Yussuf the Guide Part 46

There was no sign of Lawrence, though, until they had descended to the shelf on that side, when they found him lying upon the short growth fast asleep, evidently tired out with waiting.

"My dear boy!" was on the professor's lips; and he was about to start forward, but Yussuf caught him roughly by the shoulder, and held him back.

"Hist! Look!" he whispered.

Both the professor and Mr Burne stood chilled to the heart, for they could see the head of an ugly grey coa.r.s.ely scaled viper raised above its coil, and gazing at them threateningly, after having been evidently alarmed by the noise which they had made.

The little serpent had settled itself upon the lad's bare throat, and a reckless movement upon the part of the spectators, a hasty waking on the sleeper's part might end in a venomous bite from the awakened beast.

"What shall we do, Yussuf?" whispered, the professor in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "I dare not fire."

"Be silent, effendi, and leave it to me," was whispered back; and, while the two Englishmen looked on with their hearts beating anxiously, the Turk slowly advanced, taking the attention of the serpent more and more.

As he approached, the venomous little creature crept from the boy's neck on to his chest, and there paused, waving its head to and fro, and menacingly thrusting out its forked tongue.

The danger to be apprehended was a movement upon the part of Lawrence, who appeared to be sleeping soundly, but who might at any moment awaken.

Yussuf, however, was ready to meet the emergency, for he slowly continued to advance with his staff thrown back and held ready to strike, while, as he came nearer, the serpent seemed to accept the challenge, and crawled slowly forward, till it was upon a level with the lad's hips.

That was near enough for Yussuf, who noted how Lawrence's hands were well out of danger, being beneath his head.

He hesitated no longer, but advanced quickly, his companions watching his movements with the most intense interest, till the serpent raised itself higher, threw back its head, and seemed about to throw itself upon its advancing enemy.

The rest was done in a flash, for there was a loud _whizz_ in the air as Yussuf's staff swept over Lawrence, striking the serpent, rapid as was its action, low down in the body, and the virulent little creature, broken and helpless, was driven over the edge of the precipice to fall far away among the bushes below.

"Hallo! what's that?" cried Lawrence, starting up. "Oh, you've got here, then."

"Yes; we are here, my lad," cried the professor, catching one hand, as the old lawyer took the other. "Are you much hurt?"

"Only stiff and shaken. Ali made such a tremendous leap--I don't know how far it was; and then he came down like an india-rubber ball, and bounded again and again till he could find good foothold, and then we slipped slowly till we could stop here, and it seemed as if we could go no farther."

"What an escape!" muttered Mr Burne, looking up.

"Oh, it wasn't there," said Lawrence patting his little horse's neck.

"It must have been quite a quarter of a mile from here. But how did you come?"

Yussuf explained, and then Mr Preston looked aghast at the rock they had climbed over.

"Why, we shall have to leave the pony," he said.

"Oh, no, effendi," replied Yussuf; "leave him to me. He can climb like a goat."

And so it proved, for the brave little beast, as soon as it was led to the task by the rein pa.s.sed over its head, climbed after Yussuf, and in fact showed itself the better mountaineer of the two, while, after the rock was surmounted, and a descent made upon the other side, it followed its master in the arduous walk, slipping and gliding down the torrent-bed when they reached it, till at last they reached the greater stream, which to their delight had fallen to its regular summer volume, the effects of the storm having pa.s.sed away, and the sandy bed being nearly bare.

Theirs proved quite an easy task now, in spite of weariness; and as evening fell, they reached Hamed, camped by the roadside, with the horses grazing on the bushes and herbage, all being ready to salute Ali Baba with a friendly neigh.

They had a long journey before them still; but there was only one thing to be done now--unpack the provisions, light a fire, make coffee, and try to restore some of their vigour exhausted by so many hours of toil.

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.

A FORMIDABLE PARTY.

Fortunately for the travellers a glorious moonlight night followed the glowing evening, and they reached in safety a mountain village, where, awed by their appearance and display of arms, the rather surly people found them a resting-place.

For days and days after this their way was on and on, among the mountains, deeper and deeper in the grand wild country. Sometimes they encountered good and sometimes surly treatment, but the beauty of the scenery and the wonderful remains of ancient occupation recompensed the professor, while Mr Burne in his snappish manner seemed to be satisfied in seeing Lawrence's interest in everything around him, his relish for the various objects increasing every hour.

For the change was unmistakable; he was making rapid progress back to health; and instead of the rough life and privations of hunger, thirst, and exposure having a bad effect, they seemed to rouse up in his nature a determination that rapidly resulted in vigour.

"What are you going to show us to-day, Yussuf?" asked the lad, one glorious autumn morning, when the little party were winding along one of the many mountain tracks, so like others they had pa.s.sed that they might have been repeating their journey.

"Before long we shall reach the great ruins of which I have so often spoken," replied Yussuf, smiling at the boy's eager look.

"At last!" cried Lawrence. "I began to think that we were never going to get there. But is there nothing to see to-day?"

"Yes," replied Yussuf. "We are approaching a village now. It lies yonder low down in this rift--where the cedars are half-way up on that shelf in the mountain side."

"Yes; I see," replied Lawrence; "but what a place! Why, they must be without sun half their time."

"Oh, no, effendi," said Yussuf; "certainly they are in shadow at times, but though the village seems to lie low, we are high up in the mountains, and when it is scorching in the plains, and the gra.s.s withers for want of water, and down near the sea people die of fever and sunstroke, up here it is cool and pleasant, and the flowers are blossoming, and the people gather in their fruit and tend their bees."

"And in the winter, Yussuf?" said the professor, who had been listening to the conversation.

"Ah, yes, in the winter, effendi, it is cold. There is the snow, and the wolves and the bears come down from the mountains. It is a bad time then. But what will you?--is it always summer and sunshine everywhere?

Ah! look, effendi Lawrence," he cried, pointing across the narrow gorge, "you can see from here."

"See what?" cried Lawrence. "I can only see some holes."

"Yes; those are the caves where the people here keep their bees. The hives are in yonder."

"What, in those caves?"

"Yes; the people are great keepers of bees, for they thrive well, and there is abundance of blossom for the making of honey."

"But why do they put the hives in yonder?"

"In the caves? Because they are out of the sun, which would make the honey pour down and run out in the hot summer time, and in the winter the caverns are not so cold. It does not freeze hard there, and the hives are away out of the snow, which lies so heavy here in the mountains. It is very beautiful up here, and in the spring among the trees there is no such place anywhere in the country for nightingales; they till the whole valley with their song. Now, effendi, look before you."

They had reached a turn in the valley, where once more a grand view of the mountain chain spread before them, far as eye could reach, purple mountains, and beyond them mountains that seemed to be of silver, where the snow-capped their summits.

But among them were several whose regular form took the professor's attention directly, and he pointed them out.

"Old volcanoes," he said quietly.

"Where?" cried Lawrence. "I want above all things to see a burning mountain."

"You can see mountains that once burned," said the professor; "but there are none here burning now."

"How disappointing!" cried Lawrence. "I should like to see one burn."