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 THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE VEILED MAN
 
 Novels by William Le Queux 
 
 IF SINNERS ENTICE THEE 
 
 THE DAY OF TEMPTATION 
 
 SCRIBES AND PHARISEES 
 
 DEVIL'S DICE 
 
 WHOSO FINDETH A WIFE 
 
 ZORAIDA 
 
 THE GREAT WAR IN ENGLAND 
 
 THE EYE OF ISTAR 
 
 A MADONNA OF THE MUSIC HALLS 
 
 THE GREAT WHITE QUEEN
 
 «'Tn|-. SINGLE CAPTIVE WHO BEGGED NO FAVOUR. 
 
 P. 291. 
 
 THE VEILED MAN. 
 
 J-rotUis/iiece.
 
 1 1 11-^ o « a 
 
 VEILED MAN 
 
 Being an Account of the Risks and 
 Adventures of Sidi Ahamadou, Sheikh 
 of the Azjar Marauders of the Great 
 Sahara . . < . . 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 
 Author of "If Sinners Bntice Thee," "Devil's 
 Dice," "Zoraida," "Whoso Findeth a Wife," 
 "The Eye of Istar," etc. 
 
 Illustrated by Alfred Pearse 
 
 LONDON: F. V. WHITE & CO. 
 14, BEDFORD STREET . 
 STRAND, W.C. 1899 .
 
 This Edition enjoys copyright in all coiint>ies signatory to the Berne Treaty, 
 and must not be imported into the United States of America.
 
 FR 
 
 AUTHOR'S NOTE 
 
 The remarkable adventures of the notorious 
 robber-sheikh Ahamadou, " the Abandoned 
 of Allah," once the terror of the Areg 
 Desert, but now friendly to the French, 
 were collected during a journey across the 
 Great Sahara. In the belief that some 
 description of the wild life of the Desert, 
 with its romance and mystery, told by one 
 upon whose head a price was set for twelve 
 years, and who a dozen times narrowly 
 escaped capture, may interest those fond of 
 adventure, I have translated, edited, and 
 presented these reminiscences in their 
 present form. 

 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PACK 
 
 I. The City of the Seven Shadows . . .1 
 
 II. A Sappho of the Sand .... 38 
 
 III. The Secret of Sa 74 
 
 IV. The Three Dwarfs of Lebo . . .113 
 V. The Coming of Allah . . . .137 
 
 YI. The Evil of the Thousand Eyes . .161 
 
 YII. The Gate of Hell 190 
 
 VIII. The Queen of the Silent Kingdom . 207 
 
 IX. The Father of the Hundred Slaves . 232 
 
 X. The Mystery of Afo .... 253 
 
 XI. The Throne of the Great Torture . 274
 
 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 
 
 During half a century of constant wander- 
 ing over the silent sunlit sands, of tribal 
 feuds, of revolts, battle and pillage, of 
 bitter persistent hatreds, of exploit, foray, 
 and fierce resistance against the lounging 
 Spahis, cigarette-smoking Zouaves, black- 
 faced Turcos, and swaggering Chasseurs 
 of the French, I have met with some 
 curious adventures, and have witnessed 
 wonders more remarkable, perhaps, than 
 many of the romances related by the Arab 
 story-tellers. They mostly occurred before 
 I was chosen sheikh of the Azjar; when 
 I was simply one of a band of desert-pirates, 
 whose only possessions were a long steel 
 lance, a keen, finely-tempered poignard, 
 
 B
 
 2 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 and a white stallion, the speed of which 
 was unequalled by those of my companions. 
 A thief I was by birth; a scholar I had 
 become by studying the Tarih, the Iliraz, 
 the Ibtiliadj, and the Koran, under the 
 Marabut Essoyouti in Algiers ; a philo- 
 sopher I fain would be. When riding over 
 the great limitless red-brown sands, I was 
 apt to forget the race whence I sprang, 
 the learning that had made me wise, the 
 logical reasonings of a well-schooled brain, 
 and give myself up with all the rapture 
 of an intense enthusiasm to the emotion 
 of the hour. It was the same always. 
 Essoyouti, a scholar renowned throughout 
 Tripoli and Tunis, had versed me in legen- 
 dary lore, until I had become fall of glowing 
 fancies and unutterable longing to pene- 
 trate the entrancing mysteries to which 
 he had so often referred as problems that 
 could never be solved. 
 
 I am a Veiled Man. Openly, I confess 
 myself a vagabond and a brigand. Living 
 here, in the heart of the Great Desert, six 
 moons march from Algiers, and a thousand
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 3 
 
 miles beyond the French outposts, theft 
 is, with my nomadic tribe, their natural 
 industry — a branch of education, in fact. 
 We augment the meagreness of our herds 
 by extorting ransoms from some of our 
 neighbours, and completely despoiling 
 others. Mention of the name of Ahama- 
 dou causes the face of the traveller on any 
 of the caravan routes between the Altas 
 mountains and Lake Tsad to pale beneath 
 its bronze, for as sheikh of the most power- 
 ful piratical tribe in the Sahara, I have 
 earned an unenviable notoriety as leader 
 of " The Breath of the Wind," while the 
 Arabs themselves have bestowed upon my 
 people three epithets which epitomise their 
 psychology: " Thieves, Hyenas, and Aban- 
 doned of Allah." 
 
 The only law recognised by my race, the 
 Touaregs, is the right of the strongest. 
 We wear the black litham wrapped about 
 our faces, leaving only our noses and eyes 
 visible, and never removing it, even at 
 meal-times. It becomes so much a part 
 of us that any one being deprived of his
 
 4 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 veil is unrecognisable to friends or relatives. 
 If one of our number is killed, and divested 
 of his veil, no one can identify him until 
 it has been restored to its place. We are 
 therefore known and dreaded as " The 
 Veiled Men." 
 
 My first journey by paths untrodden 
 resulted strangely. 
 
 For two whole moons a party of us, 
 numbering nearly three hundred, all well- 
 armed and desperate, had been lurking in 
 a narrow ravine in the far South, known as 
 the Gueden, close to the point where it is 
 crossed by the route taken by the caravans 
 from Lake Tsad to El Aghouat in Algeria. 
 News travels fast in the desert. We had 
 received word that a ca^ravan laden with 
 ivory and gold-dust was on its way from 
 Kuka to Timissao, and were awaiting it, 
 with the intention either of levying toll, 
 or attacking it with a view to plunder. In 
 our sombre robes of dark blue kano cloth 
 and black veils, we were a mysterious, for- 
 bidding-looking rabble. As day succeeded 
 day, and we remained inactive, with scouts
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 5 
 
 ever vigilant for the approacli of our prey, I 
 recollected that in the vicinity were some 
 curious rocks, with inscriptions recording 
 the Mussulman conquest, and one morning, 
 mounting my melieri^ or swift camel, rode 
 out to inspect them. 
 
 The sun rose, -and beneath its furnace- 
 heat I pushed on into the great waterless 
 wilderness of Tasili, the true extent of 
 which is unknown even to us Children of 
 the Desert, for the utter dearth of water 
 there renders a journey of many days 
 impossible. Until the maghrib hour I 
 remained in the saddle, then dismounting, 
 faced towards the Holy Ca'aba, recited my 
 fdtihatj ate a handful of dates, and squatted 
 to smoke and watch the fading of the blood- 
 red afterglow. On the next day, and the 
 next, I journeyed forward over the wide 
 monotonous plain, where the poison- wind 
 fanned my brow like a breath from an oven, 
 and nothing met the aching eye but glaring 
 sand and far-off horizon, until, when my 
 shadow lengthened on the sixth day after 
 parting with my companions, I found myself
 
 6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 within sight of a range of high hills, 
 looming darkly against the brilliant sunset. 
 Well acquainted as I was with the 
 geography of my native sands, I had never 
 heard mention of these hills, and was there- 
 fore convinced that I had mistaken the 
 route to the great black rock whereon the 
 inscriptions were engraved, and was now 
 approaching a region unexplored. On many 
 occasions I had traversed the caravan route 
 to Timissao, and crossed the rocky ravine 
 where my companions were now in ambush ; 
 but none of us had ever before left that 
 track, clearly defined by its bleaching bones, 
 for to the solitary traveller in that inhospi- 
 table region a pricked water-skin or a lame 
 camel means death. With irrepressible awe 
 I gazed upon the hills, clothed in the deep 
 purple hght of the descending sun, because 
 of one strange thing my eyes had detected. 
 I saw, above the serrated line, two cone- 
 like peaks, rising close to one another, in 
 majesty solemn and sublime, and recog- 
 nised in them a scene exactly as described 
 by my master Essoyouti, in one of the
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 7 
 
 curious romances he was fond of relating. 
 I stood recalling every detail of the scene, 
 just as I had imagined it when, seated 
 under the vine, in the cool patio of his 
 house, in the ancient Kasbah at Algiers, 
 he had told me a story that held me 
 breathless and entranced. 
 
 Worn with fatigue, exhausted and feverish 
 from long exposure to the fiery sun, half 
 stifled by the sand-laden wind, and riding a 
 camel scarcely less jaded than myself, I 
 confess that, despite my love of adventure, 
 and by reason of the strangeness of the story 
 I had heard, I contemplated with no little 
 dread the prospect of passing that night 
 alone within sight of those twin mountain- 
 crests. Twilight is brief in the desert, and 
 soon the moon, having risen from behind a 
 bank of cloud, afforded an uncertain light, 
 which partly illuminated the prospect, and 
 I sat hugging my knees and thinking deeply 
 until sleep closed my eyes. 
 
 Before the appearance of the first saffron 
 streak that heralds the sun's coming, I had 
 recited a sura and mounted, with my face
 
 8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 set resolutely towards tlie unknown range. 
 In the skin across my saddle I liad only 
 just sufficient water to enable me to return 
 to our ambusli, therefore I broke not my 
 fast, determined to hoard up my frugal 
 store. The sand w^as soft and treacherous. 
 At every step my camel's spongy feet sank 
 deeper and deeper, until, after a toilsome 
 ride of three hours, we arrived near the 
 foot of the two dark, ominous-looking 
 mountains. Then I pulled up, fearing to 
 proceed further lest we should be over- 
 whelmed by the quicksands. 
 
 Near me was a narrow pass between the 
 two mountains, and shading my eyes with 
 my hand, I was startled at beholding two 
 gigantic figures standing on either side of 
 the entrance. The sight of them confirmed 
 my suspicion that I had approached the 
 Unknown, and with curiosity aroused, I 
 urged my melieri still forward, coming at 
 last close up to the colossal figures. They 
 were fashioned from enormous blocks of 
 dark grey stone, ten times the height of 
 a human being. One, carved to represent
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 9 
 
 a beautiful woman, had her right hand lifted 
 towards the sky, while the other, a forbid- 
 ding-looking hag, with chipped, time-worn 
 face still wearing a repulsive expression, 
 pointed downward. Between these colossal 
 figures was a space of about thirty paces. 
 According to the legend related by the sage 
 Essoyouti, and told by our story-tellers 
 through ages, there existed beyond a land 
 forbidden. 
 
 I held my breath. I was about to view 
 a country that had not been viewed ; the 
 ravine known in story as the Valley of 
 the Ants. In eagerness I pressed onward, 
 leading my camel, and passing up the stony 
 valley until at length I came to a second 
 and more fertile space of vast extent, 
 covered entirely by the colossal ruins of 
 a forgotten city. 
 
 Aghast, I stood gazing upon the remark- 
 able and imexpected scene. 
 
 Ruined temples, with long rows of broken 
 columns, and great houses cracked and 
 fallen into decay, stood silent and deserted, 
 grim, grey relics of a glorious past. Here
 
 lo THE VEILED MAN 
 
 and there obelisks and colossi still stood, 
 and the broad streets of the giant city were 
 everywhere well-defined by the ruins, half- 
 buried by drifting sand on either side. 
 Above, a single eagle soared high in the 
 heavens, the only sign of life in that once 
 populous and magnificent centre of a lost 
 civilisation. 
 
 Having tethered my camel, I started 
 forward through the ocean of soft sand 
 that through centuries had drifted over the 
 place, and as I did so the story of old 
 Essoyouti recurred to me. The appearance 
 of the place agreed with the strange legend 
 in almost eveiy detail. The ruler of this 
 gigantic capital had been Balkis, the 
 wealthy and luxurious queen mentioned 
 in our Book of Everlastuig Will. This 
 was actually the city of Saba, once the 
 wealthiest and most magnificent capital 
 in the world. According to the legend of 
 the sages, this place existed somewhere in 
 the Great Desert, but whereabouts no man 
 had been able to determine, although it 
 was believed that its entrance was between
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS ii 
 
 two cone-like mountains, but surrounded 
 by quicksands of so treacherous a nature 
 that none dare approach it. 
 
 With hurried footsteps I scrambled on 
 over fallen columns and great blocks of 
 hewn stone, with inscriptions in characters 
 unknown to me, until suddenly my eyes 
 were bewildered at beholding on the 
 mountain-side an enormous palace, with 
 beautiful terraces and pavilions, apparently 
 in an excellent state of preservation. From 
 the city it was approached by a long flight 
 of wide stone steps, flanked on either side 
 by a pair of colossal figures of similar design 
 to those at the entrance of the Valley of 
 the Ants. 
 
 At first, I doubted that the scene before 
 me was one of actual reahty, but having 
 reassured myself that I was not dreaming, 
 and was entirely in possession of my senses, 
 I gripped my long lance firmly, and started 
 to ascend the thousand steps that gave 
 access to the historic palace of Balkis. 
 Hardly, however, had I placed my foot 
 upon the first step, when my eyes were
 
 12 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 blinded by a liglitning-flasli, and my ears 
 deafened by a crash of thunder, that, 
 shaking the earth, resounded among the 
 hills, until it became lost in innumerable 
 echoes. 
 
 I halted in suspicion, puzzled to account 
 for the strange phenomenon, which seemed 
 hke some ominous warning. 
 
 Nothing daunted, however, I sprang up 
 the steps, two by two, halting but once to 
 regain breath, and in a few minutes entered 
 the great, marvellously-sculptured portals 
 of the magnificent dwelling-place of one of 
 the most powerful and beautiful women the 
 world ever knew. About to enter, my foot- 
 steps were suddenly arrested by the dis- 
 covery that the floor of the palace was of 
 running water, wherein fish disported them- 
 selves, and in the centre, raised upon a dais 
 of ivory and gold, was the great empty 
 throne of Balkis, constructed entirely of 
 chalcedony, amethysts, and rubies. 
 
 The extent of my discoveries entranced 
 me. I twisted up my robe, and prepared 
 to wade through the water, when, on setting
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 13 
 
 foot into it, I discovered to my amazement 
 that the floor was of transparent glass, laid 
 over the running water, thus keeping the 
 palace uniformly cool during the hottest 
 hours. On approaching the throne I at 
 once became aware of its enormous value, 
 and with my poignard prised from its setting 
 one of the largest rubies my eyes had ever 
 beheld. It was the size of a pigeon's ^gg^ 
 and of matchless colour. 
 
 Through the wonderful courts of the 
 deserted palace I wandered, amazed at 
 every turn. Of gigantic proportions, with 
 strange grotesque embellishments that 
 clearly showed its ancient origin, it had 
 stood here in the zenith of its magnificence 
 ages before the days of the Prophet, and for 
 many centuries had remained hidden from 
 the sight of man within that unknown 
 valley. From the flat roof of one of its 
 pavilions I stood gazing dowTi upon the 
 once mighty city, trying to reconstruct it 
 in my imagination, and endeavouring to 
 form an idea of its aspect in the long-past 
 days, when the hosts of Balkls went forth
 
 14 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 to battle, and when the beautiful queen 
 herseK flashed forth in her golden chariot, 
 amid the wild plaudits of the multitude. 
 
 Many hours I spent in exploring this 
 wonderful relic of a decayed civilisation, 
 visiting pavilion after pavilion and finding 
 most of them knee-deep in the accumulated 
 dust of ages, until at last I came to a small 
 chamber built right against the side of the 
 mountain. This I entered, finding traces 
 of the most extravagant luxury within. 
 The decorations were richly ornamented 
 with gold even now untarnished, the beams 
 supporting the roof being set with gems 
 which sparkled where a ray of sunlight fell 
 upon them. Beyond was a door which, on 
 examination, proved to be of solid iron. On 
 dragging it open there was disclosed a 
 small, dark, and cavernous burrow into the 
 mountain-side. Minutely I examined this 
 door, and finding thereon great bolts with 
 sockets sunk deeply into the solid rock, it 
 occurred to me that in this place might be 
 hidden some of the treasure that the Koran 
 tells us was possessed by the great Queen
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 15 
 
 Balkis. Cupidity prompted me to search, 
 and having constructed a large improvised 
 torch, I propped open the door with a huge 
 stone sculptured to represent a lion's paw, 
 and started forward up the narrow gloomy 
 tunnel. The natural sides of the cavern 
 were rough, gleaming with long pendant 
 stalactites ; hut soon it grew larger, and the 
 air became so warm that the perspii-ation 
 fell from my brow in big drops. One or two 
 articles, old cross-hilted swords, a rusty, 
 dinted helmet and a battered breastplate, 
 showed that this place had long ago been 
 frequented, therefore I pressed forward 
 eagerly, hoping to discover that which 
 would render me wealthy. The increasing 
 heat within the cavern surprised me ; 
 nevertheless I went forward, my torch held 
 high above my head, my eyes eagerly 
 strained into the impenetrable gloom, and my 
 feet stumbling ever and anon over the uneven 
 ground, until suddenly a harsh grinding 
 noise fell upon my ears, and next second a 
 crushing blow fell full upon my skull, felling 
 me like a log and rendering me unconscious.
 
 i6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 How long I remained in that dark stifling 
 tunnel I have no idea. 
 
 When, slowly and painfully, I opened my 
 eyes I found that my veil had been removed, 
 my brow deftly bandaged, and my fevered 
 head was resting upon a woman's cool 
 hand. A soft feminine voice gave me 
 ** Peace," and turning I saw by the light of 
 a burning brazier that my companion was a 
 girl of wondrous beauty. Her face was of 
 the pure Arab type, her complexion white 
 as those of the Englishwomen who come to 
 Biskra at Eamadan ; her little skull-cap was 
 thickly embroidered with seed-pearls, and 
 her bracelets and anklets, set with beautiful 
 diamonds, gleamed with a thousand irides- 
 cent fires at each movement. At first I 
 fancied myself dreaming, but when at length 
 I entirely recovered consciousness, I recog- 
 nised that we were together in a small 
 apartment hung with heavy hangings of 
 thick dark crimson stufi's. The golden per- 
 fuming-pan diffused an intoxicating odour of 
 attar of roses, and the silken couch w^hereon 
 I reclined was soft, restful, and spacious.
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 17 
 
 Turning to my companion who, instantly 
 divining my longing, banded me water in a 
 crystal goblet, I enquired wbere I was. 
 
 " Tbou art witb a friend," sbe answered. 
 " Tbou bast dared to enter tbe City of the 
 Seven Sbadows bent on plunder, and tbe 
 wratb bath fallen upon tbee." 
 
 " Didst tbou discover me ? " I asked, 
 raising myself upon my elbow, and looking 
 at ber. 
 
 Sbe nodded, and witb bent bead sat 
 witb ber luminous dark eyes fixed upon tbe 
 ground. 
 
 "Tbou bast entered tbis, tbe city upon 
 wbicb tbe seven bgbts of tbe heavens have 
 cast tbe sbadows of their wratb, and wbere 
 all who enter are accursed," she exclaimed 
 at last, speaking slowly and impressively. 
 ''Tbou camest hither v/ith evil intent, to 
 secure the treasure of Balkis. Yet out of 
 evil cometh good, for in thee I have found 
 a companion in adversity." 
 
 "In adversity I" I echoed. " What art 
 tbou?" 
 
 "I am Balkis, sole lineal descendant of 
 

 
 i8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the great queen who ruled over Saba, and 
 guardian of her treasure," she answered. 
 "I am a queen without court; a ruler 
 without people. The palace that thou hast 
 inspected is mine ; the throne from the arm 
 of which thou hast filched the great ruby is 
 my lonely seat of royalty ; for I am queen 
 of a dead city. Although I am bearer of 
 the historic name of Balkis, and possess 
 treasure of greater worth than men have 
 ever dreamed, my subjects number only 
 fourteen persons, all of whom are my rela- 
 tives and live here with me in this my 
 palace. As thou hast already seen, our 
 once-powerful city with its fifty brazen gates 
 hath fallen into decay because of the curse 
 placed upon it by Allah. The teeming 
 populace that once crowded its thorough- 
 fares and market-places have dwindled down 
 until mine own family only are left, the last 
 of a long illustrious, world-famed line. 
 Soon, alas 1 I, too, shall pass into the grave, 
 and the royal house of Balkis will become 
 extinct," and her jewel-laden breast rose 
 and fell slowly in a long deep-drawn sigh.
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 19 
 
 '' Why speakest thou in tone so melan- 
 choly?" I asked, i" Thou hast youth, 
 health, long life, everything before thee ! " 
 
 " No," she answered gravely, with her 
 white pointed chin still resting thoughtfully 
 upon her palm. '' Already I am threatened ; 
 nay, I am doomed." 
 
 *' How ? " I enquired, incredulously. 
 
 "Listen, and I will explain," she said, 
 slowly, raising her beautiful eyes to mine. 
 "About two moons ago, attired in the 
 Imick of an Arab woman, I journeyed with 
 my aged uncle to In Salah, in order to 
 make purchases in the market, as is our 
 custom twice each j^ear. On our return 
 hither we came across an encampment 
 of those red-legged dogs of French, and 
 having accepted the hospitality of their 
 tents through several days on account of 
 the sand-storms, I was surprised and 
 annoyed by receiving a declaration of love 
 from the young lieutenant in charge, whose 
 name was Victor Gaillard, and whose home, 
 he told me, was in Paris. Believing me 
 to be daughter of an Arab merchant, he
 
 20 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 announced his readiness to take me to Algiers 
 and make me his wife; hut hating these 
 youthful irresponsible masters of our land, 
 I declined that honour. He then declared 
 that at all costs I should be his, for at the 
 end of the year he was going north to the 
 seashore, where he would be quartered until 
 the spring, and that if I escaped him he 
 and his host who ruled the Desert would 
 treat me and my people as rebelUous, and 
 shoot us down like dogs. I laughed his 
 declaration to scorn, for he little dreamed 
 of my real name, birth, and dwelling-place. 
 Next day I remained in the encampment, 
 but on the following night, by bribing one 
 of the Spahi sentries with a ring from my 
 finger, I and my uncle managed to escape, 
 and, beneath the crescent moon, pushed 
 our way forward in the direction of Saba. 
 Through four days we travelled almost 
 incessantly, until at midnight on the fifth 
 our camels' feet sank deep into the quick- 
 sands that render the entrance to Saba 
 unapproachable. Laughing as I congratu- 
 lated myself on my cleverness at outwitting
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 21 
 
 him, I had gone some hundred paces when, 
 chancing to glance back, I saw not far 
 away, hesitating at the edge of the trea- 
 cherous belt of ground, a single horseman. 
 The glint of moonlight on his bright scab- 
 bard showed him to be an officer of the 
 Eoumis, and instantly I recognised the 
 slim silhouette of Victor Gaillard. He sat 
 motionless in his saddle, and with his field- 
 glass raised calmly watched our difficult 
 progress towards the two colossal statues 
 which have guarded the entrance to our city 
 from the day of King Solomon. My uncle, 
 noticing my alarm, also turned and detected 
 our pursuer. That night, before my family 
 assembled in the palace, I explained the 
 whole of the facts, and they, knowing how 
 relentless are these harsh infidel rulers 
 of ours, unanimously decided upon flight. 
 But I declined to leave. Was I not Balkis, 
 Queen of Saba ? Was not the great store 
 of gold and jewels given into my keeping 
 that I should remain and watch them until 
 I drew my last breath? They urged me 
 to accompany them into the mountains,
 
 22 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 but finding me obdurate all fled, leaving 
 me alone to face the unscrupulous man who 
 had declared that at all costs I should 
 become his wife. Ten weary anxious days 
 have since gone by. Yesterday thou earnest 
 hither, thy face wrapped in thy black litham^ 
 and naturally I supposed thou wert the 
 accursed infidel in disguise. I watched 
 thee explore my palace and enter to the 
 cave wherein my treasure lieth concealed. 
 When thou hadst entered I breathed more 
 freely, full well knowing that thou hadst 
 gone forward into thy grave." 
 
 '* How ? Is the tunnel azotic ? " 
 
 "No. Within is an ingenious mechani- 
 cal contrivance which was constructed by 
 Balkis herself, whereby the unsuspecting 
 intruder releases a spring, and is struck 
 down by a great iron mace." 
 
 ** I was struck," I observed. 
 
 She nodded, smiling sadly. 
 
 " When I went forward to ascertain 
 whether mine enemy still lived I found 
 thy veil unloosened, and that thy features 
 were not those of the hateful Frank.
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 23 
 
 Then I tended thee throughout the night, 
 and at dawn thou didst rally and art now 
 rapidly recovering." 
 
 " Of a verity I had a narrow escape." 
 
 '' Assuredly thou didst. Many others, as 
 adventurous and stout-hearted as thyself, 
 have met their fate at that spot." 
 
 " So thou hast remained here alone 
 and single-handed to guard the treasure of 
 thine ancestor against the pilfering of the 
 Pranks ? " I said, regarding the beautiful, 
 frail-looking girl with admiration. " Assur- 
 edly thou art as courageous as the great 
 Balkls who defied the combined powers of 
 the ancient world." 
 
 She sighed. *' It hath been the duty of 
 the Queens of Saba to remain within their 
 kingdom even if evil threatened and all 
 forsake them. I will never be wife of a 
 Frank, neither will I exhibit fear to these new 
 rulers of the Desert who are led by amorous 
 youths from Paris boulevards," she answered, 
 drawing herself up with queenly hauteur. 
 
 '* Peradventure he only useth idle 
 threats," I observed.
 
 24 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 "No. The Franks who conquered 
 Algeria and hold it beneath the thraldom of 
 the religion they call Christianity, are our 
 rulers also. He ordered me to remain in 
 the encampment on pain of being outlawed. 
 I disobeyed ; therefore I and my people are 
 rebels. That he will return and seek me 
 out I am convinced." 
 
 '' Then why not fly ? " I suggested. " I 
 will take thee to where my tribe are 
 encamped. Although we are thieves and 
 brigands, thou, a woman, wilt nevertheless 
 meet with chivalrous treatment at our 
 hands." 
 
 She shook her head, and with dogged 
 persistence announced her intention of 
 remaining, while, on my part, I promised 
 to render her whatever assistance lay in my 
 power. 
 
 '* Then first help me to remove the 
 throne into the treasure-house," she said, 
 and opening a door that had been concealed 
 behind the heavy hangings she led me into 
 the great hall where water flowed beneath 
 its pavement of glass.
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 25 
 
 Together we dragged the bejewelled seat 
 of royalty through several courts, imtil we 
 came to the small pavilion which gave 
 entrance to the cavern. Then, while she 
 carried a flaming flambeau, I toiled on with 
 it after her. When we had gone some dis- 
 tance into the heart of the mountain she 
 stooped to secure the ancient mechanism 
 so that the iron mace could not again 
 descend, and advancing some further dis- 
 tance we found ourselves in a kind of 
 cul-de-sac, with only a black wall of rock 
 before us. To the right, however, was a 
 cunningly-concealed door which gave en- 
 trance to a spacious natural chamber, where- 
 in I saw, heaped indiscriminately, the most 
 wondrous collection of golden ornaments 
 and brilliant jewels my eyes had ever gazed 
 upon. Some of them I took up, holding 
 them in my hand in wonderment. The 
 gems were of the first water, the spoils 
 taken in battle by the notorious queen once 
 feared by all the world, while heaped every- 
 where were bejewelled breastplates, gem- 
 encrusted goblets, golden dishes, and swords
 
 26 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 with hilts and scabbards thickly set with 
 precious stones. Wheresoever I trod there 
 were scattered in the fine white dust strings 
 of pearls, uncut gems, rings, and ear- 
 ornaments, while all around were piled great 
 immovable boxes of hewn stone, like coffins, 
 securely clamped with rusting iron. These 
 had never been opened, and contained, 
 according to the story of my companion, the 
 tribute of enormous worth sent by King 
 Solomon to Balkis. These I examined 
 carefully, one after another, at length dis- 
 covering one, the stone of which had split 
 so that a small aperture was formed. I 
 placed my hand inside and withdrew it, 
 holding between my thumb and finger 
 three cut diamonds, the like of which I 
 had never before beheld. The stone box 
 was filled to the brim with gems of every 
 kind. 
 
 In wonderment I was standing, con- 
 templating this vast wealth of a vanished 
 nation, when my fair conductress ex- 
 claimed — 
 
 " There is still one other marvel about
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 27 
 
 this place. Listen! Canst thou hear a 
 sound ? " 
 
 Distinctly I heard a dull, monotonous 
 boom, which had continued uninterruptedly 
 ever since we had been there. 
 
 "Yea. What is its cause ? " I asked. 
 
 "The interior of this mountain is as a 
 fiery furnace. That roaring is the un- 
 quenchable flame that has burned therein 
 through ages. During mine own remem- 
 brance as a child smoke hath issued from 
 the cone above, and so near are we to the 
 fiery interior here in this treasure-house 
 that its very walls are warm." 
 
 Upon the rock I placed my hand, and so 
 hot was it that I was compelled to with- 
 draw it instantly. Only a thin partition 
 of stone apparently divided us from the 
 mysterious fathomless crater. 
 
 " One of the beliefs that have come 
 down unto me through ages," Balkis said, 
 "is that within this place is Al-Hawiyat, 
 the dwelling prepared for infidels and 
 pagans, where their food shall be ofi'al, and 
 they shall slake their thirst with boiling 
 pitch."
 
 28 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 "Allali is mighty and wise," I answered. 
 ''Alone he knoweth the hearts of his ser- 
 vants. May perfect peace remain ever 
 upon thee." 
 
 *'And upon thee, Ahamadou," she re- 
 sponded, raising her bright eyes earnestly 
 to mine. " Now that I have shown thee 
 this, the wealth of my ancestors, thou wilt 
 promise never to conspire to gain posses- 
 sion of it while any of my family remain 
 here in Saba." 
 
 ''Although of a tribe of thieves, I swear 
 by Allah's might that never will I expose 
 thy secret, nor will I seek to possess myself 
 of what is thine," I answered. " Thy 
 family shall ever be as mine, for I am no 
 abuser of the salt." 
 
 "In thee do I place my trust," she 
 answered, allowing her soft hand, the hand 
 that had so deftly bandaged my injured 
 brow and bathed my face — to linger for an 
 instant within my grasp. 
 
 Then, drawing from my pouch the great 
 lustrous ruby I had stolen, I handed it 
 back to her. But she made me retain it
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 29 
 
 as souvenir of my visit to Saba, the city 
 forgotten. 
 
