第 19 页

of horsemen were around him. For some time they passed over the rough,

uneven streets of the city; then there was a pause and exchange of

watchword and countersign, a creaking of doors, and a lowering of a

drawbridge, and the party issued out into the open country. Not for very

long did they continue their way; a halt was called, and Cuthbert was

taken off his horse.

On looking round, he found that he was in the middle of a considerable

group of men. Those who had brought him were a party of the governor's

guards; but he was now delivered over to a large band of Arabs, all of

whom were mounted on camels. One of these creatures he was ordered to

mount, the bonds being loosed from his arms and feet. An Arab driver,

with lance, bows, and arrows, and other weapons, took his seat on the

neck of the animal, and then with scarcely a word the caravan marched

off, with noiseless step, and with their faces turned southwards.

It seemed to Cuthbert almost as a dream. A few hours before he had been

exalted with the hope of freedom; now he was being taken away to a

slavery which would probably end but with his life. Although he could not

understand any of his captors, the repetition of a name led him to

believe that he was being sent to Egypt as a present to some man in high

authority there; and he doubted not that the Governor of Jerusalem,

fearing that he might escape, and dreading the wrath of the sultan,

should he do so, had determined to transfer the troublesome captive to a

more secure position and to safer hands.

For three days the journey continued; they had now left the fertile

lowlands of Palestine, and their faces were turned west. They were

entering upon that sandy waste which stretches between the southern

corner of Palestine and the land of Egypt, a distance which can be

travelled by camels in three days, but which occupied the Children of

Israel forty years.

At first the watch had been very sharply kept over the captive; but now

that they had entered the desert the Arabs appeared to consider that

there was no chance of an attempt to escape. Cuthbert had in every way

endeavoured to ingratiate himself with his guard. He had most willingly

obeyed their smallest orders, had shown himself pleased and grateful for

the dates which formed the staple of their repasts. He had assumed so

innocent and quiet an appearance that the Arabs had marvelled much among

themselves, and had concluded that there must have been some mistake in

the assertion of the governor's guard who had handed the prisoner over to

them, that he was one of the terrible knights of King Richard's army.

Cuthbert's heart had not fallen for a moment. He knew well that if he

once reached Cairo all hope of escape was at an end; and it was before

reaching that point that he determined if possible to make an effort for

freedom. He had noticed particularly the camel which appeared to be the

fleetest of the band; it was of lighter build than the rest, and it was

with difficulty that its rider had compelled it to accommodate itself to

the pace of the others. It was clear from the pains he took with it, by

the constant patting and the care bestowed upon its watering and

feeding, that its rider was extremely proud of it; and Cuthbert

concluded that if an escape was to be made, this was the animal on which

he must accomplish it.

Upon arriving at the end of each day's journey the camels were allowed

to browse at will, a short cord being tied between one of their hind and

one of their fore feet. The Arabs then set to work to collect sticks and

to make a fire--not for cooking, for their only food was dried dates and

some black bread, which they brought with them--but for warmth, as the

nights were damp and somewhat chilly, as they sat round the fire, talked,

and told stories. Before finally going off to rest, each went out into

the bushes and brought in his camel; these were then arranged in a circle

around the Arabs, one of the latter being mounted as sentry to prevent

any sudden surprise--not indeed that they had the smallest fear of the

Christians, who were far distant; but then, as now, the Arabs of the

desert were a plundering race, and were ever ready to drive off each

other's camels or horses. Cuthbert determined that if flight was possible

it must be undertaken during the interval after the arrival at the

halting-place and before the bringing in of the camels. Therefore, each

day upon the halt he had pretended great fatigue from the rough motion of

the camel, and had, after hastily eating the dates handed to him, thrown

himself down, covered himself with his Arab robe, and feigned instant

sleep. Thus they had in the three days from starting come to look upon

his presence sleeping close to them as a matter of course.

The second day after entering the desert, however, Cuthbert threw himself

down by the side of an uprooted shrub of small size and about his own

length. He covered himself as usual with his long, dark-blue robe, and

pretended to go to sleep. He kept his eyes, however, on the alert through

an aperture beneath his cloth, and observed particularly the direction in

which the camel upon which he had set his mind wandered into the bushes.

The darkness came on a very few minutes after they had halted, and when

the Arabs had once settled round their fire, Cuthbert very quietly

shifted the robe from himself to the long low bush near him, and then

crawled stealthily off into the darkness.

He had no fear of his footfall being heard upon the soft sand, and was

soon on his feet, looking for the camels. He was not long in finding

them, or in picking out the one which he had selected. The bushes were

succulent, and close to the camping ground; indeed, it was for this that

the halting-places were always chosen. It was not so easy, however, to

climb into the high wooden saddle, and Cuthbert tried several times in

vain. Then he repeated in a sharp tone the words which he had heard the

Arabs use to order their camels to kneel, striking the animal at the same

moment behind the fore-legs with a small switch. The camel immediately

obeyed the order to which he was accustomed, and knelt down, making,

however, as he did so, the angry grumble which those creatures appear to

consider it indispensable to raise when ordered to do anything.

Fortunately this noise is so frequently made, and the camels are so given

to quarrel among themselves, that although in the still air it might have

been heard by the Arabs sitting a short hundred yards away, it attracted

no notice, and Cuthbert, climbing into the seat, shook the cord that

served as a rein, and the animal, rising, set off at a smooth, steady

swing in the direction in which his head was turned--that from which they

had that day arrived.

Once fairly away from the camping-ground, Cuthbert, with blows of his

stick, increased the speed of the camel to a long shuffling trot, and the

fire in the distance soon faded out into the darkness.

