A LONG SEARCH.
It was with mixed feelings that Rupert turned on his camel to take a
last view of the camp at Korti. When should he see his countrymen again?
Should he ever see them? His journey was sure to be a long one, and
there would be the constant danger of discovery. He had to trust
entirely in the fidelity of the three men riding ahead of him. It was
true that their love of gain was also enlisted on his side, but it might
well be that they would in time conclude it would be as well to be
contented with the goods they had already received in part payment and
with the two valuable camels, instead of continuing to run the risk of a
prolonged journey in his company in order to earn the sum promised upon
his arrival in Egypt or at a port on the Red Sea. However the die was
cast, and he had no wish to withdraw from the task he had undertaken;
and, with a wave of his hand towards the distant camp, he turned and set
his face forwards to the desert.
The sheik was seated upon one of the heiries, two laden camels followed,
each tied with his head-rope to the tail of the one in front. Then
followed one of the tribesmen on the other heirie with two laden camels;
three more were led by the other Arab. Rupert himself and Ibrahim
brought up the rear of the procession, each with three loaded camels
following that upon which he was riding. He wore a cotton cloth which
passed over one shoulder and was wrapped round the waist, while a second
formed a sort of petticoat. The sheik would have preferred that he
should have dispensed with the cloth over his shoulder, but Rupert
pointed out that this was really essential to him, as he could while
travelling wrap it round both shoulders and so protect his skin from the
rays of the sun, which, were he naked from the waist, would in a very
short time raise blisters over the whole of his body. His wig, with its
wild tangle of long hair, acted as a capital protection to his head.
On the saddle was fastened a long Arab gun, a sword and knife were stuck
into his girdle, and he carried a long spear in his hand. One of the
baggage camels was laden with stores for his personal use on the
journey, consisting of a number of jars of Liebig, cocoa, and milk, some
tins of tea, a box or two of biscuits, some tins of preserved
vegetables, a case or two of arrow-root, and a store of medicine,
chiefly saline draughts, quinine, and ipecacuanha. The eatables he
calculated would afford him a morning meal for many months--for the main
articles of his diet, he depended of course upon such food as the Arabs
would obtain--by the end of which time he hoped to have fallen
completely into native habits, and to be able to content himself with
such food as his guides might subsist upon.
At nightfall they halted at some wells. These were farther to the east
than those which the desert column had used in its march to Metemmeh.
Rupert had observed that a short time after they had got fairly into the
desert the sheik had altered the line on which he was proceeding. He had
had but little talk with him since the bargain had been concluded, as
the Arab had considered it better that they should not be seen together,
as some of the other natives in camp might notice it, and should they
meet afterwards the circumstance might lead to his detection.
To Rupert the course taken was absolutely indifferent. He knew that the
journey must be a very long one, and as he had only to trust to chance
and the sagacity of his companions, there had been no discussion
whatever as to the route to be taken. After a time Ibrahim, weary of the
silence, urged his camel on until he came up level with that of Rupert.
"Well, Ibrahim, we are fairly on our way."
"Yes, my lord, we have cut our stick and no mistake."
Rupert smiled. Ibrahim had picked up his knowledge of English at
Alexandria, and his conversation abounded with slang phrases which he
used in perfect seriousness.
"There is no objection to your calling me my lord when we speak in
English, Ibrahim, but when we are talking in Arabic be sure you always
call me Hamza; that is what I am now. What do you think of this journey,
Ibrahim?"
Ibrahim shrugged his shoulders. "It is all the same to me; better here
than in boat. Soldier man good to fight, but very rough in tongue; call
Ibrahim all sorts of names, sometimes Darkie, sometimes Mate, sometimes
call him Nigger, that very bad, sah. One man call him Cockalorham. What
is Cockalorham, sah?"
Rupert laughed. "Cockalorum means nothing in particular, Ibrahim; it is
rather a friendly sort of address: it means good sort of fellow. That
wasn't so bad."
"No. That not so bad. Then one soldier call him Jocko; that name for a
monkey, sah; these things very unpleasant."
