The Arab's Pledge Part 4

CHAPTER V.

THE SPY.

The Sultan being sufficiently recovered from his fatigue, was reclining in his half-open tent, when it occurred to him to examine the paper which had been taken from the Marabt. He opened and began reading it carelessly, but before he had finished, his face was livid, for it proved that treachery was at work among his own personal attendants.

"G.o.d is great!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "G.o.d is my protection. A conspiracy! The address--Abdslem Ibn Hadj,--the slave! And the seal, Sheik Hamed of the Lion Tribes!" then raising his voice, "Who waits?"

"My lord's slave," answered Abd el Aziz, who was on guard, and coming forward.

"The spy that was taken this morning, let him be taken outside the camp and return to me with his head!--Go!" said the Sultan.

"On my head and eyes;" and Abd el Aziz receiving a token from the Sultan, went out immediately to obey his orders.

The guards whom he summoned, astonished and awed by the sudden command, mechanically obeyed, and in spite of his prayers and entreaties the Marabt was forthwith decapitated, and his head, still dripping with blood, carried by the lock of hair on his crown, and laid by Abd el Aziz in view of the Sultan, saying, "Behold the traitor's head! thus perish the enemies of the Khalifa!"

"G.o.d be praised," said the Sultan, counting his beads. "It is well; so far. Approach and mark--Take that head, mount your horse and ride to the town; cause it to be nailed up over the gate of the Kasba, and let it be proclaimed that he was a traitor and a spy of your lord's enemies. That done, seize our slave Abdslem of the guard, and lodge him in a dungeon, in chains, with hand torture. Here is my signet, have I not trusted thee? and thy fidelity shall be rewarded."

Abd el Aziz prostrated himself, kissed the seal and placed it in his vest. "My lord's slave is too highly honoured, in being the bearer of the least of my lord's commands. May I ever deserve my lord's favour!"

He then left the tent, mounted his horse, with the b.l.o.o.d.y head dangling at his saddle-bow, and with heart elate, galloped to the town, entertaining himself with visions of the promotion and honours he was to derive from the Sultan's favour, of which, however, that head might have taught him the uncertainty.

Rachel, although she had despatched her intended son-in-law on his mission, left no means untried in the interval to save her child. She first went round to all the most influential persons of her own persuasion, imploring their a.s.sistance and begging them to pet.i.tion the Sultan for her daughter's liberty. The Jews, on occasions of this kind when the integrity of their faith is menaced, always hold together for mutual protection, and are not sparing of money or exertion to prevent such precedents being established. The present outrage had caused a great sensation, and a large sum of money was at once collected with which to present themselves before the Sultan, and intercede for the liberation of Azora. Under any other circ.u.mstances, this would have succeeded, even had there been any truth in the accusation; but as the case now stood, it ultimately proved abortive.

The poor mother now repented the rashness of her language towards Abdslem; and the reason that worthy did not notice it was, that he foresaw she would be driven to the necessity of purchasing his friends.h.i.+p, or buying him off; he also meditated extorting money from the Jews for the same purpose, and his avarice had chiefly prompted him to make use of Ha.s.san's pa.s.sion to induce him to become Azora's accuser.

Rachel, prepared to submit to any humiliation which would help to save her child, took her way in the afternoon through a retired part of the town to Abdslem's lodging. He was sitting in a small white-washed room on a smaller carpet, the only furniture was a mattress on the floor, and a copper ewer and basin; his gun, saddle, and sword, occupied a corner.

Smoking his pipe of has.h.i.+sh he was ruminating on the golden harvest he should reap, from the traitorous connexion he had established with certain Sheiks of the Arab tribes, when Rachel entered.

"Welcome to the daughter of the infidel!" said he, with an inquisitive look, as she gathered up her hayk and sat down at the threshold. "She has repented of her curses. She might have been punished, but Abdslem is soft-hearted; what of Azora?"

