One breathless evening, when the golden sun had deepened to crimson, and
the shadows of the rocks were lengthening upon the white furnace of the
sands, an alarm spread through our camp that strange horsemen were
riding hard down the valley in our direction. Marauders that we were,
fierce reprisals were of no infrequent occurrence, therefore the women
and children were quickly hurried out of the way, the camels tethered,
and each man gripped his spear, prepared to resist whatever onslaught
might be made.
Along the Wady Ereren, six days' march south of the town of Ghat, where
we were at that time encamped, we had taken the precaution to post three
men in order to give us warning in case of any projected attack by the
Kel-Alkoum, the powerful people with whom we were at feud on account of
the murder of six of our clansmen up in the north of Fezzan. Our
outposts, however, had sent us no word, therefore the only conclusion
was that they had been surprised and killed ere they could reach us.
Hearing the news, I clambered up the bank of the ancient dried-up
watercourse, in the bed of which we had pitched our tents, and, looking
across the bend, we saw four dark specks approaching. The eye of the
Touareg is as keen as that of the eagle, for, living as we do upon
plunder, our intelligence becomes so sharpened that we somehow
instinctively scent the approach of the stranger long before we see or
hear him. In a few moments the men crowded about me for my opinion.
Tamahu was dead, and this occurred in the first year of my chieftainship
of the Azjar.
"Let all four be captured and brought to me," I said, my eyes still
fixed upon the approaching figures. "If they resist, kill them."
In an instant twenty men, dark and forbidding in their black veils,
sprang into their high-backed brass-mounted saddles, and with their
gleaming spears held high, ready to strike, swept away down the valley
to meet the new-comers.
Half an hour passed anxiously. The women in the rear chattered
excitedly, and the children, held back by them, rent the air by their
cries. From where I stood I was unable to witness the meeting of our
men with the strangers, but suddenly the sound of firearms reached our
ears. Then I felt assured that the mysterious horsemen must either be
the advance-guard of some valuable caravan from Algeria, or of an army
from the north. Yet again and again the guns spoke forth, and so
rapidly that I feared for the safety of our men; but at last there was
silence deep and complete, and when I descended to the camp I found a
tumultuous excitement prevailing. The four men, escorted by those who
had gone to arrest them, were still carrying their guns, and as they
slipped from their saddles before me, smiles broadened their unveiled
faces.
I looked at them puzzled. It seemed as though the firing had been but
powder-play.
"Behold! O Ahamadou, our Sheikh! We are thy kinsmen, yet thou hast
sent to attack us!" they exclaimed.
"Our kinsmen!" I cried, noticing that they wore the white burnouse of
the north, with their _haicks_ held around their heads by ropes of
twisted camel's hair. They wore no veils, and a Touareg is
unrecognisable, even to his relatives, if his black _litham_ be removed.
"Yea," cried one, the elder of the four. "Lend us a veil, and we will
show thee."
A strip of black cotton cloth was thrust into his hand by one of the
crowd, and he assumed it, twisting it deftly as only a Touareg can.
Then he turned and faced the onlookers, who with one accord laughed
immoderately, hailing him as Taghma, son of Ifafan. Then the other
three assumed the veil, and were, one by one, recognised and received
back by their relatives.
At the conclusion of this strange ceremony, Taghma turned to me
explaining how long ago before Ramadan they had wandered afar with their
flocks to the oasis of Ezirer, and were there taken captives by the
Kel-Alkoum.
"But," he added, "we have seen with our eyes the greatest wonder on
earth. Allah himself hath come down from heaven!"
"What?" I cried, starting to my feet. "Thou liest!" The sensation
caused by the man's calm announcement was intense.
"If my tongue uttereth falsehood, O Sheikh! then let it be cut out," he
said. "I have seen Allah, the One. He guideth the Kel-Alkoum our
enemies, and we are of a verity forsaken."
