CHAPTER XXII--IN THE DESERT
Three days have passed, and it is morning on the desert. The huge,golden sun rose over the edge of the barren world, and its rays fell ona lonely camel train that was already on the move.
The camels were loaded with merchandise from the interior and bound forthe port of Akka.
A noted Syrian merchant was in charge of the train. There were otherSyrians, but most of the camel drivers were Arabs.
Mounted on one of the many camels were Dick Merriwell and Brad Buckhart,minus their disguises and wearing their own clothes.
Professor Gunn was swaying and rocking miserably on the back of anothercamel, his companion being one of the Syrians.
Brad Buckhart looked no less disconsolate than the professor, while theexpression on Dick Merriwell's face was not one of absolute satisfactionand contentment.
Brad was grumbling.
"Pard, I sure am a heap sore."
"So am I," admitted Dick. "Camel riding isn't what it's cracked up tobe. It is enough to make any one sore."
"I didn't mean that I was sore in that way."
"Didn't you?"
"No. I'm thinking that we were fooled a plenty."
"How do you mean?"
"By that old black wretch, Assouan."
"Go on."
"Haven't you thought the same thing?"
"Perhaps so; but go ahead and tell me just what you have thought."
"Why, you know how Assouan met us at the city's gate just as we wereescaping from Damascus."
"I know."
"He told us he had hustled Nadia and Budthorne out of the town and sentthem off on fleet horses, guided by Gumar, to join Ras al Had's train."
"Correct."
"And having but one good horse, which he was riding, he could notprovide for us and help us overtake them."
"So he said."
"Having given us that game of talk, he induced us to follow him and gotus into this merchant train, bound for Akka and the coast."
"Which seems lucky for us----"
"Then," cut in the Texan. "Now----"
"Well, at least, we escaped being seized and beheaded. It is plainAssouan kept his promise when he said he would try to put the Turks on afalse scent, and so give us a chance for our lives."
Brad shook his head.
"Mebbe he did. Anyhow, he didn't tell these people who we were, and youhappened to have money enough on you to induce the old rascal at thehead of the train to take us along. He knew there was trouble inDamascus, and that foreigners were in danger, but he didn't know thefull truth. Had he, I opine he would have dodged us a heap. I judge he'sgetting some suspicious of us now, and he wishes he hadn't bothered anywith us, for all of the money."
"He did act queerly last night," admitted Dick. "He tried to questionme. I think he has been talking with the professor and the professor hastalked too much. But, then, we are now some distance from Damascus."
"All the same, Dick, you know we won't be safe until we get out of thisinfernal country. But I don't propose to leave until I know what hasbecome of Nadia."
"Assouan promised to bring us together."
"And I am beginning to believe he lied!"
"What?"
"I'm afraid the black rascal fooled us."
"Why should he?"
"Why shouldn't he? They're none of them to be trusted. Nadia is abeautiful girl."
"Well?"
"In this country very beautiful girls are worth as much as five thousanddollars each."
Dick was startled.
"Oh, you're wrong, Brad, in thinking Assouan would play such a trick! Hewouldn't dare."
"Why not?"
"Ras al Had is his master----"
"And Ras al Had is a fugitive himself. If caught, he will lose his headfor killing Hafsa Pasha. Assouan may have feared the sheik before thathappened, but fear cannot keep Assouan loyal to Ras al Had now."
Dick realized that this was true.
"And do you fancy Assouan would carry Nadia off with the intention ofselling her?"
"I fear it, partner, and that's what's disturbing me a plenty."
Dick thought for some moments on what had taken place. Finally he shookhis head decisively.
"I am not willing to believe that," he declared. "Somehow, I amconfident that Assouan is faithful as a dog to Ras al Had. He puthimself to altogether too much trouble about us, in case he wereotherwise. Even after getting Nadia and her brother out of Damascus, heturned back to look for us."
"But he deserted us in the street at a critical moment."
"Because, as he frankly stated, he believed we were lost, and he coulddo nothing to save us. Had he attempted to do anything, he would havesacrificed himself and left Nadia and Dunbar still helpless in thetrap."
"Well, it may be he's on the square; but it certain seems to me he's hadtime to keep his word and show up with Nadia before this."
At this moment there were signs of confusion in the train. The cameldrivers in advance halted and uttered strange cries. Others took it up.Those cries produced still greater confusion, which seemed likeconsternation.
