In the Mahdi's Grasp Part 59

"But who is this chief, Emir, or whatever he is?" said the professor, stopping before the doctor and Frank suddenly. "I've never heard of him before."

"I know nothing about him whatever, only what I have told you. He is some friend of the Emir's son, and of course belongs to their party."

"I suppose so," said the professor excitedly. "Well, it all seems simple enough now, Robert, my son. You must set Ibrahim to work the first time the Emir comes in, and tell him we have discovered that this other Emir's slave--Tut-tut-tut! reduced to camel driving! Poor old Hal! But better that than having his head cut off, eh? Let's see; what was I saying? I remember: that this other Emir's slave is a very dear old friend of ours, and that he must get him set free--or buy him--or let us buy him to come and help us. Oh dear! oh dear! Only fancy coming out to the Soudan to buy our old school-fellow! Then when we have got him we must make our plans and be off some dark night, and--I say, though," he said piteously, after a pause, "that won't do. Sounds childish, doesn't it?"

"It would not do," said Frank firmly.

"And it does sound childish, my dear Fred," said the doctor; "don't you think so?"

"Of course it does," replied the professor. "It would upset everything; but I'm so completely knocked off my balance that I don't know what to propose. Yes, I do. Look here: I know. The poor fellow has been a prisoner for years, and looks old and thin, Frank says. Then we must send Ibrahim at once to tell him help is at hand, and put him out of his misery. No, no, no; that sounds like putting him out of his misery altogether. What do you think, Frank?"

"That we have been _very_ careful so far, and have at last been thoroughly successful."

"Yes, yes; of course," cried the professor excitedly.

"Now we must be more cautious than ever."

"Exactly; we must tell Ibrahim not to do the slightest thing to excite suspicion."

"I am not going to trust Ibrahim to communicate with Hal," said Frank decisively. "I must do this myself."

"You?" cried the doctor in surprise; and the professor looked at him wonderingly.

"Why do you both stare at me like that?" said Frank warmly. "How is Ibrahim to get leave to speak to my brother?"

"For the matter of that," cried the professor testily, "how are you to manage?"

"I don't know yet, but in a way I have been introduced there, and have stood close to the poor fellow. Why may I not manage to go there again?

The Emir's son would take me anywhere I wished."

"That is true, Fred," said the doctor quietly.

"We cannot set anyone else to do this," cried Frank warmly. "This must be my task."

"Well, I daresay you are right," said the professor; "your black skin is a pa.s.sport anywhere. But you must act at once."

"If I can," said Frank gravely. "There must be no undue haste."

"There I don't agree with you, my dear boy," said the professor, "for these Emirs, even if they have homes in the city, are here to-day and gone to-morrow, in these warlike times. They are wandering people, and it would be horrible to awaken some morning and find that poor Hal was gone."

"But we could trace him now," said the doctor warmly. "Hah! One begins to breathe freely now that there is a bit of blue sky among the clouds."

"Well, perhaps you are right, Frank," said the professor, in a more satisfied tone. "The lead belongs to you too after this discovery, but you must be careful, lad."

"Try and trust me," was the reply; "but even now I am ready to think it was all a dream."

"Here," cried the professor, "let us tell the Sheikh and poor Sam," and hurrying to the window he beckoned both in from the grounds, where the Sheikh was seeing to his treasured camels and Sam was looking on.

"Then hadn't I better begin to pack up at once, gentlemen?" said the latter eagerly, after he had been twice checked in his exuberant joy.

"Begin to pack up?" said the professor wonderingly. "What for?"

"To get back into a Christian country, sir," said Sam warmly. "We've found Mr Harry, and he's alive. Let's be off at once, I say. I haven't grumbled, gentlemen, and I ain't never said a word, but I've gone to bed every night--if you can say that thing they calls a anger reb is a bed--every night feeling wondering like that I've got a head left to put on the pillow. Ugh! It's a horrible place, where no one's safe for ten minutes together. Hadn't I better begin to pack?"

"When we have my brother safe," said Frank, smiling. "I'm afraid, Sam,"

he added sadly, "that we have a good deal to do yet before we start."

"Yes," said the Sheikh gravely, "and the young Excellency must take more care than ever. If there was the slightest suspicion that we were here to take his brother away all our heads would fall."

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.

FRESH GIFTS.

