A BEDOUIN TRIBE.
It was two hours before the sheik returned.
"We have been fortunate," he said, as Mr. Blagrove and Edgar came out
into the court-yard as he entered. "The men have had their punishment.
The governor, after hearing my story, sent to the head of the police,
and charged him to take four men down with him into the quarter where
men of this sort are generally to be found. When my son described the
men to him, and said that he thought that one of them was a Maltese
named Giaccamo, and the other was a Greek called Zeno, he spoke to some
of his men, and they said they knew two fellows who generally went about
together that answered to the description. They were, he said, notorious
ruffians, but except for rioting and wounding among their compatriots,
with which the police did not concern themselves, they had been able to
find nothing against them, though they strongly suspected that they were
concerned in many crimes. We went down with them to that quarter, and
the police soon found out the place where they lived, but on enquiry
were assured that both men were ill, the old woman who came to the door
declaring that they had been in bed for some days. However, the police
insisted upon entering, and speedily brought them down. Sidi recognized
them at once, and indeed they had scarcely lied in saying that they were
ill, for the eyelids of one were so swollen and blackened that he could
not see out of them, while the other's nose was well-nigh as big as the
rest of his face.
"They were at once taken before the cadi. He heard my son's evidence,
and then said that had it been proved they attempted to steal the horse,
he would have had their heads smitten off, but that though this was
doubtless their intention, they had not done so. He sentenced them to a
hundred blows with a stick, and to be expelled from the town and
neighbourhood, warning them that should they be found near the town
again, they would assuredly be punished with death. I waited and saw the
blows administered, and although I felt angry that the cadi had not
ordered them to execution, I admit that the punishment was severe
enough, and the wretches howled like whipped curs. I trust that there
will be no more trouble from them. Still, I hope that this will not
prevent your son coming to visit us."
"Certainly not, sheik. He is prepared and ready to go, and he is looking
forward to his stay with you with so much pleasure that even did I wish
it I could not now deprive him of the enjoyment of it. Still, I am
heartily glad that the two fellows have been expelled the town, for I
should never have felt easy as to Edgar's safety so long as they were
here."
A few minutes later the party set out. Edgar's valise was fastened to
the saddle of one of the sheik's followers. The road ran along the sandy
dunes that divided the low country, formerly covered by Lake Mareotis,
from the sea, and as soon as they were well out from the town the horses
were broke into a gallop. While in point of actual speed even the best
Arab horses cannot hold their own against a moderate English race-horse,
whose greater height and longer stride gives him an advantage, they are
greatly superior in last, and possess extraordinary endurance and
stamina. Brought up as if belonging to the family of their owners, their
intelligence has been cultivated as has that of dogs. They are
exceedingly docile and affectionate. Their pace is a very easy one, and
Edgar was delighted indeed at the manner in which his new acquisition
flew along without any apparent exertion, continuing the pace without a
check until they reached the Arab encampment in an hour and twenty
minutes from leaving Alexandria.
Here they leapt from their horses in front of a group of black tents.
The oasis was of small extent, extending but two hundred yards across.
In the centre was a group of thirty or forty palm-trees. Near these the
herbage was thick, gradually dwindling away until it became lost in the
sand. In the centre, near the tents, was a well, an irregularly-shaped
pit some five-and-twenty feet deep, with a rough path down to it by
which the women went to get water both for their own use and for that of
the horses. A score of these were tethered on the grass.
"You are welcome to our tents," the sheik said; "may your visit be a
fortunate one! Mulick," he called to one of the Arab boys, "take Beauty;
but first," he went on to Edgar, "it were best that you talked to him a
little, and gave him some sweets. He will soon get to love you, and it
is well that he should hear your voice as often as possible."
"I will lead him out myself," Edgar replied, "and then Mulick can tether
him. I shall know another time how to do it myself."
Then he patted the Arab's glossy neck, rubbed its ears, and praised it,
giving it a handful of sweets while he did so. Beauty evidently
appreciated the attentions, and replied to him by a low whinny. Then he
took off its saddle and led it to a spot Mulick pointed out, and then
watched the boy tether it, and took off the bridle and carried it back
to the tents. A woman came out from the largest of these. She was not
veiled, for except when they go into the towns the Bedouin women seldom
conceal their faces.
"Ayala," the sheik said, "this is the young white lord who saved Sidi
from those who attacked him; henceforth he is as one of our tribe."
