THE DESERT AWAKES
The march Royson had undertaken was a trying one. The desert runs to
extremes, and, at that season, the thermometer varied a hundred degrees
between noon and midnight. When the sun dipped behind the hills, a
tense darkness fell on the land. This impenetrable pall is peculiar to
Egypt; probably it suggested to Moses that ninth plague wherewith he
afflicted the subjects of a stubborn Pharaoh. Though this "darkness
that may be felt" yields, as a rule, to the brilliancy of the stars
after half an hour's duration, while it lasts a lighted match cannot be
seen beyond a distance of ten or twelve feet. It is due, in all
likelihood, to the rapid radiation of surface heat. When the cold air
has robbed sand and rock of the temperature acquired from the broiling
sun, the atmosphere clears, and the desert reveals itself again in the
gloomy monotone of night.
It may reasonably be supposed, that the excess of humidity which caused
the remarkable mirage of the afternoon helped to continue the "black
hour," as the Arabs term it, far beyond its ordinary limits. Hence it
was nearly ten o'clock when Royson quitted the camp on his self-imposed
task. To all outward semblance, he differed not a jot from the two
Arabs who accompanied him. A burnous and hood covered his khaki riding
costume. He bestrode a powerful camel nearly eight feet high. Like his
companions, he carried a slung rifle; a haversack and water-bottle
completed his equipment. His size alone distinguished him from Abdur
Kad'r and Sheikh Hussain of Kenneh, the latter being a man whom Abdur
Kad'r had selected as best fitted to win his way unquestioned into the
Italian camp. Royson's Arab dress was intended to secure the party from
espionage while they traveled towards Suleiman's Well. When they neared
it he would throw aside the burnous. His pith helmet was on his saddle,
but the Arab hood enabled him to dispense with it by night.
The older Arab led: behind him rode Royson; Hussain brought up the
rear. In this fashion they climbed the slight rise of the wide valley
which sheltered the expedition. They had gone some three hundred yards,
and the leader was scanning the horizon for a gap through which the
track passed, when they were all amazed to hear Miss Fenshawe's clear
voice.
"I thought you were never coming, Mr. Royson," she said. "I was on the
point of going back to my tent, but I caught the grumbling of your
camels. Then I knew that you had really made a start."
After the first gasp of wonder and delight, Dick slipped to the ground.
He narrowly avoided a spiteful bite from his unwilling conveyance, but
he handed the single rein to Abdur Kad'r, and hastened towards a rock
in whose shadow stood Irene, garbed and cloaked so that she was
scarcely discernible.
"I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you, Miss Fenshawe," he cried,
"yet, in the same breath, I must protest against your wandering so far
from the camp. Are you alone?"
"You may be sure of that. Otherwise I should not be here." She laughed
cheerfully, for the escapade had in it a spice of adventure, and she
wished to give it a lighter turn.
"Then you have news for me?"
"No. You heard all that passed to-day. Since then, my grandfather has
refused to discuss the affair. As a result, Mrs. Haxton and the Baron
were snappy during dinner. In fact, they were unendurable, and I was
delighted when they left us."
"It is a hateful thing to have to lecture you," he said, coming nearer,
and trying to peer into her face, "but you know you ought not to take
this risk. It is too venturesome. I think that this section of the
desert is fairly clear of any real danger, so far as prowling Bedouins
are concerned, but there are other unpleasant neighbors--in the shape
of snakes and scorpions--"
"I am wearing riding boots," she interrupted. "And I shall soon relieve
your anxiety by returning to my hammock. Pray don't trouble about me,
Mr. Royson. I have waylaid you with a purpose. It is too late now, I
suppose, to dissuade you from carrying out a useless and absurd
journey, but I do ask you not to commit the further folly of
sacrificing your own life, and, perhaps, the lives of others, in the
mistaken belief that you are serving Mr. Fenshawe's interests."
