Burning Sands

  CHAPTER XXX--THE REVOLT

  The funeral took place next morning, as is the native custom, and it wasduring the great gathering of the Sheikh's friends that the adherents ofthe opposing faction made their feared _coup_. The event, and itsserious consequences for Muriel and Daniel, was upon them so quicklythat there was no time for preparation or retreat.

  Muriel had not gone to the funeral, and she was sitting quietly writingin the living-room when Daniel flung open the door.

  "Quick!" he said. "Get ready to start at once. Leave your dressing-case:you just want your water-bottle and a tin or two of food from thecupboard. We've got to ride like the wind. I'm just going to get thecamels."

  She stared at him in amazement as he hastened away, and thought howextremely inconsiderate he was; but the realization that herextraordinary fortnight with him was now at an end led her to obey hisinstructions with alacrity. She was soon ready, but for some time shewaited impatiently for his reappearance.

  At last he came in, this time slowly and with careful serenity.

  "I'm afraid the journey's off," he said.

  Muriel was angry, and she tapped her foot sharply on the floor. "Oh,you're impossible!" she exclaimed. "I'm all ready to start, and now yousay you're not going."

  He looked at her gravely and steadily for a moment, and then very calmlyhe told her what had occurred. While Ibrahim and those of his adherentswho had not gone to El Khargeh were attending the funeral, the rivalfaction had seized every camel and donkey in the Oasis, for of theformer more than half the number owned by the inhabitants had gone withthe caravan. They had disarmed the village _ghaffirs_, or guards, theyhad proclaimed their own chief as Sheikh of the Oasis, and they hadpicketed every track leading out into the desert and to the landsbeyond.

  Daniel had found his and Muriel's camel gone from the stable, and he hadencountered a group of "enemy" leaders who had informed him that hewould not be permitted to communicate with the outside world for severaldays.

  "Their idea," he explained, lighting his pipe, "is to get their manfirmly established in power before the police hear of it, and then itwill be a _fait accompli_. It is to be a peaceful revolution, withoutbloodshed if possible; but I don't suppose they will hesitate to shootanybody who tries to get away. So, you see, we're caught."

  Muriel received the news calmly. According to the time-table theBindanes would return to El Homra tomorrow or the next day, and then, ifshe had not made her reappearance, they would probably send her dragomanand a trooper or two to fetch her. But Daniel pointed out that threedays might elapse before these men arrived, and two weeks before theauthorities in Egypt could give instructions. Moreover, their comingmight lead to an awkward situation for himself and her.

  "You see, they know that I will support Ibrahim's claim," he said,puffing quietly at his pipe, "for I promised his father I would do so;and if an unfortunate accident could account for you and me, it would beall the better for them. Supposing, for example, you and I were found tohave gone out hunting, and to have lost our way, and to have fallen overa cliff or something of that kind, there would be nobody much to upholdIbrahim against a rival already established in office."

  Daniel did not take his eyes from hers as he put this aspect of thematter before her. It was as though he were testing her nerve; orperhaps it was that he thought candour best in regard to a contingencythe possibility of which would doubtless occur to her.

  "It seems to me," she said presently, "that human nature is much thesame all the world over. You were rather intolerant of the intrigues ofCairo; but rivalries and disputes evidently go on in the desert too. I'mvery disappointed."

  "So am I," he replied, with disarming candour. "The only thing to besaid for it is that it has been done pretty openly and boldly."

  "What do you intend to do?" she asked. She was remarkably calm.

  "I'm going to slip away after dark," he replied, with a smile, "and walkto El Homra."

  "It's thirty miles," she said. "And supposing you get shot orcaught...?"

  "You can come too, if you like," he replied. He might have added thatthis actually was his intention.

  She remained silent for some moments, her face a little flushed, herfingers drumming on the table. In spite of her self-control he could seethat she realized the danger. "Yes," she said at length, "I'll cometoo."

  He smiled broadly. She caught sight of his strong white teeth, in whichthe stem of his pipe was gripped.

  "I don't see anything to smile about," she remarked.

  He did not answer. In his mind there was an astonishing sense ofexultation. He had had no idea that she would show such quiet pluck: hehad hardly dared to think, as he put the graver possibilities of theirsituation before her, that she would receive the news without a tremor.But now, suddenly, his heart was crying out within him: "This is mymate; this is the woman who will dare all with me"; and he laughed tothink of their present absurd relationship. He did not realize how deepwas their estrangement.

  After the midday meal he sent her to her room to rest, and, pocketinghis revolver, went down into the village. Here all was quiet, but heobserved that small groups of the revolters were moving to and fro, someof them carrying their antiquated firearms. Ibrahim, he was told, wasmore or less a prisoner in his own house, and he thought it politic tomake no attempt to visit him.

