The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  THE DESERT JOURNEY.

  The journey was a long one. The winds were often so light that thevessels scarcely moved, and the heat was greater than anything theyhad felt during their journey. They stopped at many small ports on theArabian side; the captain trading with the natives--selling to themarticles of Egyptian manufacture, and buying the products of thecountry for sale in Egypt. The party had, before starting, arrangedthat they would land at AElana, a town lying at the head of the gulf ofthe same name, forming the eastern arm of the Red Sea.[E] By so doingthey would avoid the passage through Lower Egypt.

  [E] Now the Gulf of Akabah.

  The question had not been decided without long debate. By crossingfrom Arsinoe[F] to Pelusium they would at the latter port be able toobtain a passage in a Phoenician trader to a port in the north ofSyria, and there strike across Asia Minor for the Caspian. Jethro wasin favor of this route, because it would save the girls the long andarduous journey up through Syria. They, however, made light of this,and declared their readiness to undergo any hardships rather than torun the risk of the whole party being discovered either upon landingat Arsinoe or on their journey north, when they would pass throughthe very country that Amuba and Chebron had visited and that wasinhabited by Ruth's people.

  [F] Now Suez.

  All allowed that the time had long since passed when the authoritieswould be keeping up a special watch for them; but as upon enteringport a scribe would come on board and make a list of the passengerswith their place of birth and vocation, for registration in theofficial records, it would be difficult in the extreme to give suchanswers as would avoid exciting suspicion.

  When the vessel reached the mouth of the long and narrow gulf theparty were struck by the grandeur of the mountains that rose from thewater's edge on their left.

  The captain told them that the chief of these was known as MountSinai, and that barren and desolate as the land looked, it containedvalleys where sheep were pastured and where wandering tribes found asubsistence. No hint had been given to the captain that they had anyintention of cutting short their voyage before arriving at Arsinoe,for it would have seemed an extraordinary proceeding for a traderjourneying with his family to leave the ship at any of the Arabianports. While sailing up the gulf Mysa complained of illness, andindeed so overpowered was she by the heat that there was but littlefiction in the complaint. Upon arriving at AElana Jethro had hercarried on shore, and, hiring a house there, stayed on shore whilethe ship was in port.

  There was a small Egyptian garrison in the town, which carried ona considerable trade with Moab and the country to the east. Noattention, however, was paid to the landing of the traders, for, asthe country beyond the walls of the town lay beyond the limit ofEgyptian rule, the landing and departure of persons at the port was amatter of no interest to the authorities. Two days later Jethro wenton board again and said that his young son was so ill that there wasno chance of him being able to proceed on the journey, and thattherefore he must forfeit the passage money paid to Arsinoe.

  He said that as it might be many weeks before another vessel wouldcome along, he should endeavor to pay his way by trading with thenatives, and he therefore wished to purchase from him a portion of hisremaining goods suitable for the purpose. As the captain saw that hewould save the provisions for five persons for the month or six weeksthat the voyage would yet last, and at the same time get rid of someof his surplus cargo, he assented without question to Jethro'sproposal. Several bales of goods were made up, consisting principallyof cloths of various texture and color of Egyptian manufacture,trinkets, and a selection of arms.

  These were landed, and two days later the vessel set sail. Jethrocalled upon the Egyptian commandant, and by making him a handsomepresent at once enlisted his aid in his enterprise. He said that as hehad been detained by the illness of his son, and it might be a longtime before any vessel came, he thought of getting rid of the rest ofthe merchandise he had brought with him by trade with the people ofMoab.

  "That you can do if you reach Moab," the Egyptian said, "for tradersare everywhere well received; but the journey from here is not withoutdangers. It is a country without a master; the people have no fixedabodes, moving here and there according as they can find food fortheir animals, sometimes among the valleys of Sinai, sometimes inthe desert to the east. These people plunder any whom they may comeacross, and not content with plunder might slay or carry you away asslaves. Once you have passed through as far as Moab you are safe; asyou would also be if you journeyed to the west of the Salt Lake, intowhich runs the river Jordan. There are many tribes there, all livingin cities, warlike and valorous people, among whom also you wouldbe safe. We have had many wars with them, and not always to ouradvantage. But between us is a sort of truce--they do not molest ourarmies marching along by the seacoast, nor do we go up among theirhills to meddle with them. These are the people who at one timeconquered a portion of Lower Egypt, and reigned over it for manygenerations until, happily, we rose and drove them out."

