by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER V.
A STREET ATTACK.
Not until the last gun was fired did Edgar and his Arab friend return totheir tent, utterly worn out by excitement and watching.
"I told you what it would be, Sidi," Edgar said as they went along. "Iwas certain that we should thrash them. It is a tremendous victory, andyou see it is as important for you as it is for us, for the French armyis now cut off. It will be a long time indeed before the French can fitout another fleet strong enough to have even a chance of fighting ours,and, as far as I can see, the only possible escape for their army is tomarch all the way round by Syria to Constantinople, and I should thinkthat after this the Sultan will at once declare war with them, for byconquering Egypt they have taken one of his provinces."
This turned out to be the case. The news of the capture of Egypt hadfilled the Sultan with indignation and rage, but the fear excited bythe success of the French arms in Europe deterred him from declaring waragainst so formidable a foe until the report of the destruction of theirfleet reached Constantinople, when he at once plucked up courage,declared war against France, and ordered two armies to be gathered forthe reconquest of Egypt. The news of the destruction of the French fleetcaused intense excitement throughout Egypt. It showed that the Frenchwere not, as many had been inclined to consider them, invincible, andthat it was improbable they would be able to receive any reinforcementsfrom beyond the sea.
A week previously the Arabs had felt completely crushed, now the feelingof independence and hope sprang up again, and the whole situation was atonce changed. Sidi had, directly the fight came to an end, sent off oneof his followers to meet his father, and to inform him of what had takenplace. Four days later the man returned; he had met the chief and hisparty just as they had reached the river. The latter had resolved atonce to rejoin the desert tribesmen, and to escort the caravan back totheir oasis; his wife, the women, and the animals were to remain there.The party now at the encampment with Sidi were to join him at once.
"The sheik bids me say," the messenger went on to Sidi, "that he wouldthat you should not wait until the others are ready to start, but, if heis willing, should at once ride with your white friend to Cairo, if heis disposed to go with you; there, from his knowledge of the language ofthe Franks, he would be able to gain much information as to theirdesigns.
"He bids you regard him as your leader, and to act as he may advise. Twoof us are to go with you to look after your horses. He begs that one ofyou will come to the base of the Great Pyramid on the twelfth day afterI left him, that is in ten days from now, to tell him what news youhave gathered and to consult with him. He is convinced that the news yousent him will call all the Arabs to arms again."
"That is just what I should wish," Edgar said. "I have been thinking forthe last four days that I should like to be at Cairo. That is the placeof interest now."
He and his friend talked the matter over. "It will be better," Edgarsaid, "that we should go as simple Arabs, and that we should take twohorses of less value than those which we now ride. You could send themup by the party that will rejoin your father. As two young Arabs onordinary horses, we should attract no attention. We could encamp withour two men just outside the town, and go in and out as we pleased; noone would be likely to notice or question us. Or we might even wear thedress of the fellaheen, which would be safer still, for if the Arabsbegin to make attacks upon French parties, as they are likely to do, anyof them wandering in the streets of Cairo might be regarded withsuspicion by the soldiers."
"I will do just as you advise, Edgar. I suppose that we had better startat once."
"Certainly, as soon as we have eaten a meal. Will the man who broughtthe news in be fresh enough to start again at once?"
"Certainly he would," Sidi said in a tone of surprise; "an Arab neverfeels fatigue on horseback. Of course he must have a fresh horse. I willpick out another man to accompany us, and two horses for ourselves.There are two that would suit us well, for they are both sound and fast,though but poor animals to look at, and no one will cast an eye of envyupon them."
"That is just what we want, Sidi."
In less than an hour they were galloping across the plain. The journeyof 110 miles was accomplished in two days, and the party, withoutentering the town, encamped on some waste ground outside the walls. Herewere many small huts belonging to the poorest class of the population,together with many small shelter tents of black cloth erected by partiesof wandering Arabs like themselves. They had, on the previous night,changed their attire, and had nothing to distinguish them from thepoorer classes of Arabs, who, having given up the desert life, earned aprecarious existence in the towns. The two men with them looked withdisdain at their surroundings, and Edgar felt obliged to warn them.
"You must remember," he said, "that the lion couches before he springs,and crawls and conceals himself until he is within reach of his prey, sois it needful also for us to bear ourselves humbly. We are come to seewhat the French are doing; how they comport themselves, and what is thefeeling among the population. We are as spies who come to examine acountry before it is attacked, and to carry out our object we must bearourselves so that suspicion may not fall upon us. If you are questioned,remember that we are four men ready to act as guards to a caravan or onany such service that may present itself."