 The atmosphere in the treasure-house 
 was stifling. Having, therefore, deposited 
 the throne of Balkis in fitting place, we 
 left, returning through the concealed door 
 to the narrow burrow which had exit in the 
 small paviHon. Side by side we slowly 
 crossed court after court of the great palace 
 which had witnessed pageants of such 
 magnificence that their splendour has been 
 proverbial till this day, she pointing out 
 the principal objects of interest, halting to 
 explain curious sculptured wall-pictures and 
 inscriptions commemorating the triumphs 
 of the great queen, or pausing to recall 
 some long-forgotten story of love, hatred, 
 or mahce connected with the spot whereon 
 we stood. In that mellow sunset-hour, as 
 we lingered together beneath the cool 
 shadows, I learnt more of the historic, 
 time-effaced empire of Balkis than savants 
 have ever known. As scholar, it delighted 
 me to hear it from the lips of one who had 
 descended in the direct royal line from that
 
 30 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 famous woman, who, according to our Sura, 
 entitled " The Ant," became convinced 
 during her visit to Solomon that, by wor- 
 shipping the sun she had dealt unjustly 
 with her own soul, and resigned herself 
 unto Allah, the lord of all creatures. 
 
 She had given me some wine and dates, 
 and we had passed through the great hall 
 with its transparent pavement and out 
 upon the terrace before the palace when, 
 of a sudden, a loud cry escaped her. 
 
 " See ! " she gasped, dismayed. '* See ! 
 The Franks are here ! " 
 
 Next second a hulking Zouave who had 
 secreted himself behind one of the great 
 sculptured columns sprang upon her. She 
 uttered a loud scream ; but, ere he could 
 secure her hands, I had drawn my poignard 
 and dealt him an unerring blow, causing 
 him to reel and fall back heavily upon the 
 stones. 
 
 A dozen soldiers, headed by Victor 
 Gaillard, their evil-faced, narrow-browed, 
 moustached officer in his gold-laced uni- 
 form and cherry-coloured trousers, had
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 31 
 
 nearly gained the top of the steps. But 
 the ugly sight of blood had already un- 
 nerved my fair companion, Vv-ho, turniug 
 quickly to me, cried — 
 
 "Let us fly! Follow me. There is 
 but one way to escape." 
 
 She rushed away, and I followed, our 
 pursuers close at our heels. I no longer 
 wore my black litliam, therefore the elegant 
 youth from Paris, sent by the French to 
 rule the Dwellers of the Desert, could not 
 have been aware that I was a Touareg, one of 
 the bandits of the Azjar, whom he amused 
 himself by hunting when inclined for sport. 
 Onward we sped, crossing court after court, 
 until we again entered the subterranean 
 burrow, and groping along it in the dark- 
 ness, my companion found at last another 
 secret door, which she opened, pushed 
 me into it, and entering herself, closed it. 
 Then we listened. There was no sound. 
 Apparently our pursuers had not dared to 
 follow us there. 
 
 "This," she explained beneath her 
 breath, " leadeth by a secret way out
 
 32 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 upon the mouutain-side. We may yet 
 escape." 
 
 Upward we toiled in a tunnel so narrow 
 that ofttimes we were compelled to crawl 
 upon hands and knees, yet ever ascending, 
 and feeling our way, we at last, after half 
 an hour's frantic effort, saw a faint glimmer 
 of light above, and succeeded in emerging 
 upon the bare rocky side of the giant 
 mountain. 
 
 *'Let us mount still higher and pass 
 along to the other side," she urged. "I 
 know the path." 
 
 Together we started off in the fast falling 
 gloom, when suddenly I heard an excla- 
 mation in French, and, looking down, saw 
 Gaillard, with three of his Zouaves below 
 us, scrambling up as quickly as they were 
 able. 
 
 Instantly I saw that their further pro- 
 gress was barred by a sheer cliff of rock 
 quite fifty feet in height, and that we were 
 in a position impregnable. Balkis, notic- 
 ing our situation, also turned towards him 
 with a low scornful laugh.
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 33 
 
 Next instant the fierce uncurbed anger 
 of this young houlevardier found vent, for, 
 with a loud imprecation in French he 
 declared that she should never escape him, 
 and ere I could divine his intention he had 
 snatched a rifle from the man standing at 
 his side and covered the woman he had 
 desired to marry. 
 
 I sprang quickly towards my fellow- 
 fugitive ; but ere I could drag her down to 
 earth, our only cover, there was a flash, 
 a loud report, and Balkis, with a shrill 
 shriek, stumbled forward mortally wounded, 
 and rolling helplessly down the mountain- 
 side, fell dead almost at the very feet of her 
 brutal murderer. 
 
 The gold-braided officer laughed. 
 
 It was one of the most heartless assas- 
 sinations I had ever witnessed, but know- 
 ing that efforts would undoubtedly be made 
 to shoot me also, I threw myself upon my 
 stomach and crawled upward quickly with 
 hands and toes. 
 
 ''See, men; I have brought down the 
 dainty little bird!" I heard Gaillard
 
 34 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 exclaim, as he walked to where the body 
 was lying crumpled in a heap. " Give me 
 her necklaces and bracelets. The rest of 
 her jewels you may divide. She was 
 merely a rebel. It is our duty to repress 
 revolt, even though we may sometimes be 
 compelled to shoot women." 
 
 The Zouaves ruthlessly tore the jewels 
 from the body of the last remaining 
 daughter of the Queen of Saba, while their 
 lieutenant amused himself by firing at me. 
 A dozen shots he sent after me, but all the 
 bullets sang over my head, until at last, 
 when the darkness became complete, I 
 halted, breathless, behind a projection of 
 rock, and there waited, watching from my 
 elevated position the camp fires lighted, 
 and the soldiers exploring the deserted 
 ruins by the aid of flambeaux. 
 
 Once during the night I thought I heard 
 a noise like thunder, and distinctly felt the 
 mountain tremble. But soon after dawn 
 I had the satisfaction of seeing our enemies 
 strike their camp and march slowly out 
 towards the plain. The few jewels they
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 35 
 
 found about the palace they had divided 
 among themselves, and were apparently in 
 high glee. 
 
 Having remained in hiding three hours 
 after their departure I descended, passing 
 the body of the hapless Balkis, already 
 surrounded by a screaming crowd of grey 
 vultures, and, re-entering the palace to 
 ascertain the extent of the depredations 
 of the Franks, I was amazed to discover 
 a dense black smoke issuing from the pavi- 
 lion before the mouth of the cave. I tried 
 to advance, but sulphurous fumes almost 
 overcame me. Instantly I discerned the 
 truth. The thin partition of rock which 
 divided the treasure-house from the burning 
 crater within had been broken through, 
 and the suppressed fire of the volcano was 
 issuing in great volume from the burrow, 
 together with quantities of molten lava 
 and ashes which have since entirely over- 
 whelmed the ruins. 
 
 Three years afterwards I had occasion 
 to travel to Algiers to see Gaillard, then 
 raised to a responsible position in the
 
 36 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Bureau Arabe, regarding a Zouave whom 
 we had captured and afterwards set free. 
 I casually mentioned the buried ruins of 
 the forgotten City of the Seven Shadows 
 at the spot he knew so well, but he merely 
 replied — 
 
 "Ah! yes, I know. I once explored 
 them and found a curious cave there in 
 the side of the mountain. I blew it up 
 with dynamite in order that it should not 
 be used as a hiding-place by any of your 
 veiled tribe. The explosion, however, much 
 to our dismay, opened a suppressed volcano, 
 with the result that fire issued forth, killing 
 all six of our men who performed the 
 work." 
 
 Victor Gaillard, although now a Colonel, 
 and back in his beloved Paris, where he 
 sits in the Chamber of Deputies as repre- 
 sentative of a constituency in the Alpes 
 Maritimes, does not know that by the 
 irresponsible use of his explosive he lost 
 for ever the greatest collection of gold and 
 jewels that has ever been brought together. 
 The only single gem of the vast treasure
 
 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN SHADOWS 37 
 
 of Balkis that has been preserved is the 
 magnificent blood-red ruby which at this 
 moment adorns my sword-hilt. In both 
 colour and size it is matchless. Never can 
 I handle that weapon without reflecting 
 upon its tragic story, or without visions 
 rising to my eyes of the beautiful queen 
 who reigned so briefly over her vanished 
 and forgotten kingdom.
 
 11 
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 
 
 Throughout our breathless land of sun and 
 silence there is a well-known adage that 
 the word of a Veiled Man is like water 
 poured upon sand which, when once 
 dropped, is never to be recovered. I am, 
 alas, compelled to admit that there is 
 much truth in this ; nevertheless, to every 
 rule there is an exception, and in every 
 tribe of the Touaregs, fi'om those of the 
 Tidikelt to those of the Adrar, are to be 
 found men who are not thieves or evil- 
 doers, even though they may be marauders. 
 Those acquainted with the progress of 
 recent events in Algeria will remember 
 that when our brothers, the Kabyles, rose 
 against our new masters, the French, and 
 committed the terrible massacres at Al- 
 
 38
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 39 
 
 Setit, news was promptly circulated over 
 every one of the vast Saharan plains that 
 the forces of Al-Islam had, at last, risen 
 against the infidels. Eager for the fray, 
 most of the desert tribes, among them the 
 Touaregs of the Benin Sissin, Haratin, and 
 Kel-Owi, or " People of the Light," united 
 against the Eoumis. Hence, we of the 
 Azjar pressed northward in force in order 
 to unite with the warlike Beni-Mzab in a 
 formidable attack upon the French posts 
 at Gardaia and Wargla, south of the great 
 Atlas range. Assembling at the El Gettara 
 oasis we left our women, old men, and 
 children encamped, crossed the high sun- 
 baked lands of the Tademayt, then, passing 
 up the rocky waterless valley of the Miya, 
 traversed the region of bare red sandhills 
 known as the Erg, and leaving Wargla fifty 
 miles to the east, set our camels' heads 
 towards Metlili, halting one day's march 
 off that town. 
 
 In ordinary circumstances we should 
 never have dared to approach so near the 
 sphere of French influence, especially as
 
 40 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 this was the region of the Beni-Mzabs, who 
 zealously guarded any encroachment upon 
 their territory. But war had been declared 
 against the infidel, and the Shorfa (Faith- 
 ful) were uniting beneath the green banner 
 of Al-Islam. At high noon we halted, and 
 soon afterwards there appeared a French 
 Colonel with a large escort of his scarlet- 
 burnoused Spahis. The officer, who had 
 ridden from Metlili to intercept us, was 
 received courteously by Tamahu, our 
 Sheikh. He demanded the payment of 
 taxes, but the proud old man whom I have 
 since succeeded answered, "Tell that lord 
 of yours, that if he wants our taxes he 
 can come for them himself, and we will 
 make sure he gets them, in silver coins too, 
 for we will roll each franc into a bullet, 
 and deliver it to him ourselves." The 
 Colonel declared that the taxes must be 
 paid, but our Sheikh courteously requested 
 the infidel and his horsemen to return to 
 the town. 
 
 " Then you intend fightiog ? " the Colonel 
 asked, at last.
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 41 
 
 ^' We do," answered Tamahu. " Tell thy 
 lord that The Breath of the Wind decline 
 to make submission to the French." 
 
 ''You intend attacking Metlili?" the 
 officer enquired, thoughtfully, twirling his 
 pointed moustache. 
 
 Our Sheikh nodded, his keen eyes watch- 
 ing the face of the infidel. The latter's 
 countenance grew grave, whereat we, stand- 
 ing around leaning on our spears, laughed 
 in derision. 
 
 " Thou art of the great army of the 
 infidels," Tamahu said. " Yet thy face 
 palest when we speak of conflict ! " 
 
 The officer started, and knit his grey 
 brows. 
 
 " I fear not thine host of Veiled Men, 
 fierce and relentless though ye be. True, 
 I am a soldier, but one thing alone" I 
 dread." 
 
 " Thou fearest to lose thy life," observed 
 our Sheikh, knowing that the garrison at 
 that little desert town was but small and 
 weak. 
 
 " For myself I care nothing," the Colonel
 
 43 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 answered. '* It is the fate of my daughter 
 that I fear." 
 
 " Thy daughter ! Why is she here, in 
 the desert, so far from Algiers ? " 
 
 " Not having seen me for four years she 
 travelled from Paris a moon ago to visit 
 me. Both my captain and my lieutenant 
 have died of fever, and we two are now the 
 only Europeans in Metlili. The rising of 
 thy tribesmen hath occurred so unex- 
 pectedly, or I would have sent her under 
 escort hack to the coast." 
 
 " Is thy daughter a child ? " asked 
 Tamahu. 
 
 " She is nineteen," answered the officer, 
 whose name he informed us was Colonel 
 Bonnemain. We at once knew him by 
 repute as a distinguished traveller and 
 soldier. 
 
 " Thou knowest what is said of the word 
 of a Touareg," the Sheikh said, regarding 
 him keenly. 
 
 The Colonel nodded. 
 
 " Canst thou trust these my tribesmen 
 with the escort of thy daughter? " Tamahu
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 43 
 
 asked. *' If thou wilfc, no harm shall befall 
 her. We have agreed with the Mzabs to 
 attack and pillage thy town, because thou, 
 with thine horsemen, hast established a 
 post therein; therefore it must be done. 
 But the Azjars wage not war upon women, 
 and ere we commence the attack thy 
 daughter shall find safe asylum within our 
 camp." 
 
 For a moment the Colonel hesitated, 
 looking intently into the dark, bright eyes 
 of our aged head-man. But seeing honesty 
 and truth mirrored in his face the infidel 
 held out his hand, and in silence more 
 eloquent than words gripped that of his 
 enemy. At last his tongue's strings became 
 loosened. 
 
 ''Henceforth, although I am an officer 
 of the French, and compelled to fight 
 against thee, I am nevertheless thy friend, 
 and some day will prove my friendship. 
 Gabrielle shall be within thy camp at 
 dawn." 
 
 "The Azjars will give her the welcome 
 of friends," answered our Sheikh.
 
 44 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 With a brief expression of heartfelt 
 thanks Colonel Bonnemain vaulted lightly 
 into his saddle, and wishing us "Peace," 
 spurred away to where his troop of ex- 
 pectant Spahis awaited him. 
 
 " May Allah guard thee and thine ! " an- 
 swered Tamahu in response to the infidel's 
 salutation, and a moment later our enemies 
 were riding hard away towards the far-off 
 horizon. 
 
 The long breathless afternoon went slowly 
 by. We had not encamped, because we 
 knew not when our alhes, the Beni-Mzabs, 
 might approach, and rapidity of movement 
 was of urgent necessity, inasmuch as a 
 formidable French column was on the 
 march. Spent by long travel, the majority 
 of us stretched ourselves on the hot sands 
 and slept, leaving half-a-dozen to act as 
 sentinels and prevent surprise ; but at the 
 maglirib hour all were awakened by the 
 clear voice of our aged marabout reciting 
 the fatihat. Every man, without excep- 
 tion, knelt upon the sand, his back turned 
 upon the blaze of crimson in the west,
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 45 
 
 and recited the suras, praying to Allah to 
 prosper our expedition. 
 
 When we arose, Tamahu, his right hand 
 raised to heaven, and his left grasping his 
 gleaming spear, exhorted us to remain 
 faithful, and to bear arms bravely against 
 the infidels. 
 
 " Ye are called forth against a mighty 
 and a warlike nation," he exclaimed. "Ye 
 shall fight against them, or they shall pro- 
 fess Islam. If ye obey, Allah will, of a 
 verity, give you a glorious reward ; but if 
 ye turn back he will chastise you with a 
 grievous chastisement. Allah has promised 
 you many spoils, which ye should take ; 
 and he giveth these by way of earnest ; 
 and he restraineth the hand of man from 
 you ; and the same may be a sign unto the 
 true believers ; and he guideth you in the 
 right way. Allah knoweth that which ye 
 know not ; and he hath appointed you, 
 besides this, a speedy victory." 
 
 Long and earnestly the old Sheikh 
 addressed us, quoting from our Book of 
 Everlasting Will to emphasise his declara-
 
 46 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 tions. Then he referred to the compact 
 he had that day made with the leader of 
 our enemies. 
 
 ** A woman of the Franks we shall 
 receive into this our camp. Bememher, 
 O my people, that she will partake of our 
 salt, and that while this war continue th 
 she is our friend. Let not a single hair of 
 her head be injured. The word of thy 
 Sheikh Tamahu hath already been given." 
 
 That evening we spent in sharpening 
 our spears and shangermangors, prepara- 
 tory to the fight, singing snatches of war- 
 songs and discussing the prospects of the 
 attack. Perhaps of all the tribes in the 
 trackless soUtudes which constitute our 
 home, we of the Azjar are among the most 
 active, vigorous, and enterprising, inured 
 as we are to hardships, and with our mental 
 faculties sharpened almost to a preter- 
 natural degree by the hard struggle for 
 existence in our arid rocky fastnesses. 
 The rearing of oxen, horses, and goats is 
 our chief occupation, but the scarcity of 
 water and our speedy exhaustion of the
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 47 
 
 scanty pasturage of the oases keep us 
 perpetually on the march. Agriculture is 
 scarcely possible under a sky from which 
 rain does not fall for six or eight con- 
 secutive years ; therefore it is, perhaps, 
 not surprising that we have developed into 
 desert-pirates. 
 
 Those who have never set foot upon the 
 Saharan plains can possess but a vague 
 idea of their appearance. In the whole of 
 the Great Desert, a track comprising over 
 two million square miles, there is not a 
 single carriage-road, not a mile of navi- 
 gable waters, not a wheeled vehicle, canoe, 
 or boat of any kind. There are scarcely 
 even any beaten tracks, for most of the 
 routes, though followed for ages without 
 divergence of any kind, are temporarity 
 effaced by every sandstorm, and recovered 
 only by means of the permanent landmarks 
 — wells, prominent dunes, a solitary emi- 
 nence crowned with a solitary bush, the 
 remains of travellers, slaves, or camels 
 that may have perished of thirst or exhaus- 
 tion between the stations.
 
 48 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Long and patiently we waited for the 
 arrival of the woman to whom we had 
 promised protection ; but although the 
 night passed, the dawn rose, and the hours 
 crept on towards the noon, our vigilance 
 remained unrewarded. A second day passed 
 in inactivity, then, wearied of waiting, we 
 struck camp and moved forward. 
 
 The afterglow had deepened into even- 
 ing dusk when at length we came within 
 sight of Metlili. Looming high up on a 
 pinnacle of rock, white against the clear 
 sky, its appearance astonished us, for it 
 looked impregnable. Its flat-roofed houses 
 rose tier upon tier around an exceedingly 
 steep eminence crowned by a great mosque 
 with high square minaret, while at the 
 foot of the hill were some scattered date- 
 groves. 
 
 We had passed over the summit of a sand 
 ridge, and were making a dash straight 
 upon the French stronghold, when we 
 noticed that our presence had already been 
 detected. Upon the walls a few Spahis in 
 scarlet and some white-burnoused Arabs
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 49 
 
 were moving hurriedly. Suddenly there 
 was a flash from the Kasbah, followed by 
 a report, loud, sharp, echoless. Our enemies 
 had opened fire upon us. 
 
 Tamahu instantly gave the word to spur 
 forward on the wings of haste. With one 
 accord we rode in a huge compact body so 
 swiftly as to justify our popular appellation 
 "The Breath of the Wind," and, regard- 
 less of a rapid rifle-fire that was poured out 
 from the white walls, pressed forward to 
 the foot of the rock. Here we dismounted, 
 and with loud yells of savage rage dashed 
 up the rough narrow way that gave 
 entrance to the town. Many of my com- 
 panions fell dead or wounded ere they 
 reached the hastily-barred gate, but by dint 
 of fierce and dogged determination, we 
 pushed forward in force so great that we 
 managed to at last batter down the huge 
 wooden doors. Next second we poured into 
 the place in overwhelming numbers. Up 
 its steep streets, so narrow that two asses 
 could not pass abreast, we engaged Spahis 
 and Zouaves hand-to-hand. So strong
 
 50 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 was our force that soon we overwhelmed 
 them, and commenced loud cries of triumph 
 as we dashed up towards the Kasbah. Sud- 
 denly, however, as we approached it we 
 saw that its walls literally swarmed with 
 French soldiers who, at word of command, 
 fired a withering volley from their rifles 
 which caused us to hold hack dismayed. 
 
 Colonel Bonnemain had evidently re- 
 ceived reinforcements. With their firearms 
 they were more than a match for us. 
 
 " Courage, brothers ! " I heard Tamahu 
 cry as he brandished his spear. ''Let us 
 show these dogs of infidels that the Toua- 
 regs are no cowards. Of a verity the 
 Eoumis shall never be our masters." 
 
 With set teeth we sprang forward to- 
 wards the high sun-blanched walls of the 
 citadel, determined to take it by assault, 
 but alas ! its battlements were full of well- 
 armed Spahis and Turcos, and from every 
 point showers of lead swept down upon us. 
 Still we kept on undaunted. Once I caught 
 a momentary glimpse of Colonel Bonne- 
 main. He was standing upon the wall
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 51 
 
 bareheaded, shouting and waving his sword. 
 But only for an instant. He disappeared, 
 and was seen no more. 
 
 Almost at the same instant a loud inces- 
 sant spitting of guns deafened us ; bullets 
 swept through our ranks in deadly hail, 
 killing us by dozens and maiming hundreds. 
 Then, dismayed, I saw mounted on the 
 wall a strange-looking weapon, which once 
 charged shed rifle-balls in hundreds. Death 
 seemed inevitable. My companions, ap- 
 palled by the sight of that terrible engine 
 of destruction, wavered for an instant, then, 
 with a cry that Eblis was assisting the 
 infidels, turned and fled. 
 
 Above the din of battle Tamahu shouted 
 himself hoarse. But darkness having now 
 fallen, none could discern him amid the 
 dense smoke and constant flashing of the 
 guns. Thus the defenders drove us back, 
 sweeping us away with their deadly machine- 
 gun, and, making a sortie from the fortress, 
 bayonetted the more valiant ones. 
 
 Our cause seemed lost. As soon, how- 
 ever, as we had drawn the Spahis outside
 
 52 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 their fort, we turned, and re-engaging them 
 hand-to-hand, quickly hacked our way back 
 to the very gates of the Kasbah, the streets 
 in the vicinity being heaped v/ith dead and 
 dying. Suddenly, however, at the moment 
 when we were relinquishing our hope as a 
 forlorn one, loud shouts, followed by the 
 beating of tam-tams, gave us renewed 
 courage. From mouth to mouth the glad 
 tidings were repeated. The Beni-Mzabs, 
 one of the most powerful tribes on the 
 desert border, had come up, and being our 
 allies, were rendering us assistance. 
 
 Of the exciting moments which im- 
 mediately succeeded, I have but vague 
 remembrance. Suffice it to say that the 
 vv^arlike race of the Atlas to the number 
 of two thousand poured into Metlili, and 
 with our forces combined we succeeded 
 in dislodging and totally annihilating the 
 French garrison. Everywhere throughout 
 the town fighting quickly became general, 
 but in such numbers had we now assembled 
 that those holding the Kasbah were com- 
 pelled to sue for peace. The Beni-Mzabs
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 53 
 
 declined, however, to give quarter, conse- 
 quently the scenes of bloodshed were 
 terrible to behold. Before dawn the sack 
 of the town had commenced, and every- 
 where the firebrand was applied. The loot 
 obtainable was, we found, of very little 
 value, nevertheless both the Beni-Mzabs 
 and our own tribesmen were in high glee 
 at their first success against the infidel 
 forces. It was regarded as precursory of 
 a great victory. 
 
 Just as the sun was rising I was inside 
 the ancient citadel so recently the infidel 
 stronghold, and was exploring its many 
 courts with their old blue-tiled fountains 
 and cool, handsome colonnades, when 
 suddenly as I passed beneath an archway 
 in the thickness of the wall a noise startled 
 me. My companions in arms were regaling 
 themselves in an open square before the 
 great white mosque, therefore I was alone. 
 Around me lay many bodies of Touaregs, 
 Spahis, and Beni-Mzabs, while some of the 
 wounded were still groaning, dying slowly, 
 for there had been no attempt to succour
 
 54 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the disabled. To fall in a holy war is not 
 a misfortune, but the reverse. The noise, 
 a loud knock, again sounded, and turning 
 I saw a bolted door, which I at once opened, 
 and was confronted by a pretty dark-haired 
 French girl, who, glancing at me in terror 
 for an instant, screamed and fled down a 
 flight of stone stairs into an impenetrable 
 darkness. 
 
 In a moment I dashed after her. Already 
 the Kasbah had been set on fire, and to 
 save her life instant escape was necessary. 
 Below, in the small foul stone chamber, 
 used long ago as a prison, I discovered her 
 crouching. She screamed loudly at my 
 approach, fearing me, perhaps, because of 
 the mysterious black veil across my face, 
 and knowing that the Veiled Men were of 
 evil repute. 
 
 " Thou art Mademoiselle Gabrielle, 
 daughter of our friend Colonel Bonne- 
 main," I exclaimed in the best French I 
 could articulate. *'Fear not, but fly at 
 once with me, or we may both lose our 
 Hves."
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 55 
 
 ** How knowest thou my name ? " she 
 gasped in amazement. By the gHmmer of 
 light that came from the open court ahove 
 I saw that her face was beautiful hut 
 deathly pale. " True, I am daughter of 
 Colonel Bonnemain, hut thou art a Touareg. 
 Assuredly thou art our enemy, not our 
 friend. Why, it was thine hosts who 
 attacked us ! " 
 
 Briefly I explained the promise of our 
 Sheikh, assuring her of our friendship. At 
 first she was inclined to doubt my sincerity, 
 but at length I prevailed upon her to 
 accompany me in our race for life from the 
 burning ruins. Quickly we sought Tamahu, 
 and as there were no women with us she 
 was at once placed under my protection. I 
 was to be her guardian and her champion 
 during the remainder of hostilities. Long 
 and earnestly we both searched and en- 
 quired for her father, the Colonel, but could 
 discover no trace of him. Some of his 
 Spahis who survived declared that he had 
 been struck down in the earlier hours of the 
 conflict, while others maintained that they
 
 56 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 had seen him fighting uninjured up to the 
 very last. From our enquiries it appeared 
 evident that, on receiving unexpected 
 reinforcements from the north, he had 
 determined upon holding out against us, 
 and overlooking our agreement with the 
 Beni-Mzabs, was ill-advised enough to 
 decline our good offices. Then, when he 
 found an attack in force being made, he 
 locked Gabrielle in a place of safety until 
 the fight should end. 
 
 Full of excitement were those days that 
 followed. I must, however, here confess 
 that within twenty-four hours I found 
 myself deeply attached to this bright-eyed 
 fragile girl whose gallant father had dis- 
 appeared so mysteriously. We, of the 
 Azjars, leaving the prosperous town of 
 MetHli a mere pile of smoking ruins, en- 
 camped for a few days in the vicinity where 
 there was an excellent well, then together 
 with the fierce horsemen of the Beni-Mzab 
 set our heads towards Wargla, another 
 French outpost. At first Gabrielle felt the 
 fatigue of travel terribly. Fortunately she
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 57 
 
 could ride well, and as her inseparable 
 companion, I endeavoured to render her 
 journey as comfortable as possible. At 
 my suggestion she had exchanged her 
 European clothes for the serroual and haick 
 of the Arab women, finding that mode of 
 dress more comfortable and less conspicuous 
 than her own ; and so light-hearted she 
 grew that not unfrequently she would join 
 me in a cigarette. Her grace and manner 
 charmed us all. The fierce horsemen of 
 the Azjar and the Beni-Mzab are scarcely 
 chivalrous where women are concerned, but 
 ere we had been on the march three days 
 there was not a single tribesman who would 
 not execute her slightest wish. 
 
 Eiding day by day over the breathless 
 solitudes of sand, no single word of complaint 
 ever escaped her. Whenever we halted, 
 before she ate she would busy herself in 
 attending to our wounded; sometimes 
 bandaging an arm or a leg, at others 
 pouring out water and handing it to a 
 thirsty man with a pleasing smile that 
 quickened his pulse. Then, after we had
 
 58 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 eaten and turned our faces to the Holy 
 Ca'aba, she would take an old Spanish 
 mandoline which one of my companions 
 had picked up cheap long ago in Oran, and 
 play and sing to us in a sweet contralto 
 songs from her own far-off Paris. They 
 were mostly gay chansons, such as one 
 hears in the cafes m Algiers, and those 
 with refrains were sung lustily in chorus 
 by the whole of the great assembly. 
 
 One night after she had given us several 
 songs I persuaded her to dance. To those 
 unaccustomed to life in the desert the 
 scene would have appeared a strange one. 
 The bright moonlight shining full upon her, 
 tipped also with silver the keen heads of 
 a couple of thousand spears upon which 
 her audience leaned. She had fascinated 
 them. Unanimously it had been declared 
 that she was an enchantress. Only one 
 fact remained to mar her happiness : 
 her uncertainty regarding her father's 
 fate. 
 
 *'I will dance on one condition, Aha- 
 madou," she answered in French, throwing
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 59 
 
 back her pretty head and showing her 
 white teeth as she laughed. 
 
 ''What is that?" 
 
 *' I will dance if thou wilt take off that 
 hideous black veil. Thou hast been my 
 friend all this time, yet, strangely enough, 
 I have never beheld thy face." 
 
 I hesitated. Such a demand was un- 
 usual, for a Touareg never removes his 
 
 veil. 
 
 My companions overhearing, and noticing 
 my disinclination to acquiesce, with one 
 accord urged me to accede, and at last, 
 amid much good humour, I unwound my 
 black litliam. 
 
 Long and earnestly she looked into my 
 eyes. Her gaze lingered upon me strangely, 
 I thought; then suddenly clapping her 
 hands, she raised her long white arms 
 above her head, and to the thumping of 
 four derboukas, one of which I held, she 
 commenced a slow graceful dance. Never 
 tired of exerting herself to comfort the 
 wounded or amuse those who were her 
 father's bitterest foes, she danced on until
 
 6o THE VEILED MAN 
 
 she sank completely out of breatli. Then 
 she reclined upon the soft rugs spread for 
 her, and, with Tamahu and myself, smoked 
 a cigarette in silence. From her full red 
 lips she blew clouds of smoke, and watched 
 it curl upward in the still night air. I 
 glanced at her furtively, and saw that she 
 had grown unusually thoughtful. Her 
 brilliant eyes were fixed upon the stars. 
 
 At last, pillowing her handsome head 
 upon a leopard's skin I rolled and placed for 
 her, she wished me "Peace," and presently 
 closed her eyes in sleep. 
 
 Silence, dead and complete, had fallen 
 upon the camp. The stillness was only 
 broken by the uneasy groaning of a camel 
 or the soffc footfall of a sentry whose spear 
 gleamed afar in the white moonbeams. 
 Gabrielle's heart slowly heaved and fell as 
 she slept. Through that calm night I sat, 
 hugging my knees and thinking deeply. 
 Try how I would, I could not get rid of the 
 one thought that for days had possessed me, 
 the thought of her. That she had entranced 
 me ; that she held me in her toils irre-
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 6i 
 
 vocably, I could nofc deny. Never before 
 had I looked upon any woman with affection 
 until now. But I loved with all my heart 
 and soul this delicate Koumi, whose fan- 
 face the sun had never kissed. 
 
