Next morning Selim and I, according to the sheikh's directions, waited
outside the camp, when he, his brother Abdalah, and two other chiefs
appeared, conducting a couple of camels. On the first was placed a
palanquin of wicker-work, ornamented with silk hangings, and a tuft of
feathers on the top. Within it was seated a veiled lady and three small
children, whose black curly heads made them look more like negroes than
Arabs. There was apparently some mystery in the matter, into which it
was not my business to inquire. Leading the other camel, which was
laden with provisions and a small tent, were two guides, both of whom
were negroes, though dressed in the Arab fashion. The sheikh then
uttered a benediction on the occupant of the palanquin and her young
family, and ordered us to advance. The guides, with Selim, went first,
by the side of the baggage camel; and I, with the veiled lady, followed.
Whether I was to see her face or not, I could not tell, nor was I very
curious about piercing the mystery connected with her.
The sun was still rising at our backs, as, moving forward at a tolerably
quick pace, we soon lost sight of the camp.
We had gone several miles, Selim always keeping ahead with the guides,
with whom he was apparently engaged in an interesting conversation. I
was already beginning to feel somewhat tired, when a voice from the
palanquin desired me to take out one of the children, as the little
urchin had a fancy to be carried instead of being cooped up within it.
Unwilling to disoblige the lady, I obeyed; so, placing the child on my
shoulder, we again moved on--though, as I dragged my weary limbs along,
I felt very much inclined to let the young urchin drop. Feeling, at
last, that I could no longer carry him, I begged the veiled lady to take
him in again; but she, looking on me as a slave bound to obey her
commands, replied that he preferred riding on my back, and that I must
carry him as long as he wished. Accordingly, to avoid a dispute, I
again took up the urchin and staggered on, strengthened by the hope that
my days of slavery would soon come to an end.
I had not forgotten my suspicions about Antonio, and wondered whether he
was still in the neighbourhood, or if he had observed us quitting the
camp. If so, I had little doubt that he would follow in our footsteps,
and attack us should he find an opportunity. He might, indeed, at the
present moment be stealing upon us to shoot me, and carry off the lady,
before the guards could be aware of his approach. As may be supposed,
therefore, I very frequently turned my head anxiously round, almost
expecting to see him. I also began to think that the sheikh had acted
very imprudently in sending the lady with so small an escort, and I
regretted that I had not begged to have a greater number of guards; at
the same time, it occurred to me that I should have had more difficulty
in escaping from them than from the two men who accompanied us.
The thought of the possibility of being suddenly attacked by Antonio
added not a little to the annoyance I felt at having to carry the little
blackamoor. Still, unwilling to offend his mother, I went on without
complaining as long as I could walk. I felt very much inclined, I
confess, to pinch his legs and make him cry out, especially when he
amused himself by pulling at my hair, evidently thinking it very good
fun.
We had gone some distance when, turning my head, I saw--not Antonio, but
a large panther, stealing out from a thicket at some distance on our
left, and approaching us with stealthy steps. "Now, lady, unless you
wish your child to be gobbled up by yonder monster, you must take him,"
I cried, throwing the urchin, without waiting for a reply, into the
palanquin, and shouting out to Selim and the guides to come to my
assistance, as I had only my pistol slung to my back--a very
unsatisfactory weapon with which to encounter a wild beast. The guides
had carbines and spears, indeed; but it was a question whether they
would use them or run away.
Selim at once gave proof of his courage and fidelity, however, by
snatching a carbine from one of his companions, and rushing back at full
speed towards me. "Don't fire your pistol," he cried out; "keep that,
lest my carbine fail to kill the beast."
The panther came on, in spite of the shouts which the guides set up,
while they waved their cloaks and spears, and did their utmost to
frighten it away. When within about a hundred yards of us, however, the
savage creature stopped. This encouraged the guides, who now moved
hesitatingly towards us. But again the panther crept on, though with
less boldness than at first, as if it had expected to pick off the
rearmost of the party, and was disappointed in its object. Seeing that
should we move on the panther would follow with rapid bounds, I ordered
the guides to stand still; and snatching the carbine from Selim's hand,
I knelt down that I might take a surer aim. Knowing, however, that the
Arabs' powder is often very bad, and that, consequently, their weapons
frequently miss fire, I felt very doubtful whether such might not be the
case on the present occasion.
"Silence!" I cried out to my companions, who were still shouting and
hurling fearful epithets at the head of the panther. "Only cry out
should it attempt to spring."
The savage brute came on, and was now within twenty paces. Two or three
bounds might bring it upon us. So, praying that my weapon might prove
faithful, I drew the trigger, aiming at the panther's breast. The piece
going off, I was knocked over by the rebound; for the owner, in loading
it, had put in a double charge: indeed, it was a wonder that it did not
burst. When the smoke cleared away, I caught sight of the panther
struggling on the ground, a few paces only in advance of the spot where
I had last seen it; and the Arabs, shouting "E'sheetan! E'sheetan!" now
rushing forward, plunged their spears into the creature's body, uttering
a curse with every thrust they gave it.
"Allah akbar!" exclaimed one. "It was a regular Jin."