"Ah!" wailed the old marabout Ajrab. "Did I not warn ye that because of
your inattention to your devotions and your neglect to say the five
prayers, the One Merciful would leave you to perish and be eaten by the
vultures like the lame camel in the wilderness?"
"Loose not thy tongue's strings," I commanded quickly. "Let us hearken
unto Taghma, who hath seen the One from above."
"Of a verity, O Ahamadou!" answered the escaped captive, "we are lost,
for Allah hath promised to render assistance unto the people he favoured
in their expeditions. He declareth that we, of the Touaregs, are the
parasites of the earth, and that we shall be exterminated, not one being
left. Truly he can render our spears as broken reeds, and our blades as
useless as rusted tin. Each day at the _maghrib_ he standeth beneath a
baldachin of purple and giveth the people an assurance of his favour,
while all fall down and kiss the hem of his crimson garment so that they
may be blessed. In Salemma, El Had, El Guerat, and the villages around
Gatron, he hath healed the sick and performed wondrous miracles, while
before our own eyes hath he caused a great tree to rise from the bare
sand--a marvel which no earthly being could accomplish."
"The latter thou hast thyself seen?" I enquired, much interested in
this most remarkable statement.
"We have, O Sheikh!" he answered. "The face of Allah is in the darkness
as a shining light. Verily the promise in the _sura_ is fulfilled. He
hath come in person to lead the Faithful unto conquest."
Alone I sat in my tent that night, smoking and pondering deeply over the
strange report. In the camp the excitement had already risen to
fever-heat. The aged Ajrab was addressing the crowd of men and women,
urging them to earnest supplication. Allah had come, and would vent his
wrath upon those who had discarded His Book of Everlasting Will. From
my divan I could hear the grey-bearded marabout's declaratory argument,
and began to wonder whether the statement that Allah had descended upon
earth had any foundation in fact. I confess to being sceptical. From
the wailing of the women, and the low growls of the men, I knew plainly
that the belief in the report must have a seriously disheartening effect
upon our fighting men, who, if convinced that Allah assisted their
enemies, would no doubt throw down their arms and flee.
I therefore saw that the statement of Taghma and his companions must be
investigated, and after deep thought at length resolved to assume a
disguise, and go myself to the camp of the Kel-Alkoum and see the
miracles of which the men had spoken. To leave the Azjar without its
Sheikh at such a time would, I knew, result disastrously; therefore,
calling together the marabout and three of the most trusted headmen, I
secretly explained to them my intention, and told them to account for my
non-appearance during the next few days by spreading the report that I
was seized by a slight fever and confined to my tent.
Then just before the waning of the moon, the dress that Taghma had worn
was brought to me, and, assuming it, I mounted a fleet horse and set
forth alone down the winding wady.
With the facts I had elicited from the four fugitives vivid within my
mind, I journeyed forward, arriving ten days later in the little
stone-built town of Zemnou, a cluster of white houses surrounding its
small mosque capped by three thin whitewashed minarets. Wearing as I
did the correct garb of a tribesman of the Kel-Alkoum, my presence was
unnoticed, and I was therefore enabled to stroll about the market-places
and make my observations while pretending to bargain for goods I had no
intention of purchasing.
At sunset each day, when the voice of the _mueddin_ sounded from the
minaret, "Allah is great!" I crossed to the mosque, washed my feet in
the marble basin and entered, in the expectation of seeing the Ruler of
Earth, but was each day disappointed. At that hour the surrounding
terraces were peopled with white forms, which stood out against the
summits of the palm-trees and the green of the baobab. Their backs were
turned to the purple splendours of the dying light, for their faces
looked towards the already darkened east, lighted for us by that eternal
light in which Mecca is to be found. At length, after a week had
elapsed, a great and excited crowd gathered in the market, and, when I
enquired its reason, I learned that Allah was coming.
