Blue Lights: Hot Work in the Soudan

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  DESCRIBES SOME OF OSMAN DIGNA'S ECCENTRICITIES AND OTHER MATTERS.

  One day Miles and his friend Armstrong went to have a ramble in the townof Suakim, and were proceeding through the bazaar when they encounteredSimkin hurrying towards them with a much too serious expression on hisface!

  "Have you heard the n-news?" he asked, on coming up.

  "No; what's up?"

  "The old shep-shepherd's bin killed; all the c-cattle c-captured, an'the Egyptian c-cavalry's bin sent out after them."

  "Nonsense! You're dreaming, or you've bin drinking," said Miles.

  "Neither dreamin' nor drinkin'," returned Simkin, with indignation, ashe suddenly delivered a blow at our hero's face. Miles stopped it,however, gave him a playful punch in the chest, and passed on.

  At first Simkin seemed inclined to resent this, but, while he swayedabout in frowning indecision, his comrades left him; shaking his head,therefore, with intense gravity, he walked away muttering, "Not a badfellow Miles, after all, if he w-wasn't so fond o' the b-bottle!"

  Miles was at the same moment making the same remark to his friend inreference to Simkin, and with greater truth.

  "But I don't wonder that the men who drink, go in for it harder thanever here," continued Miles. "There is such hard work, and constantexposure, and so little recreation of any sort. Yet it is a pity thatmen should give way to it, for too many of our comrades are on thesick-list because of it, and some under the sod."

  "It is far more than a pity," returned Armstrong, with unwonted energy."Drink with its attendant evils is one of the great curses of the army.I have been told, and I can well believe it, that drink causes more lossto an army than war, the dangers of foreign service, and unhealthyclimates, all put together."

  "That's a strong statement, Willie, and would need to be founded on goodauthority. Who told you?"

  "Our new parson told me, and he is in my opinion a good authority,because he is a Christian, if ever a man was; and he is an elderly man,besides being uncommonly clever and well informed. He told us a greatmany strong facts at the temperance meeting we held last night. I wishyou had been there, Miles. It would have warmed your heart, I think."

  "Have you joined them, Willie?"

  "Yes, I have; and, God helping me, I mean to stick by them!"

  "I would have gone to the meeting myself," said Miles thoughtfully, "ifI had been asked."

  "Strange," returned Armstrong, "that Sergeant Hardy said to me hethought of asking you to accompany us, but had an idea that you wouldn'tcare to go. Now, just look at that lot there beside the grog-shop door.What a commentary on the evils of drink!"

  The lot to which he referred consisted of a group of miserable loungersin filthy garments and fez-caps, who, in monkey-like excitement, orsolemn stupidity, stood squabbling in front of one of the many Greekdrinking-shops, with which the town was cursed.

  Passing by at the moment, with the stately contempt engendered by asplendid physique and a red coat, strode a trooper--one of the defendersof the town. His gait was steady enough, but there was thatunmistakable something in the expression of his face which told that hewas in the grip of the same fiend that had captured the men round thegrog-shop door. He was well-known to both Armstrong and Miles.

  "Hallo! Johnson," cried the latter. "Is there any truth in the--"

  He stopped, and looked steadily in the trooper's eyes without speaking.

  "Oh yes, I know what you mean," said Johnson, with a reckless air. "Iknow that I'm drunk."

  "I wouldn't say exactly that of you," returned Miles; "but--"

  "Well, well, I say it of myself," continued the trooper. "It's no usehumbuggin' about it. I'm swimmin' wi' the current. Goin' to the dogslike a runaway locomotive. Of course I see well enough that men likeSergeant Hardy, an' Stevenson of the Marines, who have been temperancemen all their lives, enjoy good health--would to God I was like 'em!And I know that drinkers are dyin' off like sheep, but that makes it allthe worse for me, for, to tell you the honest truth, boys--an' I don'tcare who knows it--I _can't_ leave off drinkin'. It's killin' me byinches. I know, likewise, that all the old hard drinkers here are soonsent home ruined for life--such of 'em at least as don't leave theirmiserable bones in the sand, and I know that I'm on the road todestruction, but I can't--I _won't_ give it up!"

  "Ha! Johnson," said Armstrong, "these are the very words quoted by thenew parson at the temperance meetin' last night--an' he's a splendidfellow with his tongue. `Hard drinker,' says he, `you are humbuggin'yourself. You say you _can't_ give up the drink. The real truth is, myman, that you _won't_ give it up. If only I could persuade you, inGod's strength, to say "I _will_," you'd soon come all right.' Now,Johnson, if you'll come with me to the next meetin'--"

  "What! _me_ go to a temperance meetin'?" cried the trooper withsomething of scorn in his laugh. "You might as well ask the devil to goto church! No, no, Armstrong, I'm past prayin' for--thank you all thesame for invitin' me. But what was you askin' about news bein' true?What news?"

