Part 23 (1/2)

Though I would gladly have thrown myself on the ground to rest, I continued looking out from my watchtower. But no other Arabs followed.

Probably it was thought that the five armed men could easily master us.

My fear was that, when they could not find us, they might suspect where we were hidden, and should come and search the ruins. No one appeared, however; and I had waited for upwards of an hour when I saw the five camels returning at a leisurely pace, the riders looking about them on every side. The trees in front of the building at length hid them from sight. Would they now venture to stop and search for us? As the Arabs have a notion that such places are inhabited by Jins or evil spirits, I was in hopes that they would, at all events, not attempt to explore it till daylight; but even if they did, we considered that we were so securely hidden that they were not likely to find us. At last their voices ceased; whatever might have been their suspicions, they continued their way back to the camp.

We now held a consultation whether we should at once push on to meet our expected friends, or remain in our secure hiding-place till their arrival.

Tired as we were with our long run, during which we had strained every muscle to the utmost, we settled to remain in the ruins till the afternoon; indeed, it was not likely that, even should Ben induce the allies of the French to come to our a.s.sistance, they could reach the place for some hours. He would not know, either, whether we had been captured or not; and as it must have seemed to him that there was every probability of our having again fallen into the hands of our task-masters, he might have advised the sheikh to wait till he could send forward a force able to cope with the party under Siddy Boo Ca.s.sem.

Our spirits were high, for we had accomplished far more than we expected, and we had every hope of escaping from the galling bondage we had for so long endured.

”Come, Charlie,” said Boxall, ”I'll take the look-out now.” So gladly yielding up my place, I threw myself on the ground, and was asleep in a few moments.

When I awoke, daylight was streaming in through our narrow look-out hole, at which Selim was now stationed, while Boxall and Halliday were fast asleep, they having been in the interval on the watch. I did not wake them; but climbing up where Selim stood, I asked if he had seen anything.

”No,” he answered; ”not a single person has pa.s.sed. The peasantry, I suspect, have fled from this part of the country, and we may possibly make our way to the camp of our friends without meeting any one. It would, however, be a long journey on foot; and should Siddy Boo Ca.s.sem send out an expedition, we might run the risk of being overtaken and recaptured.”

Notwithstanding what he said, I could not help feeling a strong desire to push on, and I thought of proposing to Boxall and Halliday to do so.

Still, while they slept so soundly, I did not like to awake them.

After some time I told Selim to lie down again, and I would keep watch.

Feeling very hungry, I munched some of the dates and barley-bread which we had brought with us. This made me thirsty, and reminded me that we must search for water before we could attempt to proceed. I was, therefore, on the point of awaking Selim and asking him to make his way out to look for some--he being more likely to succeed than any of us-- when the sound of horses' hoofs on the hard ground reached my ear.

Turning my head round, I saw, marching from behind the grove of trees which concealed the road abreast of us, a troop of hors.e.m.e.n, among whom I recognised a number of the chiefs and others whom I had seen at the camp. Several of them dashed into the wood, through which they pa.s.sed quickly, and then, as I guessed from the sounds which reached me, came close up to the ruin. I fancied that some had dismounted, and were scrambling among the ma.s.ses of stone searching for us, and I trembled lest we might have left some traces by which they should discover our retreat. I dared not move, for fear they might hear me; and I dreaded every moment that my companions would awake, and, unaware of our danger, utter some sound which might draw attention to us. I was almost afraid to breathe.

More hors.e.m.e.n now appeared on the road, and from the movements of the party there was no doubt that they were convinced we were hiding in the neighbourhood. I listened to the voices of those who were searching for us, and tried to make out what was said. They appeared to be stumbling among the ma.s.ses of fallen ruins, looking into every hole, and poking their swords into every crevice.

”The cursed Nazarenes cannot be here,” I at last heard one exclaim.

”They must have gone on further, if they are not concealed nearer the camp.”

”They may have fleet heels, but they could not have got further than this when we pa.s.sed the place,” exclaimed a second.

”May curses rest on them and their ancestors,” growled another.

Still my companions slept. Even now I dreaded lest the slightest sound they might make should catch the ears of our pursuers, who at that moment were close under us. It did not occur to them that, like cats, we should have climbed up to such a height; nor, of course, were they aware of the existence of the secret chamber in which we lay hid.

Perhaps hundreds of years had pa.s.sed since it was entered by a human being, and it was next to a miracle that Selim should have discovered it.

How thankful I felt when, by the sounds made by the Arabs as they scrambled over the ruins, I knew that they were returning to their horses. Presently I caught sight of them, as they pa.s.sed in front of my look-out hole on their way to join their comrades, who had gone on in advance. Not, however, till they were at a considerable distance, did I venture to arouse my companions. I then got Boxall to look out at them, for I suspected he might otherwise suppose that the account I had to give was a creation of my imagination.

He and the rest were all now convinced of the danger we had escaped.

The question as to whether we should leave our place of concealment was settled, too, for the present; for, of course, we determined to remain where we were till the Arabs had left the neighbourhood.

I have not repeated one tenth part of the curses heaped on our heads, or the threats of vengeance uttered by our pursuers. Their chief cause of anger, however, was the loss of the famed Bu Saef. Among them I now recognised Siddy Boo Ca.s.sem, as well as several of his relatives and friends; and I had not the slightest doubt but that they would have put us to death in revenge for our having carried off the animal. Should they overtake Ben, his fate would be sealed; but we had little fear on his account, as he must, unless some accident had happened to him, be many leagues ahead of his pursuers.

None of us felt inclined to go to sleep again; but we judged it prudent to remain close in our lair, for fear any pa.s.ser-by should catch sight of us, and inform our enemies on their return. At length we suffered so greatly from thirst, that we were induced to let Selim creep out to try and find water. Boxall had thoughtfully brought away a leathern bottle, such as Arabs always carry with them; but he had not filled it, on account of the weight. We charged Selim not to go far, however, and to conceal himself as much as possible, while he kept a sharp look-out on every side, as it would be far better to endure the severest thirst rather than run the risk of being discovered. Often before had we endured thirst, but on such occasions we had been unable to obtain water; now that it was possible to get it, we could not resist the temptation, notwithstanding the risk to be run.

Having removed a few of the stones, Selim crawled out, and scrambled down among the ruins; but we could not watch him without exposing ourselves, and had therefore to remain in anxious suspense during his absence. It seemed to us a terribly long time; and at length we began to fear that Siddy Boo Ca.s.sem's party would return before he got back to us. We waited and waited, our thirst increasing till we could scarcely bear it longer--one of us all the while keeping a look-out at the only aperture by which we could command a view of the road.

A couple of hours, at the least, must have pa.s.sed, when we heard a slight noise beneath us; and the next instant Selim came crawling along the ledge, and entered by the hole we had made.

”Quick, quick!” he whispered, ”stop it up. I was pursued, and must have been noticed entering the ruin.”