The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-02-06
CHAPTER XIV.

L.
The rush was made strictly according to
orders, with preconceived results. Shout
ing "rechbir, techbir!' at the pitch of our
voices, we dashed through the mouth of the
detile hard upon the tail of the caravan,
discharging our pieces and whirling our
weapons with the sudden fury IN which the
Bedouin in a foray has no equal. The
point of the tail crumpled up like feather
at fierce fire, and as we smote and seized,
| yelling he while TO keep the panic, there
! were responsive noises in front that told
| the caravan had come to an involuntary halt
to be robbed.
What followed the onset could not tell
! in detail If | were to be examined on OATH
| for | had many things to think of, and
thieving was the last and least of them. /
saw the jis hurled together in the cen
ter like an ice jam In river; saw two
| clumps of spears, one in front and one be-
hind, flashing yiciously in the sun, and |
saw many camels going swiftly out of the
mouth of the pass in charge Of new owners.
These salient facts the eye took In uncon-
sciously, without the ability to catch minute
particulars.
| got the impression that the had lis
offered but a feeble resistance, and that, as
] subsequently learned, was true. There is
season for everything, and the pilgrims
had a valid one for preferring their lives to
their property. Caravans start expecting
to be plundered, nor fail 10 make provision
accordingly. Immemoral custom and ex-
perience have taught the hadii that it is
the will of heaven he should suffer loss at
the hands OF wicked men in the perform
anee of the prime religious duty of life.
Moreover, the pious Mohammedan on his
way to the holy city has such an aversion
to broils and bloodshed that he would
rather sacrifice a portion of his worldly
goods than present himself at the prophets
shrine with red hands. These things the
astute Bedouin knows and profits by; the
time OF the pilgrimage is his harvest, and
he reaps with wide sickle
That knowledge was acquired afterwartl.
just then my sole concern was how Tabal
aud were to escape The situation was Of
the sort that gives one sudden cold in the
back, though the sun may be hot, only we
could not afford time to stand and shiyer,
Sosoon as we should make an effort to desert
the Bedouin lances would be after us, and
in case we We're caught would have no mer-
cy. That was certain. Had it been equally
certain how the hadjis would receive US,
the matter would be simple, or at any rate,
simplitied. But our reception was exceed
or pilgrim, is ever smiling for treachery and
suspecting he smells it.
Another difficulty was that we could not
make the dash at the most opportune mo-
ment for ourselves. We must wait Tor
Rance and Baruk, and very anxiously we
began to look for them among the cliffs. If
they did not come quickly our chance would
be gone; we might go back with the chill
dren of the desert to shame and cruelty and
violence and, it might be, to lasting bond
age.
The band had already distrained more
than the legitimate tax-that is to say, had
taken all the loose camels-and were press
ing on for more than their dues, for, having
the right of the strong, they were hard 10
satisfy. Tabnl and l, for unsuspected rem
sons, were we'll to the front, and could be
minutely observed by the plundered, cir
cumstance that might tell awkwardly
against us later on.
What was keeping the idiotic Barukg Had
the coward rued his promiscS If so, by all
We held dearly would he pay for it, We
were hot with fighting aud setting and