"Yes," she replied. "And from thy speech and dress I know thou art of the Azjar, our deadliest enemies."
"True," I answered. "To-morrow my tribe, to the number of ten thousand, now lying concealed in the valley called Deforou, will swarm upon thine impregnable city and--"
"Ten thousand?" she gasped, pale and agitated. "And thou wilt kill my father, and reduce our people to slavery. Ah, no!" she added imploringly. "Save us, O stranger! Our fighting men went south one moon ago to collect the taxes at Dehagada, therefore we are unprotected.
What can I do--how can I act to save my father?"
"Dost thou desire to save him, even though he would force upon thee this odious marriage?"
"I do," she cried. "I--I will save the City in the Sky at the cost of mine own life."
"To whom art thou betrothed," I asked, tenderly taking her hand.
"To the Agha Ha.s.san e Rawi, who dwelleth at Zongra, beyond the Nanagamma. He is threescore years and ten, and "tis said he treateth his wives with inhuman cruelty. One of his slaves told me so."
I stood silent and thoughtful. Though I was a member of a tribe who existed wholly upon loot obtained from the caravans and towns we attacked, yet so earnestly did the Sultan"s daughter appeal, that all thought of preserving the secret of our intended attack by murdering her disappeared, and I found myself deeply in love. Mine was a poor chance, however, I told myself. The proud Sultan of Abea would never consent to a brigand as a son-in-law, even if she looked upon me with favour.
"To-night, O Daughter of the Sun, we meet as friends; to-morrow as enemies," I said. "Our spies have reported that thy city remaineth undefended, and, alas! there is a blood-feud between my people and thine; therefore, when the hosts of the Azjar enter with fire and sword, few, I fear, will be spared. Wilt thou not remain here with my tribesmen, and escape?"
"No," she answered proudly. "I am a woman of Afo, and I will return unto my people, even though I fall before to-morrow"s sundown under thy merciless swords."
As she spoke, one hand rested upon her supple hip, and with the other she pointed to the high, shadowy peak whereon stood the great white stronghold known to the Kanouri people as The City in the Sky.
"But thou, who art like a sun among the stars, knowest our plans, and it is my duty to kill thee," I said, hitching my burnouse about my shoulders.
"I am in thine hands. If thou stainest them with my blood, thou wilt ever have upon thy conscience the remembrance that thou hast taken the life of one who was innocent of intrigue. If thou givest me freedom, I shall have at least one brief hour of felicity with my people before-- before--"
And she sighed, without concluding the sentence.
"Thou, a fresh rose from the fountain-head of life, art in fear of a double fate,--the downfall of to-morrow, and the marriage feast next moon. Let not thy mind be troubled, for I stretch not forth the tongue to blame," I said at last, endeavouring to smile. "In Ahamadou, of the tribe Azjar, thou hast a devoted friend, and one who may peradventure a.s.sist thee in a manner thou hast not dreamed. Therefore mount thine horse and return with all speed to Afo--not, however, before thou hast given me some little souvenir of this strange meeting."
"Thou slakest my thirst with the beverage of kindness!" she cried in joy. "I knew when first I saw thee that thou wert my friend."
"Friend?--nay, lover," I answered gallantly, as, taking her tiny hand again, I pressed her henna-stained nails softly to my lips. She blushed and tried to draw away, but I held her firmly until she withdrew one of her gold bangles from her wrist, and, with a smile, placed it upon mine.
"Behold!" she exclaimed with a merry, rippling laugh, "it is thy badge of servitude to me!"
"I am a slave of the most handsome mistress in the world," I said happily. Then, urging her to warn the Sultan of the intentions of the Azjar, I kissed her once tenderly upon the lips, lifted her into the saddle of her gaily caparisoned horse, and then she twisted her torn veil about her face, and, giving me "Peace," sped away swift as an arrow into the darkness, bearing intelligence that would cause the utmost sensation in the mountain fastness.
"I love her," I murmured, when the sound of her horse"s hoofs had died away. "But how can I save her? To-morrow, when we enter Afo and loot the Palace, she will be secured as slave. No!" I cried, "she shall never fall into Nikale"s brutal hands--never while I have breath!"
The sound of whispering caused me to fix my gaze upon a dark shadow thrown by some ethel-bushes, and next second, half a dozen of my fellow tribesmen advanced.
"So, dog of a spy! thou hast betrayed us!" cried a voice, which in a moment I was startled to recognise as that of my enemy Mohammed El Sfaski.
"Yes," the others shouted with one accord; "we watched the son of offal speaking with the woman, and we overheard him telling her to warn the Sultan!"
"Follow her on the wings of haste!" cried El Sfaski. "Kill her, for death alone will place the seal of muteness upon the lips of such a jade." And in a few seconds two black-veiled figures vaulted into their saddles and tore past in the direction Kheira had disappeared.
"Speak!" thundered El Sfaski, who, with the others, had now surrounded me. "Knowest thou the punishment of traitors?"
"Yes," I answered, hoa.r.s.ely.
"Who is the woman whose blackness and deceit hath captivated thee?"
Three rapid shots sounded in the distance. The men had evidently overtaken and murdered the daughter of the Sultan!
I held my breath.
"I--I refuse to give thee answer," I said, resolutely.
"By Allah! thou art a traitor to our lord and to our tribe, and of a verity thou hast also the eye of perfection. Therefore shalt thou die!"
Then, turning to the others, he added--
"We have no time to bandy words with this accursed son of the Evil One.
