FOR DEAR LIFE.
I drew out my knife, cut off several feet from the rope end, and
twisting it round and round the Girdle, tied it with strong knots
beneath my garments. Joyously, I climbed to the ledge above me, and then
again to the second ledge. There I rested, and studied the cliff above
me. It was disappointing; for it rose up sheer for almost twenty feet,
and no foothold could I see anywhere. I crept carefully round a slightly
projecting rock, and found that a narrow cleft, with perpendicular
sides, opened back into the cliff. It seemed as if an earthquake or some
subsidence had rent the rocks asunder from the top of the well to the
bottom. Down below me, the fissure descended full thirty feet; upwards,
perhaps for twice that height, the walls towered to what I imagined was
the edge of the well.
This was my only chance. I could discover no other possible way of
escape from the shelf on which I stood. I wondered if there could be
snakes in such a place, but so far I had seen none except at the very
bottom. So I dismissed the thought, and began my preparations.
I knew that chimney climbing was a special branch of mountaineering. I
had seen it done, but I myself had never attempted anything of the kind.
Yet, it was no time for hesitating, and now that I had the Girdle round
my waist, I felt nervously anxious to get away. Taking off my sandals
and tying them round my neck I unwound the loose coils of rope from my
body, tied the end to the boat-hook head, and placed the latter,
together with the coiled rope, on the rock at the mouth of the fissure.
I might want my trusty boat-hook again, so I decided to keep it secured
to one end of the rope, the other end of which was attached to my body.
It was a simple matter to get athwart the chimney walls, which were here
no more than two feet apart, with rough portions of rock projecting a
few inches. My back was flat against one wall, my feet against the
other, and once I found myself in that position, I did not stop to
think. Raising my feet a few inches, and pressing hard with my back and
hands, I found my body gradually ascending, with far less difficulty
than I had expected. It was, however, laborious work, and at times I
despaired of being able to reach the top. The long rope, also, hanging
loosely between my legs caused me a good deal of annoyance, as I was
ever in doubt as to whether it would run out freely; though I consoled
myself with the thought that, if the worst came to the worst, I could
cast it off from my body.
Hour after hour I continued to work my way upwards. My feet, hands, and
back were stiff and sore with the constant strain and rubbing; but as I
looked down, I realised how magnificently I had done. I felt that I had
become a mere machine--up with the feet, up with the back, and another
six inches nearer the world. I forgot hunger and thirst, and I thought
only of the streak of blue sky that I could see through the top of my
prison chamber. I was desperate, I own, but my heart never failed me;
and, as I gained confidence in the security of my wedged-in position, I
was able, when I became exhausted, to rest occasionally.
At last, I looked up and found that I was nearing the top. Another
twelve or fifteen feet, and I should be free. But, alas, I saw that the
cleft was widening, and at the top was two or three yards across. Even
now, it had become more than three feet wide, and every inch would
increase my difficulties. I struggled on a little higher. With the whole
of my back flat against one wall and the soles of my feet against the
other, my knees were no higher than my waist. I could go on slowly as
long as my knees had any bend in them; after that I should be powerless.
I stopped, and gazed up again. How near I was to the edge! Six
feet--perhaps not as much. Yet, a step higher, and the chimney would be
too wide for my legs to span. An old and straggling bush grew on the
edge, with branches extended mockingly above me. Could I but reach that
bush, I should be safe. But it was well-nigh impossible. I looked down
into the depths of the fissure, and I thought of what was before me; how
my legs would soon give way, and how my body would bound from side to
side, until the final crash finished everything. Then my eyes followed
the long, trailing rope, and rested on the tiny boat-hook, far below. I
had forgotten its very existence, but the sight of it gave me fresh
hope.
Pressing with all my strength with feet and back, I began to haul away
at the rope. Yard after yard came up, and then I felt a check. I knew
that I had taken in all the slack, and had come to the boat-hook. I
wondered whether its weight would be too much for me. Gradually and
carefully I pulled at it; I could hear it grating over the rock; one
pull more and it was free, and swinging against the sides of the
chimney. Its weight was little, and hand over hand I gathered in the
rope, allowing it to fall down again to one side, until, before very
long, the head of the boat-hook struck my knuckles. I passed the shaft
upwards between my legs; in trepidation I watched the hook approach the
bush, and when I saw that the bamboo was more than long enough, I
breathed more freely. I was getting horribly nervous and excited, and I
nearly lost my footing in my eagerness to grasp the bush with the hook.
