"It"s all right," he said in a low voice. "I can touch the bottom--or a ledge, at all events; I will feel my way, and take care not to slip down into a bottomless pit."
It was too dark to see him as he moved about, but presently a slight splash of water sounded in our ears; after which we could hear it, as it seemed, gurgling down his throat.
In less than a minute he came close under us. "Put down your hands," he said; "here is something you will be thankful for."
We did as desired, and drew up a large wooden bowl attached to the end of a rope. I gave it to Halliday first, who I knew was suffering most; and between us we emptied the contents of the bowl, and then handed it down to Ben,--who went back with the same caution as before and procured an additional supply for himself and us. Having satisfied our thirst, we hauled him up; and then sitting down on the side of the well, we consulted what we should next do. I was of opinion that Boxall had not been carried to this camp; but that the Arab we had seen belonged to some other tribe, and probably had been reconnoitring in the neighbourhood, and, catching sight of Boxall, he had hoped to gain some advantage by making him prisoner. Ben, on the other hand, who was convinced that our companion had been carried to the camp, was anxious to be certain whether this was the case or not. I warned him of the risk we should run if discovered in the neighbourhood.
"Well, they can"t do more than kill us," he answered. "If they make prisoners of us, we must do our best to escape; and if the blackamoors have got hold of Mr Boxall, and we find him, we shall be able to help him to get off too."
"But if we don"t find him, we shall have had all our risk for nothing,"
said Halliday.
"Nothing venture, nothing win," answered Ben. "Just let me go, and I"ll take good care that these Arab rascals don"t get hold of me."
At length Halliday and I, won over by honest Ben"s arguments, agreed to let him do as he proposed; it being settled that we should wait for him close to the well.
"Thank you, gentlemen," he said. "I will make a "circ.u.mbendibus" of the camp; and if so be I can"t get sight of Mr Boxall, I will be back here in an hour at the furthest. If I am caught or knocked on the head by the Arabs, it will all be in the way of duty; and you will say a good word for Ben Blewett if you ever get home."
Shaking hands with us warmly, as if he were going on a forlorn hope, he stole off round the well towards the Arab camp.
It did not occur to us at the time, but we had really chosen as dangerous a spot as any in the neighbourhood. In the first place, wild beasts prowling about at night were very likely to approach the spot to drink; and then, as a pathway led down to the well from the opposite side, the Arabs of the camp were sure, at early dawn, to come down to fill their water-skins,--so that should we, while waiting for Ben, fall asleep, we must inevitably be surprised. Fatigued by our long march, however, we could not resist the temptation of stretching our limbs on the sand, regardless of the risk we were running--but of which, as I have observed, neither of us thought at the time. We did our best to keep awake, however, and after, as we supposed, an hour had elapsed, began anxiously to look out for Ben.
The time pa.s.sed by. "I say, Charlie, I am sure Ben has been gone more than an hour," said Halliday in a drowsy tone. I scarcely understood what he said; I tried to arouse myself--he repeated his remark.
"We must wait for him, at all events," I answered. "So, I say, keep awake, and rouse me up should you find me dropping off to sleep." But poor Halliday was even more sleepy than I was; and in another minute we must both have dropped off.
We had been sleeping, I suppose, for some time, when I was aroused by feeling a hand on my arm; and opening my eyes, I saw a black fellow scantily clothed standing over me. He put his hand on my mouth, as a sign that I must not cry out, showing the blade of a sharp dagger--which he drew from his side--to enforce his commands. I saw that another had hold of Halliday; while, to my sorrow, I found that they had also secured Ben. His hands, poor fellow, were tied behind him; notwithstanding which, he was making the most strenuous efforts to escape--though it would have availed him nothing had he succeeded, as he could not have rescued us, and must either have fallen into the hands of other Arabs or have died of starvation.
