The River of Darkness; Or, Under Africa
Page 9
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SEPARATION.
But help was at hand. Before Oko Sam could reach his victim, an Arabdirectly behind Guy fired, and the fellow stumbled blindly on the sand.
A shout of rage burst from the Somalis, and, hastily pushing theircaptives to the rear, they advanced in a very ugly manner, shaking theirlong spears.
Leaving the dead Arab and the wounded Somali where they had fallen, theArabs moved back a short distance, taking Guy and Melton with them, andshouted to the Somalis to remain where they were.
The Arabs were reluctant to fire, and would have avoided furtherbloodshed, but the enraged savages continued to press forward, andfinally let fly a shower of spears that wounded one of the Arabs, andunfortunately killed a camel. The Arabs at once retaliated with arifle-volley, and to such good effect that three or four of the Somaliswere killed.
This brought them to their senses. Their spears could not compete withthe firearms of the Arabs. They moved back to their animals, and, with afew farewell shouts of vengeance, rode away to the south, while theArabs hastily bestrode their camels, and, taking the two Englishmen withthem, calmly resumed their journey to the southwest.
For a time the two caravans, moving on the sides of an acute angle, asit were, remained close together; but, gradually diverging, the sharpoutlines of the Somalis began to fade into the twilight, and at last, asGuy and Melton strained their tear-dimmed eyes into the distance, theshadows obliterated the last traces of their captive friends. To MombaMelton had been deeply attached, and their separation was a hard blow.
And now a terrible feeling of desolation came over them, and they werehalf inclined to wish that they, too, had been led away to share thefate of Sir Arthur and the colonel.
Though it was now fast growing dark, the Arabs evinced no intention ofstopping. With long, sweeping strides the unwearied camels swept overthe sandy plain, and their riders from time to time spurred them togreater speed.
Melton was back in the rear, but Guy rode in front, with the Arab whohad assumed the leadership since the death of his companion.
Guy ventured to address him, and was surprised to find him grownsomewhat communicative. He explained to Guy in broken English that byMakar's orders he and Melton were to be delivered up to Rao Khan insteadof being sent into slavery among the Somalis. Harar, he said, was aday's journey away, and by traveling all night they would arrive atsunrise. His account of Rao Khan, the Emir, was by no means reassuring,but Guy did not allow this to trouble him much. Makar's last words werestill ringing in his ears, and he felt certain that their deliverancefrom the Somalis was the first step toward the fulfillment of Makar'spromise.
The little caravan moved on in silence. The Arabs were probably uneasy.They may have feared an attack from the Somalis or some other foe, forthey kept a close watch, and held their rifles in constant readiness.But presently the moon came up in the east, casting a pale glamour overthe desert, and tracing on the sand in weird, fantastic designs theshadows of the camels and their riders.
As the night wore on the Arabs relaxed their caution, and, droppingtheir rifles to their sides, began to refresh themselves with crackersbrought along from Zaila, together with dates and figs, which theywashed down with water.
The Arab with whom Melton was mounted now rode up beside the leader,and, to their great joy, Guy and Melton were permitted to converse.Though they had had no rest or sleep since the previous night,excitement had driven away all fatigue, and they looked forward withdeep interest to their arrival at Harar.
To Guy's surprise, Melton did not believe that he had been singled outto accompany Guy.
"No, no, Chutney," he said, "depend upon it, Makar has some otherobject in view. I believe now that he will effect your escape in someway, but don't be surprised to find yourself sent back to Zaila alone.Makar's clemency will be extended to no one but yourself."
"Nonsense," returned Guy. "I tell you he means to save you, too.However, we shall not be parted, Melton. I assure you of that. I willaccept no deliverance that does not include you, too."
Forbes made no reply, and for a time they rode on in silence. Absorbedin conversation, they had failed to observe that the aspect of thecountry had begun to change. They were now ascending a slight ridge, andfrom its crest could be seen the vague outline of mountains on both theright and the left, while all around them, in place of the dreary sand,were low bushes and vegetation. The camel's thorn and tamarisk shrub ofthe desert had disappeared. Once some huge animal glided across theirpath, and one of the Arabs half raised his rifle, but lowered it again.
With feelings which they would have found it hard to express, Guy andMelton saw the dawn come creeping over the sky, and just as it becamefully light, they rode over the crest of a hill and perceived in thedistance a mass of walls and turrets stamped against the pale-graysky.
A pleasant breeze blew from the mountains which rose steep and rocky onall sides, while the valleys were richly wooded, and a silver thread,curving to and fro, marked the presence of a hillside stream.
The little caravan now descended into a narrow gorge and traveledrapidly along the course of a brawling torrent for nearly an hour.Then, crossing the stream, they rounded a sharp spur of rocks, and thedreaded city of Harar was before them.
Thirty years before the intrepid Burton had penetrated to that hotbed offanaticism, and had by a miracle come back alive. From that day to thisnone had dared to emulate him.
Well might the two young Englishmen shrink from meeting that detestabledespot, Rao Khan, who ruled his people by the sword, and hated allChristians with, hatred that fanaticism alone can breed.
The caravan ascended the hill, and across the brow of the ridge stretchedthe massive, irregular wall of the town. The great brazen gates wereclosed, and in the oval turrets that rose sentinel-like above the wallappeared no sign of life or motion.
Then with startling suddenness came a trumpet blast and the quick, sharproll of drums; and from the town burst a tumult and volume of sound, andthen over the walls, and peering curiously from the turrets, appeared aswarm of dark, repulsive faces.
The tumult deepened and changed to one vast murmur as the caravan movedin dignified state up to the very gates of the ancient city of Harar.