A Villainous Deed
At the Arab's dread remark it seemed for a moment that the explorers
were going to sink through the street. Dr. Kirshner reeled, and the
perspiration came out on Mr. Holton's face. Mr. Lewis and the boys
were spellbound.
Gone! Hundreds of dollars--yes, thousands. After all this anticipating
the good fortune of finding the supposedly hidden treasure. The
explorers could hardly believe it.
At last Dr. Kirshner got a grip on himself.
"Do you have any idea where the thieves went?" he asked of the Arab,
whose name was Fekmah.
"No," was the reply. "They have complete disappeared. I try see where
they go, but could not. They gone when I got to my room."
"When did you first notice that the map had been taken?" inquired Bob
in an anxious voice.
"No more than ten minutes ago," Fekmah answered. "I had gone out to
stay but a moment, and when came back to my room the door open and
map gone. I run around to back and look out, but they gone."
"Gone!" echoed Mr. Lewis. "We should have warned Fekmah to be on the
lookout. If Bob and Joe had discovered the suspicious actions of the
rascals sooner, it would have given us time to do so. But the fact
that nothing strange was noticed till the night we were to reach port
gave us no time to tell it."
"So you knew?" asked the Arab friend. "You knew that robbers were
after the map?"
Dr. Kirshner nodded.
"They broke into our rooms this morning, but when they couldn't find
the map they left without taking anything else," he said. "We were
just going over to warn you to be on the lookout and guard the map
closely when we saw you."
The Arab scowled and gritted his teeth.
"Allah curse them!" he exclaimed, vexed all the more because of almost
but not quite knowing in time. "It's too late now to find them, and
they prob'ly gone by now."
"Gone where?" asked Mr. Holton.
Fekmah spread his hands apart in a wide gesture and then pointed to
the south.
"To get treasure," he said quietly.
"Then we'll get there first!" exclaimed Dr. Kirshner. "No thieves will
get ahead of us. I think it might be well to start on the journey at
once--that is, if you can go that soon," he said to the Arab, who
nodded.
"But how will we know where to go without the map?" asked Mr. Lewis.
"I have general idea," Fekmah returned. "I studied it so much that
know about where go. And I can leave any time."
"Fine!" blurted out Dr. Kirshner. "We'll get our belongings together
and leave tomorrow. But first let me introduce my friends. I don't
believe you're acquainted with them," and he proceeded to introduce
the Arab to Mr. Holton, Mr. Lewis, and Bob and Joe.
"Now let us all come up to my room," said Fekmah. "We can talk over
plans for the treasure search. There are much things you should know."
They walked on up the street to a comparatively large building and
were led in the door and up the stairs by Fekmah.
"So this is the hotel where he's staying," said Bob, casting eager
eyes about the place.
"Sure is luxurious," remarked Joe. "It's the best in town."
The Arab's room was halfway down the hall, and to it they went.
"Now sit down," directed Fekmah, "and we will talk things over."
They did so and then made ready for what the Arab had to say.
There was a short silence. Then Fekmah resumed the conversation.
"Like Dr. Kirshner said, we should leave at once if expect to find the
hidden riches before the thieves get ahead of us," he began, showing
an unusual ability to speak English correctly. "There are two routes
we can take to get to the edge of the desert. We can take the railroad
to Oran and then to Figuig, or can get on train to Wargla." He moved
over to a small satchel and took out a cloth map, which he unfolded
and laid on a small table that was in the middle of the room. The map
was French, and although the naturalists and their sons had a slight
knowledge of that language, Dr. Kirshner and Fekmah were the only ones
who knew it thoroughly.
"I think we can make out enough to satisfy ourselves, though," said
Mr. Holton.
The Arab traced the one route and then the other, pointing out the
possibilities of each one. The object was to take a train to the
farthest point in the desert possible and start the expedition from
there on camelback.
"Now," continued Fekmah, "our destination is the Ahaggar Mountains.
They are about seventeen hundred kilometers (about a thousand miles)
from here. From what we measured, the best route is to go to Wargla
and get camels from there. What you think?"
"I believe you're right," returned Dr. Kirshner. "That route is much
shorter, and we'll have less difficulty in finding our way from Wargla
than from Figuig. Nearly all expeditions depart from Wargla, and there
are numerous small settlements on the way to the Ahaggar Mountains.