"But they don't mean anything, Ibrahim. They call each other all sorts
of names too."
"That so," Ibrahim said, nodding his head, "very funny names; often call
each other blooming something or other. Ibrahim always carry a
dictionary; he look out blooming; blooming same as blossoming, means
plants out in flower. Ibrahim could not make head or tail of them. Lots
of other words, bad words, Ibrahim could not understand."
"They do not mean anything, Ibrahim; it is just an ugly way of talking.
They all mean the same, 'very much' or 'very great,' nothing more or
less. Now we had better go on talking Arabic."
"No words like those in Arabic," Ibrahim said. "Arab man say what he
wants to say, proper words."
"I don't know, Ibrahim. When I have seen Arabs quarrelling they shout
and scream at each other, and though I don't know what they say I
should think they were using pretty strong expressions whatever they may
be."
"Yes, when angry call bad names, one understand that, my lord; but white
soldier and sailor use bad words when not angry at all."
"It is habit, Ibrahim, and a very bad habit; but, as I tell you, it
doesn't really mean anything. You see we have turned east," he went on
in Arabic.
Ibrahim nodded. "Not go straight to Metemmeh," he said. "I expect the
sheik is going round by Berber."
Such proved to be the case, for when they halted for the night the sheik
explained to Rupert, by means of Ibrahim, that he intended to follow the
course of the river for the present. He should keep on the edge of the
desert until they had passed the point at which the boat expedition had
arrived. There would be no chance of the prisoner having been brought
down anywhere in the neighbourhood of the British, but as most of the
tribes had sent contingents to fight the whites as they advanced against
Metemmeh, the captive might be anywhere beyond the point reached by the
expedition, and it would be better to search regularly on their way up,
as they might otherwise leave him behind them.
Another advantage was that the regular caravan track left the Nile a
hundred miles below Dongola, and struck across the desert to the elbow
of the river below Berber, and that when he got upon that route it would
be supposed that he had travelled all along by it, and he would thereby
avoid the suspicion of having been trading with the British camp. Rupert
quite agreed with the justice of this reasoning. The sheik selected a
route that led them through a desolate country, and they reached the
elbow of the Nile without encountering any natives, save two or three
small parties at wells, from the time they left camp. This course was
dictated not only by the reason that he had given Rupert, but by a fear
for the safety of the caravan.
The tribes along the main routes of travel respected the traders that
passed along them; free passage was essential to all the towns and
peoples lying further in the interior, and any interference with the
caravan routes would have been resented and punished; but the tribes
lying within the great loop formed by the bend of the river were true
Ishmaelites, whose hand was against every one, and who regarded all
passing through their territory as lawful prey. The sheik therefore
conducted the march by routes but little traversed even by the natives,
avoiding all localities where they were likely to be met with, and he
was greatly pleased when, after ten days' travel, they encamped on the
banks of the river just above the elbow. The main caravan track lay upon
the opposite side, but at this season of the year, when the Nile was
very low, it was fordable at several points, and caravans often selected
the western bank of the river for their passage. They were now again in
a comparatively populous country; villages surrounded by belts of
cultivated land occurred at short intervals, and at these they were
received with a hearty welcome, for since the war had begun trade had
come almost to a stand-still.
Two or three of the camels were loaded with merchandise specially fitted
for the wants of the natives: cheap cottons, tinware, trinkets, iron
heads of tools, knives, cheap silk handkerchiefs and scarves for the
women. These had been bought from some enterprising traders who had set
up a store at Korti. A few of the bales were unpacked at the first
village at which they arrived; small presents were given as usual to the
chief man of the place, and a brisk trade at once commenced. As the
camels were fully loaded, Rupert wondered what the sheik would do with
the goods he obtained in exchange, which consisted chiefly of native
cottons and other articles considerably more bulky than those which he
gave for them; but he found that he had entered into an arrangement with
the head of the village by which the latter agreed to take charge of all
the merchandise until his return.
