Three days have passed, and it is morning on the desert. The huge,
golden sun rose over the edge of the barren world, and its rays fell on
a lonely camel train that was already on the move.
The camels were loaded with merchandise from the interior and bound for
the port of Akka.
A noted Syrian merchant was in charge of the train. There were other
Syrians, but most of the camel drivers were Arabs.
Mounted on one of the many camels were Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart,
minus their disguises and wearing their own clothes.
Professor Gunn was swaying and rocking miserably on the back of another
camel, his companion being one of the Syrians.
Brad Buckhart looked no less disconsolate than the professor, while the
expression on Dick Merriwell's face was not one of absolute satisfaction
and contentment.
Brad was grumbling.
"Pard, I sure am a heap sore."
"So am I," admitted Dick. "Camel riding isn't what it's cracked up to
be. It is enough to make any one sore."
"I didn't mean that I was sore in that way."
"Didn't you?"
"No. I'm thinking that we were fooled a plenty."
"How do you mean?"
"By that old black wretch, Assouan."
"Go on."
"Haven't you thought the same thing?"
"Perhaps so; but go ahead and tell me just what you have thought."
"Why, you know how Assouan met us at the city's gate just as we were
escaping from Damascus."
"I know."
"He told us he had hustled Nadia and Budthorne out of the town and sent
them off on fleet horses, guided by Gumar, to join Ras al Had's train."
"Correct."
"And having but one good horse, which he was riding, he could not
provide for us and help us overtake them."
"So he said."
"Having given us that game of talk, he induced us to follow him and got
us into this merchant train, bound for Akka and the coast."
"Which seems lucky for us----"
"Then," cut in the Texan. "Now----"
"Well, at least, we escaped being seized and beheaded. It is plain
Assouan kept his promise when he said he would try to put the Turks on a
false scent, and so give us a chance for our lives."
Brad shook his head.
"Mebbe he did. Anyhow, he didn't tell these people who we were, and you
happened to have money enough on you to induce the old rascal at the
head of the train to take us along. He knew there was trouble in
Damascus, and that foreigners were in danger, but he didn't know the
full truth. Had he, I opine he would have dodged us a heap. I judge he's
getting some suspicious of us now, and he wishes he hadn't bothered any
with us, for all of the money."
"He did act queerly last night," admitted Dick. "He tried to question
me. I think he has been talking with the professor and the professor has
talked too much. But, then, we are now some distance from Damascus."
"All the same, Dick, you know we won't be safe until we get out of this
infernal country. But I don't propose to leave until I know what has
become of Nadia."
"Assouan promised to bring us together."
"And I am beginning to believe he lied!"
"What?"
"I'm afraid the black rascal fooled us."
"Why should he?"
"Why shouldn't he? They're none of them to be trusted. Nadia is a
beautiful girl."
"Well?"
"In this country very beautiful girls are worth as much as five thousand
dollars each."
Dick was startled.
"Oh, you're wrong, Brad, in thinking Assouan would play such a trick! He
wouldn't dare."
"Why not?"
"Ras al Had is his master----"
"And Ras al Had is a fugitive himself. If caught, he will lose his head
for killing Hafsa Pasha. Assouan may have feared the sheik before that
happened, but fear cannot keep Assouan loyal to Ras al Had now."
Dick realized that this was true.
"And do you fancy Assouan would carry Nadia off with the intention of
selling her?"
"I fear it, partner, and that's what's disturbing me a plenty."
Dick thought for some moments on what had taken place. Finally he shook
his head decisively.
"I am not willing to believe that," he declared. "Somehow, I am
confident that Assouan is faithful as a dog to Ras al Had. He put
himself to altogether too much trouble about us, in case he were
otherwise. Even after getting Nadia and her brother out of Damascus, he
turned back to look for us."
"But he deserted us in the street at a critical moment."
"Because, as he frankly stated, he believed we were lost, and he could
do nothing to save us. Had he attempted to do anything, he would have
sacrificed himself and left Nadia and Dunbar still helpless in the
trap."
"Well, it may be he's on the square; but it certain seems to me he's had
time to keep his word and show up with Nadia before this."
At this moment there were signs of confusion in the train. The camel
drivers in advance halted and uttered strange cries. Others took it up.
Those cries produced still greater confusion, which seemed like
consternation.
"What is it?" asked Brad.
Dick shaded his eyes and peered away across the broken waste of desert.