"May the blessings of Allah fall upon you!" the woman said. "Sidi is our
only child. Had he been taken from us our lives would have been desolate
indeed."
"I am very glad that I happened to come along at the time," Edgar said.
"It has been a most fortunate occurrence for me, as much indeed as for
Sidi. I have no friends of my own age, and it will be great pleasure to
me to have him as a sort of brother. I am sure that we shall get on
capitally together. Besides which, your husband has given me a grand
horse, such as I could never have obtained for money. Sidi will be able
to teach me Arab ways, and I daresay I shall be able to show him
something of our customs and life."
Edgar was now shown a tent that had been newly erected for his use. The
furniture was simple, consisting only of a handsome Eastern carpet,
which covered the ground, and a pile of rugs for sofa and bed. Hanging
from one of the sticks that supported the tent was a porous jar of
water. When he had hung up his rifle and pistols, powder-horn and
bullet-pouch, its furnishing was complete.
"Is this all your tribe?" he asked Sidi, as he came out from his tent.
"Oh, no! our tribe dwells in a large oasis a hundred miles to the south,
and fifty miles west of Cairo. There are other portions of the tribe
dwelling not far from the same spot, and we can ride five hundred strong
when we go to fight the Berbers of Morocco. But my father is only sheik
of his section. There are generally but six tents left here to keep
possession, and we are often away for months. We find that we can buy
such goods as the tribe requires cheaper at Alexandria than at Cairo,
where, indeed, we do not often go, for ill-blood exists between us and
the authorities there, who ventured on some complaint to send out a
party of Mamelukes against us. We beat them back handsomely, but had to
leave our oasis for a time, as we could not withstand the force they
would be sure to send against us. That was thirty years ago. They filled
up our wells and cut down our palm-trees. The wells were soon cleared
out again, and the palm groves have grown up. They have not interfered
with us again, but even now we care not to visit Cairo, though it may be
that the matter is altogether forgotten there."
Edgar remained a fortnight with his new friends, and enjoyed the life
much. He took lessons from Sidi in hurling a lance, and discovered that
it would need a long practice indeed to enable him to do so with the
accuracy shown by the Arabs. He also practised with his rifles and
pistols. When he left he gave a warm invitation to Sidi to come and stay
with him. This, however, the Arab lad declined.
"I should not be comfortable in your European dwelling," he said. "I
should be miserable, sitting on one of those chairs. Your father is
busy, and so are you; I should be altogether out of my element."
"But I might have said the same thing here, Sidi?"
"Oh, no! it is easy to fling off restraint, to throw yourself on the
sand, to ride and shoot and hurl the spear. Those are sports that you
can enjoy as much as I do. I will come over often and see you, but do
not ask me to stay."
Edgar saw that it was better not to press the matter, at any rate for
the present. In time, when Sidi became more accustomed to European ways
he might perhaps come to stay, but if he came now it would be a penance
rather than a pleasure. After that time the young Arab rode over
frequently, leaving his camp at daybreak and arriving in time to spend a
long day with Edgar. Sometimes they rode together, sometimes walked
along the sea-shore, and Sidi soon learned to enjoy as much as his
friend a row or a sail on the water, which to him was at first
altogether a novelty. The merchant possessed several boats, which he
used in his business, and a pretty gig which carried a sail, in which he
himself went off to visit ships which brought goods for him. This was at
other times at Edgar's service. He had learned, even before going to
school, to manage it, and it therefore was unnecessary to take anyone
with them.
Sidi at first did not take kindly to an oar. Trained to hard exercise on
horseback and in the sports of the tribe, he had yet a great aversion to
anything like steady labour, and was unable even to understand Edgar's
willingness to exert himself at an oar when he could have had men to row
him about. In time, however, when he had mastered the initial
difficulties of the art, he took to the exercise, and they often spent
the whole day in the boat, either coasting along Aboukir Bay, or, more
often, shooting on the lakes.
The arrival of the British fleet had created quite an excitement in
Alexandria, and the news they brought, that a large French fleet had
left Toulon, carrying many thousands of troops, destined, it was
believed, to operate in Egypt, had caused an intense feeling of dismay
among the British merchants settled there, and a corresponding
exultation among the French.
"Will the French fleet be stronger than this?" Sidi asked, as he and
Edgar leant on the parapet and looked at the long line of British ships.