"What is it?" asked Brad.
Dick shaded his eyes and peered away across the broken waste of desert.
"Horsemen!" he exclaimed. "There is a large body of mounted men comingtoward us from the north."
"Sure thing," said the Texan, discerning them. "I wonder if Assouan isgoing to make good at last!"
The horsemen came on rapidly, a tiny cloud of dust rising behind them.Soon they were near enough to enable the men of the camel train todiscover an interesting thing concerning them.
"Bedouins!" was the cry.
Both of the American boys had heard of those desert wanderers andmarauders, but now, for the first time, they beheld genuine wildBedouins at home.
The Syrians and Arabs of the train seemed in great fear andconsternation, for they saw the approaching body of men outnumberedthem, and it was impossible to know the purpose of the wild horsemen.
The Bedouins wore loose, flowing garments and hoods on their heads. Theywere all armed to the teeth, as is the habit of the desert Bedouin.
Dick was thrilled by the picturesque spectacle. He had seen pictures ofBedouin riders, and he was forced to confess that he was notdisappointed in the real article.
The merchants huddled their loaded camels together and waited inhelpless suspense for what was to take place.
Without waiting for his camel to kneel, Zenas Gunn slid down to theground, risking both neck and limb, and fell sprawling. He gatheredhimself up and rushed forward to Dick and Brad.
"We're all going to be murdered!" he spluttered. "Those wretches aregoing to kill us and plunder the train!"
Dick forced the camel to kneel, after the manner of camel drivers, atrick he had learned by observation. Down went one end of the beast,flinging the boys forward and forcing them to hold fast with all theirstrength; then down went the other end, hurling them back and snappingtheir teeth together.
After that they stepped off.
"It is useless to resist!" moaned the professor. "We have no chanceagainst those wretches! Oh, boys, this is the end--the awful end!"
"You've lost your nerve again, professor," said Dick. "Brace up. Let'snot die until we have to."
The Bedouins had halted at some distance. For a moment they huddledtogether, and then out from the mass of horsemen rode one, whose bearingwas that of a leader.
Alone and unattended, this man fearlessly rode toward the train.Grasping his gun in the middle, he lifted it high above his head withone hand, a signal which the merchant at the head of the train seemed tounderstand, for he slowly advanced to meet the wild chief.
The chief was a handsome man at a distance, being of unusual size andwearing the barbaric garments and decorations of his people. He had ajet-black beard, and there was something uncommon about his features.The horse he bestrode was a clean-limbed, fiery animal.
"If I had my camera now!" exclaimed Dick; "but t
hat camera by this timeis in Alexandria, with the rest of our baggage, which we sent on aheadof us."
"I wonder what's up," muttered Brad. "The Syrians are mightilydisturbed."
"Perhaps the Bedouins are going to demand tribute, and the merchants donot wish to pay."
"Is that a custom?"
"I don't know; but it seems that those armed wanderers could hold up atrain like this and get everything they asked."
The chief was seen speaking with the merchant. In a few moments thelatter turned, saw Dick and his friends, and called:
"Mr. Merriwell is wanted."
"What's that?" gasped Buckhart, in the greatest amazement. "Did you hearit, pard? Did he say you were wanted?"
"That's what he said," nodded Dick.
Professor Gunn began to shake and choke.
"Richard, oh, Richard!" he exclaimed huskily. "These wild men have beensent to search the desert for you and take you back to Damascus! You arelost!"
"Great grizzlies!" burst from the Texan. "Is it possible that can becorrect?"
"It may be," said Dick quietly.
"Well, don't you surrender!" panted the Texan. "I'll back you up, pard.We'll die with our boots on, fighting to the last ditch! We're botharmed."
"Alone, the two of us would stand no show against those warriors of thedesert," said Dick. "However, let's not borrow trouble. Let's find outif there really is any trouble coming."
Saying which, he boldly walked out.
The Bedouin chief gazed in silence at the advancing boy, while theSyrian merchant hastened to say:
"Here is the lad for whom thou hast called, Ali Beha. Take him and dothy will."
Brad had followed Dick, while the old professor timidly brought up therear.
The men of the train watched in anxious silence.
Buckhart heard the words of the Syrians, and immediately he plunged ahand into a pocket where his revolver lay.
"There you have it, Dick!" he half snarled. "Now you know what's coming!Ready for business!"
Merriwell made a calm, restraining gesture.