For an hour we waited in the full glare of the noon-day sun, until
suddenly a shout of joy arose, and all fell upon their knees in
adoration. Then, lifting my eyes, I witnessed for the first time the
One Merciful in the flesh. Truly Taghma had not lied. He was of
middle-age, a trifle pale, but his dark eyes had a kindly, sympathetic
look, and his countenance was open and bright, a face such as is never
seen on earth. In his robe of blood-red he stood with his head
uncovered, and while the people about him kissed his feet and the hem of
his robe, he stretched forth both hands over them, pronouncing upon them
his blessing and an assurance of his favour.
One fact, however, struck me as curious. Abreha, the Sheikh, stood
aloof, with arms folded, watching the scene from beneath his shaggy
brows. The glare in his keen eye told me that within his heart he
concealed a fierce jealousy that his power had thus been eclipsed.
The people, frantic with joy at the words of the Giver of all Good
Gifts, cried aloud their praises, repeating their _fatihat_, and making
open declaration of their belief. The scene was the strangest and most
exciting that ever I had witnessed, for, carried away by their
enthusiasm, many fell fainting, and were trampled upon by the crowd
eagerly struggling to press Allah's garment to their lips, and obtain
the remission of all past sins.
Suddenly the tall, erect, imposing figure in blood-red, truly kingly,
raised both arms above his head, and, in a clear voice that echoed
across the market above the clamours of the wild perspiring crowd,
commanded silence. In an instant one could have heard a cricket chirp.
Every mouth was open in breathless eagerness, for Allah was about to
speak to them, his chosen, with his own lips.
"Give ear, O my well-beloved!" he cried, with an accent unfamiliar.
"Among ye have I come because ye have repeated your _suras_ faithfully,
and have believed in my Prophet. Of a verity will I bless you with
abundant blessings, and the sun of my favour shall shine upon you so
that your enemies may wither before the dazzling light shed by your
faces. You, the Kel-Alkoum, my beloved, shall sweep from the face of
the earth the wicked who have oppressed you, and their entrails will be
burned by the all-consuming fire of my vengeance. The Touaregs, those
who hide their faces in veils because of the hideousness of their
iniquities, shalt thou put to the sword, and they shall be consigned to
the place Al-Hawiyat, where their food shall be offal, and melting pitch
shall slake their thirst. I am thy leader, henceforward fear not, for
thou hast a stronger hand than all nations of the earth, and at my will
all who oppose thee shall be routed and die. The Kel-Alkoum, my chosen,
shall rule the world."
He paused, and glanced round with an eye keen as a falcon's, while loud
praises arose from every hoarse throat around.
"We will rout the Azjar from their mountain fastnesses!" they cried.
"We are ready at any moment to do thy bidding, and sweep away the
wicked. Thou wilt give strength to our arms that none can resist. Be
praised, O King of earth and heaven! Be praised, O One!"
A smile of satisfaction played about the lips of the red-robed visitant
from the unknown; but, without further word, he turned and stalked
slowly to the mosque, the excited crowd closing in behind him, rending
the air with their adulatory cries.
Throughout many days I remained in Zemnou. Once I saw the mysterious
visitant pass in the darkness, and truly his luminous face shone like a
lamp. One morning, however, while wandering among the palms outside the
town, I met the Ruler of Earth walking alone, his head sunk upon his
breast in pensive attitude. With his red cloak trailing heedlessly in
the dust, he presented a decidedly dejected appearance. My footsteps
startled him, and, raising his head quickly, he walked erect with his
usual gait, apparently being desirous of concealing his melancholy.
"Praise!" I exclaimed, stopping, and bowing low before him. "If thou
art, indeed, Allah, thou alone knowest the innermost thoughts of thy
servant."
He paused, and stretched both his white tapering hands above my bowed
head.
"Thy thoughts are of me," he answered. "Thou desirest speech with me
alone. Speak."
So calmly he looked upon me that I was convinced that such a kindly,
sympathetic face, with its expression of a sweet sadness, could not be
human. Besides, had he not healed the sick, and caused trees to grow
from out the desert sand? Yet a spirit of scepticism possessed me, and,
scarcely knowing what words I uttered, I said--
"If thou art the mighty and wise One thou canst tell me my name, and
whence I have come."