  "Is the journey between this and the Salt Lake you speak of an arduousone?"

  "It is by no means difficult, except that it were best to carry waterupon the journey, for the wells are few and often dry; but the countryis flat for the whole distance; indeed, there is a tradition that thisgulf at one time extended as far north as the Salt Lake. The road,therefore, though stony and rough, offers no difficulties whatever;but I should advise you, if you determine upon the journey, to leaveyour son behind."

  "It is better for him to travel than to remain here without me,"Jethro said; "and if we go up through the people you speak of to thewest of this lake and river, it would be but a short journey for usafter disposing of our goods to make our way down to a port on theGreat Sea, whence we may take ship and return quickly to Pelusium, andthus arrive home before we should find a ship to take us hence."

  "That is so," the Egyptian said. "The winds are so uncertain on theseseas that, as far as time goes, you might journey by the route youpropose and reach Egypt more speedily than you would do if you went onboard a ship at once. The danger lies almost entirely in the firstportion of your journey. The caravans that go hence once or twice ayear through Moab to Palmyra are numerous and well armed, and capableof resisting an attack by these robber tribesmen. But one left a fewweeks ago, and it may be some months before another starts."

  "What animals would you recommend me to take with me?"

  "Beyond all doubt camels are the best. They are used but little inthis country, but come down sometimes with the caravans from Palmyra;and I believe that there is at present in the town an Arab whopossesses six or seven of them. He came down with the last caravan,but was taken ill and unable to return with it. Doubtless you couldmake a bargain with him. I will send a soldier with you to the househe occupies."

  Jethro found that the man was anxious to return to his own country,which lay on the borders of Media, and therefore directly in thedirection which Jethro wished to travel. He was, however, unwilling toundertake the journey except with a caravan, having intended to waitfor the next however long the time might be; but the sum that Jethrooffered him for the hire of his animals as far as Palmyra at lastinduced him to consent to make the journey at once, bargaining,however, that a party of ten armed men should be hired as an escort asfar as the borders of Moab. Highly pleased with the result of hisinquiries, Jethro returned home and told his companions thearrangements he had made.

  "I have only arranged for our journey as far as Palmyra," he said, "asit would have raised suspicion had I engaged him for the whole journeyto Media; but of course he will gladly continue the arrangement forthe whole journey. He has bargained for an escort of ten men, but wewill take twenty. There is ample store of your father's gold stillunexhausted; and, indeed, we have spent but little yet, for the saleof our goods when we left the boat paid all our expenses of thejourney up the Nile. Therefore, as this seems to be the most hazardouspart of our journey, we will not stint money in performing i
t insafety. I have told him that we shall start in a week's time. It wouldnot do to leave earlier. You must not recover too rapidly from yourillness. In the meantime I will make it my business to pick out ascore of good fighting men as our escort."

  In this the Egyptian captain was of use, recommending men whosefamilies resided in AElana, and would therefore be hostages for theirfidelity. This was necessary, for no small portion of the men to bemet with in the little town were native tribesmen who had encamped ata short distance from its walls, and had come in to trade in horses orthe wool of their flocks for the cloths of Egypt. Such men as thesewould have been a source of danger rather than of protection.

  By the end of the week he had collected a party of twenty men, all ofwhom were to provide their own horses. The sum agreed upon for theirescort was to be paid into the hands of the Egyptian officer, who wasto hand it to them on their return, with a document signed by Jethroto the effect that they had faithfully carried out the terms of theiragreement.

  Jethro found that the expense of the escort was less than he hadanticipated, for when the men found that the party would be a strongone, therefore capable of protecting itself both on the journey outand on its return, they demanded but a moderate sum for theirservices. When the owner of the camels learned that they had decidedpositively to pass to the east of the Salt Lake, he advised themstrongly, instead of following the valley of AElana to the Salt Lake,where it would be difficult to obtain water, to take the road to theeast of the range of hills skirting the valleys, and so to proceedthrough Petra and Shobek and Karik to Hesbon in Moab. This was theroute followed by all the caravans. Villages would be found at veryshort distances, and there was no difficulty whatever about water.

  "My camels," he said, "can go long distances without water, and couldtake the valley route, but the horses would suffer greatly."

  Jethro was glad to hear that the journey was likely to be lesstoilsome than he had anticipated; and all the arrangements having beenconcluded, the party started soon after dawn on the day at first fixedupon.

