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

! clambering the messenger could reach our
ambush without fear of detection.
TO keep us keen and in touch with what
was going on Suleiman sent frequently tu
| tell us of the movements of the horsemen
We learned that, passing right beneath his
hiding place, they rode to the head OF the
gorge, looked dutifully about among tho
rocks, and discovering nothing returned
| light heartedly to report the way clear
Then the caravan, wishing no doubt to get
to open ground again as speedily us might
be, swung its huge length into the defile
and came trailing on like an endless SER
pent. Suleiman, watching it closely, sent
back word To look TO our horses and arms,
as the prospect was glorious beyond his cx-
pectation.
A little later the order for action made
the blood tingle in our veins. Half of us
were to go to the foot of the gorge and half
to the head SO that the pilgrimage might
be harassed simultaneously in front and
rear, and SO the readier induced to relin-
guish a part OF their Astounding riches,
The response was as prompt us might be
expected of men whose notion of heaven Is
eternal plundering. Almost before the
words of command were out of the mes
senger's mouth we were clattering off at "a
breakneck pace into sunless chasms and
by beetling Hrchways and up and down
dizzy sleeps that only robbers with no souls
to save would have faced. Tabal and
We're of those who I'D to the foot, and
| fervently we prayer the pilgrims might
| have good courage and firearms for dis
tressed strangers.
In the course of racking ride we came
often into violent contact, and in one of
the collisions, while pretending vehement
anger at the rough usage, l managed to get
word in Tabal's ear
"Whateyer happens, let us stick to each
other" said in II quick aside. Our sig
nal for the dash is when we see Baruk and
Rance descending among the rocks.n
''Never leech clung as / will cling to
thee, answered Tabal. And then he began
to abuse his horse for the son of mule
that couldn't keep his feet in plain road.
And the Bedouins, being closely occupied,
saw or suspected nothing.
Reaching the bottom too soon, we had to
wait behind "A bluff. The tail of the cara
van still wriggled outside the mouth of the
pass, and it would be folly to attack till it
had disappeared after the body While
waiting, lbrahim, our captain, gave his in
structions briefly and pointedly. We were
to rush the calnelmeu, throw them into
utter confusion, seize as many laden ami
mails as we could lay hands on, and max g
off with them to the rear as fast as steel
could urge them. Such as were free would
protect the others, but as many as could
We're to pounce on some piece of property
In short, our business was more TO pillage
than to fight, and, if the pilgrims were not
unreasonable, not a man Of them need lose
his life.
With beating hearts and burning i'm
| patience, we kept still till the tail should
| have wriggled itself into the mountain
cleft. AS il to try our self control, our
watchers We're constantly reporting that
the crucial moment had come and then i'm
mediately contradicting themselves to re-
affirm their first intelligence tue next min
ute, This went on until we We're in fever
and ready to rush from our concealment at
all hazards. As for Tabal and me, if you
have ever laid in wait with the meres5
chance between life and death and frau
tic desire to try it, you will understand
| our feelings. Being apart, we could not SO
much as exchange whisper, and all we
had to restrain and encourage us were the
| muttcred curses and comments of our COM
rades. Once horse Of keen scent neighed,
| and lbrahim nearly fclled the brute, think
ing we were betrayed, but the tail contin-
ued to wriggle slowly on, and we breathed
again. Then word came that the last man
was within the pass. The next moment
we were in the open and gallopng furiously
to the attack. ...