"'Tis that which has brought me to my lord's presence," said Rachel.

"When I uttered evil words against my lord, I spoke with the mouth of fools, but my lord is kind and has forgiven it."

"G.o.d is merciful; that is past, my heart has been heavy for the evil that has befallen your daughter. Why should I injure her? is she not a houri? That renegade Ha.s.san was the cause, that is--"

"My lord admits she was not guilty," said Rachel, catching at the hint thus intentionally thrown out.

"G.o.d is great!--not exactly--but if I can help her, I will do it for the love of G.o.d."

"What easier, my lord, than to proclaim her innocence?"

"And so lose my own head! Ah! the infidel's grat.i.tude. Shall I perjure myself and brave the Sultan? Is not Azora in his hareem? If I were not so poor, I have friends at court, whom I might pay for their interest and intercession. But without money--Moors are Jews--no better."

"You shall have gold," exclaimed Rachel, deceived by his apparent feeling. "I have some hundred dollars; do for us what you can, and blessings attend my lord. When and where shall I find you?"

"An hour after evening prayer, I shall be here," said he, scarcely able to conceal his satisfaction. "It shall be a sacred trust, and may it be the means of serving your cause."

Rachel's heart was too full for utterance, she kissed the hem of his dress, and rose to depart, when the door was thrown rudely open, and Abd el Aziz unceremoniously entered, without the usual "Peace be with you!"

(It is the height of impropriety for a Moor to enter another's house uninvited.)

"So, you are Abdslem Ibn Hadj," said he.

"But whose dog's son are you," cried Abdslem, springing up and laying his hand on his gun, "that dare to break in on the sanct.i.ty of my dwelling?"

"You shall presently repent of your abuse, O son of a black slave! but now I advise you, to make your hand and gun more distant relations if you care for your head; which is likely soon to ornament the Bab el Kasba, by the side of a friend of yours. Do you know _that_?"

"The Sultan's seal!" exclaimed the astonished Jewess, while Abdslem started back terror-struck; his dark cheek blanched and his thick lip quivered as he saw the near punishment of the crimes of which his conscience accused him; and when Abd el Aziz, satisfied with the impression he had produced, ordered him to follow, he obeyed almost unconsciously. In the street he was seized by the soldiers who were in waiting and dragged to prison, and until he should be finally disposed of the following temporary punishment was inflicted on him. His hands were filled with quicklime and salt, and then sewn up in raw hide, which, as it dries, binds the hand like a vice, while the caustic contents eat into the flesh and cause the most excruciating pain. He was then heavily ironed and thrown into a damp dark cell, where we will leave him to meditate on his misdeeds, while we accompany Yusuf to the Desert.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SAHARA.

From the inquiries he had made, Yusuf learnt that the Sheik of the Woled Abou Sebah was encamped on the borders of the Sahara, between the provinces of Suse and Draha. He had, consequently, taken a course through the mountains south of Marocco, where they begin to fall in lower ranges, towards the sea-coast. The inhabitants of this country are Berebbers, living in small villages, among whom he had been in the habit of travelling on trade; and as they were under the Sultan's government, there was little danger to be apprehended. After three days' travelling, almost day and night, he found himself on the south of the mountains.

There were no more fixed villages. The few inhabitants of this wilderness, in which vegetation was rapidly disappearing as he advanced, were living in tents where wells of water were to be found. Resting at one of these stations, he had to make up his mind as to his onward course. The sum of his intelligence was, that the Sheik's camp was a day and a half journey in the Desert to the south-east; and that a large caravan from the north was hourly expected on its way across the Desert to Timbuctoo. His object was to join this caravan, which he had hoped to have fallen in with before; and as they usually pay blackmail to the Arabs, when they are allowed to pa.s.s unharmed, he knew he should thus have no difficulty in obtaining their guidance to their Sheik.