  The girls were still in male attire, and rode in large baskets, slungone on each side of a camel. The camel-driver walked at the head ofthe animal, leading it by a cord. Its fellows followed in a long line,each fastened to the one before it. Jethro, Amuba, and Chebron, allarmed with bows and arrows, as well as swords, rode beside the girls'camel. Half the escort went on ahead; the other half formed the rearguard.

  "Which is the most dangerous part of the journey?" Jethro asked thecamel-driver.

  "That on which we are now entering," he replied. "Once we arrive atPetra we are comparatively safe; but this portion of the journeypasses over a rough and uninhabited country, and it is across thisline that the wandering tribesmen pass in their journeys to or fromthe pastures round Mount Sinai. The steep hills on our left form atonce a hiding-place and a lookout. There they can watch for travelerspassing along this road, and swoop down upon them."

  "How long shall we be reaching Petra?"

  "It is three days' fair traveling; but as the beasts are fresh, byjourneying well on to sundown we could accomplish it in two days.After that we can travel at our ease; the villages lie but a few milesapart."

  "Let us push on, then, by all means," said Jethro. "We can stay a dayat Petra to rest the beasts, but let us get through this desolate anddangerous country as soon as we can."

  The girls had been greatly amused at first at the appearance of thestrange animal that was carrying them; but they soon found that theswinging action was extremely fatiguing, and they would have gladlygot down and walked.

  Jethro, however, said that this could not be, for the pace of theanimal, deliberate though it seemed, was yet too great for them tokeep up with on foot, and it was needful for the first two days topush on at full speed.

  The sun blazed with tremendous force, and was reflected from the blackrock of the hills and the white sand lying between the stones thateverywhere strewed the plain along which they were traveling, and theheat was terrible. After traveling for three hours they halted for anhour, and Jethro managed, with the poles that had been brought to formthe framework of tents, and some cloths, to fasten an awning over thebaskets in which the girls were riding. The camels had lain down assoon as they halted, and the girls stepped into the baskets beforethey arose. They gave a simultaneous cry as the animal rose. They hadprepared for him to rise on his fore legs, and when his hind quartersuddenly rose in the air they were almost thrown from their baskets.

  "I don't like this creature a bit," Mysa said as they moved on. "Whowould suppose that he was going to get up the wrong way first?Besides, why does he keep on grumbling? I am sure that Ruth and Icannot be such a very heavy load for such a great beast. I believe hewould have bit us as we got in if the driver had not jerked the ropeat its head. It must be much nicer to sit on a horse. I am sure thatlooks easy enough."

  "It is not so easy as it looks, Mysa," Chebron replied; "besides, youknow women never do ride horses."

  "They do in our country," Amuba said. "When we get there, Mysa, I willteach you how to sit on them."

  "Ah! it is a long way off, Amuba," Mysa replied; "and I believe thiscreature has made up his mind to shake us to pieces as soon as hecan."

  "You should not try to sit stiff," Jethro said. "Sit quite easily, andsway backward and forward with the motion of the basket. You will soonget accustomed to it, and will find that ere long you will be able tosleep as if in a cradle."

  They traveled on until the sun was just sinking, and then prepared tocamp for the night. They had brought with them several skins of water,and from these a scanty drink was given to each of the horses. A fewhandfuls of grain were also served out to each. The drivers stucktheir spears firmly into the ground and to these fastened them. Thecamels were made to kneel down so as to form a square. In the centerof this the tent was pitched for the girls, the horses being arrangedin a circle outside.

  The men had all brought with them flat cakes, and with these and ahandful of dates they made their meal; and there was no occasion forlighting a fire, for Jethro's party had brought an ample store ofcooked provisions for their own use. In a short time quiet reigned inthe camp. The journey had been a hot and fatiguing one, and the menwrapping themselves in their cloaks lay down, each by his spear, andwere soon asleep, with the exception of four who took their posts assentries. Jethro had agreed with Amuba and Chebron that they alsowould divide the night between them, taking it by turns to keep watch.

  The men of the escort were, however, of opinion that there was verylittle probability of any attack before morning, even had they beenwatched by a party among the hills.

  "They could hardly hope to take us by surprise, for they would be surethat we should set a watch in the darkness. They could not make theirway down the hills without some noise; besides, they believe thepowers of evil are potent at night, and seldom stir out of their campsafter dark. If we are attacked at all, it is likely to be just beforesunrise."

  Jethro had therefore arranged that Chebron should keep the firstwatch, Amuba the second, and that he himself would take charge fourhours before daylight.

