The Valentine Democrat. [volume] (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, 1896-07-30
LIFE FOR a 1IFE-


" VI dIIiNiCS. MY NSlCs "A piSNN
of broken knife blade, a scrap of green
cloth, two flowers (~marigolds, l think
with only the heads remaining, a brick
from the walls, and, lastly, an iron at
fair, which at once recognized as the
point of one of those sticks with which
camels are urged onward.
Gen. Gordon lost no time in unrav-
cling the mystery of this missive. The
green CLOTH he said, means the Mahdi,
because his sacred flag is green. The
knife blade stands for a sword, and the
decapitated flower means that our
heads are going to be cut off. The
brick, l take it, hints of treachery in
side the walls. The camel-spike ad-
vises you to fly from Khartoum imme-
diately. Where did you get this?
"When l told him the source of my
information he was inclined to pooh
pooh Ibrahim's letter. 1t is a boys fear
and fancy he said. we shall be re-
lieved in a few weeks
"But the Mahdi's men formed an
~impenetrable circle around the town.
a circle that grew narrower and mar
rover. Day after day we scanned the
desert horizon for some sign Of the eX-
pected relief, but without avail. Day
after cay the impression grew stronger
upon each and all of us that we were
doomed.
During an early morning walk Ibra-
him accosted me as suddenly as he had
done before. Fly, effendi,' he whisper
ed. The city is betrayed. My father
and other Mussulmans have decided to
let the Mahdi within the gates. Dis
guise yourself and fly before it is too
late!!'
81 shook my head, for duty kept me
in Khartoum; and Ibrahim retreated
with tears in those big, honest eyes of
his.
'The very next night his warning
was fulfilled. 1t would be idle, my
friend, to tell you over again all the
horrors of the capture, or rather be-
trayal, of Khartoum. The Mahdi's sol
diers were like fends i%ncarnate. Spent
with fatigue and slender fare we could
not stand before them. Gordon, poor
fellow, was slain, and a remnant of rs
was driven, fighting for life, from hut
to hut across the city. Finally, with
empty revolver and broken sword, 1
found myself in the stairway of a rude
minaret, waiting for the death which l
felt would be inevitable. 1t is all very
well to meet death boldly on the field
Of battle, with comrades and friends
around one, but to sit down in a dark
stairway and count the minutes until
its coming might make the bravest man
in the world feel uncomfortable. All
around I heard the hideous sounds of
slaughter and watched through a tiny
loop-hole in the wall the red flames
shooting across the sky for it was mid
night, and a starless midnight to boot.
A sick feeling stole over me. To re-
main cooped up thus seemed intolera-
BILE. l had just resolved to rush into
the thick of the Soudanese and sell my
life as dearly as possible when a foot
fall on the stairs below arrested me.
"It was the sound of a naked foot,
and as l peered, every on the
alert, into the half-light by the minaret
doorway, l vaguely distinguished a
dark form and two shining eyes. Was
it one of the MahdiS in search of hui
man prey? 1 gripped my broken sword
tighter and prepared for action.
"'Effendi!! whispered a voice, is it
you, protector of the poor?'
S.rTl,o -o;ro ,-oc f1,o+ ~: Tluol;-, oo,
of Hassan. My heart gavn a leap for
gladness and 1 answered him that it
was, indeed, myself.
ct is good he exclaimed. MY
lord, l have come to save you. Hasten
down and don these garments which I
have brought you. They belong to the
old blind priest who lodged with my
father. He died last night, but nobody
knows of it yet. You ear pass as the
old priest and escape. Make haste, sa-
hib, make haste!
81 saw the chance and seized it. Be
fore you could have repeated the pro-
verbal Jack Robinson many times 1
had pulled those baggy Mohammedan
clothes over my soiled and bloodstained
uniform. A turban took the place of
my khaki helmet, and around my face
1 draped the white hood which the
Soudanese Arabs wear. Then, before
l could protest, Ibrahim coolly seized a
handful Of mud and literally daubed
my face.
1.-THE sahib is too white he explain
ed. The OLD blind priest was always
black and dirty-so kick off your boots,
sahib, and let me daub your feet Off
went my boots; and in a minute or two
my legs from the knee down were as
brown (and as dirty as they we'll might
be.
"sYou are all right, now, effendi,'
said Ibrahim, let us make for the Cairo
gate
with all my heart 1 thanked the boy;
but he would listen to no thanks. You
saved my life; I'll save yours he said.
Remember, effendi, the mouse and the
lion. Let us hasten to the gate
"sBut you are not coming I be-
ram: when nv protest was INTERRUPTED