Tie him to yon tree, and let the vultures feast upon their carrion."
With loud imprecations the men seized me, tore off my haick and burnouse, and bound me securely to a palm trunk in such a position that I could only see the great expanse of barren sand. Then, with that refinement of cruelty of which the nomadic Azjar are past-masters, they smeared my face, hands, and feet with date-juice, to attract the ants and other insects; and, after jeering at me and condemning me to everlasting perdition and sempiternal culpability, they remounted their horses, and, laughing heartily, left me alone to wait the end.
Through the long, silent night, with arms and legs bound so tightly that I could not move them, I remained, wondering what terrible fate had befallen the beautiful girl who had overheard my orison. My two clansmen had not returned. I knew the men were splendid riders, therefore it was more than probable that they had very quickly overtaken her. Utterly hopeless, well knowing that to the blazing sun and the agonies of being half-devoured by insects I must very soon succ.u.mb, I waited, my ears on the alert to catch every sound.
In the sky a saffron streak showed on the edge of the sandy plain, heralding the sun"s coming. I watched it gradually spread, knowing that each moment brought me nearer to an end of agony. I lifted my voice in supplication to Allah, and showered voluble curses upon the expedition about to be attempted by my tribe. The pale, handsome face of Kheira was ever before me, haunting me like a half-remembered dream, its beauty fascinating me, and even causing me to forget the horror of those hours of dawn.
Saffron changed to rose, and rose to gold, until the sun shone out, lighting up the trackless waste. The flies, awakened, began to torment me, and I knew that the merciless rays beating down upon my uncovered head would quickly produce the dreaded delirium of madness. The furnace heat of sunshine grew intense as noon approached, and I was compelled to keep my eyes closed to avoid the blinding glare.
Suddenly a noise fell upon my ear. At first it sounded like a low, distant rumbling; but soon my practised ears detected that it was the rattle of musketry and the din of tom-toms.
The City in the Sky was being attacked! My tribesmen had arranged to deliver the a.s.sault at noon, but what puzzled me was a sullen booming at frequent intervals. It was the sound of cannon, and showed plainly that Afo was being defended!
From where I was I could see nothing of it. Indeed, the base of the mountain was eight miles distant, and the city, perched upon its summit, could only be approached from the opposite side by a path that was almost inaccessible. Yet hour after hour the rapid firing continued, and it was evident a most desperate battle was being fought. This puzzled me, for had not Kheira said that the city was totally undefended? Still, the tumult of battle served to prevent me from lapsing into unconsciousness; and not until the sun sank in a brilliant, blood-red blaze did the firing cease. Then all grew silent again. The hot poison-wind from the desert caused the feathery heads of the palms to wave like funeral plumes, and night crept on. The horrible torture of the insects, the action of the sun upon my brain, the hunger, the thirst, and the constant strain of the nerves, proved too much; and I slept, haunted by spectral horrors, and a constant dread of the inevitable--that half-consciousness precursory of death.
So pa.s.sed the second night, until the sun reappeared; but mine eyes opened not. The heat of the blazing noon caused me no concern, neither did the two great grey vultures that were hovering over me; for it was not until I heard voices in the vicinity that I gazed around.
One voice, louder than the others, was uttering thanks to Allah. I listened; then, summoning all my strength that remained, I cried aloud, in the name of the One Merciful, for a.s.sistance.
There were sounds of hurrying footsteps, voices raised in surprise, a woman"s scream, and then objects, grotesquely distorted, whirled around me, and I knew no more.
When I again opened my weary, fevered eyes, I was amazed to find myself lying upon a soft, silken divan in a magnificent apartment, with slaves watching, ready to minister to my wants. I took a cooling draught from a crystal goblet handed to me, then raised myself, and inquired where I was. The slaves made no reply, but, bowing low, left. Then in a few moments the _frou-frou_ of silk startled me, and next second I leaped to my feet, and, with a cry of joy, clasped Kheira in my arms.
In her gorgeous harem dress of pale rose silk, with golden bejewelled girdle, she looked bewitching, though around her eyes were dark rings that betrayed the anxiety of the past few days. As our lips met in hot, pa.s.sionate kisses, she was followed by a tall, stately, dark-bearded man of matchless bearing, whose robe was of amaranth silk, and who wore in his head-dress a magnificent diamond aigrette. Kheira saw him, and withdrawing herself from my embrace, introduced me to her father, the Sultan of Abea.
"To thee I owe my life and my kingdom," said the potentate, giving me "Peace," and wringing my hand warmly. "Kheira hath related unto me the mercy thou didst show towards her; and it was thy word of warning that enabled us to repel and defeat the Azjar."
"Then thou, didst escape, O signet of the sphere of elegance!" I cried, turning to the Sultan"s daughter.
"Yes; though I was hard pressed by two of thine hors.e.m.e.n, I took the secret path, and thus were they baffled."
"The Director of Fate apprised our fighting men of our danger," said the Sultan; "and they returned on the same night. The breeze of grace blew; the sun of the favour of Allah shone. The news brought by Kheira was quickly acted upon, and the defences of the city so strengthened, that when at noon the a.s.sault was delivered, our cannon swept thy tribesmen from the pa.s.s like grains of sand before the sirocco. For six hours they fought; but their attempts to storm the city gate were futile, and the handful of survivors were compelled to retire, leaving nearly five hundred prisoners, including your Sheikh himself, in our hands."