"Steady, old man," he flung over his shoulder. "Let's talk to Ali Behaand find out what he's going to do. That is the best plan. Then possiblywe'll raise an objection. Better not be too hasty."
Experience and the example of his brother Frank had taught Dick to keephis head in times of peril.
As usual, Buckhart was ready to fight. For all of the apparent peril, hewas undaunted. Beyond question, he was rash and reckless; but to hiscredit it must be said that he was ready to surrender his life indefense of his rights and his friend.
There was not one drop of cowardly blood in Brad's body. If, on accountof his assumed bluster and swagger, any one took him for a chap whowould show the white feather in a pinch, that person was certain to besurprised and quite upset.
At school a few of the boys had fancied the Texan to be a bluffer, butwhen they had attempted to "call him," he had given them, one and all, asetback by "making good." Physical injury in a fist fight had neverdaunted him, and now, in the face of possible death, he was just asnervy and indifferent to the result.
Once on a time Dick Merriwell had been impulsive, reckless andthoughtless, but he had learned to govern himself and to consider theconsequences of any act. This had changed him greatly. Not that he hadlost a whit of courage, but courage is not mere recklessthoughtlessness. The really brave man is the one who considers theconsequences, realizes the full extent of the peril, and then calmlyfaces it.
It is possible that association with Brad, whom he often found itnecessary to restrain, had tended to make Dick more conservative andcareful, for he realized that two reckless persons who spur each otheron are certain to commit many follies.
So Merriwell warned his chum against haste and then turned to the chiefof the Bedouins to talk the matter over.
"You have called for me," he said. "I am here. What do you want?"
Ali Beha was still surveying the calm, clear-eyed American lad with deepinterest. He took his time about answering Dick's question.
"Thou art very young," he finally observed.
"Which is not an answer to my question," retorted Dick.
"Thou art a mere boy."
The Bedouin seemed disappointed.
"Acknowledged," nodded Dick. "What does Ali Beha want of a mere boy anda stranger in this land?"
"Thou hast friends near?"
"Two of them are with me."
"But there are others?"
"Possibly."
"They assisted thee in leaving Damascus?"
"Yes."
"But they are not with thee now?"
"Do you come from them?" asked Dick quickly.
"It is even so," declared the chief. "Thy friend sent me."
"You mean---- Name him!"
"I can speak no names. I am directed to bring thee and thy companions."
Dick turned to Brad, speaking in a low tone:
"He must be from Ras al Had. The old sheik sent him for us."
"I reckon you're right, pard," nodded the Texan, the cloud having lefthis face. "At last we have heard from Ras."
Professor Gunn placed a still quivering hand on Dick's arm.
"Be cautious, Richard," he warned. "I am afraid of these wild men. It issaid that they are very treacherous. Better ask him openly if he comesfrom the sheik."
"He has said that he can call no names. It is evident that Ras al Hadhas taken precautions. In case he is captured and condemned for slayingHafsa Pasha, he does not wish to associate us with him in that business,and so his name is not to be mentioned before these Syrians."
"You have figured it out, partner," put in Buckhart. "I opine we've hadour little scare for nothing. The sheik has sent for us in his own way,and we'll be liable to find Nadia and Budthorne by accompanying theBedouins."
Ali Beha remained passive and apparently indifferent while they weretalking this matter over.
Dick turned once more to the chief.
"How far away are our friends?" he asked.
"Beyond the horizon," was the answer.
"You will take us to them?"
The Bedouin bowed.
"I have come to do so," he declared.
"That settles it," laughed Buckhart. "I judge we're ready and willing togo."
The prospect of soon joining Nadia filled the Texan with enthusiasm andrelief.
"All right," said Dick. "We'll soon be ready."
He then turned to the Syrian merchant, whom he thanked for such favorsas they had received.
The merchant made a deprecatory gesture and declared that it wasnothing, which he well might have done, considering the fact that he hadbeen well paid for those favors.
It did not take our friends long to make arrangements for accompanyingthe waiting Bedouins.
The people of the train were greatly relieved, and they lost no time inpreparing to move onward once more.
As Dick, Brad, and the professor followed Ali Beha, they looked back andsaw the head of the train already in motion, with the camel drivers andtheir loaded "ships of the desert" falling into line in regular order.