"It will be perfectly safe," the sheik said, "if I do not return for a
couple of years. If I never return it will be no great loss, since I
have purchased the goods with the monies I have received from you. If I
return this way my camels will be unloaded, and I shall pick up the
goods at the various villages through which I pass and bring them all
down here, and then sell them to some trader who has boats in which he
will take them down the river."
Rupert was now called upon to play his part in earnest. He and Ibrahim
were treated by the sheik when in the villages as two slaves, and while
he and his companions exhibited their goods and drove bargains with the
villagers, Rupert and Ibrahim unloaded the camels, drove them out to
pasture, and took them down to the river to drink, taking their meals as
they could apart from the rest. On these occasions the stores were
untouched, and Rupert and his companion made their meals on dry dates
and cakes of coarse flour baked in the ashes of their fire. Ibrahim was
fortunately a light-hearted fellow and made the best of matters, joking
at the idea of the Arabs feasting upon their stew of kid or mutton while
they had to content themselves with coarse fare.
Rupert cared nothing about the food one way or the other. He was now
really engaged in the search for Edgar. There was, moreover, the
excitement caused by the risk of discovery. When in the villages he
seldom opened his lips except to reply briefly to his companion's talk,
for a chance word might be overheard. When he spoke it was in a guttural
voice, as if he suffered from some affection of the tongue or
malformation of the mouth which prevented him speaking clearly; and
thus, had any villager overheard the conversation between him and
Ibrahim, his defective Arabic would pass unnoticed. Each day after
getting away from their halting-place he learned from the sheik what he
had gathered in the village. The natives were all heartily sick of the
present state of affairs. They had no market for their goods, and were
deprived of the trade upon which they had hitherto relied. A few
restless spirits had joined the Mahdi's people and had gone to the war;
but the cultivators in general sighed for a return of the old state of
things, and of the peaceful days they enjoyed while under the rule of
Egypt.
Even the tribesmen of the interior were highly dissatisfied. None had
gained anything from the war except those who had taken an actual part
in the capture of Berber, Khartoum, or other cities. These had obtained
a considerable amount of plunder. But beyond this all were worse off
than before. There was no longer any profitable employment for their
camels for trade purposes, and the promises of the Mahdi had been
altogether falsified. Many of the tribes on the other side of the river
had gone down to fight under Osman Digma at Suakim, but instead of the
promises of victory being fulfilled they had suffered terribly, had lost
vast numbers of men, and Suakim was as far off being taken as ever.
Berber itself, the great market and centre of trade of that part of the
country, was, all said, like a dead city. The shops were closed, the
traders had been either killed or fled, the markets were empty; the
Mahdi's soldiers treated the inhabitants as slaves. The sheik satisfied
himself that there was no rumour current of there being any white
prisoners in the hands of the tribesmen.
"There are white prisoners at Khartoum," the people said. "Gordon was
killed, and great numbers with him; but others of the Egyptian officers
and traders with their wives and families were made slaves and divided
among the Mahdi's officers. But of the white soldiers who had come
across the desert, they had heard of no prisoners being taken."
"Why should there be?" they asked. "They beat the Arabs in two battles,
they carried off their wounded on their camels, and had any been left
behind them they would have been killed at once. Why do you ask?"
The sheik had replied that the merchant far down the river from whom he
had purchased his goods had told him that the whites were always ready
to pay a good ransom to recover any of their colour who might have been
taken captive, and had advised him if he should hear of any prisoners in
the hands of the Arabs to ask what they would sell them for, so that on
his next journey he might bring money or goods to redeem them.
The villagers had told him that this could not be, for that the Mahdi
required all captives to be sent to him, and that all who refused to
acknowledge him as the Prophet were at once put to death. He had always
appeared perfectly satisfied with this explanation, and had turned the
conversation to other topics.
"This does not show," he said to Rupert, "that there are no captives in
the hands of the tribesmen in the interior. If they had them they would
keep it secret, at any rate as long as the white troops are on the
river. They can only be holding them for the sake of obtaining a ransom,
but I do not think that there would be much chance that your brother is
in these parts, for had he been his captors would before now have sent
in a messenger to one of your camps saying that he was in their hands
and asking what ransom would be given for him. It is far to the south
that we must look for him; but at the same time it is wise to make every
inquiry as we go along, so that we shall be always looking before us and
not wondering whether we have left him behind."