Leaving the two men to look after the horses, Edgar and Sidi entered thecity. The scene was intensely interesting, Cairo being vastly moreoriental in its appearance than Alexandria. The narrow streets werecrowded; strict orders had been issued against plundering, Napoleonbeing anxious to win the good-will of the population, and merchandise ofall sorts was displayed in the shops. Each trade had its special bazaar,the gold and silversmiths, the dealers in silks, in carpets, richlyembroidered garments, tobacco, long pipes with jewelled mouthpieces,narghiles with their long twisted stems; workers in iron, vendors of theyellow shoes used by the women in walking, the dainty gold-embroideredvelvet slippers for indoors, or the pointed upturned shoes of the men,had each its own bazaars scattered throughout the streets.
Women, in their long dark blue garments, and the hideous white linenyakmash covering the whole face below the eyes, and falling to thebreast, moved through the crowd, others of higher rank, seated ondonkeys and attended by eunuchs, made their way back from the baths, orfrom visits to their friends. Stout Turkish merchants or functionariesrode along perched on high saddles, looking as if they would bear to theground the little donkeys, that nevertheless went lightly along withtheir burden. French soldiers abounded, gazing into the shops, andoccasionally making small purchases, chattering and laughing, thefatigues and sufferings of the march being now forgotten.
There were comparatively few of the richer class in the streets, many ofthese having left the city at the approach of the French, while on thenight before the latter entered there had been serious tumults in thecity, and the houses of many of the beys had been broken into andsacked. Through all this crowd Edgar and Sidi wandered unnoticed.
"It does not look as if there were any strong feeling against theFranks," Sidi remarked, as they issued into a large square which wascomparatively deserted, and seated themselves on a bench in the shade ofthe trees near a fountain.
"No; but it is not here that one would expect to find any signs ofdisaffection. No doubt the traders are doing a good business, for everyofficer and soldier will be sure to spend all his pay in presents forthose at home, or in mementoes of his stay here, and I am sure thethings are pretty enough to tempt anyone. It is in the poorer quartersthat trouble will be brewing."
Presently a group of French officers came along and seated themselves ata short distance from the two young Arabs. Having not the slightest ideathat these could understand what they said, they talked loudly andunrestrainedly.
"The thing is serious, gentlemen," one of them, who was clearly ofsuperior rank to the rest, said. "Since the news of this mostunfortunate affair arrived, there has been a great change in thesituation. For the last two days there has
not been a single horsebrought into the horse-market, and the number of bullocks has fallen offso greatly that the commissariat had difficulty this morning in buyingsufficient for the day's rations for the army, but the worst of it is,that assassinations are becoming terribly common, and in the last threedays fifty-two men have been killed. There will be a general order outto-morrow that men are not to go beyond certain limits, unless at leastfour are together, and that they are not, under any pretext whatever, toenter a native house.
"Besides those known to have been killed, there are twenty-threemissing, and there is no doubt they too have been murdered, and theirbodies buried. The Egyptian head of the police has warned us that thereare gatherings in the lower quarters, and that he believes that some ofMourad's emissaries are stirring the people up to revolt. A good manyparties of Arabs are reported as having been seen near the city.Altogether I fear that we are going to have serious trouble; not thatthere is any fear of revolt, we can put that down without difficulty,but this system of assassination is alarming, and if it goes on, the menwill never be safe outside their barracks, except in the mainthoroughfares. One does not see how to put it down. An open enemy onecan fight, but there is no discovering who these fellows are in a largepopulation like this, and it would be of no use inflicting a fine on thecity for every French soldier killed; that would affect only the richerclass and the traders. There is no doubt, too, that the news that ourfleet has been completely destroyed has dispirited the soldiers, whofeel that for the present, an any rate, they are completely cut off fromFrance."
"That is certainly serious, general," one of the officers said, "andthere seems only the project of the invasion of India or a march toConstantinople. After our march here, though it was but little over ahundred miles, and the greater portion of the way along the bank of theriver, with our flotilla with stores abreast of us, neither of thesealternatives look as easy as they seemed to us before we set foot inthis country."
