A day, a night, and another day passed, and they still continued galloping toward the south, only resting for a short time in the ravines, so as not to tire out the camels too much, to feed them and to give them water, and at the same time to attend to their own wants. For fear of being pursued they turned off more toward the west, as they did not need to worry about a supply of water for some time. The rain had only lasted seven hours, but it was such a heavy storm that Idris, Gebhr, and the Bedouins knew that enough water could be found for several days to come in the bed of the ravines and in the natural hollows and cavities made by the rocks. After a great downpour, as is generally the case, the weather was fine. The heavens were cloudless and the air so transparent that one could see for an immeasurable distance. During the night the star-strewn firmament shone with the lustre of a myriad jewels, and a refreshing coolness came from the desert sand.

The humps of the camels had become smaller, but the animals were well fed and still “keck,” as the Arabs say, which means that they were not tired out. They ran so fast that the caravan advanced at almost as sharp a pace as on the day they departed from Gharak el-Sultani. Stasch was surprised to see that the Bedouins found provisions of maize and dates in the many narrow passes among the clefts of the rocks protected from the rain. That led him to think that certain preparations had been made before they had been kidnapped and that everything had been planned beforehand between Fatima, Idris, and Gebhr on one side, and the Bedouins on the other. It was easy to guess that these men were partisans of and believers in the Mahdi, who wished to capture him, and that they were readily drawn into a conspiracy by the Sudanese. In the vicinity of Fayoum, near Gharak el-Sultani, there were many Bedouins camping in the desert with their children and camels, who went to Medinet or to the railway station trying to earn something. But these two Bedouins Stasch had never seen before; they could not have come from Medinet, because it seemed they did not know Saba.

It also occurred to the boy that perhaps it might be well to try to bribe them, but when he remembered their enthusiastic cries each time the Mahdi’s name was mentioned he knew that this would be impossible. The boy did not, however, submit passively to all this, for his heart was full of wonderful energy that had only been stimulated by the misfortunes he had suffered. “Everything I have undertaken,” he said to himself, “has ended in my being beaten black and blue. But even if I were beaten every day with the scourge, or killed, I should not cease trying to devise for Nell and myself a means of escape from the hands of these villains. If the parties searching for us get hold of them, all the better; but I shall act as if I did not expect them to come at all.”

Then when he thought what had happened to him, how these treacherous and cruel men had taken his gun away, had beaten him with their fists, and stamped upon him with their feet, he became furiously angry. He not only felt that he was conquered, but, proud as he was of being a white man, he felt especially humiliated by being subject to them. Above all, he felt the wrong done to Nell, and this, together with the exasperation that had taken deep root in his heart since his last misfortune, made him heartily hate the Sudanese with an irreconcilable hatred. It is true, he had often heard his father say that hatred blinds one, and that only those who are unable to rise above it give way to it, but for the present he could not suppress it or even hide it.

He could not even prevent its being noticed by Idris, who really began to feel uneasy, for he realized that in case the pursuers were to overtake them he could no longer count on the boy’s interceding for him. Idris was always ready to undertake the most daring deeds, but, being a very sensible man, he said to himself that one must anticipate everything in case of defeat; in fact, always have a little side-door open for escape. Therefore after the last occurrence he wished to get back a little into Stasch’s good graces, and at the next stopping-place he began conversing with him.

“After what you attempted to do,” he said, “I had to punish you—otherwise the others would have beaten you to death; but I told the Bedouins not to hit you too hard.”

And on receiving no answer he continued:

“Listen; you yourself have said that white people always keep their promises, and therefore if you will swear to me by your God and by the head of this little “Biut” that you will not undertake to do us any harm, I will not have you bound up at night.”

Even then Stasch did not answer a word, and it was only by the strange glint in his eyes that Idris realized he was speaking in vain.

But although Gebhr and the Bedouins coaxed him, he did not have Stasch bound at night. When Gebhr continued to insist, he answered him angrily:

“Instead of going to sleep, you will keep guard to-night. I have decided that henceforth one of us will keep guard while the others sleep.”