  The night passed without any cause for alarm. As soon as daylightbroke the camp was astir. Another ration of water and grain was servedout to the horses, a hasty meal was made by the men, and just as thesun rose the cavalcade moved on. They had journeyed but half a mile,when from behind a spur of the hills running out in the plain a largeparty was seen to issue forth. There must have been fully a hundred ofthem, of whom some twenty were mounted and the rest on foot. Thetravelers halted and had a short consultation. Jethro with one of theescort then rode out to meet the advancing party, waving a white clothin token of amity. Two of the Arabs rode forward to meet them. It wassome time before Jethro returned to the party, who were anxiouslyawaiting the termination of the colloquy.

  "What do they say, Jethro?" Amuba asked as he rode up.

  "He says, to begin with, that we ought to have purchased from him theright of traveling across
the country. I said that I would gladly havepaid a moderate sum had I been aware that such was required, but thatas he was not in AElana I could not tell that he claimed such a right.At the same time I was ready to make an offer of four rolls ofEgyptian cloth. He rejected the offer with scorn, and after a longconversation let me know pretty plainly that he intended to take allour goods and animals, and that we might think ourselves fortunate inbeing allowed to pursue our way on foot. I said that I would consultmy friends; that if they agreed to his terms we would keep the whiteflag flying; if we refused them, we would lower it."

  "Then you may as well lower it at once, Jethro," Amuba said. "We mightas well be killed at once as be plundered of all we possess by theseArab rascals. Besides, as there are twenty-three of us, and all wellarmed, we ought to be able to cut our way through them. At the worstthe girls could mount behind us, and we could make a circuit so as toavoid the footmen, and if the horsemen ventured to attack us we couldsoon give a good account of them."

  "Yes. But we should lose our seven camel-loads of goods, and we shallwant them for trade as we go along," Jethro said. "I propose that weshould form the camels into a square, as we did last night; that youtwo and six of the men armed with bows and arrows shall occupy it andtake care of the girls, while the rest of us charge the Arabs. If wecan defeat the horsemen it is probable that the men on foot will drawoff. But while we are doing so some of those on foot may rush forwardand attack you. We will take care not to pursue, and you can relyupon our coming to your assistance as soon as you are attacked."

  "I think that is the best plan, Jethro. We can keep them off for sometime with our bows and arrows, for certainly Chebron and I can bringdown a man with each shot at a hundred yards."

  Jethro chose six of the men who professed themselves to be goodarchers. Their horses' legs were tied and the animals thrown down justoutside the square formed by the kneeling camels. Strict instructionswere given to the girls to lie down, and the saddles and bales werearranged outside the camels to shield them from missiles. Then whenall was prepared the white flag was lowered, and Jethro with hisfourteen men rode at full gallop against the Arabs.

  Trusting to their somewhat superior numbers the Arab horsemen advancedto meet them; but Jethro's party, obeying his orders to keep in aclose line together with their spears leveled in front of them, roderight over the Arabs, who came up singly and without order. Men andhorses rolled over together, several of the former transfixed by thespears of the horsemen. Jethro called upon his men to halt and turnedupon the Arabs.

  Some of the latter fled toward the footmen, who were running up totheir assistance, but were pursued and cut down. Others fought to thelast silently and desperately; but these, too, were slain. As soon asthe footmen approached they opened fire with slings and stones. Jethrorallied his men and formed them in line again, and at their headcharged the Arabs. The latter fought steadily. Giving way for amoment, they closed in round the little party of horsemen, throwingtheir javelins and hacking at them with their swords. Jethro spurredhis horse into their midst, dealing blows right and left with hisheavy ax. His followers pressed after him, and after hard fighting cuttheir way through their opponents.

  Again and again the maneuver was repeated, the resistance of the Arabsweakening, as most of their best men had fallen, while the largeshields carried by the horsemen repelled the greater part of themissiles they hurled at them. Another minute or two and the Arabsbroke and fled from the hills, leaving over twenty of their number onthe ground, in addition to the whole of their mounted men. Jethro hadnow time to look round, and saw for the first time that he had not, ashe supposed, been engaged with the whole of the enemy's party. Whilesome fifty of them had attacked him, the rest had made direct for thecamels, and were now gathered in a mass around them.