"No, indeed, colonel; our campaign at home gave us no idea of what themarch of our army would be across these deserts, and it certainly seemsto me that the idea of twenty thousand men marching from here to Indiais altogether out of the question. If our fleet had beaten the English,gone back and brought us twenty thousand more men, and had then sailedround the Cape, and come up to Suez to fetch us and land us in India,the thing would have been feasible enough, and in alliance with theSultan of Mysore we might have cleared the English out altogether, butthe land march seems to be impossible; a small body of men could neverfight their way there, a large body could not find subsistence."
"No; I fancy that Constantinople will be the place at which we shallemerge. A march to Palestine will, of course, be hard, but it is onlythree or four days from the Egyptian frontier. I don't fancy that therewill be any difficulty on the way up through Syria and Asia Minor, andthat almost everywhere we shall find cultivated land, and an abundantsupply of provisions for the army. As for the Turks, I have no doubtthat we shall thrash them, if they venture to interfere with us, aseasily as we did the Egyptians. I have no fear for the safety of thearmy, and if the Egyptians venture on a rising here, before we start, weshall give them such a lesson that a few thousand men left here shouldhave no difficulty in keeping the country in order."
They chatted for some time longer, and then moved off. Edgar repeated tohis friend the substance of their conversation, and they then returnedto their tent. The next day they wandered through the poorer portion ofthe town. Groups of men were assembled in many places, talkingexcitedly; when, as it sometimes happened, a party of French soldierscame along, they broke up, only to assemble at another spot. Sidi andEdgar mingled with them, and gathered that in a short time there wouldbe trouble. It was agreed that so long as the whole French army remainedthere nothing could be done, but it was regarded as certain that itwould soon break up. It was argued that they could not remain at Cairo.Mourad was gathering a large force higher up on the Nile. The Arabs weremoving again. Damietta and Rosetta would have to be occupied. There werenumbers of the Mamelukes between Cairo and Suez. The French could notremain quietly until the whole country was in arms against them. Nodoubt columns would be sent off, and as soon as they were gone, the timefor a rising would come.
They were going down a quiet lane when two men came out from a house.One of them looked fixedly at Sidi and exclaimed:
"This is the Arab boy who got us into trouble at Alexandria; now it isour turn."
Paying no attention to Edgar, who was so entirely altered by hisdisguise as to defy recognition, the two men seized Sidi, and began todrag him into the house. Edgar sprang forward and struck one of them soheavy a blow in the face that he released his hold of Sidi and staggeredback against the wall. Then with a shout of fury he drew his knife andrushed at Edgar. The latter also snatched his knife from his girdle,shifted it into his left hand, and threw himself into the usual boxingattitude with his left foot forward. The Maltese paused in his rush.This line of defence was altogether new to him. He had been engaged inmany a fierce fray, but his opponents had always, like himself, foughtwith their knives in their right hands.
The momentary indecision was fatal to him. With the speed of a practisedboxer Edgar changed feet. Springing forward with his right foot inadvance he caught his opponent's wrist with his right hand, and snatchedthe man's arm across his body, and plunged his own knife to the hiltunder the other's arm. He was but just in time, for the Greek, who,having hurled Sidi into the passage, had turned to the assistance of hiscomrade, was close upon him, giving vent to a hoarse howl of fury as hiscomrade dropped. Edgar faced him in the same attitude as that in whichhe had met the Maltese. The man paused out of reach and then crouched,swaying his body from side to side in readiness for a spring, but henever gave it. Sidi, although thrown heavily down, had leapt up againwith the activity of a cat, and with a single bound from the door hereached the Greek and buried his knife between his shoulders. Almost atthe same moment there was a shout from the other end of the street, andtwo or three men were seen running towards them.
"Through the house, Sidi!" Edgar exclaimed.
They rushed in, closed and fastened the door, and then ran out into theyard behind the house, which was fortunately empty. They were over thewall in a moment into another yard, entered a door that stood open, wentnoiselessly along the passage, for both were barefooted, opened a doorand went out into the lane beyond, pausing for a moment before they didso to see that there were no blood-stains that would attract attentionon their dress. As their arms were bare, there were but a few spots ofblood to be seen. They wiped the blood from the hands that held theknives on the inside of their dress, and then walked quietly out, pulledthe door to, but did not attempt to close it, walked quietly down thelane, took the first turning, turned again four or five times, and thenquickened their pace to a fast walk, and in ten minutes emerged from thelabyrinth of lanes they had been traversing. Up to this time not a wordhad been spoken from the moment they entered the house.
"We are well out of that, Sidi," Edgar said. "Who would have thought ofour meeting those two scoundrels again? I am sorry that I had to killthat man, but it was his life or mine."