In an instant his brows knit, and his eyes flashed angrily.
"Thou art an unbeliever, and one of my accursed. Thou, who darest to
question my immutability and omnipotence, go dwell with Eblis, Ruler of
Darkness, where maleficient spirits shall haunt thee, and the tortures
of the flesh shall rend thee for ever. Begone!"
And drawing his robe about his shoulders, he moved forward with truly
imperial gait.
At that moment I saw through the trees a pious fanatical crowd
approaching. The news had evidently spread that the All-merciful was
walking in the outskirts of the town, and they had come forth to touch
his garments and receive his blessing. But when he saw them he halted,
and, pointing towards me, cried--
"Lo! Yonder is one of the sons of Eblis, a scoffer and unbeliever. Let
his body be given to the dogs."
Ere I could realise that the kind-faced man had condemned me to death,
the mob, with loud yells of execration, rushed forward to seize me, and
hurry me to an ignominious end. But in an instant I dashed in among the
trees, and fled for life so quickly that I at length managed to
out-distance my irate pursuers, and till evening I slept beneath the
shadow of a rock. Then, determined to speak again with the Almighty
One, I returned into the town, taking the precaution to purchase new
garments to prevent recognition.
The All-powerful had aroused further suspicion within me by his
embarrassment when I had questioned him, and by his anxiety that I
should be killed ere I could utter denunciation. Without doubt, he
possessed a mixture of firmness and independence which raised him above
all prejudices, for he expressed his opinions to Abreha, the Sheikh,
with the same frankness he employed towards the humblest tribesman;
nevertheless, when we had spoken, I had detected a dramatic pose and an
artificiality of manner which puzzled me. Again, at the moment when I
had addressed him, I had noticed, walking at some little distance behind
him, a young girl of extreme beauty. She was unveiled, in the manner of
the Kel-Alkoum, but somehow her face struck me as familiar, and I
desired to again behold her. With that object I resumed my former
quarters in the market-place, and kept watchful vigil. Next morning she
came. Her face was paler than before, and it wore an anxious, terrified
expression. I inquired who she was, and was told that to all she was a
mystery. Whence she came no man knew, but Allah had declared her to be
one of his chosen, hence none molested her, or made enquiry.
I smiled, for I had recognised her. She was Mezouda, daughter of one of
our fighting men, who had been long ago captured by the Kel-Oui, and
whose whereabouts had remained unknown.
An hour later I contrived to have secret speech with her. At first she
did not recognise me, but when I told her who I was, then she at once
expressed her eagerness to return to her own people.
"Thou shalt return to our camp only on one condition, namely, that thou
wilt induce that man known as Allah to accompany thee," I answered. "He
is thy friend."
"But the Kel-Alkoum are his well-beloved," she said, using the same
expression he so often used.
"He must forsake them," I observed, explaining to her the baneful effect
the report had exercised upon our men of the Azjar.
But she shook her head. "No, he will not leave the Kel-Alkoum. He is
already their ruler," she said. "The power of Abreha is now fast
waning."
"Take me to him," I commanded.
"But his house is a holy place. None dare enter on penalty of being
cast out for ever."
"I will risk it," I answered. "Guide thither my footsteps."
Reluctantly she led me through a number of narrow crooked streets, until
she paused before a small mud-built hut, and pointed to it.
Without ceremony I pushed open its closed door, and, entering, discerned
the great King, half-dressed, standing before a scrap of broken mirror
combing his beard. His face and neck were brown, so were his hands, but
his breast and arms were white! The sympathetic countenance and
tapering fingers were ingeniously stained to match the colour of the men
of the desert, but the remainder of his body showed him to be a
European.
"How darest thou thus disturb my privacy, accursed son of Eblis?" he
cried in anger, evidently recognising me as the one whom he had
condemned to death on the previous day.
