THE GREEK GIRL'S FOREBODING--A BATTLE WITH THE TURKS.
Thyra slept little that night.
This could not be because she was unwearied in frame, for the toils,
anxieties, and dangers of the day had been sufficient to exhaust far
greater strength than hers.
It was not that she had not much cause now for anxiety of mind.
Jack was safe--that to her, was the first consideration, and all his
friends, including herself, had been rescued by his cleverness from the
more imminent perils that beset them.
But her soul was in a state of great agitation; dark, melancholy
thoughts, which would not be chased away, continually oppressed it.
This interfered with the blissful visions, the roseate castles in the
air which she was so prone to build, and of which Jack Harkaway ever
formed the central figure.
If she could win his love, and accompany him to England--a grand and
mysterious region which she had all her life longed to see--Thyra
thought the climax of happiness would be reached.
But still she felt a terrible presentiment that, not only would this
never be accomplished, but that some dread and imminent fate was
hanging over her.
"To-morrow," she murmured, "the hand of destiny will lie heavily upon
me; there is a voice within that tells me so."
And this melancholy condition continued throughout the hours of
darkness.
She looked out of her tent.
All around her slept.
Even the sentinel had fallen asleep beside the camp fire.
The air was laden with the chill breath of night, but the stars were
fading and the first gleams of dawn were breaking through the eastern
mists. At such a time the appearance of the vast desert was especially
gloomy and depressing.
Thyra turned her gaze in the direction of the town.
What cloud was that coming thence, and advancing along the plain
towards the camp?
The Greek girl strained her eyes to penetrate the mist; in this she was
assisted by the growing light of the morn.
Presently the cloud shaped itself into recognisable distinctness.
It was a mass of armed men.
The Turks were marching on their track!
Thyra's terror for a moment kept her spellbound.
This onset boded destruction to herself and all her friends; above all,
to him she loved best.
Involuntarily she uttered a cry of alarm, which at once aroused the
whole of the camp.
The Arabs sprang to their feet, and seized their arms.
In an instant all was commotion.
Kara-al-Zariel heard that beloved voice, and in an instant was at
Thyra's side.
"What has alarmed the Pearl of the Isles?" he asked, in the poetic
phraseology of his race.
Thyra stood with dishevelled hair, and dilated eyes fixed upon the
approaching army, at which she pointed with trembling fingers.
"Look! look!" she exclaimed, "they are coming--the Turks are upon us!"
Kara-al-Zariel followed her gaze.
He saw the cloud; he knew the danger.
"To horse!" he thundered. "To arms! every son of the desert, and every
Christian guest!"
Instantly the horses were untethered, and the riders mounted; armed men
assembled on foot, and every warrior appeared in readiness.
Jack Harkaway and his friend Harry, by this time familiar as old
soldiers with these sudden calls to arms, soon answered the summons;
and the rest of their party, on hearing the danger, were not backward
in preparing for it.
There were in the encampment a large number of fleet Arab steeds, more
than were actually required by the tribe, but the chief, like many of
his race, dealt largely in horseflesh.
This was particularly fortunate on the present occasion, for their
Christian allies could also be mounted, and if overwhelmingly
outnumbered by the enemy, could save themselves by flight.
All the more experienced warriors were now sent to the front, to face
the first shock of the coming attack.
Kara-al-Zariel led a beautiful steed to Thyra.
"Mount, sweet maiden," he said; "This steed is one of fleetest. Go,
ride on towards the sea, for our enemies are coming fast upon us, and
this is no place for thee."
Thyra mounted, but steadfastly refused to flight.
"Thinkest thou, O chief, that I will fly from this danger?" she said
scornfully. "Never! I will escape with my best friends, or perish with
them."
In vain the emir persuaded her to seek safety at once.
"To perish or to fall again into the hands of the licentious Turks," he
said; "remember, rash girl, these two terrible fates menace thee."
"If I am killed," responded Thyra, "it is the will of Heaven; but ere I
become a captive to the Turks, the dagger shall end my life."
Her resolution being evidently fixed, the Arab chief ceased to
persuade, but resolved, throughout the coming fight, to do all he could
to shield her from danger.
On came the enemy's forces.
The light was now sufficient for it to be perceived that they consisted
of a large and well-armed body of Turkish cavalry.
They were led, as before, by the captain of the guard, and the
truculent vizier Abdullah.
If was through the latter's acuteness that the vaults beneath the
castle had been discovered, and conjecturing that the fugitives had
escaped thus, he had traced them into the desert.
He, therefore, organized an expedition to set out and surprise them in
the camp.
Abdullah's plans were deeply laid.
He wished to capture the Greek girl, that he might curry favour with
the Pasha Ibrahim by presenting her to him.