Though she strove to speak in a tone of conventional friendliness, her
voice shook a little. Dick was profoundly moved. It seemed to him
suddenly that the burnous he wore exercised a stifling effect on him.
He threw it off, and it fell unheeded to the loose stones at his feet.
The girl laughed again, somewhat tremulously.
"What of those nasty creatures against which you warned me a moment
ago?" she exclaimed. "Or is it that your disguise has become
unbearable? You make an astonishingly tall Arab, Mr. Royson. I should
have picked you out anywhere."
That wayward heart of Dick's drove a hot flood of color to his face,
but he still held mastery over his tongue.
"Why do you think I am likely to run into danger?" he asked. For an
instant his calmness misled her. She had grown accustomed to his habit
of self-restraint, and looked for nothing else.
"Because you would dare anything rather than fail," she said. "You
would ride alone into the midst of a thousand enemies if you thought
that thereby you could attain your ends. And I want to assure you that
I--that Mr. Fenshawe--would object most strenuously to your incurring
any real peril for the sake of the worthless people who have brought us
to Africa on a wild-goose chase. By all means secure for us any
possible information that can be obtained through the Arabs, but I came
here because--because I shall feel happier if you promise me--that--you
will avoid this man, Alfieri, and his friends. Did you see the look on
Baron von Kerber's face to-day? I never before realized what the hunger
for gold meant. He would kill any one who barred his path. I could read
his very soul. And--and--it frightened me. So you must come back
safely, Mr. Royson, for I have confidence in you and Captain Stump, but
I am terrified of what may happen if von Kerber tells the others the
story of the treasure, and promises them a large share in it, should it
be found."
"I had not thought of that," said Dick simply. Indeed, his mind was not
at all occupied just then with von Kerber's scheming.
"So I imagined. And that is why I stole out of my tent and waited here.
I was sure you would agree with me that the really important thing is
our speedy return to the yacht. It is the only possible course. My
grandfather never intended to gain his ends by armed force, and von
Kerber is assuredly dreaming of that at this moment."
"I begin to see your point of view," said he, forcing himself to answer
her words, though his brain was weaving other phrases. "Even if I
discover that Alfieri is digging up those precious camel-loads, it will
be best for all parties that his success should be minimized."
"Yes, yes," she cried eagerly. "That is my meaning. I do not care what
happens so long as we all reach Pajura. Then let the Baron and Mrs.
Haxton do as they choose. Even if they want to borrow our money and our
goods and chattels for the purpose of a second expedition I shall be
the first to support the idea."
"You are not longing, then, for a sight of the Sheban wealth?"
"No. I hate the very thought of it. It is--bloodstained. Oh, Mr.
Royson, everything now depends on you. Please contrive matters so that
we shall travel to the coast without delay. That is all. You understand
me, I think. It only remains for me to wish you good-by and God-speed."
She moved a little apart, but Dick's left hand caught her by the
shoulder.
"No, Irene, it is not all," he whispered. "I am going now, and I shall
return to you, God willing, within thirty-six hours, and, before I go,
I want to kiss you."
He could feel the quiver that shook her slender form at the
unexpectedness of it. She uttered a startled cry, and wondered if she
had heard aright, but she yielded to the clasp of an encircling arm.
Perhaps she lifted her face in sheer amazement; be that as it may, Dick
kissed her, not once, but many times.
"May Heaven guard and keep you, sweetheart," he said brokenly. "You
know that I love you. You have known it many a day, but I forced myself
to be silent because I was proud. Now my pride has given way to the joy
of whispering that I love you. To-morrow, that stubborn pride of mine
may rebuke me, and say that I had no right to take you to my heart
to-night, but to-night my love laughs at all that idle pretense of
money erecting a barrier between you and me. You are dearer to me than
life, and why should I not tell you so? I wanted to meet you to-night,
Irene. I made plaint to the stars when I did not see you at parting.
