THE MAP

"Weyley!" sighed Eyad, dolorously. "Methinks the sheykh hath done wrong

to bring these _benat_ with us. Now will the _Nasara_ follow us with

many guns; they will never cease until they have destroyed us and taken

the _benat_ back for themselves--I know _el-Engleys_."

"_Ullah yelbisak berneta!_" scoffed Atewy.

"Thou foundest the map; was not that enough? They would not have

followed and killed us for the map, but when you take away men's women

they follow and kill--yes! be they Arab, English, or Negro." Eyad spat

a period.

"I will tell thee, fool, why we brought the two girls," said Atewy.

"There may be no valley of diamonds, or we may not find it. Should we

therefore, after much effort, return to our own country empty-handed?

These girls are not ill-favored. They will bring money at several

places of which I know, or it may be that the mad _Nasara_ will pay a

large ransom for their return. But in the end we shall profit if they

be not harmed by us; which reminds me, Eyad, that I have seen thee cast

evil eyes upon them. _Wellah!_ If one harms them the sheykh will kill

him; and if the sheykh doth not, I will."

"They will bring us nothing but trouble," insisted Eyad. "I wish that

we were rid of them."

"And there is still another reason why we brought them," continued

Atewy. "The map is written in the language of _el-Engleys_, which I can

speak but cannot read; the _benat_ will read it to me. Thus it is well

to keep them."

But still Eyad grumbled. He was a dour young _Bedauwy_ with

sinister eyes and a too full lower lip. Also, he did not speak what was

in his thoughts; for the truth was not in him.

Since very early in the morning the horsemen had been pushing northward

with the two girls. They had found and followed an open trail, and

so had suffered no delays. Near the center of the little column rode

the prisoners, often side by side; for much of the way the trail had

been wide. It had been a trying day for them, not alone because of the

fatigue of the hard ride, but from the nervous shock that the whole

misadventure had entailed since Atewy and two others had crept into

their tent scarcely more than an hour after midnight, silenced them

with threats of death, and, after ransacking the tent, carried them

away into the night.

All day long they had waited expectantly for signs of rescue, though

realizing that they were awaiting the impossible. Men on foot could not

have overtaken the horsemen, and no motor could traverse the trail they

had followed without long delays for clearing trail in many places.

"I can't stand much more," said Naomi. "I'm about through."

Rhonda reined closer to her. "If you feel like falling, take hold of

me," she said. "It can't last much longer today. They'll be making camp

soon. It sure has been a tough ride--not much like following Ernie Vogt

up Coldwater Canyon; and I used to come home from one of those rides

and think I'd done something. Whew! They must have paved this saddle

with bricks."

"I don't see how you can stay so cheerful."

"Cheerful! I'm about as cheerful as a Baby Star whose option hasn't

been renewed."

"Do you think they're going to kill us, Rhonda?"

"They wouldn't have bothered to bring us all this way to kill us.

They're probably after a ransom."

"I hope you're right. Tom'll pay 'em anything to get us back. But

suppose they're going to sell us! I've heard that they sell white girls

to black sultans in Africa."

"The black sultan that gets me is goin' to be out of luck."

The sun was low in the west when the Arabs made camp that night.

Sheykh Ab el-Ghrennem had no doubt but that angry and determined men

were pursuing him, but he felt quite certain that now they could not

overtake him.

His first thought had been to put distance between himself and the

_Nasara_ he had betrayed--now he could look into the matter of the map

of which Atewy had told him, possession of which had been the principal

incentive of his knavery.

Supper over, he squatted where the light of the fire fell upon the

precious document; and Atewy leaning over his shoulder scanned it with

him.

"I can make nothing of it," growled the sheykh. "Fetch the _bint_ from

whom you took it."

"I shall have to fetch them both," replied Atewy, "since I cannot tell

them apart."

"Fetch them both then," commanded el-Ghrennem; and while he waited he

puffed meditatively upon his _nargily_, thinking of a valley filled

with diamonds and of the many riding camels and mares that they would

buy; so that he was in a mellow humor when Atewy returned with the

prisoners.

Rhonda walked with her chin up and the glint of battle in her eye, but

Naomi revealed her fear in her white face and trembling limbs.

