, 1889-06-29
THE SOUDANESE SPY.

rigton raised his hand with a gesture of
silence and looked at me intently. Then
we both dropped our cigars and rushed
out to the door of the embassy.
A gun shot, plain and unmistakable,
had echoed through the night air and
we certainly had heard a faint cry.
But in the dreary street all was quiet
and the solitary electric lamp reflected
no shadows save our own on the pave
ment of the British embassy, while the
palace across the way, with its coral
facades and massive carved gates, showed
no signs of life.
Then a gun vent off, n drum began to
rattle loudly, arms clashed, hurrying
footsteps echoed OF the stones, and shouts
were given and answered. / listened in
speechless astonishment, and then rushed
back for my cap and sword. 1t was best
to be prepared, though what possible
ground for alarm existed l could not see.
Suakim was protected by a line of SEN
tries hat extended n mile beyond the
town. No signal had como from the out
skirts, yet there was this turmoil in tho
very midst of the European quarter.
AS l hurried back to the door the great
palace gates swung open, and a squad
Of Egyptian soldiers trooped out, their
ssvarthy faces shining under their GRIM
son caps. Close behind them, escorted
by several officers, came a tall, digni6ed
looking man. He was bareheaded and
held an u~nsheathed sword in his hand.
i recognized him at first sight as Ach-
med Ras, b Egyptian governor of Sua-
kim. He glanced up and down the street
and then hurried across to the embassy.
"You are a British o%ficer2" he said,
breathless with excitement.
Capt. Dugdale, of the Ninth dragons,
ut your command, your excellency," I
said briefly.
THANK you. 1 am in need of your
services. An Arab prisoner, a captured
spy of h Mahdi's, has made his escape.
My stupid soldiers are to blame. The
fellow has been gone some time now, and
it is important that he be retaken, for he
has stolen valuable plans of the town and
Notifications. 1 fear my soldiers can do
little, but If your dragons will scour the
plain
Your e~xcellency," l interrupted,
"what you desire shall BIO done at once"
! mounted my horse, waved a hasty
salute and galloped of down the narrow
street, leaving Achmed Ras and Carris-
ton ~hobnobbing together on the steps of
the embassy, for Carriston was the Brit
ish ambassador at Suakim. The hot
blood was coursing madly through my
veins, for / had only been at Suakim a
week and the faintest touch Of excite
ment was intensely welcome.
l remembered, too, having seen this
escaped Arab only n few days previous,
when he was being led captive through
the streets Of the town, a great black
giant with muscular, brawny limbs and
his black locks dangling in curls down
his shoulders.
spurred rapidly through the town.
crossed the peninsula to the main land,
where the troops were quartered side by
side with the native population, and
soon the bugle call to arms was floating
out on the night air, and the jingling of
spurs and the trampling of hoofs was
heard on all sides. A few brief, concise
orders and wei alloped out onto thedesert
and scattered over the sandy plain.
Chances were in our favor, for the moon
was coming up slowly, and the enemy's
-outposts, where alone the Arab would
find safety, were at that time three miles
beyond the town.
l galloped straight across the plain,
closely attended by a solitary trooper, a
brave fellow named Tom Fraser. kept
rs far as possible in the direction Judged
the fugitive had taken and / hoped to
have the pleasure of capturing him my
self, for the trampling of my horse was
muffled by the drifted sane and would
not betray my approach until l should
be close upon him.
A mile and a half from the town lay a
belt of deserted intrenchments, from
which the enemy had been driven q
month or 81 previous. AS we approached
these we slackened our speed and began
to look for u suitable crossing place.
The British shells had leveled them in
places and one of these points we soon
gentle slope on either side. We rode
slowly down into the hollow, and as our
horses were commencing to ascend again
Fraser suddenly tugged fercely at my
arm.
Look, captain, lookI" he whispered
excitedly, and as 1 followed the range of
his outstretched hand l saw a sight that
made my heart leap. Off to the south
extended the trenches in one unbroken
formation, their mounds of sand rigid
and exact, and outlined sharply in the
moonlight against the right hand wall of
earth was a swiftly moving shadow.
Even as we looked the specter vanished
round a curve, and we saw it no more.
We Numbered on in silence. / clutched
the reins tightly with one hand and with
the other 1 held my saber. The Arab
was unarmed and l would take him
alive, l thought, and lead him back in
triumph to Suakim- This all passed
through my mind in an instant and then
we galloped round b curve inc saw
our prey in full view before us.
He was struggling along painfully and
imping as though one leg was hurt.
The moon shone full upon him, and to
my surprise saw that he carried a great
shield and one of those enormous double