Now that you are here, I find myself at the gates of Paradise. Yet you
must leave me now, dear one. Let me carry the fragrance of your kiss on
my lips until the dawn. Then, in the chill of morning, when cold reason
chides me, I shall refuse to listen to her, for I shall remember that
Irene kissed me."
The girl clung to him during a blissful instant.
"Oh!" she sighed, and "Oh!" again as though her heart was throbbing its
life out. Then she murmured:
"You have not even asked me if I loved you, King Dick!"
With that she glanced up at him, and placed both hands on his shoulders.
"No," he said. "I only asked you to kiss me. I shall ask for your love
when I may come without reproach and ask you to be my wife."
"Dick," she said, with adorable shyness, "it is not yet to-morrow."
He strained her to his breast. Their lips met again rapturously.
"Oh, my sweet," he said, "has ever man received more angelic answer to
a question that filled his heart with longing throughout many days?"
"Yet you are leaving me, and of your own accord."
"Irene--you, too, are proud. Would you have me return now?"
"No. I know now that fate has chosen you to decide our fortunes. Go,
Dick, but come back to me in safety, or my poor little heart will
break."
Then, as though afraid of her own weakness, she drew herself from his
arms and hurried away towards the camp. He stood motionless, listening
to her footsteps, and his soul sang blithe canticles the while. At
last, when assured that she was within her tent, he picked up the
discarded burnous, strode to the waiting camels, and quickly the desert
enfolded him and his dreams in its great silence.
And Dick thanked the desert for its kindliness, which had made possible
that which was beyond credence. In London, how could a poverty-stricken
outcast dare to raise his eyes to the patrician heiress? He remembered
that first glance of hers, and the tactful way in which she had
discriminated between the man who might be glad of a sovereign for the
service he had rendered, and him who would value a woman's thanks far
beyond gold. And then, with what quiet dignity she had ignored his
fierce repudiation of von Kerber's offer of recompense. In that bitter
hour how might he foresee the turn of fortune's wheel which in two
short months would bring that dainty girl to his lover's embrace! How
delightful it was to hear his nickname from her lips! King Dick! Well,
such bold wooing ran in the blood, and it would go hard with any man,
whether Frank or Saracen, who barred the way between him and his chosen
lady. What if her grandfather were fifty times a millionaire! What had
millions to do with love? Precious little, quoth Richard, if all he had
read of rich men's lives were even partly true. He had a twinge or two
when he reflected that, at present, he occupied the position of second
mate on Fenshawe's yacht. He pictured himself asking the old gentleman
for Irene's hand in marriage, and being told that he was several sorts
of a lunatic. But the memory of Irene's kisses rendered her
grandfather's anticipated wrath quite bearable, and Dick laughed aloud
at the joy and folly of it all, until Sheikh Abdur Kad'r was moved to
say sharply:
"At night, in the desert, Effendi, the ears carry farther than the
eyes, so it behooves us to make no more noise with our tongues than our
camels make with their feet."
They journeyed slowly until a wondrous amber light first flooded the
eastern horizon and then tinted the opposite hills with pink coral.
Soon, rainbow shades of blue and green began to blend with the pink,
and the undulating plateau they were traversing revealed with startling
suddenness its scattered rocks and patches of loose stones. The camels
were urged into a lurching trot, and thirty miles were covered in less
time than it had taken to travel eight during the dark hours.
Beyond a few gazelles, a pair of marabout storks, and a troup of
jackals, they saw no living creature. But they took every precaution
against surprise. If others were on the march they meant to discover
the fact before they were themselves seen. So, when the ground was
practicable, they crossed the sky-line at top speed, hastened through
the intervening valley, and crept in Indian file to the next crest.
The Bisharin camels had long ceased to utter their unavailing growls.
