He had stepped a dozen yards out of the track, and was standing amongst
some rough stones which helped the darkness to conceal his presence,
though the valley was in such a deep shadow that, as he strained eyes
and ears to make out and count the enemy, he could do neither, though he
knew now that they had halted just opposite to him, and he could hear
them whispering evidently in consultation before they took another step
in advance.
The professor stood there in the darkness with the perspiration
streaming down his face as he recalled the stories he had heard of the
atrocities committed by the outlaws who made their homes in the
mountains of the sultan's dominions. He was tortured by a dozen
different plans which suggested themselves for his next course of
action, but neither of them commended itself for second consideration,
while there he was, face to face with the one great difficulty, that he
was cut off from his companions, and unable to stir without betraying
his presence and being captured or perhaps slain.
To stir was impossible. He hardly dared to breathe, while his heart
throbbed with so audible a beat that he fully expected it to betray his
whereabouts.
It was a perilous time, and his agony of mind was terrible, for just
then it seemed to him that he had, to gratify his own selfishness,
brought the son of his old friend--a lad weak and wasted from a long
illness--into a peril which might have been avoided. There they were,
perfectly unconscious of danger in this direction; and as soon as the
party had finished their whispered consultation he felt that they would
steal cautiously on and make their attack.
What should he do--fire at them or over them, and in the confusion make
a dash for the little camp?
He dared not risk it, for it seemed a clumsy, gambling experiment, which
would most probably result in failure.
What should he do then--sacrifice himself?
Yes. It seemed after all that his firing would not be so clumsy an
expedient, for even if it ended in his own destruction it would warn his
friends and place them upon their guard.
He hesitated for a few moments, as he tried once more to realise the
position. This might not, after all, be the gang of men who had stolen
their horses; but everything pointed to the fact that it was, as he had
at first imagined--that they had been duped by Yussuf's ruse, and then
made, by some way known to them, for the principal gorge, down which
they had come to turn into the lesser ravine by the spring, and then in
the night or early morning, take their victims in the rear, drive them
out into the open country, and master them with ease.
While Mr Preston was running over all this in his own mind he could
hear the low whispering of the little, body of men going on, and every
now and then an impatient stamp given by one of the horses, followed by
a low muttered adjuration in the Turkish dialect, bidding the animal be
still.
It was only a matter of minutes, but it seemed to be hours before the
band of men began to move forward cautiously through the darkness, and
more than ever the professor blamed himself for not staying with his
friends, but only to acknowledge the next moment that if he had done so
he would not have known of the approach of the foe.
As near as he could judge the enemy had about half a mile to go, and not
knowing what to do Mr Preston began to follow them cautiously, getting
as near as he could while straining his eyes to make out the figures of
the mounted men as they moved slowly on.
By degrees he found out that he was left a long way behind, but while
quickening his pace he was compelled to do so with the greatest caution,
and to walk with outstretched hands, for, though high above his head the
starlight enabled him to make out the line of the high cliff against the
sky, all below in that gorge was of pitchy blackness, and he had to
guide himself by stepping carefully more than by the use of his eyes.
In spite of his care he was, he found, being left more and more behind,
and yet he dare not hasten for fear of coming suddenly upon the rear of
the party.
But at last, quite in despair, he pressed forward, trusting to his good
fortune to get near enough to note their actions without being detected,
so that at last he was within a very few yards, and he kept that
distance till he felt that they must be very near the spring, when, as
he pressed on, keeping to the path, as he believed, he suddenly found
himself about to stumble over a low block of blackish stone just beneath
his feet.
He tried to save himself, but he was too late, and he blundered right
upon it; but instead of knocking the skin off his shins, and falling
heavily, he was stricken back, for the object he had taken for a rock
felt soft, sprang up, and he found, as the man, who had been stooping to
bind up his rough gear, uttered a few angry words in his own tongue,
that he had come upon a laggard of the party.
It was evident that in the darkness the man imagined that he was
addressing a companion, for he gripped the professor fiercely and
whispered a question.
A struggle would have ensued, but just then a clear voice rang out on
the night air, sounding wild and strange, and echoing from the face of
the cliff as it seemed to cut the black darkness.
