My first day in the desert was a hot and tiring one, but in spite of
the discomfort I continued to walk on until the evening, never losing
sight of the soldiers and camels far ahead. When darkness fell I
settled down on the sand for the night with only a dirty blanket for my
covering, the desert for my bed, and the heavens to shelter me.
With the coming of dawn I was on my way again. The second and third
days, being uneventful, call for no description; but I recollect
that, on the fourth day, I was accosted by several Turkish patrols,
who endeavored to question me. A happy thought struck me, and I kept
silent, simply motioning to them with my fingers, giving them the
impression that I was deaf and dumb, and therefore an object of pity.
I knew only too well the nature of these Mohammedans--fanatical in the
extreme, pitying only the afflicted and maimed of their own caste. Had
I been a _real_ woman, I should have been terribly afraid of some of
these ruffianly fellows, but as it was I feared nothing but discovery,
and my pretence of being deaf and dumb gave me excellent protection.
When one or two of them seemed inclined to interfere with me, their
comrades, pitying me, shouted angrily: "Haram, haram! For the love of
God, don't touch her." With that they left me, and very thankfully I
went on my way.
By the fifth day my slender stock of provisions was running low, only
a few dates and a little bread remaining, but my good luck seemed
destined to continue, for I met with hospitality from some of the
soldiers I encountered, who gave me bread, dates, and water. About two
o'clock in the afternoon of the sixth day a terrible wind arose, and
the sandstorm which followed nearly blinded and choked me. I could do
nothing but crouch down and cover myself with my blanket as best I
could, remaining in that position until ten o'clock at night, when the
wind ceased. I continued my journey during the night so as to make up
for lost time, and to my horror was met by a pack of prowling jackals.
These beasts, when hungry, are dangerous to the solitary traveller,
and my alarm can well be imagined; but curiously enough the fear was
reciprocal, and the skulking brutes disappeared.
On the seventh day of my interminable journey I met an old Bedouin
riding on a camel, and was not long in fraternizing with him. After
paying him the customary compliments--not forgetting a little money,
that magic key to the Bedouin heart--I travelled with him for five
days, the pair of us riding together on his camel. This event, I
think, appealed to my sense of humor more than any other incident of
my escape. For five whole days and nights we were in each other's
company--yet the simple old fellow never discovered or even suspected
my secret. To him I was just simply a woman of his own race. He treated
me with respect, and, in his Bedouin way, even showed me kindness. I
laugh now when I think about it, and how startled he would have been
to learn the truth. He left me at the end of the fifth day, at a point
where our routes diverged, and once more I went on alone on foot.
On the twelfth day of my journey across the desert, what with the
hardship and the poor food, I began to get exhausted. I felt feverish
and deadly tired, but realized that I must not give way, and,
remembering how fortune had favored me hitherto, I determined to press
forward and reach the Canal as speedily as possible. I was plodding
doggedly on, a few hours later, when I sighted a party of mounted
gendarmes approaching, and the thought instantly flashed through my
mind that I was being chased; they would take me prisoner again, and
drag me back to be punished. The idea filled me with terror, but I
managed to evade them by concealing myself behind a hillock of sand,
where from sheer exhaustion and nerve-strain I fell fast asleep.
The thirteenth morning of my trip had dawned when I awoke, and I knew
that the journey was nearing its end. This was well for me, for I
was beginning to run short of food again, having only a little bread
and a few dates left, so I ate sparingly lest my stock should become
exhausted ere I reached my next resting-place.
Towards the close of my wanderings that day luck again befriended me,
for I chanced to meet a party of Bedouins encamped in the desert, and
they provided me with the now familiar fare of onions, salt, water, and
bread. Like the Turks, they had not the slightest suspicion that I was
other than I seemed.
From these people I learned definitely that my journey was nearing
completion; only one and half day's travel was needed, and it would
be ended. My anxiety seemed to increase during these last hours of my
pilgrimage, and many a time I almost succumbed from weakness, but I
forced myself to continue.
At last, to my joy, I perceived signs of some sort of civilization in
the distance--tents, soldiers, and all the miscellaneous equipment of
a Turkish army and its innumerable camp-followers. I trudged on and on
through this concourse, quite unchallenged--who would bother about a
poor deaf-mute Bedouin woman?--and eventually arrived near the Canal.
How excited I was at sight of it! How I longed to be on the other side!
On the opposite shore I could see soldiers, but I was too far away to
distinguish what troops they were.