 Was it not in order to behold my counte- 
 nance she had that evening requested me 
 to remove my lithamf Her every word, 
 her every action, now that I recalled them, 
 showed plainly that she did not regard me 
 with disfavour. The moon waned, the stars 
 paled, and dawn was nigh ere I cast myself 
 upon the warm sand near her, and snatched 
 a brief hour's repose, not, however, before I 
 had carefully placed a rug about her, fearing 
 lest the morning dew, so deadly to Euro- 
 peans, should chill her. 
 
 One bright balmy night we reached El 
 Okaz, and halted. It was a large oasis with 
 running water, luxuriant vegetation, and 
 many palms. When the 7naghrib had been 
 said, the evening meal eaten, and the sun 
 was slowly sinking, I went forth among the 
 trees to search for camel-grass, and invited 
 Gabrielle to accompany me. She walked
 
 62 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 by my side, and when we were out of hear- 
 ing I took her tiny hand in mine, and, 
 raising it reverently to my lips, declared my 
 love. 
 
 Slowly, hut resolutely, she drew her hand 
 away. The last ray of sunlight tipped her 
 hair with molten gold as we stood together 
 beneath a great high palm. Her brilliant 
 eyes glistened with unshed tears. 
 
 "Alas! no, Ahamadou," she answered 
 huskily. " We must not love each other, 
 it would wreck both our lives." 
 
 " Why not ? " I cried passionately, my 
 arm around her waist, her slim white hand 
 raised again to my lips. " I adore 3'ou. 
 To me thou art my life, my love, my every- 
 thing." 
 
 '■'■ Ah ! yes," she sighed sadly. *' To you 
 I owe my life. You have all been so good 
 to me, although I am a woman of the 
 Franks, that I can scarce believe that you 
 are actually the Azjars, the dreaded Breath 
 of the Wind, reports of whose exploits 
 have times without number caused me to 
 shudder."
 
 . A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 63 j 
 
 "An Azjar never forgets a favour nor 
 
 forgives a false friend," I answered. " To ^ 
 
 our enemies we are brutal and relentless; I 
 
 yet those who eat our salt need never fear. , 
 
 Already hast thou had experience of the j 
 
 treatment the stranger receiveth within our < 
 
 tents." I 
 
 " True," she answered, her hand closing ' 
 tightly over mine. " I have had experience 
 of thine own tender care of me, Ahamadou, 
 
 yet " 
 
 "Yet thou hast already grown tired of 
 our life ? " I hazarded reproachfully. 
 
 " Ah ! no," she said quickly, fixing her 
 brilliant eyes upon mine. " Thou hast 
 asked if I could ever love thee. I tell thee 
 that I do love thee, yet there is between us 
 a barrier of blood, and such love can only 
 bring unhappiness unto us both." 
 
 " Thou lovest me ! " I cried, delighted, 
 and taking her soft cheeks between my 
 hard, sun-browned hands, our lips met for 
 the first time in a long passionate caress. 
 
 Again, she put me from her, saying — 
 
 " No, it can never be. We are of
 
 64 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 different races, different creeds. What is 
 right in thine eyes is sin in mine ; what is 
 worship to thee is, to me, idolatry. No, 
 Ahamadou. It must not he. We must not 
 love, for we can never marry." 
 
 I was silent. Her argument seemed 
 utterly unassailable. Never before had I 
 faced the situation until now. She had, 
 indeed, spoken the truth. 
 
 " But we love each other ! " I cried, 
 dolefully. 
 
 ''Yes," she sighed, shaking her head. 
 '' I confess that I love thee," and her 
 fingers again gripped my hand. '* But it is 
 the very fact that we love one another that 
 should cause us to part and forget." 
 
 *' Why ? Until the war is ended thou 
 must, of necessity, remain in our camp," I 
 observed. 
 
 "And after?" 
 
 *' Then we could return to Algiers, or to 
 Oran, and marry." 
 
 She remained silent for a few moments, 
 nervously toying with the single ring of 
 emeralds upon her finger.
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 65 
 
 " No," she answered at length. " This 
 love between us is but a passing fancy. 
 AVhen the war is at an end, thou wilt have 
 become convinced of the truth of my 
 words." 
 
 "Never," I answered. "I love thee 
 now ; I shall love thee always." 
 
 " Alas ! " she said, laying her hand softly 
 upon my shoulder, and looking earnestly 
 into my face. *' Now that we have both 
 made confession we must endeavour to 
 forget. We love each other, but the wide 
 difference in our races renders happiness 
 impossible. Thou wilt find for wife some 
 good woman of thine own people, and I — 
 perhaps I shall find some man of mine own 
 nationality to become my husband. From 
 to-night, Ahamadou, if thou lovest me, thou 
 wilt make no further sign." 
 
 I bit my lip to the blood. Although she 
 had uttered these words, I saw that she 
 nevertheless loved me with a mad, passion- 
 ate love, for soon down her pink cheeks 
 tears were coursing. 
 
 '^Thou art all to me — everything, 
 
 F
 
 66 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Gabrielle," I cried. ** Allah knoweth how 
 deeply and honestly I adore thee, I " 
 
 The sound of a rifle-shot startled us. 
 With bated breath we both strained our 
 ears. The evening gloom had crept on 
 unperceived, and it was almost dark. In 
 rapid succession other shots sounded, fol- 
 lowed by the fierce fiendish war-cry of the 
 Beni-Mzabs. Instantly the truth flashed 
 upon me. We had been surprised by the 
 French ! 
 
 By the route we had come we sped back 
 to the encampment, where we found all 
 confusion. A large body of Spahis had 
 made a sudden and determined attack, but 
 it had been repulsed. My first thought 
 was of Gabrielle 's safety. I found cover 
 for her behind a huge boulder, and telling 
 her to seat herself, and not attempt to 
 watch the progress of the fight, returned, 
 spear in hand, to bear my part against our 
 enemies. 
 
 The cessation of the fighting was only 
 for a few minutes. We heard the sudden 
 sound of a bugle, and from among the trees
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 67 
 
 there dashed a formidable troop of red- 
 burnoused horsemen, led by a young Euro- 
 pean officer, who sat his horse as if he were 
 part of it. Even in that moment of excite- 
 ment I admired the way he rode. The 
 charge was, however, an ill-fated one. Not 
 half those who dashed forward lived to 
 retreat. The Arabs of the Mechefer, who 
 had recently joined us, possessed guns, 
 and the flashing of these, in combination 
 with those of our enemies, illumined the 
 darkness, while the still air was full of 
 dense, stifling smoke. More desperate each 
 moment the conflict grew. Undismayed 
 by loss or misfortune, we thrice returned 
 their attack, each time with increasing 
 force, until our bullets and keen spears 
 commenced to work havoc among the 
 infidel ranks. Fast and furious became 
 the fight, but gradually the attack upon us 
 grew weaker, and at last, determined upon 
 reprisals, Tamahu ordered a dash forward. 
 With one accord we charged, and then before 
 us the remnant of the ill-fated troop fell 
 back and fled to save their lives.
 
 68 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 When I returned I found Gabrielle kneel- 
 ing beside the officer whose riding had been 
 so conspicuous, tenderly bandaging an ugly 
 spear-wound he had received in the left 
 shoulder. She had improvised a torch, and 
 beneath its fitful light was pursuing her 
 task unconscious of my approach. Upon 
 the clammy brow of the unconscious man 
 she placed her cool, soft hand ; then, having 
 felt his pulse, she seemed satisfied, and 
 taking her flambeau went forward to one of 
 my own tribesmen who had been injured in 
 the breast. From the deep shadow wherein 
 I stood I watched her, white-robed and fair 
 like one of the good genii of whom the 
 Koran tells us, passing from one to another, 
 alleviating their sufferings as best she could, 
 uttering cheering words, or giving water to 
 the dying. I did not approach her, for my 
 heart seemed too full. It was best, I 
 thought, to leave her alone to her merciful 
 work. 
 
 Before the sun rose many of those whom 
 she had so carefully tended and watched 
 had drawn their last breath, but the young
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 69 
 
 officer, whose name I afterwards learned was 
 Andre de Freyville, lieutenant of Spahis, 
 had recovered consciousness sufficiently to 
 thank his nurse, and learn from her lips the 
 curious circumstances which had led her to 
 accept the hospitality of our tents. He 
 proved a pleasant fellow, and during his con- 
 valescence we all three had frequent chats 
 together. Although he was our prisoner- 
 of-war, he soon became on excellent terms 
 with Tamahu, and his time passed happily 
 enough. Colonel Bonnemain had, he told 
 us, escaped when Metlili fell, and had 
 reached Algiers unharmed. 
 
 Soon, in order to join forces with another 
 large body of horsemen moving from the 
 great Hammada, or stony tableland, in Tri- 
 poli, we advanced to the oasis of Medagin, 
 two days' march from El Aghouat, then 
 held in such force by the French that we 
 dared not attack it. 
 
 Beaching Medagin at noon, we encamped. 
 When the stars shone both Gabrielle and 
 De Freyville sang us some French chansons, 
 the one accompanying the other upon the
 
 70 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 mandoline. Before we scooped out our 
 hollows in the sand to form our couches I 
 borrowed a gun from one of the Arabs, 
 intending to go out at dawn to shoot some 
 desert-partridges in which the oasis abounds. 
 Ere day broke I rose, and leaving the whole 
 camp in slumber, strolled away to a rocky 
 spot I had on the previous day noted as a 
 likely place to find the birds. It was on 
 the edge of the oasis, at some distance from 
 the well where we had encamped. When 
 I arrived there the sun had not risen, and 
 the birds were still roosting. Therefore, 
 with my rifle loaded with a bullet (for I had 
 no small shot), I sat down to wait. 
 
 Eor perhaps half-an-hour I had remained 
 when my quick ear detected the sounds of 
 horses' hoofs. Believing the newcomer to 
 be a French vedette I drew back behind a 
 large boulder, with the barrel of my rifle 
 placed upon the top of the rock in readiness 
 to pick him ofi" as he passed. On came the 
 horseman, until suddenly he emerged from 
 among the mimosas and euphorbias. An 
 ejaculation of dismay involuntarily left my
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 71 
 
 lips. There was not one horse, but two. 
 The riders were fugitives. They were our 
 prisoner-of-war, Lieutenant de Freyville, 
 and Gabrielle Bonnemain, the woman I 
 loved. 
 
 Mounted upon horses they had secured, 
 they spurred forward together at headlong 
 speed. Their way on to the desert lay 
 down a narrow stony ravine, to traverse 
 which they would be compelled to pass 
 close by the spot where I was lying in 
 ambush. On they came swiftly, without a 
 word. Inwardly I gloated over my revenge. 
 
 This man was stealing from me the 
 woman I loved dearer than life. And she 
 — she had declared that she loved me ! 
 Yet her words were foul lies. She should 
 die! 
 
 I fingered the trigger, and held my gun 
 to my shoulder in readiness as the pair 
 pressed forward, unconscious of their ap- 
 proaching doom. If ever the spirit of 
 murder entered my soul, it was at that 
 moment. 
 
 When within a leopard's leap of the
 
 72 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 muzzle of my rifle she turned back towards 
 her companion, uttered some gay words to 
 him, threw back her head and laughed 
 lightly, displaying her white teeth. 
 
 I raised my rifle and took deliberate aim 
 at her panting breast. My hands trembled. 
 Next second a flood of bitter recollections 
 surged through my brain. I remembered 
 those solemn words she had uttered : " We 
 are of different races ; different creeds. 
 What is right in thine eyes is sin in mine ; 
 what is worship to thee is, to me, idolatry. 
 It is the very fact that we love one another 
 that should cause us to part and forget." 
 
 Yes, my enchantress had spoken the 
 truth. 
 
 My hands were nerveless. I dropped my 
 gun, the weapon with which I had so nearly 
 taken her young hfe, and through a mist of 
 gathering tears watched her ride rapidly 
 away beside her newly-discovered lover, 
 and disappear over the dune towards El 
 Aghouat. 
 
 When she had gone, my head sank upon 
 my breast and my teeth were set, for full
 
 A SAPPHO OF THE SAND 73 
 
 well I knew that never again could I love 
 any woman as truly as I had loved her. 
 My pole-star, the light of my life, had for 
 ever been extinguished.
 
 Ill 
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 
 
 Theough the very heart of the barren, naked 
 Saharan country, that boundless sea of red- 
 brown arid sands, which, hke the ocean 
 itself, is subject to fitful moods of calm and 
 storm, there runs a deep rocky ravine which 
 has ever been a mystery to geographers. It 
 commences near the shore of Lake Tsad, 
 and extending for nearly eight hundred 
 miles due north to Lake Melghir, is known 
 as the Igharghar, and is the dried-up bed of 
 a river, which, with its tributaries, once 
 rendered this bare wilderness one of the 
 most fertile spots on earth, but which, for 
 upwards of two thousand years, has ceased 
 to flow. Strangely enough, the country 
 traversed by this great stony ravine is to- 
 day the most arid and inhospitable in the 
 
 74
 
 "More uesferaie each mome.m' the conflict grew.' 
 
 P- 75-
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 75 
 
 woild. The river, which, according to the 
 legendary stories told in the market-places 
 of the desert towns, must have been as 
 mighty as the Nile, dried np suddenly from 
 some cause which has always puzzled geo- 
 graphers. A portion of its course, about 
 two hundred miles, half filled with sand, 
 has for ages been used as the caravan route 
 between the city of Agades, the capital of 
 the Air country, and Temasinin, at the foot 
 of the Tinghert Plateau ; but the remainder 
 is of such a rocky character as to be impass- 
 able, and has on many occasions served us 
 as ambush when fighting the Ouled SHman 
 marauders, our hereditary foes. 
 
 On one of these expeditions we were 
 encamped in the shadow of some great 
 rocks, which had once been covered by the 
 giant flood. Around us on every hand was 
 the sandy, waterless waste, known by the 
 ominous name of Ur-imrnandess, " He (Allah) 
 heareth not," that is, is deaf to the cry of 
 the way-laid traveller. It is a dismal tract, 
 one of the most hot and arid in the whole 
 of Northern Africa. The poison- wind blows
 
 76 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 almost continually, and the general appear- 
 ance of the sand dunes is altered almost 
 hour by hour. We were six days' march off 
 an interesting little walled town I had once 
 visited, called Azaka 'n Ahkar, where stands 
 the curious tomb of a chieftain who fell 
 during the Arab invasion over a thousand 
 years ago, and to the west, within sight, 
 was the low dark hill known to us as Mount 
 Hikena, a spot feared universally through- 
 out the desert as the abode of the jinns. 
 
 Already had we engaged the fierce host 
 of the Ouled Sliman in deadly conflict at 
 the well of Agnar, but finding our opponents 
 armed with rifles procured from European 
 traders, we had drawn off in an endeavour 
 to entice them into the Wady Igharghar, 
 Vv^here our superior knowledge of the ground 
 would give us distinct advantage. Our 
 losses three days before had been very 
 serious, and our Sheikh Tamahu had de- 
 spatched messengers in all haste to the oasis 
 of Noum-en-Nas, six marches distant, to 
 urge forward reinforcements. That night, 
 when the moon had risen, I accompanied
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 77 
 
 Hamoud, one of my companions, as scont, 
 to travel northward along the dried-up 
 watercourse, to make a reconnaissance ^ and 
 to ascertain if the enemy were in the 
 vicinity. To ride up that vallej^, choked 
 by its myriad boulders, was impossible, 
 therefore v/e were compelled to journey on 
 foot. 
 
 Had we ascended to the desert we should 
 have imperilled our camp, for our enemies 
 in search of us would undoubtedly detect 
 our presence. We had pitched our tents 
 at a secluded inaccessible spot, where the 
 dried-up river had taken a sudden bend, 
 in the heart of a country scarcely ever 
 traversed. Through the long brilHant night 
 with my companion I pressed forward, 
 sometimes clambering over rough rocks, 
 split by the heat of noon and chills of night, 
 and at others sinking knee-deep in soft 
 sand-drifts. When dawn spread we now 
 and then clambered up the steep sides of 
 the valley and cautiously took observations. 
 In that region, the surface of the desert 
 being perfectly flat, any object can be seen
 
 78 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 at great distances, therefore we at all times 
 were careful not to stand upright, but 
 remained crouched upon our faces. So dry 
 also is the atmosphere that any sudden 
 movement, such as the flapping of a bur- 
 nouse or the swish of a horse's tail, will 
 cause sparks to be emitted. 
 
 Beneath the milk-white sky of noon, 
 when the fiery sun shone like a disc of 
 burnished copper, we threw ourselves down 
 beneath the shadow of a huge boulder to 
 eat and rest. Hamoud, older than myself, 
 was a typical nomad, bearded, bronzed, and 
 a veritable giant in stature. His physical 
 strength and power of endurance was 
 greater than that of any other of our tribes- 
 men, and he was always amiable and light- 
 hearted. While he lit his keef-pipe and 
 chatted, I gazed about me, noticing how, 
 by the action of the eddying waters of this 
 dried-up river, the very name of which is lost 
 to us, the hard, grey rock above had been 
 worn smooth and hollow. The mystery of 
 the Igharghar had always attracted me since 
 my earliest boyhood, Why this mighty
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 79 
 
 stream, in some places nearly six miles 
 wide, should have suddenly ceased to flow, 
 fertihse, and give life to the great tract it 
 traversed was a problem which the wise 
 men of all ages had failed to solve. True, 
 the One Merciful heard not in that wild, 
 unfrequented region. It was the country 
 accursed and forgotten of Allah. 
 
 When, in the cooler hours, we resumed 
 our journey, ever watchful for the presence 
 of the Ouled Sliman, on every side we 
 noticed unmistakable traces of the enor- 
 mous width and depth of the giant water- 
 way. About noon on the second day I had 
 ascended to the desert to scan the horizon, 
 when I discovered some ruined masonry, 
 half buried beneath its winding-sheet of 
 sand. On the keystone of an arch I found 
 an inscription in Eoman characters, and 
 here and there stood broken columns and 
 portions of grey time-worn walls. 
 
 It was the site of an effaced and forgotten 
 city; a centre of culture and civilisation 
 which had owed its very existence to this 
 great river, and had declined and fallen
 
 8o THE VEILED MAN 
 
 when the stream had so mysteriously ceased 
 to flow. The once fertile land had withered, 
 and become a dreary, sunburnt, uninhabit- 
 able wilderness. 
 
 Ask any marabout fi'om Morocco to far- 
 oflf Tripoli, and he will declare that for 
 some reason unknown, Allah, before the 
 days of his Prophet, set the mark of his 
 displeasure upon the country known to us 
 as the Ahaggar. It is not, therefore, sur- 
 prising that the Ouled Sliman, our enemies, 
 should be known throughout the desert as 
 the Children of EbHs. 
 
 As, spear in hand, I walked at Hamoud's 
 side along that vanished fluvial basin, I 
 discussed the probable causes of the sudden 
 failure of that mighty flow. He suggested 
 that its source might by some means have 
 become exhausted ; but geographers having 
 ages ago disposed of that point, I explained 
 to him how every theory possible had 
 akeady been put forward and dismissed. 
 The mysterious forgotten river was still a 
 geographical problem as great as the exis- 
 tence of open water at the poles.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA %l 
 
 Through two more days we journeyed 
 forward, ever watchful, yet discerning no 
 Bign of our enemies ; but at length, coming 
 to a Bteep hare cliff, once undoubtedly a 
 roaring cataract, we found its granite bed 
 had been worn into ridges two thousand 
 years ago by the action of the torrent. At 
 this point the plateau over which we had 
 journeyed descended sheer and steep on to 
 the x^lain, of which we commanded an exten- 
 sive view for many miles. An hour before 
 sundown the sky had suddenly darkened, 
 indicative of an approaching sandstorm, 
 therefore we resolved to remain there th» 
 night and retrace our steps next day. Our 
 fears were realised. Shortly before mid- 
 night, as we sat together smoking, the un- 
 clouded starry sky assumed an extraordinary 
 clearness. The atmosphere was perfectly 
 still, when suddenly in the east a black 
 cloud began to rise with frightful rapidity, 
 and soon covered half the heavens. Pre- 
 sently a strong gust of wind enveloped us 
 with sand, and threw little pebbles as large 
 as peas into our faces. Soon, while we 
 
 G
 
 82 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 croiiclied beneatli a rock, we were sur- 
 rounded by a dense cloud of sand, and stood 
 still in impenetrable gloom. The storm 
 was of unusual severity. Our eyes were 
 filled with grit every time we ventured to 
 open them. We did not dare to lie down 
 for fear of being buried. The tempest at 
 last passed, the night quickly grew clear 
 again, and, extricating ourselves from the 
 sand that had drifted high about us, we lay 
 down exhausted to sleep. 
 
 Before dawn I rose, and, without disturb- 
 ing the heavy slumber of my companion, 
 strode forth along the brink of the dried- 
 up cataract to examine more closely the 
 hitherto unexplored spot. The sun-whitened 
 boulders were all worn smooth where the 
 gigantic rush of the waters had whirled past 
 them ere they dashed below into that once 
 fertile plain. And as I went along I pre- 
 sently discovered a place where I could 
 descend the face of the cliff. Without 
 difficulty I at last reached its base, and 
 stepping forward, placed my foot upon soft 
 drifted sand that gave way beneath my tread.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 83 
 
 With startling suddenness a strange sound 
 fell upon my ears, deafening me. I felt 
 myself falling, and in clutcliiug frantically 
 at the objects around, struck my head a 
 violent blow. Then all consciousness 
 became blotted out. 
 
 How long I remained insensible I do not 
 know. I have an idea that many hours must 
 have elapsed, for when painfully I struggled 
 back to a knowledge of things about me, 
 I found myself enveloped in a darkness 
 blacker than night, my ears being filled by 
 a continuous unceasing roar like thunder. 
 I was chilled to the bone, and on stretching 
 forth my hand, found myself lying upon a 
 mass of soft slime, that splashing over my 
 face had half-suffocated me. With both 
 hands outstretched, I tried to discover into 
 what noisome place I had so suddenly been 
 precipitated. Intently I listened. The 
 roaring was that of some mighty unseen 
 torrent. 
 
 Creeping cautiously forward upon my 
 hands and knees, fearing lest I should 
 stumble into any further chasm, I soon
 
 84 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 came to water flowing swiftly past. Then 
 the truth dawned upon me that I was beside 
 the bank of some unknown subterranean 
 river. Of the extent of that dark cavern- 
 ous place I could obtain no idea. Thrice I 
 shouted with all my strength, but in that 
 deafening roar my voice was echoless. 
 
 With a supplication to Allah to envelop 
 me with the cloak of his protection, I 
 cautiously pursued my way over the stones 
 and slime in the direction the unseen stream 
 was rushing. The incline was steep, and as 
 the air seemed cool and fresh, I felt assured 
 there must be some outlet to the blessed 
 light of day. Yet onward I crept slowly, 
 chilled by the icy mud, until my limbs 
 trembled, and I was compelled to pause 
 and rub them to prevent them becoming 
 benumbed. 
 
 Truly mine was an unenvious position. 
 Throughout my life it has been my en- 
 deavour to tread those crooked and laborious 
 paths whereby knowledge of hidden myste- 
 ries may be gained, therefore I worked 
 on like a mole in the dark, and by diligent
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 85 
 
 industry gained ground considerably. During 
 several hours I pushed my way forward, 
 until at length my hands came into contact 
 with a wall of rock which barred all further 
 passage, although the water lapping it 
 swirled past on its downward course. 
 Eagerly I felt about the rock, searching for 
 some mode of egress, but could find none. 
 The wall of the enormous cavern extended 
 sheer and unbroken for five hundred paces, 
 then turned back in the direction I had 
 already traversed. Thus was a terrible 
 truth forced upon me. I was entombed ! 
 
 My injured head pained me frightfully, 
 and I must have become weakened by loss 
 of blood. The terrors of that foul, fearsome 
 place, where the deafening roar was unceas- 
 ing, and the blackness could be felt, over- 
 whelmed me. I groped back to the edge of 
 the roaring torrent exhausted, and sinking, 
 slept. 
 
 When I awoke I was amazed to find the 
 cavern illumined by a faint greenish light, 
 just sufficient to enable me to see that the 
 rushing, foaming waters were of great width
 
 86 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 and volume, and that tlie cavern whence 
 they came was low, but of vast extent. 
 Then, turning towards the light, I found 
 that it shone up through the water beyond 
 the wall of rock which formed that side of 
 the cave. At first the strange light puzzled 
 me, but I soon ascertained that the subter- 
 ranean river emptied itself into the open air 
 at that spot, and that the sun shining upon 
 the water as it rushed out of its underground 
 course, reflected the welcome light up to 
 where I stood. The discovery held me 
 breathless. I saw that in such enormous 
 volume did those icy waters sweep down, 
 that the opening in the rock whence they 
 were let free was completely filled. There 
 was, after all, no exit. 
 
 At the edge of the boiling torrent I stood 
 calmly contemplating the advisability of 
 plunging in and allowing myself to be 
 swept out into the air. The only thing 
 which deterred me from so doing was the 
 fear that outside the cataract fell down 
 from some dizzy height into a foaming flood 
 below, in which case I must be either
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 87 
 
 battered to death upon the rocks or drowned 
 beneath the descending tons of water. The 
 thought of this terrible fate thrilled me 
 with horror. 
 
 Of a sudden I heard above the roar a 
 man's voice ; and startled, turned round, 
 and saw a long boat, shaped something like- 
 a canoe, containing two dark figures, being 
 propelled swiftly towards me. 
 
 Agape in wonder I stood watching them. 
 
 Ere I could realise the truth, they had 
 run their craft up high and dry where I 
 stood, and were beside me, questioning me 
 in some strange, unknown tongue. In that 
 faint green light they looked weird, impish 
 figures. Small of stature, their skins were 
 a lightish yellow ; they wore curious neck- 
 lets and armlets of chased bones, and their 
 loincloths were scaly, like the skin of some 
 fish or serpent. In their hands they both 
 carried long barbed spears. They had been 
 fishing, for their boat was nearly full. 
 
 To their rapid questions I could only 
 shake my head, when in an instant the 
 roar of the waters increased, until speech
 
 88 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 became impossible. Terrified they both, next 
 second, leaped into their boat and dragged 
 me in after them. Their promptitude saved 
 my life, for ere an instant had elapsed our 
 boat became lifted by an enormous inrush, 
 which flooded the whole cavern to a depth 
 of many feet. Our boat rose so near the 
 roof that we were compelled to crouch down 
 to prevent our heads being jammed, and 
 soon I found myself being rowed rapidly 
 along in triumph into the impenetrable 
 darkness. I had escaped death by a hair's 
 breadth, but what grim adventure was yet 
 in store for me I dreaded to anticipate. 
 
 My impish captors bent hard at their 
 paddles, exchanging muttered words, until 
 soon the roaring of the torrent sounded 
 indistinct, and we found ourselves out upon 
 a great subterranean lake of limitless ex- 
 tent. The eyes of my companions, accus- 
 tomed to that appalling darkness, could 
 discern objects where I could distinguish 
 nothing. As we went forward the current 
 became weaker, and now and then I felt 
 a splashing as a large fish was lifted from
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 89 
 
 the water impaled upon a spear. Yet ever 
 forward we kept on and on, for fully two 
 hours, until suddenly I saw a faint glimmer 
 of grey light upon the w^ide expanse of 
 black water, and when we neared it I 
 discerned that there was a huge crack in 
 the roof of rock and it was open to the sky, 
 but so great was the distance to the world 
 above, that only a faint glimmer penetrated 
 there. 
 
 By its light I distinguished how clear 
 and deep were the waters, and noticed that 
 the fish my companions had caught were 
 of a uniform grey colour, without eyes. In 
 the impenetrable darkness of those sub- 
 terranean depths the organs of vision, I 
 afterwards ascertained, never developed. 
 The eyes of the two men wdth me were 
 also strange-looking, set closely together, 
 dark and bead-like. 
 
 But we paused not, holding straight upon 
 our way, plunging again into the cavernous 
 blackness, until presently there showed 
 before us a golden shaft of sunlight striking 
 full into the waters, and in a few moments
 
 go THE VEILED MAN 
 
 we emerged into an open space green and 
 fertile, surrounded on every side by high 
 rocks, honeycombed with small caves, 
 while the great unknown river itself dis- 
 appeared beyond into a wide dark tunnel. 
 
 Scarcely had we disembarked than the 
 place literally swarmed with the uncanny- 
 looking denizens of this underground realm, 
 who, issuing from their cave -dwellings, 
 eyed me curiously with greatest caution. 
 I had not removed my litliam, and they 
 undoubtedly were suspicious of a stranger 
 who veiled his face. 
 
 My captors, with much wild gesticulation, 
 explained the circumstances in which they 
 had discovered me, and presently, when 
 I had been thoroughly inspected by all, and 
 my appearance commented upon, my veil 
 was surreptitiously snatched from my pallid 
 face, and I was hurried into one of the 
 small cell-like caverns, and there secured 
 to the rock by a rudely constructed chain. 
 Soon food was brought me, and the inhabi- 
 tants of the curious unknown country 
 formed a ring near the river bank, and
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 91 
 
 commenced to execute a kind of wild dance, 
 accompanied by fiendish yells, working 
 themselves into a frenzy, like the dancers 
 of the Ouled Nails. For a long time I 
 watched their weird pantomimic gyrations, 
 when at length my eyes were startled at 
 beholding, in the centre of the circle, a tall 
 man of much paler complexion than my 
 own, dressed in a few dilapidated rags. 
 Once or twice only I caught a glimpse of 
 him, and then I recognised that his face 
 was that of an European, and his dress the 
 tattered remains of a French military uni- 
 form. His beard and moustache seemed 
 ashen grey, and upon his haggard counte- 
 nance, as he stood motionless and statu- 
 esque amid the dancers, was a weary look 
 of blank despair. He also was a captive. 
 
 The strange - looking, yellow - skinned 
 people of this riparian region at length 
 ceased dancing, and with one accord knelt 
 around him in adoration, worshipping him as 
 though he were an idol. The scene, as they 
 gabbled words in an unknown tongue, was 
 weird and impressive. My fellow-captive
 
 92 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 did not apparently notice me, therefore, 
 fearing to rouse the ire of this hitherto 
 undiscovered people by shouting, I pos- 
 sessed myself in patience. The curious 
 form of pagan worship at last ended; the 
 unfortunate European was released and 
 allowed to seek his abode, a small hole in 
 the rock close to mine, and the impish- 
 looking men dispersed, leaving me to my 
 own dismal thoughts. Ere long the shadows 
 lengthened as the sun sank behind the high 
 rocks, and dusk crept on. About the open 
 space which served as street, men and 
 women of the curious tribe squatted, smoked, 
 and chattered, while others, entering their 
 boats armed with fishing-spears, paddled off 
 down the subterranean stream in the direc- 
 tion I had come. Night fell, and at last 
 the cave-dwellers slept. 
 