The man dropped the professor's arm which he had seized, sprang away
into the darkness ahead, and then there was utter silence.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
RECEIVING THE ENEMY.
Lawrence kept the watch in the ravine by which they had reached the
spring that day, and as he posted himself a little way up the slope,
where he could shelter himself behind a block of stone and gaze for some
distance along the deep rift among the rocks, he could not help feeling
somewhat elated by his position.
He was stiff and sore with his long ride, but the refreshment of which
he had partaken and the pleasant coolness of the evening air raised his
spirits, and he smiled to himself as he felt that his strength was
returning, and that he was drinking in health with every breath of the
pure air around.
There was something so important, too, in his position on sentry there,
with a loaded gun resting upon the rock, the gun he took such pains to
polish and keep free from every spot of rust. Only a short time since
he was lying back in his easy-chair in Guilford Street, waited upon
incessantly by Mrs Dunn, while now he was a traveller passing through
adventures which startled him sometimes, and at others thrilled him by
their strangeness and peril.
"It is like reading a book," he said to himself as he stood there
watching the side of the ridge high up, with its rugged masses of stone,
and a feathery cypress here and there turned to orange and gold by the
setting sun.
Then he went over again the skirmish of the past night, and how the
robbers had been beaten off. Next he began to wonder whether the band
would stop at the end of the ravine long, and soon after, having
surfeited himself with gazing at the fading light in the sky and the
blackening rocks that had so lately been glistening as if of gold, he
began to yawn and think that he should much like to lie down and sleep
off this weariness which seemed to be coming over him like a mist.
He leaned more and more upon the stone, so as to stare down the ravine,
which kept growing darker and darker, till the bushes and tall feathery
cypresses began to assume suspicious forms and seem to be tall watchers
or crouching men coming slowly forward to the attack.
A dozen times over he felt sure that he was right, and that he ought to
fire or run back and give the alarm. But a dread of being laughed at
checked him; and then he seemed to see more clearly and to make out that
these were not men, but after all trees and bushes upon the slope.
This gave him more confidence for a time, as the shades of evening fell
fast, and all below in the deep ravine grew black, but he was startled
again by a low rushing noise that came down the valley, followed by a
piteous wail which sent a chill through him, and made the hands which
held the gun grow moist.
"Was it the night breeze or some bird?" he asked himself, and as he was
debating with himself as to whether he might not summon Yussuf or Mr
Burne to stay with him, there came a gentle crackling noise from the
side of the ravine, such as might be made by some wild beast, fresh from
its lair, and in search of food.
"What could it be?" he asked himself, as in spite of his determination
his nervousness increased, and he realised that strength of mind is a
good deal dependent upon vigour of body, and that he was far from
possessing either.
What wild beast was it likely to be? He had heard of Syrian lions, but
he thought that there could not be any there now; tigers he knew enough
of natural history to feel would be in India; leopards in Africa. Then
what was this which approached? It must be one of two things--either a
hyena or a wolf.
The former he had heard was extremely cowardly, unless it had to deal
with a child or a lamb; but wolves, if hungry, were savage in the
extreme, and as the noise continued, he brought the muzzle of the gun to
bear, and the _click, click_, made by the locks sounded so loudly in the
still evening air, that the creature, whatever it was, probably a lemur
or wild-cat, took alarm, bounded off, and was heard no more.
Then the heavy sleepy sensation began to resume its sway, and though the
lad remained standing, his eyes closed, and he was suddenly completely
overcome with fatigue and fast asleep, when he woke with a start, for a
voice just behind him said:
"Well, boy, how are you getting on?" and a faint odour of snuff,
sufficient to be inhaled and to make him sneeze, roused Lawrence into
thorough wakefulness.
"I was getting drowsy, Mr Burne," said Lawrence sadly.
"Enough to make you, my lad. I've had a nap since I sat down, but I'm
fresh as a daisy now. I'm to relieve you, while Yussuf or the professor
is to come by and by and relieve me. I say, how do you like playing at
soldiers?"
"Playing at soldiers, Mr Burne?"
"Well, what else do you call it?--mounting guard, and fighting robbers,
and all that sort of thing. I'm getting quite excited, only I don't
know yet whether it's true."
