The Escape
FOR several days the captives' lot, though hard, was not oppressive.
Save for the fetters on their wrists, they were not subjected to
bonds, nor were their movements restricted, within certain limits.
Their work consisted in having to tend and water the camels, horses,
and cattle, and to cultivate a strip of land on the banks of the
river. Although, generally speaking, the Arabs are a nomadic race,
and do not take kindly to husbandry, this fertile strip of ground
offered too good an opportunity of cultivating maize to be ignored;
and the work was delegated to the slaves, most of whom were of negro
descent, while some were Arabs who, through offences committed
against the tribal laws and customs, were reduced to compulsory
servitude.
The Englishmen's clothing, long since in rags, was now barely enough
to cover them; but, hardened to the sun's rays, the discomfort was
less than they had anticipated. Reeves's chief source of anxiety on
this account was concerning his automatic pistol and ammunition,
till, fearing that the ragged state of his clothing would reveal the
precious treasure, he stealthily wrapped the weapon and cartridges in
a fragment of sheepskin, and hid them under a rock at some distance
from the camp.
The man's indomitable spirit seemed to buoy up the flagging energies
of his two young companions; but although many plans were brought
forward when the question of escaping was discussed, it was deemed
prudent to wait events. The correspondent kept a marvellous control
over himself, never once by word or gesture allowing the Arabs to
suspect that he was fairly conversant with their tongue. Yet he
failed to overhear any reliable information relating to the land that
lay to the south of the Plateau of Ahaggar: to the Arabs it was
almost a forbidden subject.
"It seems to me," he once remarked, "that our only chance of escape
lies in making a dash to the south. This river must lead somewhere,
unless it is lost in the sand. The fact that the country in that
direction seems to be in disfavour with the Arabs is in our favour.
Returning by the way we came is a physical impossibility. To the
dangers of crossing the desert is added the likelihood of falling
into the hands of another tribe, in which case our position would be
far worse than it is at present."
"But where do you think the river leads to?" asked Hugh.
"I can only conjecture. Since we are on the highest ground of the
great Sahara, it may be that the river flows into Nigerian territory.
If we make the attempt, it will be no light task."
"Anything will be better than dragging out a miserable existence
here," replied Gerald.
"As I have said before, we must not spoil everything by being
premature," rejoined Mr. Reeves. "Still, we must not be content with
discussing the matter; we must act."
By denying themselves a portion of their already scanty fare, the
captives contrived to collect a store of provisions least likely to
be spoiled by age. Two goatskin water bottles were also set aside by
stealth, and, taking advantage of their daily excursions to the
river, the Englishmen managed without detection to secrete their
prizes in a small cave not far from the place where the pistol and
ammunition were hidden.
One afternoon, as the three comrades were returning from their toil
at the maize field, they perceived a tall, white-robed Arab
approaching. He was bareheaded and his hair was shaved, denoting that
he was an _imam_, or holy man. In utter ignorance of whom he was,
Gerald incautiously allowed his shadow to fall athwart the stranger's
path.
The _imam_ stopped and cursed the unbeliever in the strongest terms
he could lay tongue to; but the lad, not knowing what was being said,
continued on his way with his companions.
"We've done it!" remarked Reeves. "That fellow is one of the priests
of the tribe, and in some way we've offended him. Ten to one he'll
make it hot for us with the sheikh."
The words were hardly out of his mouth when the rapid pattering of
footsteps in the sand caused the captives to look behind them.
The "imam", considering himself deliberately abused by a son of
Shaitan, was running towards his supposed insulter, knife in hand.
The blade flashed in the air. In another moment it would have been
buried in Gerald's shoulder had not Reeves, by throwing himself on
the ground, caught the Arab by the ankles, capsizing him very neatly
on the soft soil.
"Take the knife away from him, Hugh," shouted the prostrate
Englishman. Ere the lad could seize the _imam's_ wrist, however, the
man kicked himself free, and rushed at the unbeliever who had
thwarted him.
But the correspondent was not going to allow himself to be knifed if
he could help it. Bringing his wrists together, he struck at the Arab
with the bight of the iron chain. The _imam_ attempted to parry the
blow, but the supple links, falling upon his bare skull, brought him
to the ground, this time with a thud. In tumbling, the unfortunate
wretch fell upon his own knife, and, ere the Englishman could realize
what had occurred, the Arab was dead.
"Look sharp, lads; scoop a hole in the sand and cover him up. If this
is discovered we are as good as done for. I hope no one else saw this
business.... Too late, by Jove! Look over there!"
Reeves pointed to the opposite side of the river, where three or four
Baggaras were making for the encampment. They had seen the affair,
and, taking to their heels, ran swiftly to carry the news to the
sheikh. Fortunately the river at this point widened out to a
fair-sized pond, and the men had to go some distance upstream ere
they came to the ford.