"There may be more of them--very likely there are," Edgar said
carelessly; "but that makes no matter, we are sure to thrash them. In
the first place, we always do so somehow; and in the next, as our fleet
is commanded by one of the best admirals we have, there is no fear of
their being beaten. The only fear is that the fleet mayn't fall in with
the French until they have landed their troops."
"The troops could not stand against our Mamelukes," Sidi said
scornfully. "They would soon drive them into the sea."
"I am not so sure of that," Edgar said. "No doubt the Mamelukes are
splendid horsemen. I suppose they are as good as any in the world; but
horsemen cannot win a battle alone. The French infantry are very fine,
and I doubt whether any number of horsemen could break their squares.
Then their artillery is immensely superior to that of the Egyptians;
that will give them a very great advantage."
"But if your fleet meets theirs and beats it, how could they ever get
back again?"
"I expect they mean to stay here and hold the country," Edgar said. "I
don't know what good it would do to them; still I suppose they think it
would, or they would not take the trouble to come over. But if they
should take the country, it would be very bad for men like my father,
for they would be sure to put all the English in prison, and it would be
the ruin of their business."
"Would they put you in prison?"
"I don't know; I expect so. They would hold all the English as
prisoners."
"You would come out to us. You will be quite safe there. If their
soldiers came, they would never catch us; we could move about anywhere,
we know all the places where water is to be found, and they would only
die of thirst if they went after us into the desert."
"Well, I hope that it is not going to be so, Sidi; but if the French
should land here I should like it very much. I suppose you would fight
against the French."
"If they came to take Egypt, of course we should, and then you could see
it all, and fight with us against them."
"It would be very jolly, Sidi, and I should like nothing better; but of
course I shall have to do as my father tells me. I expect he would shut
up his place, and get all his goods on board a ship and go away till it
was all over, if he was able. No doubt he would want me to go with him."
That evening Edgar learned that he had rightly guessed the steps that
his father would take in case a French army landed.
"It is an awkward business, lad," he said. "Of course if Nelson comes up
with the French fleet, we may hope that it will come out right; but if,
before he catches it, they manage to land twenty or thirty thousand
troops, our position here would be a most serious one. I intend to
charter the _Petrel_, which has just discharged the cargo she brought
here. I shall put all my most valuable goods on board at once,
especially all the Egyptian carpets and other oriental work, so that
within a few hours of hearing that their fleet was off the coast, I
should be ready to sail for England. Of course there would be an end to
the business here, so long as the French remained in Egypt; and no doubt
any British subjects they could lay their hands on would be thrown into
prison, just as was the case when they occupied Holland.
"I should not, however, propose to shut up the house altogether, for
although we, as English, would be seized, and thrown into prison, and
the place closed, France is not at war with Germany, and Muller could
carry on the shipping business without interruption, his own name being
substituted for mine. I should instruct him to do no trade with the
interior; everything will be turned topsy-turvy, and all trade of that
sort would be at an end. On the other hand, with the French masters
here, a considerable number of French and Italian ships will be coming
in with stores of all kinds, these will often need supplies, repairs,
and so on; and as we have men capable of doing anything in the way of
refitting, Muller could keep things going, and carry on a business that
should pay all expenses, and would probably leave a margin of profit. At
any rate, the house would not go to wreck and ruin, and the business be
entirely lost.
"I don't think the French occupation would be likely to last very many
months. You may be sure that there would be great efforts made at home.
A tremendous fleet would be sent out here, and the difficulties of
bringing in stores and reinforcements for the army would be enormous.
Possibly we too may land an army. Certainly we could nowhere fight the
French so advantageously as here; it would be the case of India over
again, as long as we are superior at sea, as we could bring troops here
more safely and more expeditiously than they could. However, that seems
to me the best arrangement we can make if the French land. To me it
would make no great difference, for, as you know, I had arranged to sail
in three weeks for England.
"The only alteration would be that you must accompany me instead of
staying here. Even putting aside the fact that you would be made a
prisoner, you would, if you stayed here, be a hindrance rather than a
help to the business. Muller would carry it on as a purely German firm,
while if you were here it would be evident that I had merely left
temporarily, and that you were my representative. That would be fatal to
Muller doing business with the French."
"I see that, father, although I must say that I would rather stop to see
the fun."
