by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER III.
LEFT BEHIND.
The sheik spoke a few words to two of his followers, who at once mountedtheir horses and rode off.
"They will bring us news if anything happens," he said; "they will gointo Alexandria."
It was late in the evening when they returned.
"You have news?" the sheik said, as they came up to the fire by which hewas sitting. The moon was shining brightly, lighting up the wide expanseof sand round the grove.
"The Franks have come," one said.
Edgar sprung to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and alarm.
"When did they come?" the sheik asked.
"When we reached the city all was quiet," the man said, "except thatsoldiers were working at the fortifications. When we asked why this was,they said that some Bedouins had come in two hours before with the newsthat the sea near Cape Harzet was covered with ships, and that they weresailing this way. Many did not believe the story, but all the people andthe soldiers were ordered to work on the fortifications, to bring upshot for the great guns, to carry stones to mend the walls where theywere broken, and to prepare for the defence. The sun was nigh half downwhen we saw a great many white dots on the edge of the sea. They werestill some leagues away, when everyone pointed and cried out, 'It is theenemy!' and worked harder than ever. It was not for two hours that wewere sure that they were ships. When we were so, we went, as you badeus, to the English merchant's. He was busy directing men, who were goingbackwards and forwards to a ship in the harbour. We said to him,'Master, our sheik has sent us to carry him news should the fleet of theFranks come here. He told us to come to you if it did so, as you mightwish to send for your son.'
"'It is too late,' he said; 'too late for my son to come to me. I am onthe point of starting now, as you see. Many of the ships have alreadyput to sea, and the captain has sent to say that he cannot risk hisvessel by staying longer. The French will be here within two or threehours, and although they will not venture to enter the harbour tilldaybreak they could capture all vessels going out. Tell my son that Iregret much that I let him go away for the day, but had no thought thatthe enemy would come so soon. Bid him not be uneasy about me, for itwill be dark in an hour, and the French will not be up until two hourslater, and they will have their hands full without trying to catch thecraft that are putting out from here. Here is a letter for him; I wasgoing to leave it here in case he returned.'
"Five minutes afterwards he took his place in a boat and was rowed offto the ship. We saw the men getting up the anchor, and then the sailswere spread, and she sailed out of the harbour. Then, not wishing to beshut up in the town, we went out through the gates and rode to themound by the sea-shore that is called Marabout. Then we got off ourhorses to see what would happen. It was dark when the Franks' vesselscame along; some of them sailed on towards the harbour, but most of themanchored and let down their sails, and presently one could see vastnumbers of boats rowing towards the shore."
When the man had finished, Edgar opened the note that was handed to him.It was written in pencil.
_My dear Edgar,--In face of all probabilities the French fleet is in sight. They will be here soon after it is dark. The city is in a state of mad excitement. The captain of the 'Petrel' has just come in, saying that the French are coming along the coast from the west, and that I must be on board before it is dark. For some reasons I regret that you are not with me, but I believe that you will be quite safe with your Arab friends, and possibly this may be more to your liking than a long stay in London. Take care of yourself, lad. God bless you!--Your affectionate father._
Edgar's first thought at hearing the news had been regret that he couldnot accompany his father, but this was very speedily succeeded by afeeling of delight that he would be enabled to witness stirring events.
"Are you glad or sorry?" the sheik asked.
"I am much more glad than sorry," he replied. "My father, no doubt, isdisappointed that I am not returning home with him. I should on noaccount have remained behind had it been possible to join him in time.As it is, it is neither my fault nor his, but, as I think, a stroke ofgood fortune. And now, chief, I can accept your kind offer ofhospitality, and hope that if there is any fighting that I shall ride bythe side of Sidi."
The Arab smiled gravely. "That assuredly you shall do. It is, as yousay, no one's fault, but the will of Allah, that has left you in mycharge, and I doubt not that good fortune will befall us thereby. Now,what think you that is meant by the Franks landing at Marabout insteadof sailing on to attack the port?"
"It means, no doubt, that they are going to assault the city by land.They probably do not know how weak are the fortifications, and fear thatthe fleet might suffer much injury from their guns, and may thereforeprefer to attack from the land side."
