CHAPTER VIII
A Discovery
"IT'S no use staying here all day," remarked Reeves at length."Gather up the provisions, and take a musket and ammunition apiece,and we'll make a dash for the river; it can't be much more thantwenty miles off."
He spoke as naturally as he could, but twenty miles across atrackless desert in the full heat of the blazing sun was no lightjourney, especially when one must be afoot. Besides, the presence ofthe river might be purely conjectural; it might make a sudden bend tothe west, and instead of tramping twenty miles, the travellers mightstagger on till they dropped, and still not find water.
However, it was a course for actions, not words; and, having armedthemselves, Hugh and Gerald mounted the two remaining hieries, whileReeves walked between the animals.
But before they had traversed a hundred yards the correspondentstopped.
"Hand me that goatskin!" he exclaimed, and without a word as to hisintentions he retraced his steps to the rock.
The lads gazed at him in astonishment, yet both were too utterlyexhausted and parched to speak.
In less than five minutes the correspondent returned, staggeringunder the load of a distended water bottle.
"Drink" he said, holding up the skin for Gerald to take, "but becareful not to spill a drop."
Longingly Hugh watched his companion take a deep draught of thelife-giving fluid, but patiently he waited his turn.
"And you, Mr. Reeves?" asked Gerald, as the correspondent carefullyretied the mouth of the goatskin when Hugh had drunk.
"I've had some already. I had what was over; it was not much, butenough."
Both lads knew where the water had been obtained, although the ideahad not previously entered their heads. Nature has provided the camelwith unique means of carrying a large supply of water, which, untilrequired, remains as fresh as can be expected; and, with theknowledge of this peculiarity, Reeves had deftly drawn the preciousfluid from the dead hierie.
Then the tedious, anxious journey was resumed. The sun, now high inthe heavens, beat fiercely upon the white _burnouses_ of thetravellers, while the sand underfoot was so hot that Reeves couldscarce place his feet to the ground, in spite of the fact that hiswell-made boots still stood the wear and tear of days in the desert.Yet uncomplainingly he tramped full five weary miles before Geraldinsisted on giving up his camel to his elder.
Hour after hour passed without any sign of the hoped-for river. Atlength the ground, still sandy, though dotted here and there withmasses of smooth, rounded rock, began to slope upwards, apparentlywithout a break, for nearly five miles.
Reeves looked grave when he saw this. They were heading at rightangles the supposed direction of the river, and the land was rising.The river could not possibly run uphill. Perhaps beyond--if not, thedisappointment would be enough to crush even his powers ofresolution.
Once again the agonies of thirst began to assert themselves, in spiteof a frugal meal of dried dates, and soon it was with the greatestdifficulty that they could move their swollen tongues in theirparched mouths.
Shortly after noon Gerald was on the point of collapse. Only bypassing a rope round the two raised portions of the saddle was Reevesable to keep his young charge from reeling and falling to the ground.
"We must halt for a while," he exclaimed. "Make for that rock overthere, Hugh."
He pointed to a mass of stone that, leaning slightly, might possiblyafford some shelter from the sun. The rock, resembling a Druidicalpillar, stood about two hundred yards to the right of the directionin which they were travelling; but being the only object likely tothrow a reasonable shade, the turning aside was advisable.
Gerald, on one camel, was leading, with Reeves walking slightly tothe left flank, while Hugh's hierie ambled at some ten paces in therear.
Suddenly Gerald stiffened himself in the saddle, and in a loud,croaking voice shouted, "Water!"
Hugh replied with a feeble cry of delight, but Reeves, although hishopes ran high at the announcement, thought that Gerald's exclamationwas the outcome of a disordered imagination. In order to soothe thelad, however, he asked: "Where, Gerald?"
For answer the lad pointed to a long, low ridge of sand through whichthe rock protruded. Beyond was a dip, but from his level Reeves couldnot see over the crest as well as did the lad on the camel. From evena very short distance the radiation of the sand caused every outlineto appear blurred and wavy, and the depression beyond the ridge wasin consequence hitherto unnoticed.
"Why, it's the river!" exclaimed Gerald.
Reeves waited no longer, but, breaking into a stumbling run, pressedon ahead and gained the side of the rock. Gerald was right. In anarrow khor, or valley, flowed the stream. True, it was little betterthan a chain of shallow lakes connected by a mere trickle ofyellowish water, but to the almost exhausted fugitives it meant life.
