"The young Emir wants you to go out with him, Excellency," said Ibrahim
the same day, towards evening.
Frank stared, and not feeling safe, remained silent, but the professor
spoke for him.
"Wants him to go out? What for?"
"It is out of friendly feeling, Excellency," replied the Sheikh. "They
are much of an age, and the young Emir says that Ben Eddin is
wonderful."
"But it is so strange," said the professor; "the one is a chief, and the
other a slave."
"Yes, Excellency, but Ben Eddin is not a white, and he can be friends
with him."
"I suppose it means friendliness, Frank, and if you refuse it will give
offence. Ah, here's the Hakim. How is your patient?"
"Calming down into a natural sleep, and certainly better."
The professor told him of the young Emir's message, and the Hakim looked
grave.
"We cannot refuse," he said, "and it may mean a fresh opportunity for
getting new. You must go, Frank."
After the first surprise the latter felt all eagerness, for the reason
expressed by his friend, and going out into the garden he found the
young Emir impatiently waiting for him, and ready to greet him with a
warmth which showed that the object was friendly in the extreme, but he
stopped short, frowning and pointing to the young man's side.
For a few minutes Frank looked at him in a puzzled way, for his words
were perfectly unintelligible, till signs were made, the young Emir
touching his belt, sword, and dagger, and then pointing to the house.
After the gift that had been made a short time before there could be no
mistaking the meaning, and Frank went back to his room, took down the
sword, dagger, and belt from the wall, and walked back fastening them
on.
The young Emir's face lit-up with a boyish look of pleasure, and he
stood looking at the young Englishman for a few moments before making a
sign to him and hurrying off into the building, to return with a fine
white cotton robe, which he threw over Frank's shoulders, and then
stepped back to look at him with satisfaction, before catching him by
the arm and leading him to the gate, where Frank fully expected to see
camels waiting for them.
To his surprise two of the Baggara were standing there with the guards
holding a couple of fiery Arabian horses, and the young Emir signed to
Frank to mount, setting the example by springing up with all the
activity of one used from childhood to the saddle.
"Takes it for granted that I can ride," said Frank to himself, and he
stepped up to the beautiful animal, glanced at bit and reins, and then
examined the stirrups, which were after the fashion of those used by
Arab horsemen, far too short for an Englishman's style of riding.
He made signs to the man who held the horse, pointing to the stirrup
leathers, but in vain, till he began to alter them himself, when the
second man grasped what was wanted, and smiling rather contemptuously,
made the alteration.
Frank was modest enough in his self-estimation, and as he saw the
restless movements of the beautiful little highly bred creature his
first thought was, "I hope I shall not be thrown." For his experience
of riding was connected with ordinary, tamely disposed English hacks and
cobs, and his opportunities had been infrequent. Still he had been
taught, and as soon as the stirrups were properly adjusted he took the
reins, checked with a touch on the off side the horse's disposition to
edge away, and mounted, the beautiful animal making a quick bound as
soon as its new rider was in the saddle.
But Frank was not unseated, and to his great delight he found his
steed's motions easy in the extreme, as it ambled along by its
companion's side, while to the young man's profound satisfaction his new
friend led him in quite a fresh direction to any in which he had
previously been.
They were in a far more important part of the city, passing better
houses, some with fair gardens; palm and mimosa trees overtopped walls.
Here and there the houses had rough balconies, and he caught a glimpse
of the Mahdi's tomb, a white-topped domed building looking like a
gigantic egg set on end, with four small ones to form corners, some
attempt at ornamentation, and for apex what appeared to be a great
gilded spear thrust through a couple of brass balls.
To his great surprise they passed a busy marketplace and rough-looking
shops, the dwellings of traders and makers of horse trappings and camel
saddles; others displayed cotton fabrics, some even with ornamentations
of silk; then makers of brass work, swords, and spears with the round
shields carried by so many of the fighting men; and as they rode on
through crowds of busy people he found that his companion was evidently
noting his surprise and ready to smile with satisfaction at the interest
he displayed.
In his other excursions he and his companions had been the observed of
all, and at every turn those they passed had turned to gaze, generally
with scowls, at them and their protecting guard, and he had often felt
that it was to the latter that they owed their safety. But now it was
different: his black face and the company he was in made him seem one of
the people, so that his appearance caused no surprise, and he was able
to ride on perfectly unnoticed by the common folk and the many armed,
overbearing, mounted and pacing warriors they passed.
It was a novel and a wonderfully interesting scene as he hastily noticed
how plain it was that he was riding through a conquered city in which
the tribes from far south were displaying at every turn their contempt
for and insolence to the humbled people they had mastered, and over whom
they ruled by the sword and spear. He noted, too, the difference in
type of feature, darkness of skin, and dress, between the various
tribes, all of whom, however, were at one in their bullying aspect and
overbearing way towards the humbled natives among whom they had taken up
their residence; and hence it was that for the time being Frank had it
forced upon him by the servile actions and harried ways of the men who
stepped aside to let him and his companion pass, that he was looked upon
as a member of one of the conquering race--one of the feared, instead of
the contemned.
Frank's spirits rose as they rode on past rough bazaar and well built
house, and the disappointment he had felt at the sudden check to their
plans of obtaining permission to proceed to Khartoum died quite away.
For he learned in this change of position that the city had not half
been searched, and as his eyes wandered here and there it was with the
feeling that at any minute he might come upon the face he so eagerly
sought, while in spite of a feeling of shrinking repugnance to his
companion he began to realise how valuable a kind of friendship between
them might prove, especially if their intercourse meant a freedom in
traversing the city unencumbered by their guards.
