Part 54 (1/2)

”Well, that's the very devil of it,” said Garnett ruefully ”It seems we had a fair quant.i.ty--you know it all has to be brought from that same old well--but that silly little Rosa thought this morning that she'd like a bath, so without asking permission she tipped it all into a kind of tin tub there was on the premises and performed her ablutions therein.”

”Well, I confess I don't blame her,” said Anstice rather dryly. ”I feel as if I'd give a fiver for a bath myself--this d.a.m.ned sand makes one so infernally gritty.”

”Just so--and the tin basin we wash in--in turns--isn't exactly luxurious!” Garnett's eyes twinkled. ”All the same, things look pretty serious on the water question. We must have water--unfortunately the desert thirst is no fancy picture--I'm like a lime-kiln myself at this moment--but if the well is poisoned, and Ha.s.san seems convinced it is, we can't drink the water, can we?”

”Certainly not.” Anstice hoped his voice did not betray his dismay at this disclosure. ”Where's the nearest well--outside of here?”

”Over in the village--or rather, there's one outside the village which would be less public.” Garnett laughed a little. ”But I don't quite see how we're going to fetch water from it. You know the beggars are keeping a pretty smart lookout--and if they caught sight of one of us sallying forth we'd be potted as sure as a gun. And every available man is wanted here.”

”I suppose”--Anstice had been thinking--”I suppose it would be quite impossible to get out by the rocky side? I mean could one possibly climb down? The Bedouins don't seem to guard that side, and one would be in the desert, well away from their band.”

”Yes--but I doubt if it would be feasible. Unless--what about a rope? I saw a great coil of rope in one of the dungeons downstairs this morning.” A new alertness leaped into his bright eyes. ”I say, let's go and reconnoitre, shall we? It would be great to outwit the beasts after all!”

”Right! Where shall we go and scout?”

”Place opposite--the only one with a decent-sized hole in the wall--have to find a place one could squeeze through, I suppose--and I'm such an infernally broad chap, too!”

Anstice laughed.

”Well, I'm pretty long,” he said, still smiling. ”Lead on, will you--oh, this is the place, is it?”

They had entered a small circular chamber which had evidently been used for the purpose of scanning the desert far below in search of possible foes; for the aperture in the wall which corresponded to a modern window was much larger than any of the other slits in the building; and Anstice and the Australian were able, by a little man[oe]uvring, to lean out side by side and view the prospect beneath.

”Pretty fair drop, eh?” From his tone Garnett was in no wise daunted by the sight.

”Yes--want a steady head. But it could be done,” said Anstice judicially. ”A long rope--a precious long one, too--fastened to something up here, and one could clamber down all right. And once down it should be easy to skirt round to the well you mentioned. That's settled, then, and since you're disabled”--he glanced at the other's bandaged arm--”this is going to be my job.”

”Oh, I say, that's not fair!” The other's tone of indignation amused Anstice even at that critical moment. ”It was my suggestion, wasn't it?

Oh, I believe you did say something about it too ... but I think I ought to be the one to go.”

”But your arm----”

”Oh, d.a.m.n my arm!” Garnett spoke vehemently. ”It won't hurt it a sc.r.a.p--and honestly, I'd simply _love_ the job!”

”I know you would--but really you'll have to let me do it.” Anstice spoke firmly, though he was sorry for the other man's disappointment.

”You see that arm of yours is badly hurt, though you won't own up to it; and it might easily go back on you when you started using it. And if you got stuck down there, we'd have no water, and be a man short here as well.”

For another minute the Australian held out, arguing the point with a kind of fiery eloquence which showed how keenly he desired to undertake the adventure; but in the end he gave way, though he was too unsophisticated entirely to hide his chagrin.

”Then that's settled.” Anstice dared not betray his sympathy any further. ”Now it remains to settle the details; and by the way, wouldn't it be wise to keep it as quiet as possible? We don't want to alarm the women.”

”Quite so.” Garnett squared his shoulders and plunged pluckily into the discussion. ”I should suggest you go fairly early, as soon as the moon's up--so that with luck you'd be back before the enemy start prowling round. The well is a mile away, in a westerly direction.” He pointed as he spoke. ”And there is not much cover when once you get fairly out ... though I don't think there is a very great risk of the brutes spotting you.”

”How long should it take me to get there and back?”

”Well, walking over sand is not like walking on macadam,” said Garnett practically, ”and I don't suppose you could do the job under an hour or two. Besides, you may have to dodge the brutes now and then,” he added regretfully; and again Anstice could not refrain from smiling.

”Well, that's settled, then. The moon rises about seven, doesn't it? And if I get off soon after that----”

”That would do tophole. And we can easily spin a yarn to the rest,” said Garnett more cheerfully. ”In the meantime let's go and get something to eat. I'm famished.”