Through the Desert. Henryk Sienkiewicz
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in which innumerable flocks of pelicans, flamingoes, herons, wild geese, and ducks make their homes. There Stasch found his first opportunity to show what a good aim he could take and what a good shot he was. Whether he used an ordinary gun or his Renommier rifle, his shots were so true that after each one the astonished Idris and the Arab rowers smacked their lips, and each time a bird fell into the water they cried out, “Bismillah and Manalieh!”
The Arabs declared that there were a great many wolves and hyenas on the bank opposite the wilderness, and that if the carcass of a sheep were to be hidden there they would be almost certain of getting a shot. In consequence of what they heard Mr. Tarkowski and Stasch spent two nights in the wilderness near the ruins of Dimeh. But the Bedouins stole the first sheep as soon as the huntsmen had left, and the second only attracted a lame jackal, which Stasch brought down. All further hunting had to be postponed, for it was now time for the two engineers to begin their journey to inspect the water-works being erected at Bahr-Yoosuf, in the vicinity of El-Lahun, to the southeast of Medinet. Mr. Rawlison was only waiting for the arrival of Mrs. Olivier. But, unfortunately, instead of her arrival, they received a letter from the doctor telling them that she was again a victim of erysipelas, due to the bite, and would be unable to leave Port Said for some time. They were in a predicament. It was impossible for them to take the children, old Dinah, the tents, and all the servants with them, because the engineers would be here to-day and there to-morrow, and they might receive an order to go as far as the great Ibrahim Canal. Therefore, after some consideration Mr. Rawlison decided to leave Nell behind in care of Dinah and Stasch, and also of the agent of the Italian Consul and the native “Moodir” or governor. Mr. Rawlison promised Nell, who was very unwilling to part with her father, that whenever feasible he and Mr. Tarkowski would make trips to Medinet when in the vicinity, and that they would invite the children to come to them if there should be anything especially worth seeing.
“We are taking Chamis along with us,” he said, “and we will send him to you if necessary. Dinah must always accompany Nell; but as Nell does what she likes with her, you, Stasch, must look after both of them.”
“You can rest assured,” answered Stasch, “that I shall protect Nell as if she were my own sister. She has Saba, I have the rifle, and now let any one dare harm her.”
“That is not the point!” said Mr. Rawlison. “You can not possibly need Saba and the rifle. Only please see that she does not get too tired, and also that she does not take cold. I have asked the Consul to send for a doctor from Cairo at once should she become ill. We will send Chamis as often as possible to bring us news from you. The Moodir will also visit you. Besides, I hope we shall not be away very long.”
Mr. Tarkowski also cautioned Stasch well. He told him that Nell did not need his protection, for in Medinet, as also in the whole province of El-Fayoum, there were no wild people nor wild animals, and that it would be ridiculous, and unworthy of a boy in his fourteenth year, to imagine such a thing. And so he had only to be careful and attentive, and not to undertake any kind of an expedition on his own account, especially on camels with Nell, for one ride on them tires any one out. But when Nell heard this she looked so sad that Mr. Tarkowski had to calm her.
“Of course,” he said, stroking her hair, “you shall ride on camels, but with us, or on the way to us, when we send Chamis to fetch you.”
“And can we not make any excursions by ourselves, not even tiny little ones?” asked the girl.
And with her forefinger she demonstrated exactly the size of the little excursions. The fathers at last gave in, on condition that they would be led on donkeys and not on camels, and that they were not to go out to the ruins, where they might easily fall into a hole, but on the roads to the neighboring fields and the gardens on the outskirts of the town. The Dragomans and Cooks servants were always to accompany the children.
Then the two gentlemen left, but they did not go far away—only to Hawaret-el-Makta—so that ten hours later they were able to return to Medinet for the night. This they did for several successive days, until they had inspected the work in the vicinity. Then, as they were obliged to inspect work in places somewhat farther away, Chamis came riding up at night, and early in the morning took Stasch and Nell along with him to the little town where their fathers wanted to show them something of interest. The children spent most of the day with their fathers, and toward sunset returned to their tents in Medinet. But some days Chamis did not come, and then Nell, notwithstanding she had the company of Stasch and Saba, in whom she always discovered new talents, would watch lovingly for the messenger. In this manner the time passed until the feast of the Three Holy Kings, on which day the two engineers returned to Medinet.
Two days later they went away again, after having announced that they would now be gone a longer time, and would probably travel as far as Beni Suef, and from there to El-Fasher, to the canal which stretches along the Nile far southward. Therefore the children were greatly surprised when Chamis appeared at Medinet on the third day about eleven o’clock. Stasch, who had gone to the pasture to watch the camels, saw him first. Chamis talked with Idris and told Stasch that he was there only on his and Nell’s account, and that he was coming to the tents to tell them where their two fathers had ordered them to go. The boy immediately ran with this great piece of news to Nell, whom he found playing with Saba before the tent.
“Have you heard the news yet? Chamis is here!” he cried out from afar.
Nell immediately began to hop, holding both feet together, as little girls do when skipping.
“We are going away! We are going away!”
“Yes, we are going away, and quite far away.”
“And where to?” asked she, brushing aside the hair from her forehead.
“I don’t know. Chamis said he would come here directly and tell us.”
“Then how do you know that we are going far away?”
“Because I heard Idris say that he and Gebhr would depart at once with the camels. That means that we are going by train and that the camels will be sent there in advance to where our fathers are, and from there we shall make various excursions.”
Nell had hopped about so long that her loose front hair covered not only her eyes, but her whole face, and her feet rebounded as quickly as though made of rubber.
A quarter of an hour later Chamis came and bowed before them:
“Khauagé (young man),” said he to Stasch, “we leave in three hours by the next train.”
“For what place?”
“To El-Gharak el-Sultani, and from there, together with the two gentlemen, on camels to Wadi Rayan.”
Stasch’s heart beat with joy, but at the same time he was surprised at Chamis’ words. He knew that Wadi Rayan was a large, round, sandy ledge of rocks which rises in the Libyan Desert to the south and southwest of Medinet, and that Mr. Tarkowski and Mr. Rawlison had said when they left that they were going in a diametrically opposite direction—toward the Nile.
“What has happened?” asked Stasch. “So my father and Mr. Rawlison are not in Beni Suef, but in El-Gharak?”
“That is so,” answered Chamis.
“But they have given orders to have their letters sent to El-Fasher.”
“In this letter the elder effendi tells why they are in El-Gharak.” And he searched his clothes a while for the letter, and then called out:
“Oh, Nabi! (prophet) I have left the letter in the packet with the camel-drivers. I will run and get it before Idris and Gebhr depart.”
He ran to the camel-drivers, and meanwhile the children and Dinah began to prepare for the journey. As a longer excursion lay before them, Dinah packed up some underlinen and warmer clothes for Nell. Stasch also thought of his things, and took special pains not to forget the rifle and the cartridges, as he hoped to come across wolves and hyenas on the sand-dunes of Wadi Rayan.
Chamis did not return until an