  "Time will show," he said to an adherent of the usurper, "whether yourmaster is worthy to be Sheikh"; and that was as far as he would commithimself.

  At tea-time he returned to the monastery, and now he gave fullinstructions to Hussein. The latter was to go to bed as usual thatnight, and was to take no part in the events of the darkness. He was tocall his master an hour after sunrise, and if it chanced that he failedto find him, he was to take what steps he chose to report thedisappearance and exonerate himself from blame.

  It was not until after nightfall that any outward signs of theirdangerous situation were to be observed. Daniel found then that threearmed natives were loitering outside the ruined walls, and, in answer tohis enquiries as to their business, they told him amiably that they werethere to prevent him leaving the Oasis.

  "But how can I leave it without a camel?" he asked. "In the morning youmust tell your master that the two camels must be brought back to me.They must be here before midday." His voice was peremptory, and thenatives salaamed respectfully.

  It was at about an hour before midnight that, from the top of his tower,he took a final survey of his surroundings. There was a young moon inthe heavens, and by its pale light he observed the figure of one of theguards reclining on the sand, his back against the wall, directlybeneath the window of Muriel's room. The other two, as he had previouslynoticed, were seated in a more or less comatose state at the entrance ofthe monastery, at which point they no doubt presumed that reasonrequired them to remain.

  He descended stealthily from the tower, and, feeling his way through thedark refectory, found Muriel seated, ready, upon her bed. In silence sherose to her feet, and thereupon Daniel gathered up the bedclothes in hisarms and crept with them to the window. She did not know what he wasabout to do, but presently she saw him crouching upon the sill, hisfigure silhouetted against the sky.

  Suddenly, with a flutter of the blankets, he disappeared, and fromoutside she heard a series of muffled sounds. Darting to the window, shesaw him struggling with what appeared to be a furiously animated bundleof bedclothes from which two kicking brown legs protruded; and, a momentlater, this bundle was lifted from the ground.

  "Quick!" he whispered, looking up at her, and thereupon she crawledthrough the window and jumped on to the soft sand outside.

  Daniel, clasping his burden, with the head pressed against his breast,told her to pick up the man's rifle and to put it through the window onto her bed. When she had done so he at once set off at a run towards theopen desert, and Muriel followed him, her heart wildly beating. Adistance of not more than fifty yards separated them from some clustersof rock which would shelter them from sight, and s
oon they werescrambling over the rough ground in temporary immunity from detection.

  Here Daniel paused to rearrange his struggling captive, who was in gravedanger of suffocation, and, having warned him that a single sound wouldmean instant death, he lifted him across his shoulder, with the blanketsmore loosely thrown over his head, and again broke into a jog-trot.

  When about a quarter of a mile had been covered they descended into ashallow ravine, with which Daniel was well acquainted; and here, beingscreened from the Oasis, he set down his burden, cautiously removing thebedclothes from the perspiring and anxious face. The man's eyes werewide with fear as he found himself looking into the muzzle of arevolver; but his captor smilingly reassured him, promising him that noharm would come to him if he but walked ahead in complete silence.

  "I am afraid," he said in Arabic, "that you are about to have a somewhatlengthy walk."

  "Where are we going?" the man asked.

  "To El Homra," Daniel replied casually.

  "_Ya salaam!_" exclaimed the man, in an awed whisper. In our languagethe expression may be rendered "Oh, lor'!"

  The ravine led them to the northwest, and they must have covered nearlytwo miles before Daniel deemed it safe to bear off more to the north,over the higher ground. The going was easy, for the surface of the rockswas smooth, and the light of the moon sufficient to prevent stumbling;and an hour's walking brought them to a point at which they couldwithout risk move to the east, so as to pick up the track leading to ElHomra. This they found at length without any difficulty, and they nowjudged themselves to be beyond the pickets, being already two or threemiles distant from the near end of the Oasis.

  The first danger was now past, and Daniel therefore began to discusswith Muriel their chances of success.

  "We must have come six or seven miles," he said. "I suppose you arepretty tired?"

  "No," she answered, "I can keep up for some time yet. You've taken mefor some pretty long walks during the last fortnight: it was goodtraining."

  "Well, say when you're done," he said, "and I'll carry you."

  "Thanks," she replied stiffly, "I'm not a child."

  They walked on in silence, three ghostly figures stalking through thedim light of a dream.

  "I suppose," said Daniel presently, "that they'll not miss us until wellafter sunrise, if then; so I think our chances are fairly rosy. It alldepends on your feet, my girl."

