A shout of triumph sounded just outside his cell door, and amidst a volley of interjections in Turkish and Arabic, he fancied he could hear English shouts of--
"Hurrah! boys, we shall do it. Open every one of the doors, and set them all free."
Two heavy bolts were shot back outside, the heavy key was turned in the lock, Mole"s cell door was opened, and in a burst of torch-light entered groups of armed Bedouin Arabs.
Mole shrank back in a corner.
These ferocious Moslems had doubtless come to murder him in hot blood.
In reality their object was quite different.
The event that had happened was not an outbreak within the walls of the garrison, but an inbreak of those whose purpose was to rescue the captives.
Jack and Harry had the day before put up at the encampment of some friendly Arabs, who became more friendly still when they found their guests liberal in respect of coinage.
One of the Arabs had a brother in prison awaiting the pasha"s further orders of punishment, so they were anxious to help Jack and release the Arab chief.
Jack and Harry, being informed of this, thought it would be an excellent opportunity for the escape of Mole, who was incarcerated in the same gaol.
The party set out in the middle of the night.
They soon reached the prison.
Darkness befriended them.
The first step was to gain admission into the outer yard or enclosure.
This they did by suddenly setting upon the two warders outside, and, before they could give the alarm, binding, gagging, and disarming them.
Then, mounting one of the sentry-boxes, Jack and Harry, being the lightest and most agile members of the party, contrived thus to get over the gate, and drop down inside.
Here, with great labour, they forced back the ponderous bolts, and the Arabs poured into the building.
The alarm was taken, and the old castle of Alla-hissar, as it was called, was all in an uproar.
Gaolers and soldiers, utterly taken aback by this sudden onslaught, made but ineffectual resistance.
Ere they could grasp their weapons and put themselves in order of defence, the Bedouins were on to them, striking them down, forcing away their keys, and ill-treating them in proportion to the resistance to the attack they made.
"Tell me, slave," thundered the Arab chief, to one of the gaolers, "in which cell my brother Hadj Maimoun is confined?"
"In--in No. 6," answered the man, trembling for his life.
"Art thou sure? Deceive me, dog, and thou diest," continued the chief, threateningly placing the muzzle of his pistol to the man"s forehead.
"I swear, by the holy tomb of Mecca."
"Enough; and which is the key?"
"It is numbered, great lord: see here, No. 6."
"And the cell lieth----"
"To the right yonder. I will lead your highness thither."
"Do so, and if you attempt to deceive us, not the fiend himself can save you from my revenge. Come on, friends; Hadj Maimoun shall be free."
A wild shout of triumph rose from the Arabs.
In a few moments they had reached the cell indicated, where a young Arab, in heavy chains, looked up at their entrance.
The chief recognised his brother.
"Strike off these chains, villain!" the Arab then commanded the gaoler.
The chains dropped off the young Arab, whereat his friends raised another triumphant shout--
"Allah, Allah, Allah! Glory be to the Prophet. Hadj Maimoun is free."
By this time the prison was fairly in the hands of the victorious invaders.
One man, however, managed to slip out, and made the best of his way to the town to rouse the pasha and other officials.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
THE RESCUE OF MOLE.
Mr. Mole"s place of incarceration would have been difficult to find in that large rambling old building, had not Jack, by similar threats to those of the Arab chief, forced one of the gaolers to tell him the number of the cell.
Armed with this information and a bunch of keys, Jack made his way to the deepest dungeon, followed by the rest.
Mole"s cell was the most remote, and therefore the last they came to.
"Mercy, mercy! don"t kill an unfortunate prisoner, who has got three wives somewhere about the world, and a lot of little black and white children to look after!" cried Mr. Mole, still confused by the tumult around him, and the ferocious aspect of the new-comers.
"Kill you, Mr. Mole; why, we"ve come to let you out," said the foremost of the group, and he flung back the cowl of his Moorish cloak, thereby revealing to Mole the startling fact, that instead of a murderous Arab, it was young Jack Harkaway.
Harry was close to him.
A very few words now revealed to Mole the actual state of affairs.
"Oh, my boys, my boys," he exclaimed, "what I have suffered all through you. But still, Jack, my boy, I was not afraid of them. No, my boy, I intended to have fought to the last, and I have no doubt I should have killed a dozen or two of "em."
"No doubt, sir; but let us get out of this," said Jack. "Come on."