CHAPTER V
A Fight for Freedom
Bob was on his feet in an instant and dashed toward the door to thenext room. But two of the Arabs were there first. With a catlikequickness they drew knives and advanced on the Americans. The othertwo natives came at them from the side.
"What does this mean?" demanded Dr. Kirshner, looking from one to theother, his black eyes snapping with anger.
"You are going to die!" was the grim answer from an evil-looking,flat-nosed fellow. He moved forward a step or two.
Bob did not understand the man but sensed that something sinister wasto take place. He noticed the look of anger and anxiety on thescientist's face.
With a sudden movement he drew out his automatic, at the same timestepping back several feet. His action was so quick that the Arabswere taken by surprise and stood for several moments trying to graspthe true meaning of it all.
"Now get back!" he commanded, flashing the shining pistol in theirfaces. "Take away their knives," he said to Dr. Kirshner. "I've gotthem covered. Tell them I'll shoot the first man who makes a forwardmove."
The scientist did as directed and found that, beyond a vicious-lookingknife, they were unarmed.
"You stay here and guard them," said Bob. "I'm going in and see what'shappened to Fekmah."
He moved over to the door and opened it. Holding the pistol inreadiness, he walked slowly in the room. One glance told him that noone was in sight. But there was a door leading into a large alcove,and it was possible that he could find someone there. Perhaps theArabs were in hiding, having sensed that they were in danger.
Tiptoeing as quietly as possible, Bob made his way to the closed door.He stood for several moments wondering what to do next. Then hedecided to make a bold move.
Clutching his tiny automatic tightly, he took hold of the knob andwith a sudden twist threw open the door.
The next instant he shrank back, for a tall Arab was almost upon him.The man held a vicious-looking knife in his uplifted right hand andwas apparently ready to open the door when Bob did so first.
During the next few seconds Bob's brain was in a whirl. He had half amind to shoot the fellow outright and take no chances. But a momentlater he thought better of it. He did not want to be guilty ofmurdering even this cruel Arab. If he had been as good a shot with apistol as he was with a rifle, he would have shot the knife from thefellow's hand. But as it was, he knew this could not be done.
Suddenly the Arab lowered the knife and, scowling cruelly, he rushedat the youth furiously.
Realizing that he must act quickly, Bob aimed at the man's leg andfired. But his hand was unsteady from the terrific strain, and thebullet missed and lodged itself in the wall.
With a hoarse bellow the Arab came forward with terrific force,muttering angrily. He had the knife in readiness now, and was about toplunge it into the youth's body when something unexpected happened.
Seeing a good chance, Bob pushed his foot forward with all hisstrength, bringing the man down with a thud that resounded through thelittle room. The Arab was taken completely unawares, and the knifewent sliding across the floor.
The next instant he was on his feet, and, showing his black teethwickedly, he darted toward his young enemy, his large hands ready togrip anything they might rest on.
Now was the time to act, Bob thought. Leaping forward, he sent hisfist crashing into the Arab's nose with all the strength in hispowerful young body.
The man reeled, backed up, and then fell against the wall. Anothervictim of the youth's boxing ability had gone to his fate.
Perspiration was dripping from the boy's brow. His leg ached from thetwist he gave it in bringing the Arab to the floor. Every muscle inhis body seemed fatigued. For a brief moment a sensation ofnothingness crept over him, and he felt slightly numb.
With a start he regained his composure and, with one glance at thestill limp Arab, he dashed through the door, the shining automaticstill in his possession. One thought stood out in his mind above allothers. He must find Fekmah.
No one was in the alcove, but another door led out into a sort ofhallway, and casting aside all thoughts of personal danger, Bob passedthrough it.
The next instant he found himself in a narrow passageway, with nowindows or other means to admit light. The semidarkness wastantalizing, overcoming, but the boy went bravely on. Occasionally hestopped to listen. But no sound reached his ears. Could it be possiblethat Fekmah had been....
The thought was not a pleasant one, and Bob dismissed it from mind.Here was a door. Perhaps this would reveal something.
As quietly as possible he turned the latch and peeped in the room.
In the darkness he could make out no one at first. Then his eyesalmost burst from his head as he saw, lying on the floor in thecorner, tightly bound and gagged--Fekmah!
For a moment Bob stood spellbound. Then he rushed over to theunfortunate man.
"Fekmah," he cackled gently and then bent over and felt of the Arab'sheart. It was still beating, and with a swift motion of a small knifeBob cut the ropes that bound the man. Then he removed the gag andstood back to see if his friend had been injured.
The Arab's eyes opened, and he sat up with a start. A moment later thelook of fear vanished from his face as he saw Bob.
"Praise be to Allah!" he murmured, getting feebly to his feet.
"Are you hurt?" the youth asked.