From these poor peasants he could not obtain a guide, and he dared not offer them money, which he knew was a certain inducement for them to strip and perhaps kill him. His mule, too, was showing signs of fatigue, from the rapid and unaccustomed journey. At daylight, after taking the most minute directions from his host for striking the track of the caravan, he set off with a stout heart, his mule ambling from four to five miles an hour; and while the sun was yet far from noon, he found himself launched on that inland sea which stretches with little interruption from the Atlas to the Niger. With some of the instinct of the Arab, he guided himself by the aid of rising grounds, sand-hills, and indications left by bleached bones, sun-dried manure, and some rocks, keeping a straight course by the sun; but his heart sunk as the afternoon wore on, and no signs appeared of the desired tracks. Had the caravan not pa.s.sed? or had it pa.s.sed, and the wind swept the sand over its track and effaced it? He could travel on, but what probability of discovering the road, in such a waste? He might travel another day, and be able to return with safety, if unsuccessful; but then to lose the object of his journey, death were better.

He dismounted and sat down to think. The western sun threw the shadow of his mule far from him, and despair began to creep over his spirits.

Hark! was that a shout? His heart bounded at a human voice in such a place, whether of friend or foe; it was welcome. He sprang up, and scanned the horizon. Another long, clear call, and at a distance of three-quarters of a mile he perceived some large fragments of rock, which he had not before noticed; on their highest point, and partly relieved against the sky, stood a dark figure, waving a cloth with one hand, with what seemed to be a gun in the other. If there had been danger, there was no escape; but Yusuf, accustomed to place confidence in these people, joyfully mounted his mule, and hastened to the spot.

The Desert Arabs, to whom I would now introduce the reader, are quite a different race from the Moors, and have little in common with the Arab population of the Maroqueen provinces. The latter have occupied these countries, on occasions of depopulation from plague, have adopted a settled life, and become partially identified in manners and dress with the people who surround them. The Arabs of the Sahara retain their distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristics.

Their dress is a blue tunic of India long cloth confined at the waist by a leather belt; besides swords and dirks, they carry double-barrelled guns, which come to them from the French settlements in Senegal. The complexions of the men are swarthy; their features are regular and strongly marked; they wear their hair in short curls, and the beard is usually short. They are decidedly a handsome race, and the beauty of the women is proverbial in the adjoining countries, "Dim el Arb" (Arab blood) being a common expression for female loveliness. They are brunettes, but their dark eyes and resplendent teeth are unrivalled.

Their living is frugal--dates, barley-meal, milk, and cheese: flesh is used sparingly, though a sheep is always killed when a guest is to be entertained; the flesh of the gazelle and the ostrich, as well as that of the camel and sheep, is cut in strips, and dried in the sun for household supply.

When Yusuf came up, he found four Arabs sitting under the shadow of the rock, regaling themselves on dates and barley-cakes, spread on a piece of old garment on the sand, by the side of which was a small goat-skin of water. They were on an ostrich-hunt. Their guns were leaning against the rocks, and their horses picketed behind them. These horses were what an Englishman would call "bags of bones;" but they had magnificent points, were as hard as iron, and had eyes like lamps.

Yusuf immediately took his place in their circle with the salutation of "Peace!" This at once enlisted their good-will.

"Peace: behold the Jew: he hath put trust in us; he hath no fear."

"The children of the Sahel do not injure their guests; I have travelled since morning fasting; hunger will make the fawn brave."

"G.o.d's protection is over you," said another.

"Eat!--behold the food G.o.d provides is before you."

Yusuf looked round at them and at their slender store of provisions.

"You are four," he said; "your hunting may be prolonged; before the setting of to-morrow's sun you may be in more want of it than I. Direct me on my way; hunger can be borne."

"Art thou not an infidel?" said a third. "Hast thou no trust in G.o.d?

Cannot G.o.d, who has sent us to your a.s.sistance, likewise provide us with food when we are in need of it? Eat. O Jew! eat. He who breaks not bread with the Arab is not the Arab's friend."