“Then you would know the place, would you not, having passed it before?” Max asked without thinking.
“Max, none of us knows, because we were below decks and rowing for our lives. We did not see anything. I cannot help.”
Max looked chastened. “By God, I am sorry, Henry, I did not think.”
“No matter, but we must be careful now. We should not charge into a trap that might be awaiting us.”
Henry stayed at the steering oar while Max and Talon went forward to join the lookouts at the bows of the fast moving vessel and stared into the darkness ahead. After about half an hour Max whispered, “I see a light in the distance, Talon.”
They saw the light, but whether it was a beacon, or many lights, they could not tell at this distance. They glided forward, now drifting on the current of the river, as the sails had been furled on the orders of Henry. It became clear that they were about to reach a large port.
Henry, without being told, ordered the oars to be shipped out and the crew to row in reverse in order to slow the ship’s passage downriver, until they knew what they might be facing. Talon and Max were still peering into the gloom at the lights, which seemed to come from not only the water level, but also from high above to either side of the river.
“There! There are the towers,” Talon whispered. “Dear God, but they are huge. We must stop and find out how to get past them.”
“How will we know if the chain you talked about is up or down?” Max asked.
“We might not know until too late, Max. We must stop before we are seen and plan what to do next, now that we can see the towers.”
“Why don’t we just sail down the middle of the river and break through the chain?” Guy asked as he came to join them.
“Malek told me that it was strong enough to stop a much larger ship than ours,” Talon said. “We cannot afford to be stopped. We are a target for anything they might have to toss at us. Look, they have forced the river to narrow very much at this point so they can hit us with arrows, if they wish. It is only two hundred paces wide.”
They all stared at the dark shapes of the towers, massive in the dim light.
“Then what do you suggest, Talon?” Max asked.
“Perhaps we can go over land and disable the system that hauls it up and down?”
“That sounds like madness,” Max muttered. “But I do not have a better idea.”
Henry had already reacted when he heard the relayed message from Talon. He ordered the ship to move closer to the shore where he ordered the anchor dropped; it fell noiselessly into the swiftly moving water.
“I wish I could use an anchor at our rear but we do not have one,” He told Talon as the ship turned on its rope and snubbed against its line, facing back up the way it had come.
There was a small boat in the waist of the ship that was heaved over the side and dropped into the water. Talon climbed down into it, followed by Guy and Nigel, who had volunteered to join him. Max had wanted to come along too, but Talon told him, “I need you here to keep an eye on things for me. Henry will be fine, but if something happens to me, I want you to have a chance to get back to Jerusalem. Stay alert. We will surely be in a hurry when the time comes to leave.”
Max agreed reluctantly. He had wanted Talon to take a small force of men with him, but Talon told him that silence was what he needed, not a lot of men getting lost in the dark and fighting with shadows. Max waved them off as they rowed out. It was not as dark as it had been a half an hour earlier. They made good progress down river, hugging the flat, reed-filled banks on their way towards the tall towers. Talon looked apprehensively at the dark shoreline, remembering the crocodiles lurking on the sands. He prayed that none of them lived here, or if they did that they were not hungry enough to want to attack a small boat. He did hear a splash and he shivered. The images of the last incident were still vivid in his mind.
The tower on their side of the river became more distinct in the dim light. It was illuminated by many lamps on two main levels. The enormous structure was both wide and tall and gave the appearance of being a single wide tower about thirty feet tall and almost as wide, with another tower on top, of a smaller diameter, that was about twenty feet tall. The whole construction loomed high, even though they were some distance away. Both towers dominated the entire area of the port at the narrowest part of the river.
Guy held them close to the bank, ready to pull in at a moment’s notice. They were in deep shadows, well shielded from the tower, but it worried Talon that there was so much light at the top. He saw what seemed to be wooden frames perched on the very top and one situated on the lower tower. It was difficult to make out what they were, but he suspected they were catapults.
Talon knew that if someone discovered them and challenged them they had no recourse but to pull out into the middle of the river and take their chances. On shore they would be easily taken. He whispered to Guy, “Pull in there. I think I see a small inlet that will hide us when we get out.”
Guy dipped his oars in deep and pulled hard the last few yards for the shoreline. They slipped silently into the reeds and grounded in the mud. Talon had his hand on Nigel’s shoulder.
“Wait; look for anything long and dark. I do not want to step into the jaws of a crocodile,” he whispered.
Nigel nodded in silence. No sound greeted them, other than the incessant croaking of frogs and the light soughing of the wind that rustled the reeds. They peered into the darkness trying to sense danger of any kind. Talon’s eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could see the lighter color of a narrow trail leading onto the main bank. He hefted his bow and, taking a deep, silent breath, stepped gingerly into the ankle deep water and moved forward to stand on dry land. He stood listening for a long moment, and then motioned Nigel to join him. Guy, as formerly agreed, stayed with the boat.
It was time to go. Moving quietly and with every sense alert, they breasted the bank and found themselves on a pathway. It was a track that ran along the top of a causeway and linked to the mainland further east. Glancing about, Talon remembered what Malek had said, that the river had been deliberately narrowed at this point to facilitate the cable and the guard towers.
