"See him hanged first!" cried Harry. "What! yield up to an old monkey like that, and walk tamely to the camp at the tail of his camel? No such thing! If I am to become a prisoner, it will be to one who can take me."

Terence, rather ashamed at having shown such facile submission, now rushed to the opposite extreme; and drawing his dirk, cried out, "By Saint Petrick! I'm with you, Harry! Let's die, rather than yield ourselves prisoners to such a queer old curmudgeon!"

Colin, before declaring himself, glanced sharply around, carrying his eye towards the _embouchure_ of the ravine, to a.s.sure himself that the Arab was alone.

As there was n.o.body else in sight, and no sound heard that would indicate the proximity of any one, it was probable enough that the rider of the maherry was the only enemy opposed to them.

"The deil take him!" cried Colin, after making his cautious reconnaissance. "If he take us, he must first fight for it. Come on, old skinflint! you'll find we're true British tars, ready for a score such as you!"

The three youths had by this time unsheathed their shining daggers, and thrown themselves into a sort of triangle, the maherry in their midst.

The old sheik, unprepared for such a reception, was altogether taken aback by it; and for some seconds sate upon his high perch seemingly irresolute how to act.

Suddenly his rage appeared to rise to such a pitch that he could no longer command his actions; and bringing the long gun to his shoulder, he levelled it at Harry Blount, who had been foremost in braving him.

The stream of smoke, pouring forth from its muzzle, for a moment enveloped the form of the youthful mariner; but from the midst of that sulphury _nimbus_ came forth a clear manly voice, p.r.o.nouncing the word "Missed!"

"Thank G.o.d!" cried Terence and Colin, in a breath; "now we have him in our power! He can't load again! Let's on him altogether! Heave he!"

And uttering this nautical phrase of encouragement, the three mids, with naked dirks, rushed simultaneously towards the maherry.

The Arab, old as he may have been, showed no signs either of stiffness or decrepitude. On the contrary, he exhibited all the agility of a tiger-cat; along with a fierce determination to continue the combat he had initiated, notwithstanding the odds that were against him. On discharging his gun, he had flung the useless weapon to the ground; and instead of it now grasped a long curving scimitar, with which he commenced cutting around him in every direction.

Thus armed, he had the advantage of his a.s.sailants; for while he might reach any one of them by a quick cut, they with their short dirks could not come within thrusting distance of him, without imminent danger of having their arms, or perchance their heads, lopped sheer off their shoulders.

Defensively, too, had the rider of the maherry an advantage over his antagonists. While within distance of them, at the point of his curving blade, seated upon his high perch, he was beyond the reach of their weapons. Get close to him as they might, and spring as high as they were able, they could not bring the tips of their daggers in contact with his skin.

In truth, there seemed no chance for them to inflict the slightest wound upon him; while at each fresh wheel of the maherry, and each new sweep of the scimitar, one or other of them was in danger of decapitation.

On first entering upon the fight, our adventurers had not taken into account the impregnable position of their antagonist. Soon, however, did they discover the advantages in his favour, with their own proportionate drawbacks. To neutralise these was the question that now occupied them. If something was not done soon, one or other, perhaps all three, would have to succ.u.mb to that keen cutting of the scimitar.

"Let's kill the camel!" cried Harry Blount, "that'll bring him within reach; and then--"

The idea of the English youth was by no means a bad one; and perhaps would have been carried out. But before he could finish his speech, another scheme had been conceived by Terence, who had already taken steps towards its execution.

It was this that had interrupted Harry Blount in the utterance of his counsel.

At school the young Milesian had been distinguished in the exercise of vaulting. Leap-frog had been his especial delight; and no mountebank could bound to a greater height than he. At this crisis he remembered his old accomplishment, and called it to his aid.

Seeking an opportunity, when the head of the maherry was turned towards his comrades, and its tail to himself he made an energetic rush; sprang half a score of feet from the ground; and flinging apart his feet, while in the air, came down, stride legs upon the croup of the camel.

It was fortunate for the old Arab that the effort thus made by the amateur _saltimbanque_ had shaken the dirk from his grasp, else, in another instant, the camel would have ceased to "carry double."

As it was, its two riders continued upon its back; but in such close juxtaposition, that it would have required sharp eyes and a good light to tell that more than one individual was mounted upon it.

Fast enfolded in the arms of the vigorous young Hibernian, could scarce be distinguished the carcase of the old Arab sheik, shrunken to half size by the powerful compression; while the scimitar, so late whistling with perilous impetuosity through the air, was now seen lying upon the sand, its gleam no longer striking terror into the hearts of those whose heads it had been threatening to lop off.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.