"We must make a dash for it," continued Reeves, giving a swift
glance around. "Make for the hieries--they are behind those rocks."
All three broke into a run, stopping a moment at the hiding-place to
retrieve the empty water skins, provisions, pistol, and ammunition.
As luck would have it, four of the beasts were saddled, having been
made ready to bear the sheikh and three of the principal members of
his family on a short journey to a neighbouring tribe.
The black slaves gasped with astonishment to see the three Kafirs
running towards them, when they ought to have been in the fields.
Still more were they astonished when they beheld Reeves unbuckle the
girths of one of the animals and, with the saddle under his arm,
climb into the saddle of another kneeling camel; and ere they could
recover from their surprise, the three white men were urging their
willing but unwieldy steeds towards the desert.
The fugitives could rely upon half an hour's start--five miles at the
outside--and as the distance between them and the encampment of
Sheikh Wadherim increased, they saw with intense satisfaction that
there were as yet no signs of pursuit.
"Why are we going into the desert?" asked Hugh, after a while. "I
thought you meant to follow the river?"
"So I should have, had we not settled the hash of that shaven-headed
rascal," replied Reeves. "No doubt the Arabs, in their desire to
avenge the death of their _imam_, will brave the terrors of the
jinn-infested country. That's somewhat unfortunate for us but it
cannot be helped. I mean to strike into the desert till just before
dawn, then bear away to the south-west and rejoin the stream."
"We are without water," observed Gerald.
"True! Had we gone deliberately to work we should have taken steps to
procure a supply. That makes us dependent upon the river in any case.
I wish there was a breeze to cover up our tracks," and the
correspondent pointed to six distinct, furrow-like lines in the soft,
yielding sand.
On and on they rode, keeping their direction solely by the position
of the now setting sun. At length the fiery orb dipped behind the
almost level horizon, but still there was no sign of the expected
pursuit.
"Perhaps they are still afraid of the jinns," said Hugh.
"Or it is quite likely that we are outstripping them," added Reeves.
"We've taken the best hieries, and they are comparatively fresh.
We've more than a fighting chance, lads."
It was soon night. The stars shone forth with fiery brilliancy, while
the air was sharp, though not so piercingly cold as on the low-lying
deserts to the north. For several hours hardly a word was spoken, and
only the soft footfalls of the camels broke the silence.
"How shall we get rid of these beastly things?" asked Hugh at last,
rattling his chain as he spoke.
"We must be content to wear the bracelets," replied Reeves. "When it
is daylight I mean to try a few shots with the pistol on them. The
only thing is that ammunition is scarce."
"I've a file," announced Gerald. "I saw one lying outside the tent of
Azuf the blacksmith this morning, and so I picked it up. I meant to
have told you before."
"Good!" replied Reeves emphatically. "As soon as we call a halt we'll
begin operations."
"Haven't we gone far enough?" asked Hugh.
"Far enough?" repeated Reeves fiercely. "Not by any means. We'll be
seen at daybreak, if not before, if we stay here."
On they plodded, keeping resolutely to the south-east. Once or twice
Hugh fancied that he could distinguish the sounds of distant voices,
but neither Gerald nor Reeves could detect any noises that could be
put down to their pursuers.
At length, just before dawn, an intense blackness brooded over the
desert. The stars withheld their light, and for nearly an hour the
three fugitives were riding blindly, unable to ascertain in which
direction they were going, but trusting to Providence to guide them
from their taskmasters.
"Look here," exclaimed Reeves, pulling his hierie and turning towards
his almost invisible companions, "this won't do! Goodness only knows
where we are heading for. We'll make a halt till dawn, or until the
stars are visible again. I only wish we had a watch. It can't be far
off sunrise."
Descending from their lofty perches, the fugitives hobbled the camels
and waited, the correspondent making good use of his time by filing
away at one of the wristlets to which was secured Gerald's chain.
"Now then, Rags, you have a shot at it," he said, handing Hugh the
file, and wiping the moisture from his brow, for even in the cold
night air the exertion was trying and tedious. The lad took the file,
and while Reeves steadied Gerald's wrist, Hugh worked manfully at the
stubborn metal.
So engrossed were they by their task that the dawn began to glimmer
ere the fugitives were aware of it. Suddenly Reeves looked up.
"By Jove! we've been making a mess of it," he exclaimed, pointing to
the glow in the sky. Instead of pointing to his left, he pointed in
exactly the opposite direction. During the period of darkness they
had completed a semicircle, and were making as nearly as possible
straight for the direction whence they had come.
"Up with you!" he continued, as he set the example by unhobbling his
hierie and climbing into the high-peaked saddle.
From his lofty perch upon the camel's back he glanced anxiously in a
northerly direction. The sun was just appearing above the horizon,
and in its ruddy light the Englishman saw a sight that made him
mutter under his breath.
Less than a mile distant were their pursuers!