"Horsemen!" he exclaimed. "There is a large body of mounted men coming
toward us from the north."
"Sure thing," said the Texan, discerning them. "I wonder if Assouan is
going to make good at last!"
The horsemen came on rapidly, a tiny cloud of dust rising behind them.
Soon they were near enough to enable the men of the camel train to
discover an interesting thing concerning them.
"Bedouins!" was the cry.
Both of the American boys had heard of those desert wanderers and
marauders, but now, for the first time, they beheld genuine wild
Bedouins at home.
The Syrians and Arabs of the train seemed in great fear and
consternation, for they saw the approaching body of men outnumbered
them, and it was impossible to know the purpose of the wild horsemen.
The Bedouins wore loose, flowing garments and hoods on their heads. They
were all armed to the teeth, as is the habit of the desert Bedouin.
Dick was thrilled by the picturesque spectacle. He had seen pictures of
Bedouin riders, and he was forced to confess that he was not
disappointed in the real article.
The merchants huddled their loaded camels together and waited in
helpless suspense for what was to take place.
Without waiting for his camel to kneel, Zenas Gunn slid down to the
ground, risking both neck and limb, and fell sprawling. He gathered
himself up and rushed forward to Dick and Brad.
"We're all going to be murdered!" he spluttered. "Those wretches are
going to kill us and plunder the train!"
Dick forced the camel to kneel, after the manner of camel drivers, a
trick he had learned by observation. Down went one end of the beast,
flinging the boys forward and forcing them to hold fast with all their
strength; then down went the other end, hurling them back and snapping
their teeth together.
After that they stepped off.
"It is useless to resist!" moaned the professor. "We have no chance
against those wretches! Oh, boys, this is the end--the awful end!"
"You've lost your nerve again, professor," said Dick. "Brace up. Let's
not die until we have to."
The Bedouins had halted at some distance. For a moment they huddled
together, and then out from the mass of horsemen rode one, whose bearing
was that of a leader.
Alone and unattended, this man fearlessly rode toward the train.
Grasping his gun in the middle, he lifted it high above his head with
one hand, a signal which the merchant at the head of the train seemed to
understand, for he slowly advanced to meet the wild chief.
The chief was a handsome man at a distance, being of unusual size and
wearing the barbaric garments and decorations of his people. He had a
jet-black beard, and there was something uncommon about his features.
The horse he bestrode was a clean-limbed, fiery animal.
"If I had my camera now!" exclaimed Dick; "but that camera by this time
is in Alexandria, with the rest of our baggage, which we sent on ahead
of us."
"I wonder what's up," muttered Brad. "The Syrians are mightily
disturbed."
"Perhaps the Bedouins are going to demand tribute, and the merchants do
not wish to pay."
"Is that a custom?"
"I don't know; but it seems that those armed wanderers could hold up a
train like this and get everything they asked."
The chief was seen speaking with the merchant. In a few moments the
latter turned, saw Dick and his friends, and called:
"Mr. Merriwell is wanted."
"What's that?" gasped Buckhart, in the greatest amazement. "Did you hear
it, pard? Did he say you were wanted?"
"That's what he said," nodded Dick.
Professor Gunn began to shake and choke.
"Richard, oh, Richard!" he exclaimed huskily. "These wild men have been
sent to search the desert for you and take you back to Damascus! You are
lost!"
"Great grizzlies!" burst from the Texan. "Is it possible that can be
correct?"
"It may be," said Dick quietly.
"Well, don't you surrender!" panted the Texan. "I'll back you up, pard.
We'll die with our boots on, fighting to the last ditch! We're both
armed."
"Alone, the two of us would stand no show against those warriors of the
desert," said Dick. "However, let's not borrow trouble. Let's find out
if there really is any trouble coming."
Saying which, he boldly walked out.
The Bedouin chief gazed in silence at the advancing boy, while the
Syrian merchant hastened to say:
"Here is the lad for whom thou hast called, Ali Beha. Take him and do
thy will."
Brad had followed Dick, while the old professor timidly brought up the
rear.
The men of the train watched in anxious silence.
Buckhart heard the words of the Syrians, and immediately he plunged a
hand into a pocket where his revolver lay.
"There you have it, Dick!" he half snarled. "Now you know what's coming!
Ready for business!"
Merriwell made a calm, restraining gesture.
