Under the Rebel's Reign Part 36

The guide approached.

"It is plain as the daylight," he said. "Word has gone forward, and the soldiers between Cairo and Tel-el-Kebir will be warned, and our course will be watched by patrols the whole way. Allah, but we shall be kept busy," and the man grinned at the thought of fighting ahead of him.

"Yes, there are soldiers in El Menair, Abu Zabel, El Khankah, and many other villages along the fresh-water ca.n.a.l," said Belbeis.

"They will all be warned, and the country will be scoured. We must not fear, but ride hard, keeping as far in the desert as possible."

They now pushed on again, and in a short time the disused railroad between Cairo and Suez was reached. Here the horses were watered and rested, whilst the riders partook of breakfast. After an hour's rest they again resumed their journey. The caravan road to Tel-el-Mahuta was reached, and for the present adopted as the best course to pursue.

This journey was very different from the one George had made to Damanhour; there it was through more or less cultivated land, and was done in the cool of the day, whilst now they were travelling rapidly, with the sun pouring its intense rays down upon them as they traversed the shelterless desert. It taxed the endurance of all three men to the utmost, the Arabs, who were used to the scorching sun, feeling it severely; so what must it have meant to Helmar, who had recently recovered from an illness? Still, with a determination to see his work through, he never for one minute allowed his spirits to flag. He had a duty to perform, and, if for nothing else, his grat.i.tude to Naoum would not allow him to succ.u.mb to the trials of his undertaking. Belbeis and the guide rode on in stolid silence, evidently with no intention of allowing the effort of speech to increase their thirst. George, following their example, let his thoughts dwell upon the cool forests in the land of his birth, and longed ardently for a few minutes' shelter beneath one of the great elm trees that grew in the grounds of his father's house. The time pa.s.sed on, and mile after mile was covered, until shortly after noon a watering-place was at length reached. Another short halt was called, and a rest taken before the last stage of the journey was begun. So far, only distant clouds of dust warned the travellers of the nearness of their enemies, and with the subtle intuition of Belbeis, they were skilfully avoided. Another twenty-five miles only remained before Tel-el-Kebir would be reached, and already Helmar was promising himself success.

Suddenly Belbeis roused himself from a light doze he had fallen into, and, glancing quickly round the horizon, called on his companions to saddle up their horses again.

"I see a party approaching from the north; we must hasten! I fear we shall be observed," he said, as he sprang into the saddle.

George and the guide quickly followed his example, and the party moved off with all possible haste. They had scarcely gone a quarter of a mile when George drew Belbeis's attention to another cloud of dust.

"See," he said, "there are some more ahead of us! It looks as if we are hemmed in on all sides. We cannot retreat--our horses will not last."

Belbeis gazed at the cloud George had drawn attention to, and then anxiously glanced at the one to the north.

"They are both coming towards us, but it looks as if some conveyance were with the one you have pointed out."

"Ah," said George, "and if so, what do you expect?"

"That I cannot say," replied Belbeis. "It might be one of Arabi's patrols, or it might be--no, it cannot be British, their patrols would never venture so far into the enemy's country, unless, of course, it was in a strong force, and that does not seem to me the case."

"Anyway," said George in determined tones, "we have come so far, there must be no turning back--we'll make a fight for it. They are not going to take me back to Cairo alive."

"Set your mind at rest on that point," said Belbeis quietly; "they will not attempt to do so. The moment we are seen they will swoop down on us and attempt to cut us up. Well, let them come!"

"So say I," answered Helmar, his eyes glittering with excitement as he spoke.

The rolls of dust were coming nearer; the party to the north was the one that occupied the fugitives' attention most. Already the figures of at least twenty hors.e.m.e.n were plainly discernible; the other cloud was still in the far distance.

"They must have already seen us," said Belbeis, with his eyes fixed on the northern party, "and cannot be more than two miles off. Come along, let us give them a race!"

As he spoke all three men urged their horses on, but the approaching party were travelling more rapidly than they, and every minute seemed to be coming nearer. At last Helmar said--

"Look here, Belbeis, it seems to me we are uselessly distressing our horses; let us slow down and wait until they come up. We may as well fight now as later on."

"Good," answered Belbeis, his eyes sparkling with pleasure; "my duty is to convey you safely to Tel-el-Kebir, and I thought there might just be a chance of avoiding the risk of a fight; but it is not to my liking, I would sooner fight."