HOLDING ON TO THE HUMP.

The struggle between Terence and the sheik still continued, upon the back of the maherry. The object of the young Irishman was to unhorse, or rather uncamel, his antagonist, and get him to the ground.

This design the old Arab resisted toughly, and with all his strength, knowing that dismounted he would be no match for the trio of stout lads whom he had calculated on capturing at his ease. Once _a pied_ he would be at their mercy, since he was now altogether unarmed. His gun had been unloaded; and the shining scimitar, of which he had made such a dangerous display, was no longer in his grasp. As already stated it had fallen to the ground, and at that precious moment was being picked up by Colin; who in all probability would have used it upon its owner, had not the latter contrived to escape beyond its reach.

The mode of the sheik's escape was singular enough. Still tenaciously holding on to the hump, from which the young Irishman was using every effort to detach him, he saw that his only chance of safety lay in retreating from the spot, and, by this means, separating the antagonist who clutched him from the two others that threatened upon the ground below.

A signal shout to the maherry was sufficient to effect his purpose. On hearing it the well-trained quadruped wheeled, as upon a pivot, and in a shambling, but quick pace, started back towards the ravine, whence it had late issued.

To their consternation, Colin and Harry beheld this unexpected movement; and before either of them could lay hold of the halter, now trailing along the sand, the maherry was going at a rate of speed which they vainly endeavoured to surpa.s.s. They could only follow in its wake, as they did so, shouting to Terence to let go his hold of the sheik, and take his chance of a tumble to the ground.

Their admonitions appeared not to be heeded. They were not needed, at least after a short interval had elapsed.

At first the young Irishman had been so intent on his endeavours to dismount his adversary that he did not notice the signal given to the maherry, nor the retrograde movement it had inaugurated. Not until the camel was re-entering the ravine, and the steep sides of the sand-dunes cast their dark shadows before him, did he observe that he was being carried away from his companions.

Up to this time he had been vainly striving to detach the sheik from his hold upon the hump. On perceiving the danger, however, he desisted from this design, and at once entered upon a struggle of a very different kind, to detach himself.

In all probability this would have proved equally difficult: for struggle as he might, the tough old Arab, no longer troubling himself about the control of his camel, had twisted his sinewy fingers under the midshipman's dirk-belt, and held the latter in juxtaposition to his own body, supported by the hump of the maherry, as if his very life depended on not letting go.

A lucky circ.u.mstance, and this only, hindered the young Irishman from being carried to the Arab encampment: a circ.u.mstance very similar to that which on the preceding night had led to the capture of that same camel.

Its halter was again trailing.

Its owner, occupied with the "double" which it had so unexpectedly been called upon to carry, was conducting it only by his voice, and had neither thought nor hands for the halter.

Once again the trailing end got into the split hoof, once again the maherry was tripped up; and came down neck foremost upon the sand.

Its load was spilled, Bedouin and Hibernian coming together to the ground, both, if not dangerously hurt, at least so shaken, as, for some seconds to be deprived of their senses.

Neither had quite recovered from the shock, when Harry Blount and Colin, coming up in close pursuit, stooped over the prostrate pair; and neither Arab nor Irishman was very clear in his comprehension, when a crowd of strange creatures closed around them, and took possession of the whole party; as they did so yelling like a cohort of fiends.

In the obfuscation of his "sivin" senses, the young Irishman may have scarcely understood what was pa.s.sing around him. It was too clear to his companions, clear as a catastrophe could be, to those who are its victims.

The shot fired by the sheik, if failing in the effect intended, had produced a result almost equally fatal to the three fugitives. It had given warning to the Arabs in their encampment; who, again sallying forth, had arrived just in time to witness the "decadence" of the camel, and now surrounded the group that encircled it.

The courageous representative of England, and the cool young Scotchman, were both taken by surprise, too much so to give them a chance of thinking either of resistance or flight; while the mind of the Irish middy, from a different cause, was equally in a hopeless "muddle."

It resulted in all three being captured, and conducted up the ravine towards the camp of the wreckers.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

OUR ADVENTURERS IN UNDRESS.

Our adventurers made their approach to the _douar_, for such is the t.i.tle of an Arab encampment, with as much unwillingness as Sailor Bill had done. Equally _sans ceremonie_, or even with less ceremony, did they enter among the tents, and certainly in a less becoming costume: since all three were stark naked, with the exception of their shirts.