The Veiled Man

by William Le Queux

when we enter Afo and lootthe Palace, she will be secured as slave. No!" I cried, "she shallnever fall into Nikale's brutal hands--never while I have breath!"

  The sound of whispering caused me to fix my gaze upon a dark shadowthrown by some ethel-bushes, and next second, half a dozen of my fellowtribesmen advanced.

  "So, dog of a spy! thou hast betrayed us!" cried a voice, which in amoment I was startled to recognise as that of my enemy Mohammed ElSfaski.

  "Yes," the others shouted with one accord; "we watched the son of offalspeaking with the woman, and we overheard him telling her to warn theSultan!"

  "Follow her on the wings of haste!" cried El Sfaski. "Kill her, fordeath alone will place the seal of muteness upon the lips of such ajade." And in a few seconds two black-veiled figures vaulted into theirsaddles and tore past in the direction Kheira had disappeared.

  "Speak!" thundered El Sfaski, who, with the others, had now surroundedme. "Knowest thou the punishment of traitors?"

  "Yes," I answered, hoarsely.

  "Who is the woman whose blackness and deceit hath captivated thee?"

  Three rapid shots sounded in the distance. The men had evidentlyovertaken and murdered the daughter of the Sultan!

  I held my breath.

  "I--I refuse to give thee answer," I said, resolutely.

  "By Allah! thou art a traitor to our lord and to our tribe, and of averity thou hast also the eye of perfection. Therefore shalt thou die!"Then, turning to the others, he added--

  "We have no time to bandy words with this accursed son of the Evil One.Tie him to yon tree, and let the vultures feast upon their carrion."

  With loud imprecations the men seized me, tore off my haick andburnouse, and bound me securely to a palm trunk in such a position thatI could only see the great expanse of barren sand. Then, with thatrefinement of cruelty of which the nomadic Azjar are past-masters, theysmeared my face, hands, and feet with date-juice, to attract the antsand other insects; and, after jeering at me and condemning me toeverlasting perdition and sempiternal culpability, they remounted theirhorses, and, laughing heartily, left me alone to wait the end.

  Through the long, silent night, with arms and legs bound so tightly thatI could not move them, I remained, wondering what terrible fate hadbefallen the beautiful girl who had overheard my orison. My twoclansmen had not returned. I knew the men were splendid riders,therefore it was more than probable that they had very quickly overtakenher. Utterly hopeless, well knowing that to the blazing sun and theagonies of being half-devoured by insects I must very soon succumb, Iwaited, my ears on the alert to catch every sound.

  In the sky a saffron streak showed on the edge of the sandy plain,heralding the sun's coming. I watched it gradually spread, knowing thateach moment brought me nearer to an end of agony. I lifted my voice insupplication to Allah, and showered voluble curses upon the expeditionabout to be attempted by my tribe. The pale, handsome face of Kheirawas ever before me, haunting me like a half-remembered dream, its beautyfascinating me, and even causing me to forget the horror of those hoursof dawn.

  Saffron changed to rose, and rose to gold, until the sun shone out,lighting up the trackless waste. The flies, awakened, began to tormentme, and I knew that the merciless rays beating down upon my uncoveredhead would quickly produce the dreaded delirium of madness. The furnaceheat of sunshine grew intense as noon approached, and I was compelled tokeep my eyes closed to avoid the blinding glare.

  Suddenly a noise fell upon my ear. At first it sounded like a low,distant rumbling; but soon my practised ears detected that it was therattle of musketry and the din of tom-toms.

  The City in the Sky was being attacked! My tribesmen had arranged todeliver the assault at noon, but what puzzled me was a sullen booming atfrequent intervals. It was the sound of cannon, and showed plainly thatAfo was being defended!

  From where I was I could see nothing of it. Indeed, the base of themountain was eight miles distant, and the city, perched upon its summit,could only be approached from the opposite side by a path that wasalmost inaccessible. Yet hour after hour the rapid firing continued,and it was evident a most desperate battle was being fought. Thispuzzled me, for had not Kheira said that the city was totallyundefended? Still, the tumult of battle served to prevent me fromlapsing into unconsciousness; and not until the sun sank in a brilliant,blood-red blaze did the firing cease. Then all grew silent again. Thehot poison-wind from the desert caused the feathery heads of the palmsto wave like funeral plumes, and night crept on. The horrible tortureof the insects, the action of the sun upon my brain, the hunger, thethirst, and the constant strain of the nerves, proved too much; and Islept, haunted by spectral horrors, and a constant dread of theinevitable--that half-consciousness precursory of death.