When they reached a village a few miles below Berber they stopped for
three or four days. The sheik's two followers went alone into the city
to make inquiries. They returned after being absent for three days,
saying that it was certain that there was no white captive in the hands
of the Mahdi's people there. They had talked to several tribesmen who
had fought at Metemmeh. These knew that a white prisoner had been taken
by a party of Arabs of the Jahrin tribe. Trouble had arisen owing to the
sheik refusing to give him up, and he had fled in the night with his
party, taking the prisoner with him; but beyond the fact that he had
crossed the river none had heard anything of him.
As there was now no motive for going to Berber, and permission to trade
could only be obtained by a large present to the Mahdi's governor, the
party started early the next morning, struck out into the desert, and
made a long detour before, two days later, they came down again upon the
river bank above the city. Then they continued their journey, and some
days later crossed the river at a ford some miles below Metemmeh. It was
certain, wherever Edgar might be, it would not be in the neighbourhood
of that town.
For some weeks the journey continued. At times they left the river bank
and journeyed considerable distances to visit tribes or villages
situated in the interior. Sometimes the caravan was divided in two, a
portion remaining in charge of one of the sheik's followers with Ibrahim
and Rupert with the bulk of the camels and baggage, while the sheik with
his other follower and two or three camels made excursions to villages
at a distance. In that case he took but few goods with him, so as not to
tempt the cupidity of the tribesmen or of any parties of the Mahdi's men
he might come across.
By this time Rupert had made considerable progress in Arabic, thanks to
his continually conversing in that language, and his risk of detection
had greatly decreased. Once or twice a week fresh dye was applied to him
from head to foot. He was now accustomed to the scantiness of his
clothing, and had completely caught the manners and gestures of the
natives. The colour of his eyes was the sole point that even a close
observer would detect as being peculiar in his appearance, and he had
fallen into the habit of keeping them partly closed and the darkened
eye-lashes greatly lessened the chance of their colour being noticed. He
had, moreover, by the advice of one of the doctors before leaving, taken
with him a bottle of belladonna, and a small dose of this prior to
entering any populous village had the effect of enlarging the pupils and
thus of darkening the general effect of the eyes. The sheik frequently
crossed the river with one of his followers and made excursions among
the tribes on the opposite bank, but with all their inquiries no news
whatever was obtained of any white captive.
It was not until three months after leaving Korti that the caravan
approached Khartoum. It was more likely that news would be obtained here
than elsewhere, but the sheik had been unwilling to enter the town until
Rupert's Arabic would fairly pass muster; but even he now agreed that
there was little chance of his detection in any sort of casual
conversation. In Khartoum there would be people from all parts of the
Soudan, and any slight peculiarity of accent would be little likely to
be noticed; besides, in a city there would be less chance of any one
closely questioning the slave of a passing merchant than would be the
case in a village. Before going into the town one of the sheik's
followers was sent on ahead with a camel with presents for some of the
Mahdi's officials, and upon his return with a document authorizing the
sheik to enter the city and dispose of his merchandise the caravan set
forward.
It was with mingled emotions that Rupert entered the town. Here perhaps
Edgar was a captive, or had possibly been put to death for refusing to
acknowledge the Mahdi. Here Gordon had fallen a victim to fanatical
zeal, the hesitation of the English government, and the treachery of
some of the troops he had led to victory. Here hundreds of Egyptian men,
women, and children had been slain. Here were the head-quarters of the
false Prophet who had brought such ruin and destruction over fertile
provinces.
Upon showing the pass to the officials at the ferry leading across to
the city a soldier had been told off to accompany them, and he conducted
them to an empty caravansary in the city. One of the Arabs was
despatched with two unladen camels to the market-place, where he bought
a store of provender brought in by the country people. On his return
Rupert and Ibrahim fed the animals, which were fastened by ropes from
their head-stalls to rings in the wall of the court-yard, and then
sallied out with one of the Arabs into the town.
