CHAPTER III
DISTURBERS OF TRAFFIC
About noon on the following day, when Frank and his party wereproceeding slowly northwards through the hills, they met a Kurd onhorseback. Ali exchanged salutations with him; he was on his way, hesaid, to the house of Mirza Aga.
Some ten minutes afterwards, at a bend in the track, they were met by asecond Kurd. The usual greetings again passed between thefellow-countrymen, and this traveller also explained that Mirza Aga'shouse was his destination. But when the party passed on, Ali, whosemanner with the stranger had been cold and curt, glancing over hisshoulder, noticed that the man had ridden a few paces in the samedirection, then halted as if in irresolution, and was at that momentapparently making up his mind to continue his journey southward.
"Wallahy! Effendim, here is a strange thing," said Ali in a low tone."I know that man. Surely I saw him with Abdi the Liar when he passed usthe other day."
"Strange indeed! He cannot have been to Erzerum and back."
"Abdi devises mischief, effendim. It is well that we watch that man."
Riding slowly on until the bend in the track hid the Kurd from sight,Ali slipped from his saddle, and, asking Frank to accompany him,cautiously climbed the rear of a rocky bluff a little way off the track.From the top of this eminence, themselves unseen, they were able tooverlook a long stretch of the track behind them, and in the distance,something more than half a mile away, they descried the stranger, nolonger proceeding towards the house of Mirza Aga, but coming in theirdirection.
"Verily it is some evil device of Abdi, effendim," said Ali. "Let us goon our way, and consider this matter. Abdi is cunning as a serpent, butit will go hard with me if I do not bring his tricks to nought."
They returned to the track, remounted, and resumed the march, keeping awary look-out in all directions.
"Consider, effendim, why did that man delay and turn when he met us?"
"That is nothing strange in this lawless country," said Frank. "A manwould naturally be curious and suspicious of strangers."
"True; but having seen that we are a party of peaceful travellerscarrying merchandise--for the Armenians and you yourself, effendim, wearno pistols in your belts, though I know you have revolvers somewhere inyour garments--having seen that, I say, why does the dog march on alittle way, then turn about and follow us? Is it not the work of onethat spies on another?"
"It looks possible, certainly."
"Of a truth it is so, and I swear that Abdi and his crew are not farahead."
"What of the first man, who preceded him? Was he watching us too?"
"Who can say, effendim? He has gone quite out of sight. Who can soundthe depths of Abdi's craft? He is a liar and a worker of mischief. Mayit not have been told him by some gossip on the way that we had gone toseek Mirza Aga? Well he knows for what purpose, and would it not be aneasy thing, in these solitudes, to lie in wait for us, and to fall uponus, they being the greater number, and slay us, and rob us of that wecarry? Truly there is no bottom to Abdi's wickedness, and I beseechyou, effendim, pardon me in that I have unwittingly led you into asnare."
"That's nonsense, Ali. Whatever happens, it's not your fault. If it isas you say--and I shouldn't be surprised, for in wild country like thisthey've endless opportunities of surprising us--we must see if we can'tdefeat their schemes."
This conversation had been conducted in low tones, in the hearing ofJoseph only. Ali had an inherited contempt for the Armenian porters, whoindeed would have been paralysed with fright at a suspicion of danger.
It was clear that to continue on their present course would be to runstraight into the trap which Ali suspected was prepared for them. Alisuggested that they should halt, allow the man behind to overtake them,and observe his bearing when he encountered them again.
Accordingly they drew rein at a secluded spot, where the track broadeneda little, making a salient into the precipitous sides. Ali climbed to aposition whence he could scan the track in both directions. Some timepassed, and when the supposed scout did not appear, Ali crept backstealthily along the track to discover what had become of him. In aboutten minutes he returned. "Come with me, effendim," he saidmysteriously.
After walking rather more than half a mile, Ali raised his hand andpointed to a spot high up in the hills on their left hand. At firstFrank failed to discover the object indicated, but presently he noticeda whitish speck moving along the greyish face of the rocks.