"It is true enough," said Lawrence laughing.
"Oh, I don't know so much about that. It doesn't seem to be possible.
Couldn't believe that such things went on in these days, when people use
telephones and telegraphs and read newspapers."
"It does seem strange and unreal, sir, but then so do all these
beautiful valleys and mountains."
"So they do to us, my boy. Shouldn't wonder if they are all theatrical
scenery, or else we shall wake up directly both of us and say, `Lo! it
was a dream.'"
Lawrence sneezed twice heavily, for it was impossible to be in Mr
Burne's company long without suffering from the impalpable dust that
pervaded all his clothes; and as the old gentleman looked on with a grim
smile and clapped his young companion on the shoulder, he exclaimed:
"You are right, Lawrence, my lad, it is all real, and that proves it. I
never knew anyone sneeze in a dream. There, go back. Relieve guard.
I'm sentry now, and I feel as if I were outside Buckingham Palace, or
the British Museum, only I ought to have a black bearskin on instead of
this red fez with the yellow roll round it. How does it look, eh?"
"Splendid, sir. It quite improves you," replied Lawrence.
"Get out, you young impostor!" cried the old lawyer. "There, be off.
You are getting well."
Lawrence laughed and went back to the camping-place by the spring, where
Hamed was bathing his ankles in the cold water, and Yussuf was
diligently attending to the horses, whose legs he hobbled so as to keep
them from straying away, though they showed very little inclination for
this, the clear water and the abundant clover proving too great an
attraction for them to care to go far.
It was rapidly getting dark now, and hearing from Yussuf that the
professor had taken his gun and strolled off along the great gorge,
Lawrence was disposed to follow him, but the sensation of stiffness, the
result of many hours in the saddle, made him prefer to await his return.
Picking out, then, a snug spot among some stones that had fallen from
above, where a clump of myrtles perfumed the soft evening air, he
settled himself down, and soon sank into a comfortable drowsy state, in
which he listened to the _munch munch_ of the horses, and a low crooning
song uttered by Hamed as he finished his task of bathing his swollen
ankles, and then walked up and down more strongly, pausing every now and
then to stoop and rub them well.
Soon after Yussuf came to his side, and stood looking along the gorge
towards where the cliff-dwellings clustered on high; but it was too dark
to see them now.
"It is time the effendi was back," he said. "He will not be long now.
You will keep watch while I go and speak with his excellency, Burne."
"Yes, I am well awake again, now," said Lawrence, starting up. "I wish
I did not grow so sleepy."
"Why?" said Yussuf gently, as he laid his hand upon the boy's arm. "I
love to see you sleep, and sleep well. It is a good sign. It means
that you are growing strong and well, and will some day be a stout and
active man."
"Do you think so?" said Lawrence dreamily.
"I feel sure so," replied the Turk gravely. "I am not educated like you
Franks from the west, but I have lived to middle age, and noticed many
things. You are growing better and stronger. I will go now and come
back soon. The effendi will be here then, and we two will watch, and
you shall sleep."
He strode away into the gathering darkness, passing the spring, turning
round by the right, and making for the spot where the sentry were
posted. Here Mr Burne showed no inclination to go back to the little
camp, but stood talking to him in his dry manner, for mutual dislike was
gradually changing into a certain amount of friendliness.
Meanwhile the horses went on biting off great mouthfuls of the rich
clover that grew near the stream, and munched and munched up the juicy
herbage as Lawrence listened and watched the pathway to see if he could
catch sight of Mr Preston returning with his gun.
It grew darker and darker still, but the professor did not come, and
Lawrence began to grow drowsy again.
He fought against it, but the desire to sleep overcame him more and
more. His head sank lower, and in an instant he was dreaming that he
heard that rustling sound again of some wild animal approaching the
group of rocks where he was stationed.
Wolf--hyena--some fierce creature that was coming steadily on nearer and
nearer, till before long it would spring upon him, and in the
nightmare-like sensation he felt as if he were struggling to get away,
while it fascinated him and held him to his place.
One--two--three--four--there were several such creatures drawing nearer
and nearer, and he could not cry for help, only stay motionless there in
his horrible dread.