Such reasoning powers as they possessed told them that they must make
the best of a bad business, as the lords of creation on their backs
meant to reach the allotted destination without reference to the
outraged feelings of three ill-used animals who had been deprived of a
night's rest. Now, a camel has been taught, by long experience, that
the legitimate end of a march is supplied only by something in the
shape of an oasis, no matter how slight may be its store of prickly
bushes and wiry grass. Therefore, these Bisharin brethren must have
felt something akin to surprise when they were tethered and fed in a
rock-strewn wady which offered neither food nor water. Animals and men
had to depend on the supplies they had carried thither. Shelter, of
course, there was none, and at nine o'clock the sun was already high in
the heavens.
One unhappy beast made a tremendous row when Hussain mounted him again
after a brief respite, and bade him be moving. Nevertheless, protest
was useless, and only led to torture. Finally, squealing and weeping,
the camel moved off, while his erstwhile sympathizers regarded him
blandly and unmoved, seeing that they were not disturbed, but permitted
to munch in peace the remains of a meal. Hussain was soon out of sight.
According to Abdur Kad'r's calculations, the Italian camp was in the
center of the next important valley. At the utmost, it was three miles
distant, and Hussain's presence early in the forenoon would be more
readily accounted for if he put in an appearance on a camel that was
obviously leg-weary.
Royson had given the man explicit instructions. If questioned, he was
to state the actual facts--that an Englishman and himself, with one
other Arab, had made a forced march from the nearest oasis, that his
exhausted companions were resting at no great distance, and that he
purposed returning to them with a replenished water-bag and some food
for their camels. But, amid the bustle of a large encampment, it was
more than likely that his arrival would pass unnoticed save by his
brother Arabs. In that event, he could satisfy their curiosity without
going into details, ascertain whether or not Abdullah the Spear-thrower
was among them, and, by keeping his eyes and ears open, learn a good
deal as to the progress effected by Alfieri in the work of exploration.
By hook or by crook, he must endeavor to return before sundown--if
accompanied by Abdullah, so much the better. Then, having learnt his
news, they could decide on the next step to be taken. Perhaps, if
Abdullah came, they would be able to rejoin the expedition without
further trouble.
After Hussain's departure, Royson and Abdur Kad'r disposed themselves
to rest. Utilizing camel cloths as _tentes d'abri_, they snatched a
couple of hours of uneasy sleep; but the heat and insects drove even
the seasoned sheikh to rebellion, and by midday both men preferred the
hot air and sunshine to the sweltering shade of the stuffy cloths.
Irene was right when she said that Dick had made a great advance with
his Arabic. He was master of many words of every-day use, and had also
learnt a number of connected phrases. Abdur Kad'r knew some French.
These joint attainments enabled them to carry on a conversation.
The Arab, with the curiosity of all men who do not read books, sought
information as to life in big cities, and Royson amused himself by
depicting the marvels of London. A limited vocabulary, no less than the
dense ignorance of his guide on such topics as railways, electricity,
paved streets, cabs, and other elements of existence in towns, rendered
the descriptions vague. Suddenly, the sheikh broke in on Dick's labored
recital with a query that gave the conversation an extraordinary turn.
"If you have so many remarkable things in your own land, Effendi, what
do you seek here?" he asked, waving a lean hand in comprehensive sweep.
"This is no place for town-bred men like the Hakim Effendi, nor for two
such women as those who travel with us. You have ridden three hundred
kilometers across the desert, and for what? To find five hills, says
the Hakim. May Allah be praised that rich men should wish to spend so
much money for so foolish a reason!"
"But the Hakim Effendi believes that there is an oasis marked by five
hills somewhere in this district, and, were he to find it, we would
dig, and perhaps discover some ancient articles buried there, articles
of small value to the world generally, but highly prized by those who
understand their history."
"I know this desert as you know those streets you have been telling me
of," said Abdur Kad'r, "and there is no oasis marked by five hills. You
have seen every camping-ground between here and Pajura. There is but
one other track, an old caravan road from the sea, which crosses our
present line a few kilometers to the south. We passed it last night in
the dark. It has only four wells. The nearest one is called the Well of
Moses, the next, the Well of the Elephant--"
"Why should you Arabs have a well of Moses?" asked Dick, smiling. "It
is not thought that Moses ever wandered in this locality, is it?"