Sheykh Ab el-Ghrennem looked at her and smiled. "_Ma aleyk_," he said

in what were meant to be reassuring tones.

"He says," interpreted Atewy, "that thou hast nothing to fear--that

there shall no evil befall thee."

"You tell him," replied Rhonda, "that it will be just too bad for him

if any evil does befall us and that if he wants to save his skin he had

better return us to our people _pronto_."

"The _Bedauwy_ are not afraid of your people," replied Atewy, "but if

you do what the sheykh asks no harm will come to you."

"What does he want?" demanded Rhonda.

"He wishes you to help us find the valley of diamonds," replied Atewy.

"What valley of diamonds?"

"It is on this map which we cannot read because we cannot read the

language of _el-Engleys_." He pointed at the map the sheykh was holding.

Rhonda glanced at the paper and broke into laughter. "You don't mean

to tell me that you dumb bunnies kidnapped us because you believe that

there _is_ a valley of diamonds! Why, that's just a prop map."

"Dumb bunnies! Prop! I do not understand."

"I am trying to tell you that that map doesn't mean a thing. It was

just for use in the picture we are making. You might as well return us

to our people, for there isn't any valley of diamonds."

Atewy and the sheykh jabbered excitedly to one another for a few

moments, and then the former turned again to the girl. "You cannot make

fools of the _Bedauwy_," he said. "We are smarter than you. We knew

that you would say that there is no valley of diamonds, because you

want to save it all for your father. If you know what is well for you

you will read this map for us and help us find the valley. Otherwise--"

he scowled horridly and drew a forefinger across his throat.

Naomi shuddered; but Rhonda was not impressed--she knew that while they

had ransom or sale value that Arabs would not destroy them except as a

last resort for self-protection.

"You are not going to kill us, Atewy," she said, "even if I do not read

the map to you; but there is no reason why I should not read it. I am

perfectly willing to; only don't blame us if there is no valley of

diamonds."

"Come here and sit beside Ab el-Ghrennem and read the map to us,"

ordered Atewy.

Rhonda kneeled beside the sheykh and looked over his shoulder at the

yellowed, time worn map. With a slender finger she pointed at the

top of the map. "This is north," she said, "and up here--this is the

valley of diamonds. You see this little irregular thing directly west

of the valley and close to it? It has an arrow pointing to it and a

caption that says, '_Monolithic column: Red granite out-cropping near

only opening into valley_.' And right north of it this arrow points to

'_Entrance to valley_.'

"Now here, at the south end of the valley, is the word '_Falls_' and

below the falls a river that runs south and then southwest."

"Ask her what this is," the sheykh instructed Atewy, pointing to

characters at the eastern edge of the map southeast of the falls.

"That says '_Cannibal village_,'" explained the girl. "And all across

the map down there it says, '_Forest!_' See this river that rises at

the southeast edge of the valley, flows east, southeast, and then west

in a big loop before it enters the '_Big river_' here. Inside this

loop it says, '_Open country_,' and near the west end of the loop is a

'_Barren, cone-shaped hill--volcanic_.' Then here is another river that

rises in the southeast part of the map and flows northwest, emptying

into the second river just before the latter joins the big river."

Sheykh Ab el-Ghrennem ran his fingers through his beard as he sat in

thoughtful contemplation of the map. At last he placed a finger on the

falls.

"_Shuf_, Atewy!" he exclaimed. "This should be the Omwamwi Falls, and

over here the village of the Bansuto. We are here." He pointed at a

spot near the junction of the second and third rivers. "Tomorrow we

should cross this other river and come into open country. There we

shall find a barren hill."

"_Billah!_" exclaimed Atewy. "If we do we shall soon be in the valley

of diamonds, for the rest of the way is plain."

"What did the sheik say?" asked Rhonda.

Atewy told her, adding, "We shall all be very rich; then I shall buy

you from the sheykh and take you back to my _ashirat_."

"You and who else?" scoffed Rhonda.

"_Billah!_ No one else. I shall buy you for myself alone."

"_Caveat emptor_," advised the girl.

"I do not understand, _bint_," said Atewy.

"You will if you ever buy _me_. And when you call me _bint_, smile. It

doesn't sound like a nice word."

