a set of Turkish ragamuffins or Greeks."
"Then, stand firm here, excellencies, behind these stones. They are
mounted; we are afoot."