As Frank was about to raise the glass to his eye, the doctor, who was
some little distance in advance, checked his camel for them to come up
alongside, and pointed the while away to where in the distance about a
dozen column-like clouds were spinning round as if upon pivots, while
they advanced as if to cross their course.
"A sand-storm," said the professor. "Not much, but unpleasant enough if
it comes upon us. Hi! Ibrahim; will those pillars cross before we get
near them?"
"I cannot say, Excellency," replied the old man. "I fear not. It will
be better to halt."
The preparations for the storm were soon made, the camels crouching down
with their necks fully outstretched, while their riders knelt down
sheltered by the animals and their packs, and held their thin cotton
robes ready to veil their faces should the storm come near.
It was a strange sight, the tall, pillar-like clouds sweeping along over
the level sand like so many parts of a vast machine preparing warp and
weft for spinning a garment to clothe the earth, and there were moments
when the pillars were so regular in distance and motion that it seemed
impossible not to believe that they were artificial.
All was still where the travellers stood and knelt, the sun pouring down
upon them from a clear sky, and as the Sheikh kept scanning the
approaching storm Frank watched him to try and read what he thought.
It was pretty plain, for the old man's eyes brightened and he seemed to
breathe more freely, since it was evident that if the whirlwind kept its
course the dust pillars would pass across the track they were making
half a mile away.
"But these storms change about so, Excellency," said the Sheikh. "This
may suddenly turn back or rush off right away from us. It will, I
think, go onward towards the great river away to our left, and sweep
across it. No!" he thundered out. "Be ready; it comes," for suddenly a
hot blast of air smote the party, fluttering their robes, and the
whirling pillars, so distinct and clear a few minutes before, grew misty
as if seen through a dense haze; for by one of its sudden changes the
storm had swept round almost at right-angles, and the next minute the
sky was obscured, the camels were groaning as they buried their heads in
the loose sand, and the storm of hot, suffocating dust, borne on a
mighty wind, was upon them, shrieking, tearing at everything loose, and
buffeting its victims, who could hardly breathe, the dust choking every
tiny crevice in the cotton cloth held over the face.
The roar and rush were horrible, the confusion of intellect strange and
peculiar, and Frank, as he cowered down behind his camel with his
forehead pressed against the saddle to keep his veil in its place, felt
as if he were breathing the scorching air out of some open furnace door,
while the choking, irritating sensation in the air-passages seemed as if
it must soon terminate in death.
Doubtless that would have been their fate if the storm had lasted; but
as quickly as it had come upon them it passed over, and in a few minutes
the air about them was clear again, the sky blue, and the sun beating
down, while the dust-cloud pillars were careering along, distinctly seen
a quarter of a mile away.
"Yes," said the Sheikh calmly, "they are terrible, these hot whirlwinds.
Their Excellencies would be glad to bathe and clear their faces and
hair from the thick dust, but there is no water save for drinking. We
have never had a worse one than this, Excellency, in our travels."
"Never," said the professor, who knelt in the sand trying to clear his
eyes from the impalpable brownish dust, "and I don't want to meet
another. This is one of the experiences of a desert journey, Frank.
Why, lad, you are turned from black to brown."
"And you the same, but from white," replied Frank, smiling.
"I suppose so. It's bad for the Hakim's white robes, too. I say,
Ibrahim, when shall we strike the river?"
"Not for many days, Excellency; but we shall halt at fountains among the
rocks."
Five days' monotonous journeying across the sandy plains, and then five
nights of travelling, with the days devoted to rest, had passed before
the river was approached at a bend which brought it near the line of
travel which the Sheikh had traced out for himself by the stars. The
way had been marked by the bones of camels, and in two places other
bones scattered here and there told their horrible tale of suffering or
attack, one skull displaying a frightful fracture that was unmistakable;
fountain after fountain had been reached, and refreshing halts had been
made where the waters gushed from some patch of rocks, to fertilise a
small extent around, supporting a few palms and prickly, stunted bushes
of acacia-like growth, before they started away again into the sand; and
in cases where the next water-hole was too far, one, two, or three
camels bore away water-skins well filled, to carry the party over the
next halting-place.
The necessity of keeping up the supply forced their guide to adopt a
zigzag mode of progression, and to make his little caravan traverse
nearly double the distance that would have been necessary could they
have taken a bee-line towards the south. But experience had taught all
travellers who journey by the desert, instead of by the great waterway
with its vast cataracts, where the pressure of the earth forced the
water springs to the surface, and naturally these were the goals for
which all tired travellers made.
There were but few incidents during a fortnight's travel, and more than
once Frank's heart sank as he pondered upon the little advance they had
made; but as the professor said, they were two weeks nearer their
journey's end, and all was well.
But it was sadly monotonous. The morning and evening skies were
glorious, but their beauties soon began to pale, while on the hot days
the journeys were most exhausting, and the travellers welcomed the clear
nights when the stars blazed on high, for these were the times the
Sheikh selected for progressing.
"There is no fear then of going far astray," he said; for he knew
nothing of the use of the compass, and the adventurers had never thought
of bringing such an aid.
In company with the doctor and professor such natural history objects as
presented themselves were examined--lizards among the rocks, a few
snakes, harmless, and the poison-bearing cobra; but away from the river,
birds were rare, save those of prey, and as to animals they were heard
more than seen. A gazelle or two, little and graceful, bounded across
the track, but it was at night that the howling of the jackals and the
long, hideous snarling of hyaenas taught the travellers that there were
plenty of these loathsome creatures hungrily waiting for the weaklings
of such caravans as crossed the sandy plains.