"No--not yet," was the grim reply. "But the evil-doers were going tocome back and kill me if I not tell where to find treasure. It is timenow that they come. Let us go in haste, or they will stab us."
"Treasure?" cried Bob. "You mean they wanted you to tell where thehidden riches in the desert are?"
"Yes. They were going torture me if I not tell. They are demons. Allahcurse them!"
"But how did they know?" demanded Bob. "How did they find out aboutit? They're not the same ones who wrecked the train, are they?"
Fekmah shook his head.
"How they find out, I not know," he said.
Cautiously they made for the door and opened it. Satisfied that therewas no one in sight, they walked through the hallway and into thealcove.
"Now we must be careful," Bob warned. "I knocked a man out a whileago, and he may have come to by now."
But when they reached the place, they found the fellow still limp.
At sight of the Arab, Fekmah looked at Bob with admiration. It wasevident that the youth had gone beyond his expectations.
In a short time they reached the door into the first room and foundthat Dr. Kirshner was still guarding the Arabs. The scientist lookedup in relief when he again saw Bob and Fekmah.
"I feared something had happened to you," the scientist said. "Ishouldn't have allowed you to go in there," he said to Bob. "But I seeyou've done your duty and brought back Fekmah."
"But what shall we do now?" Bob asked. "Are there any officers to takecharge of these crooks?"
"Yes," the archaeologist returned. "You and Fekmah stay here and guardthese men and I will go after them. It is best not to take them downto the police station for fear of attracting too much attention. OtherArab friends might charge us in a large band."
The next moment he was gone, after having promised that he would beback with officers in a few minutes.
"There ought to be some way to get the fellow I knocked out in here,"Bob thought, as he guarded the Arabs closely. "But I'd better not riskletting Fekmah have the gun. I'll trust the fellow is still out of hissenses when Dr. Kirshner and the officers arrive."
The Arabs whom the youth was guarding were silent, but their evilfaces suggested what they would do if given the chance.
Bob was in a position where he could also watch the door in the nextroom. He was taking no chances on an attack from behind.
"I bet Dad and the others are worried," the boy thought. "We've beengone a long time."
Inside of ten minutes Dr. Kirshner was back with three nativepolicemen, who handled the crooks roughly. Each man was handcuffed andm
ade to walk in front of the officers.
"Now," said Dr. Kirshner, "suppose we get back to the hotel room. Ourprolonged absence has probably caused a great deal of anxiety amongour friends."
"Yes," Bob returned. "We----" He stopped suddenly and then dashed intothe next room for the crook whom he had previously knocked out.
But he was not surprised to find the man gone. An opened door revealedthat he had escaped.
"No use looking for him," the youth thought, as he retraced hisfootsteps back to his companions.
Bob was forced to explain to Dr. Kirshner, who was puzzled at theyouth's sudden dashing away. When he had finished, the scientistregarded him admiringly but warned him against taking unnecessarychances.
"Those fellows would think nothing of stabbing you to death," he said,shaking his head gravely.
They went on up the street and arrived in a short time at the hotel inwhich were their friends. Up at Fekmah's room they were given a heartywelcome.
"What kept you so long?" asked Mr. Holton, seeing at a glance thatsomething was wrong.
Dr. Kirshner related the details of the previous happenings, layingstress on the pluck and bravery of Bob.
The naturalists and Joe listened closely, eager to get an account ofeverything. They did not seem unduly surprised, for at the start theyfelt that something was wrong. But that their friends would be in suchgrave danger was not in the least anticipated.
"It's lucky that you're here to tell it," said Mr. Lewis, with ashaking of his head. "Such desperate characters know nothing else butto rob and kill."
"But as it is," smiled Joe, "you came out all right, and had anunusual experience at that." Secretly he was sorry he had not takenpart in it.
"And that is the second time Bob brought in criminals," said Mr.Lewis, recalling an incident that happened the summer before.
"I'd rather you wouldn't take such risks, though," urged Mr. Holton."If one taxes good fortune too much, he is sure to come to a tragicend some time."
There was a short silence. Then Joe ventured to touch upon the matterthat concerned them before the abrupt interruption of a short timeago.
"What will be our next move?" he inquired.
"Hmm," hesitated Dr. Kirshner, "that is hard to say at present. Isuppose, though, that the logical thing to do is wait and take a trainto Wargla as soon as possible. When the track will be cleared is hardto say. It might be a day, or it might be several. I can see no otherway of getting to Wargla, can you, Fekmah?"
"No," replied the Arab. "Of course there are good roads part of way,and might ride automobile some of way, but train could get theresooner, even if we wait."
"I guess you're right," agreed Joe, thoughtfully. "There's no usewasting time trying to do a thing that can't be done. Have you madeinquiries as to about when we can expect the train to be ready?"