Atewy grinned. He translated what she had said to the sheykh, and they

both laughed. "The _Narrawia_ would be good to have in the _beyt_ of Ab

el-Ghrennem," said the sheykh, who had understood nothing of what Atewy

had said to Rhonda. "When we are through with this expedition, I think

that I shall keep them both; for I shall be so rich that I shall not

have to sell them. This one will amuse me; she hath a quick tongue that

is like _aud_ in tasteless food."

Atewy was not pleased. He wanted Rhonda for himself; and he was

determined to have her, sheykh or no sheykh. It was then that plans

commenced to formulate in the mind of Atewy that would have caused

Sheykh Ab el-Ghrennem's blood pressure to rise had he known of them.

The Arabs spread blankets on the ground near the fire for the two

girls; and the sentry who watched the camp was posted near, that they

might have no opportunity to escape.

"We've got to get away from these highbinders, Naomi," said Rhonda

as the girls lay close together beneath their blankets. "When they

find out that the valley of diamonds isn't just around the corner,

they're going to be sore. The poor saps really believe that that map

is genuine--they expect to find that barren, volcanic hill tomorrow.

When they don't find it tomorrow, nor next week nor next, they'll just

naturally sell us 'down river'; and by that time we'll be so far from

the outfit that we won't have a Chinaman's chance ever to find it."

"You mean to go out alone into this forest at night!" whispered Naomi,

aghast. "Think of the lions!"

"I am thinking of them; but I'm thinking of some fat, greasy, black

sultan too. I'd rather take a chance with the lion--he'd be sporting at

least."

"It's all so horrible! Oh, why did I ever leave Hollywood!"

"D'you know it's a funny thing, Naomi, that a woman has to fear her own

kind more than she does the beasts of the jungle. It sort o' makes one

wonder if there isn't something wrong somewhere--it's hard to believe

that a divine intelligence would create something in His own image

that was more brutal and cruel and corrupt than anything else that He

created. It kind of explains why some of the ancients worshipped snakes

and bulls and birds. I guess they had more sense than we have."

At the edge of the camp Atewy squatted beside Eyad. "You would like one

of the white _benat_, Eyad," whispered Atewy. "I have seen it in your

eyes."

Eyad eyed the other through narrowed lids. "Who would not?" he

demanded. "Am I not a man?"

"But you will not get one, for the sheykh is going to keep them both.

You will not get one--unless--"

"Unless what?" inquired Eyad.

"Unless an accident should befall Ab el-Ghrennem. Nor will you get so

many diamonds, for the sheykh's share of the booty is one fourth. If

there were no sheykh we should divide more between us."

"Thou art _hatab lil nar_," ejaculated Eyad.

"Perhaps I _am_ fuel for hell-fire," admitted Atewy, "but I shall burn

hot while I burn."

"What dost _thou_ get out of it?" inquired Eyad after a short silence.

Atewy breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. Eyad was coming around!

"The same as thou," he replied, "my full share of the diamonds and one

of the _benat_."

"Accidents befall sheykhs even as they befall other men,"

philosophized Eyad as he rolled himself in his blanket and prepared to

sleep.

Quiet fell upon the camp of the Arabs. A single sentry squatted by the

fire, half dozing. The other Arabs slept.

Not Rhonda Terry. She lay listening to the diminishing sounds of the

camp, she heard the breathing of sleeping men, she watched the sentry,

whose back was toward her.

She placed her lips close to one of Naomi Madison's beautiful ears.

"Listen!" she whispered, "but don't move nor make a sound. When I get

up, follow me. That is all you have to do. Don't make any noise."

"What are you going to do?" The Madison's voice was quavering.

"Shut up, and do as I tell you."

Rhonda Terry had been planning ahead. Mentally she had rehearsed every

smallest piece of business in the drama that was to be enacted. There

were no lines--at least she hoped there would be none. If there were

the tag might be very different from that which she hoped for.

She reached out and grasped a short, stout piece of wood that had been

gathered for the fire. Slowly, stealthily, cat-like, she drew herself

from her blankets. Trembling, Naomi Madison followed her.

Rhonda rose, the piece of firewood in her hand. She crept toward the

back of the unsuspecting sentry. She lifted the stick above the head of

the Arab. She swung it far back, and then--