TO CAIRO AGAIN
It was some time before Naoum joined his _protege_. George finished
his meal and waited impatiently for his coming, but an hour passed
without any sign. At last he heard again, outside in the hall, a
bustle and noise similar to that which had occurred at Arabi's
arrival, and he knew that at last the rebel chief was taking his
departure.
After a while the noise died away and Naoum appeared. His face was
calm, but George noticed a something in his look that seemed foreign
to it, and a presentiment that he was about to hear bad news took
possession of him. As Naoum came forward, our hero greeted him
anxiously.
"Well, what news? Nothing bad, I hope?"
Naoum turned his eyes away, and the strange look deepened on his
face. George was quick to notice it.
"Yes, there is, I see it in your face. Tell me, I don't mind; it
can't be worse than death, and I have already faced that often."
"Arabi is a strange man," replied Naoum, as though thinking aloud.
"He appears to have no will of his own. This man Arden has him under
his thumb. Death," he went on, turning his strong face towards his
companion, "would be a blessing to that which I am afraid will be
your lot, unless----"
"Unless what?" eagerly demanded Helmar.
"Unless we can prevent it," replied Naoum slowly.
"What is this dreadful fate you anticipate?" asked George with a
sinking heart, as his friend's ominous words fell on his ears.
"After you had gone I endeavoured to draw from him what he intended
doing with you. I felt convinced that some plans were revolving in
his mind, and I wished, for our guidance, to discover them. In this
conviction I am certain I was right. He assured me that he had no
intention of having you executed, but he hung so persistently on the
fact that you possessed information of the plans of the British
Commander, that I knew he intended to force you to speak. Your enemy
Arden has done his work well, for, with all the persuasion in my
power, I could not move this foolish man in his belief. I fear that
he intends to have you 'interrogated' at Cairo."
"Tortured, do you mean?" asked George in dismay.
"Yes, that is what it means, I fear. The barbarity of these inhuman
creatures is frightful, and they carry out the rites of the
Inquisition to the full extent of its cruelty. However," he went on,
his face clearing a little, "although I tried to dissuade him, I was
not altogether unprepared for this development, and you can rely on
me not to lose a point in your favour. We must outwit these men
somehow."
Naoum relapsed into thoughtful silence; his face was heavy with
anxiety; George could almost hear the throbbings of his own heart,
the silence seemed so profound, and it was with a sense of relief
that he heard his companion again talking in his slow, measured
tones.
"The sign by which you will know your friends in Cairo is the word
'Amman!' Your answer to it will be, 'Allah is good!' To which the
friend will reply, 'And ever watchful!' To any one coming to you in
this way you can give any message, or follow any instructions he or
she may give. You can trust me that never for one moment will our
watchfulness be relaxed, and, in times of your greatest danger, help
will be near."
George repeated the sign so as to be sure he had made no mistake,
then, infinitely relieved, he asked----
"And when do I start for my new prison?"
"To-night. You will go by train. Arabi will have gone before you. He
also leaves to-night. I shall go and discover what news my men have
brought in."
He turned, as he spoke, and left the room.
So after all he was to be the victim of Arden's cruel machinations,
thought George, when he found himself alone. In spite of all Naoum's
power he was unable to stay the hand of this ruthless enemy.
Torture! The word was one of terrible significance; death was
child's play compared with it. Pondering for a few moments on
Arden's treacheries, his thoughts going back to the little petty
theft at Constantinople, he tried to account for it all, but only
came to the conclusion that it was inherent wickedness and villainy.
George had outwitted and defied him at Port Said. To a man of Mark's
cruel and villainous disposition this was sufficient, and he had
made up his mind to leave no stone unturned to humble and ruin his
former friend. Well, time would show if he were to succeed.
As these thoughts passed through Helmar's mind, a grim, set look of
determination came into the young man's handsome face, that boded
ill for the success of his enemy's plans.
The sun had set, and night had closed in when Naoum again came to
George to notify him that the guard awaited to take him to Cairo.