The tower was only a hundred yards away, and despite the illumination of several flaming torches, it was eerily quiet. Talon and Nigel moved slowly along the causeway, keeping within the shadows cast by the canes and tall papyrus growing along the banks, looking for any sign of activity, but they could see none.
Coming closer, still keeping to the dark shadows, Talon’s attention was drawn to a shape protruding from the tower’s wall at about the height of three men. He realized that he was looking at a huge cable that he assumed might be supporting the chain. He peered out at the river and noticed small crests of turbulence that followed a line across the water towards the other tower. The chain was there, just beneath the surface.
They were now within twenty yards of the silent tower and still no alarm. He stared hard up at the battlements to see if there was anyone who might see them, but it seemed deserted. He decided that they needed to get right under the walls so that the casual observer would not see them if he glanced outwards.
Indicating the wall of the tower, Talon pointed and then led the way, feeling horribly exposed from above. They made the rough stone walls in a silent rush, and then paused to listen. Other than the monotonous singing of the frogs and the light rustle of the cane there was no other sound to cause them alarm.
Talon’s nose twitched; there was an unpleasant smell emanating from the tower. It was rancid and pungent. Nigel theatrically held his nose as he looked at Talon. It was time to investigate. Indicating that Nigel should keep his distance but to follow him, Talon slipped like a shadow around to the water side of the tower and stopped. There was a man sitting on the bank night-fishing.
Talon faded into a darker patch of shadow against the wall motionless for some long moments. Nigel too vanished into a dark shadow. The man seemed totally oblivious of thei
r presence, even whistling tunelessly as he held his rod over the water and waited for a fish to take his bait. Praying that Nigel would stay where he was, Talon slid forward until he was just behind the man, who must have sensed something because he began to turn his head. He never knew what had been there.
Easing the unconscious man down onto his back Talon dragged the body into deep shadow. As he looked up at the huge frame that supported the cable, Nigel joined him. He could see that he would have to climb onto this if he wanted to cut the cable that was almost as thick as his waist. He wondered how many strokes it would take to cut it with a sword. It might have to be both of them at the same time, and for sure the alarm would be raised.
He looked down at the unconscious man. Perhaps they could get into the tower and work the mechanism. How had the man come out? Then he noticed the small doorway set deep in the wall. Gaining entrance was easy, the door was unlocked, and opened with only a slight creak from its hinges.
Talon eased himself into the semi-darkness of the tower, half expecting to bump into someone on the other side, but there was no one. Nigel slipped in behind him and stopped to stare upwards. Talon decided that the men on guard were bored with their duty and had become lax. There were several oil lamps in niches in the stone walls half way up the wooden stairs that led to a trap in the ceiling above. It provided enough light to show him the complicated array of wood levers, huge barrels, and cogs that he assumed were part of the hauling machinery.
He tried to understand how it worked and then saw what appeared to be a massive wedge that locked everything into place. The huge coil of the cable lay like an enormous snake on the floor nearby. Where it exited through a wide slit in the wall of the tower it was held taut by a solid barrel of wood resembling a turning mechanism. This was locked in place. There was an enormous wheel that the cable was wrapped around, and some of it lay on the floor in untidy coils. He realized the rancid smell was the stink of animal grease from the mechanism that hauled the chain up and down.
Talon could see that it was a clever device. It would only take a few men to turn the winch system and bring a massive chain up from the river bed to stop a fleeing ship. One end even fed out the back of the tower to some unknown destination which he assumed might be for horses to haul upon should they be needed.
Glancing up to see if there was any activity above, Talon motioned Nigel to come with him and climbed the stairs until they were on a small platform that ran alongside the cable winch. The cable was pinched at this point between two great rollers which were locked into place. It seemed that he might be able to release the cable fairly easily, but how to make sure the men above could not get it back up before their ship made it through the gap?
He looked around trying to decide what to do. Nigel must have thought about fire at the same time, because he pointed silently at the rubbish on the floor below. There was much wood in the space around the base of the structure and some bundles of rags and other rubbish. There were even large barrels of the noisome smelling grease against the curve of the wall. The guards were not too particular about their place of duty, it seemed. The place was full of old bits of rubbish and even animal bones were discarded on the floor.
They hastened to pile as much as they could on the steps above them that led to the mechanism and then Talon retrieved the oil lamps. He made sure he had two places for fire, one on the steps and the other right under the greasy wood structure where flame would have a good chance of catching. He wanted enough time to elapse, allowing for their return and for his ship to sail through. After that it did not matter.
The last lamp was ready to go out by this time and Nigel was almost unable to light his fires, but then the flames took and soon a merry blaze started in two places. It was time to see if he had understood what needed to be done to release the cable. Talon pulled hard on one huge lever to see what would happen.
The events that followed took him by surprise. The action lifted a huge pawl of wood and wedged it in place. There was a whipping sound and then the shriek of spinning wood as the weight of the huge chain outside asserted itself. Both men ducked in fright as the cable whipped out of the opening towards the river. It was only because they had shrunk into a crevice in the thick wall of the tower that the writhing cable did not decapitate both men on its way past. As it was, it smashed part of the stairway before everything crashed to a halt.