"You have assuredly again saved my life, Edgar. I am sure that theywould have murdered me."
"No doubt they would," Edgar said. "But as I was with you, and was notlikely to stand and look on while they did it, it was a fight of twoagainst two, and you did your share."
"It was a poor share, brother. You drew off the attention of the manthat would have killed me, and I had but to strike him down withoutdanger to myself. Again you have saved my life."
"That may be, but I think that you in turn saved mine, for I doubtwhether I should have got on as well with the second fellow as I didwith the first."
"Oh, I have no doubt you would!" the young Arab said confidently. "Howdid you kill him? I saw nothing of it."
"It was simple enough," Edgar replied, and related how the shortconflict had begun and ended.
"You must really teach
me these things, Edgar. It is wonderful how quickyou are, and with a knife too; for I have heard you say that in Englandpeople never fight with knives."
"One learns quickness from boxing," Edgar said carelessly. "That is oneof the advantages of it. It teaches one to think quickly and actquickly; and if one can fight with one's fists, of course one can fightwith a knife. It was a boxing trick I used, and a very useful one, andmore easy than it would be against a good boxer, who would have hit mewith his left before I could strike my blow, but of course this fellowhad no idea of doing that, so that unless I had failed to grasp hiswrist it was a certainty. Did the other hurt you? I heard you go downwith a crash."
"I feel stiff," Sidi replied, "and I expect that I shall be a good dealworse to-morrow, for I am sure I am bruised all down the back; but thatis no matter. It is a good thing that we have done with those two men; Ifelt sure that they would try to be revenged on us if they ever fell inwith us again."
The next day, the anniversary of the establishment of the republic, wascelebrated by a grand review of the troops, and a few days later thenews came that Desaix's division, which had set out in pursuit of Mouradon the day after the battle of the Pyramids, had overtaken him, andanother fierce fight had ensued. The charge of the Mamelukes had brokenone of the French squares, and for a time great confusion prevailed, butDesaix shouted to the soldiers to throw themselves down on the ground,and then the next square opened so terrible a fire on the Mamelukes thatthey were forced to retreat. Two days later Kleber marched with hisdivision for Damietta.
In the native quarter the agitation continued, but so far peace had notbeen broken, and the French took little heed of what was passing, andhad no idea that there was any danger of a rising. Had it been theirobject to provoke such movement, they could hardly have taken stepsbetter calculated to bring it about. They had, in the first place, aftertheir arrival proceeded to largely strengthen and increase thefortifications, and in doing so had altogether disregarded the feelingsof the people, had pulled down houses and mosques, had desecrated tombs,and cleared away all buildings on spaces of ground across which the gunswould play. This desecration of their sacred places had given rise tothe deepest feelings of exasperation among the people.
In the next place, many of the fortifications were converted so that theguns menaced the town instead of the country round, and at the citadelespecially, which dominated the whole city, guns were placed to overaweit. The next step was deeply resented by the people, for interferingwith their ancient usages. Cairo was divided into fifty quarters, eachof which had a wall and gate. These gates were closed at night, orindeed at any time, by the orders of the chief of the quarter, and theinterruption caused by these breaks in the line of communication hadgiven rise to many quarrels between the soldiers and the townspeople.The inconvenience was a distinct one, and the French, without givingany notice of their intentions, sent a strong party of engineers,supported by troops, to demolish all these gateways.
The taxes were onerous in the extreme. By means of a council that hadbeen appointed, consisting of notabilities who had, either by fear orbribery, been brought over to the side of the French, a crushingtaxation was imposed, and this rendered the trading and upper classes,upon whom the burden principally fell, as hostile to the Frenchdomination as were the lower classes. Thus the French themselves had, bytheir high-handed conduct and their absolute disregard for the feelingsand religious sentiments of the people, prepared a mine that was on thepoint of exploding.
That afternoon a messenger arrived from the sheik, saying that he shouldbe at the Pyramids on the following morning, at nine o'clock, and thathe wished them to meet him there.
"Would you take the men with us, Edgar?"
"No, I think it would be best to leave them. They are well establishedhere now, and have come to be looked upon by those around them as havingleft the tribe altogether and as intending to work as carriers. I shouldtell one or other of them to go into the town every day, and see howmatters are going on. If your father, as I hope, decides to take no partin any attack on the French here, he can easily send a messenger torecall them."