Twice over irregularities were pointed out by the Sheikh--places where
the dead level was broken--as being the sites of former occupancy of
that part of the country, the professor discoursing learnedly about the
possibility of changes in the surface having taken place and rendered
the country barren, while he talked eagerly of how interesting it would
have been to encamp at such spots, gather together a score of the
fellaheen with shovel and basket, and explore.
"But there could never have been cities there," said the doctor.
"But there were," replied the professor. "Egypt _is_ not half explored
as yet. Out yonder where we passed to-day the land lay lower, and there
was the trace of a wady, one of those irregular valleys which doubtless
ran towards the Nile. That was once filled with water, but the
encroaching sand has filled up and covered everything. Ah, I should
like nothing better than to begin digging there. It would not be long
before I began to learn who the people were who formed that colony."
At last, on the morning of the fifteenth day, when, after a longer
night's journey than usual, a halt was made, the faint dawn began to
show that the face of the country had undergone a change. Sand there
was in plenty, but it was diversified with patches of rocks, some of
which were of great elevation, while where the camels began to increase
their ordinary rate of speed, a ridge crossed their path, and as it grew
lighter the travellers' eyes were greeted by the relief of green bushes,
patches of trees, and various traces of this being a place frequented by
man.
As the sun rose, right across the east there were clouds, which seemed
to be very different from those to which they were accustomed, and the
reason was soon made plain by a remark from the Sheikh, who explained
that the river ran from north to south, about a day's journey eastward,
and that if they continued their march a few miles in that direction
they would soon come upon signs of cultivation, and a scattered village
or two.
"And shall we go that way?" asked Frank.
"Only as far as the first village, where we can buy grain--corn, and
dhurra. Then we strike away again into the desert, along whose borders
we must keep. It is safer, and we are less likely to meet with
wandering dervish bands. We only come near the river when it is
necessary to refill the sacks and give the camels better feed than they
can get near the water-holes and fountains."
"I see," said Frank, as he glanced at the professor. "To get to the
neighbourhood of the Mahdi's people quickly we must go slowly."
"Yes, Excellency, it is better so. We stay here two days while three of
the young men and three camels go out to buy corn in the villages
yonder. There is generally food to be purchased there, for the Nile
floods run out widely a little way beyond, and the Khalifa's people have
not reached so far as yet."
"Is there not the ruin of a great temple somewhere in this direction?"
"And of a city too, Excellency--El Gaebor," replied the Sheikh. "Few
people have gone there, for it is half a day's journey from the river
bank. But his Excellency will not stay to visit it now?"
"No, Ibrahim; not now," said the professor. "It is very tempting, but
duty first. We must come and see the ruins after we have fetched my
friend out of the new Mahdi's grasp. Not before."
"Yes, not before," said the doctor quietly; for he spoke little on the
way, passing long hours in a thoughtful silence, as if dreaming over the
duties he had to perform, and acting always as if he felt that he really
was the learned Hakim he assumed to be.
There was a great charm about the wild, rocky place they had reached,
the first rays of the sun as it rose lighting up a most picturesque
scene made glorious by that which was so rare. For at the foot of a
perpendicular mass of grey, grand, sun-scorched rock, there was a pool
of limpid water quite fifty yards across, and below it another into
which the surplus ran, forming a place easily accessible for the camels
and leaving the upper water unsullied for the use of man.
The tent was soon pitched and a fire made for the coffee and rough cakes
that were soon in progress of being made, while after drinking heartily,
the camels were left browsing quietly upon the abundant foliage of the
low-growing bushes, their burdens being stacked against the rocks which
formed the back of their little encampment.
"We ought to find some specimens here, Frank," said the professor, at
the end of an hour, as they sat dallying over the last drops of their
coffee.
"Yes; the place looks delightful after the bare sand," replied Frank.
"I am ready. Shall we have a wander round at once?"
"By all means," said the professor. "We'll take the guns. By the way,
do you keep that revolver of yours loaded?"
"Oh, no," said Frank.
"But you carry it under your jacket."
"Yes, I do as you suggested that I should. But I thought we were to
trust to cunning and not to force?"
"Of course; but the fact that we are getting nearer to human beings sets
me thinking that there's no harm in being prepared. Load up. You have
cartridges in your pocket?"
"No," said Frank, smiling. "What should a black slave be doing with
cartridges?"
"Be ready to stand upon his defence in a case of emergency. Here, take
some of mine and fill the chambers."
As he spoke the professor handed six of the little central-fire
cartridges, while Frank drew the small revolver he carried out of a
pocket within the breast of his cotton jacket, and began to thrust them
in.
"Going shooting?" said the doctor, looking up.
"Yes," said the professor; "we may get a few birds worth eating, as
there is water and growth here."
"Better lie down and have a good rest," said the doctor. "You both
require it. We must be careful about our health."
"Time for that too," said the professor. "We have to stay till the men
have been and fetched the grain, and they must have a good rest
afterward."
Just at that moment one of the Sheikh's men, who had been to fetch a
couple of camels which had strayed farther from the camp than seemed
necessary, came hurriedly, driving them before him, to leave them with
their fellows, and turn towards the Sheikh, making signs.
"What does that mean?" said the doctor, springing up. "Is something
wrong?"
The others followed the doctor's act the next moment, for some
communication, evidently of great importance, was made to the Sheikh by
his follower, with the result that the old man came quickly to where
they stood, while all the men went quietly to their camels.
"What is it, Ibrahim?" cried the professor.
"A strong party of the Baggara are coming to the fountain, Excellency.
The Hakim must take his seat at the door of the tent. Put away those
guns and be in attendance upon him, as we have arranged. Ben Eddin, be
waiting upon the Hakim with his pipe. Be calm, everyone, and show no
appearance of trouble at their coming. You must leave all to me."