The silence was stunning for a couple of moments before they heard panicked shouts from above and the smoke of the fires made them aware that they were also in danger. Clearly this was not the right way to release the cable, but it had proved effective enough.
Talon and Nigel jumped the last couple of steps to the floor just as the hatchway above opened and men yelled down at the lower tower. They shouted in panic at the sight of the flames, which had now taken hold in earnest on the steps. They were hesitant to come down in the face of the roaring fire. Talon loosed a couple of arrows directly up at the gap and was rewarded with a yell of surprise and pain and the hatch was slammed down.
It was time to leave. They ran out of the building and pounded off down the track towards the rowing boat without looking back. More shouts ensued, as men, now wide awake and peering downwards, noticed them running away. Several arrows thumped into the mud to hasten their departure but neither was hit. They arrived breathless at the reed-filled bank to find the boat waiting and piled into it in an untidy heap. “Row!” Nigel croaked.
“What happened? I heard a big noise and then a huge splash; the whole cable seemed to fall into the water,” Guy asked them. They sat gasping for air while Guy pulled hard on the oars.
“It is a wondrous mechanical device which can be easily moved. A marvelous thing I have never seen the like of before. But now we should have a little time before they can repair it,” Talon said, grinning. He was panting with the excitement and the short sprint.
Nigel seized one of the oars from Guy, joining him on the bench, and they rowed furiously back towards the ship. It took well over half an hour to do so, every minute begrudged by Talon who exhorted them to pull harder. He imagined the men in the tower braving the flames to haul the chain back up from the bottom of the river.
Soon the ship appeared and they scrambled aboard, abandoning the row boat to the river. Henry had already ordered the anchor to be hauled in. Their ship turned slowly in the current until it was facing downstream and then, with shouts and calls, the sails were raised and they manned the oars. The ship gave a jerk that they felt along its entire frame and then began to race downstream. Talon noted with apprehension that dawn was arriving fast and they would be easily seen from the towers.
“Row for your lives, or we will not see the Holy Land!” Henry bellowed.
“How did you do it, Talon?” he demanded. “We heard nothing, nothing at all until something ripped the air and we heard a huge splash in the distance.”
Max grinned at Talon and slapped him on the back. “We have to get past the towers before the explanations. Look, we are almost there.”
Indeed their course was bringing them to the point where they would soon be between the great towers that were now very close. Looking to the right everyone exclaimed. Even in this uncertain light they could see in the tower. Smoke poured out of its openings. By now the alarm had been raised on the other tower, where men were running about and pointing at the ship that sped towards the narrow gap.
A few arrows fell into the water, but not close enough to harm anyone. There was wild cheering from the men on deck, followed by shouts and yells from those still rowing below as they realized that they were through and might at last be free of danger and imprisonment. Max and Henry were pounding Talon on the back and laughing with excitement.
They all heard a distant thump from the far tower. Seconds later a huge column of water appeared twenty yards behind them. There was another muffled thump from the other side of the river and another column of water rose high into the air on the starboard side. They stared at the s
pouts in astonishment and then alarm.
“Dear God, but they are hurling stones at us!” Max yelled. “Pull for your lives! We are far from being out of danger yet.”
They stared towards the distant tower that had suddenly become a menace. They heard again a thump in the distance and this time saw a huge stone flying through the air towards them. This one was well aimed. It crashed into the ship just forward of the afterdeck and scoured its way in a spray of flying splinters across the planks to smash out the other side. The whole ship shuddered and rocked before continuing on its way. Two men had disappeared in a welter of blood and splinters and two more were left shrieking in agony, their limbs shattered.
A stunned Talon picked himself off the deck where he had been thrown by the impact of the stone and found himself gaping at the utter destruction the stone had wrought. Men were scrambling to their feet looking dazed, but the screams of the wounded made them turn to the urgency at hand and attend to them. Another stone struck between the masts. This one crashed through the planks of the deck to plunge into the rower’s deck, leaving a gaping, jagged hole near the starboard side of the ship. If it had struck more to the center, it would have sunk them.
The ship heeled to the right at the blow and men were thrown against one another on the deck. Shrieks of agony and fear that chilled his blood came from below deck. Talon forced himself to run down to the main deck and then down the hatchway to the oar deck.
What greeted him there stopped him in his tracks. In the darkness of the deck where the rock had struck there was carnage. The missile had wrought devastation among the rowers. Men were scrambling about, trying to get the dead moved and the oars replaced. Wounded were lying nearby with limbs missing and their lifeblood pumping out, or lying inert, their bodies crushed by the passage of the rock.
His stomach went tight. “My God, but we cannot take much of this! They will sink us with these missiles,” he said, and as though to emphasize his thoughts there was another huge crash and the deck above caved in. He ducked and dove to his left onto the laps of two rowers, but this time the deck held. The ship rolled over from the shock then rocked back to center. Talon peered up at the deck, but although the planks were cracked and broken inwards the stone had not come through. The rock had bounced off the stout deck and then gone through the railings to splash into the sea. There were men scattered all over the place where they had been thrown by the shock of the missile.
Assassination in Al Qahira Page 43