Cuthbert trusted to the stars as guides. He was not unarmed, for as he

crawled away from his resting-place, he had picked up one of the Arabs'

spears and bow and arrows, and a large bag of dates from the spot where

they had been placed when their owner dismounted. He was already clad in

Eastern garb, and was so sun-burnt and tanned that he had no fear

whatever of any one at a distance detecting that he was a white man.

Steering his course by the stars, he rode all night without stopping. He

doubted not that he would have at least three hours' start, for the

Arabs were sure to have sat that time round the fires before going out to

bring in their camels. Even then they would suppose for some time that

the animal upon which he was seated had strayed, and no pursuit would be

attempted until it was discovered that he himself had made his escape,

which might not be for a long time, as the Arabs would not think of

looking under the cloth to see if he were there. He hoped, therefore,

that he would reach the cultivated land long before he was overtaken. He

had little fear but that he should then be able to journey onward without

attracting attention.

A solitary Arab when travelling rides straight, and his communications to

those whom he meets are confined to the set form of two or three words,

"May Allah protect you!" the regular greeting of Moslems when they meet.

When morning broke Cuthbert, even when ascending to the top of a somewhat

lofty mound, could see no signs of pursuers in the vast stretch of desert

behind him. In front, the ground was already becoming dotted here and

there with vegetation, and he doubted not that after a few hours' ride he

should be fairly in the confines of cultivated country. He gave his camel

a meal of dates, and having eaten some himself, again set the creature in

motion. These camels, especially those of good breed, will go on for

three or four days with scarcely a halt; and there was no fear of that on

which he rode breaking down from fatigue, for the journeys hitherto had

been comparatively short.

By mid-day Cuthbert had reached the cultivated lands of Palestine. Here

and there over the plain, villages were dotted, and parties of men and

camels were to be seen. Cuthbert now arranged his robes carefully in Arab

fashion, slung the long spear across his shoulders, and went boldly

forward at a slinging trot, having little fear that a passer-by would

have any suspicion whatever as to his being other than an Arab bent upon

some rapid journey. He soon found that his hopes were justified. Several

times he came upon parties of men whom he passed with the salute, and who

scarcely raised their eyes as he trotted by them. The plain was an open

one, and though cultivated here and there, there were large tracts lying

unworked. There was no occasion therefore to keep to the road; so riding

across country, and avoiding the villages as far as possible, stopping

only at a stream to give his camel water, Cuthbert rode without ceasing

until nightfall. Then he halted his camel near a wood, turned it in to

feed on the young foliage, and wrapping himself in his burnous was soon

asleep, for he ached from head to foot with the jolting motion which had

now been continued for so many hours without an interval. He had little

fear of being overtaken by the party he had left behind; they would, he

was convinced, be many hours behind, and it was extremely improbable that

they would hit upon the exact line which he had followed, so that even if

they succeeded in coming up to him, they would probably pass him a few

miles either to the right or left.

So fatigued was he with his long journey, that the next day he slept

until after the sun had risen. He was awakened suddenly by being seized

by a party of Arabs, who, roughly shaking him, questioned him as to

where he came from, and what he was doing there. He saw at a glance that

they were not with the party from which he had escaped, and he pointed to

his lips to make signs that he was dumb. The Arabs evidently suspected

that something was wrong. They examined the camel, and then the person of

their captive. The whiteness of his skin at once showed them that he was

a Frank in disguise, and without more ado or questioning, they tied him

hand and foot, flung him across the camel, and, mounting their own

animals, rode rapidly away.

From the position of the sun, Cuthbert saw that they were making their

course nearly due east, and therefore that it could not be their

intention to take him to Jerusalem, which was to the north of the line

they were following. A long day's journeying, which to Cuthbert seemed

interminable, found them on the low spit of sand which runs along by the

side of the Dead Sea. Behind, lofty rocks rose almost precipitously, but

through a cleft in these the Arabs had made their way. Cuthbert saw at

once that they belonged to some desert tribe over whom the authority of

Suleiman was but nominal. When summoned for any great effort, these

children of the desert would rally to his armies and fight for a short

time; but at the first disaster, or whenever they became tired of the

discipline and regularity of the army, they would mount their camels and

return to the desert, generally managing on the way to abstract from the

farms of those on their route either a horse, cattle, or some other

objects which would pay them for the labours they had undergone.

They were now near the confines of their own country, and apparently had

no fear whatever of pursuit. They soon gathered some of the dead wood

cast on the shores of the sea, and with these a fire was speedily

lighted, and an earthenware pot was taken down from among their baggage:

it was filled with water from a skin, and then grain having been placed

in it, it was put among the wood ashes. Cuthbert, who was weary and

aching in every limb from the position in which he had been placed on

the camel, asked them by signs for permission to bathe in the lake.

This was given, principally apparently from curiosity, for but very few

Arabs were able to swim; indeed, as a people they object so utterly to

water, that the idea of any one bathing for his amusement was to them a

matter of ridicule.

Cuthbert, who had never heard of the properties of the Dead Sea, was

perfectly astonished upon entering the water to find that instead of

wading in it up to the neck before starting-to swim, as he was accustomed

to do at home, the water soon after he got waist-deep took him off his

feet, and a cry of astonishment burst from him as he found himself on

rather than in the fluid. The position was so strange and unnatural that

with a cry of alarm he scrambled over on to his feet, and made the best

of his way to shore, the Arabs indulging in shouts of laughter at his

astonishment and alarm. Cuthbert was utterly unable to account for the

strange sensations he had experienced; he perceived that the water was

horribly salt, and that which had got into his mouth almost choked him.

He was, however, unaware that saltness adds to the weight of water, and

so to the buoyancy of objects cast into it. The saltness of the fluid he