It was still a busy place, although its aspect had greatly changed since
its capture. There were no Egyptian soldiers in their gray cotton
uniforms and fezes, no officials or traders in European costume in the
streets, and the shops which had formerly held large assortments of
goods brought up from Egypt were occupied by natives vending the
absolute necessaries of life. The Mahdi's soldiers in their cotton
shirts, decorated with rags of coloured cloth, and carrying guns,
lounged about the streets, and the poorer part of the native population
went about with a cowed and dejected air. Food was scarce and dear, for
although the Mahdi by promising protection to all coming in to trade had
endeavoured to induce the agricultural population to bring in their
produce for sale, the invitation was very partially accepted. The
country round, indeed, had been swept clean of its grain during the
progress of the siege, and the fear of the Mahdi's followers was so
great that the peasants contented themselves with tilling only
sufficient for their needs. The Arab muttered curses beneath his breath
as he walked along, while Rupert and Ibrahim followed in silence,
seemingly paying no attention to what was going on around them.
When they returned to the caravansary they found the sheik with several
of the native shop-keepers engaged with him in conversation. At his
orders Rupert and Ibrahim at once began to undo some of the bales and
held up the goods for inspection. The sheik named the prices he
required. These were at once declared by the natives to be impossible.
The sheik simply ordered his assistants to fasten up the bales again. "I
have brought them all the way from Egypt and I am not going to give them
away. It is not every one in times like this who will risk his beasts
and his goods on such an adventure. The traders have all gone down the
river with the white men. It may be months or years before a caravan
route is open again. Who is going to bring up goods to sell when there
is nothing for his camels to carry down again and when the whole country
is disturbed? There is neither law nor order in the land. I shall
journey on to El-Obeid or Kassala; I shall get what price I like to ask
there."
The traders poured out a torrent of expostulation. They would see the
goods again; doubtless they were of a better quality than they supposed;
and so the bargain was recommenced, and after some hours a considerable
portion of the goods that had been brought up were disposed of. In each
case the traders arranged to come late in the evening with their
servants to fetch away the goods they had bought.
"It would never do," one said, "to let it be known that we had money
sufficient to make such purchases. It is only by assuming the greatest
poverty that we can carry on our business unmolested, and only a few of
the cheapest goods can be displayed to the eyes of the public, the rest
being hidden away to be brought out privately for the benefit of some
special customer."
The sheik was well pleased with the result of his traffic. The prices he
had charged were five or six fold more than those that the goods had
cost, and he sent out one of his followers to purchase a kid, which was
presently converted into a stew. After this was eaten he went out with
one of his followers, leaving the other to deliver the goods to their
purchasers. When it became quite dark the traders arrived one by one,
each with one or two porters to carry away the goods. These were paid
for in cash drawn from buried hoards.
The sheik was late before he returned. He told Rupert that he had met a
kinsman of his who was now an officer of the Mahdi, and had had a long
conversation with him. "He believes in the Mahdi," he said, "and has
faith that he is going to conquer the world. I told him that finding no
traders would hire my camels I had this time brought up a load on my own
account, and that it seemed to me there was money to be made if one
could purchase some of the people who had been enslaved when the city
was taken. He said that this could not be, that the greater part of the
traders had been killed, and that all who remained were now zealous
followers of the Mahdi. Lupton Bey was held as a slave by the Mahdi
himself, and had to run before him when he rode. There would be no
possibility of releasing him or the others in the Mahdi's hands.
"I inquired whether any of the Kaffirs who had come to Metemmeh had been
taken prisoners. He said they had heard of but one, who was reported by
a black slave to be in the hands of a petty sheik who was living at an
oasis in the desert some nine days' journey from here. It had already
been reported to the Mahdi that this man had taken a Kaffir prisoner at
Metemmeh and had refused to give him up, and had escaped with the Kaffir
in the night; and strict orders had been issued for his arrest, but
nothing had been heard of him until the slave brought the news. The
Mahdi sent off three officers and forty men on camels with orders to
destroy everything, and to kill all they found with the exception of the
sheik himself and his white captive, who were to be brought here to
await his pleasure. They went, but though this is two months ago they
have never returned.
