TAKING CHANCES.
The Professor gave a cry of positive terror, and before it was well out
of his throat Ned Britton had made a leap and pinioned the chief to the
ground with the weight of his huge form.
We were all greatly startled; and dismayed, as well, for it seemed that
in spite of all our precautions Gege-Merak had spied upon us and the
secret of the treasure now extended to him—the most uncomfortable
confederate, from our standpoint, we could possibly have gained. Already
an enemy, and more powerful in this country, his own, than we were;
animated by the unscrupulous cupidity of his race and reckless—as his
people are—of any consequences that follow lawless acts, Gege-Merak was
the last person we would have chosen to share our important secret. The
worst feature of the whole matter was that we ourselves were defying the
laws of Egypt in stealthily removing this vast hoard, hidden by Egyptian
priests long before the present rulers had ever set foot in the land. If
the government suspected our act we should all be summarily imprisoned.
No doubt the Bega chief knew very well our predicament, and that we
could not appeal to the authorities whatever injury he might inflict
upon us; so he would be inclined to fight us for the possession of the
treasure, if any dependence could be placed upon the native character.
If we tried to compromise, then a large share of our find must go to
Gege-Merak; but he was not likely to be satisfied with a little.
These thoughts doubtless flashed across every mind in the pause that
followed Ned’s capture of the spy. I know, anyway, that they passed
rapidly through my own mind, and appalled me.
Two of the sailors had sprung forward to assist the mate, and now they
produced several lengths of cord from their pockets—every sailor carries
such things—and the chief was soon fast bound and laid upon the sand a
few paces away. One of the sailors was left sitting beside him as a
guard.
While the Professor nervously continued to fill the canvas bags from the
pit and to seal each one securely, we counselled together in whispers as
to the best method of dealing with Gege-Merak. The sailors and Bryonia
loaded the sacks into the panniers of the camels, which were strongly
woven of rushes, as fast as they were filled and sealed, and still the
pit seemed to contain as many jewels and precious stones as had been
removed. We began to tremble with a realization of the hugeness of the
treasure, and to understand that in spite of our ample provision to
carry it, some must be left behind. But that meant turning it over to
the chief, who now knew its location, unless——
“Gege-Merak must die!” growled the little Professor, through his teeth.
His face was pale and his eyes were glittering with excitement.
Some of us breathed deeply; but none made reply in words. I dreaded the
necessity as much as any one could, but saw clearly that the chief’s
death was inevitable. It meant not only our protection, but perhaps our
salvation. We were now burdened with too vast a store of wealth to be
safe on the desert for a single moment, if Gege-Merak was to be at large
to dog our steps.
We now implored the Professor to return the papyrus rolls to the cavity
and take instead more of the treasure; but Van Dorn obstinately refused.
“It is my own share, and you have agreed I should take it,” said he.
“There are millions in gold and precious gems, besides; isn’t that
enough to satisfy you?”
“But this may be our last chance at the treasure,” replied Uncle Naboth,
anxiously.
The Professor gave him a queer look. It seemed defiant and half
threatening, but a moment later he dropped his head to resume his work.
“That’s nonsense,” he snapped, wrathfully. “The stuff has lain here for
ages, and what we now leave will remain in safety until we can come
again—unless we give Gege-Merak a chance to grab it. We mustn’t do that,
gentlemen. If the chief lives he will never allow us to reach the ship
again; you may be sure of that. We’ve had evidence already of his
grasping disposition. It’s our lives against his, now, and we must not
hesitate to save ourselves.”
“Bring the chief here, Cunningham,” called Uncle Naboth, peering through
the gloom where our sailor sat upon the sand guarding his prisoner.
Cunningham did not move, and Uncle Naboth called again. Then Joe ran
across to him, bent over, and gave a cry that raised us all to our feet
in an instant.
“The man’s dead!” he shouted. “Gege-Merak is gone!”
It was true enough. The wily chief had managed to slip his bonds and
plunge a knife to the heart of his unsuspecting guard before he crawled
away into the night and escaped.
We were horrified at the disaster. Our fears had now become realities,
and as we looked gravely into one another’s eyes under the dim stars we
realized that our lives were in deadly peril.
“You’re a lot of clods—of duffers—of fools!” screamed the Professor,
stamping the ground in furious rage. “You deserve to die for being so
clumsy; you deserve to lose the treasure you are not clever enough to
guard! Bah! to think I have leagued myself with idiots!”
Archie grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a good shaking.
“Shut up, you red-whiskered ape!” he said, menacingly. “Keep a civil
tongue in your head, or I’ll skin you alive!”
