THE HOLY SIGNAL
At the southern end of the province of Oran, at the entrance to the
Great Sahara, is the Salt Mountain, called by the Arabs Khenegel Melch.
A solitary horseman rode slowly along the road. A white hood covered his
head and a long gun was slung over his shoulder. Suddenly he halted and
gazed around. On the left of him was the dark-red monolith called the
Rock of Blood. Many murders had been committed at this place. On still
nights faint groans are heard; they are like the cries of the spirits of
the murdered ones, and the traveller who hears the sounds commends his
soul to Allah and hurries away from the horrible spot. The solitary
horseman threw back his hood from his face and lifted up his long thin
arms in prayer. He sprang from his horse and examined the Rock of Blood
carefully. On the stone near the base of the monolith was a star similar
to those on his horse. The traveller prostrated himself on the ground,
murmured a prayer and got on horseback again. The horse sped along like
the wind, and was soon at the desert of the Great Sahara. Here all is
light, not a shadow intercepts the rays of the sun, not a sound is heard
here, all is silent. The horseman rode on, his eye gazing at the sun's
disk, which was gradually setting. He did not seem to mind the glare,
and upon a closer examination of his person one would have found this
natural. He was scarred all over and appeared to have undergone every
bodily ill. His bernouse flew aside and from the open breast the handle
of a yataghan peeped; no cord or belt held it. It was attached to the
man's skin. The man was a martyr. Not a part of his body was whole. He
was a mass of cuts and bruises. His brothers called him a saint. He
spoke to Allah and Allah listened to his speech. The desert was his
empire, and a smile broke over his lips when he found himself on his
territory. How he kept in his way without a path to guide him was a
mystery. The sun had disappeared from the horizon. The man now rose in
the stirrups and, taking his gun, laid his finger on the trigger. He
seemed to be expecting something. Was it an enemy from heaven? His gun
was pointed in that direction. The moon now rose pale and clear. A loud
report was heard. The saint greeted the moon, and said these words from
the Koran in a loud, firm voice:
"The time will come for those who are to appear before Allah's throne."
"The time has come," answered another voice.
"Swear by the wise Koran that you are sent to show the right road,"
continued the saint.
"I swear it by the wise Koran," replied the same voice.
"Are you he whom I expect?"
"I am he whom Allah sent."
"Have you the sacred signal?"
"Look!" replied the stranger, throwing his bernouse aside and showing
his lean, naked breast, and on his brown breast shone a star with six
points.
The saint got off his horse, kissed the ground, and muttered half aloud:
"Allah is Allah, and Mahomet is his prophet."
"Rise," said the other; "the true believer only kneels to Allah."
"Are you not Allah's messenger? Have you not come to chastise the
infidel oppressors of the holy island?"
"I am he, but yet I say rise. The brothers know that I am here. They
knew I would appear in the fourth month, at the hour when the moon rose
before the setting sun had disappeared from the horizon. The brothers,
then, have sent you?"
"Yes."
"Are they ready to obey the messenger of Allah? Are they ready to
sacrifice their own and their wives' lives?"
"Look at me! I have torn my limbs with pincers. The brothers have done
likewise. We are ready to obey."
"Then I say to you, Maldar Mohammed ben Abdallah, the hour for revenge
has come. Death to the Giaours!"
He paused for a moment; then continued:
"Where are the Khouans?"
"At Uargla."
"Where are the Christian prisoners? Have my commands been obeyed?"
"Yes, master, not a hair of their heads has been touched; but the
believers grumbled at showing them mercy and demanded their deaths,
especially in the case of one, a French captain."
"What does a man's death signify--the drops of blood are lost in the
sands, and their trails lost forever. Go tell the brothers that before
the moon has reached its twentieth course, I shall be in their midst,
and blood will flow in streams! Go!"
With an imperious wave of the hand Maldar pointed toward the horizon,
and the Mekkadem prostrated himself anew.
"Yes," said Maldar to himself when the saint had gone, "they shall all
die, and the stream of their blood will be the spring out of which
Allah's warriors shall drink courage."