 Slumber, however, came not to my wearied 
 eyes, and for many hours I sat thinking 
 over my strange position, my thoughts 
 being suddenly disturbed by a noise as of 
 some one moaning near me. It was the 
 mysterious European.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 93 
 
 Witli slow steps and bent head he passed 
 by, when, in a low clear voice, I accosted 
 him in French. 
 
 Startled, he halted, peering towards me ; 
 and when I had uttered a few reassuring 
 words, telling him that I was his fellow- 
 captive, he came towards me, looking half- 
 suspiciously into my face, and enquu-ed my 
 name. 
 
 I told him who I was, then made a 
 similar enquiry. 
 
 "My name is Flatters," he answered in 
 Arabic. " Thou mayest, perhaps, have 
 heard of me in thy wanderings through the 
 Desert?" 
 
 " Flatters ! " I cried. '' Art thou Colonel 
 Flatters, the lost explorer whom the French 
 have sought these three whole years ? " 
 
 '' The same," he answered, sighing deeply, 
 his arms crossed over his breast. *' For 
 three years I have been held captive in this 
 noisome Land of Sa." 
 
 His tall dark figure stood out against the 
 starlight, his head bowed in dejection. By 
 this brave explorer's exploits the whole
 
 94 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 world had more than once been thrilled. 
 By his intrepidity and abiHty to withstand 
 the sudden extremes of .heat and cold in our 
 Great Desert, the French War Department 
 had been enabled to complete their map of 
 the Saharan plains. It was he who ex- 
 i^lored all the hitherto unknown region 
 around El Biodh ; who discovered and pub- 
 lished explanations of the wonderful ruins 
 of Tikbaben ; who found the Afeli source ; 
 who cHmbed the mountain of Iraouen, and 
 penetrated the country of the Ennitra, into 
 which even we of the Azjar feared to 
 venture. Twice he traversed the stony 
 Tinghert tableland ; but on the third occa- 
 sion, while in the far south near Lake Tsud, 
 ho suddenly disappeared, and although the 
 French authorities had offered a reward of 
 ten thousand francs to any one who could 
 solve the mystery of his death or capture, 
 and had sent two formidable expeditions 
 across the desert, with a '^dew of obtaining 
 some tidings of him, all efforts had been 
 futile. 
 
 Yet he had been hero, a prisoner in the
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 95 
 
 hands of these uncanny dwellers beneath 
 the earth's surface ! 
 
 *' Hast thou made no attempt to escape? " 
 I enqmred, as he seated himself wearily 
 upon a ledge of rock near me. 
 
 ** Yes," he answered despondently; "but 
 my diaries and geological collections have 
 been lost. All egress from this place is 
 closed. Yon rocks are too sheer and high 
 to be scaled, and the black flood hath risen 
 so that there is neither entrance nor exit." 
 
 Briefly, I told him the manner in which 
 I found myself in that dark cavern vath its 
 noisy torrent, and when I had finished 
 he explained the manner in which he had 
 disappeared. 
 
 **I set forth from Algiers with five 
 European companions, and after travelling 
 for nine months along unfrequented paths 
 in the inhospitable Ahaggar, found myseK at 
 Mount El Aghil alone, all my fellow-travel- 
 lers having died. Unable to return by the 
 route I had come on account of the fierce 
 Ijostility of the Kel-Ehela, whose vengeance 
 I had narrowdy escaped, I was compelled to
 
 96 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 push on still southward through the Air 
 country, reaching at last, close to the 
 dried-up course of the Igharghar, a large 
 and curious oasis, the earth of which was 
 perfectly black and quite soft, contrasting 
 strangely with the dull red sand of the 
 surrounding desert. The vegetation was 
 luxuriant, water-melons grew in rich pro- 
 fusion, and in exploring it I discovered, to 
 my astonishment, a small but beautiful 
 lake. About the oasis were large rocks, and 
 in one of these I found an opening with 
 curious signs rudely curved at the entrance. 
 They appeared to be the hieroglyphics of 
 some ancient race, and their strange cha- 
 racter aroused my curiosity. Unlike any 
 hitherto discovered, they were of huge 
 design, representing men, monstrosities, 
 and animals of unknown species, yet only 
 superficially outlined, apparently with the 
 most inadequate tools. Not only were they 
 at the entrance, but on lighting a torch 
 I found the interior of the cavern com- 
 pletely covered by these grotesque drawings; 
 and it was while engaged in these interest-
 
 THE SECRET OF sX 97 
 
 ing investigations that I suddenly stumbled 
 into a narrow chasm that had evidently 
 been hidden by dried branches to form a 
 pitfall for the unwary. When I recovered 
 consciousness I, like thyself, found myself 
 captive in the hands of these fierce primi- 
 tive barbarians of the nether world." 
 
 "But who are they?" I enquired. "I 
 have never heard mention of them before." 
 
 "Nor I," he answered. "To our world 
 they are as absolutely unknown as this 
 mighty subterranean flood. During my 
 captivity I have managed to learn some 
 words of their tongue. Their gloomy, 
 mysterious region is known to them as Sa." 
 
 "But the river itself amazes me," I 
 observed. 
 
 "True. Our accidental discoveries have 
 proved an important geographical fact 
 hitherto undreamed of, namely, that the 
 reason the mighty Igharghar no longer 
 flows to irrigate the desert is because it 
 has found a subterranean channel, and for 
 ages has been still roaring on beneath its 
 ancient bed towards the sea."
 
 98 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 *' Whence, in yonr opinion, cometh this 
 mysterious river? " I enquired. 
 
 "From Lake Tsfid, undoubtedly. The 
 fish in its waters, although grey and sight- 
 less, because of the perpetual darkness in 
 which they live, are of the same species 
 as those I found in the lake. The stran- 
 gest part of my adventure is that these 
 people, never having before seen a white 
 man, believe me to be some supernatural 
 visitant, and worship me as Sa, their prin- 
 cipal god." 
 
 Then, while he listened attentively, I 
 told him of the cavern where the river 
 apparently rushed out into the open air, 
 and suggested that, as a desperate and last 
 resource, we might endeavour to escape by 
 plunging into the chilly stream and allowing 
 ourselves to be carried forth into the un- 
 known. On due consideration, however, 
 we agreed that this project was not feasible, 
 on account of the swollen state of the dark 
 flood, and as an alternative resolved to steal 
 one of the canoes and explore the upper 
 reaches of the mysterious underground
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 99 
 
 stream. This decision we followed by 
 immediate action. The explorer, obtain- 
 ing a roughly fashioned hammer of stone 
 from his own little cave, quickly severed 
 my fetters, and together we crept out across 
 the small deserted grass-plain to where the 
 boats were moored. In one of them we 
 found paddles, torches and spears, and, 
 stepping in, pushed off and shot silently 
 out into the darkness. Ere we had done 
 so, however, we heard a loud ringing shout 
 close to the bank. Our flight had been 
 discovered. 
 
 We each seized a paddle and pulled away 
 with all our might against the stream. 
 Quickly we entered the cavern opposite 
 that through which I had been conveyed. 
 The blackness was complete, but we strained 
 every muscle in our efforts to propel forward 
 our frail craft. Soon behind us we heard 
 the wild, fierce yells of our pursuers, and 
 knowing that their eyes, accustomed to 
 that appalling gloom, could discern objects 
 where we of the outer world could detect 
 nothing, we feared lest we might be over-
 
 lOO THE VEILED MAN 
 
 taken. Their angry voices echoed weirdly 
 along the rocky roof, and we could hear the 
 violent splashing of their paddles as they 
 sped along in our wake. 
 
 In this mad dash into the unknown realm 
 of perpetual night we shot forward with 
 utter disregard of what dangers lay before. 
 We knew not, from one moment to another, 
 whether we were heading up the great broad 
 river^ or whether rowing straight towards 
 the rocky sides of the cavern. So light and 
 flimsy was our craft that the least colHsion 
 with a piece of jutting rock would have sent 
 us down to depths unfathomable. At that 
 moment we were enveloped by an hundred 
 perils. 
 
 To our surprise and profound satisfaction, 
 we at length realised that the voices of our 
 irate pursuers were growing fainter. They 
 had evidently mistaken the direction we 
 had taken, therefore we slowed up, and 
 presently rested, spent and panting. 
 
 I could hear the French officer's hard 
 breathing, but the darkness was so intense 
 that we could not see each other.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA loi 
 
 ** We have unconsciously entered a tribu- 
 tary of the main stream," he observed, 
 gasping for breath. ** Listen, the sounds 
 are receding. At least for the present we 
 are safe. Let us rest." 
 
 Nothing loth, I bent slowly across my 
 paddle, now and then pulling a few strokes 
 to prevent us drifting, and discussing our 
 position in a low voice so that no echo 
 should betray our presence. Thus we 
 remained fully half-an-hour, until both of 
 us had refreshed ourselves, then together 
 we paddled on swiftly, yet full of caution. 
 No glimmer of light penetrated that dispirit- 
 ing gloom, and wo feared to ignite one of 
 our torches. Toiling forward, the perspira- 
 tion rolling off us in great beads, we still 
 continued pulling against the strong current 
 for several hours, until suddenly we saw 
 before us two large shafts of brilliant light 
 striking down from above into the water. 
 Slowly we approached lest any of the 
 denizens of Sa should be lurking there ; but 
 ere long, as we came nearer, our eyes were 
 dazzled by a sight so amazing that expres-
 
 102 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 sions of wonder involuntarily escaped our 
 parched lips. 
 
 In the light before us we saw clearly out- 
 lined a colossal face with hideous grin, 
 carved from the black rock. It was truly 
 gigantic, marvellously fashioned, with huge 
 ears and an expression absolutely demon- 
 iacal, the two shafts of bright light issuing 
 forth from the eyes giving it an expression 
 of intense ferocity. We rested on our 
 paddles beneath it, and looked up aghast. 
 
 *' This," cried Colonel Flatters, ** must be 
 the god Sa, of whom I have heard so much 
 during my sojourn with these people. He 
 is their principal deity, and supposed to be 
 the inexorable guardian of this remarkable 
 kingdom." 
 
 '' See ! " I exclaimed, regarding the ex- 
 traordinary stone countenance in amaze- 
 ment. *' The light from those eyes is 
 sunlight ! They are merely holes upon 
 which the sun is shining full ! " 
 
 And such it proved to be. Through the 
 round apertures far up above, light and air 
 were admitted from the desert.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 103 
 
 When at last our vision became accus- 
 tomed to the welcome rays of light we made 
 another bewildering discovery. The rock 
 descended sheer into the black flood, but 
 in little niches which had been rudely 
 fashioned lay small heaps of gold orna- 
 ments and glittering gems, the sacrifices of 
 this stone god's votaries. Together we 
 pulled our canoe close to the rock, taking 
 care that the rapid swirl of the current did 
 not hurl our craft against the jagged stones, 
 and with my hand I clutched a heap of fine 
 ornaments set with emeralds, pearls, and 
 diamonds. In the sunlight we both ex- 
 amined them, finding they were evidently 
 of very ancient manufacture, possibly the 
 spoils of war against some long-forgotten 
 but cultured nation. In workmanship they 
 were similar to the ornaments found in the 
 tombs of ancient Egypt ; they had evidently 
 never been manufactured by the barbarous 
 people into whose possession they had 
 passed. 
 
 Before us was blackness impenetrable, 
 and upon our ears there broke a distant
 
 104 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 roar, as of a cataract. The sound appalled 
 us. If a cataract actually lay before, then 
 escape was absolutely hopeless. 
 
 But the fact that far above gleamed the 
 sun gave us renewed courage, and after 
 some discussion we became convinced that, 
 this colossal face being regarded as the 
 guardian of the unexplored country, an 
 exit existed there. After some difficulty 
 we ignited one of our torches, and with 
 it stuck in the bows of the canoe, rode 
 backwards and forwards, minutely examin- 
 ing the base of the rock. Once we passed 
 so near that my companion was able to 
 secure a handful of gems for himself, and 
 both of us secreted these stolen votive 
 offerings about our garments. The two 
 parallel shafts of light from the eyes of 
 the graven monstrosity, striking deep into 
 the river, revealed curious fish and water- 
 snakes disporting themselves around the 
 boat, while great black bats which had 
 come in through the two openings, startled 
 by our presence, circled about us ominously 
 with wide-spread flapping wings.
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 105 
 
 The water glittering beneath the torch's 
 uncertain rays, flowed past so swiftly, that 
 we were compelled to continue pulling 
 in order to remain abreast of the idol. 
 Long and earnestly we both searched to 
 find some means by which we could reach 
 the two holes that formed the idol's eyes ; 
 yet they seemed so small that it was ques- 
 tionable whether, even if we successfully 
 clambered up the sculptured face, we could 
 squeeze our bodies through. A dozen times 
 we allowed the canoe to drift past, while 
 I endeavoured to discover some means by 
 which to reach those glaring eyes. But 
 the bright sunlight dazzled us, and beyond 
 the tiny niches filled with jewels there was 
 no other inequality to serve as foothold to 
 gain the narrow ledge which formed the 
 lips. Again, if I made a false step I should 
 be instantly swept away by the swirling 
 current, and lost for ever in the dark 
 whirling flood. 
 
 At length however my companion, 
 muscular and agile, succeeded in springing 
 clear of the canoe and gripping one of the
 
 io6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 small niciios, tossing the jewels into the 
 water by Lis frantic efforts. For an instant 
 ho struggled, his logs dangling in mid-air ; 
 then presently his toes found foothold, and 
 he commenced slowly to clamber up the 
 chin of the gigantic visage towards a kind 
 of long ledge. I watched his progress 
 breathlessly, not daring to utter a word, 
 but keeping the canoe in readiness to row 
 after him if ho fell. With difficulty ho 
 ascended, clinging on to the face of the 
 rock until he reached the great grinning 
 mouth and stood up facing me. 
 
 "What do you find?" I shouted, my 
 voice echoing weirdly. I had noticed that 
 as ho glanced along the spot where ho 
 stood his face became transfixed by horror. 
 
 " Follow me ! " he replied hoarsely. 
 *' Have a care, a single false step means 
 death." 
 
 At that instant the boat was passing 
 the spot where ho had gripped the rock's 
 face, and without hesitation I followed his 
 example and sprang, clutching the narrow 
 slippery ledge with both hands. My feet
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 107 
 
 found a resting-place, yet next second a 
 thought which crossed my mind held mo 
 ajipalled. I had omitted to moor the boat. 
 
 Over my shoulder I threw a hasty glance. 
 It had already drifted out of sight. 
 
 I heard my white companion shouting, 
 but taking no heed toiled on up the great 
 face until a strong helping hand gripped 
 mine, and I found myself standing beside 
 him upon the narrow ledge forming the lips 
 of the hideous countenance. 
 
 Next instant, glancing round, my eyes 
 encountered a sight which held me petrified. 
 
 A long dark aperture, about the height 
 of myself, formed the mouth, and set 
 therein were broad sharp teeth of rusted 
 sword-blades, which overlapping, prevented 
 entrance to the cavernous throat. Twenty 
 blades wore set in the jaw above and twenty 
 below, forming an impassable barrier of 
 razor-edged spikes. Our only means of 
 escape being cut off by the drifting of the 
 canoe, one fact alone remained to give us 
 courage. From where we stood we recog- 
 nised the utter impossibility of passing
 
 io8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 through the eyes of the colossus, yet, as 
 together we looked at the formidable teeth, 
 we saw a human skeleton lying beneath 
 them. The skull was beyond the row of 
 blades, the legs towards us, proving that 
 some means existed by which those jaws 
 could be opened. The unfortunate man 
 had, apparently, been impaled by the de- 
 scending blades while in the act of escaping. 
 After brief consultation we began an 
 active search to discover the means by 
 which the mouth could be opened. What 
 lay beyond in that dark cavernous throat we 
 knew not, though we strained our eyes into 
 the blackness, and shook the sharp steel 
 spikes in a vain endeavour to loosen them. 
 Eor a full hour we searched, discovering 
 nothing to lead us to any solution of the 
 problem. That freedom lay beyond we felt 
 convinced, by reason of the light and air 
 from above ; but whatever were the means 
 employed to raise the deadly jaw they were 
 a secret. Time after time we examined 
 every nook and crevice minutely, until at 
 last, when just about to give up our search
 
 THE SECRET OF SA 109 
 
 as futile, I suddenly espied, projecting from 
 the river's surface, a short bar of iron, with 
 the appearance of a lever. 
 
 To reach it was imperative, therefore at 
 imminent risk I let myself carefully over 
 the edge of the rock, slowly lowering my 
 body until I could grip it. Beneath my 
 w^eight it slowly gave way, and next instant 
 there was a loud gurgling as of water drawn 
 in by a vacuum, followed immediately by a 
 harsh metallic grating sound. 
 
 "At last! " I heard the Colonel cry in 
 French. " It rises ! Be careful how you 
 ascend." 
 
 Slowly, and with infinite care, I crept 
 upward, but as I did so I heard my com- 
 panion's echoing footsteps receding into 
 the gloomy throat of Sa, yet just as I had 
 gained the ledge forming the lips I heard a 
 piercing shriek, followed by a loud splash. 
 
 I shouted, but there was no answer. My 
 companion had stumbled into some chasm, 
 and I was alone. The light of the hideous 
 eyes had died out, and the spot was in almost 
 total darkness. A dozen times I called his
 
 no THE VEILED MAN 
 
 name, but there was no reassuring reply. 
 Then, cautionsly creeping forward upon my 
 hands and knees, fearing the worst, I soon 
 came to the edge of an abyss. Some stones 
 I gathered and flung in. By the sound of 
 the splash I knew the water must be of 
 enormous depth. There, in that dark un- 
 canny spot, had Colonel Flatters, the great 
 explorer, whose intrepidity has been for 
 years admired by the world, met his death. 
 
 A long time I spent alternately shouting 
 and listening. He might, I reflected, have 
 been saved by falling stunned upon some 
 rocky ledge. But I remembered hearing 
 the splash. No, he had undoubtedly been 
 precipitated into the water : the inky flood 
 had closed over him. 
 
 After diligent search I found a spot where 
 the abyss ended, and again crept forward, 
 still in darkness most intense. Yet the air 
 seemed fresh, and I felt convinced that 
 some outlet must lay beyond. How long, 
 however, I toiled on in that narrow tunnel 
 I know not, save that its dampness chilled 
 me ; and when at last it widened in ascend-
 
 THE SECRET OF SA in 
 
 ing, I found myself a few minutes afterwards 
 amid brushwood and brambles in the outer 
 world. 
 
 That night I wandered across the large 
 fertile tract, but could not at first recognise 
 it. When dawn spread, however, I saw 
 around me a ridge of dunes thn.t were 
 familiar landmarks, and recognised, to my 
 amazement, that I was at the oasis of Am 
 Ohannan, on the direct caravan route that 
 runs across the barren Afelele to Touat. 
 
 I had travelled nearly seventy miles in a 
 subterranean region unknown to man, but 
 in so doing had solved the problem that 
 had so long puzzled geographers, the reason 
 why the Igharghar no longer flowed. Be- 
 sides, I had ascertained the fate of the 
 hapless explorer, whose loss is lamented by 
 both Arabs and Eoumis to this day. With- 
 in one moon of my escape I was enabled to 
 rejoin my people, and when news of my 
 adventure reached the Bureau Arabe, in 
 Algiers, I was summoned thither to give a 
 detailed account of it before a small as- 
 sembly of geographers and military officers.
 
 112 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 This I did, a report of it appearing in 
 English in The Geograpldcal Journal a 
 month later. Of late, several attempts have 
 heen made by French expeditions to reach 
 that uncanny realm of eternal darkness, hut 
 without success. Its entrance beneath the 
 dry cataract of the Igharghar is now merely 
 an overflowing well, around which a little 
 herbage has grown, while its exit on the 
 Am Ohannan I have unfortunately failed to 
 re-discover. But since this strange adven- 
 ture I have been known among my fellow- 
 tribesmen throughout the desert as "El 
 Waci," or The Teacher, because I have 
 been enabled to prove to the French the 
 existence of an undreamed-of region, and to 
 elucidate the Secret of Sa.
 
 IV 
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 
 
 When my beard, now long, scraggy, and 
 grey, was yet soft as silk upon my youthful 
 chin, I was sent as spy into Agadez, the 
 mysterious City of the Black Sultan. At 
 that time it was the richest, most zealously 
 guarded, and most strongly fortified town 
 in the whole Sahara, and surrounded, as 
 it constantly was, by marauding tribes and 
 enemies of all sorts, a vigilant watch was 
 kept day and night, and woe betide any 
 stranger found within its colossal walls, for 
 the most fiendish of tortures that the mind 
 of man could devise was certain to be 
 practised upon him, and his body even- 
 tually given to the hungry dogs at the city 
 gate. 
 
 In order, however, to ascertain its true 
 
 113 I
 
 114 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 strength and the number of its garrison, 
 I, as one of the younger and more adven- 
 turous of our clansmen, was chosen by 
 Tamahu, our Sheikh, to enter and bring 
 back report to our encampment in the 
 rocky fastness of the Tignoutin. Therefore 
 I removed my big black veil, assumed the 
 white haik and burnouse of the Beni-Man- 
 sour, a peaceful tribe further north, and 
 contrived to be captured as slave by a party 
 of raiding Ennitra who were encamped by 
 the well of Tafidet, five miles from the 
 capital of Ahir. As I had anticipated, I 
 was soon taken to the City of the Black 
 Sultan, and there sold in the slave-market, 
 first becoming the property of a Jew mer- 
 chant, then of Hanaza, the Grand- Vizier 
 of the Sultan. As personal slave of this 
 high official I was lodged within the palace, 
 or Fada, that veritable city within a city, 
 containing as it did nearly three thousand 
 inhabitants, over one thousand of whom 
 were inmates of his Majesty's harem. 
 
 In the whole of Africa, no monarch, not 
 even the Moorish Lord of the Land of the
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 115 
 
 Maghrib, was housed so luxuriously as this 
 half-negro conqueror of the Asben. When 
 first I entered the Fada as slave, I was 
 struck by the magnificence of the wonderful 
 domain. As I crossed court after court, 
 each more beautiful than the one before, 
 and each devoted to a separate department 
 of the royal household, the guards, the 
 janissaries, the treasurer, the armourers, and 
 the eunuchs, I was amazed at every turn 
 by their magnificence and beauty. At last 
 we came to the court of the Grand Vizier, 
 a smaller but prettier place, .with a cool, 
 plashing fountain tiled in blue and white, 
 and shaded by figs, myrtles, and trailing 
 vines. Beyond, I could see an arched 
 gateway in the black wall, before which 
 stood two giant negro guards in bright blue, 
 their drawn swords flashing in the sun. Of 
 my conductor I enquired whither that gate 
 led, and was told it was impassable to all 
 save the Sultan himself, for it was the gate 
 of the Courts of Love, the entrance to the 
 royal harem. 
 
 Through the many months during which
 
 n6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 I served my capricious master, that closed, 
 iron-studded door, zealously guarded night 
 and day by its mute janissaries with their 
 carved scimitars, was a constant source of 
 mystery to me. Often I sat in the court- 
 yard and dreamed of the thousand terrible 
 dramas which that ponderous door hid from 
 those outside that world of love, hatred, 
 and all the fiercest passions of the human 
 heart. The Sultan was fickle and capri- 
 cious. The favourite of to-day was the 
 discarded of to-morrow. The bright-eyed 
 houri who, loaded with jewels, could twist 
 her master round her finger one day, was 
 the next the merest harem slave, com- 
 pelled to wash the feet of the woman who 
 had succeeded her in her royal master's 
 favour. Truly the harem of the Sultan of 
 the Ahir was a veritable hotbed of intrigue, 
 where ofttimes the innocent victims of 
 jealousy were cast alive to the wild beasts, 
 or compelled to partake of the Cup of 
 Death — coffee wherein chopped hair had 
 been placed — a draught that was inevitably 
 fatal.
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 117 
 
 One brilliant night, when the silver 
 moonbeams whitened the court wherein 
 I lived, I sat in the deep shadow of the 
 oleanders, sad and lonely. Through six 
 long dreary months had I been held slave 
 by the Grand Vizier, yet it was Allah's 
 will that I should have no opportunity to 
 return to my people. So I possessed myself 
 in patience. Through those months mine 
 eyes and ears had been ever on the alert, 
 and long ago I had completed my investi- 
 gations. Suddenly my reflections were 
 interrupted, for I saw standing before me 
 a veritable vision of beauty, a pale-faced 
 girl in the gorgeous costume of the harem, 
 covered with glittering jewels, and wearing 
 the tiny fez, pearl-embroidered zouave, and 
 filmy serroual of the Sultan's favourites. 
 Not more than eighteen, her unveiled coun- 
 tenance was white as any Englishwoman's ; 
 her startled eyes were bright as the moon- 
 beams above, and as she stood mute and 
 trembling before me, her bare, panting 
 bosom, half-covered by her long, dark 
 tresses, rose and fell quickly. I raised my
 
 Ii8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 eyes, and saw tliat the negro guards were 
 sleeping. She had escaped from the Courts 
 of Love. 
 
 " Quick ! " she gasped, terrified. " Hide 
 me, while there is yet time." 
 
 At her bidding I rose instantly, for her 
 wondrous beauty held me as beneath some 
 witch's spell. And at the same time I led 
 the way to my tiny den, a mere hole in 
 the gigantic wall that separated the royal 
 harem from the outer courts of the palace. 
 
 " My name is Zohra," she explained, 
 when she had entered; "and thine?" — 
 she paused for an instant, looking me 
 straight in the face. "Of a verity," she 
 added at length, "thine is Ahamadou, the 
 spy of the dreaded Azjar, the Veiled Men." 
 
 I started, for I had believed my secret 
 safe. 
 
 " What knowest thou of me ? " I gasped 
 eagerly. 
 
 " That thou hast risked all in order to 
 report to thy people upon the Black Sul- 
 tan's strength, " she answered, sinking upon 
 my narrow divan, throwing back her hand-
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 119 
 
 some head and gazing into my eyes. " But 
 our interests are mutual. I have these ten 
 months been held captive, and desire to 
 escape. By bribing one of the slaves 
 with the Sultan's ring I contrived to have 
 poison placed in the kouss-kouss of the 
 guards " 
 
 "You have killed them! " I cried, peer- 
 ing forth, and noticing the ghastly look 
 upon their faces as they slept at their posts. 
 
 '* It was the only way," she answered, 
 shru2f2:infj: her shoulders. " To obtain me 
 the Sultan's men murdered my kinsmen, 
 and put our village to the sword. Mine 
 is but a mild revenge." 
 
 "Of what tribe art thou?" I enquired 
 eagerly, detecting in her soft sibillations an 
 accent entirely unfamiliar. 
 
 "I am of the Kel-Oui, and was born at 
 Lebo." 
 
 " At Lebo ! " I cried eagerly. " Then 
 thou knowest of the Three Dwarfs of 
 Lebo?" 
 
 "Yea. And furthermore I have learnt 
 their secret, a secret which shall be thine
 
 I20 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 alone in return for safe conduct to my 
 people." 
 
 "But my clansmen are in deadly feud 
 with thine," I observed reflectively. 
 
 ''Does that affect thy decision?" she 
 enquired in a tone of reproach. 
 
 I reflected, and saw how utterly impos- 
 sible it seemed that I myself could escape 
 the vigilance of these ever-watchful guards 
 of the many gates which lay between my- 
 self and freedom. I glanced at the frail 
 girl lying upon my poor ragged divan, her 
 girdle and throat blazing with jewels, and 
 felt my heart sink within me. 
 
 " Thou thinkest that because I am a 
 woman I have no courage," she observed, 
 her keen eyes reading my secret thoughts. 
 "But hist! listen!" 
 
 I held my breath, and as I did so the 
 footsteps of men fell upon the flags of 
 the courtyard. We peered forth through 
 the chink in the wooden shutter, which at 
 night closed my window, and saw two men 
 carrying a bier, followed by two gigantic 
 negro eunuchs. Upon the bier was a body
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 121 
 
 covered by a cloth ; and as it passed we 
 both caught sight of gay-coloured silks and 
 lace. Below the black pall a slim white 
 hand, sparkling with diamonds, moved con- 
 vulsively, and as the cortege passed, a low 
 stifling cry reached us — the despairing cry 
 of a woman. 
 
 " Ah ! " gasped my companion, dismayed. 
 "It is Zulaimena ! Yesterday she ruled the 
 harem, but this morning it was whispered 
 into our lord's ear that she had tried to 
 poison him, and he condemned her and 
 myself to be given alive to the alligators," 
 and she shuddered at thought of the fate 
 which awaited her if detected. 
 
 Conversing only in whispers, we waited 
 till the palace was hushed in sleep. Then, 
 when she had attired herself in one of 
 my old serving- dresses and bound her hair 
 tightly, we crept cautiously out into the 
 moonlit court. Over the horse-shoe arch 
 of the harem-gate the single light burned 
 yellow and faint, while on either side the 
 guards crouched, their dead fingers still 
 grasping their ponderous scimitars. All was
 
 122 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 still, therefore quietly and swiftly we passed 
 into the Court of the Treasury, and thence 
 into that of the Eunuchs. Here we were 
 instantly challenged by two guards with 
 drawn swords, clansmen of those who lay 
 dead at the harem-gate. 
 
 " Whence goest thou ? " they both en- 
 quired with one voice, suddenly awakened 
 from gazing mutely at the stars, their 
 blades flashing in the moonbeams. 
 
 "Our master, the Grand Vizier, has had 
 an apoplexy, and is dying ! " I cried, uttering 
 the first excuse that rose to my lips, " Let 
 not his life be upon thine heads, for we go 
 forth to seek the court physician Ibrahim." 
 
 " Speed on the wings of haste ! " they 
 cried. " May the One Merciful have com- 
 passion upon him ! " 
 
 Thus weipassed onward, relating the same 
 story at each gate, and being accorded the 
 same free passage, until at last we came 
 to an enormous steel-bound door which 
 gave exit into the city; the gate which 
 was closed and barred by its ponderous 
 bolts at the maglirih hour, and opened not
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 123 
 
 until dawn save for the' dark faced Sultan 
 himself. 
 
 Here I gave exactly the same account 
 of our intentions to the captain of the 
 guard. He chanced to be a friend of my 
 master's, and was greatly concerned when 
 I vividly described his critical condition. 
 
 *' Let the slaves pass ! " I heard him cry 
 a moment later, and, with a loud creaking, 
 the iron-studded door which had resisted 
 centuries of siege and battle, slowly swung 
 back upon its creaking hinges. At that 
 instant, however, a prying guard raised his 
 lantern and held it close to my companion's 
 face. 
 
 '' By the Prophet's beard, a woman ! " he 
 cried aloud, starting back, an instant later. 
 *'We are tricked!" 
 
 *' Seize them ! " commanded the captain, 
 and in a moment three guards threw them- 
 selves upon us. Swift as thought I drew 
 my keen jamhiyah, my trusty knife which 
 I had ever carried in my sash throughout 
 my captivity, and plunged it into the heart 
 of the first man who laid hands upon me,
 
 124 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 while a second later the man who gripped 
 Zohra, received a cut full across his broad 
 negro features w^hich for ever spoilt his 
 beauty. Then, with a wild shout to my 
 companion to follow, I dashed forward and 
 ran for my life. 
 