"The little wretch Abdu is to be in charge of you, Helmar," said he,
after informing him of the presence of the guard. "How this comes to
be arranged, I do not know, but there is evidently some purpose in
it. Be prepared for anything, and do not forget what I have told
you; above all, do not let anything your guard can say to you rouse
you to anger--it is a favourite way of obtaining an excuse for
getting rid of prisoners. And now, good-bye!"
George bade his kind host and protector good-bye, and with a
haughty appearance of indifference, he accompanied Abdu and two
soldiers to the station. If he had had any idea that he was to
travel comfortably he was quickly undeceived, for the train, which
was waiting, consisted of nothing but goods wagons; into one of
these he was unceremoniously hustled and the doors firmly bolted.
One source of comfort to him, at this treatment, was the fact that
Abdu and his two guards had to travel in the same compartment.
The moment the doors were closed his hands and feet were securely
bound.
"What is this for?" asked George, as in obedience to the little
wretch's orders he submitted to the indignity.
"In order that you cannot play any more tricks upon us," replied
Abdu in French. "I haven't forgotten what you did on the way to
Damanhour--we have not that fool Belbeis with us now--heh!"
Helmar objected, and refused to allow the guards to bind his feet.
Immediately Abdu's eyes flashed, and he drew a long, keen blade from
his belt.
"Would you?" he cried between his teeth; "this knife is sharp,
so----" And he pricked George's hands.
Feeling the uselessness of resistance, George allowed the little
black wretch to secure his feet, and as it was complete, stooped to
sit down. With a fiendish look on his face, the Egyptian raised his
foot and gave him a vicious kick in the chest. Losing his balance,
Helmar fell heavily to the floor, striking his head with great force
against the side of the van.
Blind with fury at such inhuman treatment, George struggled to
release his hands from the rope which held them, but his efforts
were useless and only roused the soldiers to merriment. Suddenly, as
if believing that his prisoner was succeeding in freeing himself,
Abdu leaped upon him, and flourishing his long knife, pricked him
several times in the body with it; with a brutal laugh he then
kicked him again and rejoined his companions at the other end of the
car.
Helmar now understood the reason this brute was sent in charge of
him, and he knew that his journey was to be one of insufferable
agony. Oh, for one moment of freedom again! If it cost him his life
he would exterminate the hound.
After his last onslaught, Abdu left him alone for a while, and
Helmar's anger began to cool down. He thought of Naoum's words, and
realized how truly he had spoken. No, he must remain quiet, and then
even Abdu could not be barbarous enough to murder him. It was one
thing to come to such a determination and another to carry it out;
alternately he was a prey to violent thoughts of revenge and the
calmness of philosophy. In the latter intervals he wondered how long
the train would take to reach its destination, he had not been in it
half-an-hour, and yet it seemed to him an eternity.
The guards were talking in low tones; every now and then Helmar
caught a word of Arabic, but they had taken the precaution to seat
themselves so far from him that he could not hear what they talked
about. The misery of his uncomfortable position and surroundings
gave him little desire to interest himself with them.
About an hour after they had started, Abdu left his companions and
came and sat beside him. Helmar knew this was the prelude to some
fiendish cruelty, but what he did not know. He was not long left in
doubt.
The train was bumping terrifically, the metals over which it was
running being very uneven. For a few moments Abdu watched the motion
of a piece of iron chain, hanging through a ring in the side of the
car, then, having evolved some plan, he turned to his prisoner with
a leer on his face.
"You see this," he said, tapping the place where Helmar had struck
him in the face; "Abdu hasn't forgotten, but he is kind and forgives
easily. You are a prisoner, and must be made comfortable."
As he said this he sprang up, and going over to where the chain was
hanging, took it from its place, and coiling it up into a knot,
returned to George's side. The chain was made of large iron links,
with several sharp, square swivels in it, and these Abdu so placed
that they projected from the rest. Having arranged it to his fancy,
he seized his prisoner's hair, and raising his head by it, placed
the bunch of chain beneath it, and then, with brutal force, pushed
him back on to the sharp, rusty iron.
"You must have a pillow," he laughed, as he saw George wince with
pain.
