The Lance of Kanana: A Story of Arabia
Page 4
IV
THE PROMISE
Up the steep sides of Mount Hor, Kanana climbed, without waiting to lookfor a path. He saw nothing, heard nothing. He was all eagerness to reachthe summit, in the faint hope that it might not be too late to see thedeparting caravan of Raschid Airikat.
Unless a camel is fresh, unusually large and strong, or constantlyurged, it rarely makes more than two miles an hour. It was not over tenhours since the robber sheik had left the oasis, and some of the camelswere very old and exhausted. It was a foolish hope, no doubt, and yetKanana hoped that anything so large as a great caravan might still bedistinguishable.
Up, up, up he climbed--as fast as hands and feet could carry him. He nolonger felt the cool air of early morning. He no longer looked about himto see the new sights of a strange oasis.
He did not even pause to look away over the desert as he climbed. Thehighest point was none too high. He did not care how far he could seeuntil he had gained the white tomb of Aaron, upon the very crest.
Had he not been too thoroughly occupied with what was above him tonotice what transpired about him and down below, he would have seen fiveArab horsemen reach the stream by which he slept, almost as he began toclimb.
They were Mohammedan soldiers, thoroughly armed for war, and hadevidently come from the northern borders of Arabia, where the victoriousMussulmans were triumphantly planting the banner of Islam.
They had been riding hard, and both men and horses were exhausted. Theyhurried to the water. The men hastily ate some food which they carried,and tethered their horses in Arab fashion, by a chain, one end of whichis fastened about the forefoot of the animal and the other end about themaster, to prevent their being stolen while the master sleeps.
The moment this was accomplished, the five men rolled themselves intheir mantles, covering their faces, as well as their bodies, and laydown upon the grass to sleep.
They were skilled in the art of making long journeys in the shortestpossible time, and were evidently upon important business; for an Arabis never in haste unless his mission is very important.
Before Kanana reached the temple the men were soundly sleeping, and thehorses, lying down to rest themselves, were still eating the grass aboutthem, as a camel eats.
Panting for breath, and trembling in his eager haste, Kanana reached thetomb of Aaron: an open porch, with white pillars supporting a roof ofwhite, like a crown of eternal snow upon the summit of Mount Hor.
Between the snowy pillars Kanana paused. One quick glance at the skygave him the points of the compass, and shading his eyes from theglowing east, he looked anxiously to the south and west.
Sand, sand, sand, in billows like great waves of an ocean, lay about himin every direction. Far away there were low hills, and a semblance ofgreen which, to his practiced eye, meant a grove of date palms upon thebanks of a stream. But nowhere, search as he would, was there thefaintest speck to indicate the caravan.
He was still anxiously scanning those distant hills when the first raysof the rising sun shot from the eastern horizon, flashing a halo ofglory upon the snow-white crown of old Mount Hor, before they touchedthe green oasis lying about its base.
Never, in all the ages, had the sun come up out of the Arabian desertto see such a tableau as his first bright beams illumined Aaron's tomb.
All absorbed in his eager search, Kanana stood upon the very edge of thewhite porch. One hand was extended, grasping his shepherd's staff, theother was lifted to shade his eyes.
KANANA STOOD UPON THE VERY EDGE OF THE WHITE PORCH.]
In his eagerness to reach forward, one foot was far before the other,and the knee was bent, as though he were ready to leap down the steepdeclivity before him.
His turban, a large square piece of cloth, was bound about his head witha camel's-hair cord; one corner was thrown back over his forehead, and acorner fell over each shoulder, like a cloak. His coat was sheepskinsstitched together. Summer and winter, rain and sunshine, the Bedouinshepherd wears that sheepskin coat, as the best protection against bothsun and frost.