And so from this day on relays of guards were arranged. That greatly hindered, in fact nearly completely frustrated, Stasch’s plans, for each guard took good care to watch him well. But, on the other hand, the children were given more freedom, and were allowed to be near each other and converse freely. So at the next halting-place Stasch sat down by Nell to thank her for her assistance. But although he was deeply grateful, he was incapable of expressing his respect and affection, and so he simply began to shake her little hands.

“Nell,” he said, “you are very good, and I thank you; and besides, let me tell you that you acted like a person thirteen years old at least.”

Such words from Stasch’s lips were the highest praise, and the little girl’s heart burned with joy and pride. At this moment it seemed to her that there was nothing too great for her to attempt.

“When I am grown up they will see!” she replied, casting an aggressive look in the direction of the Sudanese.

As she did not yet know just what had really happened, and why the Arabs had attacked Stasch, the boy began to relate how he had made up his mind to steal the gun, kill the camels, and force their captors to return with them to the river.

“If this had succeeded,” he said, “we should have been free by this time.”

“Did they wake up?” asked the girl with beating heart.

“They did wake up! That was Saba’s doing; he came running along and began to bark enough to awaken the dead.”

Then she was angry with Saba.

“Horrid Saba! For doing that I shall not say a word to him when he comes running up! I shall just tell him that he is bad!”

Although Stasch was not in a laughing mood, he smiled and asked:

“How can you not speak a word to him and at the same time tell him that he is bad?”

Nell elevated her eyebrows to show her annoyance, and with a shy voice replied:

“He will see that by my face.”

“Maybe. But he was not to blame, because he did not know what was going on; remember, too, that he came to our assistance.”

The remembrance of this somewhat cooled Nell’s anger, but she did not wish to forgive the evil-doer at once.

“Very well,” she said; “but a real gentleman ought not to bark when greeting you.”

Stasch smiled again.

“A real gentleman does not bark when greeting you or when saying good-by, unless he be a dog, and Saba is a dog.”

Soon afterward a sad look came in the boy’s eyes; he sighed again and again, and then got up from the stone on which they were sitting and said:

“The worst is that I can not free you.”

Nell stood on tip-toe and put her little arms around his neck. She wanted to console him, wanted to murmur her thanks close to him, with her little face on his cheek; but as she could not find appropriate words, she merely clung more lovingly to his neck and kissed him on his ear. Saba, who was always late—not so much because he could not keep step with the camels as because he chased jackals on the way and barked at the hawks crouching on the rocks—was seen running up and making as much noise as usual. As soon as the children saw him they forgot everything, and notwithstanding their sorry plight, they began caressing him and playing with him as usual, until the Arabs stopped them. Chamis gave the dog food and water, and then they all remounted and departed in great haste, going farther toward the south.

This was the longest ride they had taken at one stretch, eighteen hours with but one short halt. Only riding-camels, who have a considerable supply of water in their stomachs, can stand such a journey. Idris did not spare them, for he feared that the pursuers were surely at his heels. He realized that they must have started long ago, and conjectured that the two engineers were at the head of these expeditions and would waste no time. Danger threatened them from the river-side, for it was quite certain that the sheiks on both banks of the Nile would form scouting parties to go into the interior of the desert, and would hold back all travelers going south. Chamis felt certain that the government and the engineers had offered a great reward for their capture, and that consequently the desert was probably filled with searchers. The only way to avoid these would be to go as far west as possible; but to the west lay the great oasis of Chargeh, where there was a telegraph. Besides, were they to go too far away from the river the water would give out after a few days and they would die of thirst. There was also the question of provisions. It is true that in the two weeks preceding the kidnapping of the children the Bedouins had hidden provisions of maize, zwieback, and dates in secret places known only to themselves, but these secret places were four days’ journey from Medinet. Idris was terror-stricken at the thought that when the food gave out some of them would have to go to the villages on the river-banks to buy provisions, and that, on account of the strict watch and the rewards offered by the village sheiks for the capture of the fugitives, these might easily fall into the hands of the villagers and betray the whole caravan. The situation was indeed difficult, almost desperate, and Idris saw more clearly every day what a wild scheme he had undertaken.

