“How do you know we are leaving the Nile? The banks can not possibly be seen from here.”
“Because the sun, which is now in the east, warms our backs; that means that we have turned off toward the west.”
“You are a clever boy,” said Idris approvingly.
And after a while he added:
“But the pursuers will not overtake us—neither will you escape from us.”
“No,” he answered. “I shall not run away, unless it is with her.” And he pointed to the sleeping Nell.
They raced along until noon, scarcely making a halt. When the sun stood high in the heavens and it began to be very warm, the camels, although it is not their nature to perspire profusely, were dripping with perspiration, and went along much more slowly. Once more the caravan was surrounded by rocks and sand heaps. Ravines, which served as beds of rivers called “Khori” during the rainy season, were seen oftener than before. At last the Bedouins made a halt in one quite hidden between the rocks. But scarcely had they alighted from the camels than they began to yell and run forward, bending down and throwing stones. Stasch, who had not yet dismounted, saw a strange sight. From between the dried shrubs that grow plentifully at the bottom of the “Khors” appeared a large snake, which wound its way through the clefts of the rocks as quick as lightning and glided off to a hiding-place of its own. The angry Bedouins followed it, and Gebhr hurried to their assistance with a knife. But the unevenness of the ground made it as difficult to strike the snake with a stone as to stab it with the knife, and in a little while all three returned with terror on their faces, and the usual cries of the Arabs were heard.
“Allah!”
“Bismillah!”
“Maschallah!”
Then the two Sudanese looked at Stasch with a penetrating and questioning glance. But he had not the least idea why they did so.
Meanwhile Nell had dismounted, and though she was not so tired as the night before, Stasch spread a cloth rug over a shady, level spot and told her to lie down, so that, as he said, she could stretch out her feet. The Arabs walked about eating their mid-day meal, which consisted only of zwiebach, dates, and a drop of water. The camels were not given a drink, as they had been watered during the night. The faces of Idris, Gebhr, and the Bedouins bore an anxious look, and the time of rest passed in silence. At last Idris took Stasch to one side and began to question him in a mysterious and troubled manner:
“Did you see that snake?”
“Yes.”
“Was it you who bid it appear before us?”
“No.”
“Some misfortune will surely come upon us, for these clumsy fellows were not able to kill the snake.”
“The gallows await you.”
“Silence! Perhaps your father is a sorcerer?”
“Yes,” answered Stasch without hesitation, immediately realizing that these savage and superstitious beings regard the appearance of a snake as a bad omen—an augury that the flight would not be successful.
“So your father sent it to us,” continued Idris. “He ought to realize that we might take revenge on you for his witchcraft.”
“You will do nothing to me, for Fatima’s sons would pay you back for every wrong done to us.”
“Did you understand? Remember that if it had not been for me, not only you, but the little girl, too, would have bled to death under Gebhr’s scourge.”
“I shall intercede only for you. Gebhr will be hanged.”
Thereupon Idris looked at him for a while in surprise and said:
“Our lives are not in your hands yet; you talk to us as if you were our master.”
After a pause he added:
“You are a peculiar boy; I have never seen any one like you before. I have always thought well of you until now—but take care, do not make any threats.”
“God punishes traitors!” answered Stasch.
It was quite evident that the tone of authority with which the boy spoke, together with the bad omen in the form of the serpent which had escaped, made Idris feel exceedingly uneasy. Even later, when mounting his camel, he frequently repeated: “Yes, I have more than once been kind to you!” as if he wished at all events to impress this on Stasch’s mind; then he began to finger the nut-shell beads of his rosary and to pray.
Toward two o’clock in the afternoon the heat—although it was winter—became unbearable. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky, but the edges of the horizon had become gray. Over the caravan soared several hawks, which from their great height cast black shadows on the yellow sand. In the heated air there was a smell as of something burning. Although the camels did not change their pace, they began to sniff. One of the Bedouins now approached Idris.
“There is something bad coming,” he said.
“What do you think it can be?” asked the Sudanese.
“Evil spirits have awakened the wind, which sleeps in the western part of the desert, and it has risen out of the sand, and is now rushing toward us.”
Idris rose in his saddle, looked out into the distance, and replied:
“That’s right. It is coming from the west and south, but it does not seem to be as furious as the Khamsin.”[4]
“But only three years ago it buried a whole caravan in the vicinity of Abu Hammed, and did not uncover it until last winter. Ulla! It may blow with such force as to stop up the camels’ nostrils, and dry up the water in the leather bags.”
“We must hasten on, and steer our course so that we will strike only the edge of it.”
“We are running straight into it, and can not possibly avoid it.”
“The sooner it comes, the sooner it will be over.”
At the same time Idris whipped up his camel with the scourge, and the others followed his example. For a while nothing was heard but the cries of “Yalla! Yalla!” and the hollow sound of the thick whips, that resembled the loud clapping of hands. The western horizon, which had been almost white, had now become dark. The heat continued, and the sun blazed down on the heads of the riders. The hawks must have soared very high, for their shadows became smaller and smaller, and at last entirely disappeared.
It now became oppressively sultry. The Arabs cried out to the camels until their throats were dry; then they became quiet, and a deathlike silence ensued, broken only by the groaning of the animals and the rustle of two small sand-foxes[5] with enormous ears, which sped past the caravan, fleeing to the opposite side of the desert.
The same Bedouin who had previously spoken to Idris said once more in a peculiarly strange tone of voice:
“The wind will soon break loose and bury everything.”
“All the more need of helping the little girl.”
Idris whipped up the camel, and for a while they continued in silence.
“Why don’t you speak?” asked Stasch.
“Because I am wondering whether I had better tie you to the saddle or bind your hands behind your back.”
“Have you gone crazy?”
“No. But I can guess what you want to do.”
“The searchers will overtake us in any case, so I need not do anything.”
“The desert is in God’s hands.”
They again relapsed into silence. The coarse sand had ceased falling, but a fine