Mr. Blagrove smiled.
"I don't suppose you would see much of it in any case, Edgar. However,
that is out of the question. I daresay my correspondents in London will
be able to take you into their office, or get you a situation of the
same kind elsewhere, so that if you stop in England a year you will not
be wasting your time. However, the French have not come yet, and I can
hardly think that they can intend to undertake an expedition, where,
even if our fleet is not strong enough to do so at once, it will ere
long certainly be raised to a point when it will completely cut them off
from France."
"But even if they come, father, they may not succeed in conquering
Egypt. Don't you think that the Mamelukes will be able to make head
against them?"
"We don't know how strong the French are, but even if they come in great
force, if the Mamelukes were well handled, Edgar, they ought to be able
to prevent them from advancing far inland. They ought to hang in clouds
round them, driving in their cavalry whenever they ventured to leave the
shelter of their infantry fire. They ought to harass them night and day,
and prevent them obtaining supplies of any sort. I am afraid that
nothing of that kind will be done. The Mamelukes have been spoilt, and
they are so puffed up that they believe themselves to be invincible, and
that they have only to make a grand charge to sweep the French away.
"However, it will make no great difference to us when we are once
fairly away, for of course I shall not think of returning here until
matters have settled down again. The French traders have had a bad time
of it since the war began, and most of them left long ago, for it was so
seldom that a vessel got through our cruisers that they could not rely
upon any regular supplies of goods. Of course, there are many small
shopkeepers who take their goods of me, and retail them out to the
natives, but all the importers left. I am afraid it is going to be our
turn now; that is, unless Nelson manages to intercept their fleet--no
very easy matter, for they might land anywhere along the coast between
this and Syria. But I imagine that their descent will take place near
this town, for from it they could follow the fresh-water canal to the
point where it flows from the Nile, and so on to Cairo.
"They may, however, land at either the Damietta or Rosetta mouths of the
river; still, I think that they are more likely to come here, seeing
that the ships could more closely approach the shore."
The British fleet remained but a few hours off Alexandria. The short
Peace of Campo-Formio had caused the greater portion of the British
fleet to be recalled from the Mediterranean; and it was not until the
French preparations were almost complete that the news reached England
that a vast number of transports had been collected by the French at
various ports, that provisions of all kinds were being put on board, and
it was rumoured that an army was about to embark for some unknown
destination.
Nelson was at once sent off with a fleet to blockade Toulon, from which
port it was evident that the men-of-war intended to guard this great
fleet of transports would start. It arrived there on the first of June,
only to learn that the French fleet had set out three days previously.
The idea that Egypt was its destination had not entered the minds of the
British ministers, and although Nelson had been furnished with
instructions as to the course to be taken in the case of almost every
contingency, this had never been even discussed.
The French fleet consisted of 13 vessels of the line, 9 frigates, and 11
corvettes and despatch-boats. All of these, with the exception of a few
of the smaller vessels, were furnished by Toulon. Here, too, 20,500 men
had embarked in 106 transports. They were to be joined by 30 transports
from Marseilles, 20 from Corsica, 35 from Genoa, and 41 from Civita
Vecchia, bringing up the total to 232 transports, carrying 32,300 men.
In one arm the army was extremely deficient, as only 680 horses could be
put on board. Of these 300 were for the cavalry,--all of whom, however,
took with them saddles and bridles,--the rest were for the artillery and
train.
Nelson started at once in search of the enemy, but having no clue to the
direction they had taken he was able to obtain no news of their
whereabouts until he heard that they had captured, without resistance,
the island of Malta. Then he returned with all speed, imagining for the
first time that possibly Egypt was the object of attack, and made for
Alexandria. On his arrival there he heard that nothing was known of the
French movements, although in fact their fleet was on that day lying at
anchor off Cape Harzet, twenty leagues to the west.
Supposing, therefore, that they must after all have sailed for the coast
of Syria or Constantinople, he steered for Alexandretta, and learning
that, after having captured Malta, the French fleet had sailed to
Candia, he left for Rhodes, searched everywhere through the islands of
the Archipelago, and it was only when he anchored off Cape Matapan, the
southern extremity of the Morea, that he first learned that the French
army had landed in Egypt a month before.