“If we had only passed Assuan,” said he to himself, his heart full of fear and despair. He did not believe Chamis, who declared the Mahdi’s warriors had already advanced as far as Assuan, for Stasch disputed this, and Idris had long noticed that the white boy knew more than all of them. However, he supposed that beyond the first cataract, where the people were more savage and less under the influences of the English people and the Egyptian Government, more secret believers in the prophet were to be found, who if necessary would help them and supply them with provisions and camels. But the Bedouins had calculated that they were still about five days’ journey from Assuan.

The way led through still more desolate country, and at every halt the provisions for man and beast sank lower.

Fortunately, they could drive the camels on, and make them gallop as fast as they pleased, for the heat had not exhausted the animals’ strength. In the daytime, during the noon hours, the sun beat down fiercely upon them, but the air was always fresh and the nights so cool that Stasch, with Idris’ permission, mounted Nell’s camel to look after her health and to protect her from the cold. But his fears were groundless, for Dinah, whose eyes had greatly improved, looked carefully after her little lady.

The boy was surprised that the little one’s health had not suffered, and that she stood the journey as well as he, especially when the halts were becoming less and less frequent. Sorrow and fear, and the tears which she had shed longing for papa, had apparently not done her much harm. She had perhaps become a little thin, and her pale face was tanned by the wind, but as time went on she stood the journey better than in the beginning. Idris had given her the best camel, and had arranged the saddle very comfortably so that she could sleep, but it was the fresh desert air especially, breathed night and day, that gave her the strength to bear the fatigue and discomfort of the journey.

Stasch not only protected her, but he intentionally treated her with a reverence the depth of which he did not realize, notwithstanding his unusual attachment for the little one. He noticed that the Arabs also caught this attitude, and that it unconsciously strengthened their conviction that they were carrying along something exceedingly precious, an especially important prisoner, whom they had to treat most carefully. Idris had accustomed them to this before leaving Medinet, and so they all behaved well toward her. They gave her plenty of water and dates. The cruel Gebhr dared not raise his hand against her again. Perhaps the unusual beauty of the girl, and the fact that she looked somewhat like a flower or a little bird, had its effect, for even the savage and uncultivated hearts of the Arabs could not resist her charm. Sometimes, also, at the halting-places, when she stood around the fire made of Jericho roses, colored with the red light from the flames and the silvery light from the moon, the Sudanese and the Bedouins could not take their eyes off her, but murmured, according to their custom, smacking their lips as a sign of admiration:

“Allah! Maschallah! Bismillah!”

At noon the second day, after traveling that long stretch, Stasch and Nell, who were now riding on the same camel, had a moment of intense joy. Immediately after sunrise a clear and transparent mist, which, however, soon disappeared, hovered over the desert. But when the sun rose higher the heat became greater than on the previous days. When the camels stood still for a moment there was not a breath of wind stirring, so that the air, as well as the sand, appeared to slumber in heat, light, and silence. The caravan had just reached a large level plain, unbroken by ravines, when suddenly a wonderful sight presented itself before the children. Groups of slim palms and pepper-trees, orange plantations, white houses, a small mosque with a towering minaret and broad walls, surrounded by gardens, appeared so plainly and so close to them that it seemed as though the caravan would be under the trees of an oasis in half an hour.

“What is that?” cried Stasch. “Nell! Nell! Look!”

As Nell raised up she was struck dumb with surprise, but soon after she cried out with joy:

“Medinet! To papa! To papa!”

But Stasch became pale with emotion.

“In fact—that may be Chargeh. But no! It must be Medinet. I remember the minaret and I even see the windmill on the well.”

And in reality in the distance were distinctly seen the tall windmills of American wells, resembling large white stars. These stood out so clearly on the green background of the trees that Stasch’s sharp eye could discern the red-painted edges of the spokes of the windmills.

“That is Medinet!”

