Misgivings were aroused within me by the discovery, but, concealing
them, I gave him "peace," as in flowery language and with many
references to Allah's might, he bade me welcome to their shade.
Scarcely deigning to notice the brave girl who had secured my liberty
and acted as my guide, he wheeled round and rode beside me, expressing
hope that I had in no way suffered from my detention within the Fada of
Agadez, and uttering profuse greetings with every breath.
To these I remained somewhat indifferent. I was wondering what fate was
about to overtake me, and whether, after all, I had not been ingeniously
betrayed into the hands of my enemies. This dark-visaged brigand who
had followed me nearly two thousand miles had evidently done so with
evil purpose. His words of well-feigned welcome and apparent delight at
my arrival at that lonely spot were the reverse of reassuring, and, for
aught I knew, I was about to fall into some cunningly-devised trap. The
reason of this strange vengeance which he apparently desired to wreak
upon me remained a hidden and mystifying enigma. To my knowledge, I had
never harmed him, and, indeed, previous to our meeting in the _kahoua_
in Algiers, I had never before set eyes upon him. Yet, with the fire of
a terrible hatred burning within his heart, he had tracked me with the
pertinacity of a bloodhound over the Great Sahara, through the many
vicissitudes that had befallen me, and at last, by his clever
machinations, I was now actually being led irresistibly to my fate!
At first the thought flashed across my mind that the woman whom the
outlaw addressed as Yamina had brought me there, well knowing the reason
this villain desired my release. Why had she observed that I was
standing insecurely upon Al Araf, between paradise and torment? Did not
that imply that there was a vile plot against my life? Heedless of the
outlaw's well-turned Arabic sentences, I pondered, half inclined to
condemn her. Yet no, I could not. She had, I felt sure, rescued me
without dreaming that I should fall a victim under the knife of a secret
assassin, and as she rode along in silence, unveiled, and looking a
trifle pale and jaded, I was compelled to admit that to secure my
release she had placed her own life in serious jeopardy.
At length we galloped into the small palm-grove that surrounded a well
where camels and horses were resting, and a sharp turn brought us upon a
small encampment. I half expected to fall into an ambush, and my hand
instinctively sought the hilt of the dagger that had done me such good
service at the Fada gate, but when the shouts of the assembled men, all
of them fierce-looking, well armed, and carrying daggers and
powder-horns, gave me hearty welcome, I became reassured, dismounting,
and following my enemy to the principal tent, before which a morose old
Arab sat smoking his long pipe. He was very old, with a dark face thin
and wizened, yet age had not dimmed the pair of keen, searching eyes he
fixed upon me.
"Behold! the stranger!" exclaimed Labakan, as we advanced.
"Roumi from afar, thou art welcome to our encampment," the old man
exclaimed solemnly, removing his pipe and waving his brown, bony hand.
"Blessings on thy beard!" I answered, when I had given him peace. "As
a stranger in this thy land, I appreciate thine hospitality, even though
I know not the name of my host."
"Thou art weary, thou hast journeyed long through the forest and over
the plain, and thou requirest rest," he went on, motioning me to the mat
spread beside him, and ordering a slave to bring me food and water. I
was in the camp of my enemies, which accounted for his disinclination to
tell me who he was. Besides, I heard conversations being carried on in
_tamahaq_, the dialect of the Touaregs, in order, apparently, that I
might not understand. Whatever the object for which I had been
conducted to that lonely spot, the chief of the encampment treated me as
his honoured guest, and gave me to eat the best fare his people could
provide. Such conduct was exceedingly puzzling, and, after I had eaten
the kousskouss and chick peas, and accepted the pipe he offered, I
suddenly asked--
"What have I done that I should merit this thy friendship?"
"Are we not commanded to succour our friend's friend?" he answered.
"Thou owest me no debt of gratitude, for it was Labakan yonder who
arranged thine escape from the Fada;" and, raising his hand, he
indicated the outlaw of the Ennitra who had stolen the severed hand, and
who was now smoking a cigarette, and lounging lazily with another man as
repulsive-looking as himself at a little distance from us.
I was silent. Was it not at least remarkable that the man who had
offered Gajere gold to assist in my murder, should now exert himself so
strenuously on my behalf? Expectation fettered me.
"Fidelity towards a friend, magnanimity towards an enemy, are the pride
of my people," the old man continued. Then, turning towards me, he
added, "Thy brow beareth traces of a poignant grief. Perhaps we may be
able to calm thy sorrow, for we would most willingly help a brother,
though he be of different creed."
