They were young ones, not yet able to fly; and for some reason, unknown perhaps even to themselves, they were taking this grand journey.
Their march seemed conducted in regular order and under strict discipline.
They formed a living moving belt of considerable breadth, the sides of which appeared as straight as any line mathematical science could have drawn.
Not one could be seen straggling from the main body, which was moving along a track too narrow for their numbers, scarce half of them having room on the sand, while the other half were crawling along on the backs of their _compagnons de voyage_.
Even the Arabs appeared interested in this African mystery, and paused for a few minutes to watch the progress of the glittering stream presented by these singular insects.
The old sheik dismounted from his camel: and with his scimitar broke the straight line formed by the border of the moving ma.s.s, sweeping them off to one side.
The s.p.a.ce was instantly filled up again by those advancing from behind, and the straight edge restored, the insects crawling onward without the slightest deviation.
The sight was not new to Sailor Bill"s brother. He informed his companions that should a fire be kindled on their line of march, the insects, instead of attempting to pa.s.s around it would move right into its midst until it should become extinguished with their dead bodies.
After amusing himself for a few moments in observing these insects, the sheik mounted his camel, and followed by the kafila, commenced moving through the living stream.
A hoof could not be put down without crushing a score of the creatures; but immediately on the hoof being lifted, the s.p.a.ce was filled with as many as had been destroyed.
Some of the slaves, with their naked feet, did not like wading through this living crawling stream. It was necessary to use force to compel them to pa.s.s over it.
After looking right and left, and seeing no end to the column of insects, our adventurers made a rush, and ran clear across it.
At every step their feet fell with a crunching sound, and were raised again, streaming with the blood of the mangled locusts.
The belt of the migratory insects was about sixty yards in breath; yet, short as was the distance, the boy slaves declared that it was more disagreeable to pa.s.s over than any ten miles of the desert they had previously traversed.
One of the blacks, determined to make the crossing as brief as possible, started in a rapid run. When about half way through, his foot slipped, and he fell full length amidst the crowd of creepers.
Before he could regain his feet, hundreds of the disgusting insects had mounted upon him, clinging to his clothes, and almost smothering him by their numbers.
Overcome by disgust, horror, and fear, he was unable to rise; and two of his black companions were ordered to drag him out of the disagreeable company into which he had stumbled.
After being rescued and delivered from the clutch of the locusts, it was many minutes before he recovered his composure of mind, along with sufficient nerve to resume his journey.
Sailor Bill had not made the crossing along with the others; and for some time resisted all the attempts of the Arabs to force him over the insect stream.
Two of them at length laid hold of him; and, after dragging him some paces into the crawling crowd left him to himself.
Being thus brought into actual contact with the insects, the old sailor saw that the quickest way of getting out of the sc.r.a.pe was to cross over to the other side.
This he proceeded to do in the least time and with the greatest possible noise. His paces were long, and made with wonderful rapidity; and each time his foot came to the ground he uttered a horrible yell, as though it had been planted upon a sheet of red-hot iron.
Bill"s brother had now so far recovered from his feigned illness, that he was able to walk along with the boy slaves.
Naturally conversing about the locusts, he informed his companions that the year before he had been upon a part of the Saaran coast where a cloud of these insects had been driven out to sea by a storm and drowned. They were afterwards washed ash.o.r.e in heaps; the effluvia from which became so offensive that the fields of barley near the sh.o.r.e could not be harvested, and many hundred acres of the crop were wholly lost to the owners.
CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN.
THE ARABS AT HOME.
Soon after encountering the locusts, the kafila came upon a well-beaten road running through a fertile country, where hundreds of acres of barley could be seen growing on both sides.
That evening, for some reason unknown to the slaves, their masters did not halt at the usual hour. They saw many walled villages, where dwelt the proprietors of the barley-fields, but hurried past them without stopping either for water or food, although their slaves were sadly in need of both.
In vain the latter complained of thirst and begged for water. The only reply to their entreaties was a harsh command to move on faster frequently followed by a blow.
Towards midnight, when the hopes and strength of all were nearly exhausted, the kafila arrived at a walled village where a gate was opened to admit them. The old sheik then informed his slaves that they should have plenty of food and drink, and would be allowed to rest for two or three days in the village.
A quant.i.ty of water was then thickened with barley meal, and of this diet they were permitted to have as much as they could consume.
It was after night when they entered the gate of the village, and nothing could be seen. Next morning they found themselves in the centre of a square enclosure surrounded by about twenty houses standing within a high wall. Flocks of sheep and goats, with a number of horses, camels and donkeys were also within the enclosure.
Jim informed his companions that most of the Saaran Arabs have fixed habitations, where they dwell the greater part of the year, generally walled towns, such as the one they had now entered.
The wall is intended for a protection against robbers, at the same time that it serves as a penn to keep their flocks from straying or trespa.s.sing on the cultivated fields during the night-time.
It was soon discovered that the Arabs had arrived at their home; for, as soon as day broke they were seen in company with their wives and families. This accounted for their not making halt at any of the other villages. Being so near their own they had made an effort to reach it without extending their journey into another day.
"I fear we are in the hands of the wrong masters for obtaining our freedom," said Jim to his companions. "If they were traders they might take us farther north and sell us, but it"s clear they are not! They are graziers, farmers, and robbers when the chance arises, that"s what they be! While waiting for their barley to ripen, they have been on a raiding expedition to the desert in the hope of capturing a few slaves to a.s.sist them in reaping their harvest."
Jim"s conjecture was soon after found to be correct. On the old sheik being asked when he intended taking his slaves on to Swearah, he answered--
"Our barley is now ripe; and we must not leave it to spoil. You must help us in the harvest; and that will enable us to go to Swearah all the sooner."
"Do you really intend to take your slaves to Swearah?" asked the Krooman.
"Certainly!" replied the sheik. "Have we not promised? But we cannot leave our fields now. Bismillah! our grain must be gathered."
"It is just as I supposed," said Jim. "They will promise anything.
They do not intend taking us to Mogador at all. The same promise has been made to me by the same sort of people a score of times."
"What shall we do?" asked Terence.
"We must do nothing," answered Jim. "We must not a.s.sist them in any way; for the more useful we are to them, the more reluctant they will be to part with us. I should have obtained my liberty years ago had I not tried to gain the goodwill of my Arab masters by trying to make myself useful to them. That was a mistake, and I can see it now. We must not give them the slightest a.s.sistance in their barley-cutting."
"But they will compel us to help them?" suggested Colin.
"They cannot do that if we remain resolute; and I tell you all that you had better be killed at once than submit. If we a.s.sist in their harvest, they will find something else for us to do; and your best days, as mine have been, will be pa.s.sed in slavery! Each of you must make himself a burden and expense to whoever owns him; and then we may be pa.s.sed over to some trader who has been to Mogador, and knows that he can make money by taking us there to be redeemed. That is our only chance. These Arabs don"t know that we are sure to be purchased for a good price in any large seaport town; and they will not run any risk in taking us there. Furthermore, these men are outlaws, desert robbers, and I don"t believe that they dare enter the Moorish dominions. We must get transferred to other hands; and the only way to do that is to refuse work."
Our adventurers agreed to be guided by Jim"s counsels, although confident that they would experience much difficulty in following them.
Early on the morning of the second day, after the Arabs reached their home, all the slaves, both white and black, were roused from their slumbers; and after a spare breakfast of barley-gruel, were commanded to follow their masters to the grain-fields outside the walls of the town.
"Do you want us to work?" asked Jim, addressing himself directly to the old sheik.