"We respect Moses and all the prophets," said Abdur Kad'r seriously. He
smoked in silence for a minute, seemingly searching his memory for
something that had escaped it.
"Is it true," he demanded doubtingly, "that once upon a time many of
the hills gave forth fire and smoke as from a furnace?"
"Quite true. Volcanoes we call them. All these mountains are volcanic
in their origin."
"Then a moulvie whom I met once did not lie to me. He said that seven
little mounds which stand near that well had been known to vomit ashes
and flame: thus, they came to be called the Seven-branched Candlestick
of Moses. I suppose the well took the prophet's name in that way. Who
knows?"
Royson had learnt of late how to school his face. Long practise under
the witchery of Irene's eyes and Mrs. Haxton's ceaseless scrutiny
enabled him now to conceal the lightning flash of inspiration that
fired his intelligence. An old caravan road from the sea, a road that
led to the Nile, with its fourth stopping-place made notable by seven
tiny cones of an extinct volcano--surely that had the ring of actuality
about it! Von Kerber had confessed to altering figures and distances in
the papyrus--was this an instance?--were the "hills" they sought not
five but seven in number? What an amazing thing it would be if this
gaunt old sheikh held the clue to the burial-place of the treasure! It
must have been on the tip of his tongue ever since they met him, yet
the knowledge was withheld, solely on account of von Kerber's secretive
methods. Had he told Abdur Kad'r that he was searching for an oasis
sheltered by seven hills it was almost quite certain that the Well of
Moses would at least have been mentioned as the only locality offering
a remote resemblance to that which he sought. Somehow, Dick felt that
he had stumbled on to the truth. Though tingling with excitement, he
managed to control his voice.
"You say it is four marches from here to the sea?" he asked.
"Five, Effendi. There are four wells, but each is thirty or thirty-five
kilometers from the other. At one time, I have been told, many
_kafilas_ came that way, but the trade was killed by goods being
carried in ships to other points, while it is recorded among my people
that the curse of Allah fell on the land, and blighted it, and the
trees died, and the streams dried up, until it became as you now see
it."
Dick lit a fresh cigarette, and blew a great cloud of smoke before his
eyes, lest the observant Arab should read the thoughts that made them
glisten.
"Let us suppose," he said slowly, "that Fenshawe Effendi decided to
make for the sea by that shorter road, there would be no difficulty in
doing it?"
"Difficulty!" re-echoed the sheikh, "it might cost us many lives. A few
men, leading spare camels with water-bags, might get through in safety,
but it would be madness to attempt it with a big caravan. By the
Prophet's beard, I did not like the prospect of this present march,
though I knew there was water and food in plenty at Suleiman's Well.
What, then, would happen if we found every well on the eastern road dry
as a lime-kiln?"
"Yet you have been that way, you say?"
"Once, when I was young. But we were only a few Arabs, with a long
string of camels."
"Did you find water?"
"_Malish_--I have forgotten. It is so long ago."
Royson rose to his feet and stretched himself. He wondered what Alfieri
was disinterring at Suleiman's Well if the legion of Aelius Gallus had
followed the old-world route described by the Arab. Perhaps it was all
a mad dream, and this latest development but an added trick of fantasy.
Abdur Kad'r, looking up at him, chuckled softly.
"Effendi," he cried, "if you are as strong as you look, you must be of
the breed of that Frankish king whom our great Soldan, Yussuf Ibn Ayub,
fought in Syria eight hundred years ago. _Bismillah!_ I have seen many
a proper man, but none with height and bone like you."
Now, Dick knew that Abdur Kad'r was speaking of Richard the First and
Saladin, and it did seem a strange thing that the founder of his race
should be named at that moment. He laughed constrainedly.