"Another party was sent three weeks later to the place to order them to
return instantly, but when they arrived there they found the oasis
deserted. Two skeletons were found, but the sun and the vultures had
done their work, and whether they had belonged to the troop that went or
to the Arabs there none could say. It may be they found that this sheik
and his party had travelled to El-Obeid or elsewhere and had pursued
them, but so far no news has been heard of them and the whole matter is
a mystery."
"What do you think has happened, sheik?"
"I know not what to think. My kinsman said that the black slave reported
there were but twenty men in all with the sheik, and not more than half
of these could be considered as fighting men, therefore they could not
have resisted for a moment the force against them. It is possible they
may have fled into the desert. The tribes know of wells whose existence
is kept a secret from all, and it may be that such a well was known to
the sheik and that he has made for it. It may be that the negro guide
led the party in pursuit. Misfortune may have happened; they may have
lost their way and all perished from thirst, though it would be strange
indeed were none able to make their way back to the oasis."
"What think you we had better do, sheik? This gives us some indication
at least of a direction in which my brother was taken."
The sheik sat for some minutes without answering. "It is difficult," he
said at last; "this sheik El Bakhat is, as I have told you, a wanderer.
I have heard of him though I have never met him. His father was a
powerful sheik, but as a young man El Bakhat killed the son of another
sheik of the same tribe and fled. Later on he gathered a few followers
and was in the service of the slave-dealers who go down to the great
lakes. Of late years, since Gordon broke up the slave-trade, he has
returned at times and remained for weeks and sometimes for months in the
part of the country occupied by his tribe, for it is so many years now
since he killed his man that vengeance is no longer hot against him. He
has the name of being a headstrong man, and indeed he must be so or he
would never have embroiled himself with the Mahdi's people, for if he
had been driven out of his oasis he would know that there is no safety
for him anywhere near here; but where he has gone to no man could say.
One might as well try to follow the flight of a vulture. He may have
gone down near the coast; he may have made his way to the confines of
Abyssinia; he may have journeyed away towards the lakes where Emin Pasha
still rules in the name of Egypt. There is just one chance, he may be
hiding in the desert, and before he starts on a long journey he may
return to the oasis or may send a messenger to see if it is still
occupied by the Mahdi's men. I think that our best chance is to proceed
thither at once, and to wait there for a while to see if any come from
him. If at the end of a fortnight or three weeks none come we can then
decide in which direction to set out upon the search again."
This proposal seemed to Rupert to offer more prospect of success than
any other, and on the following morning the caravan started, the camels
now carrying scarce half the weight with which they had left Korti. As
the sheik had learned from his kinsman the name of the oasis to which
the troop had been sent, he had no difficulty in obtaining from some of
the tribesmen in the city precise directions as to the route to be
pursued, and ten days after leaving Khartoum they arrived there. The
place was absolutely deserted, but they established themselves near the
well, and the camels found abundant grazing, as the crops had shot up
again with great vigour during the time that had elapsed since they had
been cut.
The sheik at once pointed out to Rupert that although El Bakhat and some
of his followers were down at Metemmeh, the probability was that his
people had occupied the place for some time, as cultivation had been
carried on to a considerable extent. "Here are where the tents stood,"
he said; "and see, he evidently brought back a good deal of plunder, for
here are some empty tins and jars scattered about."
They remained for three weeks in camp. One of the party had been always
on the watch, but no human being had been seen to approach. During that
time the sheik and Rupert had many discussions as to the direction in
which the fugitives had probably travelled, and finally decided that the
probabilities were in favour of his having taken the southern route and
made for the country ruled over by Emin. In the first place he was
familiar with this line, and in the second he would be safe from the
Mahdi when he reached Emin's country.
"It is rich and fertile" he said; "and probably Emin when he finds he is
altogether cut off from the north will try to open a way down to
Zanzibar, and El Bakhat may find good employment for his camels." As,
at any rate, there were reasons why the fugitives should have chosen
this route more than any other, it was decided to follow it.