 Lithe and agile as a gazelle in the desert 
 she sped on beside me along the dark 
 crooked silent streets. In a few minutes 
 the tragedy of the harem-gate w^ould be 
 discovered, and every effort would be then 
 made to recapture the eloping favourite 
 of the brutal Black Sultan. We knew well 
 that if captured both of us would be given 
 alive to the alligators, a punishment too 
 terrible to contemplate. But together we 
 sped on, our pace quickened by the fiendish 
 yells of our pursuers, until doubling in a 
 maze of narrow crooked streets, we suc- 
 ceeded at last, wdth Allah directing our 
 footsteps, in evading the howling guards 
 and gaining one of the four gates of the 
 city, where the same story as we had told 
 in the Fada resulted in the barrier being 
 opened for us, and a moment later w^e found
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 125 
 
 ourselves in the wild, barren plain, at that 
 hour lying white beneath the brilliant 
 moon. "We paused not, however, to admire 
 picturesque effects, but strode boldly for- 
 ward, eager to put as great a distance as 
 possible between ourselves and the strong- 
 hold of the Ahir, ere the dawn. 
 
 Fortunately my bright-eyed fellow-fugi- 
 tive was well acquainted with the country 
 around Agadez, therefore we were enabled 
 to journey by untravelled paths ; but the 
 three days we spent in that burning in- 
 hospitable wilderness, ere we reached the 
 well where we obtained our first handful 
 of dates and slaked our thirst, were among 
 the most terrible of any I have experienced 
 during my many wanderings over the sandy 
 Saharan waste. 
 
 On that evening when the mysterious 
 horizon was ablaze with the fiery sunset, 
 and I had turned my face to the Holy 
 Ca'aba, I was dismayed to discover that, 
 instead of travelling towards the country 
 of her people, the Kel-Oui, we had struck 
 out in an entirely different direction,
 
 126 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 but when I mentioned it she merely 
 replied — 
 
 "I promised, in return for thine assist- 
 ance, to lead thee unto the Three Dwarfs 
 of Lebo, the secret of which none know 
 save myself. Ere three suns have set thine 
 eyes shall witness that which will amaze 
 thee." 
 
 Next day we trudged still forward into a 
 stony, almost impenetrable country, utterly 
 unknown to me, and two days later, having 
 ascended a rocky ridge, my conductress 
 suddenly halted almost breathless, her tiny 
 feet sadly cut by the sharp stones notwith- 
 standing the wrappings I had placed about 
 them, and pointing before her, cried — 
 
 *' Behold ! The Three Dwarfs ! " 
 
 Eagerly I strained mine eyes in the 
 direction indicated, and there discerned 
 in the small oasis below, about an hour's 
 march distant, three colossal pyramids of 
 rock of similar shape to those beside the 
 Nile. 
 
 "Yon fertile spot was Lebo until ten 
 years ago, when the men of the Black Sultan
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 127 
 
 came and destroyed it, and took its inha- 
 bitants as slaves," she explained. " See ! 
 From here thou canst distinguish the white 
 walls of the ruins gleaming amongst the 
 palms. We of the Kel-Oui had lived here 
 since the days of the Prophet, until our 
 enemies of the Ahir conquered us. But 
 let us haste forward, and I will impart 
 unto thee the secret I have promised." 
 
 Together we clambered down over the 
 rocks and gained the sandy plain, at last 
 reaching the ruined and desolate town 
 where the cracked smoke - stained walls 
 were half overgrown by tangled masses of 
 greenery, welcome in that sun-baked wilder- 
 ness, and presently came to the base of 
 the first of the colossal monuments of a 
 past and long-forgotten age. They were 
 built of blocks of dark grey granite, sadly 
 chipped and worn at the base, but higher 
 up still well preserved, having regard to 
 the generations that must have arisen and 
 passed since the hands that built them 
 crumbled to dust. 
 
 *' By pure accident," explained the bright-
 
 128 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 faced girl when together we halted to gaze 
 upward, "I discovered the secret of these 
 wonders of Lebo. Thou hast, by thy lion's 
 courage, saved my life, therefore unto thee 
 is due the greatest reward that I can offer 
 thee. Two years ago I fell captive in the 
 hands of thy people, the Azjar, over in the 
 Tinghert, and it was by thine own good 
 favour I was released. That is why I 
 recognised thee in the palace of Agadez. 
 Now once again I owe my freedom unto 
 thee ; therefore, in order that the months 
 thou hast spent in Agadez shall not be 
 wholly wasted, I will reveal unto thee the 
 secret which I have always withheld from 
 mine own people." 
 
 Then, taking my hand, she quickly walked 
 along the base of the giant structure until 
 she came to the corner facing the dkection 
 of the sunrise ; then, counting her footsteps, 
 she proceeded with care, stopping at last 
 beneath the sloping wall, and examining 
 the ground. At her feet was a small slab, 
 hidden by the red sand of the desert, which 
 she removed, drawing from beneath it a roll
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 129 
 
 of untanned leopard-hide. This she un- 
 wrapped carefully, displaying to my gaze a 
 worn and tattered parchment, once em- 
 blazoned in blue and gold, but now sadly 
 faded and half illegible. 
 
 I examined it eagerly, and found it writ- 
 ten in puzzling hieroglyphics, such as I had 
 never before seen. 
 
 " Our marabout Ahman, who was well 
 versed in the language of the ancients, 
 deciphered this for me only a few hours 
 before his death. It is the testimony of 
 the great Lebo, king of all the lands from 
 the southern shore of Lake Tsad to the 
 Congo, and founder of the Kel-Oui nation, 
 now, alas ! so sadly fallen from their high 
 estate. The parchment states plainly that 
 Lebo, having conquered and despoiled the 
 Ethiopians in the last year of his reign, 
 gathered together all the treasure and 
 brought it hither to this spot, which bore 
 his name, in that day a gigantic walled city 
 larger by far than Agadez." 
 
 I glanced around upon the few miserable 
 ruins of mud-built houses, and saw beyond 
 
 K
 
 I30 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 them large mounds whicli, in themselves, 
 indicated that the foundations of an im- 
 portant centre of a forgotten civilisation 
 lay buried beneath where we stood. 
 
 "Lebo had one son," continued Zohra, 
 " and he had revolted against his father ; 
 therefore the latter, feeling that his strength 
 was faihng, and having been told by the 
 sorcerers that on his death his great king- 
 dom would dwindle until his name became 
 forgotten, resolved to build these three 
 pyramids, that they should remain through- 
 out all ages as monuments of his great- 
 ness." 
 
 "And the treasure?" I asked. "Is it 
 stated what became of it ? " 
 
 " Most precisely. It is recorded here," 
 she answered, pointing to a half-defaced 
 line in the mysterious screed. " The king 
 feared lest his refractory son, who had en- 
 deavoured to usurp his power in the country 
 many marches farther south, would obtain 
 possession of the spoils of war, therefore he 
 concealed them in one of yonder monu- 
 ments."
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 131 
 
 " In there ! " I cried eagerly. '* Is the 
 treasure actually still there ? " 
 
 *'It cannot have been removed. The 
 secret lies in the apex of the third and 
 lastly constructed monument," she ex- 
 plained. 
 
 " But the summit cannot he reached," I 
 observed, glancing up at the high point. 
 "It would require a ladder as long as that 
 of Jacob's dream." 
 
 " There is a secret way," she answered 
 quite calmly. "If thou art prepared for 
 the risk, I am quite ready to accompany 
 thee. Let us at once explore." 
 
 Together we approached the base of the 
 third pyramid, and Zohra, after careful 
 calculation and examination, led me to a 
 spot where there was a hole in the stone just 
 of sufficient size to admit a human foot. 
 One might have passed it by unnoticed, 
 for so cunningly was it devised that it 
 looked like a natural defect in the block of 
 granite. 
 
 "Behold!" she cried. " Chmb, and I 
 will follow."
 
 132 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 The day was hot, and the sun had only 
 just passed the noon, nevertheless I 
 placed my foot in the burning stone, and 
 scrambling forward found that she had 
 made no mistake. At intervals there were 
 similar footholds, winding, intricate, and 
 in many instances filled with the nests of 
 vultures, but always ascending. For fully 
 half an hour we toiled upward to the apex, 
 until we at length reached it, perspiring 
 and panting, and minutely examined the 
 single enormous block of stone that capped 
 the summit. By its size I saw that no 
 human hands could move it. If the 
 treasure lay beneath, then it must remain 
 for ever concealed. 
 
 " That parchment giveth no instructions 
 how the spoils of war may be reached. We 
 must discover that for ourselves," she 
 observed, clambering on, still in her ragged 
 male attire with which I had furnished 
 her before leaving the stronghold of the 
 Black Sultan. 
 
 I was clinging with one arm around the 
 apex itself, and with the other grasping
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 133 
 
 her soft white hand. She had looked down 
 from the dizzy height and shuddered, 
 therefore I feared lest she might be seized 
 with a sudden giddiness. But quickly she 
 released herself, and proceeded to scramble 
 along on hands and knees, making a minute 
 investigation of the wall. 
 
 Her sudden cry brought me quickly to 
 her side, and my heart leapt wildly when 
 I discerned before me, in the wall of the 
 pyramid, immediately at the base of the 
 gigantic block forming the apex, an aperture 
 closed by a sheet of heavy iron, coloured 
 exactly the same as the stone and quite 
 indistinguishable from it. Some minutes 
 we spent in its examination, beating upon 
 it with our fists. But the secret how to 
 open it was an enigma as great as that 
 of the closed cavern in our book of the 
 '' Thousand Nights and a Night," until 
 suddenly, by merest chance, we both 
 placed our hands upon it, and it moved 
 slightly beneath our touch. Next moment, 
 with a cry, we both pushed our hardest, 
 and slowly, ever so slowly, it slid along,
 
 134 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 grating in the groove, which was doubtless 
 filled by the dust of centuries, disclosing 
 a small, dark, low chamber roofed by the 
 apex-stone. 
 
 Stepping inside, our gaze eagerly wan- 
 dered around the mysterious place, and 
 we at once saw that we had indeed dis- 
 covered the treasure-house of Lebo the 
 Great, for around us were piled a wondrous 
 store of gold and gems, personal orna- 
 ments and great golden goblets and salvers. 
 The aggregate value of the treasure was 
 enormous. 
 
 '' Of a verity," I cried, '' this is amazing ! " 
 ''Yea," she answered, turning her fine 
 eyes upon me. " I give this secret entirely 
 and unreservedly unto thee, as reward for 
 thine aid. At the going down of the sun 
 I shall part from thee, and leave this home 
 of my race for ever. In six hours' march, 
 by the secret gorges, I can reach our en- 
 campment, therefore trouble no further 
 after me. Close this treasure-house, return 
 to thine own people, and let them profit 
 by thy discovery."
 
 THE THREE DWARFS OF LEBO 135 
 
 ''But thou, Zohra, holdest me in fasci- 
 nation," I cried passionately. " Tliou hast 
 entranced me. I love thee ! " 
 
 " Love can never enter mine heart," 
 she answered with a calm smile, but sighing 
 nevertheless. ''I am already the wife of 
 thine enemy, Melaki, ruler of the Kel-Oui." 
 
 " Wife of Melaki ! " I exclaimed amazed. 
 " And thou hast done this ? " 
 
 "Yes," she answered in a lower voice. 
 "I have given thee thy promised reward, 
 so that thou and thy people may become 
 rich, and some day make brotherhood with 
 us, and unite against the Black Sultan." 
 
 " If such is in my power it shall be done," 
 I said, stooping and imprinting a passionate 
 kiss upon her soft white hand. Then soon 
 afterwards we closed the mouth of the 
 chamber and descended, finding the task 
 no easy one. At the base of the " Dwarf" 
 we parted, and never since have mine eyes 
 beheld her beautiful countenance. 
 
 Ere a moon had passed away, I had 
 conducted a party of my clansmen unto 
 the Three Dwarfs, and we had removed
 
 136 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the treasure of the great founder of the 
 Kel-Oui. Of such quantity was it that 
 seven camels were required to convey it 
 to Mourzouk, where it was sold to the 
 Jews in the market, and fetched a sum 
 which greatly swelled our finances. 
 
 True to my promise, when I assumed 
 the chieftainship of the Azjar, I effected 
 a friendly alliance with the Kel-Oui, and 
 endeavoured to seek out Zohra. 
 
 But with poignant grief I learnt that 
 soon after her return to her people she 
 had been seized by a mysterious illness 
 which proved fatal. Undoubtedly she 
 was poisoned, for it was her evil-faced 
 husband, Melaki, who told me how he had 
 found in her possession a mysterious screed 
 relating to the treasure of Lebo, and how, 
 when questioned, she had admitted reveal- 
 ing its secret to the man who had rescued 
 her from the harem of the Black Sultan. 
 
 Melaki never knew that the man with 
 whom she fled from Agadez, and who loved 
 her more devotedly than any other man 
 had ever done, was myself.
 
 V 
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 
 
 One breathless evening, when the golden 
 sun had deepened to crimson, and the 
 shadows of the rocks were lengthening 
 upon the white furnace of the sands, an 
 alarm spread through our camp that strange 
 horsemen were riding hard down the valley 
 in our direction. Marauders that we were, 
 fierce reprisals were of no infrequent occur- 
 rence, therefore the women and children 
 were quickly hurried out of the way, the 
 camels tethered, and each man gripped his 
 spear, prepared to resist whatever onslaught 
 might be made. 
 
 Along the Wady Ereren, six days' march 
 south of the town of Ghat, where we were 
 at that time encamped, we had taken the 
 precaution to post three men in order to 
 
 137
 
 138 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 give US warning in case of any projected 
 attack by the Kel-Alkoum, the powerful 
 people with whom we were at feud on 
 account of the murder of six of our clans- 
 men up in the north of Fezzan. Our 
 outposts, however, had sent us no word, 
 tiierefore the only conclusion was that they 
 had been surprised and killed ere they could 
 reach us. 
 
 Hearing the news, I clambered up the 
 bank of the ancient dried-up watercourse, 
 in the bed of which we had pitched our 
 tents, and, looking across the bend, we saw 
 four dark specks approaching. The eye of 
 the Touareg is as keen as that of the eagle, 
 for, Hving as we do upon plunder, our 
 intelhgence becomes so sharpened that we 
 somehow instinctively scent the approach 
 of the stranger long before we see or hear 
 him. In a few moments the men crowded 
 about me for my opinion. Tamahu was 
 dead, and this occurred in the first year 
 of my chieftainship of the Azjar. 
 
 "Let all four be captured and brought 
 to me," I said, my eyes still fixed upon the
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 139 
 
 approaching figures. ** If they resist, kill 
 them." 
 
 In an instant twenty men, dark and for- 
 bidding in their black veils, sprang into 
 their high-backed brass-mounted saddles, 
 and with their gleaming spears held high, 
 ready to strike, swept away down the valley 
 to meet the new-comers. 
 
 Half an hour passed anxiously. The 
 women in the rear chattered excitedly, and 
 the children, held back by them, rent the 
 air by their cries. From where I stood I 
 was unable to witness the meeting of our 
 men with the strangers, but suddenly the 
 sound of firearms reached our ears. Then 
 I felt assured that the mysterious horse- 
 men must either be the advance-guard of 
 some valuable caravan from Algeria, or of 
 an army from the north. Yet again and 
 again the guns spoke forth, and so rapidly 
 that I feared for the safety of our men; 
 but at last there was silence deep and 
 complete, and when I descended to the 
 camp I found a tumultuous excitement 
 prevailing. The four men, escorted by
 
 I40 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 those who had gone to arrest them, were 
 still carrying their guns, and as they slipped 
 from their saddles before me, smiles broad- 
 ened their unveiled faces. 
 
 I looked at them puzzled. It seemed 
 as though the firing had been but powder- 
 play. 
 
 "Behold! Ahamadou, our Sheikh! 
 We are thy kinsmen, yet thou hast sent 
 to attack us ! " they exclaimed. 
 
 " Our kinsmen ! " I cried, noticing that 
 they wore the white burnouse of the north, 
 with their liaicks held around their heads 
 by ropes of twisted camel's hair. They 
 wore no veils, and a Touareg is unrecog- 
 nisable, even to his relatives, if his black 
 litham be removed. 
 
 "Yea," cried one, the elder of the four. 
 " Lend us a veil, and we will show thee." 
 
 A strip of black cotton cloth was thrust 
 into his hand by one of the crowd, and he 
 assumed it, twisting it deftly as only a 
 Touareg can. Then he turned and faced 
 the onlookers, who with one accord laughed 
 immoderately, hailing him as Taghma, son
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 141 
 
 of Ifafan. Then the other three assumed 
 the veil, and were, one by one, recognised 
 and received back by their relatives. 
 
 At the conclusion of this strange cere- 
 mony, Taghma turned to me explaining 
 how long ago before Eamadan they had 
 wandered afar with their flocks to the oasis 
 of Ezirer, and were there taken captives by 
 the Kel-Alkoum. 
 
 "But," he added, ''we have seen with 
 our eyes the greatest wonder on earth. 
 Allah himself hath come down from 
 heaven ! " 
 
 "What?" I cried, starting to my feet. 
 " Thou liest ! " The sensation caused by 
 the man's calm announcement was intense. 
 
 " If my tongue uttereth falsehood, 
 Sheikh ! then let it be cut out," he said. 
 " I have seen Allah, the One. He guideth 
 the Kel-Alkoum our enemies, and we are 
 of a verity forsaken." 
 
 "Ah!" wailed the old marabout Ajrab. 
 " Did I not warn ye that because of your 
 inattention to your devotions and your 
 neglect to say the five prayers, the One
 
 143 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Merciful would leave you to perish and be 
 eaten by the vultures like the lame camel 
 in the wilderness ? " 
 
 "Loose not thy tongue's strings," I 
 commanded quickly. " Let us hearken 
 unto Taghma, who hath seen the One from 
 above." 
 
 " Of a verity, Ahamadou ! " answered 
 the escaped captive, " we are lost, for Allah 
 hath promised to render assistance unto 
 the people he favoured in their expeditions. 
 He declareth that we, of the Touaregs, are 
 the parasites of the earth, and that we shall 
 be exterminated, not one being left. Truly 
 he can render our spears as broken reeds, 
 and our blades as useless as rusted tin. 
 Each day at the maglirib he standeth 
 beneath a baldachin of purple and giveth 
 the people an assurance of his favour, while 
 all fall down and kiss the hem of his crim- 
 son garment so that they may be blessed. 
 In Salemma, El Had, El Guerat, and the 
 villages around Gatron, he hath healed 
 the sick and performed wondrous miracles, 
 while before our own eyes hath he caused
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 143 
 
 a great tree to rise from the bare sand — 
 a marvel which no earthly being could 
 accomplish." 
 
 ''The latter thou hast thyself seen?" 
 I enquired, much interested in this most 
 remarkable statement. 
 
 '■' We have, Sheikh ! " he answered. 
 '' The face of Allah is in the darkness as 
 a shining light. Verily the promise in the 
 siira is fulfilled. He hath come in person 
 to lead the Faithful unto conquest." 
 
 Alone I sat in my tent that night, smok- 
 ing and pondering deeply over the strange 
 report. In the camp the excitement had 
 already risen to fever-heat. The aged 
 Ajrab was addressing the crowd of men 
 and women, urging them to earnest suppli- 
 cation. Allah had come, and would vent 
 his wrath upon those who had discarded 
 His Book of Everlasting Will. From my 
 divan I could hear the grey-bearded mara- 
 bout's declaratory argument, and began to 
 wonder whether the statement that Allah 
 had descended upon earth had any founda- 
 tion in fact. I confess to being sceptical.
 
 144 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 From the wailing of the women, and the 
 low growls of the men, I knew plainly that 
 the belief in the report must have a seriously 
 disheartening effect upon our fighting-men, 
 who, if convinced that Allah assisted their 
 enemies, would no doubt throw down their 
 arms and flee. 
 
 I therefore saw that the statement of 
 Taghma and his companions must be in- 
 vestigated, and after deep thought at length 
 resolved to assume a disguise, and go myself 
 to the camp of the Kel-Alkoum and see the 
 miracles of which the men had spoken. To 
 leave the Azjar without its Sheikh at such 
 a time would, I knew, result disastrously; 
 therefore, calling together the marabout and 
 three of the most trusted headmen, I 
 secretly explained to them my intention, 
 and told them to account for my non- 
 appearance during the next few days by 
 spreading the report that I was seized by a 
 slight fever and confined to my tent. 
 
 Then just before the waning of the moon, 
 the dress that Taghma had worn was brought 
 to me, and, assuming it, I mounted a fleet
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 145 
 
 horse and set forth alone down the winding 
 wady. 
 
 With the facts I had elicited from the 
 four fugitives vivid within my mind, I 
 journeyed forward, arriving ten days later 
 in the little stone-built town of Zemnou, a 
 cluster of white houses surrounding its small 
 mosque capped by three thin whitewashed 
 minarets. Wearing as I did the correct 
 garb of a tribesman of the Kel-Alkoum, my 
 presence was unnoticed, and I was therefore 
 enabled to stroll about the market-places 
 and make my observations while pretending 
 to bargain for goods I had no intention of 
 purchasing. 
 
 At sunset each day, when the voice of 
 the mueddin sounded from the minaret, 
 *' Allah is great ! " I crossed to the mosque, 
 washed my feet in the marble basin and 
 entered, in the expectation of seeing the 
 Euler of Earth, but was each day dis- 
 appointed. At that hour the surrounding 
 terraces were peopled with white forms, 
 which stood out against the summits of the 
 palm-trees and the green of the baobab.
 
 146 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Their backs were turned to the purple 
 splendours of the dying light, for their faces 
 looked towards the already darkened east, 
 lighted for us by that eternal light in which 
 Mecca is to be found. At length, after a 
 week had elapsed, a great and excited crowd 
 gathered in the market, and, when I en- 
 quired its reason, I learned that Allah was 
 coming. 
 
 For an hour we waited in the full glare of 
 the noon-day sun, until suddenly a shout 
 of joy arose, and all fell upon their knees in 
 adoration. Then, lifting my eyes, I wit- 
 nessed for the first time the One Merciful 
 in the flesh. Truly Taghma had not lied. 
 He was of middle-age, a trifle pale, but his 
 dark eyes had a kindly, sympathetic look, 
 and his countenance was open and bright, a 
 face such as is never seen on earth. In his 
 robe of blood-red he stood with his head 
 uncovered, and while the people about him 
 kissed his feet and the hem of his robe, he 
 stretched forth both hands over them, pro- 
 nouncing upon them his blessing and an 
 assurance of his favour.
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 147 
 
 One fact, however, struck me as curious. 
 Abreha, the Sheikh, stood aloof, with arms 
 folded, watching the scene from beneath his 
 shaggy brows. The glare in his keen eye 
 told me that within his heart he concealed 
 a fierce jealousy that his power had thus 
 been eclipsed. 
 
 The people, frantic with joy at the words 
 of the Giver of all Good Gifts, cried aloud 
 their praises, repeating their fdtihat, and 
 making open declaration of their belief. 
 The scene was the strangest and most ex- 
 citing that ever I had witnessed, for, carried 
 away by their enthusiasm, many fell faint- 
 ing, and were trampled upon by the crowd 
 eagerly struggling to press Allah's garment 
 to their Hps, and obtain the remission of all 
 past sins. 
 
 Suddenly the tall, erect, imposing figure 
 in blood-red, truly kingly, raised both arms 
 above his head, and, in a clear voice that 
 echoed across the market above the 
 clamours of the wild perspiring crowd, 
 commanded silence. In an instant one 
 could have heard a cricket chirp. Every
 
 148 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 moutli was open in breathless eagerness, 
 for Allah was about to speak to them, his 
 chosen, with his own lips. 
 
 " Give ear, my well-beloved ! " he 
 cried, with an accent unfamiliar. *' Among 
 ye have I come because ye have repeated 
 your suras faithfully, and have believed in 
 my Prophet. Of a verity will I bless you 
 with abundant blessings, and the sun of 
 my favour shall shine upon you so that 
 your enemies may wither before the dazzling 
 light shed by your faces. You, the Kel- 
 Alkoum, my beloved, shall sweep from the 
 face of the earth the wicked who have 
 oppressed you, and their entrails will be 
 burned by the all-consuming fire of my 
 vengeance. The Touaregs, those who hide 
 their faces in veils because of the hideous- 
 ness of their iniquities, shalt thou put to 
 the sword, and they shall be consigned to 
 the place Al-Hawiyat, where their food 
 shall be offal, and melting pitch shall slake 
 their thirst. I am thy leader, hencefor- 
 ward fear not, for thou hast a stronger 
 hand than all nations of the earth, and at
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 149 
 
 my will all who oppose thee shall be routed 
 and die. The Kel-Alkoum, my chosen, 
 shall rule the world." 
 
 He paused, and glanced round with an 
 eye keen as a falcon's, while loud praises 
 arose from every hoarse throat around. 
 
 *' We will rout the Azjar from their 
 mountain fastnesses ! " they cried. "We 
 are ready at any moment to do thy bidding, 
 and sweep away the wicked. Thou wilt 
 give strength to our arms that none can 
 resist. Be praised, King of earth and 
 heaven ! Be praised, One ! " 
 
 A smile of satisfaction played about the 
 lips of the red-robed visitant from the un- 
 known; but, without further word, he 
 turned and stalked slowly to the mosque, 
 the excited crowd closing in behind him, 
 rending the air with their adulatory 
 cries. 
 
 Throughout many days I remained in 
 Zemnou. Once I saw the mysterious visi- 
 tant pass in the darkness, and truly his 
 luminous face shone like a lamp. One 
 morning, however, while wandering among
 
 ISO THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the palms outside the town, I met the 
 Kuler of Earth walking alone, his head 
 sunk upon his breast in pensive attitude. 
 With his red cloak trailing heedlessly in 
 the dust, he presented a decidedly dejected 
 appearance. My footsteps startled him, 
 and, raising his head quickly, he walked 
 erect with his usual gait, apparently being 
 desirous of concealing his melancholy. 
 
 "Praise!" I exclaimed, stopping, and 
 bowing low before him. *' If thou art, 
 indeed, Allah, thou alone knowest the 
 innermost thoughts of thy servant." 
 
 He paused, and stretched both his 
 white tapering hands above my bowed 
 head. 
 
 " Thy thoughts are of me," he answered. 
 '' Thou desirest speech with me alone. 
 Speak." 
 
 So calmly he looked upon me that I was 
 convinced that such a kindly, sympathetic 
 face, with its expression of a sweet sadness, 
 could not be human. Besides, had he not 
 healed the sick, and caused trees to grow 
 from out the desert sand ? Yet a spirit of
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 151 
 
 scepticism possessed me, and, scarcely 
 knowing what words I uttered, I said — 
 
 " If thou art the mighty and wise One 
 thou canst tell me my name, and whence 
 I have come." 
 
 In an instant his brows knit, and his 
 eyes flashed angrily. 
 
 " Thou art an unbeliever, and one of my 
 accursed. Thou, who darest to question 
 my immutability and omnipotence, go dwell 
 with Eblis, Euler of Darkness, where male- 
 ficient spirits shall haunt thee, and the 
 tortures of the flesh shall rend thee for 
 ever. Begone ! " 
 
 And drawing his robe about his shoulders, 
 he moved forward with truly imperial gait. 
 
 At that moment I saw through the trees 
 a pious fanatical crowd approaching. The 
 news had evidently spread that the All- 
 merciful was walking in the outskirts of 
 the town, and they had come forth to 
 touch his garments and receive his bless- 
 ing. But when he saw them he halted, 
 and, pointing towards me, cried — 
 
 " Lo ! Yonder is one of the sons of
 
 152 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Eblis, a scoffer and unbeliever. Let his 
 body be given to the dogs." 
 
 Ere I could realise that the kind-faced 
 man had condemned me to death, the 
 mob, with loud yells of execration, rushed 
 forward to seize me, and hurry me to an 
 ignominious end. But in an instant I 
 dashed in among the trees, and fled for 
 life so quickly that I at length managed 
 to out-distance my irate pursuers, and till 
 evening I slept beneath the shadow of a 
 rock. Then, determined to speak again 
 with the Almighty One, I returned into 
 the town, taking the precaution to purchase 
 new garments to prevent recognition. 
 
 The All-powerful had aroused further 
 suspicion within me by his embarrassment 
 when I had questioned him, and by his 
 anxiety that I should be killed ere I could 
 utter denunciation. Without doubt, he 
 possessed a mixture of firmness and inde- 
 pendence which raised him above all pre- 
 judices, for he expressed his opinions to 
 Abreha, the Sheikh, with the same frank- 
 ness he employed towards the humblest
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 153 
 
 tribesman ; nevertheless, when we had 
 spoken, I had detected a dramatic pose 
 and an artificiality of manner which puzzled 
 me. Again, at the moment when I had 
 addressed him, I had noticed, walking at 
 some little distance behind him, a young 
 girl of extreme beauty. She was unveiled, 
 in the manner of the Kel-Alkoum, but 
 somehow her face struck me as familiar, 
 and I desired to again behold her. "With 
 that object I resumed my former quarters 
 in the market-place, and kept watchful 
 vigil. Next morning she came. Her face 
 was paler than before, and it wore an 
 anxious, terrified expression. I inquired 
 who she was, and was told that to all 
 she was a mystery. Whence she came no 
 man knew, but Allah had declared her to 
 be one of his chosen, hence none molested 
 her, or made enquiry. 
 
 I smiled, for I had recognised her. She 
 was Mezouda, daughter of one of our fight- 
 ing-men, who had been long ago captured 
 by the Kel-Oui, and whose whereabouts had 
 remained unknown.
 
 154 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 An hour later I contrived to have secret 
 speech with her. At first she did not 
 recognise me, but when I told her who I 
 was, then she at once expressed her eager- 
 ness to return to her own people. 
 
 ** Thou shalt return to our camp only on 
 one condition, namely, that thou wilt induce 
 that man known as Allah to accompany 
 thee," I answered. " He is thy friend." 
 
 ** But the Kel-Alkoum are his well-be- 
 loved," she said, using the same expression 
 he so often used. 
 
 '' He must forsake them," I observed, ex- 
 plaining to her the baneful effect the report 
 had exercised upon our men of the Azjar. 
 
 But she shook her head. "No, he will 
 not leave the Kel-Alkoum. He is already 
 their ruler," she said. " The power of 
 Abreha is now fast waning." 
 
 " Take me to him," I commanded. 
 
 "But his house is a holy place. None 
 dare enter on penalty of being cast out 
 for ever." 
 
 " I will risk it," I answered. " Guide 
 thither my footsteps."
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 155 
 
 Eeluctantly she led me through a number 
 of narrow crooked streets, until she paused 
 before a small mud-built hut, and pointed 
 to it. 
 
 Without ceremony I pushed open its 
 closed door, and, entering, discerned the 
 great King, half-dressed, standing before 
 a scrap of broken mirror combing his 
 beard. His face and neck were brown, so 
 were his hands, but his breast and arms 
 were white ! The sympathetic countenance 
 and tapering fingers were ingeniously 
 stained to match the colour of the men of 
 the desert, but the remainder of his body 
 showed him to be a European. 
 