"You have guessed truly, my friend," he said. "I am indeed a descendant
of that famous fighter. Alas, the days have long passed since men met
in fair contest with lance and sword. If I were fool enough to seek
distinction today in the battle-field I might be slain by any monkey of
a man who could aim a rifle."
"We die as God wills," was the Arab's pious rejoinder, "yet I have been
in more than one fight in which a Frank of your size could have won a
name for himself. But I am growing old. My hot days are ended, and you
giaours are erecting boundary pillars on the desert. The free people
are dying. We are scattered and divided. Soon there will not be a
genuine Arab left. May the wrath of Allah fall on all unbelievers!"
Then did Royson laugh again, with a heartiness that drove that passion
of retrospect from Abdur Kad'r's dark features.
"Whatever happens, let not you and me quarrel," he cried. "We have
enough on hand that we should keep our heads cool. And who can tell
what this very day may bring forth? Things may happen ere we rejoin our
caravan, Abdur Kad'r."
The sheikh, bowed his head in confusion. It must have been the heat, he
muttered, that caused his tongue to utter such folly. And, indeed, the
excuse might serve, for the hot hours dragged most wearily, and the sun
circled ever towards the hills, yet there came no sign of Hussain.
Royson was divided between his promise to Irene not to incur any
avoidable risk and his natural wish to obtain the information so
eagerly awaited in the camp. Though he meant to begin the return
journey at sunset, here was five o'clock, and he no wiser than
yesterday at the same hour. At last, inaction grew irksome. He helped
Abdur Kad'r to saddle the camels, and they mounted, with intent to
climb the northerly ridge, and thus survey the road which Hussain must
pursue if he managed to get away from Italian surveillance before
nightfall.
They proceeded warily. On gaining the opposing height they found that a
broad plateau, flanked by a steep hill on the seaward side, barred any
distant view, but Abdur Kad'r felt assured that the crest of this next
hill would give them command of the whole range of broken country for
many miles ahead. With this objective, they urged the camels into a
trot. When the shoulder of the rising ground became almost impassable
for four-footed animals, and awkward beasts at that, they dismounted,
tied the camels to heavy stones, and climbed the remainder of the way
on foot.
They looked across a narrow valley into a wide and shallow depression,
where a clump of palm trees and dense patches of _sayall_ bushes
instantly revealed the whereabouts of the oasis. It was easy to see the
regular lines of newly-turned rubble and sand where trenches had been
cut by the explorers. But the place was deserted. Not a man or horse,
camel or tent, stood on the spot where the mirage had revealed a
multitude some twenty-six hours earlier.
Royson was so perplexed by the discovery that his gaze did not wander
from the abandoned camp. Abdur Kad'r, quicker than he to read the
tokens of the desert, pointed to a haze of dust that hung in the still
air far to the north.
"The Italians have gone, Effendi," he said. "Perhaps they, too, were
looking for an oasis with five hills. Behold, they have found one by a
fool's counting, for this is the fifth hill within two kilometers of
Suleiman's Well. The ways of Allah are wonderful. Can it be that they
have discovered that which you seek?"
A sharp pang of disappointment shot through Royson's breast. He was
about to tell Abdur Kad'r that they must now regain their camels and
hasten to the oasis while there was sufficient light to examine the
excavations, when the sheikh suddenly pulled him down, for Dick had
stood upright on a boulder to obtain an uninterrupted field of vision.
"Look!" he growled. "Four of them! And, by the Holy Kaaba, they mean
mischief!"
Royson's eyes were good, clearer, in all probability, than the Arab's,
but they were not trained to detect moving objects with such minute
precision. Nevertheless, in a few seconds he made out the hoods of four
men who were peering over the crest which separated the small valley
from the larger one. They disappeared, and, while Royson and Abdur
Kad'r were speculating on the motive that inspired this espionage, the
hoods came in sight again, but this time they had the regular swing
that betokened camel-riders. The four halted on the sky-line, and
seemingly exchanged signals with others in the fear. Then they resumed
their advance. They were fully armed; they carried their guns across
the saddle-bow, and Dick saw that their cloaks were rather differently
fashioned to those which he had taken note of hitherto.