  "Why, that the old shepherd has been killed, and all our cattle arecaptured, and the Egyptian cavalry sent after them."

  "You don't say so!" cried the trooper, with the air of a man whosuddenly shakes off a heavy burden. "If that's so, they'll be wantin'us also, no doubt."

  Without another word he turned and strode away as fast as his long legscould carry him.

  Although there might possibly be a call for infantry to follow, Milesand his friend did not see that it was needful to make for their fort atmore than their ordinary pace.

  It was a curious and crowded scene they had to traverse. Besides thegrog-shops already mentioned there were numerous coffee-houses, where,from diminutive cups, natives of temperate habits slaked their thirstand discussed the news--of which, by the way, there was no lack at thetime; for, besides the activity of Osman Digna and his hordes, therewere frequent arrivals of mails, and sometimes of reinforcements, fromLower Egypt. In the side-streets were many smithies, where lance-headsand knives were being forged by men who had not the most distant beliefthat such weapons would ever be turned into pruning-hooks. There werealso workers in leather, who sewed up passages of the Koran in leatherncases and sold them as amulets to be worn on necks and arms. Elsewhere,hairdressers were busy greasing and powdering with the dust of red-woodthe bushy locks of Hadendoa dandies. In short, all the activities ofEastern city life were being carried on as energetically as if the placewere in perfect security, though the only bulwark that preserved it,hour by hour, from being swept by the innumerable hordes of Soudansavagery, consisted of a few hundreds of British and Egyptian soldiers!

  Arrived at the Sphinx Fort, the friends found that the news was only tootrue.

  The stolen cattle belonged to the people of Suakim. Every morning atsix o'clock it was the custom of the shepherds to go out with theirherds and flocks to graze, there being no forage in or near the town.All had to be back by sunset, when the gates were locked, and no one wasallowed out or in till six the next morning. The women, who carried allthe water used in the waterless town, had of course to conform to thesame rule. Like most men who are constantly exposed to danger, theshepherds became careless or foolhardy, and wandered rather far withtheir herds. Osman was too astute to neglect his opportunities. Onthis occasion an old shepherd, who was well-known at Sphinx Redoubt, hadstrayed too far. The Soudanese swept down, cut off his retreat, killedhim, and, as we have said, carried off his cattle.

  It was to retrieve, if possible, or avenge this disaster that theEgyptian cavalry sallied forth. They were seen galloping after the foewhen Miles reached the roof of the redoubt, where some of his comradeswere on duty, while Captain Lacey and several officers were looking onwith field-glasses.

  "They are too late, I fear, to do much good," remarked one of theofficers.

  "Don't I wish I was goin' wid them!" whispered Corporal Flynn to acomrade.

  "Ye wad be a queer objec' on the ootside o
' a horse," remarked Macleodcynically.

  "Why, Mac, ye wouldn't have me go _inside_ of a horse, would ye?"

  "It wad be much the same which way ye went," returned the Scot.

  "Ah, thin, the horse wouldn't think so, unless he was a donkey!"

  "Well done!" exclaimed Captain Lacey at that moment, as the cavalry cutoff and succeeded in recapturing a few of the cattle, and gave the enemyseveral volleys, which caused them to beat a hasty retreat. This,however, turned out to be a _ruse_ on the part of Osman, who had his menconcealed in strong force there. He tried to draw the cavalry away fromSuakim, and was very nearly successful. In the ardour of pursuit theEgyptians failed to observe that the Soudanese were creeping round theirrear to cut off retreat. On discovering their mistake, and finding thattheir small force of two hundred men was being surrounded by thousandsof Arab warriors, it was almost too late. Turning at once, theygalloped back, and could be seen, through the field-glasses, turning nowand then gallantly to engage the pursuing foe.

  No help could be rendered them at first, as they were beyond the rangeof all the forts; nevertheless, they got in safely, with little injuryto man or beast, and driving before them the animals that had beenrecovered.

  Next day the body of the poor old shepherd was brought in and buried,without a coffin, by his relations.

  Miles, being off duty at the time, went to see the funeral, and foundthat Eastern and Western ideas on this point, as on many others, arewide as the poles asunder. No doubt the grief of the near relations wasas real as it was demonstrative, but it required more credulity than hepossessed to enable him to believe that the howling, shouting, andsinging of many mourners was indicative of genuine feeling. Thecreation of noise, indeed, seemed to be their chief method of payingrespect to the dead.