 " How darest thou thus disturb my 
 privacy, accursed son of Eblis ? " he cried 
 in anger, evidently recognising me as the 
 one whom he had condemned to death on 
 the previous day. 
 
 '' I have entered in order to denounce 
 thy profane chicanery," I answered boldly. 
 '' Thou, the self-styled Allah, art an infidel, 
 an impostor, and a fraud ! " 
 
 He started at my fierce declaration, for
 
 156 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the first time recollecting that parts of his 
 chest, arms, and legs were exposed to my 
 gaze. His face blanched beneath its arti- 
 ficial colouring, and his white lips trembled. 
 
 " Well ! " he gasped, " and if thou hast 
 discovered my secret — what then ? " 
 
 "The people of the Kel-Alkoum shall be 
 made aware of how completely they have 
 been tricked," I answered, taking up a 
 small pot, which I smelt, and found con- 
 tained a preparation of phosphorous. This 
 he had evidently used to cause his face to 
 be luminous in the darkness. 
 
 '' No ! " he cried, " anything but that. 
 I would rather kill myself outright than 
 face the ferocity of these people." 
 
 '' Then truthfully answer my questions," 
 I said firmly, when I had explained to him 
 who I was, and the sensation caused in our 
 camp by the report of his assistance to 
 our enemies. *' Whence comest thou ? " 
 
 *'I come from the land of the Eoumis 
 over the great black water," he answered, 
 suddenly casting off all cant and conceal- 
 ment. My name is Mostyn Day, and I
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 157 
 
 am an English mining prospector. Long 
 ago, wliile in my own country, I read of 
 the ease with which the fanatical Arabs 
 may be imposed upon by fearless and 
 unscrupulous men who desire to obtain 
 IDOwer over them ; and, truth to tell, hear- 
 ing that great mineral wealth existed in the 
 country of the Kel-Alkoum, and knowing 
 Arabic well, I conceived a plan to come 
 here, announce myself as Allah, and obtain 
 over the tribe such complete authority and 
 control that I should either become their 
 Sheikh or obtain a concession to exploit 
 all the mines in this rich region. My 
 object was very nearly accomplished. To- 
 morrow there is arranged a great rising of 
 the people against Abreha, with the object 
 of declaring me their ruler, but " — and he 
 paused sighing — " your discovery has put 
 an end to it all." 
 
 " But what of the miracles you have 
 worked in various villages ? " 
 
 "Mere conjuring tricks and sleight-of- 
 hand," he laughed. " Once, long ago, I 
 was connected with an English travelling
 
 158 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 show, therefore I am familiar with most 
 stage tricks. But now I have confessed to 
 you, you will not expose me. Eemember, 
 unless you allow me to fly, these people will 
 assuredly take my Hfe." 
 
 '* I will preserve silence on one condi- 
 tion only," I replied. " That to-night, an 
 hour after sundown, you leave with me, 
 journey to my encampment, and there 
 exhibit to my people your painted face and 
 arms, explaining to them the reason of 
 your imposture, and showing them how 
 you contrived to render your countenance 
 luminous at night." 
 
 At first he demurred, but finding me 
 inexorable he at length submitted, and 
 asked to be allowed to take Mezouda with 
 him. 
 
 " She is my wife," he explained. " I 
 married her in Algiers two years ago, and 
 by her aid alone have I been enabled to 
 approach so nearly the realisation of the 
 plot I had conceived." 
 
 "It was truly an ingenious one," I 
 laughed. "Yes, Mezouda shall go -v^dth
 
 THE COMING OF ALLAH 159 
 
 thee. Eemain iu silence of thine inten- 
 tions, and meet me among the palms out- 
 side the town an hour after sundown." 
 
 At first I feared that the intrepid Eng- 
 lishman, who had so nearly been the cause 
 of a great Jehad through the whole Sahara, 
 would endeavour to escape, but both he 
 and his pretty and adventurous wife kept 
 the appointment, and after some days we 
 eventually arrived at our encampment. 
 
 The excitement caused by our appear- 
 ance was unbounded. Taghma and his 
 companions at once recognised the Eng- 
 lishman in his blood-red robe as the Allah 
 of the Kel-Alkoum, and all fell on their 
 knees, crying aloud in adoration. 
 
 But their supplications were quickly cut 
 short by the few loud words of authority 
 I uttered, and when half an hour later the 
 reckless adventurer exhibited his stained 
 face and hands, and then entertained them 
 by showing the simple means by which he 
 accomplished his tricks of magic, the air 
 was rent by roars of laughter. The veiled 
 warriors of the Azjar danced for joy, and
 
 i6o THE VEILED MAN 
 
 held their sides when convinced how com- 
 pletely their enemies had been tricked, and 
 how dejected they, no doubt, were when 
 they knew that the Allah, in whom they 
 trusted, had forsaken them without a 
 single word of farewell. 
 
 For a month the ingenious impostor re- 
 mained a guest within our tents ; then he 
 departed for the north, taking his wife 
 Mezouda with him. But since that day 
 the Kel-Alkoum, believing themselves the 
 forgotten of Allah, have ever been a cowed 
 and peaceful nation.
 
 YI 
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 
 
 The camp-lire was dying in the gloomy- 
 hour hefore the dawn. In the Great Desert 
 the light comes early from the far-off Holy 
 City, golden as the Prophet's glory, to light 
 our footsteps in those trackless waterless 
 wastes which are shunned by man and 
 forgotten by Allah. My tribesmen of the 
 Azjar, still wrapped in their black veils, 
 were sleeping soundly prior to the long 
 march of the coming day, and all was quiet 
 save the howling of a desert fox, and the 
 shuffling tread of the sentries as they tra- 
 versed the camp from end to end, silent 
 and weird in their long black burnouses 
 and veils. Alone, I was sitting gazing into 
 the dying embers, deep in thought. I had 
 
 l6i M
 
 1 62 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 been unable to sleep, for a strange pre- 
 monition of danger oppressed me. We 
 were in the country of the Taitok, a tribe 
 of pure Arabs, fierce in battle, who when 
 united with the Kel-Ehela, their neighbours, 
 were among our most formidable opponents. 
 The Sheikhs of both tribes had made treaty 
 with the French, and placed their country 
 beneath the protection of the tri-colour of 
 the Infidels, therefore in our expedition, 
 against their town of Azal, we knew that 
 we must meet with considerable opposition. 
 We had exercised every caution in our 
 advance, travelling by various ancient 
 dried-up watercourses known only to us, 
 '' The Breath of the Wind," approaching 
 in secret the town we intended to loot and 
 burn as a reprisal for an attack made upon 
 us a month before. But the report of a 
 spy, who had gone forward to Azal, was 
 exceedingly discouraging. The French had 
 occupied the Kasbah, the red-burnoused 
 Spaliis were swaggering about the streets 
 and market-places, while the tri-colour 
 floated over the city gate, and the fierce
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 163 
 
 fighting-men of the Taitok were now fear- 
 less of any invader. It was this report 
 which caused me considerable uneasiness, 
 and I was calmly reflecting whether to turn 
 off to the east into the barren Ahaggar, or 
 to push forward and measure our strength 
 with our enemies, the Infidels, when sud- 
 denly my eyes, sharpened by a lifetime of 
 desert wandering, detected a dark crouching 
 figure moving in the gloom at a Kttle dis- 
 tance from me. In an instant I snatched 
 up my rifle and covered it. Unconscious 
 of how near death was, the mysterious 
 stranger still moved slowly across, lying 
 upon his stomach and dragging himself 
 along the sand in the direction of my tent. 
 As I looked, a slight flash caught my eye. 
 It was the gleam of the flickering flame 
 upon burnished steel. The man held a 
 knife, and at the door of my tent raised 
 himself before entering, then disappeared 
 within. 
 
 Quick as thought I jumped up, drew my 
 keen double-edged ya7?i6i//a/t from my girdle, 
 and noiselessly sped towards my tent,
 
 1 64 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 drawing aside the flap, and dashing in to 
 capture the intruder. 
 
 The dark figure was bending over a 
 portfolio wherein I keep certain writings 
 belonging to the tribe, the compacts of 
 friends and the threats of foes. 
 
 " Thou art my prisoner ! " I cried 
 fiercely, halting inside, casting aside my 
 knife and raising my rifle. 
 
 The figure turned quickly with a slight 
 scream, and by the feeble light of my 
 hanging-lamp I was amazed to detect the 
 features of a woman, young, beautiful, 
 with a face almost as white as those of 
 the Eoumi women who sit at cafes in 
 Algiers. 
 
 "Mercy, O Ahamadou!" she implored, 
 next second casting herself upon her knees 
 before me. " True, I have fallen prisoner 
 into thine hands, but the Book of Everlast- 
 ing Will declares that thou shalt neither 
 hold in slavery nor kill those who a.rt thy 
 friends. I crave thy mercy, for indeed I 
 am thy friend." 
 
 "Yet thou seekest my life with that
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 165 
 
 knife in thine hand ! " I cried in anger. 
 "Whence comest thou?" I demanded, for 
 her Arabic was a dialect entirely strange 
 to me. 
 
 "From a country afar — a region which 
 no man knoweth," she answered. 
 
 " The country of the Azjar is the whole 
 of the Great Desert," I answered, with 
 pride. Every rock and every wady is 
 known unto them." 
 
 "Not every wady," she replied, smiling 
 mysteriously. " They know not the Land 
 of Akkar, nor the City of the Golden Tombs." 
 
 " The Land of Akkar ! " I gasped, for 
 Akkar was a region which only existed in 
 the legendary lore of the Bedouins, and 
 was supposed to be a fabulous country, 
 wherein lived a mysterious race of white 
 people, and where was concealed the 
 enormous treasure captured during the 
 Mussulman Conquest. " Knowest thou 
 actually the position of the wondrous Land 
 of Akkar ? " 
 
 " It is my home," she answered in soft 
 sibillation, as stretching forth my hand I
 
 1 66 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 motioned her to rise. I saw tliat her 
 beauty and grace were perfect. She wore 
 no veil, but her dark robe was dusty and 
 stained by long travel, while her striking 
 beauty was enhanced by a string of cut 
 emeralds of great size and lustre across her 
 brow, in place of the sequins with which 
 our women decorate themselves. She wore 
 no other jewels, save a single diamond 
 upon the index-finger of the right hand, 
 a stone of wondrous size and brilliancy. It 
 seemed to gleam like some monster eye as 
 she sank upon the divan near, a slight sigh 
 of fatigue escaping her. 
 
 And thy name ? " I enquired. 
 •Nara, daughter of Kiagor,"she answered. 
 " And thou art the great Ahamadou, whom 
 all men fear from Lake Tsad, even unto 
 the confines of Algeria, the leader of the 
 dreaded Breath of the Wind. In our 
 secret land reports of thy prowess and 
 ferocity in the fight, of thy leniency towards 
 the women and children of thine enemies, 
 have already reached us, therefore I travelled 
 alone to seek thee," 

 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 167 
 
 And she looked up into my face, her full 
 red lips parted in a smile. 
 
 " Why? " I enquired, puzzled. 
 
 '' Because I crave the protection of thine 
 host of black- veiled warriors," she answered. 
 *' Our land of Akkar is threatened by an 
 invasion of the Infidel English, who have 
 sent two spies northward from the Niger. 
 May Allah burn their vitals ! They suc- 
 ceeded in penetrating into our mountain 
 fastness, and were captured by our scouts. 
 One was killed, but the other escaped. He 
 has, undoubtedly, gone back to his own 
 people ; and they will advance upon us, 
 for they are a nation the most powerful and 
 most^fearless in all the world." 
 
 "Of a verity thy lips utter truth," I 
 observed, '' for we once fought in the 
 Dervish ranks against the English on the 
 Nile bank, and were cut down like sun- 
 dried grass before the scythe. But who 
 hath sent thee as messenger to me ? " 
 
 "I come on my own behalf," she re- 
 sponded. " I am ruler of the Akkar." 
 
 It was strange, sitting there in conversa-
 
 1 68 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 tion with the ruler of a mysterious region, 
 the existence of which every Arah in the 
 Soudan and the Sahara firmly believed, 
 yet no man had ever set foot in the 
 legendary country, the fabulous wealth and 
 strange sights of which were related by 
 every story-teller from Khartoum even unto 
 Timbuktu. And yet Nara, the Queen of 
 Akkar, was a guest within my camp, and 
 had fallen upon her knees before me in 
 supplication. Ambition was fired within 
 me to visit her wondrous land of the silent 
 dead, and I announced my readiness to 
 efi'ect a treaty with her, first accompanying 
 her alone to see the wonders of her mystic 
 realm. As I spoke, however, a curious 
 change appeared to come over her. Her 
 face flushed slightly, her eyes gleamed with 
 a fiery glance, and there was a hardness 
 about her mouth, which, for one brief 
 moment, caused me suspicion. 
 
 "Thou art welcome, O Ahamadou!" 
 she answered, smiling bewitchingly, next 
 instant. '' We will start even now, if thou 
 wilt, for no time must be lost ere thine
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 169 
 
 armed men unite with the guards of my 
 kingdom to resist the accursed English, 
 that white-faced tribe whom Eblis hath 
 marked as his own. Let us speed on the 
 wings of haste, and within a week thou 
 mayest be back here within thine own 
 camp." 
 
 And she rose in readiness to go forth. 
 
 *'My meheri is tethered behind yon rock," 
 she continued, pointing out beyond the 
 camp where a great dark rock loomed 
 forth against the fast-clearing sky. *' Join 
 me there, and I will guide thy footsteps 
 unto my City of the Golden Tombs." 
 
 Whilst she went forth secretly I called 
 Malela, son of Tamahu, and imparted to 
 him the circumstances, telling him of my 
 intention to go secretly to Akkar, and 
 giving him instructions how to preserve 
 from the tribe the fact that I was absent. 
 Malela was one of the fiercest of desert- 
 pirates, as valiant a man as ever drew a 
 jambiyali against an enemy ; but when I 
 mentioned my intended visit to the silent 
 legendary land, the wealth and terrors of
 
 I JO THE VEILED MAN 
 
 which he had heard hundreds of times 
 from the lips of the story-tellers and 
 marabouts, his face paled beneath its 
 bronze. 
 
 '* May the One of Praise envelope thee 
 with the cloak of His protection," he ejacu- 
 lated with heartfelt fervency. *' Have we 
 not heard of the awful tortures of those 
 in the mute land — the mysterious region 
 which the Moors have declared to be the 
 veritable dwelling-place of Eblis, the region 
 inhabited by those who have served the 
 Devil and refused both the blessings of 
 Allah and the intercessions of his Prophet?" 
 
 '*Are not the Azjar without fear, and 
 is not Ahamadou their leader?" I asked 
 proudly, reflecting upon Nara's marvellous 
 beauty, and feeling an intense curiosity 
 to visit the country wherein no man had 
 hitherto set foot. Again, had not the 
 Queen of Akkar singled out the Veiled 
 Men of the Azjar as her allies against the 
 eaters of unclean meat, the Infidels whose 
 bodies Allah will burn with his all-con- 
 suming fire.
 
 ^ 
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 171 
 
 Again Malela uttered a prayer to the 
 One, as lie stood facing the Holy Ca'aba, 
 and I, too, murmured a sura as I thrust 
 some cartridges into my pouch, drew tighter 
 my belt with its amulets sewn within, and 
 buckled on my sword with the wondrous 
 jewel in the hilt — the mark of chieftain- 
 ship — for I was to be guest of the Queen of 
 an unknown land. 
 
 Then, with a whispered farewell to 
 Tamahu's son, I stole forth, treading 
 softly among my sleeping tribesmen, and 
 carefully avoiding the sentries until I came 
 to my own swift camel, I mounted it, 
 and a few minutes later joined my hand- 
 some guide. She had already mounted, 
 and had twisted a white haick about her 
 face until only her eyes and the row of 
 emeralds across her brow remained visible. 
 
 It is needless to recount the long breath- 
 less days we spent together in journeying 
 westward, resting by day and travelling 
 ever in the track of the blood-red afterglow, 
 until we came upon a range of giant snow- 
 crested mountains, as great as the monster
 
 172 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Atlas that loom as a barrier between our- 
 selves and the so-called civilisation of the 
 Franks. 
 
 "Yonder," she said, pointing to them, 
 when first their grandeur burst upon our 
 view in the pale rose of dawn. " Yonder 
 is our land which none can enter, save 
 those w^ho know the secret way. There 
 are but two entrances — one here and the 
 other far south, the way through which 
 the English have unfortunately discovered." 
 
 *' Then on all sides but one thy kingdom 
 is impregnable," I observed, gazing with 
 amazement at the serrated barrier, which 
 seemed to rise until it reached the misty 
 cloud-land. 
 
 " On all but one," she answered. " Those 
 who know not the secret must meet with 
 death, because of the dangers by which 
 Akkar is surrounded as safeguards against 
 her enemies." 
 
 Throughout tw^o days we travelled, slowly 
 approaching the snowy range, and one 
 night we halted beside a narrow lake, 
 beyond which was practically an impassable
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 173 
 
 barrier of rugged cliffs and towering moun- 
 tains. The night was moonless, and as 
 I laid down to sleep, only the rippHng of 
 the water lapping the pebbles broke the 
 appalling stillness. At last, however, I 
 dropped off into a heavy slumber, and was 
 only awakened by a strange roar in my 
 ears like the thunder of a cataract. 
 
 I put forth my hand and tried to open 
 my eyes, but both efforts were alike useless. 
 To my amazement I found my hands 
 secured behind me, and my eyes blindfolded. 
 
 Then, in an instant, it occurred to me 
 that I had been entrapped. I struggled 
 and fought to free myself, for the air was 
 hot and stifling, and I felt myself being 
 asphyxiated with a deadening roar in my 
 ears, and a close indescribable odour in 
 my nostrils. In my attempt to tear the 
 irritating bandage from my eyes, my head 
 came suddenly into contact with something 
 soft. I placed my cheek against it, and 
 found to my amazement that I was lying 
 on some kind of silken divan, my head 
 supported by an embroidered cushion of
 
 174 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the kind usual in our harems. But the 
 odour about me was not the intoxicating 
 fragrance of burning pastilles, but a damp 
 mouldy smell, as of a chamber long closed. 
 How long my mental torture and sense 
 of utter helplessness continued I know not. 
 All I recollect is that, of a sudden, the air 
 seemed fresher and cooler, the thunder of 
 the waters died away instantly, and the 
 smell of the charnel-house gave place to 
 a delicate perfume of fresh flowers. There 
 was a genial warmth upon my cheeks, 
 and I awakened to the fact that the sun 
 was shining upon me, when I felt a hand 
 unloosen the bandage tied behind my head, 
 and heard the voice of Nara say — 
 
 **Lo, the danger is past. Thou art in 
 Akkar," and she drew away the piece of 
 black folded silk that had held me without 
 vision. 
 
 In abject amazement I looked around 
 stupefied. We were together in a kind of 
 boat shaped like an inverted funnel, which 
 opened only at the top and could be closed 
 at will by a complicated arrangement of
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 175 
 
 levers and wire ropes, a subaquatio vessel 
 fitted with comfortable lounges, having a 
 lighted lamp hanging in the centre. Every- 
 thing — seats, tables, and all the fittings — 
 swung in rings, therefore, whichever way 
 the boat rolled, even though it might turn 
 complete somersaults, those riding in it 
 could remain seated without inconvenience. 
 On looking back I saw that the narrow 
 stream we were navigating was fed by a 
 mighty torrent that rushed fi'om the moun- 
 tain-side, a roaring, boiling flood which sent 
 up a great column of spray, reflecting in 
 the sunlight all the colours of the spectrum ; 
 and I also observed that we had entered 
 the Land of Akkar by means of that 
 strangely-shaped boat of bolted iron plates 
 as strong as the war-ships of the Infidels, 
 and were now in a deep and fertile valley, 
 having descended from the lake by an un- 
 known subterranean watercourse through 
 the very heart of the giant mountain. 
 
 I gazed about me in blank amazement, 
 for even as my conductress spoke, she 
 deftly stretched forth a pole and arrested
 
 176 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 the progress of the boat at a flight of well- 
 worn steps, while above, my wondering eyes 
 fell upon the great white facade of a palace 
 with an enormous gilded dome. 
 
 '* Yonder is my dwelling-place," she ex- 
 plained with a wave of the hand, and as 
 we stepped upon the bank a crowd of 
 fierce - looking armed warriors appeared, 
 raising their spears high in salutation. 
 
 " This is Ahamadou," she explained, 
 *' the dreaded Sheik of the Azjar, who hath 
 come to make brotherhood with us. He 
 is guest of Nara, thy Kuler." 
 
 "Welcome, Ahamadou!" they cried, 
 with one voice. *' Of a verity thou art the 
 lion of the desert, for the leader of the 
 Breath of the Wind knoweth not fear." 
 
 '* I am thy friend, friends," I answered, 
 as by Nara's side I strode onward to the 
 wondrous palace, so magnificent, yet of 
 such delicate architecture that one mar- 
 velled how human hands could have 
 fashioned it. The country I had entered 
 was red with flowers and green with many 
 leaves ; a fruitful, peaceful region, the
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 177 
 
 spires and domes of the great City of the 
 Golden Tombs rising in the distance far 
 down the valley, white and clear-cut as 
 cameos against the liquid gold of the 
 sunset. 
 
 Together we ascended the long flight 
 of marble steps which led to the great 
 colonnade, and gave entrance to a palace 
 of similar design to those of the ancient 
 palaces of Egypt in those forgotten days 
 long before the Prophet. As our feet 
 touched the last step, the air was rent by 
 a fanfare of a hundred trumpets, causing 
 the valley to re-echo. Then a file of armed 
 men, headed by the blood-red banner of 
 Akkar, lined our route, bowing low as we 
 passed on into a hall, high vaulted and of 
 enormous proportions, in the centre of 
 which stood a wonderful throne of gold, 
 covered with hundreds upon hundreds of 
 eyes of every variety and size, wrought in 
 gems to imitate those of human beings and 
 of animals. As I gazed upon it I suddenly 
 recollected what I had heard from the 
 story-tellers about this wondrous seat of 
 
 N
 
 178 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Akkar's Queeu. It was the ancient throne 
 whereon, for nearly two thousand years, the 
 rulers of the City of the Golden Tombs 
 had sat, and was known in legendary lore 
 as the Throne of the Thousand Eyes, each 
 eye recording a battle, and being formed of 
 the greatest gem taken in the loot on that 
 occasion. As I approached I saw that 
 some were of diamonds, others of rubies, 
 of emeralds, of jade, of jacynth, of jasper, 
 of pearl, and of sapphires, each perfectly 
 formed, but some kindly-looking, while on 
 others the expression was that of terror, 
 of hatred, or of agony, truly the strangest 
 and weirdest seat of royalty in all the world. 
 Around me the excitement rose to fever- 
 heat as the people assembled, and Nara 
 seated herself upon the throne after casting 
 aside the travel-stained haick she had worn 
 on the journey. I saw everywhere evi- 
 dences of unbounded riches. The silken 
 robes of the courtiers were sewn with 
 jewels, and as their queen sank among her 
 soft cushions, and her women put upon 
 her necklaces and anklets of enormous
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 179 
 
 worth, the great chamber became filled 
 with the clank of arms and the murmur 
 of many voices, while I was closely scruti- 
 nised and my appearance commented upon. 
 Suddenly, the great Queen rose, lifting her 
 arms, and with an expression of uncontroll- 
 able anger upon her white face, said — 
 
 ''Lo, my people, hear this my word! 
 I have travelled afar into the country of 
 our enemies, and have brought hither the 
 person of Ahamadou, their chief." 
 
 '* I am not thine enemy, Queen!" 
 I hastened to assure her. " Thine ally, if 
 thou wilt." 
 
 ''I have brought hither this man," she 
 cried, " I have brought him hither in fulfil- 
 ment of my oath in order that punishment 
 shall be meted out to him." 
 
 " Punishment ! " I gasped, wondering if 
 I had taken leave of my senses. 
 
 '' Kemember, that this man is Ahamadou, 
 chief of the pirates, who have captured so 
 many of our caravans, and who slew my 
 son Kourra, heir to this my throne, six 
 moons ago ! " she cried, in a paroxysm of
 
 i8o THE VEILED MAN 
 
 rage, lifting her thin bare arms, her face 
 growing hideous in her fearful ebullition 
 of anger. I saw that I had fallen helplessly 
 into the hands of my enemies, and bit my 
 lip without uttering a single word. To 
 escape from that unexplored rock-bound 
 kingdom was hopeless. I could only show 
 them that fear dwelleth not in the heart 
 of an Azjar, even though thousands lifted 
 their hands against him. 
 
 ''I have," she cried, "sought out this 
 man, alone and unaided, according to the 
 oath I took before the sacred scarabasus 
 upon this the Throne of the Thousand 
 Eyes, and conducted him hither in order 
 that ye may pass judgment upon him. 
 Speak, say what torture shall he undergo?" 
 
 In an instant the air was rent by loud 
 
 cries of — 
 
 "Let the scarabaeus devour him! Let 
 him witness the torture of the spies, and 
 afterwards let the same be applied to him ! 
 Let him die the most terrible of all deaths ; 
 let the sacred beetle crush him beneath 
 its fangs ! "
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES i8i 
 
 A dozen men, aged, white robed, witli 
 beards so long that some almost swept the 
 ground, whom I judged were priests, held 
 brief consultation : then, amid the uproar, 
 they seized me, wrenched from me my 
 arms, and led me away ere I could raise 
 my voice to charge their dreaded ruler with 
 treachery. Followed by the jeering, excited 
 multitude, they conducted me along the 
 wide level road to the mysterious city, 
 upon the high gates of which were mounted 
 strong guards, with breast-plates whereon 
 the image of the sacred beetle was worked 
 in crimson, and through great streets and 
 squares until we came to a huge mosque- 
 like structure, the three golden domes of 
 which I had noticed glittering afar as the 
 dying rays of the sunset slanted upon 
 them. 
 
 The dimly-lit interior was magnificent, 
 but as they dragged me forward, I saw 
 placed beneath the central dome a colossal 
 figure of the sacred Scarabaeus a hundred 
 feet in height, and two hundred feet square, 
 plated over with gold. From the two
 
 1 82 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 hideous eyes shone lines of white light 
 like the rays of the searchlights of the 
 Infidels, while, by some mechanical con- 
 trivance, the wide mouth now and then 
 opened and closed, as though the monstrous 
 emblem of the eternal Vv^ere eager to devour 
 those who worshipped before it. 
 
 The bearded priests who held me threw 
 themselves upon their knees before it in 
 adoration, uttering a low kind of chant, 
 while almost at the same instant a quiver- 
 ing terrified man, haggard, thin, and bear- 
 ing signs of long imprisonment, was dragged 
 forth from a kind of cell in the colossal 
 walls, and made to bend upon his knees 
 upon a grey circular stone immediately 
 before the monster Throat of Death. 
 
 " No ! no ! " he shrieked in horror. " Kill 
 me by the sword ! Let my body be given 
 to the alligators — anything — but spare me 
 the torture of the Beetle ! I am innocent ! 
 It is but Nara's love of bloodshed and 
 torture of the flesh that hath caused her 
 to condemn me. May the curse of the 
 Beetle be ever upon her ! "
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 183 
 
 Ere he could utter anotlier word six black 
 slaves, veritable giants in stature, seized 
 the unfortunate wretch, and as the mouth 
 of the monster again opened, they flung 
 him headlong into it. 
 
 Next second the cruel terrible mouth 
 closed, and the shrieks and crushing of 
 bones told how terrible was the torture of 
 the human victim within its insatiable maw. 
 
 The sight caused me to shudder. To 
 this frightful ignominious death had this 
 fair-faced, soft-spoken woman condemned 
 me. 
 
 Again the enormous golden jaws opened, 
 and again, as they closed, the victim's 
 piercing shrieks told that his agony was 
 renewed, and that death did not come 
 quickly within that weird colossal figure 
 of the insect, once held sacred from the 
 shores of the Eed Sea unto the great black 
 ocean. In this, the last place in all the 
 world where its worship still remained, the 
 people were the most cruel and relentless of 
 any in our great dark continent, Afi'ica. A 
 dozen times the mouth opened and closed.
 
 1 84 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 and each occasion the cries of the agonised 
 man were frightful to hear, until at last 
 they died away, and as they did so the 
 light also died from the monster's eyes. 
 
 Soon, however, another thin, cringing 
 man, starved almost to a skeleton, was 
 brought forth, and with similar scant 
 ceremony was cast into the colossal jaws, 
 whereupon the light in the giant eyes grew 
 brilliant again, and the shrieks for release, 
 as the mouth reopened, were only answered 
 by the loud jeers of the assembled multi- 
 tude, by this time increased until every 
 part of the magnificent building was 
 crowded to sufi'ocation, while at that instant 
 Nara, still upon the Throne of the Tliou- 
 sand Eyes, was dragged in by a crowd of 
 nearly a thousand persons. Twelve black 
 slaves slowly fanned her as she sat, her 
 chin resting upon her hand, watching in 
 silence. 
 
 One after another were victims brought 
 forth and hurled to the horrible monster, 
 to be slowly cut to pieces by the myriad 
 gleaming knives and fine-edged saws set
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 185 
 
 within those terrible jaws, until at last 
 some one in the crowd cried out with a 
 loud voice — 
 
 *' Let the pirate Ahamadou die I His men 
 killed our Prince, the valiant Kourra, there- 
 fore no mercy shall be shown the Veiled 
 Man. Let him be given to the Sacred 
 Beetle ! " 
 
 In an instant the cry was taken up on 
 every hand. " Let him die ! " they 
 shouted wildly. *' Let us witness his body 
 being cut to ribbons ! " 
 
 The priests hesitated, while in that 
 perilous moment I repeated a sz2ra, and 
 heeded not these Infidel worshippers of 
 insects and idolaters of golden effigies. 
 
 But at a sign from Nara, the relentless 
 figure in white seated upon her wondrous 
 Throne of the Thousand Eyes, they seized 
 me, forced me to kneel upon the circular 
 stone, and then, as those hideous jaws 
 opened with a swift movement, they lifted 
 me and cast me in. 
 
 For an instant my head reeled, and all 
 breath left me, for I knew that a fearful
 
 186 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 agonising death was nigh ; but as Allah 
 willed it, I alighted upon my feet, and 
 finding in the darkness that the floor sloped 
 down, I started running with all my might, 
 gashing myself upon the knives, set upright 
 like teeth, but nevertheless speedily forward, 
 heedless of the pain. Slowly and surely 
 the walls of that strange torture-chamber 
 closed about me with a creaking and groan- 
 ing horrible to hear, until I found myself 
 squeezed tightly with irresistible force on 
 every side. I held my breath, for upon my 
 chest was a great weight, and I knew that 
 next instant my frame must be crushed 
 to pulp. 
 