"I have entered in order to denounce thy profane chicanery," I answered
boldly. "Thou, the self-styled Allah, art an infidel, an impostor, and
a fraud!"
He started at my fierce declaration, for the first time recollecting
that parts of his chest, arms, and legs were exposed to my gaze. His
face blanched beneath its artificial colouring, and his white lips
trembled.
"Well!" he gasped, "and if thou hast discovered my secret--what then?"
"The people of the Kel-Alkoum shall be made aware of how completely they
have been tricked," I answered, taking up a small pot, which I smelt,
and found contained a preparation of phosphorous. This he had evidently
used to cause his face to be luminous in the darkness.
"No!" he cried, "anything but that. I would rather kill myself outright
than face the ferocity of these people."
"Then truthfully answer my questions," I said firmly, when I had
explained to him who I was, and the sensation caused in our camp by the
report of his assistance to our enemies. "Whence comest thou?"
"I come from the land of the Roumis over the great black water," he
answered, suddenly casting off all cant and concealment. "My name is
Mostyn Day, and I am an English mining prospector. Long ago, while in
my own country, I read of the ease with which the fanatical Arabs may be
imposed upon by fearless and unscrupulous men who desire to obtain power
over them; and, truth to tell, hearing that great mineral wealth existed
in the country of the Kel-Alkoum, and knowing Arabic well, I conceived a
plan to come here, announce myself as Allah, and obtain over the tribe
such complete authority and control that I should either become their
Sheikh or obtain a concession to exploit all the mines in this rich
region. My object was very nearly accomplished. To-morrow there is
arranged a great rising of the people against Abreha, with the object of
declaring me their ruler, but,"--and he paused sighing--"your discovery
has put an end to it all."
"But what of the miracles you have worked in various villages?"
"Mere conjuring tricks and sleight-of-hand," he laughed. "Once, long
ago, I was connected with an English travelling show, therefore I am
familiar with most stage tricks. But now I have confessed to you, you
will not expose me. Remember, unless you allow me to fly, these people
will assuredly take my life."
"I will preserve silence on one condition only," I replied. "That
to-night, an hour after sundown, you leave with me, journey to my
encampment, and there exhibit to my people your painted face and arms,
explaining to them the reason of your imposture, and showing them how
you contrived to render your countenance luminous at night."
At first he demurred, but finding me inexorable he at length submitted,
and asked to be allowed to take Mezouda with him.
"She is my wife," he explained. "I married her in Algiers two years
ago, and by her aid alone have I been enabled to approach so nearly the
realisation of the plot I had conceived."
"It was truly an ingenious one," I laughed. "Yes, Mezouda shall go with
thee. Remain in silence of thine intentions, and meet me among the
palms outside the town an hour after sundown."
At first I feared that the intrepid Englishman, who had so nearly been
the cause of a great Jehad through the whole Sahara, would endeavour to
escape, but both he and his pretty and adventurous wife kept the
appointment, and after some days we eventually arrived at our
encampment.
The excitement caused by our appearance was unbounded. Taghma and his
companions at once recognised the Englishman in his blood-red robe as
the Allah of the Kel-Alkoum, and all fell on their knees, crying aloud
in adoration.
But their supplications were quickly cut short by the few loud words of
authority I uttered, and when half an hour later the reckless adventurer
exhibited his stained face and hands, and then entertained them by
showing the simple means by which he accomplished his tricks of magic,
the air was rent by roars of laughter. The veiled warriors of the Azjar
danced for joy, and held their sides when convinced how completely their
enemies had been tricked, and how dejected they, no doubt, were when
they knew that the Allah, in whom they trusted, had forsaken them
without a single word of farewell.
For a month the ingenious impostor remained a guest within our tents;
then he departed for the north, taking his wife Mezouda with him. But
since that day the Kel-Alkoum, believing themselves the forgotten of
Allah, have ever been a cowed and peaceful nation.