His words struck me as ominous. Was he joking grimly, meaning that my
sorrow would be "calmed" in death?
Nevertheless I replied to his confidential address: "I feel much
relieved by thy words, O friend, for in thine eyes there lurketh no
treachery. True, I have passed through many terrible days since last I
trod mine own far-distant land; yet I have no sorrow, only the regret of
what might have been which is common alike to True Believer and to
Roumi."
"Why dost thou journey in this the land of thine enemies?" asked the
strange old man, calmly puffing at his pipe.
"I have a secret object," I replied, still keeping my eyes upon the
hulking lounger who remained in conversation with one of the armed band,
now and then casting furtive glances towards me. "I am seeking a
phantom fortune."
"Ah! thou art young. Thou hast the careless indifference that youth
giveth, and art no doubt prepared to meet Eblis himself if he promiseth
an adventure. Yet, alas! the mark upon thy brow telleth me that the
canker-worm of love eateth away thine heart. Fair tresses oft ensnare a
man, and cause him to seek Sindbad's diamond valley, of which the
story-teller singeth."
Evidently he was aware of my mission to that distant region!
"When one is wounded by the keen shafts of a woman's eyes, there is no
peace," I said, impressed by my venerable companion's seriousness.
"True love createth a mad fascination, a partial insanity that refuseth
to be calmed."
"And so it is in thy case, I wager," he observed. "From thy mouth fall
pearls of wisdom. Yet to-day, how little of genuine love is there among
thy people, the Roumis! Have I not witnessed it among the Franks of El
Djezair! Fascination is a gift of Allah; it hath no limits of age or
condition. It is as indescribable as the steam that propelleth thy
caravans of iron, or the invisible power that carrieth thy commands
along wires of great length; therefore, it is not possible to simulate
it. Yet what a tendency there existeth among thy people from over seas
to coquette with love! We True Believers when in El Djezair, gaze upon
the white uncovered faces of thy women in the streets, in the gardens,
in the cafes, everywhere, and watch them in amazement. In the people of
Al-Islam, as in the Infidels, the heart is the same; but it seemeth to
us that thy women, foolish and vain, know not true affection, and live
only to attract men by feigning an imitation of love that is ridiculous.
It astoundeth us."
"Thou speakest of what we term flirts," I said, surprised that he should
have observed so keenly the manners of European society as portrayed at
Algiers. "It is true that fashion hath taken a wrong turn. Tragic,
romantic, frivolous, and heroic love-affairs will succeed each other,
for the heart of a woman beateth alike under the gauzes of Al-Islam and
the tightly-laced corsets of Christianity, and the pulses of the
Bedouins of the Desert and the idler of the Franks are alike moved by a
pretty face; but, as thou rightly sayest, the fashion of flirtation only
leadeth to factious disturbances, misery, and ruin."
"Thy criticism is just, O Roumi! Truth never loseth its rights, though
falsehood may have a long day. Thy women, who affect love in order to
be considered fascinating, are the falsehoods of thy society, veritable
houris from Hawiyat. A woman who loveth deeply, passionately, really,
though wrongly, may have our pity, compassion, sympathy, but she who
simulateth a passion for vanity's sake hath neither. We of Al-Islam
feel a pity for the heart that breaketh beneath a smile; we honour a
hidden sorrow; but for the trifling, idle, gay, and foolish married
woman of thy people, who with uncovered face seeketh to fascinate the
men who move about her, we entertain no such feelings. She feigneth
love for them, entranceth them, and then--may Allah confound her!--she
mocketh them. Such is one of the developments of thy so-called
Christian civilisation!"
He spoke the truth; I was compelled to admit it. Was there any wonder
that a devout Moslem, witnessing the ways of European society, where the
women bare their chests at night for the public gaze, and laboriously
try to appear to have done something wrong, in order that scandal may be
whispered about them,--"being talked about" being the high road to
fashionable eminence,--should express amazement at the commanding
egotism of those of our fair sex who consider it "smart" and a necessary
adjunct of fashion to be seen flirting. How utterly contemptible must
our whole social system appear in the eyes of these wise, thoughtful
Sons of the Desert, who, far from bustling cities and the ways of men,
dream away their silent, breathless days!