"But can they take the city that way?"
"I have no doubt that they can. Their guns could blow in the gates in avery short time. Moreover, from the high ground near Pompey's Pillarthey could harass the defenders of the wall, or, if they chose, make abreach in it. The wall is very old, and in many places in a bad state ofrepair."
"Could we go into the city and aid in the defence?" the sheik asked.
"There will be no entering from this side, sheik. The French army willbe between us and Alexandria, and, moreover, the guns from theirwar-ships will be able to sweep the sands. We might pass round by thesouth and enter the city from the other side; but your forty men wouldadd but little strength to the defence, and would be far more useful ashorsemen when the French begin their advance."
"How long will it take them, think you, to capture the town? Help cancome down from Cairo in a week."
"I think that the French will lose but little time, sheik. So long asthe town holds out, the fleet might be attacked by Nelson, should hecome back this way, while as soon as they have captured the town allthe light-draught vessels would find shelter in the harbour. You may besure that they would lose no time in mounting guns from the ships on theforts, and render themselves perfectly safe from attack. They say thatBonaparte is in command of the French. He is their ablest general, andvery active and enterprising. I should not be surprised if he capturesthe place before sunset to-morrow."
The sheik made no reply. It seemed to him that Edgar's opinion that thecity which had withstood many sieges could be captured in a few hourswas too absurd to need argument.
"There is nothing to be done now," he said; "let us sleep. To-morrow,before sunrise, we will make a detour round the south side of the cityand approach the eastern gate, and then decide whether to enter the townor not."
In a few minutes there was silence in the camp, but long before the sunrose everyone was astir. The women were to be left with the boys and oldmen. The preparations were of the simplest character; each of thethirty-eight men going hung a bag of dates at his saddle-bow, looked tohis firearms, and mounted. As the oasis was situated to the south-westof the city, they did not strike the old bed of Lake Mareotis untilhalf-way along what had been its south shore. At present all was silentin the distant city, and the sheik said shortly, "We will wait till wesee what is going to be done." Presently two or three Arabs were seengalloping across the cultivated ground. They belonged to the Henedytribe, one of the wildest and most savage of the people of the desert.When they saw the group of horses they made their way towards them. Asthe sheik advanced a few paces, one of them leapt from his saddle andcame up to him.
"What has happened, brother?" Ben Ouafy asked.
"Last evening the Franks began to land, and all night they continued tocome ashore. At midnight Koraim, the commander of the town, went out tosee what they were doing, at the head of twenty Mamelukes, and fell upona company of their skirmishers, charged them, killed many, and carriedthe head of their captain in triumph into the town. At five this morningour tribe arrived. We rode up near them, and saw that they had neitherhorsemen nor cannon. They were divided into three columns, and weremarching towards the tow
n. We dashed in between the columns and cut downmany of their skirmishers, but we were only five hundred, and dared notattack the column, which opened such a heavy fire that we were forced todraw off. Our sheik ordered us to ride south to carry the news toRamanieb that the Franks had landed. They may have sent the news fromthe town, but he thought it best to make sure."
"'Tis well!" the sheik said, and the Arab threw himself into the saddleagain, and with his companions rode south at a gallop. "You see," thesheik went on to Edgar, "the Franks cannot mean to attack the town. Whatcould they do without cannon?"
"It would assuredly be a desperate enterprise, sheik, but I think thatthey may attempt it, seeing that it is all-important to them to obtainpossession of the port before our fleet can return."
The party remained sitting, with the patience of their race, until thesheik should give orders for them to mount. Edgar got up several times,and walked backwards and forwards. He was less accustomed to waiting,and was burning for action. Just at eight o'clock there came suddenly totheir ears an outburst of firing, the boom of cannon, and the sound of acrackling roll of musketry.
"The French have lost no time in beginning," he said.