"Steady, old man," he flung over his shoulder. "Let's talk to Ali Beha
and find out what he's going to do. That is the best plan. Then possibly
we'll raise an objection. Better not be too hasty."
Experience and the example of his brother Frank had taught Dick to keep
his head in times of peril.
As usual, Buckhart was ready to fight. For all of the apparent peril, he
was undaunted. Beyond question, he was rash and reckless; but to his
credit it must be said that he was ready to surrender his life in
defense of his rights and his friend.
There was not one drop of cowardly blood in Brad's body. If, on account
of his assumed bluster and swagger, any one took him for a chap who
would show the white feather in a pinch, that person was certain to be
surprised and quite upset.
At school a few of the boys had fancied the Texan to be a bluffer, but
when they had attempted to "call him," he had given them, one and all, a
setback by "making good." Physical injury in a fist fight had never
daunted him, and now, in the face of possible death, he was just as
nervy and indifferent to the result.
Once on a time Dick Merriwell had been impulsive, reckless and
thoughtless, but he had learned to govern himself and to consider the
consequences of any act. This had changed him greatly. Not that he had
lost a whit of courage, but courage is not mere reckless
thoughtlessness. The really brave man is the one who considers the
consequences, realizes the full extent of the peril, and then calmly
faces it.
It is possible that association with Brad, whom he often found it
necessary to restrain, had tended to make Dick more conservative and
careful, for he realized that two reckless persons who spur each other
on are certain to commit many follies.
So Merriwell warned his chum against haste and then turned to the chief
of the Bedouins to talk the matter over.
"You have called for me," he said. "I am here. What do you want?"
Ali Beha was still surveying the calm, clear-eyed American lad with deep
interest. He took his time about answering Dick's question.
"Thou art very young," he finally observed.
"Which is not an answer to my question," retorted Dick.
"Thou art a mere boy."
The Bedouin seemed disappointed.
"Acknowledged," nodded Dick. "What does Ali Beha want of a mere boy and
a stranger in this land?"
"Thou hast friends near?"
"Two of them are with me."
"But there are others?"
"Possibly."
"They assisted thee in leaving Damascus?"
"Yes."
"But they are not with thee now?"
"Do you come from them?" asked Dick quickly.
"It is even so," declared the chief. "Thy friend sent me."
"You mean---- Name him!"
"I can speak no names. I am directed to bring thee and thy companions."
Dick turned to Brad, speaking in a low tone:
"He must be from Ras al Had. The old sheik sent him for us."
"I reckon you're right, pard," nodded the Texan, the cloud having left
his face. "At last we have heard from Ras."
Professor Gunn placed a still quivering hand on Dick's arm.
"Be cautious, Richard," he warned. "I am afraid of these wild men. It is
said that they are very treacherous. Better ask him openly if he comes
from the sheik."
"He has said that he can call no names. It is evident that Ras al Had
has taken precautions. In case he is captured and condemned for slaying
Hafsa Pasha, he does not wish to associate us with him in that business,
and so his name is not to be mentioned before these Syrians."
"You have figured it out, partner," put in Buckhart. "I opine we've had
our little scare for nothing. The sheik has sent for us in his own way,
and we'll be liable to find Nadia and Budthorne by accompanying the
Bedouins."
Ali Beha remained passive and apparently indifferent while they were
talking this matter over.
Dick turned once more to the chief.
"How far away are our friends?" he asked.
"Beyond the horizon," was the answer.
"You will take us to them?"
The Bedouin bowed.
"I have come to do so," he declared.
"That settles it," laughed Buckhart. "I judge we're ready and willing to
go."
The prospect of soon joining Nadia filled the Texan with enthusiasm and
relief.
"All right," said Dick. "We'll soon be ready."
He then turned to the Syrian merchant, whom he thanked for such favors
as they had received.
The merchant made a deprecatory gesture and declared that it was
nothing, which he well might have done, considering the fact that he had
been well paid for those favors.
It did not take our friends long to make arrangements for accompanying
the waiting Bedouins.
The people of the train were greatly relieved, and they lost no time in
preparing to move onward once more.
As Dick, Brad, and the professor followed Ali Beha, they looked back and
saw the head of the train already in motion, with the camel drivers and
their loaded "ships of the desert" falling into line in regular order.
"I certain am plenty glad to abandon camel riding," grinned Brad. "I'd
rather ride a pitching cayuse than a hump-backed camel, for a bucker
won't buck forever, while a camel does keep up that rocking, swaying,
back-breaking movement just as long as he travels. I suppose one might
get used to it in time, but I'd rather be excused some."
