Author: Henryk Sienkiewicz
Category: Nonfiction
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enormous twisted locks, oftensinged red with lime, with which they rubbed their tufts of hair forprotection against vermin. Their weapons were mainly spears, terriblein their hands; but they did not lack Remington carbines which they hadcaptured in their victorious battles with the Egyptian army and afterthe fall of Khartum. The sight of them was terrifying and theirbehavior toward the caravan was hostile, for they suspected that itconsisted of Egyptian traders, whom the Mahdi, in the first momentsafter the victory, prohibited from entering the Sudan.
Having surrounded the caravan, they pointed the spears with tumult andmenace at the breasts of the people, or aimed carbines at them. To thishostile demonstration Idris answered with a shout that he and hisbrother belonged to the Dongolese tribe, the same as that of the Mahdi,and that they were conveying to the prophet two white children asslaves; this alone restrained the savages from violence. In Stas, whenhe came in contact with this dire reality, the spirit withered at thethought of what awaited them on the ensuing days. Idris, also, whopreviously had lived long years in a civilized community, had neverimagined anything like this. He was pleased when one night they weresurrounded by an armed detachment of the Emir Nur el-Tadhil andconducted to Khartum.
Nur el-Tadhil, before he ran away to the Mahdi, was an Egyptian officerin a negro regiment of the Khedive: so he was not so savage as theother Mahdists and Idris could more easily make himself understood. Buthere disappointment awaited him. He imagined that his arrival at theMahdi's camp with the white children would excite admiration, if onlyon account of the extraordinary hardships and dangers of the journey.He expected that the Mahdists would receive him with ardor, with openarms, and lead him in triumph to the prophet, who would lavish gold andpraises upon him as a man who had not hesitated to expose his head inorder to serve his relative Fatma. In the meantime the Mahdists placedspears at the breasts of members of the caravan, and Nur el-Tadhilheard quite indifferently his narrative of the journey, and finally tothe question, whether he knew Smain, the husband of Fatma, answered:
"No. In Omdurman and Khartum there are over one hundred thousandwarriors, so it is easy not to meet one another, and not all theofficers are acquainted with each other. The domain of the prophet isimmense; therefore many emirs rule in distant cities in Sennar, inKordofan, and Darfur, and around Fashoda. It may be that this Smain, ofwhom you speak, is not at present at the prophet's side."
Idris was nettled by the slighting tone with which Nur spoke of "thisSmain," so he replied with a shade of impatience:
"Smain is married to a first cousin of the Mahdi, and therefore Smain'schildren are relatives of the prophet."
Nur el-Tadhil shrugged his shoulders.
"The Mahdi has many relatives and cannot remember all of them."
For some time they rode in silence; after which Idris again asked:
"How soon shall we arrive at Khartum?"
"Before midnight," replied el-Tadhil, gazing at the stars which beganto appear in the eastern part of the heavens.
"Shall we at that late hour be able to obtain food and fodder? Sinceour last rest at noon we have not eaten anything."
"You will pass this night with me and I shall feed you in my house, butto-morrow in Omdurman you will have to seek for food yourself, and Iwarn you in advance that this will not be an easy matter."
"Why?"
"Because we have a war. The people for the past few years have nottilled the fields and have lived solely upon meat; so when finallycattle were lacking, famine came. There is famine in all the Sudan, anda sack of durra today costs more than a slave."
"Allah akbar!" exclaimed Idris with surprise, "I saw nevertheless herdsof camels and cattle on the steppes."
"They belong to the prophet, to the 'Noble,'* [* The Noble brothers andrelatives of the Mahdi.] and to the caliphs.--Yes--The Dongolese, fromwhich tribe the Mahdi came and the Baggara, whose leader is the chiefcaliph, Abdullahi, have still quite numerous herds, but for othertribes it has become more and more difficult to live in the world."
Here Nur el-Tadhil patted his stomach, and said:
"In the service of the prophet I have a higher rank, more money, and agreater authority, but I had a fuller stomach in the Khedive's service."
