FATE.
We travelled fast all night, and overtaking the laden camels, the milch
camels, and the mares, at different points, left them to come on with
their escorts, while we trotted ahead as rapidly as the riding camels
could go, though Haroun's horses were somewhat knocked up after their
hard day's work. No regular halt was made next day, as Haroun wished to
put as great a distance as possible between ourselves and Adiba, and we
must have covered quite sixty miles before it was decided that we might
encamp in safety, and await the arrival of the parties still in rear.
The route followed was that which we had taken in the reverse direction
a month or more before, when we accompanied Ali Khan to his town; but
how different were the circumstances--then it was the triumphal
home-coming of a great man; now, the best that could be said for it was
that it resembled an ignominious flight.
Once only during that long day's ride did Ali Khan recover his spirits.
It was when Haroun related the details of his fight of the day
before--as bloody an encounter as perhaps the desert ever witnessed. It
seems that when, towards sunset, the guns opened fire on the town, and
the fresh body of horsemen issued from the enemy's position, to relieve
those who had been engaged all day, Haroun welcomed their appearance on
the scene. Throughout the day he had manoeuvred, as we had surmised,
in such a position as to mask the fire of the guns; but his plan was
twofold, and he had great hopes of being able to draw his opponents away
to the trap which he had carefully prepared for them. About a mile and a
half to the north-west of the town was a steep-sided watercourse, at
this season devoid of water, and at a certain point the pilgrim track
descended into it and out on the other side. In the bed of this
watercourse Haroun, in the morning, had ordered the matchlock-men with
the camels to ensconce themselves and await events. In vain he tried to
break away towards the watercourse, but each time he found himself
outmanoeuvred and headed back, and he began to think that his foes
understood his design. When, however, in the evening, they fled from the
field, and he followed in pursuit, he became hopeful of cutting them off
and driving them in the required direction. But since they rode straight
for the hills, he feared that if he followed he himself would be
ambuscaded. His heart, therefore, gave a great leap when he saw the new
arrivals riding down upon him, for he felt confident that horsemen,
probably waiting for hours to be slipped from the leash, would not
refuse to pursue him whithersoever he should lead them; and his judgment
was not at fault.
Before the wind flew Haroun's men, driving in their spurs, and urging
their tired beasts to a final effort; behind followed the exultant
pursuers, overhauling their quarry at every stride, and filling the air
with their victorious war-howl. Barely fifty yards separated the one
party from the other, as they galloped down the incline into the bed of
the ravine. Haroun, glancing to the right and left, assured himself that
his camelmen were prepared, and without checking his pace, crossed the
watercourse, and led his men, now in a dense mass, up through the
cutting in the bank on the far side. Then commenced the fusillade of the
matchlock-men, and the sound of the first shot told Haroun that the
moment for decisive action had come. He pressed forward until he saw
that all his party had reached the level of the plain, when, with a
mighty yell, he ordered them to wheel round and descend again into the
watercourse. Half way down the slope they encountered the foremost of
their pursuers, attempting to force their way through the cutting, and a
fierce fight ensued. Then, seized with a panic, the unfortunate men of
Hayil broke back into the watercourse, where they were met by the fire
of the camelmen, who had now closed round their flanks and rear, and
fired into them from a distance of only a few yards. Many of the eighty
or ninety had already been killed, but the others fought gallantly, and
made repeated charges on the camelmen, as well as on Haroun's horsemen,
who, now frenzied by the sight of blood, made use of their spears with
deadly effect. Haroun gloated over the affair as he related the tale,
and Ali Khan was no less delighted at the Arab's exploits; as to
myself,--and I fancy that Edwards had much the same feeling,--the
wholesale butchery of brave men made me positively sick. That Haroun did
not do things by halves was clear; for, not content with the slaughter
in the ravine, he pursued the few of the enemy who succeeded in cutting
their way out, and ruthlessly slew them. As a proof of his prowess, the
chief drew attention to the spears of his men, and we could see that the
blood that had been spilled still clotted the tufts of ostrich feathers
on each man's bamboo. Disgusted at the whole thing, we two Englishmen
could hardly speak for the rest of the day; but when we discussed it
afterwards, we came to the conclusion that it was not fair to judge
these men according to our accepted standard. Their business was to
kill, by fair means or by foul; to them the bloodshed was of no more
account than the shooting of pheasants to ourselves; moreover, they knew
that their enemies would not have let slip a similar opportunity.