I took a pull at myself, and the next moment the boat-hook, with the
rope attached to it, was round the solid stem of the bush.
But I was not yet free. I knew that I could not climb up the bamboo, and
I did not feel equal to climbing up the rope. Before attempting
anything, however, I determined to make myself as safe as possible, so,
taking up a portion of the rope, I knotted it firmly into the loop round
my waist, and encircled the spear-shaft with my arm. I now considered
that I was quite secure; a taut rope stretched from my waist to the hook
fastened in the bush, and as long as I held the shaft, so as to prevent
the chance of its flying upwards when my weight came on the rope, I felt
that I could not come to much harm. Even if my exhausted legs gave way,
I should still hang from the bush, but I had no intention of relying on
this, unless forced to do so. I sat there and rested, easing first one
leg and then the other; I wondered whether the bush would be strong
enough to bear the strain that I should presently put on it; and I
nerved myself for my final effort.
Raising my hands as high as possible above my head, I grasped the rope,
and, still keeping the long bamboo close to my right hip and between it
and my right armpit, I hauled myself upwards. Had the cleft remained the
same width all the way to the top, my ascent would have been easy; but
when I was within a yard of the bush, it widened suddenly, and before I
knew what had happened, my feet had lost their hold, and I was hanging
by my hands to the rope. Desperation seized me, and I fancy that the
roughness of the rocks helped me; for, with a frantic effort, I pulled
myself up the rope, assisted by my toes, which seemed to obtain a
cat-like hold on the steep cleft-side. I put out one hand and grasped
the thick roots of the bush; I let go the rope, and with the other hand
snatched at the nearest branch. A second later, I was lying flat on my
back in the open desert, a yard or more from the edge of the well.
There I lay, worn out and utterly exhausted, but so fearful was I of
falling over the side, that before I collapsed, I had sufficient
strength left to cast off the rope from my body, and roll myself away to
some distance. Then, I suppose, I must have fainted.
The sun was still well up in the heavens when I again opened my eyes.
Instinctively, I felt my waist for the Golden Girdle. It was there. I
sat up, and looked around; but I could see nothing except desert, and
the few bushes near the well mouth. I crawled towards the spot where I
had last seen my friends, and there I was astonished to find all our
saddle-bags, as we had thrown them from our horses. But the horses had
gone.
I soon had my mouth to a water-skin, drinking as I had never drunk
before; and when I had satisfied my thirst, I turned to the saddle-bags
for food. There was plenty and to spare, and I ate heartily. Moreover, I
found a pipe and tobacco, and I could have hugged myself with delight.
This was indeed a stroke of luck, and I sat and smoked, and thought of
all that had occurred. I was blissfully happy, and now, for the first
time, I raised my cloak to look at the prize which I had secured for
myself. I untied and untwisted the rope, and took the Golden Girdle in
my hands. It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen; but, as
I gazed on it in rapture, I remembered its evil reputation. A sickly
fear came over me. Should I also go mad from having worn it? Perhaps I
was already mad. Perhaps, in my madness, I had leaped into the well, and
my companions had fled, in terror, from the spot. Perhaps this was no
Golden Girdle after all, but merely a piece of rope. People who are mad,
I said to myself, have strange hallucinations. I feared to look long at
my treasure; so I rolled the rope about it, and again fastened it round
my waist.
I had not yet got as far as thinking of the future. I had gained
possession of Queen Sophana's Girdle, and that was my sole thought.
Still, I knew that sooner or later I should have to decide what I should
do next, for, whether I were mad or sane, I had no intention of spending
another night in the neighbourhood of the Devil's Well. I could not
understand what had happened to Faris and the others, and I could not
account for the presence of the stranger's corpse, which I had seen in
the well. But, when I stood up and looked about me, I became aware of
the fact that, since I had last been there, the ground was much trodden
by horses' hoofs. There were the marks of many more horses than our
five, and it suddenly flashed across me that my friends had been
attacked by a strong party of horsemen, while I was descending into the
well, and that they had been forced to take to their horses and get
away. It must have been a sudden affair, otherwise Faris would not have
left his saddle-bags behind; and the pursuit must have been a swift and
long one, since the victors had not returned to loot the saddle-bags. I
failed to understand it, and I gave up thinking about it. I had enough
to do to arrange for my own salvation.