Can we get a train in the morning?"
The Arab nodded.
"There about three trains a day out," he said. "I believe one leaves
in morning, so we can get there easy."
"Fine!" exclaimed Mr. Lewis. "Then we'll leave now and get packed and
be here for you early in the morning."
Fekmah bowed.
"And I will make the stolen map over again from memory, as near as
can," he said.
They bade the Arab good-bye and left the hotel to get their belongings
together. If they were to leave for the Sahara the next morning, a
great deal of packing would have to be done.
"Don't suppose there's any use trying to find the thieves, is there?"
asked Joe, as they approached their hotel.
Dr. Kirshner laughed unwillingly.
"They are probably halfway to the Sahara by now," he returned,
although he knew this to be an exaggeration.
When the explorers arrived at their rooms, Dr. Kirshner directed the
preparations for the expedition, and the remainder of the day was
spent in doing this. It seemed that the archæologist had forgotten his
duties as a scientist and was thinking only of finding the hidden
riches.
"If we are fortunate enough to find our objective, we will be paid
many times the cost of the expedition," he said.
"If those crooks don't get ahead of us," added Joe, with a grim smile.
"They won't--not if we can help it," blurted out Bob, fumbling his
automatic.
At noon the adventurers stopped only a few minutes for a meal, so
eager were they to finish the task of preparing for the expedition.
They found it necessary to purchase much that they did not have, and
the bazaars of Algiers were visited often for the unusual in the way
of luxuries.
At last the work was completed, and all sat down to rest after the
strain. Bob and Joe had had the experience once before of helping to
make preparations for an expedition and knew what was expected of
them.
"I wish we could take motion pictures of this city," remarked Bob that
evening. "But we've been instructed to wait till we start the journey
in the Sahara."
The next morning the explorers were up early, and after a bountiful
breakfast they made their way to Fekmah's hotel.
The Arab was expecting them and had finished making a second map. It
was none too accurate, for he did it from memory, but it promised to
be the only means between defeat and failure.
"You may wonder why I bothered to make more map," he said to his
friends. "But it possible that I forget some of the landmarks when we
are on way, and this will----"
"Come to the rescue," interrupted Joe, smiling.
"And also," Fekmah went on, "you may have this if anything should
happen me."
"Let's hope nothing will," said Bob.
"And now," began Dr. Kirshner, "I'm going down to the railroad station
and find out if we can get a train this morning. I'll be back in a
short time."
"While he's gone, suppose we go out," suggested Joe to his chum.
"There's a lot we can see around here before we leave."
"All right," Bob replied. "But we don't want to stay too long. There
might be a train out in an hour."
The youths decided to see the old section of the city, as they had
heard from Dr. Kirshner that many points of interest were to be found
there. It was but a few minutes' walk to their objective, and they
turned their eyes about.
As they were passing a café, Bob motioned for his friend to look
inside.
A gray-haired, shriveled old man in torn clothing was strumming a
guitar and walking from one end of the café to another, holding out a
hand for money. But no one seemed inclined to give him any. Evidently
this was a common occurrence, for the people paid little or no
attention to the old beggar.
"I've half a mind to give him a break," started Bob, but Joe pulled
him back.
"If we want to see any of this town we'll have to be at it," Joe said,
leading the way down the street.
The narrow ways were lined with shops and bazaars, offering the
shopper a wide variety of commodities.
"But most of the things they sell you don't want," smiled Bob,
glancing at a counter laden with coarse native food.
The youths noticed that certain streets were devoted to the selling of
certain products. For instance, one avenue was lined with shops
displaying brassware.
"It ought to be easy to find what you want," grinned Joe. "Just walk
down one street and you will have a large choice of the same thing."
The boys spent nearly a half-hour in the native quarter. Finally Bob
suggested that they get back to the hotel, and his friend was also in
favor.
In a short time they were back in the hostelry and proceeded to go to
their rooms. But they were scarcely at the doors when the sound of
footsteps came to their ears. The next moment Dr. Kirshner came into
view.
"Hello," greeted Bob, and then his jaw dropped.
That something was wrong was evidenced by the frown that was on the
archæologist's face. His usual smile was absent.
"There's been a wreck," he said in an anxious voice. "The train has
been wrecked. I guess we can't get to Wargla so soon after all."