Stasch had read in books that in the desert there is an optical illusion known as a “mirage,” and that travelers sometimes see oases, towns, rows of trees, and lakes that are not real, but are produced by atmospheric conditions, which, due to the reflection of light, cause far-distant objects to appear as if nearby. But this time the apparition was so distinct that it seemed as if it could be touched, and although he knew it must be an illusion, he could not doubt that he was looking at the real Medinet. There was the little tower on the house of the Moodir, the round-shaped passage just under the top of the minaret, where the muezzin calls the faithful to prayers; there were the familiar groups of trees, and especially the windmills! No, this must be the real place. It occurred to the boy that perhaps the Sudanese, after thinking things over, had come to the conclusion that they would not be able to escape their pursuers, and, without having told him, were returning to Fayoum. But they were so composed that he doubted if this were so. If it were really Fayoum, would they look at it with such indifference? For they saw the apparition, too, and pointed it out to one another, but their faces portrayed no uncertainty or anxiety. Stasch looked at it again, and perhaps it was this indifference on the part of the Arabs which made the picture appear to fade before him. He also thought that if they were really returning, the people, being frightened, would have kept closer together. The Bedouins, who by Idris’ orders had for several days ridden on in advance, could no longer be seen, and Chamis, who brought up the rear, looked in the distance no larger than a hawk flying along the ground.

“The mirage!” said Stasch to himself.

Meanwhile Idris approached and cried out to him:

“Hoh! Drive the camel on! Don’t you see Medinet?”

He appeared to be jesting and spoke in such a scornful tone that the very faintest shadow of hope that this might be Medinet lying before him vanished from the boy’s heart.

Sadly he turned to Nell to dispel her illusion when something suddenly happened which turned the attention of all in another direction.

At first one of the Bedouins came galloping up fast toward them, and while still at a distance began to gesticulate with a long Arabian gun that did not belong to any one in the caravan. When he reached Idris he exchanged a few hasty words with him; then the caravan turned toward the interior of the desert. After a while the second Bedouin appeared, leading a fat camel with a saddle on its hump and leather bags hanging down from his flanks. Again a short conversation took place, but Stasch could not catch a word of it. The caravan rode quickly without a stop toward the west, and only halted when it reached a narrow ravine full of broken rocks and caves. One of these was so spacious that the Sudanese were able to place all the people and camels in it. Although Stasch thought he knew what had happened, he lay down next to Idris and pretended to go to sleep, hoping that the Arabs, who had scarcely spoken a word about their adventure until now, would soon begin to talk about it. His hopes were well founded, for soon after, having scattered food for the camels, the Bedouins sat down to consult with the Sudanese and Chamis.

“From now on we must ride only by night and hide in the daytime,” the one-eyed Bedouin said. “In future we will come across many ravines, and in these we can conceal ourselves securely.”

“Are you sure that it was a guard?” asked Idris.

“Allah! We spoke to him. It was good that he was alone. He stood concealed behind a rock so that we could not see him, but we heard the camel’s voice from a distance. Then we slackened our pace and rode so softly that he saw us only when we were a few steps off. He was very much frightened, and tried to point his gun at us. If he had fired, even if he had not killed one of us, the other guards would have heard the shot, and so I said to him quickly: ‘Stop! We are pursuing people who have carried off two white children, and soon all our company will be here.’ The fellow was young and stupid, and so he believed us—though he made us swear by the Koran that we were telling the truth. We dismounted from the camels and swore. The Mahdi will forgive us.”

“And bless you,” said Idris. “Tell us what you did.”

“When we had sworn,” continued the Bedouin, “I said to the young man: ‘But who can prove to us that you yourself do not belong to the thieves who are fleeing with the white children and have left you here to hold up the pursuers?’ I bade him to swear, too, which he did, and he believed us all the more. We began to question him, asking what orders had come from the sheiks along the copper wire, and whether the thieves were being pursued in the desert. He replied in the affirmative, and said that they had been promised great rewards; also that all ravines at a distance of two days’ journey from the river were guarded, and that there were large baburis (steamers) filled with Englishmen and soldiers continually passing up and down the river.”

“Neither ships nor soldiers are of any avail against the power of Allah and the prophet.”

“It is as you say!”

“And now tell us how you made way with that fellow?”

The one-eyed Bedouin pointed to his companion.

“Abu Anga,” he said, “then asked him if there were no other guards nearby, and on his replying in the negative, he suddenly drove his knife into his throat, so that the latter never uttered a sound. We threw him into a deep hollow and covered him up with stones and thorns. In the village they will think that he has fled to the Mahdi, for he told us that such things have happened.”

“May God bless those who flee, as he has blessed us,” answered Idris.

“Yes, we have been blessed!” answered Abu Anga. “For now we know we must keep three days’ journey away from the river, and besides that we have captured a gun, which we needed, and also a camel to milk.”