It became more and more evident as they rode on, and his manifest
pleasure and excited interest in all he saw about the place was noted,
that the young Emir was perfectly satisfied, and grasping how he
examined the better homes, paused from time to time for him to notice
the houses and gardens they passed, and the servants and slaves of their
occupants.
"It is just out of friendliness," thought Frank, "a return for my
nursing when he was in a dying state. Everyone has some form of
gratitude in him. Would it be possible to find poor Hal, and then
appeal to the Emir and his son to let us buy the prisoner and take him
away?"
Frank's heart sank again directly, for he felt that it was improbable in
the extreme. They were nothing better than prisoners themselves, and
the most to be expected would be that his brother's slavery might be
ameliorated by a change of masters.
"Better that than how he is," thought the young man at last, "for the
Emir undoubtedly respects us, and that last experiment must have raised
us all wonderfully in his eyes."
He was thinking of this as he passed one of the best houses he had
seen--a place where, in a rough courtyard, armed men were grouped with
their camels and horses. There was a great covered well in the centre,
with dejected-looking men busy drawing water, and through the open
windows of the low terraced house he had glimpses of the turbaned,
white-robed occupants.
The place interested Frank for reasons he could not have explained, and
he would gladly have sat watching what was going on; but it was
evidently the dwelling of some powerful dervish Emir, and his companion
rode up to one of the armed men seated upon a slightly built,
swift-looking camel. Their colloquy was very brief, and the young Emir
turned to him, said something, and pressing his horse's sides galloped
onwards towards a wide opening, the steed Frank rode keeping close to
its fellow's side.
A minute later the young Baggara drew bridle again in the middle of the
opening, about which were several low buildings, and the place being
without interest, save that there were several groups of fighting men
about, and some slight scaffold-like suggestions of building being
commenced, Frank's thoughts went back to the house they had passed, as
he felt again that it must be the palace of some powerful chief among
the conquerors, while the open space where they stood was the Soudanese
idea of a yard for his followers.
Then a sudden thought occurred to him, that it was the home of the
Emir's wounded friend, and at once it had a fresh interest; but he had
no time for further thought, for the young Baggara gave his hand a wave
round, laughing the while in a peculiar way, and then pointed forward,
urging his horse into a gallop, for there was an open, unencumbered road
before them.
Frank's beautiful steed needed no urging, but sprang forward on the
instant, and their gallop was not checked till they were right out of
the city and upon the open plain beyond, where their horses stretched
out together like a leash of greyhounds, the young chief whooping and
shouting with delight as he found that his companion rode easily and
well, while he evidently enjoyed the invigorating rush through the air.
At the end of three or four miles the horses were turned, and they
ambled back then towards the widespreading, drab-looking city, the white
dome of the tomb Frank had before noted standing up glistening and clear
in the bright sunshine.
And now Frank fully grasped how much more important a place Omdurman was
than he had before imagined, and a feeling of satisfaction came over him
at the thought that his ride out had not been for naught, and that it
would have been unwise to have left the place even if they could have
obtained permission.
"If I could only understand what he says," thought Frank, for his
companion was bright and excited now by the ride. His ordinary sombre,
half-sulky manner had passed off, and he chattered away volubly as they
rode on, perfectly contented that his companion was silent, as he seemed
to be explaining something and pointing away to their left over the
plain.
Frank was puzzled, but it did not seem to matter to the young Emir, who
went on, evidently giving a vivid description of something, till Frank
grasped all he meant like a flash, and rising in his stirrups he gazed
hard in the pointed-out direction, to find endorsement of the idea that
had flashed upon his brain. For there, plainly enough seen through the
clear air, and not half a mile away, were dots of white and grey and
cream colour, with overhead scores and scores of birds sailing slowly
here and there, and occasionally dipping down and disturbing others,
which rose on sluggish wing.
It was evidently the scene of the previous night's engagement, and with
a look of fascinated horror in his eyes Frank gazed hard at his
companion, who nodded eagerly, threw up his right hand to shake the
flowing white robe clear, leaned a little on one side, and flashed out
his keen sword. Then drawing back his lips from his white teeth he
uttered a fierce yell of "Allah!--Allah hu!" and increased their pace to
a gallop, cutting and thrusting savagely the while at an imaginary enemy
for a few minutes, before checking his horse again and bursting into a
savage laugh of delight, as he let the reins fall upon his beautiful
animal's neck, and taking up the skirt of his white robe made believe to
wipe the blood from his glistening sword before returning it to its
sheath.
"And I'm to look at you in a friendly way and applaud you as a brave
warrior, when I feel all the time that you are only a cruel butcher of
your fellow-creatures," thought Frank. "But I must not show it, for
through you I may find poor old Hal, for he must be here after all, and
I shall find him yet: I know I shall. Why, who can say but what I may
have ridden past the very house to-day where he is kept as a slave?"
He meant something far different by the bright look of satisfaction
which sparkled from his eyes, but the young Emir in his egotism took it
to himself, and smiled and nodded as they rode gently on, Frank finding
that they were retracing their steps towards the opening through which
they had reached the plain, and a very short time after they were
approaching the open, barrack-yard-like place, which now to his surprise
was crowded with armed men, among whom were groups who could be nothing
else but captives, for to his horror he saw that they were bound.