"Yes," answered Dr. Kirshner. "The station agent said inside of twodays, but it probably won't be that soon."
"Let's hope it will," said Bob. "I'm anxious to get started into thedesert. How long will it probably be before we reach our destination,once we get started on camelback?"
"That all depends," replied the archaeologist. "If we see fit to usedromedaries, or the one-hump camel, we will make much better time.They can travel from ninety to a hundred miles a day with ease, and ifforced, can do much better than that."
"But the jolting is most uncomfortable," Mr. Lewis reminded him, andFekmah nodded.
"Soon get used to it, though, don't you?" asked Joe.
Fekmah laughed.
"No, never," he said. "But not feel it so bad after many days ofriding."
"But getting back to your question," resumed the archaeologist,speaking to Joe, "if we have good luck we should cover the thousandmiles to the Ahaggar Mountains inside of two weeks, considering, ofcourse, stops at oases, small towns, and the like. Then how soon wecan find the hidden riches would be a mere guess, because without themap Fekmah will probably have much more difficulty in recognizingvarious landmarks."
"But you must remember that our main object was to work for the goodof science," Bob's father said. "Mr. Lewis and I were to get specimensof any animal life that exists in the far reaches of the desert, andyou were to look up the remains of ancient civilizations.Incidentally, though, we'll search for the hidden riches."
"And Joe and I were to take motion pictures when we get started oncamelback," said Bob proudly.
"Speaking of animal life," began Mr. Lewis, "suppose in the morning weget out in the open country and see if we can collect any specimens.From what I've read and heard, I guess it is necessary to go at leastas far as Arba before we would find a region that is worth huntingin."
"I'm with you," said Mr. Holton. "We'll engage an automobile to takeus the fourteen miles or so to Arba, and then foot it from there. Itwill be funny if we can't bag a few worth-while specimens, at least."
"Of course Joe and I can go, can't we?" grinned Bob.
"You bet. And Dr. Kirshner and Fekmah, if they care to."
But those persons announced that they would remain in Algiers andfurther discuss the coming expedition.
"Then too," the archaeologist remarked, "I'd like to keep posted on theprogress made in getting the train ready for the journey to Wargla."
It was well past noon, and the explorers now realized for the firsttime that they were extremely hungry. The strain of the eventfulmorning had stimulated their appetites to a high degree, and they feltthey could devour almost anything in the way of food.
"Lead me to the cafe and watch what happens," said Joe, making for thedoor.
The others followed, and although not as emotional they were no lesshungry.
The meal tasted good, despite the fact that they were ignorant of itscomposition. Fekmah tried to explain one of the dishes, but thefoodstuffs used in its preparation were unknown to the Americans, andthey were as much in the dark after he had finished the explanation asbefore he had begun it.
"We'll trust there isn't anything repulsive in its make-up," smiledMr. Holton.
"At any rate the taste isn't so bad," came from Bob. "I've seen stuffmuch worse."
"Referring to the delicacies of the South American Indians, Isuppose," laughed Mr. Lewis, and the boys nodded.
"We were forced to eat almost anything for a while," reflected Joe."Getting lost in the Brazilian jungle was a serious thing, and werealized it. Then when we got in with those savages, we accepted theiroffer of food at once, even though we weren't sure it was all right."
"That was a great adventure, boys," remarked Mr. Holton, his thoughtsgoing back to the countless days of river traveling in unknown SouthAmerica. "The more I think of it the more convinced I am that weshould be extremely proud of that exploit. Mr. Lewis and I have hadmany adventures in unknown lands while collecting specimens for themuseum, but none surpasses that one."
"I'd like to go there some time," said Dr. Kirshner. "But so far, mywork as an archaeologist has not called me into that region. When itwill, if ever, I do not know."
After the bountiful meal the explorers took it easy in the hotel, andFekmah returned to his room.
"Since we haven't anything in particular to do, we might as well restup for the hunting trip tomorrow," said Mr. Lewis, as he and theothers sat in the lobby of their hotel. "We've had a hard day of itand deserve to be idle for a while."
The others agreed, and the remainder of the day was spent in quiet.
But early the next morning the boys and their fathers were busilypreparing for the hunting expedition. By seven o'clock they had theirrifles and other necessities in readiness, and with a farewell to Dr.Kirshner, who wished to talk over the Sahara journey with Fekmah, theyleft the hotel.
Mr. Lewis had earlier made arrangements for a car to take them toArba, whence they would go on foot into the forests and desert. Theautomobile was parked in a small garage not far away, and they reachedthe place in but a few minutes. It was a low, dirty structure, withfew windows.
A swarthy native
came out to meet them and at once recognized Mr.Lewis. He led the way through a small door and into a room that servedas the garage.
"Here we are," said Joe's father, as they rounded a corner.
He pointed to something that at once caused Bob and Joe to burst outwith laughter.