He was resolved to secure and punish Harkaway and the other Christians,
to turn away every public suspicion from himself and Ibrahim, as to the
late pasha's assassination.
After that, it is exceedingly probable that the unscrupulous
interpreter meant in some way to destroy Ibrahim, and set up as pasha
himself.
These subtle treacheries are common under the corruptions of Oriental
rule.
The vizier intended to take the Arabs by surprise, and he would have
succeeded in this, had it not been for Thyra.
Instead, therefore, of finding a sleeping encampment, he found the
whole tribe up in arms, and ready to receive him.
Other tactics were therefore necessary, but Abdullah believed that his
own superiority in numbers would ensure victory.
As the Turkish regiment approached, they spread themselves out, their
object being to surround the force opposed to them.
On came the Turks.
Their sabres flashing and clashing.
The steeds neighing.
The sands of the desert rising up in clouds beneath their thundering
tread.
Arrived within a short distance, the two armies halted and surveyed
each other.
Then a trumpet sounded to parley, and a messenger rode forward to
communicate with the Arab chief.
"To the Emir Kara-al Zariel," said the soldier, "thus saith the great
Lord Ibrahim, pasha of Alla-hissar. Whereas, though thou hast been
often a rebel against his highness's lawful authority, yet will he
pardon thee all past misdeeds on condition that thou shalt give up the
Frankish men and the Greek woman, who are accused of the secret murder
of his late highness, Moley Pasha. Refuse this, and no mercy will be
shown to thee or to thy tribe.
"Tell thy ruler or his officers," thus replied Kara-al Zariel, "that I
refuse his proffered pardon; that Ibrahim is an assassin and usurper I
despise and defy; that I will never deliver up to his hands those who
have sought my hospitality, and that I and my tribe, and my guests,
will resist him and his, to the death."
This rebuff was sufficiently conclusive.
There was nothing now but to commence the fight.
Shots came forth from the midst of the mass of Turkish horsemen, and
were promptly answered from the muskets of the Arabs.
The battle cry of the Bedouins rang out clear in the morning air.
The first rays of the sun now lit up the plain, piercing the clouds of
mist and desert-dust, and gleaming upon the rapidly-moving blades and
barrels.
Now shone out the white _naiks_ of the Arabs and the red caps of the
Turks.
The Ottoman cavalry pressed with terrible force upon the Bedouins,
whose old-fashioned long guns were inadequate to compete with the
modern European rifles of their foe.
But on each side, the bullets tore through the ranks and laid low many
a gallant warrior.
The fray soon became a fierce and close one.
A fight, hand to hand, muzzle to muzzle, and sword to sword.
One slight advantage was on the side of the Arabs.
They and their horses were quite fresh, while the Turks and their
chargers were wearied with a long and difficult march.
Our friends did not forget they were Englishmen, and upheld the honour
of their country in the personal bravery they showed upon this
occasion.
Jack Harkaway and Harry Girdwood hewed their way right and left among
the Turkish horsemen.
They were like mowers among the corn, their sickles sharp, and their
harvest heavy.
Soon shone the morning sun brightly upon this scene of strife.
The Turks, from their numbers, could relieve their comrades when they
became tired.
The Arabs had no such advantage.
They began to thin terribly.
But still they fought on with unabated vigour, and succeeded in
preventing the enemy surrounding their encampment, and enclosing them
in.
Kara-al-Zariel was ever in the thickest and most perilous part of the
contest, encouraging his men with his presence.
He performed prodigies of valour, and his long hiltless Arab sabre was
stained deeply with the blood of his foes.
The diver and the waiter both showed themselves skilful and valorous in
fighting, and if Mole and Figgins failed to distinguish themselves so
much, and preferred the more modest and retiring rearguard of the army,
we must consider the weak nerves of one and the wooden legs of the
other.
Bogey and Tinker were in their element, and their African blood spurred
them on to deeds of bravery sometimes even approaching barbarity.
Thyra, stationed on horseback in the rear, had in her a spirit of
heroism, which of her own will, would have led her to the very front of
the battle.
But the entreaties of the chief and of Jack induced her to restrain her
valour, and remain in a position of comparative safety from which she
could see all that went on, and discharge a pistol when she saw a
chance of bringing down a foe.
But by degrees the Arabs ranks were broken.
Their numbers where fearfully diminished, and no efforts of theirs
seemed to make any perceptible diminution of that of the enemy.
So the chief resolved upon a retreat.
But ere this could be effected, the Turks succeeded in placing a large
contingent in a position to intercept them.
"We must cut through them, or we are lost," exclaimed the chief.
The war-cry of the Arabs was again raised.
They dashed at a portion of the living ring that surrounded them.
They cut their way through the circling mass of steel.