The moment Abdu had released his head, Helmar raised it from the
cruel iron and moved himself away, but the Egyptian was ready in a
moment; the knife flashed, and George felt its keen point prick
through his clothes.
"Ah! you would refuse my kindness, would you? This must not be," and
he pushed the chain again beneath the prisoner's head. "So, if you
move again the knife will go farther in next time."
George now found himself compelled to remain with the chain under
his head. Strain as he would, to keep from resting upon it, the
motion and jolting of the train made it pummel the back of his
skull, until he felt that he should soon go mad. Once or twice, in
desperation, he moved, but the wretch was as good as his word, and
the point of his knife was dug into his legs and arms until his
clothes were covered with blood.
After half-an-hour of this Abdu seemed to have had enough of the
pastime, and with a sneering laugh removed the chain, and then
returned to his companions at the end of the car.
Helmar all this time had not uttered one word. Notwithstanding the
agony he had endured, and the pain of the wounds Abdu had inflicted
upon him, he had not allowed a single sound to escape him, but it
was with a sigh of intense relief that he saw the little monster
rejoin his friends.
The guards, for a time, now seemed to ignore the presence of their
prisoner and spoke in louder tones. Possibly Abdu was not aware that
his prisoner could speak Arabic, for they conversed quite freely,
and George distinctly heard every word they said. Abdu was the man
his attention was mainly fixed upon.
"No, no," he was saying, "the officer Arden has been fooled by this
Naoum. Arabi would have killed him at once but for the money-man
Naoum. I tell you he is his friend, and we will have no power to
harm him."
"But Arden is powerful, and while Naoum is away, will be able to do
as he likes," replied one of the men, in a tone of conviction.
"You are a fool, and cannot see before your nose," cried Abdu,
irritably. "Arabi dare not quarrel with Naoum; the other is only
powerful in favour, he does not wield the hold over our master. No,
Arden will work his end, but not through his master, it will be in
the way he ordered the prison to be fired."
Helmar listened to every word they were talking of him.
"So it was Arden that had the prison set alight," thought he;
"evidently he would stop at nothing. Would his influence extend to
Cairo?"
"Who says that Arden had the prison burnt?" said one of the men.
"More likely that you did it, Abdu, because the Christian dog struck
you."
All three laughed, and George shuddered as he realized what it meant
to be in the power of such creatures.
"Whoever did it, it was good," said Abdu; "the dogs must die, or the
true believers will be driven from their own land. I would that I
were allowed, yonder dog should never leave this train alive, and
his body should rot on the plains, and feed the vultures."
"You are a great man, Abdu," said one of his companions, sneeringly,
"and very brave. Go and cut yonder dog's ropes and see how you will
fare! Allah! but he would eat you, knife and all!"
Abdu was stung to the quick, and retorted hotly--
"Have a care; I have dealt with him before, and if he hurt me it was
because I was not aware; but I am here in front of you, and by the
Prophet's beard, I fear you not," and he showed his glittering white
teeth.
Helmar was in hopes that they would start to fight amongst
themselves, and he felt convinced that if they did so, they would
not bother any more about troubling him.
"Allah! but you think because you are the son of a great man that I
fear to speak," retorted the other. "Shoo! I fear you so little that
I spit in your face!"
The man suited the action to the word, and immediately sprang to his
feet. Abdu promptly followed suit, as did the third man. The little
officer's eyes were blazing with rage, and he rushed, with upraised
knife, on the man who had insulted him. Instantly the two men
locked, and a struggle to the death ensued. Their knives gleamed and
flashed in the dim light of the car as each tried to bury his weapon
in his opponent's vitals.
So interested was Helmar in what was going on that he forgot his
pain and the torture to which he had been subjected, and laughed and
cheered Abdu's assailant on with an enthusiasm that astonished even
himself.
The third man of his guard seemed in some magic way to have
disappeared, but George had not thought about him, so busily
occupied was he with the combatants. To and fro they swayed; now
Abdu seemed to be getting the best of it, and now the other appeared
to be forcing the little man back. It was most exciting, and George
struggled to a sitting posture, the better to follow their
movements.
Suddenly a whispered tone reached his ear; some one close beside him
uttered the word "Amman!"