Part 36 (1/2)
He himself, with the fourth man, took the saddles on their backs, and I followed. A few minutes later, we reached the sh.o.r.e of the sacred Nile, and found, in a little hollow washed out by the current, a tiny boat constructed by my friends themselves, scarcely large enough to hold us.
We climbed down the steep bank, got into the boat, and pushed off. It took us more than an hour to cross the stream. When we reached the far side, the other man, who had remained in the little boat, guided it back into the river, and bored a hole in the bottom, swimming to the land while the boat sank in the stream, and with it disappeared all traces of our crossing. We marched for about half an hour, and then Ahmed Abdalla bade me wait there while he went away, to return soon after with a dish of milk and bread.
”Eat and drink,” said he, ”and have no more fears as to the success of your flight, for I swear to you by G.o.d and the Prophet you are saved. I had intended that you should start to-night; but the hour is already too late. It will be better that you should wait till to-morrow evening.
Besides, to-morrow is the day when your camels should be watered. As we are here too near to human habitations, my nephew, Ibrahim Ali, will conduct you to a place some distance off which is difficult of access.
Wait for me there. I will bring you an animal to ride, or do you feel strong enough to go on foot?”
”I am strong, and can walk,” I replied. ”Where is Ibrahim Ali?”
”He is here; and he will be your guide through the desert.”
It was a black night. Ibrahim went first with an empty water-skin in his hand along the caravan track leading beside the river to Abu Hamed, and I followed. After proceeding about three English miles, he went down to the river, filled the skin half full, and then changed the direction, turning inland. The march was very difficult. The big stones with which the hills were covered hindered one's progress. I was dead beat, and staggered about to right and left like a drunken man. At last we halted by a hollow in the ground.
”This is the spot which my uncle indicated,” said Ibrahim, who had kept silence up till now. ”Remain quietly here without misgiving. To-morrow evening, I shall bring the camels, and we will start. Here is water and bread. I will return now to make my preparations.”
Once more I was alone. Once more I was exposed for a long day to the scorching sun; but now it was easy for me to bear, for I was near to the goal I had longed for so wildly. At last the sun disappeared from the horizon; and, after waiting about an hour more, I heard the sound of hoofs moving quickly over the stones. I rose, and recognised Ahmed Abdalla, accompanied by two men on donkeys.
Springing off in haste, he pressed me warmly to his breast. ”G.o.d be thanked that you are safe! These two men,” pointing to his companions, ”are my brothers, and have come with me to wish you luck.”
I pressed their hands in greeting, and, turning to Ahmed, said, ”But I do not understand you--your tremendous spirits--”
”Of course not,” he replied, ”for you do not know the great danger you have escaped. Listen! Three days ago, the Emir of Berber, Zeki Osman, learned, we know not how, that the Egyptian garrison at Murrat had received important reinforcements, and intended to attack the Mahdist station at Abu Hamed. Zeki Osman is sending reinforcements, and to-day at noon sixty hors.e.m.e.n and about three hundred foot soldiers pa.s.sed our dwellings. You know these wild bands who call themselves Ansar [defenders of the faith]. We had killed a sheep, and were busy preparing a portion for you to take with you on the road, when they suddenly came upon us by surprise. They consumed what was intended for your provision, and then scattered in search of loot. We were in terrible anxiety on your account, fearing one of these wild fellows might find his way to your hiding-place. Now they have marched on. The curse of G.o.d go with them! Thanks be to Him, who has protected you!”
And I also humbly thanked my Creator, who had saved me from this great and unexpected danger. As I learned later, the Commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army, General Kitchener Pasha, had come to Wadi Haifa to conduct the usual manoeuvres. Captain Mach.e.l.l Bey marched with the Twelfth Sudanese Battalion and two hundred of the Camel Corps from Wadi Haifa to Koros...o...b.. Murrat, and this accounted for the rumour of a strengthening of the garrison at Murrat, and the contemplated attack on Abu Hamed.
”The camels will be a little late,” said Ahmed, continuing. ”I sent them hastily away into the interior when the Dervishes came in, for fear they might press them into service to carry their ammunition or other baggage. If, however, you feel inclined to rest in patience till to-morrow, we should be able to procure fresh provisions.”
”No. I want at all hazards to start at once, and want of provisions will not alter my resolve,” I replied. ”I trust the camels will come soon.”
It was towards midnight when they brought in the three animals. Ahmed Abdalla presented my two guides to me. ”Ibrahim Ali, the son of my brother, and Yakub Ha.s.san, also a near relative of mine. They will conduct you to Sheikh Hamed Fedai, the head of the Amrab Arabs, who are subject to the Egyptian Government. He will a.s.sist you in getting on to a.s.suan.”
We filled the water-skins and took our leave.
”Forgive the failure of provision for your journey,” said Ahmed Ibn Abdalla. ”It is not my fault. You have meal and dates, enough to keep hunger off, though there are no luxuries.”
We rode three hours and a half east northeast before the sun rose, and as the dawn grew gray found ourselves east of Wadi el Homar (the Vale of a.s.ses), which, though called after the wild a.s.ses which inhabit it, is in a great measure devoid of vegetation. As we proceeded, the country a.s.sumed the genuine characteristics of the desert,--wide stretches of sand, with here and there, at long intervals, ridges of hills, but never a tree or trace of gra.s.s. After riding for two days, almost without a halt, we reached the hills of Nuranai, formerly occupied by the Bisharin Arabs. The valley, running in a northeasterly direction for the most part, between ridges with very steep walls, grows mimosa-trees along either side, and in one lateral valley are trees which take their name from the hills.
Ibrahim Ali got off and took an observation from the heights, and, finding that the valley was quite unoccupied, we entered it, hastily watered our camels, and partially filled our water-skins.
The well lies in a hollow some twenty-five yards across, and some eighteen feet deep, dug out with a sharp decline towards the centre.
Down this sloping plane there are slabs of rock and stones, serving as steps, by which one descends to the water-hole in the middle. As wells are always places where people are apt to collect, we left the spot and rested in the plain, after crossing the hills of Nuranai in about three hours.
There was a great difference between my former and my present guides.
The first were brave, devoted fellows, ready even to sacrifice their lives for me, whereas these new ones were just the contrary. They grumbled at the service which it seems their relative Ahmed Abdalla had forced upon them, and were forever complaining of want of sleep and hunger, and at the danger of the enterprise, the reward for which would go to others. Through their carelessness they had dropped my sandals and tinder-box on the road; and the loss of the former was destined to cause me much trouble later on.
The next day, a Thursday, we reached the groves of Abu Hamed an hour before noon, and though the tribes who at present live in these parts are hostile to the Mahdists, I preferred to remain hidden. Ibrahim Ali and Yakub Ha.s.san had been ordered by Ahmed Abdalla to guide me to Sheikh Hamed Fadai; but this did not suit their views.
They came to me in the afternoon and represented to me the risk they would incur if their people missed them for many days. Since it was certain everything would come to the Khalifa's ears which was calculated to throw light on the question of who had helped me in my flight, and since their tribe was already under suspicion of being friendly to the Egyptian Government, there was danger not only for them but also for my friend Ahmed Abdalla. In conclusion, they begged to be allowed to go and look for a man who was well known to them both, and living in these parts, who would conduct me further. I saw that their reluctance would prove of more harm than service to me as I proceeded further, and agreed to their proposal, almost with alacrity, so distasteful had both my guides become to me, and bade them settle the matter as quickly as possible according to the best of their powers.
It was not yet sunset when they brought back the man in question. He was an Amrab Arab named Hamed Garhosh, and considerably the wrong side of fifty in years.