But, realizing that he might have said too much, after a while he added:
"But all this will change when the true faith conquers."
Idris, hearing these words, involuntarily thought that nevertheless inFayum, in the service of the Englishmen, he had never suffered fromhunger, and gains could be more easily secured; so he was cast into adeep gloom.
After which he began to ask further:
"Are you going to transport us to-morrow to Omdurman?"
"Yes. Khartum by command of the prophet is to be abandoned and very fewreside there. They are razing the large buildings and conveying thebricks with the other booty to Omdurman. The prophet does not wish tolive in a place polluted by unbelievers."
"I shall beat my forehead before him to-morrow, and he will commandthat I be supplied with provisions and fodder."
"Ha! If in truth you belong to the Dongolese, then perhaps you might beadmitted to his presence. But know this, that his house is guarded dayand night by a hundred men equipped with courbashes, and these do notspare blows to those who crave to see the Mahdi without permission.Otherwise the swarm would not give the holy man a moment ofrest--Allah! I saw even Dongolese with bloody welts on their backs--"
Idris with each moment was possessed by greater disillusionment.
"So the faithful do not see the prophet?" he asked.
"The faithful see him daily at the place of prayer where, kneeling onthe sheep's hide, he raises his hands to God, or when he instructs theswarm and strengthens them in the true faith. But it is difficult toreach and speak with him, and whoever attains that happiness is enviedby all, for upon him flows the divine grace which wipes away his formersins."
A deep night fell and with it came a piercing chill. In the ranksresounded the snorting of horses; the sudden change from the daily heatto cold was so strong that the hides of the steeds began to reek, andthe detachment rode as if in a mist. Stas, behind Idris, leaned towardsNell and asked:
"Do you feel cold?"
"No," answered the little girl, "but no one will protect us now--"
And tears stifled her further words.
This time he did not find any comfort for her, for he himself wasconvinced that there was no salvation for them. Now they rode over aregion of wretchedness, famine, bestial cruelties, and blood. They werelike two poor little leaves in a storm which bore death andannihilation not only to the heads of individuals, but to whole townsand entire tribes. What hand could snatch from it and save two small,defenseless children?
The moon rolled high in the heaven and changed, as if into silveryfeathers, the mimosa and acacia twigs. In the dense jungles resoundedhere and there the shrill and, at the same time, mockingly mirthfullaugh of the hyenas, which in that gory region found far too manycorpses. From time to time the detachment conducting the caravanencountered other patrols and exchanged with them the agreedcountersign. They came to the hills on the river banks and through along pass reached the Nile. The people and the camels embarked uponwide and flat "dahabeahs," and soon the heavy oars began with measuredmovements to break and ruffle the smooth river's depth, strewn withstarry diamonds.
After the lapse of half an hour, on the southern side, on whichdahabeahs floated upon the water, flashed lights which, as craftsapproached them, changed into sheaves of red luster lying on the water.Nur el-Tadhil shook Idris' arm, after which, stretching out his handbefore him, he said:
"Khartum!"
XVI
They stopped at the city's limits in a house which formerly was theproperty of a rich Italian merchant, and after his murder during theassault upon the city, had fallen to Tadhil at the division of thespoils. The wives of the emir in quite a humane manner took charge ofNell who was barely alive after the rough treatment, and, though in allKhartum could be felt a wan
t of provisions, they found for the little"jan"* [* "Jan," an expression of endearment, like "little lamb."] afew dried dates and a little rice with honey; after which they led herupstairs and put her to bed. Stas, who passed the night among thecamels and horses in the courtyard, had to be content with one biscuit;on the other hand, he did not lack water, for the fountain in thegarden, by a strange chance, was not wrecked. Notwithstanding greatweariness, he could not sleep; first on account of scorpions creepingincessantly over the saddle-cloth on which he lay, and again on accountof a mortal dread that they would separate him from Nell, and that hewould not be able to watch over her personally. This uneasiness wasevidently shared by Saba, who scented about and from time to timehowled, all of which enraged the soldiers. Stas quieted him as well ashe could from fear that some injury