We were all irritated and unnerved, and I tried to quiet both Archie and
Van Dorn, and to bring them to a more reasonable frame of mind.
“It’s no use crying over spilt milk,” said I. “Let’s face the peril like
men, and do our best to get the treasure safely to the ship. Even if
Gege-Merak gets the rest, we have a fortune already.”
“He’ll get that, too,” groaned the Professor. “The chief has more
cunning than the whole crowd of you.”
The two camels were now heavily loaded with the sealed canvas sacks
containing the treasure and the library of historic papyri. We next
strapped the four panniers to the two beasts—one on either side of each
camel—and Van Dorn with the remainder of his wax smeared the buckles so
that if the panniers were opened or tampered with we should speedily
know the fact. He did not trust us wholly, it seemed, nor did we fully
trust him. The man had been acting ugly of late, and the fact that we
had no chance to examine any of the treasure we had so quickly thrust
into the sacks made it necessary that the seals remain intact until we
could open them in safety and in each other’s presence.
Having now secured all of the ancient deposit of wealth that we could
carry, we held a solemn conference to determine our future movements.
The Professor, who had calmed down somewhat but was still sullen,
admitted that with proper caution we might find our way back to Koser
over the same route by which we had come. The only puzzling part of the
trail was that which lay through the intricate passes of the Hammemat
mountains, and we were willing to chance finding the right path because
we had no option but to undertake the risk. From being our guide
Gege-Merak had now become our most dreaded foe. We were better armed
than the chief’s band, and outnumbered it, although three of our party
were only boys. Aside from an ambush or an unexpected addition to the
chief’s party we might hope to hold our own against him in a declared
warfare.
If we could have started at once on our return journey our chances of
reaching the _Seagull_ in safety might have been better; but it was
necessary for Archie to visit Luxor and deliver his father’s goods to
the merchants who had ordered them, and to receive payment on delivery.
This necessitated a delay which could not be avoided even under the
present trying circumstances.
Van Dorn assured us that by morning we could plainly see the outlines of
Karnak and Luxor across the desert, and he said the journey could be
made in three hours. If Archie started at daybreak he could reach Luxor
in time for breakfast and by concluding his business as soon as possible
ought to be able to rejoin our party by noon.
But Archie did not relish going alone upon this mission, and I had grown
to like the young fellow so well that I offered to accompany him. It was
decided all of us should move around the base of Tel-Ambra, after
concealing every trace of our visit to the pit, and there encamp to
await our return from Luxor.
We had to bury poor Cunningham in the sand; but we dug him a deep grave
and wrapped him in two blankets in lieu of a proper coffin. The stone
having been dropped to cover the cavity and the sand piled in and
smoothed above it, we marched across to Tel-Ambra and came to a halt
well on the other side of it. Here we speedily made camp and appointed
Bryonia and Ned Britton to watch while we lay down to sleep.
I was so excited by the occurrences of the night that I could not
compose myself to slumber for some time, but lay awake and watched Van
Dorn, who, also restless, paced up and down in the sands apparently in
deep thought. He had grown moody and unsociable, and since his violent
exhibition of temper I had come to dislike him more than ever.
When dawn came creeping over the desert I sprang up and aroused Archie.
The others were mostly awake, I found, and while we munched a little
food Joe came to me and begged to travel to Luxor in our company.
Ned Britton, who had now assumed military command of our party, thought
there would be no greater danger to the others and more safety to Archie
and me if Joe accompanied us; so Uncle Naboth’s consent was obtained and
we three mounted our camels and set off at a brisk pace toward Luxor,
the outlines of which city the Professor pointed out.
The morning air of the desert was crisp and invigorating, and so fresh
were our camels that in two and a half hours we reached the Karnak road
and soon after clattered into the streets of Luxor.
It is an odd town, a mingling of the modern and ancient. On the bank of
the Nile stands the ruin of the great temple so famous in history, its
many rows of lotus-capped columns rising toward the sky in magnificent
array. Beside the monster temple is a litter of mud huts; across the way
is the wall surrounding the fine modern Hotel Luxor, and against this
wall on all sides are rows of booths occupied by the Greek, Syrian, and
Arab merchants as bazars.
When we arrived and inquired for the merchants with whom Archie was to
deal, we found their shops still closed; so we entered the grounds of
the hotel, left our camels at the stables, hired a dray to fetch
Archie’s boxes from the railway station, and then treated ourselves to a
good breakfast served in civilized fashion. By the time it was finished
the boxes were waiting in a cart outside, and the merchants, we found,
had arrived at their shops and were anxious to examine the goods.