Nearer--nearer--nearer, till he fancied he could see them in the
darkness gathering themselves up to spring, and still he could not
move--still he could not shout to his friends for help, till all at once
he seemed to make a desperate spring, and then he was awake and staring
into the thick darkness, telling himself that it was fancy.
No; there were sounds farther up the gorge--sounds as of some animals
coming softly down, nearer and nearer, but not wolves or hyenas. They
were horses.
There was no doubt about it--horses; and now fully awake, the lad felt
filled by a new alarm. For who could it be but an enemy stealing along
in the darkness; and in the sudden alarm, he did not pause to argue out
whether it might not be travellers like themselves, but shouted in a
clear ringing voice:
"Who's that?"
There was utter stillness in the deep gorge, just broken by the gurgling
of the fount as the water gushed from below the rock; and in his alarm,
startled as much by the deep silence as he had been by the sounds of
approaching horsemen, Lawrence shouted again:
"Who's that?" and then, hardly knowing what he did, he raised his gun
and fired.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
AFTER THE SCARE.
The sides of the gorge took up the report of Lawrence's fowling-piece,
and a volley of echoes ran rapidly along the valley; but that was no
echo which rang out directly after, for there were two bright flashes,
and a couple of shots that were magnified into terrific sounds, as they
too rolled along the deep passage between the rocks.
To Lawrence they seemed to be the answer to his fire from the enemy,
and, in the excitement of the moment, before attempting to reload, he
fired again, the flash from his piece cutting the darkness and resulting
in another volley of echoes.
Then there was a hoarse shout given in a commanding voice, followed by a
shrill yell, and what seemed to be quite a large body of horsemen
thundered by, while directly after, as Lawrence was trying to reload his
piece, the darkness was cut again twice over by a couple of clear
flashes, and the rocks rang out in a series of echoes as if a company of
infantry had drawn trigger at the word of command.
Meanwhile the beating of hoofs continued, growing more distant minute by
minute, till the sounds died away.
Then they rose again as if the band were returning, but it was only the
reflected sound from the great face of some rock which they were
approaching in their flight; and once more the noise faded, and
Lawrence, as he stood there half petrified, heard a familiar voice
shout:
"Lawrence! Lawrence, boy, are you there?"
"Yes, yes, Mr Preston; here."
A low murmur came out of the darkness as if the professor had spoken
some words, Lawrence never knew what, and the next minute they were
together standing listening to the sound of footsteps, and their guide
came panting up.
"What is it?" he cried.
Mr Preston explained, and Yussuf stood thinking for a few moments, and
hit upon the solution of the mystery at once.
"I am not worthy of my name," he cried. "I see it all now; they must
have come round this way to surprise us."
"And we have surprised them--so it seems," said the professor coolly.
"Our firing scared them. Will they come back?"
"Here! anyone killed? anyone killed?" cried Mr Burne excitedly, as he
came panting up to his friends.
"I sincerely hope not," said the professor; and he explained anew what
had occurred. "But what is to be done now, Yussuf?"
"Excellency, I hardly know what to say. If we retreat at once it is a
terrible march in the dark, and we should be much at our enemies' mercy.
If we stay here we are greatly exposed, but it is better to be on guard
than retreating. I learned that when fighting with my people up
northward against the Russ."
"You think, then, that they will come back?"
"It is impossible to say, effendi. Perhaps not to-night, but we dare
not trust them. We must be prepared."
"Let us see to the horses," cried Mr Preston. "Hamed!"
There was no reply, but, upon Yussuf shouting the name, a response came
from far up the ravine, and they found that the horses were missing.
"Oh, yes; I forgot to tell you," said Mr Burne; "they scampered up past
me, when there was all that noise down below here. One of them nearly
knocked me over."
They soon found that Hamed had limped off in search of the horses which
had taken fright, and but for the fact that Yussuf had hobbled their
forelegs, they would have galloped away.
As it was they were soon secured, and, the party being divided into two
watches, a careful guard was kept by one, while the other lay down to
sleep with weapons ready to hand in case of an alarm.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
YUSSUF PREACHES STICK.