Accordingly, the next morning they mounted at daybreak, rode down toBoulak, and were, with their horses, ferried across the river; then theymounted again and rode to the Pyramids. An hour later a cloud of dustwas seen rising to the south-west, and in a few minutes the sheik, withfifty followers, rode up.
"What is the news?" he asked his son as he leapt from his horse. "Weheard that the people of Cairo are about to rise against the Franks, andnumbers of our people have already ridden to join them in the attack."
"The city is in a very disturbed state, father, but as yet the risinghas not begun."
"That is good, my son. We were unable to strike a blow at the Franks inthe battle here; this time we will do our share, with the aid of Allah.
"You do not think that that is well?" he broke off as he glanced atEdgar.
"It is for you to decide, sheik," Edgar said. "For my part, I do notbelieve that the rising will be successful. It is true that a largenumber of the French are absent. Desaix has gone with his division tocapture the northern provinces and drive out Mourad Bey and theMamelukes. Kleber marched yesterday, they say, to Damietta, but there isstill a strong force here. I doubt not that the rising will besuccessful at first. Many French soldiers away from their regiments willbe cut down and killed, detached parties may be attacked andoverpowered, but I believe that in the end their discipline willtriumph. Their cannon will sweep the streets, the guns of the citadeland the new forts that they have armed will shell the town; andalthough, if a really desperate defence is made, the town can hardly becaptured without great loss, Bonaparte is sure to do so sooner or later,for, if necessary, he can call back Kleber and Desaix. It is a matter oflife and death to them. Were the country to hear that Cairo had beenrecovered and the French driven out with heavy loss, there would be arush to arms. The army would, I believe, be able to fight its way downto Alexandria, but when beleaguered there, unable to obtain any storesfrom the country round, and their retreat from sea cut off, theirposition would be desperate."
"I do not say that you are not right," the sheik said gravely. "Youunderstand the mode of warfare of these Franks much better than I do,and have been right in all your predictions of what would happen; butwhatever may be the danger, it is clear to me that it must be faced.Brave men do not shrink from encountering death, and how can a followerof the Prophet shrink from death in battle with infidels. Numbers of mycountrymen will assuredly take part in the struggle, and did I ride awaywithout sharing in the conflict, I should not be able to lift up my headagain. It may be that it is fated that I shall not return; so be it; ifit is the will of Allah that I should die now, who am I to oppose it?
"Let there be no more said on this. I know, my friend, that you are notafraid of danger, and that your counsel is not prompted by any thoughtof personal fear. I acknowledge that all you say may come to pass, butmy mind is made up. Thousands of Arabs will fight there, and I shall notdraw back. Sidi will, of course, fight by my side, but it is not yourquarrel, and there is no reason why you should risk your life in astruggle that you believe to be hopeless."
"Assuredly, chief, I shall ride with you. You have treated me as one ofyour tribe, and I have come to regard myself as such. Sidi is as mybrother, and were there no other reason, I would ride to battle by hisside. Moreover, this is as much my business as yours. My country is atwar with France, and if at present Egypt is invaded by them, it is notbecause France desires to capture Egypt, but because by their occupationof the country they hope to strike a blow at England."
"It is well!" the chief said. "I think not that either you or Sidi willfall. Allah sent you to his aid when he was in danger, and he wouldhardly have done so had it been his will that you should both perish soshortly afterwards; but we are all in His hands, and shall die when ourtime comes, and not before."
Then, as if dismissing the subject, he asked Sidi what had happened inthe town, and whe
ther they had been questioned by any as to theirbusiness.
"The principal thing, father, that has happened to us is, that we againmet the two men who attacked me at Alexandria, and were beaten andturned out of the city, and as it happened then, I should have lost mylife had it not been for my brother."
"Tell me about it," the sheik said, his face hardening and his fingersplaying with the hilt of the long knife in his sash.
Sidi related the whole adventure.
The sheik stood stroking his beard gravely as Sidi spoke. His eyesturned from his son to Edgar.
"Bishmillah!" he exclaimed, when the story was finished, "Allah musthave sent you to be Sidi's protector. Without doubt, he would have losthis life had he been alone. Truly it is a wonderful thing this Englishscience that you possess, and that enables you, though but a lad, toknock down strong men, and although unused to a knife, to slay ruffiansaccustomed to it from their childhood, with their own weapons. More thanever am I beholden to you, Edgar. Twice have you saved my son's life.Had you been alone, these men would not have recognized you, and it wasbut because he was attacked that, as on the last occasion, you joined inthe fray. Show me, I beg you, how you slew this man."