The young Arab nodded. A flush of excitement glowed through the oliveskin, his hand tightly grasped his spear, and his eyes were fixed on thedistant city. Suddenly the sheik raised the vibrating battle-cry of theArabs, in which the whole of his followers joined, and then at a wildgallop they dashed forward, the horses seeming to share in theexcitement of their riders. After maintaining the pace for a couple ofmiles they reined in their horses somewhat, and at a canter swept alongthe neck that divided in old time the lakes of Aboukir and Mareotis,slackened down into a walk as they approached the fresh-water canal,where they stopped for a few minutes to allow their horses to drink, andthen continued at a leisurely pace until they mounted the high ground atRamleh. From here they obtained a view of the eastern side ofAlexandria. They could hear the din of battle on the other side of thetown, and could see the great fleet anchored, a mile from shore, sometwo miles to the west of the town. The wind, which had been blowingstrongly the night before, and had seriously hindered the work ofdisembarkation of the French troops, had now subsided. Some of themen-of-war were engaging the forts, but at so great a distance that itwas evident that it was a demonstration to distract the attention of thebesieged rather than a serious attack. Four or five ships, under theshortest sail, were cruising backwards and forwards parallel with theshore eastward of the town, and occasionally a white puff of smoke burstout from one or other of them, and a shot was sent in the direction ofscattered bands of horsemen near the shore.
After gazing at the scene in silence for some minutes, the sheik turnedhis horse and rode back to a spot near the canal, where the moisture,permeating through its banks, had given growth to a luxuriant crop ofgrass. Here all dismounted and tethered their horses. Four of the Arabswere appointed to watch over their safety, and the rest reascended themound, and squatted down on the sands. Gradually the other parties ofhorse gathered there, and the sheiks gravely consulted together. All hada conviction that Alexandria would hold out until help came from Cairo.The question of entering the town was discussed. Presently the sound ofcannon ceased, but the rattle of musketry continued unabated.
"Why have the guns ceased firing, think you?" the sheik asked Edgar.
"It is one of two things, sheik. Either the French have got so close upto the walls that the cannon can no longer be brought to fire upon them,or they have stormed the walls and the fighting is now in the streets ofthe town."
"But there are two walls," the sheik said; "the one known as the Arabwall, and the inner defences. It is impossible that they can havecarried both."
"It would seem so," Edgar agreed; "but as the musketry is as hot, orhotter, than ever, it is evident that fighting is going on at closequarters, and that either the guns cannot be fired, or they have beencaptured. You see the walls were in many places weak, and the attemptsthat have been made during the past three or four days to repair thebreaches that existed were very incompletely done. I am very much afraidthat it is as I said, and that the French have gained an entrance."
Half an hour later, a number of horsemen, followed by a crowd of peopleon foot, poured out from the eastern gate. One of the leading horsemendrew rein for a moment as he passed the group of Arabs.
"The town is lost," he said; "the Franks have won their way into thestreets, and Koraim has surrendered."
An exclamation of fury broke from the Arabs.
"It will be our turn next," Ben Ouafy said, shaking his spear towardsthe city. "This is but the beginning of the work. They may take a city,but the sands will devour them."
As they knew that the French had no cavalry the Arabs remained quiet;the stream of fugitives continued to pour past them, men, women, andchildren.
"We will return," Ben Ouafy said at last. "We will move south and jointhe rest of the tribe, and then see what the government of Cairo aregoing to do."
The capture of the town had not been effected without loss. Menou'scolumn had attacked on the right, Kleber in the centre, Bon had movedround south of the town. The Arab wall was obstinately defended, Kleberand Menou were both wounded as they led the grenadiers to the assault;Bon, however, had met with less resistance, and had captured the innerwall before the other columns succeeded in doing so. For some time thebattle had raged in the streets, but the captain of a Turkish vessel hadbeen sent by Napoleon to the governor, pointing out that furtherresistance would bring destruction upon the town, while if he yielded,the French troops, who came as friends to deliver them from the tyrannyof the Mamelukes, would do no harm to anyone. Koraim thereuponcapitulated. He was at once attached to the general staff, and chargedwith maintaining order in the town and disarming its inhabitants.