"No doubt about it. You Nazarene have done well; for if you had not
killed him, he might have carried one or all of us off," cried the
other.
I felt very thankful at having succeeded, because I had not only killed
the panther, but had risen considerably in the estimation of my
companions. I should have liked to have had the animal's skin; but I
was unwilling to delay our journey, and we therefore pushed on. I
beckoned to Selim to walk alongside me; and I still carried the carbine,
which I had reloaded from the guide's pouch.
"I think we shall do well," said Selim; "I have been talking to those
men, and they are well-disposed towards us. We shall, therefore, have
no difficulty in escaping from them; indeed, one of them was once a
slave himself, and would like to leave the tribe altogether. I have
been telling him of the countries I have visited and the wonderful
things I have seen, and he is eager to go and see them."
"They may be well-disposed; but we must take care, Selim, that we are
not betrayed by them," I observed. "We must first accomplish the object
of our mission; and we have a good many dangers yet to encounter." I
then told him of my apprehensions regarding Antonio, and charged him to
keep a good look-out himself, and warn the guides also to be on their
guard.
Selim listened with attention to what I said.
"I am afraid that you are right," he answered. "Last night, while we
were encamped, I fancied that I caught sight of an object moving in the
distance. I took it for a wild beast, and accordingly threw more wood
on the fire and made it blaze up, and thus, as I supposed, frightened
the beast away. I remarked, however, its extraordinary shape, and for
some moments believed it to be a man; but as I gazed towards it, it
disappeared in the darkness, and so I thought that my fancy had deceived
me."
From what Selim said I now felt perfectly sure that Antonio was
following us, and so determined the next night to remain myself on the
watch, with the carbine by my side. Accordingly, after we had pitched
the tent and had taken our supper, I lay down close to the camel,--the
palanquin, which had been taken off its back, assisting to form a
screen. The other camel lay on the opposite side,--the fire being in
the centre,--while boughs of prickly pear, which we cut down, formed the
remainder of the circle. This was our usual style of encampment, and it
afforded a tolerable protection against wild animals.
I had not been long on the watch, when, as I was looking eastward, I saw
a shadowy form slowly emerge from the darkness; as it approached it
resolved itself into the figure of a man of gigantic size, as it
appeared to me, but having certainly the air of Antonio. He stopped,
and appeared to be surveying the camp. I saw that he grasped a large
scimitar in his hand; but he had evidently no firearms. This accounted
for his hesitation about attacking us unless he could take us by
surprise. I could have shot him where he stood, but, though convinced
that he meditated mischief, I could not bring myself to do so unless he
actually attacked us.
I lay quiet, attentively watching him; and at length he began to move
forward, grasping his sword. On seeing this I started up, and the light
of the fire behind me brought my figure into view. He immediately
turned and fled, and in a few seconds I lost sight of him. He would now
be aware, however, that we suspected his design, and were on the watch;
which would make him approach more cautiously another time.
Calling up Selim, I told him to take my place while I got some sleep,
which I much required; but the night passed away, and nothing more was
seen of Antonio.
I cannot describe each day's journey. We kept along the skirts of a
woody country, occasionally crossing shallow streams which furnished us
with an ample supply of water. On two other occasions we caught sight
of that mysterious figure,--once in the daytime, and once at night; but
we were at both times on our guard, and he did not venture to approach.
Still, the knowledge that he was following us, evidently with sinister
intentions, caused us great anxiety, for we could not tell at what
moment he might make a dash at us, at all hazards, and wreak his
vengeance on our heads. Selim and I would certainly be his first
victims, and probably he would put the rest of the party to death.
At length the guides told me that we were approaching the end of our
journey, and that the tents of the black sheikh were not far off. It
had been arranged that we should encamp at a short distance from them,
when I was to go forward with the camel, and deliver the widow and her
children to her father.
I had expected to see an encampment somewhat similar to the one I had
left; but, as we drew near, a few low, cotton-covered tents alone met my
view. The lady desired me to make her camel kneel down, saying that
she, with her eldest child, would go forward, and begged me to take
charge of the younger ones. I did as she wished; and, taking a basket
which contained her valuables, she advanced with trembling steps towards
one of the tents. Two figures stood at the entrance: one was a gigantic
negro, with about as ugly and sinister an expression of countenance as I
ever saw; the other was a veiled woman, whom I concluded to be the
sheikh's wife. They received the poor lady without the slightest
expression of pleasure or affection, and seemed to be demanding why she
had come back; but, on account of the distance I was from them, I could
not hear what was said. The widow had, I concluded, a long story to
tell, and the black stood eyeing her with a look of contempt, which
showed me that her reception was anything but a pleasant one. The old
dame--for such, I was convinced, she was, though I could not see her
features--stood quite still. At last I saw the widow go forward and
kneel at the sheikh's feet; when, lifting her up, he seemed, as far as I
could judge, to be assuring her of his protection, and forgiveness for
any fault she might have committed. She then turned round and beckoned
to me, when I brought forward the other two youngsters. As her father
did not invite me to remain, however, I made my salaam to the lady and
returned to our camp.