Compelling us to get up, our captors next secured our hands in the same fashion as they had done Ben"s, and ordered us to move on. Instead of taking us to the camp, however, they began to drag us away in the opposite direction, towards the sea-sh.o.r.e, hurrying us along as fast as they could run,--making it evident that our captors did not belong to the camp we had seen, and were anxious to get a distance from it before daylight. In vain, therefore, did we try to get near Ben, to ask him if he had seen Boxall, and to learn what had happened.
I found, on looking up at the stars, that after going a short distance they turned off to the south-west, keeping on the harder and more elevated ground, but still verging towards the coast. This strengthened my conviction that they belonged to a different tribe from those in the camp, and that they had been on a marauding expedition when they fell in with us. Perhaps they believed that we belonged to their enemies, and hence their anxiety to hurry us away from the camp.
Day had just dawned when we saw before us a line of low dark tents, pitched on the side of a sand-hill just above the sea-sh.o.r.e, with camels and other animals standing near them, as if ready to receive their loads, in case an immediate start should be necessary. The light of day also revealed to us the hideous and savage countenances of our captors-- their skins almost black, and in features, many of them, closely resembling negroes; though, from the dress of their chief, and their camels and tents, I should have supposed them to be Arabs. They had but scant clothing, in addition to the belts hanging over their shoulders, and to which their daggers were attached. Their other arms were short swords and spears.
Our arrival at the camp was announced by loud shouts from the people a.s.sembled in front of it; on which a number of other men, with women and children, came rushing out of the tents. Their chief, before whom we were brought, was a tall man, of rather lighter complexion than the rest, but with countenance not less hideous and sinister than those of his remarkably unprepossessing followers. He inquired, in a sort of mongrel Arabic,--which, however, I could partly understand,--who we were, whence we had come, and how we had been found. To the latter question alone, his people could give a reply. I heard him remark that there must have been a shipwreck on the coast not far off, and that we were some of the people who had escaped from it. The others agreeing that he was right, a consultation was then held as to the direction in which it had occurred. Thinking it was time to speak, I now stepped forward, and making a profound salaam--for I felt that it was wise to be polite to the savages--I said, in as good Arabic as I could command--
"Know, sheikh, that the ship on board which we were voyaging was consumed by fire; but the great Allah whom we worship allowed us to escape, and conducted us to your sh.o.r.es on a raft,--which, as a proof that I speak the truth, will be found a day"s journey to the north."
The astonishment of the black Arabs, on hearing me speak in their own language, was very great.
"Who are you, and how is it that you can speak in our tongue?" asked the sheikh.
"It is the custom of my people to learn the tongues of the nations they are likely to visit, as they voyage to all the lands under the sun; and before long we hope that our countrymen will come here to take us off, and reward those who have treated us with hospitality," I answered, trying to look as important as I could.
"O Nazarene, you speak big words," exclaimed the sheikh. "But understand that your countrymen, however large their ships, will find it a hard matter to follow you into the Desert, should we think fit to carry you there."
"True, O sheikh; your wisdom approaches that of Solomon," I answered, trying to imitate the Arabic style of language. "But you will then lose the reward you would have obtained by restoring us safe to our friends.
The few articles we carry about us, seeing that we could save nothing from the wreck, are not worthy of your acceptance. May I now inquire what powerful prince of the Desert I have the honour of addressing?"
The sheikh appeared somewhat pleased at this speech; but he did not relax the sternness of his features while he answered--
"Know, O Nazarene, that you are in the presence of the Sheikh Boo Bucker Saakhi, chief of the Ouadlims," was the answer.
Though the sheikh did not appear a man likely to be won over by soft speeches, I determined to persevere. Unslinging my telescope, I held it out to him.
"Here is an instrument which will enable a person who looks through it to see ten times as far as he can with his naked eye. I will present it to you, and show you how to use it, the day a ship appears in sight, and you enable us to get on board her."
I thought the sheikh was going to laugh; but he only grinned sarcastically as he replied--
"Know, O Nazarene, that I can at any moment take it from you, as well as everything else you carry, and strip you to the skin; so I value not your promise as you think I should."