Proclamations were at once sent out through the country, declaring thatthe French had come to destroy the Mameluke domination, and that theywere friends of the Sultan of Turkey. Protection was offered to all thevillages that submitted; those that did not do so would be burnt. Sevenhundred Turkish slaves, who had been delivered at the capture of Malta,and who had been extremely well treated, were at once sent to theirhomes in Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, Syria, Smyrna, and Constantinople,being provided with ample sums of money to support them on their way.These measures had an excellent effect. Koraim sent out messengers tothe Arab tribes of the neighbourhood. His influence among them wasgreat, and their sheiks for the most part went at once into Alexandria,and agreed to keep the road open from Alexandria to Damanhour, and tosell and deliver within forty-eight hours 300 horses, 500 dromedaries,and 1000 camels. They were presented with dresses of honour and money.By this time the transports had all entered the old port of Alexandria,and were busy discharging their cargo and the troops they carried, andin a short time the whole French army was on shore.
Scarce a word was spoken among Ben Ouafy's party on their homeward ride.The sheik gave his orders on his arrival.
"We will wait for a day or two," he said to Edgar as they dismounted."The French have no cavalry, and would not come out here. Let us seewhat the other tribes are going to do; we are but a small body."
When, two days later, a messenger arrived from Koraim, the sheik, afterreading the contents of the proclamation, indignantly tore it in pieces.
"Tell Koraim," he said to the messenger, "that hitherto I have regardedhim as an honourable man, now I spit upon him as a traitor. Whateverothers may do, I will fight against the Franks till the last."
As soon as the messenger had departed, he gave orders for the tents tobe struck.
"We must be going, Sidi," he said; "some of the tribes may be taken inby these promises, and may give aid to the enemy; in that case theywould doubtless obey orders to attack those who refuse to do so. Threeof them can each put four or five hundred spears into the field. We willmove away at once. With fifty men we cannot fight two thousand."
The process of packing-up occupied but a short time. As soon as th
etents were made into bundles the thirty camels were brought in andloaded. The women and children took their places on the top of thebaggage, and then the men mounted their horses, and the cavalcadestarted across the desert.
"Which way do we travel, Sidi?"
"We are not going direct. There are but few wells, and the distances arelong between. Mounted men alone can do the journey without difficulty,but it is a painful one with women and children, and we never go thatway unless in case of great necessity. We shall travel towards thesouth-east, keeping near the edge of the cultivated country until wereach the Nile, and then follow along the river bank until within a fewmiles of Cairo, thence it is three days' journey to the south-west.There is a well half-way."
After proceeding some ten miles, they perceived a party of Arabsgalloping in the direction of Alexandria. They changed their course,however, and soon came up with the Ben Ouafy caravan. Two of the sheiksof the party rode forward and exchanged salutations with the chief.
"Whither are you journeying, Ben Ouafy?"
"I am going south to join my tribe; and you--are you going toAlexandria?"
"I am going there at once."
"Hast not the news reached you that the Franks have captured it?"
"Truly we have heard so, and a messenger came to us but this morning,saying that they had come to deliver us from the Turks, and inviting usto go in thither and see them. Have you not received a message also?"
"I received such a message, indeed, but its words were idle. For theTurks and their Mamelukes I have no great love. They prey upon the land,and enrich themselves at our expense; but the Franks would doubtless dothe same, and I would rather be fleeced by those of the true faith thanby kaffirs."
"But they come as our friends."
Ben Ouafy smiled. "Why should they come as our friends, Chief of OuladA'Ly; what have we done for them? Why should they cross the sea in theirships at great expense and much danger, to save those whom they knownot, from the Turks? You might as well expect the lion to come to rescuea deer attacked by a jackal. He might, it is true, drive it away, but itwould only be that he might himself slay and devour the stag. We haveheard of these Franks, how they have taken Italy and other countries;and think you, that if they should overpower the Osmanlis and defeat theMamelukes, that they will say, 'We have accomplished our purpose, wehave freed you from your oppressors, now we will sail back to France andleave you to manage your own affairs'?"
"He promises to respect our religion," the sheik said, "to buy horsesand camels from us at fair prices, to give us rich presents, and totreat us with honour."