I might have to walk for many days before reaching the Euphrates and
without coming across a habitation. I therefore made up my mind to go
well provided with food. I would carry a saddle-bag, with food, tobacco
and pipe in one end, and, as a balance, I would carry a partly-filled
water-skin in the other end. With such a supply I could travel, for a
week or more, through the most parched country. I knew approximately
whereabouts I was, as Faris had told me, as we rode to the well, that we
had reached a point which must be about midway between the two great
rivers. So, whether I walked due south, or south-east, I was bound to
strike eventually either the Euphrates or the Tigris; and, provided that
I did not meet with any roaming Bedouins on the way, I should find
villages near whichever river I came to, when, I did not doubt, the Arab
peasants would befriend me. In cold blood, such a journey as I proposed
to take on foot would have been simple madness; but, as I was situated,
there was nothing else to be done. I had to go somewhere, and I
naturally decided to return by the way that I had come.
I shouldered my saddle-bag and set out on my tramp, without so much as a
regret at leaving the spot. As I followed the track of the horses, it
occurred to me that I was making a mistake; for, judging by the
hoof-prints, my friends had fled in this direction, and had been pursued
by the host of horsemen, who in all probability would, some time or
another, retrace their steps to the well, in order to look for booty.
Thus they might run into me at any moment, when, of course, I should
lose everything that I possessed, if not also my life. So afraid was I
of such a disaster, now that I had my precious Girdle on my person, that
I struck away from the track at once, and even ran, in order to try and
get out of sight I now took a south-easterly course, and succeeded in
covering a good many miles before sundown. I laughed at the idea of
sleep; and knowing how to keep my direction by the stars, I rejoiced in
the safety of the darkness, and in the cold night air. Now and again I
was obliged to stop and rest, as my legs refused to carry me, and on
these occasions I fell asleep as soon as I touched the ground, but
usually to wake with a start and push on again.
On the following day I walked almost continuously, keeping my eyes on
the look-out in all directions, and dreading the appearance of Bedouin
horsemen. Twice I saw small parties on the horizon, when I lay as flat
as possible on the ground for more than an hour each time, and thus
avoided being seen. I was more than pleased with my day's work, and when
night came on, I ate, drank, and smoked. I cannot say that I was happy,
but I was as happy as, under the circumstances, it was possible to be.
That night, in spite of the cold, I slept long and soundly, and when I
arose some time before daybreak, though terribly stiff, I felt much
refreshed, and ready for another long march. In this manner, always
marvelling at my powers of endurance, I walked for four nights and three
whole days, with seldom a long rest. Then recurred the old thought that
I was mad. Madmen, I said to myself, can perform feats impossible to
sane people. No sane man could have lived through all this. Yet, I was
still alive. I lighted my pipe, and blessed it as a comforter. I began
to think that I was all right after all; and when I had finished
smoking, I got up and strode ahead.
I had kept a careful mental note of the number of hours (as far as I was
able to reckon them) that I walked, and I estimated that I averaged
about two miles an hour. When I stopped for a sleep at the end of the
fourth night, I totalled up my distance, and calculated that I had
covered just over a hundred and thirty miles, which I considered by no
means a bad performance. I thought that it might be even a record.
Early on the morning of the fourth day, I saw a long line of trees in
the distance, and I felt certain that it marked the course of the
Tigris. I was right; and within a few hours I was rapidly approaching
the great rolling river, with its waters sparkling in the sun. For days
I had lived for this moment, and feeling that I was almost done, I
staggered along, until I reached the water's edge, when, without
troubling to remove my clothes, I walked in up to my chest, and revelled
in my bath. After a while I returned to the bank, and, thoroughly
refreshed, sat down to gaze on the glorious scene. I could see no
village anywhere; but I lay back, contented and happy, and watched the
flocks of sand-grouse flying in from the desert for their morning drink.
They came in myriads, each taking its mouthful of water, and without
resting, returning at once, miles away, to the burning sands. I
shuddered when I thought of the pitiless wastes where they had their
homes. Never again would I voluntarily go back to the desert.
