As with bated breath we listened, Mohammed, upon whom Tiamo had bestowed
the sobriquet of "The Father of the Blue Hand," spoke in Arabic, denying
in clear, indignant tones that any stranger had found succour beneath
his roof, and expressing his readiness to assist his Majesty the Sultan
in arresting the rascally Dervish spy.
"Proceed no further," he cried, evidently barring their way resolutely.
"Lend me thine ears. Though a worker at the dye-pots I have, by
diligence and integrity, amassed riches, and am honoured among the men
of Sokoto. Desecrate not the quarters of my wives by intruding thy
presence upon them. If thou thinkest that I lie when I tell thee that
no stranger hath eaten salt with me, ask of the Governor, of the Cadi,
of the Hadj Al-Wali, chief imam, whether untruths fall from my lips. By
my beard! thou art mistaken. Even though thou art fighting-men of the
Sultan 'Othman--whom may Allah enrich and guide to just actions!--his
Majesty would never suffer thee to penetrate into his servant's harem."
"He lieth! He lieth!" they all cried, loudly. "The spy came hither,
accompanied by a slave of small stature. Own it, or thy lying tongue
shall be cut out."
And one of the men added, "His Majesty hath given us orders to bring
unto him the head of the Dervish from Omdurman--whom may Allah cast into
the pit Al-Hawiyat!--but thine own hoary head will do as well," whereat
the others, with one accord, jeered at our protector.
The declaration of my pursuers caused my heart to sink. To be
decapitated as a spy was as deplorable an end as to starve to death in
the desert. But there was no escape; I resigned myself to the will of
Allah.
The altercation increased, Mohammed being assailed with a thousand
maledictions, while my ugly companion and myself held our peace in fear
and trembling. Although the soldiers alternately threatened and cajoled
for a considerable time none entered the apartment wherein we stood, yet
our discovery seemed imminent, and looking around for means of escape we
could detect none.
Suddenly, however, there was a shuffling of feet upon the flags, and a
voice, loud in authority, cried,--
"Back, O men-at-arms! What meanest this? Let not thy feet desecrate
the mats of Mohammed el-Arewa's harem, for of a verity he is honest and
loyal, a trusty servant of our Imperial Master. By my beard! thy Koran
giveth thee no right to intrude upon woman's domestic privacy. Back, I
command thee. Back!"
"Who art thou, son of _sebel_, who vouchest for this dyer's loyalty, and
darest to give orders unto the emissaries of his Majesty?" asked one of
the armed men, evidently their leader.
"My name," cried the newcomer, "my name is Shukri Aga. I am Governor of
Sokoto."
Dead silence followed. The men mumbled together in an undertone, while
our friend and protector briefly explained the position of affairs,
laying stress on the fact that the soldiers had threatened to strike off
his head. With one accord the men fell upon their knees before the
representative of their Sultan, beseeching forgiveness, declaring that
they had been misinformed, and that they had felt assured from the first
that a devout man such as our host, would never harbour a dangerous spy.
But the Governor was inexorable. Irritated by the insolent manner in
which his right to interfere had been questioned, he turned upon them
angrily, saying--
"Get thee gone instantly. To-morrow the cadi shall curb thine excess of
zeal, and peradventure a taste of the bastinado will cause thee to
remember that a man's harem is sacred. Begone!"
Receding footsteps sounded as the soldiers of the Sultan, trembling and
crestfallen, having evoked the wrath of a Governor whose harshness was
notorious, filed out without a murmur. Then I thanked Allah for my
deliverance, while my pagan companion grinned with satisfaction from ear
to ear. The Governor crossed the patio with our host, and remained with
him drinking coffee and smoking for a full half-hour, when he departed,
and Mohammed hastened to reassure us, exclaiming piously, "_Inshallah
bukra_" (Please God, to-morrow), afterwards leaving us in order to
conclude his arrangements for our journey.
By what means he succeeded in again silencing the tongues of the two
watchmen at the city gate, I know not, nevertheless, when the moon was
setting, and the dying moonlight and the first pallor of dawn were
mingled in a ghastly half-light, the ponderous gate creaked upon its
hinges, and I passed out, accompanied by the dwarf and the dyer. We
fled straight on, leaving our path to fate.
As I rode my _meheri_ rapidly over the grey, sandy plain, under a sky
colourless and cheerless, Mohammed showered upon me a profusion of the
finest compliments, pronounced in the most refined and sweet accent of
which the Hausa tongue is capable, while I, finding myself again in the
desert, after so narrowly escaping my enemies, thanked him sincerely for
his strenuous and devoted efforts on our behalf.
"I owe much to the Lalla Azala--whom may Allah refresh with the abundant
showers of his blessings--and her friend is likewise mine," he said.