"But, O Sheikh Boo Bucker Saakhi, we wish you to understand that our countrymen will reward you handsomely with numerous articles such as your soul desires, if you treat us with that hospitality for which you princes of the Desert are famed throughout the world."
"That may be true; but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,"
answered the sheikh. At least, he made use of an Arab proverb of a similar tenor. "However, I will consider the matter. In the meantime, I will receive you and the other Nazarene as guests in my tent, where you will be pleased to exhibit the various articles you possess."
Of course, I said that we should be delighted, though I suspected what would be the result of exhibiting our property.
"And who is yonder white man, who seems so greatly inclined to knock over my followers?" inquired the sheikh. "His dress, I observe, differs from yours. Is he one of your people?"
"That man, O sheikh, is a faithful follower of ours; a lion in war, and a lamb in peace when not interfered with," I answered, looking at Ben, who was at that minute engaged in a struggle with a dozen or more Ouadlims, from whom he had broken loose, and who were again trying to bind his hands.
"Let him be allowed to come here at liberty, and I will prove that what I state regarding him is true," I added.
The sheikh shouted to his followers, and I called Ben to come to us. As he did so, he pulled off his hat, which he flourished in the air, and made the sheikh a polite bow. Then putting out his hand, he exclaimed--
"Give us your flipper, old fellow, and we will be good friends!--only, tell your people to keep decent tongues in their heads, and their hands to themselves."
"What is he talking about?" asked the sheikh, who, of course, did not understand a word Ben had said, and was unable to comprehend his movements.
"He says that he is ready to fight for and serve you, O sheikh, as he has served his own chief," I answered. "You will find him faithful to yourself, and a terror to your enemies, while he remains with you."
I said this for the sake of getting Ben well treated, though it was an imprudent observation--and I was wrong in saying what was not the truth--as the sheikh might not be willing to part with Ben again. But for the present it answered its object; for the sheikh, bidding us all three follow him, led the way to the entrance of his tent, to the astonishment of his followers. Though it was considerably larger than a gipsy tent in England, it had much the appearance of one. The cover consisted of camel-hair cloth, supported by a couple of long poles in the centre, the skirts being stretched out and fastened to the ground by pegs. Heaps of sand were also piled up, as a further security to prevent it being blown away. The ground inside was covered with a dirty piece of carpet, while a few pots hanging to the tent-poles formed the whole of the furniture.
The women of the tribe were most of them even more ugly than the men; and though they were decently clothed as to quant.i.ty, their garments were dirty in the extreme. They appeared to go about the camp as freely as the men, who showed no anger or annoyance when we looked at them,-- which, as Ben observed, was not surprising, considering how hideous they were. They gathered round, looking with curiosity at our white skins and strange dresses; but, out of respect to the chief, of whom they seemed to stand in awe, they did not further annoy us.
"Come into my tent, O Nazarenes, and we will talk this matter over more at our ease," said the sheikh, walking inside, and making a sign to Ben--who, from the character we had given of him, was looked upon as an important personage--to follow. The sheikh sank down on his carpet, and we imitated his example, endeavouring, like him, to tuck our legs under us--Halliday and Ben on one side, and I on the other. But our attempts were not very successful. Halliday tried two or three times in vain, and at last stretched them out comfortably before him; while Ben, after rolling from side to side, fairly toppled over on his nose, before he could get his legs stowed away--greatly to the amus.e.m.e.nt of the sheikh, in whose estimation he was thereby considerably lowered, I am afraid.
After we were settled, and the sheikh"s cachinnations had ceased, he clapped his hands; on which one black damsel brought him in his hookah, while another appeared with a piece of charcoal to light it. He did not, however, hand us his pipe.
"You are hungry, strangers," he next observed.
"Yes, indeed we are, and very thirsty too," said Halliday, who had not attempted to speak till now.
"I forgot," said the sheikh; and calling to the black damsels, he ordered them to bring us food and water. In a short time one of them returned with a large bowl of couscoussu, a sort of porridge made of wheat beaten into powder. We had our fingers only to eat it with.
"Set to, strangers," said the sheikh, nodding; but he took none of the food himself.