The object of the French expedition was a vast one, but the means with
which it was undertaken were insufficient for its execution, and the
difficulties in the way were infinitely greater than had been supposed
in Paris. Bonaparte had been chosen for its command principally because
the directory feared that the great popularity of the victorious general
would render him formidable to themselves. They knew already that he was
by no means favourably disposed towards them, and they were therefore
anxious to remove him from the public eye.
Napoleon, on his part, was perfectly aware of the reason for which he
was appointed to the command, but he accepted it under the belief that a
vast amount of glory was to be gained, and that, should the plans of the
directory be entirely carried out, and India wrested from the English,
his name would be placed by the side of Alexander in history. Already
negotiations had been carried on for some time with Tippoo Sahib.
Commissioners had been despatched to him, and an alliance proposed
against the British. His power had been greatly overrated by the French,
and but a feeble idea was entertained of the enormous difficulties of
the scheme they proposed, which was that, after completely subduing and
organizing Egypt, they should march through Syria and Damascus, thence
to the head of the Persian Gulf, and thence down through India.
No account had been taken of the enormous difficulties of the journey.
There was no thought of the powerful and warlike people of Northern
India. The only idea was to revenge the total overthrow of the French
power in India by the British, to re-establish it on a firmer and wider
base than ever, and so not only to humiliate the pride of England, but
to obtain a monopoly of the trade of the East.
The news that possibly a French fleet might at any moment appear before
the port spread the greatest dismay throughout Alexandria; the native
population were furious, and foreigners scarcely dared to show
themselves in the streets. Mr. Blagrove and Edgar were busy from morning
till night on the day after the British fleet had left, in transporting
the goods from the store to the ship that had been chartered.
"It is quite possible that all this is needless," the merchant said to
Edgar when they sat down to a hasty meal late in the evening. "I think
myself that it is almost absurd, although I do not mean to leave
anything to chance; but it is purely a surmise that the French
expedition is intended to operate against Egypt. It seems to me that
either Greece or Syria is much more likely to be its destination. I have
just had a letter put into my hand, brought by the captain of a small
Maltese trader. It is from a correspondent in Malta. He states that the
French fleet has appeared off the island and summoned the knights to
surrender, and that it is thought probable that the demand will be
acceded to. He said that he sent me a line by a little coaster that
intended to sail late that evening, and was taking a cargo of grain for
Alexandria.
"That certainly looks as if the expedition is intended to operate
farther east, for Malta is altogether out of the way for a fleet coming
from Toulon hither. Still it is just as well to continue our work. There
is, naturally enough, a violent ferment among the native population, and
this may not improbably find vent in a fanatical attack upon the
Christians. At any rate, we will get the rest of our goods of any value
on board, and then await events."
By the next evening their preparations were completed. The ferment had
now somewhat cooled down, and people were beginning to think that the
excitement roused by a mere vague report was absurd. The next morning at
breakfast Mr. Blagrove said to his son:
"I think, Edgar, that as things have quieted down, and we are all
beginning to hope that the scare was altogether unfounded, it would be
just as well that you should ride over to your friends in the desert,
stay the night there, and come back to-morrow. They would think it
strange and discourteous if we were to leave suddenly without
communicating with them; and as I hope our absence will be of short
duration, I should be very sorry to give people so well-disposed towards
you any ground for offence. But return by to-morrow evening. In the
extremely remote possibility of a French fleet being made out before
that time, I must embark at once, if only for your mother and sisters'
sake. It would be madness to wait here--simple madness. Even putting
aside the certainty of captivity for a very long period, it is by no
means improbable that there would be a sudden rising on the part of the
population, and a massacre of foreigners.
"I consider the contingency so remote, that it is scarcely worth
speaking of; but if the French fleet should arrive during the thirty-six
hours that you will be away, and I am obliged to embark and sail off,
you must stay with your Arab friends. You see, I have some £8000 worth
of goods on board the _Petrel_, and the loss would be an extremely heavy
one for me; and I have besides £2000 in cash. I shall leave £1000 in
Muller's hands, which will be ample for his needs, as there is a very
heavy stock of ships' stores in the warehouse. I shall, of course,
instruct him to supply you with any money that you may require. You
understand that I regard all this as extremely improbable, but it is
just as well to make arrangements for every contingency. And then,
should the French fleet come in sight, I can embark on board the
_Petrel_, and set sail without any great anxiety on your account. More
to relieve my mind than because I think there is any reasonable ground
for thinking it necessary, here are fifty pounds in gold; you had best
sew them up securely in the band of your trousers to-night; it will be
no great trouble, and they will be safer there than if loose in your
pocket."