The old man, although a pleasant companion, would answer no question I
addressed to him, and though I felt safe under his protection, yet the
presence of the man Labakan caused me considerable uneasiness. When the
last rays of sunset had faded, and some negro girls danced before our
tent, the evil-visaged scoundrel sat beside me smoking haschish. In a
semicircle the people squatted, listening with rapture to the humdrum
voices of the singers and story-tellers, mingling with the thumping of
_derboukas_, and the shrill notes of the flute-like _djouak_. From time
to time a prolonged "Ah!" plaintively modulated, was uttered in applause
of the song, dance, or story; and as I spoke now and then with him, I
watched his face narrowly, detecting in his eyes a crafty look of
unmistakable hatred. When he laughed, his white teeth shone spectral in
the twilight, and when he addressed me, his thin, sinister face was so
nigh to mine that I could mark each line that Time had turned upon his
sallow cheeks, and watch the slow, cruel smile that wrinkled about his
moving lips.
When at length the camp grew quiet, and I cast myself down to rest, all
slumber was prevented by reason of the terrible sandstorm that sprang
up, roaring over the oasis and screaming most melancholy in the palms.
In claps of the veriest passion, the sand-laden, suffocating wind swept
through the clumps of trees, and the night was in the possession of a
thousand evil powers that seemed to mock at me. In that hour but one
hope held me; but one fear. Death seemed to shriek about the tent, and
wander whining through the storm-torn trees; on my heart Fear laid his
chilly fingers, tightening his hold, and straining as though drawing me
nearer to the end. But determined to remain calm and defiant, in order
to learn the Great Secret, I was prepared to encounter all risks, even
in that wild, unknown country, in the camp of the outlaws. In the midst
of the howling sirocco, two furtive figures, almost obscured by the
whirling sand, passed my tent silently. The misty silhouettes were
those of Yamina and Labakan! Swollen to a monstrous horror, Fear, a
hideous, torturing spectre, loomed beside me, and all past delight, all
future evil, laughed me to derision in his presence. Through the night
the tempest raged with fury unabated, and as I lay with my hand grasping
my only weapon, my knife, I knew not from one moment to another whether
a coward's dagger would strike me a swift death blow. Thus, vigilant
and feverishly anxious, I waited until the sandstorm passed and the dawn
was no longer obscured, then rose, half surprised that I still lived to
witness the glorious sunrise.
Judge my amazement, however, when, on gazing round, I found that the
tents had disappeared, and I was alone!
In the hours of darkness during the storm, the camp had been struck, the
camels packed, and even while I lay with eyes and ears open, the Bedouin
band had silently departed, leaving me to my fate in an unknown region!
Even the spots on the sand where the fires had burned had been carefully
dug over, and every trace of the recent encampment had been carefully
obliterated. Tied by its nose-cord to a palm was a _meheri_ camel,
kneeling upon the sand with bent head, disconsolate and neglected, and
as I gazed around among the tall trunks, seeking to discover whether any
of the band remained behind, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a fluttering
burnouse.
"_Sabah elker_!" ["Good morning!"] I shouted in greeting, but next
moment I was startled to recognise in the approaching figure the lean,
sinewy form of Labakan.
"_Slamalik_!" ["Good day to you!"] he cried, hastening towards me with
a broad, fiendish smile upon his coarse, brutal features. "Thou art
forgotten."
"Thy people could scarcely have overlooked me when they left my tent
untouched," I said, angered that this man should still be haunting me
like an evil shadow. "Besides, they departed by stealth, so as not to
attract my attention. For what reason have they plunged again into the
desert?"
"For reasons known only to ourselves," the crafty brigand replied,
displaying his teeth in the hideous grin that seemed natural to him. "A
secret message received after _el maghrib_ made it necessary to move."
"Didst thou fear attack?"
"We fear nothing, save the wrath of Allah," was his prompt reply, as
without further words he proceeded to pull down my tent and pack it
quickly upon the back of the kneeling camel.
"We of the Roumis endeavour to be loyal to those who eat salt with us,"
I said, presently. "Thy people, however, desert the stranger to whom
they give succour."
Shrugging his shoulders, he drew his haick closer about his narrow
chest, replying, "If thou hadst full knowledge of our affairs, thou
wouldst be aware that circumstances had combined to render it imperative
that my people should leave this spot, and proceed by a certain route,
of which thou must remain in ignorance. In order, however, that thou
shouldst not be left to starve in this vast region of the Great Death, I
am here to guide thee onward to a spot where we may in two days rejoin
our friends."
Of all men he was the last I should have chosen as travelling companion,
for treachery lurked in his curling lip, and in his black eye there
beamed the villainous cunning of one whose callous hands were stained by
many crimes. To refuse meant to remain there without food, and quickly
perish, therefore I was compelled, when he had carefully removed all
traces of the tent, to mount the camel, and submit to his obnoxious
companionship. He had his own camel tethered near, and as he straddled
across the saddle the animal rose, and together we started out upon our
journey.