"Is that he?" he asked.
"That is the dog, as I live," replied Ali. "He has gone up into thehills by a track that I know not. See, effendim, he moves fast; hecomes this way. Is it not his intent to outstrip us, and give tidingsof our coming to Abdi where he lurks beyond?"
"You may be right, Ali. We can spoil his game by not going on. Let usreturn to our men, bring them back, find out where he left this track,and follow him over the hills."
"It is good, effendim. To watch the watcher--yes, it is very good."
Soon the whole party was retracing its course. The halt and themovements of their employer had made the Armenians uneasy; but there wasonly cheerful assurance in the demeanour of Frank and the Kurd; and themen, if not reassured, at least gave no utterance to their fears.
About a mile back they discovered a spot, marked by a few stunted treesand bushes, where a narrow mountain path branched from the broadertrack. Into this they struck. It wound up into the hills, at first sosteeply that the laden mules with difficulty maintained their footing;but after a time it became less arduous, and the party pushed on withgreater speed. It was nearly two hours before they caught sight of theman. From that moment they had to combine speed with caution: to keeppace with the Kurd so as not to lose him from sight, but to take carethat he should neither see nor hear them.
At length the mountain path took a downward trend, suggesting that itwould ultimately rejoin the main track from which they had diverged.Here they lost sight of the scout through the frequent windings of thepath. Presently they came to a narrow ledge dropping down very steeply.The ground was rough, and crumbled under the hoofs of their beasts. Inspite of all their caution, they suffered a misadventure when still somedistance above the junction of the the tracks. The ground gave waybeneath the mule of one of the Armenians. It slid over the edge, androlled with its yelling rider for nearly a hundred yards down a steepincline, until the fall was checked by a clump of prickly bushes.Neither man nor animal appeared to be seriously hurt, but the mule'sload was scattered broadcast. Consisting as it did partly of camputensils, to the clatter of displaced stones and the cries of themuleteer was added the clink and rattle of tins and iron pots as theybumped on the rocky ground.
The din was a greater misfortune even than the delay and the dispersalof the load. Just as the Armenian picked himself up, rubbing his elbowsand shins, a head showed above the rocks a little to the left of thejunction. In another moment Frank caught sight of the Kurd they hadbeen following, riding at full speed back along the main track.Apparently he had been resting for a spell.
"Wallahy!" Ali ejaculated, cursing the mule and its rider and theancestors of both.
There could be little doubt that his suspicion was well grounded. Abdiand his party--if Abdi was in truth the plotter--could not be far off,for the Kurd must have reckoned on being able to warn them before theexpected prey reached the spot where they were waiting. How far awaythe ambush had been laid Frank could not guess.
"Cursed be that howling son of a cat!" cried Ali. "We must ride on withall haste, effendim. Peradventure the rascal Abdi is so far away thatwe shall have time to reach a village of the plain before he canovertake us. Wallahy! But our beasts are laden, and he has manyhorsemen without encumbrance. Yet there is no other way. We must leavethat shrieking jackal and his load; there is no time to gather up themany things that are scattered."
"No, we can't leave him, but we'll leave the things," said Frank. "Geton your mule an
d ride with us," he called to the man.
Hastening down to the track, they pushed on with all possible speed inthe direction of Erzerum. Laden as they were, the mules could not go atany great pace over the rough ground, and the carpet being the heaviestpart of the load, the speed of the whole party was regulated by that ofthe mule bearing it. Frank suggested that Ali should ride ahead andbring back an armed escort from Erzerum; but the Kurd resolutely refusedto divest himself of his responsibility for the safety of his employer,who for his part was determined not to lose sight of the carpet. Theymade what progress they could, then, Ali falling behind to act asrearguard and give warning of pursuit.
They had covered something less than two miles and were entering a long,fairly straight defile, when Ali closed up.