As they drew near the Bedouins they discovered that the men who had
seemed so picturesque at a distance were unkempt and dirty, although
none the less fierce on close inspection.
These wild men regarded our friends with an air of curious contempt.
There was nothing of friendliness in their manner.
Arrangements were quickly made for the boys and the professor to mount
behind three of the Bedouins. Zenas was assisted to his seat behind a
thin, dirty chap, and told to cling fast to the man by clasping him
around the body. This the old pedagogue did, although he made a wry face
over it.
Dick could not wonder at Gunn's repulsion, for he, also, found himself
mounted behind an unkempt rascal, whose matted hair and beard looked as
if it might be infested, and who gave forth anything but an agreeable
odor.
When all were ready, the Bedouins uttered a yell, and, with their chief
in advance, went tearing across the barren country.
That was a ride long to be remembered. Mile after mile was covered at
high speed by the spirited horses. When the animals bearing double
burdens showed signs of flagging, the Bedouins halted and our friends
changed to other horses.
The sun grew hot and beat upon them with baking fierceness. The air was
dry and their throats parched. The country became wilder and wilder.
Once they saw another camel train in the distance.
At last they entered a hilly region, where there was more vegetation.
Finally, from an elevation, they saw before them a group of black tents,
not far from which, in a valley, were some herds.
Straight toward the square black tents rode the Bedouins. As they
approached a number of their own people were seen waiting for them.
Buckhart was craning his neck and peering over the shoulder of his
companion on horseback, hoping to obtain a glimpse of Nadia; but no
female was to be seen about the encampment.
With a yell the desert Nomads swept down to the camp and leaped from
their horses, which they immediately turned over to the care of other
men.
Professor Gunn was exhausted, and he reeled like an intoxicated man as
soon as he stood upon his feet.
Dick looked around searchingly. Ali Beha appeared before him.
"Where are our friends?" impatiently asked the boy.
"Peace," said the chief. "Thou should not be impatient. Before thou
canst see them it is necessary that thou shouldst be searched for hidden
weapons."
Merriwell took a step forward, assailed by sudden forebodings and
suspicions. He saw the fierce-looking men gathered close about them,
each with weapons ready for use.
Buckhart, also, was startled and aroused. He pressed to Dick's side,
hissing:
"Something crooked, pard! I'm afraid we're trapped!"
"Why should we be disarmed?" demanded Dick. "We are harmless and----"
"It is the rule," said Ali Beha grimly. "No one not of our people shall
be permitted to carry arms while among us. There can be no exception for
thee."
"It sure is a trap!" whispered the Texan. "If we give up our arms, we're
goners!"
Dick thought swiftly, and he decided at once that resistance was folly.
Were they to attempt it, they would be crushed, perhaps murdered, in a
twinkling.
"We're in your hands, Ali Beha," he said. "We have trusted you, and we
must continue to do so."
Immediately our friends were searched by the Bedouins and deprived of
their weapons.
Ali Beha stood with folded arms and watched.
The professor made no remonstrance, but on his face there was a look of
helpless despair that was pitiful to see.
Buckhart was pale, his lips pressed together and his jaw squared.
Dick's dark eyes flashed and his nostrils dilated. Although he submitted
without another word of protest, there were resentment and anger in his
pose.
"It is well," said the chief.
"Now, where are our friends?" cried Merriwell suddenly. "We wish to see
them. Have you deceived us?"
"Thou shalt see that I have not. The friend who sent for thee is in
yonder tent. He is waiting to greet thee. Enter."
The chief made a sweeping gesture toward one of the larger tents.
Both Dick and Brad started toward this tent, but immediately the Texan
was stopped, while the chief informed him that he was not to enter.
"If there's any trouble, pard," said Buckhart, "just raise the war cry.
I'll try to join you."
Dick nodded and walked into the tent, the flap of which he was compelled
to lift.
A single person occupied the tent. He was sitting on a mat at the rear,
smoking a cigarette. His garments were Turkish and there was a fez on
his head. About him there was something familiar.
A muttered exclamation of surprise rose to Dick's lips. Dropping the
tent flap behind him, he stepped quickly forward. As he did so the
cigarette smoker lifted his head, and young Merriwell was face to face
with Miguel Bunol!