  So passed the second night, until the sun reappeared; but mine eyesopened not. The heat of the blazing noon caused me no concern, neitherdid the two great grey vultures that were hovering over me; for it wasnot until I heard voices in the vicinity that I gazed around.

  One voice, louder than the others, was uttering thanks to Allah. Ilistened; then, summoning all my strength that remained, I cried aloud,in the name of the One Merciful, for assistance.

  There were sounds of hurrying footsteps, voices raised in surprise, awoman's scream, and then objects, grotesquely distorted, whirled aroundme, and I knew no more.

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  When I again opened my weary, fevered eyes, I was amazed to find myselflying upon a soft, silken divan in a magnificent apartment, with slaveswatching, ready to minister to my wants. I took a cooling draught froma crystal goblet handed to me, then raised myself, and inquired where Iwas. The slaves made no reply, but, bowing low, left. Then in a fewmoments the _frou-frou_ of silk startled me, and next second I leaped tomy feet, and, with a cry of joy, clasped Kheira in my arms.

  In her gorgeous harem dress of pale rose silk, with golden bejewelledgirdle, she looked bewitching, though around her eyes were dark ringsthat betrayed the anxiety of the past few days. As our lips met in hot,passionate kisses, she was followed by a tall, stately, dark-bearded manof matchless bearing, whose robe was of amaranth silk, and who wore inhis head-dress a magnificent diamond aigrette. Kheira saw him, andwithdrawing herself from my embrace, introduced me to her father, theSultan of Abea.

  "To thee I owe my life and my kingdom," said the potentate, giving me"Peace," and wringing my hand warmly. "Kheira hath related unto me themercy thou didst show towards her; and it was thy word of warning thatenabled us to repel and defeat the Azjar."

  "Then thou, didst escape, O signet of the sphere of elegance!" I cried,turning to the Sultan's daughter.

  "Yes; though I was hard pressed by two of thine horsemen, I took thesecret path, and thus were they baffled."

  "The Director of Fate apprised our fighting men of our danger," said theSultan; "and they returned on the same night. The breeze of grace blew;the sun of the favour of Allah shone. The news brought by Kheira wasquickly acted upon, and the defences of the city so strengthened, thatwhen at noon the assault was delivered, our cannon swept thy tribesmenfrom the pass like grains of sand before the sirocco. For six hoursthey fought; but their attempts to storm the city gate were futile, andthe handful of survivors were compelled to retire, leaving nearly fivehundred prisoners, including your Sheikh himself, in our hands."

  "And how was I rescued?" I inquired, after briefly explaining how myconversation with Kheira had been overheard.

  "On the day following the fight, we went unto the shrine of Sidi Okbarto render thanks to Allah, and there found thee dying of heat andthirst. Thou didst sacrifice thy life to save our ruler and his city,therefore we brought thee hither," she said.

  Then, taking my hands, the Sultan added, "Thou hast the verdure of themeadows of life. May Allah preserve thee, and grant unto thee longyears of perfect peace, and an eternal rose-garden of happiness. Wipeoff the rust of _ennui_ and fatigue from the sp
eculum of thy mind, andfollow me; for a feast is already prepared for the celebration of thisvictory."

  And we passed onward through the private pavilions--bewildering in theirmagnificence of marble and gold, and green with many leaves--to theGreat Hall of the Divan, where, standing under the royal baldachin ofyellow silk brocade, the Sultan of Abea rejoiced me with his favours,proclaiming me, Ahamadou, tribes man of the Azjar, the Saviour of theCity in the Sky.

  No Touareg has ever contracted marriage with an Arab; therefore, aftertarrying in Afo for many moons, I made peace with my people and returnedunto them, for the wild life of the limitless sands was more congenialto me than the ease and perfumes of palaces and the favours of kings.

  THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE.

  Far south, beyond the Atlas Mountains, beyond that great, limitlessplain of the Talidat where nothing