“The bags,” added the one-eyed man, “are filled with water, and there is a fair amount of millet in the saddle bags, but we did not find much powder.”

“Chamis has several hundred cartridges, which belong to this white boy’s gun, which we don’t know how to shoot. But the powder is the same and it will also do for our gun.”

Still Idris became thoughtful as he heard these words, and a very troubled look was imprinted on his dark face, for he realized that as one had already been killed, even Stasch’s intervention could not protect them from being punished, in case they should now fall into the hands of the Egyptian Government.

Stasch listened attentively with beating heart. This conversation seemed like good news to him, and he was especially glad to hear that parties had been sent out to hunt for them, that rewards had been offered, and that the sheiks of the tribes along the banks had received orders to hold up all caravans traveling south. The boy was also greatly pleased on hearing about the ships which steamed up stream with the English soldiers. The Dervishes of the Mahdi could fight well with the Egyptian army, and even defeat them, but with the English it was quite different, and Stasch did not doubt a minute that the first battle would end in the savage tribes being completely defeated. Thus he consoled himself with the thought that even if they were taken to the Mahdi, there was a possibility that before they got there the Mahdi or the Dervishes might be wiped out. But he did not feel so much comforted when he thought that in this case a journey of a whole week still lay before them, which would at least exhaust Nell’s strength, and that during all that time they would be in the company of these villains and murderers.

When Stasch thought of the young Arab whom the Bedouins had slaughtered like a sheep, he felt very much frightened and sad. He decided not to say anything about it to Nell, for fear that it might terrify her and increase the sadness she had felt on seeing the illusive pictures of the oasis Fayoum and the town Medinet disappear. Before they had reached the ravine he saw that her eyes were filled with tears. And so, when he had gotten all the information he wanted out of the story, he pretended to awake, and went to Nell. She was sitting in a corner next to Dinah eating dates, which she moistened a little with her tears. When she saw Stasch she remembered that not long ago he had praised her behavior as being that of a girl at least thirteen years old, so she clenched a date-stone with all her might between her teeth, to help her control her sobs, that she would not seem like a child again.

“Nell,” said the boy, “Medinet was an illusion, but I know for certain that we are being followed, so don’t worry any more and don’t cry any more.”

On hearing this the girl raised her tear-stained eyes to him, and answered in broken phrases:

“No, Stasch! I do not want to cry—only my eyes—perspire so——”

At the same moment her chin began to quiver, large tears fell from beneath her closed lids, and she burst out crying. But being ashamed of these tears, and expecting Stasch to reprove her for shedding them, she hid her little head for shame and fear on Stasch’s breast and thus completely moistened his clothes.

He now began to console her:

“Nell, do not be a fountain! Did you see that they have taken a gun and a camel away from some Arab? Do you know what that means? It means that the desert is full of guards. These wretches have succeeded in surprising a guard this time, but the next time they will be caught themselves. Several steamers are keeping watch on the Nile! Of course, Nell, we shall return home, and on a steamer, too. Fear nothing!——”

He would have consoled her still longer in this way if a peculiar sound ringing out of the center of the flying sand, which the last hurricane had blown into the ravine, had not attracted his attention. This sound somewhat resembled the thin metallic music of a whistle. Stasch interrupted the conversation and began to listen. Soon afterward similar sounds, thin and sad, could be heard coming from various directions at once. An idea occurred to the boy that perhaps Arabian guards had surrounded the ravine and were making signals to one another by means of whistles. His heart began to beat. He repeatedly looked at the Sudanese, in the hope of seeing fear on their faces, but in vain. Idris, Gebhr, and the two Bedouins calmly chewed zwieback. Chamis was the only one who appeared surprised, and the sounds continued. After a while Idris got up and looked out of the cave; then he returned, stopped in front of the children, and said:

“The sand is beginning to sing.”

Stasch was so curious that for the moment he forgot his resolution not to speak to Idris again, and asked:

“The sand? What does that mean?”

“It often happens; and it means that there will be no more rain for a long time. But the heat will not harm us, for until we reach Assuan we shall ride only by night.”

And he would say no more. Stasch and Nell listened for some time to these peculiar sounds, which lasted until the sun went down in the west. Then night came on and the caravan continued on its journey.