  With the extra mileage due to their detour, the distance to the half-waypool would be about eighteen miles or so; and it was obvious to Danielthat Muriel would not be able to stand more than twelve or fourteen. Hetherefore glanced anxiously at her every now and then as they pushedforward across the great open plain which lay between the two oases; andat length he noticed that she was limping.

  It was nearly four o'clock in the morning, and they were still some fouror five miles distant from the pool, when Daniel suddenly took hold ofher arm.

  "Now I'm going to carry you," he said.

  She did not protest. For some time she had been hobbling forward in akind of nightmare, her feet sore and burning, her knees feeble, and herbrain fevered. The moon had now set, but the stars gave sufficient lightfor them to see the straight track beneath them. She hardly realizedwhat he was doing as he lifted her from the ground, putting one of hisgreat arms about her shoulders and the other under her knees. In aconfused manner she was aware of a feeling of annoyance at her weakness;but presently, nevertheless, her head dropped upon his shoulder. She didnot sleep, but she was certainly not awake.

  When at last she recovered full consciousness she found to her infinitesurprise that the day was breaking, and that Daniel was in the act ofdepositing her upon the sand at the edge of the half-way pool.

  "Good heavens!" she exclaimed. "How far have you carried me, man?"

  "About five miles," he said, rubbing his stiff arms. "Now for a bit of arest."

  She was wide awake again, and to her great relief she found that herfeet were no longer burning. Their wretched captive, however, wasentirely exhausted, and was stretched upon his stomach, drinkinggreedily from the pool.

  Daniel himself did not show any marked signs of fatigue. A walk ofeighteen miles was nothing to him, and the burden of Muriel's weight wasnot intolerable to a man of his colossal strength.

  When half an hour later, they resumed their journey the sun was risingabove the distant hills. They walked off alone, for Daniel had extractedan inviolable promise from their captive to rest where he was until noonbefore setting out on his return journey; and he had given the man a fewbiscuits and a slice or two of meat to keep him going. Both Muriel andDaniel had bathed their feet in the pool, and having eaten a square mealthey fared forth once more with some degree of vigour.

  As the sun increased in power, however, this sense of freshnessvanished, and but five miles had been covered when Daniel was obligedonce more to take his companion in his arms, in spite of her valiantprotests. This time he set her upon his shoulder, clasping her about thelegs, and every mile or two he varied the position.

  From the pool to the hills which divided the plain from El Homra was,roughly, ten miles, and when at last they mounted, at about ten o'clock,on to the high ground, Daniel was already feeling the strain. For thenext couple of miles Muriel limped along by his side; and now theirpractical immunity from capture permitted them to take an occasionalrest in the shade of the rocks.

  The last three miles of the journey were very exhausting to them both,for it was now noon, and the sun was intensely hot. Their water-bottleswere nearly empty and their provisions were all gone; but the sight ofthe Oasis in the distance served to keep up their courage.

  Muriel, much against her inclinations, had now to be carried almostcontinuously, but Daniel would not listen to her repeated requests thathe would leave her while he went on to fetch help. He still feared apossible pursuit, for even so near to their goal they were travellingthrough uninhabited and utterly isolated country. He set his teeth,therefore, and carried her forward, now on this shoulder, now on that,now upon his back, and now, as originally, in his arms. He was achingfrom head to toe, and his feet felt like burning coals of fire, whilethe perspiration issued from every pore.

  "Gee!" he said, as he set her down a mile from their destination, "thishas been some walk!"

  He took her in his arms again, and set out upon the last lap. Thebuildings of the police headquarters were now clearly visible againstthe palms, and near them stood the tents which told them that theBindanes had returned from the north.

  Muriel looked up at his haggard face. "I'm ashamed of myself for beingso feeble," she said. "It is very humiliating for me to have to becarried by _you_, of all people."

  For answer he suddenly bent her head down and kissed her.

  Muriel uttered an exclamation. "Put me down!" she cried. "How dare you!"

  Again he kissed her, holding her up in his arms as her legs kicked athis hip. She freed her hand and pressed it into his face.

  "If you do that," he laughed, "I'll drop you."

  "How dare you!" she repeated. "Oh, you brute!"

  He threw his head back, and looked up at the sun from under the brim ofhis battered old hat. "It's been an extraordinary fortnight," he panted,as though he were addressing the heavens.

  Muriel did not answer, but she was breathing hard as he looked down intoher face once more, and her eyes were wide with anger.

  "I've learned a lot about you," he said, "during these days; and I guessyou're worth winning, after all."

  "In that case," she replied furiously, "I guess you'll be sorry thatyou've lost me."

  "Have I lost you, Muriel?" he asked.

  "You have," she replied, shortly and decisively. "What else did youexpect, after the way you have insulted and bullied me? You've lost mefor ever."

  The intensity with which she spoke silenced him; and thus they camestumbling into the camp.