"We shall get all we want of it, I expect," said Helmar, drawing his carbine from its bucket and examining the breech.

Since they had drawn rein the party of approaching hors.e.m.e.n neared rapidly; as they galloped over the plain George counted at least twenty mounted men, headed by one who rode by himself. The companions determined to save their ammunition until the enemy was at short range, which did not take long, the distance decreasing every instant.

"Our horses will stand fire," said Belbeis, "they are well trained, and we can shoot from their backs."

"Good," said George, "that will be in our favour. Now wait till I give the word to fire, and then take a steady aim at their horses."

The three men sat keenly watching the advancing soldiers. They were plainly visible, and the uniform told our hero that they were Arabi's men. In five minutes' time Helmar turned with an exclamation to his companions.

"A white man leads them!" he cried, in excited tones. "Who can it be?"

Belbeis narrowly scrutinized the leader, then turning to George smiled grimly into his face.

"You will have the opportunity you wish for. Old scores can be wiped off before we are taken. The leader is your old enemy, the officer Arden himself!"

The foremost of the party were within eight hundred yards of the waiting trio; Helmar gave the word "Ready," and taking a careful aim, his companions waited for the word to fire. It came short and sharp, and the three carbines rang out. When the smoke had cleared away three horses were plunging, and a moment after, fell headlong to the ground. This for a moment checked the advance of the rebels, and Helmar saw several of them dismount.

Out rang the enemy's rifles, and a heavy volley of lead flew round the heads of the fugitives. Helmar gave the word, and again the carbines rang out, simultaneously several of the rebels' horses ran off riderless. The fight now waxed furious; the deadly aim of Helmar and his two friends was telling rapidly, whilst the rebels were shooting wildly.

This seemed to alarm Arden, and he immediately adopted different tactics. Instead of wasting his shot, he decided to advance, and galloped forward as hard as his horse could carry him, his men following his example. Helmar's party fired as rapidly as they could work the levers of their magazines; each one of that devoted little band realized that they must soon be overwhelmed, but still determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible.

Their rapid fire into the advancing enemy told its tale, and many saddles were emptied, but they were now nearly at close quarters.

Helmar and his men clubbed their rifles and waited.

George's horse was struck and fell; its master extricated himself, and stood up ready to face the enemy to the last. On they came, tearing down on the little party like hawks on their prey. The suspense while they covered the intervening s.p.a.ce, although only for a few seconds, was terrible and seemed as if it would never end.

Suddenly a rattle of musketry from behind drew Helmar's attention.

Turning his head quickly he saw a large party of men approaching at a gallop, in skirmishing order. A Maxim gun was in position and belching forth a hail of lead.

There were others who had seen the same thing, and felt the deadly effects of the relentless Maxim. Arden pulled his horse up nearly on to its haunches. George, whose attention was again turned to the rebels, saw his old enemy reel in his saddle; then, throwing up his arms, he shouted to his men----

"Back, back for your lives!" and fell headlong to the ground.

CHAPTER XXVIII

MEETING OF FRIENDS AND CAPTURE OF ARDEN

The murderous fire continued, and the rebels, urged by their leader's words, turned like a flock of sheep worried by the herder's dog and fled precipitately; not one of that cowardly band waited to help their fallen chief, not one of them had any thought other than to save his own skin. Those who still remained in possession of their horses, scattered and galloped away in every direction, while those on foot threw down their arms and ran for their lives, pursued by the skirmishers who came galloping across the sandy plains.

George and his companions took in the situation at a glance, the uniform of the new-comers told its tale--the British soldiers had come to their rescue.

Helmar had no time to realize what this timely succour meant to him, and, for the present, he watched with interest the panic-stricken retreating rabble. He saw the st.u.r.dy horses of the honest English soldiers overtake one by one the flying Arabs, until at last the whole of that murderous band was in the hands of his friends. While he was still watching this interesting sight, three men rode up from behind, and a voice, sharp and clear, in tones of command addressed him.

"Who are you, and what does all this mean?"

George turned at the words and glanced at the man who had uttered them. He was tall and slight, with a thin aristocratic face, and, by the stars on his shoulders, Helmar knew him to be the officer in command. Without replying to the question, he said with heartfelt fervour----

"Thank G.o.d you came in time, you have accomplished more than you know of, sir!"

"Yes, yes, but answer my questions," the officer said impatiently.