"No doubt, no doubt. 'Tis easy to speak soft words when one needs aid,but such promises are forgotten when the object is attained. To-day heis the friend of the Arabs, to-morrow he will be their master, and ifwe aid these kaffirs against the followers of the Prophet, we shall welldeserve whatever may befall."
"Then you will not go in to the gathering to which he invites us?"
"Assuredly not. Even were it for no other reason, I would wait and seewhat comes of the matter. We know not yet that he will conquer theMamelukes, and if he fails to do so, assuredly their vengeance willafterwards fall upon all who have assisted these people."
The sheik cast his eye over Ben Ouafy's cavalcade, as if estimating itsstrength. He saw, however, that it contained as many armed men as he hadwith him, and if the idea had entered his mind of commencing thecampaign by plundering it, he concluded it must be at once abandoned.
"I have no intention," he said, "of taking part with the Franks againstthe government. I am going to sell horses and camels. Frank money is asgood as Turkish, and, moreover, they threaten to attack and destroythose who refuse to aid them. Your tribe lives far away, though, indeed,you may abide here at times, and there is nothing of yours that they candestroy. I have my people to think of, their villages, their flocks andherds and horses; therefore, I shall go and see this great man, and hearwhat he says, and shall, if I can, keep on terms of peace with him. Anarmy so strong and so fierce that it has captured Alexandria after fourhours' fighting is too formidable for an Arab chief to resist; but,assuredly, I have no thought of fighting on his side against mycountrymen."
The sheik bowed courteously.
"Every man has his own way of looking at things, and in a matter likethis each must do as seems best to him. Go in peace, and may goodfortune attend you!"
The formal salutation was returned, and the sheiks rejoined theirparties, and each kept on their course as before they met.
"There, my son," Ben Ouafy said to Sidi, "you see how the desire forgain influences men to evil deeds. In order to sell a few hundred horsesand as many camels, the Oulad A'Ly are going to assist the Franksagainst true believers. It is true that they may not be going to fightfor them, but the animals that they sell to them will enable them tofight, which comes to the same thing. Of course he professes that he isthinking of saving his villages from destruction, but he must know wellenough that the Franks have other things to think of than to spread overthe country here, and give ample time to the Mamelukes to prepare fortheir coming. Moreover, as it is clear that the French have no cavalry,they could not make excursions, for if they seized all the horses inAlexandria, these would not suffice to mount a party strong enough toassail a tribe like the Oulad A'Ly, who can put nigh a thousand horsemeninto the field."
The party travelled without haste. Before arriving on the Nile, Edgarsuggested to the sheik that it would be as well were he to discard hisEuropean dress for an Arab one.
"When we were at Damanhour," he said, "I marked how the people scowledat me as I rode through the streets; and as no doubt you will ride intoCairo ere long, it would save trouble were I to be so attired that Ishould escape notice."
"It would be a good plan," the sheik agreed. "I daresay Sidi can supplyyou with a suit."
"I can purchase what is needed at the next place we come to," Edgarsaid, "I have money for any necessity that may arise. Even puttingaside the trouble of being constantly questioned, I should prefer theArab dress, for under this baking sun I think it would be a good dealmore comfortable than these English clothes."
Accordingly, at the next town they passed through, Sidi and Edgar wenttogether to the bazaar, and the latter purchased, after the usual amountof bargaining, clothes similar to those worn by his friend. The expensewas but small, for the costume of an Arab chief differed but little fromthose of his followers, except that his burnoose was of finer cotton,and his silken sash of brilliant colours, richer and more showy. Withthis exception the whole costume was white, and although some of theArab sheiks wore coloured burnooses, Edgar chose a white one, as bothhis friend and his father wore that colour. He bought two or threechanges of clothes, for he knew that water was often scarce, and thatwashing of garments could not be indulged in frequently. That night whenthe camp was pitched he donned his new costume, and placed his pistolsin his sash in Arab fashion. Sidi wound his turban for him, and gave himinstructions how the clothes were to be worn. Those he had taken offwere made into a bundle so that they could be resumed if necessary. Hefelt rather awkward as with his friend he sallied out from the tentwhich they now shared between them.