"I certain am plenty glad to abandon camel riding," grinned Brad. "I'drather ride a pitching cayuse than a hump-backed camel, for a buckerwon't buck forever, while a camel does keep up that rocking, swaying,back-breaking movement just as long as he travels. I suppose one mightget used to it in time, but I'd rather be excused some."
As they drew near the Bedouins they discovered that the men who hadseemed so picturesque at a distance were unkempt and dirty, althoughnone the less fierce on close inspection.
These wild men regarded our friends with an air of curious contempt.There was nothing of friendliness in their manner.
Arrangements were quickly made for the boys and the professor to mountbehind three of the Bedouins. Zenas was assisted to his seat behind athin, dirty chap, and told to cling fast to the man by clasping himaround the body. This the old pedagogue did, although he made a wry faceover i
t.
Dick could not wonder at Gunn's repulsion, for he, also, found himselfmounted behind an unkempt rascal, whose matted hair and beard looked asif it might be infested, and who gave forth anything but an agreeableodor.
When all were ready, the Bedouins uttered a yell, and, with their chiefin advance, went tearing across the barren country.
That was a ride long to be remembered. Mile after mile was covered athigh speed by the spirited horses. When the animals bearing doubleburdens showed signs of flagging, the Bedouins halted and our friendschanged to other horses.
The sun grew hot and beat upon them with baking fierceness. The air wasdry and their throats parched. The country became wilder and wilder.Once they saw another camel train in the distance.
At last they entered a hilly region, where there was more vegetation.Finally, from an elevation, they saw before them a group of black tents,not far from which, in a valley, were some herds.
Straight toward the square black tents rode the Bedouins. As theyapproached a number of their own people were seen waiting for them.
Buckhart was craning his neck and peering over the shoulder of hiscompanion on horseback, hoping to obtain a glimpse of Nadia; but nofemale was to be seen about the encampment.
With a yell the desert Nomads swept down to the camp and leaped fromtheir horses, which they immediately turned over to the care of othermen.
Professor Gunn was exhausted, and he reeled like an intoxicated man assoon as he stood upon his feet.
Dick looked around searchingly. Ali Beha appeared before him.
"Where are our friends?" impatiently asked the boy.
"Peace," said the chief. "Thou should not be impatient. Before thoucanst see them it is necessary that thou shouldst be searched for hiddenweapons."
Merriwell took a step forward, assailed by sudden forebodings andsuspicions. He saw the fierce-looking men gathered close about them,each with weapons ready for use.
Buckhart, also, was startled and aroused. He pressed to Dick's side,hissing:
"Something crooked, pard! I'm afraid we're trapped!"
"Why should we be disarmed?" demanded Dick. "We are harmless and----"
"It is the rule," said Ali Beha grimly. "No one not of our people shallbe permitted to carry arms while among us. There can be no exception forthee."
"It sure is a trap!" whispered the Texan. "If we give up our arms, we'regoners!"
Dick thought swiftly, and he decided at once that resistance was folly.Were they to attempt it, they would be crushed, perhaps murdered, in atwinkling.
"We're in your hands, Ali Beha," he said. "We have trusted you, and wemust continue to do so."
Immediately our friends were searched by the Bedouins and deprived oftheir weapons.
Ali Beha stood with folded arms and watched.
The professor made no remonstrance, but on his face there was a look ofhelpless despair that was pitiful to see.
Buckhart was pale, his lips pressed together and his jaw squared.
Dick's dark eyes flashed and his nostrils dilated. Although he submittedwithout another word of protest, there were resentment and anger in hispose.
"It is well," said the chief.
"Now, where are our friends?" cried Merriwell suddenly. "We wish to seethem. Have you deceived us?"
"Thou shalt see that I have not. The friend who sent for thee is inyonder tent. He is waiting to greet thee. Enter."
The chief made a sweeping gesture toward one of the larger tents.
Both Dick and Brad started toward this tent, but immediately the Texanwas stopped, while the chief informed him that he was not to enter.
"If there's any trouble, pard," said Buckhart, "just raise the war cry.I'll try to join you."
Dick nodded and walked into the tent, the flap of which he was compelledto lift.
A single person occupied the tent. He was sitting on a mat at the rear,smoking a cigarette. His garments were Turkish and there was a fez onhis head. About him there was something familiar.
A muttered exclamation of surprise rose to Dick's lips. Dropping thetent flap behind him, he stepped quickly forward. As he did so thecigarette smoker lifted his head, and young Merriwell was face to facewith Miguel Bunol!