  As deaths in Suakim were very numerous at this time, owing to muchsickness among natives as well as troops, the sounds of mourning,whether by volley or voice, became so frequent that orders were at lastgiven to cease firing over the soldiers' graves when they were buried.

  Just ahead of the shepherd's body came some poor women, who wereweeping, falling down at intervals, and kissing the ground. On reachingthe wall round the land side of the town these women stopped, formed acircle, and kneeled on the sand while the body was passing them, thenthey leaned forward and kissed the ground, continuing in that positiontill all the procession had passed. There the women remained, not beingallowed to go to the grave, and the singing and shouting were continuedby boys, who kept running round the bier as it was borne along. Onreaching the grave the body was put in with the face toward the east,and covered up with stones and mortar. Then the grave was filled upwith sand, a brief prayer was offered--the mourners kneeling--afterwhich the people went home.

  Sad thoughts filled the mind of our young soldier as he returned to thefort, but the sadness was soon turned to indignation when he got there.

  For some time past a Soudanese youth of about seventeen or eighteenyears of age had been coming about the Sphinx Redoubt and ingratiatinghimself with the men, who took a great fancy to him, because he wasamiable in disposition, somewhat humorous as well as lively, andhandsome, though black! They used to give him something to eat everytime he came, and made quite a pet of him. One day while he was out inthe open country, Osman's men captured this youth and took him at oncebefore their leader, who, probably regarding him as a deserter, orderedboth his hands to be cut off close to the wrists. The cruel deed wasdone, and the poor lad was sent back to Suakim. It was this that rousedthe wrath of Miles as well as that of his comrades. When they saw theraw stumps and the haggard look of the poor fellow, who had sufferedmuch from loss of blood, they got into a state of mind that would havemade them ready to sally forth, if so required, and assault the entireSoudan in arms!

  "Och! av I only had 'im here," said Flynn, clenching his teeth and fistsat the same time. "It's--it's--it's--"

  "Mince-meat you'd make of him," said Moses.

  "No--it's _cat's_ mate--the baste!"

  The others were equally angry, though not quite so emphatic, but theydid not waste their time in useless regrets. They hurried the youngSoudanese to the doctor, who carefully dressed his wounds, and everycare was thereafter taken of him by the men, until completely restoredto health.

  It may interest the reader to know that this poor fellow was afterwardswell looked after. Some sort of employment in the garrison was obtainedfor him, and he was found to be a useful and willing servant, despitethe absence of his hands.

  That night a furious sand-storm burst upon the town, accompanied byoppressive heat.

  "It always seems to me," said Miles to Gaspard Redgrave, who lay nexthim, "that mosquitoes and sand-flies, cats and dogs, and in fact thewhole brute creation, becomes more lively when the weather is unusuallyhot. Just listen to these cats!"

  "Like a colony of small children being murdered," said Gaspard.

  "It's awfu'," observed Saunders, in a kind of solemn astonishment as afrightful caterwaul burst upon their ears. "I wadna like to hearteegers in the same state o' mind."

  "Or elephants," murmured Moses Pyne, who was more than half asleep.

  The cats were indeed a great nuisance, for, not satisfied with gettingon the flat roofs of the houses at nights, and keeping up a species ofwar-dance there, they invaded the soldiers' quarters, upsetting thingsin the dark--thus demonstrating the absurdity of the proverb that catssee best in the dark--stealing whatever they could lay hold of, andinducing half-slumbering men to fling boots and shoes, or whatever camemost handy, at them.

  Rats also were innumerable, and, to the great surprise--not to sayindignation--of the men, neither dogs nor cats paid the least attentionto the rats!

  After a time the storm, both of animate and inanimate nature, began toabate, and the weary overworked soldiers were dropping off to sleep whena tremendous explosion effectually roused them.

  "There goes another mine!" cried Armstrong, starting up.

  "It don't require a prophet to tell us that," growled Gaspard, as heyawned and slowly picked up his rifle.

  Explosions were of quite common occurrence at that time, but had to beattended to nevertheless.

  That Osman had taken advantage of the very dark night to make an earlierattack than usual was evident, for shots were fired immediately afterthe explosion occurred, as usual. These were replied to, but the effectof the explosion, it was supposed, must have been unusually severe, forthe enemy withdrew after exchanging only a few shots.

  This surmise was afterwards proved to be correct. On going to the spotthe following morning, they found that at least a dozen of their foesmust have been blown up, for legs and arms and other human remains werepicked up in all directions. These the soldiers gathered, with the aidof the friendly natives, and burned.

  No attack was made for four days after that, but then the untiring enemybecame as troublesome as ever.

  Spies afterwards said that when Osman heard of this incident, and of thenumber of men killed, he said, "it served them right. They had nobusiness to go touching things that did not belong to them!"