We halted two days at our first camp, so that all the camels and horses
might be assembled before we went any farther, and it was a comfort to
everyone to learn from the last party that came in that there had been
no sign of pursuit. Then we resumed our journey northwards, and, with
all the horses and camels, made a goodly show. Day after day passed
almost without incident; occasionally a small body of Bedouins was seen
hovering about on our flanks, but they always made off as soon as a few
of our escort rode out towards them; and at last we pitched our camp on
the memorable spot, beside the lake, where, alas, Faris and I had stolen
the horses--an act which I now grieved to think had been at the root of
all the misfortune that had fallen on Adiba and its ruler. There we
remained almost a week, as the beasts required rest and good grazing,
and before we moved on again, I had grown to loathe the place.
"I wish you would cheer up a bit," remarked Edwards one evening; "you
have been in the blues ever since we got here, and it is not very lively
for me, especially as it is all your show, and I only came to keep you
company."
"I simply cannot help it, old man," I said; "I am beastly sorry, but my
conscience worries me dreadfully. If I could only go off to our poor old
host, and tell him that I assisted in the stealing of his two wretched
screws, I should feel ever so much better. Do you think I might?"
"Rubbish!" said Edwards. "What earthly good would it do? You cannot undo
what has been done. Besides, the knowledge that he had been humbugged
would only add to his sorrow. Try to look at things as he does; ascribe
it all to Fate, or, if you prefer it, to the Will of Allah. Think how
ripping it will be to get back to Baghdad!"
"I am not desperately keen about it," said I, "though I must confess
that I would not mind a general clean up and a white man's dinner,
before having another try for the Golden Girdle."
"Haven't you forgotten that miserable bauble?" said my friend. "I hoped
that it had quite gone out of your mind. As far as I am concerned, I
have a return ticket for Baghdad, _via_ Meshed Ali. My circular tour is
complete, and I do not propose to break the journey at Golden Girdle
Junction."
"All right," said I. "You wait till, one fine day, I walk into your
house in Baghdad and tell you that I have got it."
"Then," said Edwards, laughing, "I will send for the kawas' trusty
tulwar, smack your kneeling form severely, and give you the order,
'Rise, Sir Walter Henderson, Knight of the Golden Girdle.'"
"Scoffing sceptic," said I, "likewise sceptical scoffer--but here comes
Haroun, and bubbling over with news, I can see. Well, sheik, what have
you got to tell us?"
"Something that will amuse you in these dull times," said he. "Last
night some Shammar were disturbed in the camp while trying to steal our
horses, and they succeeded in getting away. Of course, we thought that
they were the same men who had stolen our other horses here on the
occasion that you will remember. Some of my men pursued at once, and
they have just now returned with three men and their horses, which they
succeeded in capturing two hours from here. Last time we lost two
horses; now we have got three, so we are the better by one, and two of
them are of a good breed. Come and see them."
No sooner did I see the captured horses than I recognised two out of the
three as the property of Faris, and as the beasts that he and I had
ridden on our visit to the seer. The horses were tied to the pegs of the
Governor's tent, and the three Shammar, bound hand and foot, lay close
by, awaiting sentence. I looked furtively at Haroun, wondering if he
could possibly know anything, and my fear increased when I saw him shake
out the contents of my own saddle-bags. There was my long-lost brush and
comb, tooth-brush, underclothing, and various precious odds and ends,
and I longed to seize them all up in my arms, carry them off, and purr
over my old friends. Yet, I had to be most circumspect, and I dreaded
lest Edwards should unwittingly give me away. A glance, however, told me
that he quite understood the state of affairs. Then my discomfiture was
further increased by Haroun calling to Ali Khan to look at the things,
when the two turned over everything, while we explained their use.
"Some unfortunate fellow-countryman of ours," said Edwards, "must have
been robbed by these scoundrels."
"So it seems," said Ali Khan, "but what I would like to know is what all
you Englishmen are doing in the desert; is your country going to
appropriate Arabia, as it has done, they tell me, nearly all the rest of
the world."
He was in a good humour, and I saw that he was only chaffing us; so I
laughingly told him that when England conquered the country, he should
be proclaimed Sultan of Arabia, which appeared to please him a good
deal, for he forthwith made us a present of the Ingleezee's stolen
property.
"It's an ill wind, and so forth," murmured Edwards, as we bore away our
treasures in triumph. "Lucky for you that Faris is not here; for after
this you would never be able to induce him to believe that you were not
a real live magician."
"To tell you the truth," said I, "I am beginning to think that I _am_.
But my conscience is troubling me again; I wonder if they will slaughter
those three wretched thieves. I have a kind of fellow-feeling for them.
I think I shall go and intercede for them."
"Much better not," said Edwards. "It might only lead to complications;
besides, as I said before, we really must try to be fatalists."