"Hadendowas!" murmured Abdur Kad'r. "They are good fighters, Effendi,
but born thieves. And how many ride behind? Not for twenty years have I
met Hadendowas on this track."
The Arab's keen eyes did not cease to glare fixedly beyond the ridge.
Soon he whispered again:
"They may not have seen us, Effendi, but we must be ready for them. Go
you, and lead our camels into the hollow there," and he thrust his chin
towards the seaward base of the hill. "I shall soon know if they are
playing fox with us. Our camels are of the Bisharin breed, while theirs
are Persian, so we can always outstrip them if it comes to a race. You
understand, Effendi; they come from Suleiman's Well. Perchance evil
hath befallen Hussain."
Abhur Kad'r's advice was so obviously reasonable that Dick obeyed it,
though unwillingly. He took the camels to the place indicated by his
companion, and had no difficulty in finding a cleft in which they were
quite hidden from the ken of any who followed the main track.
Soon he heard the sheikh hurrying after him.
"Had we awaited Hussain another half hour we should have been dead or
captured by this time, Effendi," was his bewildering news. "A white man
and nearly seventy Hadendowas, all armed, and leading pack camels,
follow close behind the scouts. With them are Hussain and another, but
their arms are bound, and they are roped to their beasts. The
Giaour--may he be withered--rides my Bisharin camel."
Then Royson knew by intuition what had happened. Alfieri had failed in
his quest. The Italian commander of the troops, refusing to sanction
useless labor any longer, had marched north with his men. Alfieri,
still clinging desperately to a chimera, had decided to remain and
scour the desert until his stores gave out. And, at this crucial moment
in his enterprise, came Hussain, the unconscious emissary of his
rivals. The fact that the Arab was a prisoner spoke volumes. He had
tried to communicate with Abdullah, and the watchful Italian had
guessed his true mission. The man might have been tortured until he
confessed the whereabouts not only of Royson himself and Abdur Kad'r
but of the whole expedition. There was but one thing to do, and that
speedily.
"Up!" he shouted, dragging the camels forth to an open space. "You ride
in front and set the pace."
"What would you do, Effendi?" cried the sheikh in alarm. "They will see
us ere we have gone five hundred meters. Let us wait for the night."
"Up, I tell you," roared Royson, catching the Arab's shoulder in a
steel grip. "In another ten minutes they will know we have fled, and
they will hurry south at top speed. What chance have we of passing them
in this country at night? Our sole hope is to head them. No more words,
but ride. Believe me, Abdur Kad'r, it is life or death for you, and it
matters little to me whether you die here, or in the next valley, or
not at all."
Then the Arab knew that he had met his master. He climbed to the
saddle, said words not in the Koran, and urged his camel into a
frenzied run. Royson, who could never have persuaded his own
long-legged steed to adopt such a pace, found it easy enough to induce
the beast to follow his brother.
In this fashion, riding like madmen, they traversed the plateau and had
almost begun the descent into the wady where they had spent the day,
when a distant yell reached them. There was no need to look back, even
if such a hazardous proceeding were warranted by their break-neck gait.
They were discovered, but they were in front, and that counts for a
good deal in a race. They tore down the hill, lumbered across the
dried-up bed of a long-vanished torrent, and pressed up the further
side. As they neared the ridge, four rifle shots rang out, and Dick saw
three little spurts of dust and stones kick up in front on the right,
while a white spatter suddenly shone on a dark rock to the left.
"Faster!" he roared to Abdur Kad'r. "They cannot both ride and fire. In
the next wady we shall be safe. Bend to it, my friend. Your reward will
be great, and measured only by your haste in bringing me back to our
camp."