Fortunately for Frank's plans the Emirs who led the late arrivals of forces took up their residence right at the other end of the city, outside which their savage followers were for the most part encamped, and in the various rides about the place which the young man had with his companion none of them were encountered, though men of another tribe were. For it was evident that forces were being mustered largely with Omdurman as a centre--a fact which gave strength to the rumours the Sheikh brought in daily that the combined English and Egyptian forces were steadily coming up the Nile.

But to Frank these rumours regarding the army were as if they did not exist. His whole being was concentrated upon the one aim--to obtain an interview with his brother; and a week had pa.s.sed with this apparently as far off as ever.

The friends obtained a little information through Ibrahim, and, briefly condensed, it amounted to this: That Harry Frere--no longer kept in irons--was rather a favoured slave of the Emir he was with, but he was always jealously guarded, and constantly in close attendance upon his owner, having in charge the Emir's horses and camels. But though Frank had seen him once more during a call which the Emir's son had made upon the chief who had protected him on that special day, he had not been able to get half so near as before, and, to add to his misery, his brother had not once turned towards where Frank with throbbing breast strove for a glance.

Accident, however, often does more than the most carefully devised plans, and it was so here.

Pending the arrival of more savage troops, the Emir and his son spent a good deal of time in a kind of rough drilling of the powerful body of men who followed their standard, and it became quite a matter of course for Frank to accompany the young chief, who made him more and more a companion; but there were days when they rode about together, and as Frank grew more familiar with the city his Baggara companion willingly enough allowed him to select the way they went, and naturally enough Frank arranged that either in going or coming they should pa.s.s the friendly chiefs house.

It was easily managed, for Frank, who had naturally enough been pleased with the beautiful Arabian horse he rode, made this the excuse in a dumb way of displaying a deep interest in horses and camels, taking the young Emir about among their own, examining the Emir's stud in his company, and finally contriving to make him understand that he wanted to see those belonging to his friend.

All happened more favourably than he could have antic.i.p.ated, and as Frank's companion readily joined in anything that seemed to please his friend, it came about that one day Frank found himself in the Emir's place, inspecting the beautiful horses and camels which formed the chiefs princ.i.p.al wealth.

They were shown readily enough, the chief looking proud and pleased with the eager examination and satisfaction expressed by his visitors, having first one and then another saddled for the friends to try, though, while showing a smiling face and making much of the various n.o.ble-looking brutes, there was a weary sickness about the young man's heart as he sought in vain for an opportunity to make himself known to the Emir's slave. Meanwhile Harry led up horse after horse, saddled and unsaddled, even holding his brother's stirrup, but never displaying the slightest emotion, when Frank was thrilling in every fibre as he made use of Harry's hand and shoulder unnecessarily while mounting the kneeling camel which he had been holding when they first met.

It was something, that touch, and to be so near to his brother. A word would have been sufficient to make his presence known, but Frank dared not utter that word, for the Emir was there giving orders to his slave, and his companion was always close by, so that it was impossible to slip that tightly folded sc.r.a.p of paper into the young officer's hand. It only contained a few words, but they would have been enough if he could have given them with a word of warning to Harry not to look at the paper till they were gone.

"_Cheer up! Friends are near.--Frank_."

That was all; and those words lay all through the visit ready to Frank's hand, while with patient endurance his brother toiled away, coming and going with horse and camel, till the young Emir began to grow impatient and Frank dared not express a desire to see more, nor yet turn to look after the slave leading away the last horse.

But Frank felt that the visit was not in vain. He had gained something, and he said to himself if he could get to the Emir's place some day alone and under some pretence about the horses, he might manage to have a word or two with the prisoner.

But what was the excuse to be?--Could he contrive to get there alone some day when the young Emir was away with his followers?

That seemed very doubtful, for twice of late when he had taken his men out upon the sandy plain away from the river he had invited and taken Frank with him, and the rides had been startling, for the young chief's manner suggested that since their encounter with the dervishes he had some thought of making him one of his followers, a member of a wild troop of desert warriors.

Still Frank thought that there must be some way of compa.s.sing a meeting with his brother, one that would excite no suspicion, and one evening when he had been talking the matter over with his friends, and a score of ideas had been proposed, each of which possessed some failing spot and caused it to be thrown aside, the right thought came.

They were sitting together feeling rather despondent, and the Hakim as a last resource began to talk of the possibility of an appeal to the Emir to gain the liberty of the young English slave, but only to make Frank shake his head sadly.

"He would not do it," said the young man, "and he will never part with us. See how the sufferers have been coming in these last three days."