"Yes, I know," I answered, "but perhaps it has been written in the fate
of those men that a foreigner shall save their necks. Of course it was
vile and wicked of them to try and steal the Governor's horses, and it
certainly was more vile and more wicked of them to steal the horses that
Faris and I had left in the ruins; but, after all, did I not myself
steal a horse and sundry water-skins?"
However, I thought that for once I would act on my own initiative, so
while my companion was taking a siesta I slipped away and found Haroun,
who was just going to take the thieves before the Governor. I asked him
what sentence he thought they would receive, and was told that it was
doubtful, but I was glad to hear that, in any case, it would not be
death. Out of curiosity I went to the Governor's tent to hear him
dispose of the prisoners, and I was much impressed with the trouble he
took to arrive at all the facts. Haroun explained to me aside that if
they were found guilty of attempting to steal from friends of their
tribe, they would have their right hands cut off; otherwise they would
be kept as prisoners until their tribe ransomed them, the ransom going
to the men who had caught them. The trial took an immense time, but in
the end Haroun proclaimed all Shammar to be his enemies, as his own
tribe was a branch of the Aeniza; and Ali Khan declared that they had
attempted to steal from their enemies, and would therefore remain
prisoners until ransomed by their people. The next question was the
amount of the ransom, and how their tribe was to be informed that they
were prisoners. The Bedouins pleaded poverty, but finally suggested that
if one of them were allowed to go and interview the members of the
tribe, the necessary amount might be forthcoming. This course Haroun
refused to allow, explaining to the Governor that it would undoubtedly
lead to a powerful band of Shammar attacking the caravan, rescuing the
prisoners, and probably looting everything. It was, therefore, arranged
that the men should accompany us to Meshed Ali, from which place they
should be permitted to communicate with their tribe.
The day after this, we started on the last week of the march to Meshed
Ali, and we soon learned that a prisoner's lot was no pleasant one. Each
morning the wretched thieves were brought out, with their legs and hands
tied, and placed on the backs of camels; and at the end of the day's
march, three grave-like holes were dug in the ground for their
reception. In these they were laid, with hands tied, legs chained to
pegs, and their twisted hair fastened to other pegs on either side of
their heads. Neither was this all, for, in order to render escape quite
impossible, sticks were laid across the graves, and on them were piled
up as many weighty articles of baggage as were thought necessary, only
one small breathing-hole being left over the face. I remonstrated with
Haroun on this harsh treatment, but he declared that it was the
invariable custom, and that they did not really mind it.
On the third day's march one of the prisoners was taken ill, and Edwards
was asked to go and see him.
"Now's your chance," said I, "tell the Governor that they have all three
got symptoms of small-pox or something, and had better be turned adrift.
The poor devils have had quite enough punishment for a crime which, in
this land, is really no crime at all."
"I will see what I can manage," said Edwards, as he went off.
When he returned later on, he said that his courage had failed him at
the last moment. He had quite made up his mind to act on my suggestion,
but he was afraid that Ali Khan or Haroun might know the symptoms of
small-pox, and so find him out. He thought, however, that by judicious
questioning he might discover what the two chiefs knew of the disease,
and if he found that they knew nothing, then, the next day, he would
settle with his conscience whether humanity or honesty should have the
first place.
"The unfortunate man," said Edwards, "has dysentery, and is as weak as a
cat. I have done this much for him: I went to Haroun and told him,
without mentioning what was actually the matter, that the prisoner was
very ill, and unless properly attended to might die at any moment. I
pointed out that if he remained in that prison-hole he would certainly
be dead before morning. Haroun, at first, went off on the old fate tack,
and said he could not interfere; but when I told him that I would go and
interview the Governor, he gave me leave to do what I thought best about
the man. Well, the long and the short of it is that, if you do not mind,
I am going to give the invalid a shakedown for the night in our tent."
"Of course I do not mind," said I.
"I thought you would not," said Edwards, "and I arranged with Haroun
that, as soon as it was dark, he should come and help us bring the man
over here. The only condition he made was that I would be responsible
that he was handed over, dead or alive, in the morning, before we
march."
Great was the astonishment of the Shammar when we took him out of his
hole, and conveyed him to our tent; and when Edwards explained to him
that he was to remain with us for the night, so that he might be looked
after, he almost wept with gratitude. He willingly promised that he
would not betray our trust in him by attempting to escape, and he swore
that, if he ever recovered his health and freedom, he would find a means
of repaying us for our kindness.
Little did we imagine that we were entertaining unawares, if not
actually an angel, a man who, before long, would influence our every
action.