 Slowly, however, almost imperceptibly, 
 the frightful pressure upon my body began 
 to relax, and ere I realised the welcome 
 truth, I found myself able to breathe again. 
 By dashing forward I had advanced far 
 down the dreaded Throat of Death to a 
 point where the passage began to widen, and 
 by the freshness of the air I now felt that 
 some outlet lay beyond. Therefore, with- 
 out hesitation, I sped again onward, stumb-
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 187 
 
 ling over some soft objects on the ground, 
 which I instinctively knew to be the remains 
 of my fellow victims, until a faint grey 
 glimmer of light showed in the distance. 
 The floor still sloped steeply, and by feeling 
 about me, I discovered that the Throat was 
 now simply a natural burrow in the rock. 
 
 Without loss of a second I soon gained 
 the outlet, and peered forth, aghast to 
 discover that the tunnel ended abruptly 
 in the face of a bare precipice ; and that 
 in the valley some two hundred feet below 
 lay a great heap of sun-bleached bones, 
 the remains of those who had passed 
 through the Throat of Death. Undoubtedly, 
 when the channel became choked with the 
 rotting remains of the victims they were 
 cast forth to the vultures and the wolves. 
 
 Eager to escape from the noisome place, I 
 climbed with difficulty down the face of the 
 mountain, and on gaining the valley, quickly 
 recognized, with satisfaction, that I was 
 actually beyond the confines of the accursed 
 Land of Akkar. Truly I had encountered 
 death as a very near neighbour. The high
 
 1 88 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 range with their snowy crests were the 
 same as my treacherous guide had pointed 
 out to me, and next day I skirted the 
 lake which, emptying itself by the sub- 
 terranean river, gave entrance to the mystic 
 land of Nara. Through many weary weeks 
 I travelled hither and thither, ill and 
 half-starved, until at length I fell in with 
 a camel caravan, and travelling with them 
 to Ideles, subsequently rejoined my own 
 tribesmen, who had, by that time, begun to 
 despair of my safety. 
 
 Within six moons I made a report of the 
 mysterious land, and all that I had witnessed 
 therein, to the Bureau Arabe, in Algiers, 
 and ere six more moons had waned, the 
 Franks sent an armed expedition to enter 
 and explore the country. Of this expedition 
 I was appointed guide, all past offences 
 of my tribesmen being forgiven; but the 
 soldiers of Nara offering a determined re- 
 sistance, their country was at once subdued 
 and occupied by the white conquerors. 
 The sacred Scarabaeus was destroyed by 
 dynamite, and the Throat of Death widened
 
 THE EVIL OF THE THOUSAND EYES 189 
 
 until ifc now forms one of the entrances 
 to the land so long unknown. The dreaded 
 Nara was sent as prisoner down to Senegal, 
 where she still lives in exile ; but her 
 wondrous throne still remains in her great 
 white palace — now a barrack of the Spahis 
 and Chasseurs — and the Arab story-tellers 
 in every desert town, from the Atlas to 
 Lake Tsad, continue to relate weird and 
 wonderful tales of the City of the Golden 
 Tombs and the E\dl of the Thousand 
 Eyes.
 
 VII 
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 
 
 Lounging on a bench under tho tall date- 
 palms in the market-place of Hamman-el- 
 Enf, I smoked a rank cJierhli in dreamy 
 laziness. The day was dying ; the blazing 
 A-frican sun sank, flooding the broad Bay 
 of Tunis with its blood-red afterglow, and 
 the giant palms cast their long, straight 
 shadows over the hot, sun-blanched stones. 
 There are no half lights in Northern Africa; 
 all is either glaring brilliance or sombre 
 shadow. Little twilight is there in that 
 land of mosques and marabouts; night 
 follows the death of day with astonishing 
 rapidity. Even while I sat, darkness crept 
 on; the squatting, chattering crowd of 
 
 190
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 191 
 
 white-burnonsecT Moors and Arabs and red- 
 fezzed negroes had dispersed, and the sun- 
 baked Httle village seemed almost deserted. 
 Suddenly the white figure of an Arab 
 woman glided slowly and ghost-like from 
 the deep shadow of the ilexes. Like all 
 others of her sex, she was enshrouded in 
 a liaichj and the lower portion of her face 
 was hidden by her thick white veil, only 
 a magnificent pair of black sparkling eyes, 
 and a forehead upon which rows of gold 
 sequins tinkled, being visible. 
 
 Halting for a few seconds, she stared at 
 me as if in surprise, then, in soft musical 
 Arabic, gave me peace, exclaiming — 
 
 " Sadness dwelleth in the heart of the 
 Touareg. Of a verity thou art not more 
 sad than I," and, sighing, she drew her 
 adjar closer across her face, and was about 
 to pass on. 
 
 '' Sad, art thou ? " I answered, surprised 
 that she should address me, a veiled man 
 of the desert. In the dim light I could 
 distinguish that her hose were of the finest
 
 192 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 white silk, that her tiny shoes were Paris 
 made and of patent leather, and that the 
 hand which held the liaick around her was 
 loaded with valuable rings. ** Loosen thy 
 tongue's strings, one of beauty," I said, 
 gallantly. " Tell me why speakest thou 
 unto me ; why unhappiness hath fallen 
 upon thee." 
 
 *' Ah, no ! " she replied, in a hoarse half- 
 whisper, glancing round in apparent fear. 
 " My people must not observe me having 
 speech with thee. Ah, Allah may bring 
 one of us to Certainty before to-morrow, 
 and — if thou wouldst only help me ! " 
 
 ''What service can I render?" I asked, 
 quickly, well aware that the fact of her 
 speaking to a Touareg in a public place 
 was of itself a very grave offence in the 
 eyes of the fanatical Aissawa. The barrier 
 between the Berber and the Touareg in 
 Tunis is still insurmountable. 
 
 " First, thou must trust me," she said 
 frankly. "I am called Fathma Khadidja; 
 and thy name — already I know it. It is
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 193 
 
 dangerous for me to hold converse here 
 with thee. Let thy footsteps follow mine. 
 Come, and may Allah, who knoweth the 
 innermost parts of the breasts of men, 
 shower upon thee bounteous blessings," 
 and she turned and started off with that 
 waddling gait peculiar to all Arab women. 
 
 I hesitated. If really in distress, it was 
 strange that she had not called upon her 
 own people to help her, instead of request- 
 ing a Touareg and a stranger to render 
 assistance. 
 
 No. I decided not to go, and sat watch- 
 ing her receding figure cross the market- 
 place where slaves were sold even within 
 recent years, and disappear in the shadow 
 of the mosque. 
 
 In an hour I had forgotten the mysterious 
 Fathma and her troubles, and returned to 
 Tunis. 
 
 Next afternoon, as I entered my tem- 
 porary abode in the Kasbah-Kasneh, my 
 slave handed me a note. As I tore it 
 
 open it emitted an odour of geranium, the 
 
 o
 
 194 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 favourite perfume of the harem. Having 
 read the three long lines of sprawly 
 Arabic characters it contained, I placed 
 the missive in my pocket and turned 
 away. If I valued my life, I was to meet 
 Khadidja that evening. Was that a threat, 
 or a warning ? During the remainder of 
 that day I lounged outside the cafes and 
 pondered deeply. For hours I ruminated 
 over absinthe and mazagran, cassis and 
 bock; and, after much consideration, I at 
 length resolved to keep the appointment, 
 and ascertain the extent of the mysterious 
 danger of which she wrote. 
 
 At the appointed hour I awaited her at 
 a secluded spot outside the Bab Alewa. 
 The clock of the Mosque of Sidi Mahrez, 
 close by, struck solemnly, and as the last 
 sound died away I heard the frou-frou of 
 feminine garments, as a shrouded figure 
 advanced to meet me. 
 
 '' Ah, so thou hast kept thine appoint- 
 ment, Touareg ! " she exclaimed, stretch- 
 ing forth to me a soft v/hite hand. " Thou
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 195 
 
 thinkest, because I believe in the One, and 
 in Mahomet his Prophet, that I am un- 
 worthy thy regard; that I am not to be 
 trusted, eh?" Then she laughed lightly, 
 adding, " Come, let us hasten. I want to 
 have serious speech with thee upon a matter 
 that affecteth us both." 
 
 Without replying, I walked on beside 
 her, wondering whether she were ugly or 
 beautiful. Crossing a deserted garden, we 
 passed out to where two asses were tethered, 
 and, mounting them, rode away into the 
 darkness. I remember that we went 
 through several villages, and at length 
 came to a larger place built upon the low 
 cHffs, where a number of spacious flat- 
 roofed houses overlooked the sea. 
 
 Suddenly she dismounted before a low 
 arched door in one of the great square, 
 inartistic, whitewashed residences, and 
 placed her fingers upon her lips indicative 
 of silence. Taking a key that was sus- 
 pended around her neck, she unlocked the 
 door and led me into a dark passage so
 
 196 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 thickly carpeted that my feet fell noise- 
 lessly as she guided me onward. Once I 
 caught a glimpse of a spacious patio, 
 rendered cool by a plashing fountain and 
 green with many leaves ; then through two 
 small chambers we passed, until we came 
 to a closed door, which she opened, and I 
 found myself in a spacious, dimly illumined 
 apartment, decorated in quaint Arabesques 
 of dark crimson and dull gold. Everything 
 was rich and luxurious. The air was 
 heavy with sensuous odours rising in a 
 thin blue column from the gold perfuming 
 pan. On the floor lay costly Arab rugs, 
 and a couple of lion skins were thrown 
 down on each side of the centre mat. A 
 derhouka^ and a ginliri, fashioned from a 
 tortoise-shell, lay thrown aside, while from 
 a magnificent hanging lamp of gold a soft, 
 mellow light was diffused, though scarcely 
 sufficient to show the heavy draperies that 
 concealed the walls. 
 
 ^'Eest thee a moment, and I will return," 
 my mysterious veiled guide said ; and then,
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 197 
 
 drawing aside some of the silken hangings, 
 she disappeared through a door that had 
 been hidden. 
 
 With hands behind me, I slowly wan- 
 dered round, wondering what apartment 
 of the house this was, when some half- 
 finished embroidery that had apparently 
 been tossed hurriedly aside upon a coffee 
 stool of inlaid pearl and silver caught my 
 eye. That told me the truth. My heart 
 gave a sudden bound. I was in the 
 harem ! 
 
 A French novel lay open on one of the 
 little tables. I took it up, and, as I stood 
 in wonderment, a movement behind me 
 caused me to turn, and then I beheld the 
 most beautiful woman I had ever gazed 
 upon. She was not more than twenty-two, 
 with a complexion fresh as a French- 
 woman's, features that were perfect, pretty 
 lips parted in a glad smile, and a dress that 
 was the most gorgeous I had ever seen. 
 The ugly liaick had been replaced by a 
 rlila of palest leaf-green brocaded silk,
 
 198 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 beneath whicli showed a rose-pink velvet 
 vest ; and, in the place of the baggy 
 trousers, she wore the serroual, of silken 
 gauze. Her tiny bare feet were thrust 
 into slippers of rose velvet ; on her head 
 was set jauntily a little crimson skull-cap 
 embroidered with seed pearls ; and her 
 fouta, or sash, was of tricolour- striped silk, 
 richly ornamented with gold. Upon her 
 bare arms and ankles diamonds flashed and 
 sparkled with a thousand fires, and her 
 bangles jingled as she moved. She dazzled 
 and fascinated me. 
 
 With an apology for having left me, she 
 sank slowly among her cushions with 
 graceful abandon, at the same time losing 
 one of her slippers, and motioning me to a 
 seat near her. 
 
 ** Thou thinkest it strange," she said; 
 " perhaps even thou art angry, that I have 
 brought thee hither alone unto this gilded 
 cage. But I must speak with thee, 
 Man of the Desert — to warn thee ; " and 
 her dimpled chin rested upon her dainty
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 199 
 
 palm as she, with serionsnesSj looked 
 straight into my eyes. 
 
 *' To warn me! Of what?" 
 
 " Thou art threatened," she answered 
 slowly. " Thou wilt, perhaps, remember 
 that a mouth ago thou wert in Kahylia, 
 and left Fort National for Tizi Ouzou. 
 Thou hadst the careless indifference that 
 thy free life giveth, and, no doubt, thou 
 wert prepared to meet Eblis himself if he 
 promised an adventure. On that occasion 
 with whom didst thou travel ? " 
 
 '*I journeyed in company of a wealthy 
 man of thy people, who was returning from 
 the wine market." 
 
 ** True, friend," she replied. " A week 
 ago thou didst describe that journey to a 
 Frank of the Moniteur de VAlgerie, and 
 ridiculed thy companion. See here ! " and 
 stretching forth her hand, she took up a 
 paper containing an interview in which I 
 had treated the journey in a comic vein, 
 and had denounced in no measured terms 
 the bigotry of my fellow-traveller.
 
 200 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 " Thou art a Veiled Man ; and that man," 
 she continued, " hath sworn upon the book 
 of Everlasting Will to kill thee ! " 
 
 "How dost thou know this, thou 
 whose face is rivalled only by the sun ? " I 
 asked quickly. 
 
 "Because — because the man thou hast 
 ridiculed is my husband!" she replied, 
 rising, and adding wildly, "Because I over- 
 heard the villainous scheme that he hath 
 planned with his brother to take thy life, 
 and at the risk of mine own honour I 
 determined to save thee. Allah alone 
 knoweth how terrible is my life alone in 
 this place with my servants, bound to a 
 fierce, brutal man who loveth me not, and 
 upon whose brow the Cafer hath set seal." 
 
 "Is thy husband neglectful, then?" I 
 asked, noticing the poignant sorrow that in 
 that moment seemed to have crushed her, 
 
 " Alas ! yes. Whithersoever I go the 
 curse of Sajin seemeth upon me," she 
 sighed, passing her slim, bejewelled hand 
 slowly across her white forehead. Tears
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 201 
 
 welled in her brilliant eyes, as she added 
 in a broken voice, " I am lost — lost to 
 all; soulless, uncared for, unloved." 
 
 She hesitated a moment thoughtfully, 
 glancing first at her own bejewelled hands 
 and then at mine. With a quick move- 
 ment she drew from one of her fingers a 
 curious ring of silver, around which were 
 Arabic characters in gold. 
 
 *' See ! " she cried, as if a sudden thought 
 had occurred to her. " Take this, and wear 
 it. It is my talisman, and as long as it is 
 upon thy finger no harm can befall thee. 
 It beareth the stamp of 'La Belle,' and 
 will preserve thee in health and guard thee 
 in the hour of tribulation." 
 
 She took my hand in hers, and drawing 
 my own ring from my finger, replaced it by 
 her strange-looking talisman, afterwards 
 shppiug my own ring upon her hand. A 
 sob escaped her. " We have exchanged 
 rings!" she exclaimed brokenly, looking 
 up into my face with tear-stained, world- 
 weary eyes. Then, clutching her bare
 
 202 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 breast as if to still the throbbing of her 
 heart, she cried, " When — when thou art 
 far away, thou wilt, peradventure, some- 
 times gaze upon mine, and remember that 
 a service was once rendered thee by a poor, 
 unhappy woman — thou wilt recollect that 
 'her name is Fathma Khadidja — that — that 
 — ah ! forgive me, for I am mad ! mad ! " 
 
 Eaising my hand to her warm lips, she 
 kissed it passionately with all the fire and 
 ardour of the Child of the Sun. Then, 
 releasing me, she tottered back, panting, 
 and sank upon her silken divan, with her 
 face buried in her hands, sobbing as if her 
 heart would break. 
 
 " Cama tafakal katJialiJca tola hi,^^ I said, 
 quoting at random from the Koran. " Come, 
 come," I added sympathetically, sinking 
 down beside her, tenderly stroking her 
 long, silky tresses. "Despair not. The 
 One Worthy of Praise knoweth how thou 
 sufferest, and will give unto thee strength 
 in the hour of thy need, and bring thee into 
 the shadow of the great lote tree."
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 203 
 
 " All ! Thy mouth uttereth pearls of 
 wisdom," she cried wildly. "But I have 
 touched thee, a Touareg, and am accursed 
 by Allah. I care nought for the future, for 
 already am I forsaken, already have I tasted 
 of the bitter fruit of Al-Zakkum, and am 
 doomed to the torture of Al-Hawiyat, the 
 place prepared for the evil-doers." Then, 
 raising her face to mine, with an intense 
 look of passionate love, she said in a soft, 
 sibilant whisper, " Once only ! Kiss me 
 once ! Then thou mayest go, and never 
 shall we meet — never ! " 
 
 Her beautiful head fell upon my shoulder, 
 and her hair — soft as spun silk — strayed 
 across my face. For a moment her lips 
 met mine in a hot, passionate kiss, a 
 caress enough to make any man's head 
 reel. 
 
 "I love thee," she whispered, in low, 
 half-frightened tones, as she clung to me, 
 and would not allow me to release myself. 
 " Unseen by thee, I have watched thee 
 many moons, and to-night have I brought
 
 204 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 thee hither to tell thee — to confess to thee 
 my secret." 
 
 I tried to draw my lingering lips from 
 hers, but with the fire of passion gleaming 
 in her brilliant eyes she gripped me with 
 a force I should not have supposed her 
 capable of. 
 
 *' Stay," she whispered. " Without thee 
 the canker-worm of love eateth away my 
 heart." 
 
 But I tore myself from her and left. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ¥^ 
 
 Next day my business of selling sheep 
 took me to the Haras Fortress, away 
 behind the hills of Ahmar, and the voices 
 of the muddenin were already calling the 
 faithful for the maghrib when I re-entered 
 the Kasbah. Kasneh, my slave, was playing 
 damma in the courtyard, but rose quietly, 
 saluted, and told me that he had taken to 
 my room a small package which had been 
 left by the negro servant that had brought 
 the letter on the previous day. 
 
 Could it, I wondered, be a present from
 
 THE GATE OF HELL 205 
 
 Khadidja? Eushing in, I found on my 
 table a small box, packed in white paper 
 and secured with black seals. Eagerly I 
 tore away the wrappings and opened it. 
 
 As I did so a shriek of horror escaped 
 me. I fell back awe-stricken at the sight 
 presented. Inside a satin-lined bracelet- 
 case, bearing the name of a Paris jeweller, 
 on a piece of pale-blue velvet, there was 
 stretched a human finger that had been 
 roughly hacked off at the joint ! It lay 
 stiff, white, and cold, with the blood coagu- 
 lated where the blunt knife had jagged the 
 flesh. The finger was a woman's — shm, 
 well-formed, with the nail stained by henna. 
 It was loaded with costly rings, which 
 scintillated in the golden ray of sunset that 
 strayed into the room, and fell across them. 
 As I looked, breathless in amazement, I 
 saw among the ornaments my own ring ! 
 
 A scrap of paper that fluttered to the 
 ground bore the words, scrawled in Arabic 
 character, '' From the husband of Fathma 
 lihadidja!"
 
 2o6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 That same night I strode furiously along 
 the seashore, watching the glimmering 
 lights in the distance. In fear and trepida- 
 tion, I took the hideous souvenir of love, 
 and, when far from the city, cast it away 
 from me into the dark rolling waters. 
 
 Perhaps there, deep in its lonely hiding- 
 place, it met the white, dead thing of which 
 it had once formed part — the body of the 
 matchless daughter of the sun whose won- 
 drous hair enmeshed me, whose full, red 
 lips held me like a magnet, shackling me 
 to the inevitable. Who can tell ? 
 
 Truly, in that brief hour when I lounged 
 at her side, I was at the dreaded Bab-el- 
 Hawiyat.
 
 VIII 
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 
 
 I ENTEEED the Silent Kingdom six years 
 ago. 
 
 Praise be to Allah, whom the weight of 
 a pearl upon the earth does not escape. 
 May prayer and salvation be with the 
 master of the first and last, our Lord 
 Mahommed. Of a verity have I been 
 blessed with blessings abundant, and en- 
 veloped by the cloak of his protection. 
 
 We had left the shore of Lake Tsad after 
 pillaging a great caravan from the north, 
 and were moving westward across the stern, 
 sterile desert in the direction of Gao, or 
 Kou-kou, as it is popularly known among 
 us, where we could dispose of our stolen 
 merchandise. For months we had travelled 
 
 207
 
 2o8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 across that immensity of sands where the 
 very birds lose themselves, our camels 
 often stumbling upon some skull, tibia, or 
 even an entire skeleton, the remains of 
 bygone generations of travellers who had 
 perished on those lonely wastes. The sun 
 blazed fiercely in the flaming sky, the skin 
 cracked, the lips were parched. All the 
 water we had was warm and impure, and 
 even that was insufficient to quench our 
 thirst. A scaly viper occasionally crossed 
 our route, and at long intervals the swift 
 flight of an antelope was seen. For days, 
 months, nothing had rejoiced our eyes 
 save the deceitful vision of the mirage, and 
 one evening I decided upon a three days' 
 halt for rest. 
 
 On the previous day our eyes had been 
 gladdened by the sight of a small well, 
 where we filled our water-skins, therefore 
 we were enabled to take our ease ; although 
 being in an entirely unfamiliar country, 
 the watchfulness of our sentries was never 
 for a single instant relinquished. We were
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 209 
 
 travelliug with the sun only as our guide, 
 therefore knew not into what territory we 
 had entered, save that it was as barren and 
 inhospitable a region as it had ever been 
 our lot to encounter, — a shadovdess land of 
 solitude, abandonment, and misery. 
 
 In our raid upon the caravan near Lake 
 Tsad a bundle of papers had come into our 
 possession, and these had been handed to 
 me ; but travelling constantly, I had not 
 had time or inclination to examine them. 
 That night, however, alone in my tent, I 
 untied them and spread them out. Most 
 of them, including a kind of diary, were 
 • written in the language of the Roumis, 
 and as some bore the image of the Liberty 
 of the Franks, I concluded that they must 
 have belonged to some French officer in 
 the northern region of the Desert, who 
 had probably perished in an attempt to 
 penetrate south. 
 
 One paper, however, the last I took up, 
 was written in my own tongue, and I read 
 it eagerly. It was an official letter, dated 
 
 p
 
 2IO THE VEILED MAN 
 
 from Paris, urging its recipient to secure, 
 if possible, during his explorations, the 
 Fatassi of Koti, as the French Government 
 were extremely anxious to obtain posses- 
 sion of it, and by that letter offered to pay 
 any sheikh or tribesman almost any sum 
 in exchange for it. 
 
 I put the letter down, smiled, and 
 resumed my pipe. The hapless explorer, 
 whoever he was, had probably died, and 
 certainly his hopes would never be realised, 
 for the Fatassi of the learned Koti was the 
 phantom book of the Soudan. There was 
 not a clansman in the whole of the Great 
 Desert who did not know all about that 
 priceless volume, yet no one had ever seen 
 it. It had been lost to the world for 
 ages. 
 
 Mohaman Koti, or Koutou, the great 
 marabout, lived in Timbuktu in the year 
 850 of the Hegira, and was the most 
 esteemed and even tyrannical councillor 
 of our ancestor, its powerful king. His 
 authority is said to have originated in the
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 211 
 
 following manner. The king one day dis- 
 tributed some dried dates to his court, and 
 Koti, who had recently arrived, was over- 
 looked. Shortly afterwards the learned 
 councillor assembled a number of people 
 and dispensed fresh dates among them. 
 This miracle — for we have no dates in that 
 region of the far south — having reached 
 the king's ears, he discerned that upon 
 Koti was set the divine seal, and from that 
 moment gave him all his confidence. A 
 few years later, according to Tarik e Sudan, 
 Koti edited a history of the Kingdoms of 
 Ganata, Songhoi, and Timbuktu, the only 
 history written of those once all-powerful 
 centres of civilization, and in addition he 
 dealt with the concerns of many peoples 
 and many men. Families, since grown 
 rich and powerful, and the chiefs of various 
 countries, were shown to be v/ith very 
 humble origins, sometimes being the off- 
 spring of slaves. But while the book was 
 being written, news was conveyed to the 
 King of Timbuktu that the Songhois had
 
 212 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 revolted, and had combined with the great 
 nation of Mossi to attack and capture his 
 capital; therefore, in order to save his 
 great store of treasure, he at once had it 
 made up into single camel-loads, taken ont 
 of the city, and secreted in various distant 
 spots on the confines of his empire. It 
 was necessary, of course, to keep a strict 
 and minute description of each spot where 
 the wealth of the capital was concealed, in 
 order that it might be recovered after the 
 war ; therefore Koti was ordered to inscribe 
 in his book instructions how to unearth 
 the great store of gold and gems, the spoils 
 of war during four centuries. This, accord- 
 ing to a legend completely borne out by 
 our Tarik, he did, and the precious manu- 
 script was given into the king's own 
 keeping. Ere one moon, however, the 
 learned historian died suddenly at Tin- 
 dirma, where a little white mosque-like 
 house marks his grave till this day. The 
 war was fought, proving, alas ! disastrous 
 to the king, who was compelled to fly, but
 
 "'Stay,' she whispered." 
 
 P. 212.
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 213 
 
 strangely enough the Tarik maintains 
 silence regarding his subsequent adven- 
 tures, or of what became of the precious 
 Fatassi. Legend has it that the king was 
 treacherously poisoned by a slave, as rulers 
 were apt to be in those turbulent days ; 
 but by whatever means the once powerful 
 monarch met with his death, the fact 
 remains that the priceless volume and 
 guide to the enormous treasure of ancient 
 Timbuktu v/as lost to all. For more than 
 four centuries the recovery of the Fatassi 
 has been the dream of poor and rich alike. 
 The scholar coveted it because it would 
 shed so much light upon the obscure past 
 of these vast regions ; the camel-driver, 
 the merchant, and the prince alike desired 
 to possess it for the information it was 
 known to contain regarding the long-lost 
 wealth. 
 
 It was because of the latter that the 
 government of the Franks desired to obtain 
 it. But theirs, like my own, was but a 
 vain desire.
 
 214 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 A whole moon passed, and still wo 
 pressed forward towards Gao, ever in the 
 crimson track of the setting sun. One 
 night, however, when the camp was asleep, 
 the guards raised the alarm, but so sud- 
 denly were we attacked that we scarce had 
 time to defend ourselves from a column 
 of French Spahis who had swept down 
 upon us. It was a mad, terrible rush. Al- 
 though our tribesmen fought valiantly and 
 well, it was impossible to withstand the 
 frightful hail of bullets poured forth upon 
 us by a gun they carried which spat forth 
 lead in deadly hail. Our men, seeing the 
 havoc wrought by this new weapon, turned 
 and fled. Fortunately the poison-wind had 
 sprung up, and its clouds of sand cannot 
 be faced by the men of the north ; there- 
 fore we were enabled to escape, although 
 unfortunately compelled to leave the 
 greater part of the stolen camels and 
 merchandise in their possession. 
 
 As, in the confusion, I sprang upon 
 a horse and rode through the blinding
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 215 
 
 sandstorm for my life, I heard the thud of 
 the horses' hoofs of my pursuers. From the 
 noise there must have been a score of men, 
 anxious, no doubt, to secure the marauding 
 chief feared by all the caravans. But 
 swift as the wind itself, I rode on alone the 
 greater part of that hot, stifling night, until, 
 pulling up, dismounting, and placing my 
 ear to the ground, I could detect no sound 
 of pursuit. In the glimmering twilight, as 
 night gave place to day, I saw before me 
 a huge, dark rock, shaped like a camel's 
 hump, rising from the sand, and, riding 
 cnw^ard, I there tethered my horse beneath 
 it, and flung myself down to snatch an 
 hour's sleep ere the sun rose, intending 
 then to go forth again and rejoin my scat- 
 tered people. 
 
 How long mine eyes were closed Allah 
 alone knoweth ; but when I opened them 
 I found myself lying on a panther's skin 
 in a darkened chamber, filled with the 
 music of running w^ater. The place was 
 cooled by the stream, and in the dim
 
 2i6 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 recesses of the room I could distinguish 
 rich divans. Suspended from the roof was 
 a fine Moorish lamp of chased gold, which 
 shed a soft, yellow light, and from a per- 
 fuming-pan was diffused the sweet odour 
 of attar of rose. The light was soft and 
 restful, and in wonder I rubbed my eyes 
 and gazed about me. 
 
 "Allah give thee peace, stranger!" 
 a thin squeaking voice exclaimed. And 
 glancing quickly behind me, I beheld a 
 wizen-faced man, small of stature, dressed 
 in a robe of bright blue silk, and so bent 
 by age that his white beard almost swept 
 the ground. Notwithstanding his venerable 
 appearance, however, his face was dark and 
 forbidding, and his small, black piercing 
 eyes, that time had not dimmed, had a 
 glint of evil in them. Instinctively, ere we 
 had spoken a dozen words, I mistrusted him. 
 
 ** To whose hospitality do I owe the rest 
 and repose I have enjoyed?" I inquired, 
 slowly rising to my feet and stretching my 
 cramped limbs.
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 217 
 
 " My name," the old man croaked, ** is 
 Ibn Batouba. I discovered thee sleeping 
 in the sun outside this my dwelling-place, 
 and brought thee in, for the rays had 
 smitten thee with a grievous sickness, and 
 thou wert on the point of death. Thou 
 hast remained here twelve days." 
 
 " Twelve days ! " I cried, with incredulity, 
 at the same moment feeling my head reel- 
 ing. " Then to thee I owe my life ? " 
 
 The hideous old man in blue grinned 
 with satisfaction, regarding me with a 
 strange, covert glance. 
 
 By this time my eyes had grown accus- 
 tomed to the semi-darkness, and I saw that 
 the chamber was a natural one — a kind of 
 arched cavern, the floor of w^hich had been 
 levelled, and a channel formed for the cool 
 spring that bubbled forth and rippled away 
 into gloomy depths. 
 
 '' This thy dwelling is beneath the surface 
 of the earth," I observed, glancing around 
 me. " Why dwellest thou here in secret ? " 
 
 " The true Arab answereth not the
 
 2i8 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 question of Ahamadou, Skeikh of the Azjar 
 Touaregs," he replied, with a sneering ac- 
 centuation on the final word. "Allah hath 
 sent thee as my guest ; partake of all that 
 I have, but seek no explanation of who or 
 of what I am." 
 
 He evidently recognised me, and his 
 strange words puzzled me. First, I had 
 no idea that such a luxurious abode could 
 exist in the centre of that inhospitable 
 region ; secondly, the very fact pointed to 
 the conclusion that in my flight I had 
 approached near to a town; but thirdly, 
 I had already proof positive that my strange 
 host, the man who declared he had saved 
 my life, lied to me. At the well where we 
 had halted on the day before the fight, I 
 had plucked a sprig of jasmine, and placed 
 a tiny piece behind my ear, beneath the 
 black nicab around my head. This I re- 
 collected, and, taking it in my hand, found 
 it still limp and undried. By that alone 
 I knew I had not been there many hours, 
 and that his story was untrue.
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 219 
 
 I suggested that I should be rehictantly 
 compelled to leave ; but he at once became 
 profuse in his hospitality. 
 