  With a shout to his men to follow him Jethro galloped at full speedtoward the Arabs, and with a shout flung himself upon them, clearinghis way through them with his ax. He was but just in time. A desperateconflict was raging across the camels. At one point several of theArabs had broken into the square, and these were opposed by Amuba,Chebron, and one of the men, while the others still held back theArabs on the other side. The arrival of Jethro, followed closely bythe rest of his men, instantly put a stop to the conflict.

  The Arabs no longer thought of attacking, but with cries of dismaystarted for the hills, hotly pursued by the horsemen, who followedthem until they reached the foot of the rocks. As soon as the Arabsgained their fastnesses they again betook themselves to their slings,and the horsemen fell back to the camels. Jethro had not joined in thepursuit, but as soon as the Arabs fled had leaped from his horse.

  "You were almost too late, Jethro," Amuba said.

  "I was, indeed," Jethro replied. "I thought that I was engaged withthe whole of the footmen, and in the heat of the fight did not noticethat a party had moved off to attack you. You are terribly hurt, Ifear, both you and Chebron. Are both the girls unharmed?"

  Mysa and Ruth had both risen to their feet as soon as the attackceased.

  "We are both safe," Mysa replied. "But oh, how terribly you are hurt,both of you; and Jethro, too, is wounded!"

  "My wound is nothing," Jethro said; "let us look to those of Chebronfirst," for Chebron had sat down against one of the camels.

  "Do not be alarmed," Chebron said faintly. "I think it is only loss ofblood; my shield covered my body."

  "Now, girls," Jethro said, "do you get beyond the camels, open one ofthe bales of cloth, and set to work tearing it up in strips forbandages. I will look after these two."

  After an examination of their wounds Jethro was able to say that hedid not think that any of them would have very serious consequences.Both had been wounded in the leg with javelins, the side of Chebron'sface was laid open by a sword cut, and a spear had cut through theflesh and grazed the ribs on the right side.

  Amuba's most serious wound had been inflicted by a javelin thrown athim sideways. This had passed completely through his back under bothshoulder-blades and had broken off there. Jethro cut off the raggedend, and taking hold of the point protruding behind the left arm, drewthe shaft through. Then taking some of the bandages from the girls, hebound up all the wounds, and then proceeded to examine those of themen who were already occupied in stanching the flow of blood fromtheir comrades' wounds. It was found that one of the defenders of thesquare was dead and three others severely wounded.

  Of Jethro's party two had fallen and all had received wounds more orless severe. Had it not been for the shields that covered theirbodies, few would have emerged alive from the conflict; but these gavethem an immense advantage over the Arabs, who carried no such means ofprotection. The owner of the camels had escaped unhurt, havingremained during the fight hidden under some bales. As soon as thewounds were all bandaged and a drink of wine and water had been servedout to each, the camels were unbound and permitted to rise.

  Three of the men most seriously wounded, being unable to sit on theirhorses, were placed on the bales carried by camels, and the partyagain set out. It was well that they were obliged to proceed at thepace of the camels, for several men could scarcely sit their horses,and could not have done so at a pace exceeding a walk.

  "Now, Amuba, let us hear about your fight," Jethro said. "I have nothad time to ask a question yet."

  "There is naught to tell," Amuba said. "We saw you charge down upontheir horsemen and destroy them, and then ride into the middle oftheir foot. At once a party of about thirty strong detached themselvesand made straight for us. As soon as they came within range of ourarrows we began. I shot four before they reached us, and I thinkChebron did the same; but the men with us shot but poorly, and I donot think that they can have killed more than seven or eight betweenthem. However, altogether, that accounted for about half their number,and there were only about fifteen who got up to a hand-to-hand fightwith us. For a bit, aided by our breastwork, we kept them out. But atlast they managed to spring over, and although we were doing our bestand several of them had fa
llen, we had been wounded, and it would havegone very hard with us in another minute or two if you had not come upto the rescue. Now let us hear what you were doing."

  Jethro then described the encounter he and his party had had with thefootmen.

  "They fight well, these Arabs," he said, "and it was well for us thatwe all carried shields; for had we not done so they would have riddledus with their javelins. As you see, I had a narrow escape; for hadthat dart that went through my ear been an inch or two to the right itwould have pierced my eye. I have two or three nasty gashes with theirswords on the legs, and I think that most of the other men came outworse than I did. It was lucky that they did not strike at the horses;but I suppose they wanted them, and so avoided inflicting injury onthem. However, it has been a tough fight, and we are well out of it. Ihope I shall not be called on to use my battle-ax again until I amfighting in the ranks of the Rebu."