"They are coming, effendim," he said, "riding furiously, and theforemost of them is Abdi the Liar."
"Ah! And look at that," said Frank, pointing ahead.
Near the further end of the defile two figures were seated on a loosepile of rocks overhanging the track. Ali shot a glance towards them.
"Wallahy! the German!" he exclaimed.
Almost at the same moment the two figures rose. Clearly they hadrecognised Frank. And then Wonckhaus and his Kurd companion began withhaste to roll rocks from the pile down the slope, obviously with theintention of blocking the track.
"Come, Ali!" cried Frank. "Joseph, look after the rest. Bring themalong."
Urging their mounts to their best speed, the two men dashed along thetrack, and reined up only when they were in danger of being crushed bythe rocks crashing down from above. The narrow path was already almostimpassable. Frank sprang from his horse and began to clamber up theface of the cliff, followed, after a moment's hesitation, by Ali.
Twenty feet above them Wonckhaus stood irresolute. He held a jaggedboulder, and seemed to be in two minds about hurling it straight uponthe climbing Englishman. Some prudential instinct--it may have been ascruple--gave him pause, and his Kurd companion, taking the cue fromhim, held a large stone similarly poised.
"Wait a moment," said Frank coolly. "I won't keep you long."
Wonckhaus, somewhat taken aback by Frank's calmness, and the absence ofhostility from his tone, watched him in silence as he climbed to hisside.
"Another stone or two would have completely blocked the track," Frankwent on.
Shooting a curious glance at him, Wonckhaus replied:
"That was my intention, Mr. Forester."
"Exactly. I don't want to interrupt your amusement, Herr Wonckhaus, butyou will wait until my party has passed. A few moments will suffice.If you loose another rock till then, I shall throw you after it!"
Frank's nerves were tingling, but he spoke as quietly as if he wasannouncing the merest matter of fact. The German recognised at a glancethat it was no empty threat, and his Kurd looked by no means comfortableunder the menacing attitude of Ali, who had now joined them. Meanwhile,Joseph had come up with the carriers.
"Come straight through, Joseph," called Frank, "and lead my horse andAli's. Go forward: we will overtake you."
As the mules were passing through the narrow gap that remained betweenthe obstacles on the track, Abdi's party came in sight at the southernend of the defile half a mile distant.
"Now, my good sir," said Frank, as the last of his mules emerged fromthe gap, "we will help you to complete your amusing work. Ali, shovethese stones down as fast as you can, and get your countryman to assistyou."
Ali grinned and hurled a threat at the other Kurd; the two pushed thestones down the slope one after another in quick succession, whileFrank, taking out his revolver, stood guard over the German. In a fewseconds the track was wholly blocked up.
"We have saved you the trouble, Herr Wonckhaus," said Frank."Good-day."
With Ali he slipped down to the track, ran after his party, sprang tothe saddle, and was already some distance ahead and rounding a cornerwhen Abdi and his cavalcade rode up. The Kurd leapt from his horse,scrambled up the barrier, and in his rage and disappointment fired afterthe retreating figures before Wonckhaus, uneasy about futuredevelopments, could check him. The shot flew wide, and Frank rode on.
To clear a way for the pursuers' horses would probably consume at leasthalf an hour, an interval long enough to allow the party to reach theoutskirts of a settled district where an open attack upon them would bedangerous. And Frank knew very well that Wonckhaus could hardly affordto be publicly associated with a manifest act of brigandage. Thinkingover the circumstances of the trap from which he had escaped, hesurmised that the German had intended the party to be intercepted by theKurds several miles behind, and that he had gone ahead in order toarrive at Erzerum in time to establish a clear alibi if there should beany suggestion of his connection with the contemplated attack.
"A lucky thing for us you discovered that scout, Ali," said Frank. "Iowe something to your eagle eye."
"Inshallah, effendim, I am not so named for nothing," returned the man,beaming with pride and satisfaction. "Of a truth I am more than a matchfor Abdi the Liar."