There was no further alarm that night, for the marauders had dashed off
in the full belief that they were attacked in front and rear, the four
shots, multiplied by the tremendous echoes from the rocks, combining
with the darkness to make them believe that their enemies were many, and
they had not stopped till they were miles away. As to making a fresh
attack that was the last thing in their thoughts.
The night, then, passed peacefully away, but the amount of rest obtained
was very little indeed.
After lying watching some time, Lawrence had fallen asleep, and had been
awakened before daybreak by the professor, so that Hamed might have some
repose; but, instead of lying down, the driver went off to his horses,
and when Lawrence looked along the valley at sunrise, it was to see that
Yussuf had spread his praying carpet, and was standing motionless with
his hands outspread toward the east.
A hasty meal was eaten, and then a fresh start made, with Yussuf in
front, and the professor and Mr Burne, who looked like some sheik or
grandee in his scarlet and yellow turban, a hundred yards behind, their
guns glistening in the morning sun.
The force was not strong, for, with Yussuf as advance guard, the
professor and Mr Burne as rear, Lawrence had to form himself into the
main body, as well as the baggage guard. But as this was the whole of
their available strength, the most was made of it, and they rode back
along the ravine as fast as they could get the baggage-horses forward,
momentarily expecting attack, and in the hope of seeing some travellers
or people of the country, who would, for payment, give them help; but
when in the afternoon they reached the spot where the old lawyer's
Panama hat, perched on the top of the cypress, still kept guard, they
had not seen a soul.
Mr Burne was for recovering his hat, but yielded to good counsel, which
was in favour of hastening on to the village some few miles below in the
open country, before the enemy appeared.
"Just as you like," he said. "I will not oppose you, for I do not feel
at all in a fighting humour to-day."
The result was that just after sundown they rode into the little
village, where about thirty men stood staring at them in a sour and
evil-looking manner, not one responding to the customary salute given by
Yussuf.
The latter directed himself to one of the best-dressed men, standing by
the door of his house, and asked where they could got barley for the
horses.
The man scowled and said that there was none to be had.
Yussuf rode on to another, who gave the same answer.
He then applied to a third, and asked where a room or rooms and
refreshment could be obtained, but the man turned off without a word.
Patiently, and with the calm gentlemanly manner of a genuine Turk, he
applied in all directions, but without effect.
"Have you offered to pay for everything we have, and pay well, Yussuf?"
said the professor, as he sat there weary and hungry, and beginning to
shiver in the cold wind that swept down from the snow-capped mountains.
"Yes, excellency, but they will not believe me."
"Show them the firman," said the professor.
This was done, but the people could not read, and when they were told of
its contents they shrugged their shoulders and laughed.
It was growing dark, the cold increasing, and the travellers wearied out
with their journey.
"What is to be done, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston; "we cannot stop out here
all night, and we are starving."
"They are not of the faithful," said Yussuf indignantly. "I have spoken
to them as brothers, but they are dogs. Look at them, effendi. They
are the friends and brethren of the thieves and cut-throats whom we met
in the mountains."
"Yes, we can see that, my good friend," said Mr Burne drily; "but as we
say in our country--`soft words butter no parsnips.'"
"No, effendi, soft words are no good here," replied Yussuf; and he took
the thick oaken walking-stick which Mr Burne carried hanging from his
saddle bow.
"What are you going to do, Yussuf?" said Mr Preston anxiously, as he
glanced round at the gathering crowd of ill-looking villagers, who
seemed to take great delight in the troubles of the strangers.
"Going to do, effendi," said Yussuf in a deep voice full of suppressed
anger; "going to teach these sons of Shaitan that the first duty of a
faithful follower of the Prophet is hospitality to a brother who comes
to him in distress."
"But, Yussuf," said Mr Preston anxiously.
"Trust me, effendi, and I will make them remember what it is to insult
three English gentlemen travelling for their pleasure. Are we dogs that
they should do this thing?"
Before Mr Preston could interfere, Yussuf gave Hamed the bridle of his
horse to hold, and, making up to the man who seemed to be the head-man
of the village, and who certainly had been the most insolent, he knocked
off his turban, caught him by the beard, and thrashed him unmercifully
with the thick stick.