"It was simple, sheik. Had I fought him in his own fashion he would, Ihave no doubt, have killed me. But my method was as new to him as hiswould have been to me. Will you draw your dagger and advance at me as ifgoing to strike? Now, if I have my knife in my right hand also, youknow what to do; you would try to grasp my wrist with your left hand. Ishould try to grasp yours in the same way. We should struggle, but withyour superior strength you would soon wrench your right hand free, andstrike me down. Now, you see, I take my closed knife in my left hand,pointing it straight towards you, with my left foot forward; that is theposition in which we stand when we use our fists. You, like thatMaltese, are puzzled, and stand, as he did, for a moment indecisive;that would have been fatal to you. As, you see, I leap forward, changingmy advanced foot as I do so, catch your wrist, and pull your arm with asudden jerk towards me, and at the same moment strike you under the armwith my left hand."
An exclamation of wonder broke from the Arabs standing round listeningto the conversation, as with lightning speed Edgar repeated themanoeuvre that had been fatal to the Maltese.
"Bishmillah," the chief ejaculated, "but it is wonderful! It is true Ishould have been a dead man had your blade been opened, and yourmovement was so rapid that I could not have avoided it."
"No, because you were not accustomed to it. Had you been an Englishboxer you would have leapt back as quickly as I leapt forward. I shouldhave failed to grasp your wrist, and should in that case have leapt backagain to my former position, for had I remained thus I should have beenat your mercy. Had I succeeded in doing so before you struck me, weshould have been as we began, and I should have tried some other trick.Certainly as long as I stood with my left arm extended and my knifepointed towards you, you could not have closed with me--for I am muchquicker on my feet from the training that I have received--and I couldhave got back more quickly than your knife could fall, and even if theblades fell at the same moment you would but gash my shoulder, whereas Ishould pierce you at a vital point.
"It is with this as with other matters. You have been trained fromchildhood to sit your horse. You can stoop over while you are gallopingat full speed and pick up a stone from the sand. You can twirl yourlance round your head and throw it into the air, and catch it as itdescends while going at full speed. You can do things that no untrainedEnglishman could do. So is it with me. I have learned boxing from thebest masters in England, I have practised daily for two years and ahalf, and I have gained a quickness that could not be imitated by onewho has not had such teaching and practice."
"It is true," the sheik said. "But it is not the less wonderful in oureyes that, though knowing the use of our weapons, we should be but aschildren in your hands when thus fighting on foot. I wonder no longerthat you should so easily have conquered this man. What say you, mybrothers?"
An exclamation of assent broke from the Arabs, who, in spite of Edgar'sexplanation, henceforth regarded him with an almost superstitiousrespect. As soon as the troop had arrived, Edgar had gone to see hishorse, which, as well as that of Sidi, the sheik had brought with him.It had whinnied with pleasure as he came up to it, and he stood pattingit for some time, and giving it some dates. He now went over to itagain, and on his return asked the chief:
"Were you thinking of riding that splendid horse of yours?"
"Certainly I was," he replied, in a tone of surprise.
"I do not mean to take mine," Edgar said, "and I think that it would bea great pity if you and Sidi were to ride yours. I can understand that,in a fight on the plains, it would be a great advantage to be somounted, for either in pursuit or flight it would be invaluable, but inthe narrow streets of Cairo it would be a sin to risk so splendid ananimal, and the one I have been riding would be just as useful. We shallbe fighting, not against cavalry, but against infantry and artillery,and it would be useless to ride a horse that would outstrip those of therest of the band; while even if we won the day our satisfaction would belessened indeed had one to mourn the loss of one's friend."
"You are right," the sheik said gravely. "Were I to lose Zeila it wouldbe like the loss of a child; we love each other dearly. I had notthought of it before. It seemed to me a matter of course that if I rodein the battle she should carry me as she has done a score of times; but,as you say, this will not be like fighting in the desert, when mansingles out man, and one's life depends as much upon the intelligenceand quickness of the horse as upon one's skill with spear and scimitar.Two of my followers shall take our three horses back to our camp in thedesert. You and Sidi are already mounted. One of the men shall give mehis horse, and shall ride on Sidi's; each will then have but one tolead. If my son and I are killed, the two horses will be valuablepossessions to my wife."
Accordingly the saddle was shifted from the sheik's horse to that of oneof his followers, and the latter, with his comrade, was told to startfor the oasis as soon as the rest of the party set out for Cairo.