Forgetting their fatigue, the lads slipped from their saddles andstaggered towards the nearest pool, while Reeves, stopping only tohobble the camels, made haste to follow them. Half a minute later thethree were on their knees, plunging their heads into the tepid water,and taking copious draughts of the invigorating liquid.
"Steady, boys!" cautioned Reeves, knowing that an excess would bealmost as bad as a lack of water; "there's plenty of time. Here westay for the rest of the day."
"Are we safe?" asked Hugh.
"As safe as we can reasonably hope to be," replied the correspondent."I'll bring the camels down, and while they are drinking we'll have ameal."
"Is this the same river as at Wadi Tlat?" asked Gerald.
"As far as I can judge, but it has made a fairly wide sweep to thesouth-west. I believe that had we kept due south from the spot wherewe were at sunrise, we should have struck the river within an hour orso."
"Perhaps it turned out for the best."
"That I do not doubt. We might not have found such an admirable spotto hold our own against the Arabs, and had those fellows caught us inthe open, it would have gone hard with us. That reminds me--do youknow how to load these guns?"
The lads shook their heads. They had both used rook rifles before,but these long-barrelled flintlocks were beyond them.
"I can't see the place for the caps," said Gerald.
"For the simple reason that percussion caps are not used," repliedReeves, taking up one of the muskets. "See this piece of steel on ahinge? I throw it back, and you see a shallow bowl underneath it.That is the pan. You've heard of the expression, 'a flash in thepan'? Now, first load the barrel with powder and ball, not forgettingthe wads, and ram the charge hard home, so. Next half-cock thehammer, place powder in the pan, and cover it up again by the steel.To fire, full-cock the musket, take aim, and pull the trigger. Theflint will draw fire from the steel, and at the same time throw openthe pan. The spark ignites the priming powder in the pan, which inturn communicates, by means of a small hole, with the charge in thebarrel. It's somewhat unreliable, for the flint may spark withoutigniting the priming, or the priming may flash in the pan withoutexploding the charge."
"How cumbersome!" remarked Hugh.
"But we are lucky to have them at all," replied the correspondent."For nearly a hundred and fifty years our forefathers fought and wontheir battles with weapons acting in precisely the same manner asthis. Consequently, if ever we are compelled to use these weapons inself-defence, we must remember their maxim: 'Never fire till you cansee the whites of your enemy's eyes'. Now, boys, you had bettersnatch a few hours' sleep in the shade of the rock. I can hold out agood while, so I'll keep watch."
Both Hugh and Gerald protested that they were quite capable of takingthe first watch, and that their elder was more in need of rest thanthey were; but Reeves sternly ordered them to obey.
In less than three minutes both lads were fast asleep, while thecorrespondent took up a position as much in the shade as possible,keeping a vigilant lookout across the seemingly interminable waste ofsand.
Once more he reviewed the situation. Here they were on the banks of asmall
, unknown river, with a vast tract of country, hithertounvisited by Europeans, stretching southward--whither? Without properequipment, ill-provisioned, and already weak with fatigue and meagrefare, how could he, let alone the two lads, hope to traverse thegreat, unknown desert? The river might prove to be one of those thateventually lose themselves in the sand or periodically dry up, or itmight wax greater and stronger and join one of the immensetributaries of the Niger; but to return was out of the question. Theymust proceed, overcome their great difficulties, or in turn beovercome by them.
At length Hugh awoke, feeling considerably refreshed, and, afterbeing warned that strict vigilance was imperative, took thecorrespondent's place while the latter snatched a brief butwell-earned rest.
Presently Hugh was joined by his chum, and not until the sun was lowin the heavens did they cease to maintain a careful and anxiouslookout. But there was no sign of human beings. The Arabs, their fearof the jinns increased considerably by the non-return of theircomrades, attempted no further pursuit.
All that night Reeves kept watch, lying with his serviceable ear nearthe sand in order the more readily to detect the soft footfalls ofapproaching camels, or standing at intervals to stretch his achingframe and to gaze into the starlit desert.
At daybreak the journey by the banks of the river began. In order toguard against possible surprise, the fugitives kept upon the ridge ofhard-baked earth that followed the course of the stream at less thanfifty yards from it. Without much exertion a steady pace could bemaintained by the one who chanced to be afoot, while by taking turnsat riding the camels a much greater distance could be covered.