As Edgar rode away the next morning, he could not help thinking that it
would be great fun if the French were to arrive before he returned. The
thought of a year or two passed in a stuffy office in London was not an
agreeable one; while, were he to stay with the Bedouins, he might have a
life of excitement and adventure. No doubt they and the other tribes
would all fight against the invaders; impelled in the first place by
their intense love of independence, and in the second, because the
invaders were Christians. The thought of dashing charges, of skirmishing
with the French cavalry, of pursuit, of flight, was very fascinating to
a high-spirited lad of seventeen, and after indulging in these fancies
for some time, he sighed, as he thought how small was the chance of
their becoming reality.
He was heartily welcomed on his arrival at the oasis. The news that Sidi
had brought of the visit of the British fleet, and the fact that they
were in search of a great French fleet carrying an army that might
possibly be intended for the invasion of Egypt, had created great
excitement in the camp.
"Do you think it can be true," the sheik asked him, "that so wild an
idea can have come to these people, as to think that they could conquer
our country?"
"That I cannot say," Edgar replied. "If they did come, they would be
very formidable opponents, for they have conquered many countries in
Europe; their soldiers are well trained and disciplined, and they will
have great numbers of guns; but my father thinks that they can hardly
intend to come here, for if they landed we should soon have enough
ships-of-war here to prevent their return, and they would be cut off
from France altogether. There is no news of their fleet, except that
they have arrived at the island of Malta. Whither they sailed thence we
know not. Our fleet has gone in search of them, and will fight them when
they find them. But if they should escape, and should really come
hither, my father and I will embark on board a ship which he has loaded
with his most valuable goods, and we shall at once sail for England. It
is for this reason that I have ridden over this morning. If we should
go, our departure will be very sudden, for we should get up anchor as
soon as the French fleet was made out in the distance, or, at any rate,
as soon as it became dark enough to hide our departure; and I should
have been sorry indeed to go without saying good-bye to you."
"But for how long will you go, brother?" Sidi asked.
"Until the trouble was over here, which might be only two or three
months, but which might be as many years."
"And will you be glad to go back to your own country?" the sheik asked.
"No, indeed. There I should have to work in an office in London, which
would be very dull, while here my work is light, I have amusements, and
I have my friends here."
"Why not stay behind with us until your father returns? You know that
you would be most welcome, and that it would gladden all our hearts to
have you with us."
"I should like it above all things, sheik," Edgar said warmly, "and I
thank you most heartily for the invitation, but of course I must do as
my father wishes, and he thinks it best that we should go to England if
the French come, for they would keep us both as prisoners, and would
seize all our goods and merchandise. However, it does not seem to him
likely that the French will really come here, and it was only because he
considered that it was just possible they might do so that he himself
suggested that I should come over and stay here until to-morrow
afternoon, lest, if we should have to leave suddenly, you might not
think that we had forgotten you in our haste to be off. For myself, I
wish that I could stay here. I suppose that if the French came you would
fight, and I could fight with your tribe?"
"Assuredly we will fight," the sheik said. "Why should these Franks come
here to molest us? I love not the Turkish rule much, but we are in no
way molested. Assuredly every Arab through the desert will ride against
them and aid the Mamelukes to drive them into the sea. How great an army
would they bring against us?"
"We hear from the officers of our fleet that the news received in
England said that some 30,000 men were preparing to embark for some
unknown destination."
"Thirty thousand!" the sheik said scornfully; "why, there are 10,000
Mameluke cavalry and fully 20,000 infantry, janizaries, and spahis,
besides the levy of the whole population, and the desert tribes can put
5000 horsemen into the field. They will never dare to come against us
unless with a force very much larger than you speak of. No, it is not
against Egypt that the expedition can have sailed."
"That is what my father thinks," Edgar said; "not because of the force
you could bring against them, but because they would know that they
might be cut off at any time from returning by our fleet, and their
position would then become desperate. We have long blockaded them in
their own ports, and if they are not strong enough to get out of these,
still less would they be able to leave Egypt."
"Let us not talk more of them," the sheik said contemptuously. "They are
dogs; if they come hither we shall know how to deal with them."