He was showily and picturesquely dressed in a green and white striped
robe, wide trousers of a speckled pattern and colour, like the plumage
of a Guinea-fowl, with an embroidery of green silk in the front of the
legs. Over this he wore a crimson burnouse, while around his fez a red
and white turban was wound crosswise in neat and careful manner. A gun
was slung over his shoulder by means of thick hangers of red silk
ornamented with enormous tassels, and his hands and arms were still
stained a deep blue. His mount was a splendid camel, the head and neck
of which was fancifully ornamented with a profusion of tassels, bells,
and little leathern pockets containing charms.
"The Lalla Azala desireth me to conduct thee south to the border of the
land of Al-Islam, so that thou canst escape thine enemies," he said,
when we turned our backs upon the great, sun-whitened walls of the
ancient capital of Sokoto. "We must therefore cross the desert and gain
the forest with all speed, for doubtless the plains are being scoured by
hawk-eyed horsemen, who will not spare thee, now that a price hath been
set upon thine head." Then, raising his hand before him, westward,
towards the dark, low range of distant hills, he added, "Yonder are the
Goulbi-n-Kebbi, while to the left thou seest the caravan-route that
leadeth to Gando. To venture within towns or villages would be unsafe,
therefore we must cross the hills and seek the forest of Tebkis beyond."
"Knowest thou the routes in the forest?" I asked.
"Yes, I learned them years ago when, in my youth, I accompanied the
ivory-traders from Agadez far south, even unto the banks of the mighty
Congo."
"And the route we are following. Whither will it lead us?"
"To the Niger, where dwell the pagans," he answered. "At the river bank
I shall leave thee to return to my home."
"In thy wanderings in the south thou hast, I suppose, witnessed many
strange things," I said, knowing the long, tedious journeys performed by
ivory caravans.
"For ten weary years I travelled through desert and forest," he
answered, "and many strange peoples and strange countries of the pagans
have mine eyes beheld."
"Yet, during thy travels, hast thou never discovered the Rock of the
Great Sin of which the wise men tell?" I asked. It was evident Azala
had not disclosed to him the object of my quest, therefore I was
determined to ascertain what he knew regarding the strange legend.
The old man laughed, shaking his head.
"Mine eyes have never been gladdened by its sight, although many are
assured that the rock actually existeth, and hideth some wondrous
marvel. In twenty lands the conviction is current that the Rock of the
Great Sin is more than imaginary. That it existeth, though none can
tell where, I have with mine own ears heard from the negroes on the Dua
river, as well as those who live in the forests of far Buraka. In
Dahomey, in Yorouba, in Foumbina, in the country of Samory, in the
desert of the Daza, and in the great swamps of Zoulou beyond Lake Tsad,
the same popular conviction existeth as firmly as among our own people.
The pagans, while believing as implicitly as we of Al-Islam that the
rock is unapproachable, are also imbued with an idea that the very air
in its vicinity is poisonous, and to this attribute the fact that nobody
has been able to approach sufficiently near to take observations. In
Gourma the negroes declare that the rock is by night and day enveloped
in a dense, black smoke which veileth it from all human eyes, for their
fire-god resideth there and hideth himself in its wondrous fastnesses.
The Bedouins of the Digguera entertain a firm-rooted conviction that the
river Al-Cawthar and the paradise of those who fall valiantly in battle
lieth beyond the mystic rock; the Bazou of the Marpa Mountains, on the
other hand, maintain that the rock is the centre of the earth, that it
is hollow, and that those who betray their friends, or who attack their
blood-brothers, go therein to dwell in fearful torment, while the
Kanouri and the Tuaregs declare it to be the abode of all the prophets,
martyrs and saints of Al-Islam, who, though believed to be dead have
been transported thither unseen. They say the faces of the holy men are
blooming, their eyes bright, and blood would issue from their bodies if
wounded, and further, that the Angel Israfil watcheth over them, ready
to sound the great trumpet on the last day. These, and hundreds of such
quaint beliefs have been related to me by negroes, wise men and
story-tellers in the course of my wanderings, but the Rock of the Great
Sin itself no man hath ever set eyes upon, and I should regard as a
maniac any person who went forth expecting to discover it."
"Why? Are there not many regions still unknown to men?" I asked.
"Truly, but our perspicuous Book telleth us that what Allah hath hidden
man should not seek," he answered, piously. "For centuries many have,
out of curiosity, sought the strange rock which pagans believe to the
abode of their gods, and some sects of Al-Islam assert is the
dwelling-place of the mighty dead, but none has discovered it. It is
Allah's will that mortal eyes shall never rest upon it, therefore bad
fortune and violent death overtake those who defy the divine wrath and
attempt to penetrate the mystery."
"Always?"
"Always," the old man answered, with solemnity. "Upon the inquisitive,
Allah, to whom the knowledge belongeth, setteth the mark of his
displeasure with the two-edged sword of Death."