For four days the course of the river was followed, without signs ofany other human beings. Occasionally a small patch of scrub would beseen, but beyond that there was no herbage upon which the camelscould feed. For their masters there was as yet sufficient for theirneeds; but Reeves, though outwardly sanguine, could not ignore thefact that the supply would last but three days more.
At the end of the fourth day, just as the fugitives were preparing tocamp out for the night, Hugh pointed to a dark-brown object lying onthe side of one of the sandhills.
"Is that a man?" he asked.
"It certainly looks like one," replied Reeves; "but if it is, he iscertainly not attempting to conceal himself. Bring your muskets,lads, and we'll see what it really is."
They had to traverse a distance of nearly four hundred yards beforethe correspondent, who was leading, breasted the slope of the lasthillock that lay between them and the object of their search.
"It was a man," announced Reeves. "The poor fellow has died,apparently from hunger and thirst."
The three Englishmen raised their head-coverings as they stopped bythe side of the luckless traveller, of whom only a bleached skeletonremained. To the lads' surprise, the body, which was lying facedownwards, was encased in a hauberk of chain armour, while at a shortdistance from the head was a steel helmet, with a short guard for thenose. Both helm and hauberk were slightly eaten away by rust.
"Why, it's the body of a mediaeval knight!" exclaimed Gerald."I've----"
"Not so fast!" interposed Reeves. "The poor fellow was doubtless anArab emir. As late as fifteen years ago we had Sudanese clad in mail,which, if not exactly that worn by the Crusader, was a good copy ofit. It is commonly supposed that the Arabs obtained the use of chainmail from their Saracen ancestors, who, of course, adapted theirChristian enemies' arms and mail to their own purpose. I'll turn theman over. Perhaps he may have something on of service to us."
So saying, the correspondent gently placed his hands under thehauberk and turned the skeleton on its back. As he did so he gave agrunt of surprise, for to the right breast of the rusty coat of mailwas affixed a metal cross, made apparently of copper, but green withexposure to the air.
"It strikes me pretty forcibly that you are right after all, Gerald,"he exclaimed. "But at the same time I cannot believe it possible,even taking into consideration the dryness of the atmosphere, thatarmour could withstand the ravages of the weather for seven or eighthundred years."
"There is a dagger," said Hugh, pointing to the hilt of a weapon thathung at the right side of the skeleton, the remaining portion beingburied in the sand.
"It certainly looks like a misericord," remarked Reeves, drawing therusty steel from its mouldy sheath. "See! the man wears a richleathern baldrick. At one time he carried a sword--here are thefragments of a sheath; and, stranger still, he does not appear tohave had firearms!"
"Why is it strange?" asked Hugh.
"Because an emir, even though clad in chain mail, almost invariablycarries a pistol and powder-horn with him. This man has none.However, the mystery must remain a mystery, I fear. We can, at anyrate, cover the skeleton with sand."
This was accordingly done; but as the Englishmen were about to returnto where the camels were left, Reeves stooped and picked up thedagger.
"Every additional weight hampers us," he remarked, "but I think Iwill take this. It will be a memento, in case we return tocivilization in safety."
"I wonder if the man rode a horse or a camel?" asked Hugh. "If so,are there any traces of it?"
"We may as well look around," replied Reeves. "Another thing thatpuzzles me is, why did the man die in the sand, instead of making hisway to the river, which is less than a hundred yards off, and quitevisible from here? However, carry on. You, Hugh, go ahead for ahundred paces; Gerald, you go to your left, but no farther thanyonder hillock; I'll explore the rocks by the river."
Reeves had barely taken thirty steps when a shout from Geraldarrested his attention. "There's a cross stuck up on a sandhill,"announced the lad.
Making his way in the direction indicated, Hugh having rejoined him,the correspondent found that the cross was in reality a big,cross-hilted sword, planted point downwards in a cleft in the rocks,which were covered to a depth of about a foot with drifting sand.
Pulling out the weapon, Reeves examined the blade. It was rusty, butnot in such a bad state as the hauberk and helm, the frequentfriction of the sand having kept the steel from being badly eatenaway. The blade was about three feet six inches in length, perfectlystraight except for three inches from the end, where it taperedsharply to a point. The hilt was of iron, devoid of ornamentation.
"It looks as if it were placed here for a purpose," remarked Hugh.
"It does," replied Reeves, "--as a symbol of faith. See! the crossshows towards the east. But we must be getting back. It will be darkin a few minutes."
And, bearing the sword with him, the correspondent led the way backto the bivouac by the river.