"You look well, Edgar," the sheik said approvingly, "but you will needto stain your arms and legs, and it will be better for you to stain yourface and neck also, for you would attract quite as much attention as awhite Arab as you would in your European dress."
"I was thinking so myself, sheik; it will be much pleasanter for me tobe able to pass anywhere without comment."
"You are taller than I thought," the sheik said; "it had not struck methat you were much taller than Sidi, but I see now that you are as tallas I am."
"I suppose the flowing garments make one look taller," Edgar said. "Ihave often been surprised, when standing near a native who looked to mea good deal taller than myself, to find that he was really not above myown height."
"My wife shall make a stain for you as soon as she can get the material.There will be no
difficulty about that, for we often dye our burnoosesbrown, especially when we are starting on a long journey."
The sheik's wife and the other women were voluble in their expressionsof satisfaction at the change in Edgar. They had been but little in thetowns, and the comparatively tight-fitting European garments were, intheir eyes, ugly and unbecoming. Seen in the more graceful dress of theArabs they recognized for the first time that their guest was agood-looking young fellow, tall, active, and not ungraceful in figure,and that he could even compare not unfavourably with Sidi, who was afavourite with the whole camp. Even the men, impassive as they usuallywere, uttered a few words of satisfaction at Edgar having adopted anArab costume, and at his appearance in it. On the following day thesheik, taking his son, Edgar, and two of his followers, left the caravanand rode on to Cairo, leaving the others to travel by easy stages tojoin the rest of the tribe.
"Doubtless we shall find many other sheiks assembled there," he said asthey rode along; "the government is sure to have sent orders already forall the Bedouin tribes to hold themselves in readiness to gather thereto oppose the advance of the French. The levies of the city and theneighbourhood will also be called out, not so much perhaps to fight asto labour at the fortifications. That they will not ask of the Arabs,for no Arab would work like a fellah. We will fight, but we will leaveit to the peasants to work. The Mamelukes will, however, in the firstplace oppose the Franks. I love them not. They are the oppressors ofEgypt, but the lions of the desert are not more courageous. They areproud of themselves, and believe themselves to be invincible. They willnot believe that the Franks can stand for a moment against them, and youknow that the night that the Franks landed, twenty Mamelukes rode outagainst them, killed many, and brought in their heads in triumph. Theywould not ask us to charge with them, but would deem it shame to ask foraid in such an encounter, but they will be willing enough to accept ourhelp in cutting off the fugitives and in preventing others who may landfrom spreading over the country."
"Then you still feel sure that the Mamelukes will defeat the French?"Edgar said.
"If it be the will of Allah, my son. The Mamelukes are not like thepeople who defended Alexandria; they are warriors. We Arabs are brave,we do not fear death; but when, from time to time, a tribe refuses topay its annual tribute, and a band of Mamelukes is sent against them,truly the sons of the desert cannot withstand them in combat, even whenmuch more numerous, and are either destroyed or forced to make theirsubmission. These men regard themselves not as simple soldiers; it is anarmy of emirs. Each has his two or three slaves to wait upon him, togroom his horse and polish his arms. Their dresses are superb; theirarms and trappings are encrusted with gold and gems. Each carries hiswealth on his person, and there are few who cannot show a hundred piecesof gold, while many can exceed that by ten times. It is true that theyare the oppressors of the people, and that Egypt has been drained ofits wealth for their support, yet we, who suffer from them, cannot butfeel proud of them. Are they not followers of the Prophet? They are menlike those whom the great Sultan Saladin led against the Christian hostswho strove to capture Syria. We have tales how brave these were, and howthey rode, clad in steel from head to foot; and yet their bones whitenedthe sands, and the true believers remained in possession of their lands.The Mamelukes are men such as those were, and until I see the contrary Ishall not believe that they can be defeated by these Franks."
"I hope that it may be so, sheik, and I doubt in no way their valour;but it is the guns and the discipline of the French that will, I fear,decide the conflict."