Next morning, when the Arabs opened the door of the prison, Sailor Bill
and Colin were found unable to rise; and the old salt seemed quite
unconscious of all efforts made to awaken his attention.
Not till then did Jim's resolution begin to give way. He would now
submit, to save them from further suffering; but although knowing it was
the wish of all that he should tender their submission on the terms the
Arabs required, for a while he delayed doing so, in order to discover
the course their masters designed adopting towards them.
"Are you Christian dogs willing to earn your food now?" inquired the old
sheik, as he entered the goat-penn.
Faint and weak with hunger, nearly mad with thirst, alarmed for the
condition of his brother, and pitying the agony of the others, Jim was
about to answer the sheik's question in the affirmative; but there was
something in the tone in which the question had been put that determined
him to refrain for a little longer.
The earthly happiness of six men might depend upon the next word he
should utter, and that word he would not speak without some
deliberation.
With an intellect sharpened by torture, Jim turned his gaze from the old
sheik upon several other Arabs that had come near.
He could see that they had arrived at some decision amongst themselves,
as to what they should do, and that they did not seem much interested in
the ultimatum demanded by the sheik's inquiry.
This lack of excitement or interest did not look like further starvation
and death; and in place of telling the Arabs that they were willing to
submit, Jim informed the old sheik that all were determined to die
rather than remain slaves.
"There is not one of us that wishes to live," he added, "except for the
purpose of seeing our native land again. Our bodies are now weak, but
our spirits are still strong. We will die!"
On receiving this answer, the Arabs departed, leaving the Christians in
the penn.
The Krooman, who had been listening during the interview, then faintly
called after them to return; but he was stopped by Jim, who still
entertained the hope that his firmness would yet be rewarded.
Half an hour passed, and Jim began to doubt again. He might not have
correctly interpreted the expressions he had noted upon the faces of the
Arabs.
"What did you tell them?" muttered Terence. "Did you tell them that we
were willing to work, if they would give us water?"
"Yes, certainly!" answered Jim, now beginning to regret that he had not
tendered their submission before it might be too late.
"Then why do they not come and relieve us?" asked Terence in a whisper,
hoarse from despair.
Jim vouchsafed no answer, and the Krooman seemed in too much mental and
bodily anguish to heed what had been said.
Shortly after, Jim could hear the flocks being driven out of the town,
and looking through a small opening in the wall of the penn, he could
see some of the Arabs going out towards the barley-fields.
Could it be that he had been mistaken; that the Arabs were going to
apply the screw of starvation for another day? Alarmed by this
conjecture, he strove to hail them, and bring them back, but the effort
only resulted in a hoarse whisper.
"May God forgive me!" thought he. "My brother, as well as all the
others, will die before night! I have murdered them, and perhaps
myself!"
Driven frantic with the thought, frenzy furnished him with the will and
strength to speak out.
His voice could now be heard; for the walls of the stone building rang
with the shouts of a madman.
He assailed the door with such force that the structure gave way, and
Jim rushed out, prepared to make any promises or terms with their
masters, to save the lives he had endangered by his obstinacy.
His submission was not required, for on looking out, two men and three
or four boys were seen coming towards the penn, bearing bowls of water,
and dishes filled with barley-gruel.
Jim had conquered in the strife between master and man. The old sheik
had given orders for the white slaves to be fed.
Jim's frenzy immediately subsided into an excitement of a different
nature.
Seizing a calabash of water, he ran to his brother Bill, and raising him
into a sitting posture, he applied the vessel to the man-o'-war's-man's
lips.
Bill had not strength even to drink, and the water had to be poured down
his throat.
Not until all of his companions had drunk, and swallowed a few mouthfuls
of the barley-gruel, did Jim himself partake of anything.
The effect of food and water in restoring the energies of a starving man
is almost miraculous; and he now congratulated his companions on the
success of his scheme.
"It is all right!" he exclaimed. "We have conquered them! We shall not
have to reap their harvest! We shall be fed, fattened, and sold, and
perhaps be taken to Mogador. We should thank God for bringing us all
safely through the trial. Had we yielded, there would have been no hope
of ever regaining our liberty!"