We realized the necessity of making haste and so accepted the invitation
of a Syrian dealer to open our boxes in a big vacant room back of his
bazar. We admitted only the two men who had ordered the goods, although
a group of curious natives wished to enter with us, and soon Archie,
Joe, and I had the cases open and the goods spread out for examination.
The Syrian and his fellow merchant, a gray-bearded Greek, gravely
inspected and approved the clever imitations of ancient scarabs, charms,
figures, urns, and the like, that had been “made in America” to deceive
American tourists in Egypt; but when Archie demanded to be paid the
price agreed upon they both demurred, claiming the trinkets were not
worth the sum asked.
Archie was indignant and threatened to box up the goods again and ship
them to Cairo; and then began the inevitable bargaining that is so
tedious but necessary in dealing with the Egyptians.
While my friend, who proved no unskillful bargainer, was engaged in this
occupation I chanced to glance toward the one dirty window in the place
and saw a man standing outside who instantly riveted my attention. He
was tall and stately, with a calm, handsome face and steady eyes, and
while he gazed in upon us it suddenly flashed across me that I had seen
this Arab before—standing on the quay at Alexandria and staring at the
_Seagull_ as we had sailed out of the harbor.
Yes; it was indeed Abdul Hashim, the Professor’s most bitter enemy; and
as this fact was revealed to me I remembered the peril of our friends
awaiting us on the desert and turned impatiently to Archie to ask him to
hasten.
As I spoke the eyes of the Arab outside turned toward mine and, perhaps
seeing my glance of recognition, he turned and disappeared.
“Archie,” I said in a low voice, “for heaven’s sake end this squabbling.
Too much depends on our prompt return to quarrel over a few beastly
piasters.”
He seemed to realize this, for he quickly closed with the offers of the
merchants and they paid him the sum he had agreed to take in English
bank notes and gold. While the money was being counted out I saw Abdul
Hashim again at the window, his greedy eyes feasting upon the money; and
this made me more nervous than before. I quickly made my way outside and
moved around to the window, but the Arab had disappeared and I failed to
find him in any of the neighboring streets.
I told Archie and Joe of my discovery, and that Abdul Hashim had seen us
receive the money. The tale alarmed my friends, but after a moment’s
thought Archie decided what to do. We went at once to Cook’s banking
office, which was in the hotel building, and there Archie exchanged his
gold and notes for a draft on the bank’s American correspondents, for
the full amount. The paper he placed in his stocking, flat on the sole
of his foot, and then he drew on his boot with a sigh of relief.
“If it is stolen,” said he, “no one can cash it but my father; but I’d
like to see the Arab or Bega clever enough to find the draft where I’ve
hidden it. Come on, boys; we’re free now; so let’s hurry back to our
party and the treasure.”
The camels had been watered and fed by the hotel attendants, and we
hastened to mount them and start on our return journey. As we left the
town it was a little after eleven o’clock, for much valuable time had
been consumed in settling Archie’s business.
“But it’s what I came to Egypt for,” said he, “and father would be wild
if I neglected the business he sent me on, even to get a share of that
treasure. As it is I’m afraid he’ll think me a poor hand at a bargain,
to take less than was agreed upon.”
“There’s no trusting to the word of these native merchants,” I remarked,
as we sped away over the sands. “How much did you manage to get for that
rubbish, Archie?”
“About twenty-five hundred dollars. But I ought to have had three
thousand.”
“And what did it cost to make the stuff?” I inquired, curiously.
“Oh, the material is mostly mud, you know; but the molds and the
workmanship are expensive. With the freight and my own expenses added,
the finished product cost us nearly nine hundred dollars.”
“Not a bad deal, then,” said I, with a laugh. “Your father will find
himself a bit richer, anyhow.”
“But think of what those rascally merchants will make!” he exclaimed
indignantly. “The scarabs, which cost them about half a cent each,
they’ll sell for twenty piasters—and that’s a whole dollar!”
“Say, boys,” observed Joe, quietly, “we’re being followed.”
We turned quickly in our saddles at this startling news, and a glance
told us Joe was right. Coming toward us in a cloud of dust, from the
direction of Luxor, were several camels and donkeys. Already they were
near enough for us to see that they were ridden by a band of Arabs, who
were urging the animals to their best speed.
We pricked up our camels with the sharpened sticks provided for that
purpose, and with groans of protest the supple beasts threw out their
hoofs and fairly flew over the sands.