The river to me was life. Why I could not say, unless it was because I
knew that somewhere downstream lay Baghdad, where was peace, quiet, and
rest. But how was I to reach my goal? I certainly could not walk much
farther, and it would be no easy matter to walk along the overgrown
banks of the winding river. A boat, or a raft, was what I wanted, but I
did not see the prospect of obtaining either. In a book, I argued with
myself, when the hero had arrived at the stage at which I had now
arrived, he would find logs and ropes and such-like things to his hand,
and would construct a raft in no time. Unfortunately, I was not the hero
of a book, but a stern reality, and consequently there were no rafting
materials anywhere about. My clothes were heavy with water, and I was
footsore and weary, but I struggled slowly along the river-side, and
prayed for the sight of a village.
Presently, on coming round a bend of the river, I saw a solitary
fisherman paddling his kufa close inshore. I ran forward and hailed him,
but at the sound of my voice he was seized with terror, and, dipping in
his paddle, made off as fast as possible. I shouted after him that I was
his friend, and that I would pay him handsomely if he would take me in
his boat, so after a little he came cautiously back. I could see that he
was half afraid and half curious, but my mention of money had impelled
him to return and inspect me.
"How far is it to the city?" I shouted.
"A long way," he replied.
"How many days in your boat?" I asked.
"A full day and part of a night, without a rest," said he.
"Will you take me there?" I inquired, as he drew near.
"Impossible," he replied, "I have my fishing to attend to."
"But," I said, "I will pay you more money than you can earn by your
fishing in a whole year."
The boat was now close to me, and without more ado I jumped straight
into it. I was determined not to lose this chance, even if I had to
throw the fisherman overboard. I knew that my strength was fast going. I
might last as far as Baghdad, if I could sit quietly in the boat, but I
could walk not another mile. My friend, who, I found, was an old man,
was somewhat surprised at my action; but when I explained to him that I
was an Ingleezee who had lost his way in the desert, he scented money,
and told me that he was willing to do whatever I should wish.
"Where is your village?" I asked.
"About two hours up stream," he replied.
"Well," said I, "you cannot return there now. You must take me to the
city first, and when you return with a bag full of kerans, all your
friends will be pleased with you."
"How many kerans did you say, Beg?" asked the old man.
"How many do you want?" I asked.
"Twenty," said he, evidently asking twice as much as he expected to get.
"Then," said I, "you shall have twenty when we reach the city, and if we
pass under the bridge ere the sun has risen to-morrow morning, you shall
have thirty."
The fisherman's face was radiant with joy at the prospect of such a
haul.
"When will you start?" he asked.
"Now, at once, as quickly as possible," I replied.
"It is good," said he, plunging in his paddle with a will, and making
the circular tub swing from side to side.
We were soon out in the current, and travelling at a fair speed. Never
had I been in such a blissful state of contentment and ease, as I lay
curled round at the bottom of the boat, with my eyes just looking over
the edge. We passed other fishermen, and here and there a village; but
the paddler kept to his course, and paid no attention to anything except
the business in hand. I was too excited to sleep; moreover, I thoroughly
enjoyed the river scene, and delighted in the verdure of the banks,
which I found a pleasant relief to my eyes, nearly burnt out of my head
by the perpetual glare of the desert. By sunset we had accomplished
much; and soon after dusk the old man made known to me that the thirty
kerans were as good as his; we should certainly reach the bridge before
daylight.
Hour after hour of the dark night we continued our voyage; and it was
still dark when the Arab ceased paddling, and, turning half round,
whispered, "See, the city is at hand."
I strained my eyes, and peered into the darkness; before long, I could
see the tops of the buildings outlined against the sky; and my heart
almost stopped beating. It all seemed too good to be true. Yet, there
they were. There could be no mistake. Then I distinctly heard the swish
of the water at the bridge, and day was just breaking as we swept under
it. All was silent; Baghdad was still sleeping. I knew a landing-place,
a little below the Residency, and thither I directed the paddler to take
his kufa. A moment later he jumped ashore, and hauled up the boat.
It was but a step to Edwards's house, and bidding my friend follow me, I
dragged my stiff limbs up the steep pathway. I reached the gateway and
hammered on the barred door; but, before it was opened, I dropped
senseless to the ground.