 *' No, not yet," he urged. *' I am alone, 
 save for my slaves, and thy companionship 
 is pleasant. Kemain, and I will show thee 
 over this my hidden dwelling-place. It 
 may interest thee." And taking down a 
 torch, he lit it and led the way across a 
 tiny bridge that spanned the running water, 
 and opening a door in the rock, conducted 
 me through several intricate passages, 
 narrow and dark, until we came to a series 
 of caverns of various sizes, each hung with 
 rich silken hangings, and the floors covered 
 by the most beautiful carpets from the 
 East. Over each a great golden lamp of 
 filigree shed a soft light, showing how rich 
 and costly were the antique tables of inlaid 
 pearl and silver, and how wide and soft 
 were the divans. In each the thin blue 
 smoke, curling upward from the golden 
 perfuming-pan, gave forth an intoxicating 
 fragrance, and in one I noticed lying
 
 220 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 discarded a pair of tiny green slippers, 
 embroidered with seed-pearls, and a ginkra, 
 one of those little two-stringed guitars 
 fashioned from a tortoise-shell, both betray- 
 ing the presence of a woman. 
 
 When we had passed through half a 
 dozen similar chambers in the solid rock, 
 the old man, croaking as he went, stopped 
 suddenly at the further end of the last and 
 most gorgeous of all his subterranean 
 domain, and with a grim expression on his 
 evil countenance, said — 
 
 *'And this is the Bab-el-Hawiyat — the 
 dreaded Gate of Evil, whence none return." 
 
 I started, and drew back. Throughout 
 the Desert there has been for all ages a 
 legend that somewhere there exists the 
 entrance to the dreaded kingdom of dark- 
 ness where Eblis reigneth. He opened 
 wide the small door; but there was only 
 darkness impenetrable, and an odour of 
 damp earth. Holding his torch aloft, he 
 crossed the threshold, and bade me peer in. 
 Then I distinguished, a few spans from
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 221 
 
 where he stood, a great yawning chasm 
 opening to the very bowels of the earth. 
 
 " Hearken ! " he cried in his squeaking, 
 uncanny voice, at the same time returning 
 into the room and snatching up from one 
 of the coffee-stools a large metal dish, 
 which an instant later he hurled into the 
 dark ahyss. 
 
 I listened to ascertain its depth. But 
 no sound came hack. I shuddered, for I 
 knew it was unfathomable. 
 
 As he faced me in closing the door I 
 detected in his keen eyes a strange exult- 
 ant look, and was seized by a sudden desire 
 to ascend once again to the light of day. 
 True, I could have crushed the life out of 
 him as easily as I could crush a spider in 
 my fingers, while in my belt was my 
 jambiyah that had a score of times tasted 
 the life-blood of mine enemies, yet he had 
 not harmed me, and to kill one's host is 
 forbidden by Al-Koran. Therefore I stayed 
 my hand. 
 
 As we retraced our steps he poured upon
 
 222 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 me nauseating adulations, declaring me to 
 be the most valiant sheikh in the Great 
 Desert, and using the most extravagant 
 simile of which the Arabic tongue is 
 capable, a fact which in itself filled me 
 with increasing suspicion. Suddenly, how- 
 ever, as we reached the chamber where 
 flowed the cooling spring, the truth was 
 made plain. As he opened the door two 
 officers of the French, in linen garments 
 and white helmets, who had apparently 
 been lying in wait, pounced upon me, 
 uttering loud cries of triumph. 
 
 The old white-bearded recluse — may 
 Allah burn his vitals — had betrayed me. 
 He had held me, and sent word to the 
 Franks to come and capture their prize — 
 Ahamadou, the chieftain of the Azjar. 
 But in an instant I, upon whose head a 
 price was set, drew my blade and defended 
 myself, slashing vigorously right and left, 
 succeeding at last in escaping down the 
 dark winding passage through which we 
 had just passed. Forward I dashed through
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 223 
 
 room after room, upsetting some of the 
 tables in my mad rush, while behind me 
 were the white-faced ofiQcers with drawn 
 swords, determined to take me alive or 
 dead. Well I knew how desperate they 
 were, and in that instant believed myself 
 lost. Yet, determined to sell my life 
 dearly, it flashed across my mind that 
 rather than suffer the ignominy of being 
 taken in chains to Algiers, the infidel city, 
 and there tried by the tribunal as others 
 had been, I would cast myself into the 
 fathomless pit. 
 
 I sprang towards the small, low door, 
 
 but at first could not open it. In a few 
 moments the crafty Ibn Batouba, with the 
 Pranks, gained the spot ; but I had already 
 
 unlocked the door and flung it open. 
 
 Then, just as they put out their hands to 
 
 seize me, I swung aside, lifted my knife, 
 
 and struck my evil-faced betrayer full to 
 
 the heart. 
 
 With a piercing shriek he fell forward 
 
 over the door lintel, and his lifeless body
 
 224 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 rolled into the awful chasm, while at the 
 same instant I gave a bound, and with a 
 cry of defiance, leaped down into the dark- 
 ness after him. 
 
 I felt myself rushing through air, the 
 wind whistling in my ears as deep down I 
 went like a stone in the impenetrable 
 gloom. Those moments seemed hours, 
 until of a sudden a blow on the back 
 knocked me half-insensible, and I found 
 myself a second later wallowing in a bed of 
 thick, soft dust. Instantly it occurred to 
 me that because this carpet of dust dead- 
 ened the sound of things pitched into the 
 chasm, the belief had naturally arisen that 
 it was unfathomable. I rose, but sank up 
 to the knees in the soft sand, which, stirred 
 by my fall, half-choked me. Far above, 
 looking distant like a star, I saw the light 
 of a torch. My infidel pursuers were peer- 
 ing into the fearsome place in chagrin that 
 I had evaded them. The air, however, 
 was hot and foul, and I knev/ that to save 
 my life I must be moving ; therefore, with
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 225 
 
 both hands outstretched, I groped about, 
 amazed to discover the great extent of 
 this natural cleft in the earth, formed un- 
 doubtedly by some earthquake in a remote 
 age. 
 
 Once I stumbled, and bending, felt at my 
 feet the still warm body of my betrayer — 
 may Eblis rend him. I drew my jambiyah 
 from his breast, and replaced it in its 
 sheath. Then, tearing from his body the 
 silken gauze which formed his girdle, I 
 fashioned a torch, igniting it after some 
 difficulty with my steel. Around me was 
 only an appalling darkness, and I feared to 
 test the extent of the place by shouting, 
 lest my pursuers above should hear. So 
 forward I toiled in a straight line, flounder- 
 ing at every step in the dust of ages, until 
 the cleft narrowed and became tunnel-like 
 Y/ith a hard floor. I stooped to feel it, and 
 was astounded to discover that the rock 
 had been worn smooth and hollow by the 
 tramp of many feet. 
 
 Besides, the air had become distinctly 
 
 Q
 
 226 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 fresher, aud this fact renewed courage 
 within me. At first I felt myself doomed 
 to die like a fox in a trap ; but with 
 hope reawakened there might, after all, I 
 thought, be some outlet. 
 
 Of a sudden, however, there arose before 
 me a colossal female figure seated on a 
 kind of stool, with features so hideous and 
 repulsive that I drew back with an involun- 
 tary cry. It was a score times as high as 
 myself, and as I held my torch above my 
 head to examine it, I saw it was of some 
 Vv'hite, semi-transparent stone of a kind I 
 had never before beheld. The robes were 
 coloured scarlet and bright blue, and the 
 face and hands were tinted to resemble life. 
 One hand was outstretched. On the brow 
 was a chaplet of wonderful pearls, and on 
 the colossal fingers, each as thick as my 
 own wrist, were massive golden rings which 
 sparkled with gems. But the sinister 
 grinning countenance was indeed that of a 
 high-priestess of Eblis. 
 
 In amazement I held my breath and
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 227 
 
 G-azed about me. Around the sides of tlie 
 cavern were ranged many other smaller 
 female figures, seated like the central one, 
 and the face of each bore a hideous, repul- 
 sive grin, as if in mockery of my mis- 
 fortunes. Before the great central colossus 
 was a small triangular stone altar, upon 
 which was some object. I crossed, and 
 glancing at it found to my dismay that it 
 was a beautiful and very ancient illumi- 
 nated manuscript of our holy Koran. But 
 through it had been thrust a poignard, now 
 red with rust, and it had been torn, slashed, 
 and otherwise defiled. 
 
 The truth then dawned upon me that 
 this noisome place into which I had 
 plunged was actually the abode of the 
 ancient and accursed sect who worshipped 
 Eblis as their god. 
 
 As I gazed wonderingly about me, I saw 
 everywhere evidence that for ages no foot 
 of man had entered that dark silent 
 chamber. The dust of centuries lay smooth 
 and untrodden.
 
 228 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 Again I passed beneath the ponderoas 
 feet of the gigantic statue, when suddenly 
 my eyes were attracted by an inscription 
 in Kufic, the ancient language of the 
 marabouts, traced in geometrical design 
 upon the hem of tlie idol's garment. My 
 torch had burned dim, so I lit another, 
 and by its flickering rays succeeded in 
 deciphering the following words : — 
 
 "Lo! I am Azour, wife of Eblis, and 
 Queen of all Things Beneath the Earth. 
 To me, all bow, for I hold its riches in the 
 hollow of my hand." 
 
 I glanced up quickly, and there, far 
 above, I distinguished that in the idol's 
 open palm there lay some object which the 
 fickle flame of my torch could not reveal. 
 But consumed by curiosity, I at once 
 resolved to clamber up and ascertain what 
 riches lay there. With extreme difficulty, 
 and holding my flambeau in my left hand, 
 I managed at length to reach the platform 
 formed by the knees of the figure, and then 
 scrambled up the breast and along the
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 229 
 
 outstretched arm. But on mounting the 
 latter, I was dismayed to discover that 
 the object for which I had toiled was 
 neither gold, silver, nor gems, but merely 
 a brown and mouldy parchment scroll. 
 Standing at last upon the open hand, I 
 bent and picked it up ; but in an instant 
 I recognised that my find was of priceless 
 value. Ere I had read three lines of the 
 beautifully formed but sadly faded Arabic 
 characters, I knew that it was none other 
 than the long-sought manuscript of the 
 Fatassij the mysterious phantom book of 
 the Soudan. 
 
 I placed my treasure beneath my dissa, 
 and at once proceeded to descend, eager 
 to discover some means of escape from 
 that gloomy cavern, peopled by its hideous 
 ghosts of a pagan past. In frantic haste 
 I sought means of exit ; but not until 
 several hours had elapsed did I succeed in 
 entering a burrow which, leading out into 
 a barren ravine in the desert, had once, no 
 doubt, been used as entrance to the secret
 
 230 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 temple of those who believed not in the 
 One Merciful, but in Eblis and Azour. 
 
 After travelling many days, I succeeded 
 in rejoining my people at a spot four 
 marches from Gao, bearing concealed in 
 my dissa the priceless history of my 
 ancestors, with the minute plans for the 
 recovery of their hidden treasure. At this 
 moment the Fatassiy traced by the hand 
 of Koti, so long coveted by the Franks, is 
 in my possession; though only to two of 
 my headmen have I imparted the secret 
 that I have recovered it. 
 
 To seek to unearth the ancient treasure 
 at present would be worse than useless, 
 for our conquerors would at once despoil 
 us. But when the great Jehad is at last 
 fought, and more peaceful days dawn in 
 the Soudan, then will the secret treasure- 
 houses be opened and the Azjar become 
 a power in the land, because of the inex- 
 haustible riches left to them by their 
 valiant ancestors for the re-establishment 
 of their lost kingdom. Until then, they
 
 THE QUEEN OF THE SILENT KINGDOM 231 
 
 possess themselves in patience, and trust 
 in the One. 
 
 To thee, Keader of this my Tarik of 
 toil and tumult, poaco.
 
 IX 
 
 THE FATHER OF THE HUNDRED SLAVES 
 
 Ahamadou, squatting upon his haunches 
 before our camp-fire, calmly smoking his 
 long pipe, related to me the following story, 
 declaring it to be a true incident. All 
 wanderers in the Great Desert, be they 
 Arabs or Touaregs, are born story-tellers, 
 therefore I reproduce the narrative as he 
 told it. It must be remembered that the 
 Azjars were, at one period — not so very long 
 ago — slavers who made many raids in the 
 primeval forests south of Lake Tsad, and 
 that Ahamadou himself profited very con- 
 siderably by that illegitimate trade. It 
 was rumoured down at *' the coast " that 
 the leaders of these Touareg raiders were 
 not Africans, and this story appears to 
 
 232
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 233 
 
 substantiate a statement which was, at the 
 time, ridiculed at the Colonial OfiSce in 
 London. 
 
 « * « » « 
 
 " Get up, you lazy devil. Stir yourself. 
 We're in a complete hole ! " 
 
 '' Hole ? hole ? Ah, your English tongue 
 is indeed extraordinaire ! A hole is a place 
 in the ground, n'eat ce x>Gisf " 
 
 "Yes, and you'll have a hole in the 
 ground all to yourself, my dear Pierre, 
 if you don't bustle up a bit." 
 
 Pierre Dubois, the man addressed, a 
 bronzed, grey-bearded, stout, small-eyed 
 Belgian of fifty, was lying tranquilly on 
 his back on a pile of soft rugs, like an 
 Oriental potentate, smoking his shisJia, or 
 travelling pipe, and being fanned by an 
 extremely ugly negress. Dubois was the 
 name he had adopted after leaving the 
 Congo hurriedly, carrying with him a 
 goodly sum belonging to the Belgian Govern- 
 ment, in whose employ he had been for ten 
 years. A native of Liege, he was one of the
 
 234 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 pioneers of that so-called Central Amcan 
 civilisation of trade, gin, and the whip ; but 
 after lining liis pockets well, and making 
 good his escape through the boundless 
 virgin forests of *' darkest Africa," ho had 
 started as a trader in that most marketable 
 of all commodities — black ivory. 
 
 Pierre Dubois and Henry Snape, his 
 partner, were slave-raiders. They dressed 
 as Arabs, and lived as Arabs. 
 
 Outside in the blazing noon, beneath the 
 scanty shade of a few palms and mimosa 
 scrub which surrounded that desert water- 
 ing-place known as Akdul, a number of their 
 heavily- armed followers were lying stretched 
 upon the sand, sleeping soundly after their 
 two-bow prayer to Allah, while here and 
 there alone sat one of their number on his 
 haunches, wrapped in his white burnouse, 
 hugging his knees, his rifle at his side, 
 keeping watch. They were a forbidding, 
 evil-looking lot these Songhoi Touaregs, 
 pirates of the forests and the desert, each 
 with his black litliam wrapped around his
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 235 
 
 face concealing his features, a complete 
 arsenal of weapons in his girdle, a string of 
 charms sewn in little bags of yellow leather 
 around his neck, and, stra23ped beneath his 
 left arm, a short cross-liilted sword, keen- 
 edged as a razor. 
 
 Beyond, lying in the full sun glare, were 
 sixty or seventy wretched, wo olty-h aired 
 negroes, men and women, chained together 
 and guarded by a dozen of the veiled men. 
 Throughout Northern and Central Africa the 
 very name of the Songhoi was synonymous 
 with all that was fierce, cruel, and relentless, 
 for they Hved by robbing the desert caravans 
 or capturing slaves in the boundless virgin 
 forests between the Niger and the Congo, 
 being essentially a nomadic race, and having 
 no other home than their tents in the Sahara, 
 that limitless wilderness of rock and sand. 
 Of all the slavers of Central Africa these 
 *' veiled men " were the worst, for they 
 attacked and burned villages, placed the 
 unfortunate blacks to torture to compel 
 them to reveal the hiding-places of their
 
 236 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 store of ivory, and afterwards took tliein 
 prisoners, and sold them in the great 
 central slave-market at El Obeid, away 
 in Kordofan. 
 
 Among the natives of the Upper Congo 
 and the Aruwimi, even the hordes of that 
 notorious king of slavers, Tippu-Tib, — so 
 called by the negroes because the guns of 
 his men created a noise, from which they 
 have named him phonetically, — were more 
 tolerated than the fierce Songhoi bands, with 
 their black veils, which none ever removed, 
 sleeping or waking; for the track of the 
 latter through the forest or grass-land was 
 always marked by murder, devastation, and 
 wanton cruelty. 
 
 Dubois, when in the service of King 
 Leopold, had been active in endeavouring 
 to put down the trade, but seeing how 
 lucrative it was, and finding Snape, an 
 English adventurer, ready to join him, he 
 had collected a following of the fiercest 
 Touaregs he could gather, and as he paid 
 all well for their services, while on their
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 237 
 
 part they were proud to be led by a white 
 man in whom they had once lived in fear, 
 their trade had, for a long time, been a most 
 lucrative one. They were the terror of the 
 whole region from Stanley Falls to Tan- 
 ganyika. A dozen times they had been 
 north to El Obe'id with ivory of both 
 varieties, white and black, and on each 
 occasion the profits had been far beyond 
 their expectations. The trade is still easy 
 enough in the Congo State, and slaves are 
 captured without very much difficulty. 
 The great risk, however, is to transport 
 them by the route they had been following 
 for the past two months, as, in order to 
 reach the central market, ihej had to pass 
 through that portion of British territory 
 where a very watchful eye is kept, and 
 where the notorious Arab raider Kilonga- 
 Longa met his fate only a few months 
 before. 
 
 But Dubois and Snape had run the 
 gauntlet many times, and were absolutely 
 fearless. On the present raid through the
 
 238 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 country of Emin and Junker, tliey liad made 
 their captures in the Mouhoiittou, within 
 the Belgian sphere of influence, with the 
 complicity of the Belgian agent at Sanga, 
 whom they, of course, bribed with a goodly 
 present of ivory; then, marching through 
 the great Forest of Eternal Night, due 
 northward to Zayadin, they had passed 
 through the Dinka country to Fatik, which, 
 being only two days' march from the Bahr- 
 el-Guebel upon which the British have 
 posts, is a dangerous point. Nevertheless, 
 they had pushed forward night and day, 
 and were now in the centre of that great, 
 sunburnt desert, the Wilderness of Nouer, 
 which stretches northward for three hun- 
 dred miles to El Obeid. 
 
 Dubois grumbled loudly at the Englishman 
 for interrupting his meditations, saying — 
 
 " Go and sleep, mon clier. You'll be 
 getting fever if you worry too much." 
 
 "Worry!" echoed Snape. "There's 
 danger, I tell you. Surely you're not a 
 confounded fool, man ? "
 
 THE FATHER OF THE HUNDRED SLAVES 239 
 
 ''Ah," answered his partner, quite 
 calmly, " is there not always danger 
 here, in Africa? You have a wonderful 
 imagination, my dear Henri, I quite admit ; 
 but do allow me to finish my sleep. Then 
 let us talk of this extraordinary hole, what- 
 ever it may be." 
 
 " Idiot ! " ejaculated the Englishman, 
 hitching up his flowing white burnouse. 
 He was a tall, good-looking fellow of forty, 
 whose career, however, had been a singu- 
 larly eventful one. Since he left Balliol he 
 had met with a good many adventures in 
 various lands, most of them being to his 
 discredit. He had been a born gambler, 
 and had drifted from the London clubs to 
 the tables at Monte Carlo, and thence, by a 
 very crooked channel, to that sink of the 
 world, Africa, where chance had brought 
 him in contact with the scoundrel and arch- 
 slaver Dubois. They were a well-matched 
 pair. At college Snape had taken honours 
 for Arabic, therefore his knowledge of that 
 language now served him in good stead.
 
 240 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 He was one of those men who could never 
 run straight, even though he had often 
 tried. He was a horn outsider. 
 
 ''Why idiot?" inquired his partner 
 lazily. The old negress waved the fan 
 hackwards and forwards, understanding not 
 a word of the conversation between the 
 headman and the great white Sheikh, who, 
 on account of his raiding, the Touaregs 
 had named The Father of the Hundred 
 Slaves. 
 
 " Well, I'm not the sort of fellow to let 
 the grass grow under my feet when there's 
 any danger," snapped Snape. ''You re- 
 member what Zafar said yesterday." 
 
 " He's like yourself, mon clier^ — always 
 apprehensive of some horrible calamity," 
 muttered the Belgian, blowing a cloud of 
 smoke from his lips. 
 
 " This time, I tell you, it's no mere 
 imagination," the Englishman went on. 
 " Last night, after the dua, I left secretly, 
 so as not to arouse any misgivings, and 
 rode due east until the dawn, when I
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 241 
 
 discovered, encamped among the agliradj a 
 whole troop of Soudanese soldiers. I got 
 near enough to ascertain that the officers 
 were Englishmen." 
 
 '' Well ? " 
 
 " They've got word somehow that we are 
 passing through," he said. " And now, if 
 you don't stir yourself, you'll never see 
 Brussels again — you understand ? " 
 
 ** I have no wish to see Bruxeiles, mon 
 clier^^^ the elder man replied, quite un- 
 disturbed. *' If I did, it would only be to 
 see the inside of a prison. No ; I prefer 
 Africa to the pleasures of the miniature 
 Paris. Here, if one has a little ivory, one 
 is a king. Life is very pleasant." 
 
 " I admit that," his companion said. 
 " But do, for Heaven's sake, get up and let 
 us decide what to do. There's danger, and 
 we can't afford to be trapped, especially 
 with all those niggers tied in a string. The 
 evidence is a bit too strong against us, and 
 the officers are English. There's no bribing 
 them, you know." 
 
 B
 
 242 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 The Belgian stirred himself lazily at last, 
 and asked — 
 
 "Are they at a well ? " 
 
 " No. They are without water." 
 
 " Then as this is the only well for about 
 a hundred miles, they'll arrive here to-day 
 —eh ? " 
 
 " Of course. That's why I came straight 
 to warn you. There's no time to be lost. 
 Let's strike camp and get away. It's skip 
 or fight." 
 
 "If we skeep — I suppose you mean 
 march — ah ! your English language ! — then 
 they will skeep in pretty quick time after 
 us. They've got wind of our presence in 
 the vicinity, therefore why not remain and 
 fight ? " 
 
 " Fight my own people ? " cried Snape. 
 " No, I'm deed if I do ! " 
 
 "Why not?" asked the Belgian, with 
 gesticulation. " Our Touaregs will slice 
 them into mincemeat. Besides, at long 
 range they're as good shots, and better, 
 than those Soudanese, all fez and swagger."
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 343 
 
 " No," the Euglishman argued. "Let's 
 fly now, while there's time. In two days 
 we shall be in the Nioukoiir, and they'll never 
 find us in the mountains. We hid there 
 quite snugly once before, you recollect." 
 
 '' Muhala," said the Belgian, turning to 
 the old negress, "go. Call Yakub, and 
 remain outside." 
 
 The hideous old woman went forth into 
 the sun-glare, and in a few moments an old 
 thin-faced Touareg entered, making a low 
 salaam. 
 
 " Nov/, Yakub," exclaimed the Belgian 
 in Arabic, " answer me. Of what did 
 om* caravan consist when we left the 
 Aruwimi? " 
 
 " Three hundred and thirty-three slaves, 
 and twenty-nine tusks," answered tho 
 villainous-looking old fellow. 
 
 " And now ? " 
 
 " Seventy- three blacks and twenty-nine 
 tusks." 
 
 " Then two hundred and sixty have 
 died?"
 
 244 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 "Yea, master," he responded. "The 
 new lash of elephant hide has killed many, 
 and the black death has been responsible 
 for the remainder. Five are suffering from 
 it now, and never a day passes ere one or 
 more is not attacked. I have feared that 
 none will live to sight the mosques of El 
 Obeid." 
 
 ** In short, Yakub, they are a diseased 
 lot — eh ? You think they're worthless ? " 
 
 *' Only two women are left, master, 
 and both were seized by the black death 
 yesterday." 
 
 "In that case," observed the Belgian, 
 turning to his partner, " the whole batch 
 are not worth transporting. The game is 
 not, as you English say, worth the lamp." 
 
 " Then what's your suggestion ? " asked 
 Snape. 
 
 " Well, as you are so much in fear of 
 these confounded English, we must, I 
 suppose, act." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "It is quite simple. We just abandon
 
 THE FA THER OF THE HUNDRED SLA VES 245 
 
 the whole lot, and save ourselves and the 
 ivory." 
 
 " Very well," his companion agreed. 
 ** I'm open to any move except fighting 
 against the English." 
 
 " Bah ! You are full of scruples, mon 
 cher Henri," he laughed. " I have none — 
 none. And I am happy — perfectly happy." 
 
 He was silent a moment, as though 
 reflecting deeply. 
 
 "But," he added, " I do wish we could 
 teach these interfering English a lesson. 
 It would do them good. They try to rule 
 Africa nowadays. Ah ! if we could — if we 
 could ! " And there was a strange glint 
 of evil in his eyes. 
 
 An hour later Dubois and Snape, at the 
 head of their formidable troop of brigandish 
 horsemen, were riding at full speed across 
 the desert due west, towards the far distant 
 forest of Dyonkor, it having been decided 
 to skirt this, and then travel south for a 
 fresh raid in Congo territory. 
 
 As for the poor wretches bound together.
 
 246 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 and djdng of tMrst and disease, they were 
 still secured to tlie palm trunks and 
 abandoned to their fate, tortured by being 
 within sight of the well, yet unable to 
 slake the frightful thirst consuming them. 
 Dwellers in the damp, gloomy forest, where 
 the sunlight never penetrates, the intense 
 heat of the desert struck them down one 
 after another, sending them insane or 
 killing them outright. 
 
 Time after time Snape turned in his high 
 Arab saddle, glancing back apprehensively 
 to see if they were followed. But his 
 partner only laughed sarcastically, saying — 
 
 ''You still fear your friends the English? 
 Ah ! you have the heart of the chicken. 
 All is quite unnecessary. We have made 
 them a present of the whole lot, and I 
 hope they will appreciate our kindness. 
 Now we shall take it easy, and hope for 
 better fortune v/ith the next batch. I 
 fancy that the new lash must be too hard. 
 The women can't stand it, so it seems." 
 
 *' A little less whipping and a little more
 
 THE FATHER OF THE HUNDRED SLAVES 247 
 
 water would keep 'em in better condition," 
 Snape observed. '' Yaknb is eternally- 
 lashing tliem for some imaginary laziness 
 or offence." 
 
 " Yes, it's all due to that new lasli," the 
 Belgian admitted. " It must be used with 
 less frequency on the next lot." 
 
 " It's a revolting punishment. Twenty 
 blows kill a strong nigger," his companion 
 declared. " The thing ought to be thrown 
 away." 
 
 "Ah, yes," sneered his companion. 
 '' You would, if you had your own way, 
 keep women to brush the flies off them, 
 and carry feather-beds for them to sleep 
 on. You always forget that you are not 
 dealing with civilized beings. They're 
 mere niggers." 
 
 '* Well, we're not of the most civilized 
 tj^pe, you and I, if the unwelcome truth be 
 told," the Englishman responded. " If we 
 are trapped there'll be a howl in Europe." 
 
 " But I, for one, don't mean to be 
 caught," laughed the Belgian gaily, with
 
 248 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 perfect confidence of his security. And they 
 both rode side by side, the troop of white- 
 burnoused Pirates of the Desert thundering 
 on behind, raising a cloud of dust which, 
 in that clear atmosphere, could be seen 
 many miles away. 
 
 On, on they sped over the burning sand, 
 riding easily at a hand gallop, without a 
 halt, the black-veiled raiders laughing and 
 chaffing, chattering, pushing forward, even 
 in the blood-red track of the dying day. 
 
 Night fell quickly, as it does in that 
 region. The slavers encamped in a sandy 
 hollow beneath the rocks, and Dubois, 
 ordering the tent to be pitched, sat 
 smoking with his partner after the dish of 
 dakkwa (pounded Guinea-corn with dates) 
 which old Muhala had prepared. They 
 were alone. 
 
 " To camp like this before we reach the 
 forest is, to my mind, simply inviting 
 capture," Snape grumbled. " The military 
 detachment is evidently out in search of 
 us, and the little lot we've abandoned will
 
 THE FATHER OF THE HUNDRED SLAVES 249 
 
 point out to them the direction we've 
 taken. Then they'll follow and overtake 
 us." 
 
 " Oh no, they won't," answered the 
 Belgian, with a serene smile. 
 
 *' What makes you so sure ? " 
 
 ''Eemember that, coming up from the 
 river, they must have been at least six 
 days v>^ithout water ; therefore they'll halt 
 at Akdul to drink and fill their water-skins 
 before pushing forward." 
 
 *' Well ? " inquired Snape. 
 
 The crafty Belgian looked curiously into 
 the face of his companion, and smiled 
 grimly. 
 
 *' Well, if they halt there," he said, 
 "they won't trouble us any more." 
 
 " I don't understand." 
 
 *' I doctored the water before we left. 
 That's why I didn't leave the blacks loose 
 to drink it." 
 
 " What ! " gasped the Englishman wildlj^, 
 starting to his feet. *' You've actually 
 poisoned the well ? "
 
 2SO THE VEILED MAN 
 
 The Belgian nodded and laughed, without 
 removing his shislia from his lips. 
 
 '' You scoundrel ! You fiend ! " the 
 Englishman shouted, his face white with 
 passion. ** I've done some shabby tricks in 
 my time, but, by Heaven ! I'd rather have 
 given myself up than have assented to the 
 wholesale murder of my own people like 
 that ! " 
 
 A sarcastic smile crossed the Belgian's 
 sinister features. 
 
 " Excitement is entirely unnecessary, 
 mon clier Henri," he said, calmly. ''It 
 may, you know, bring on a touch of fever. 
 Besides, by this time there isn't many of 
 them, white or black, left to tell the tale. 
 Yakub, whom I left behind to watch, has 
 just come in to report that they arrived an 
 liour after we had left, released the slaves, 
 and watered freely, enjoying themselves 
 immensely. Before he started to return, 
 fully fifty were dead or dying, including 
 all the white officers. But why trouble 
 further? We've saved ourselves."
 
 THE FATHER OF THE HUNDRED SLAVES 251 
 
 " Trouble ! " roared Snape, his eyes 
 flashiug with a fierce fire of indignation. 
 *' Get up, you infernal scoundrel, or I'll 
 shoot you as you lie ! You're an outlaw ; 
 so am I. Trouble ! Why, one of those 
 white officers was Jack Myddleton, my 
 brother, and," he added in a harsh tone — 
 " and I'm going to avenge his death ! " 
 
 Instantly Dubois saw his partner's inten- 
 tion, and sprang to his feet, revolver in 
 hand. 
 
 Two , reports sounded almost simul- 
 taneously, but only one man fell. It was 
 the Belgian, who, with an imprecation on 
 his lips, dropped back with a bullet through 
 his temple, and in a few seconds exj^ired. 
 
 At dawn Muhala discovered her master 
 dead, and his companion missing. Searcli 
 was at once made for the Englishman, who 
 was found lying dead upon the sand half 
 a mile from the camp. 
 
 He had committed suicide. 
 
 * * * * » 
 
 Around the well of Akdul the caravans
 
 252 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 that water there in crossing the arid wilder- 
 ness still see quantities of bones of horses 
 and of men. Long ago the vultures have 
 stripped them, and they now lie bleaching 
 in the sun, a mute record of a coward's 
 treachery, of the revolting vengeance of 
 The Father of the Hundred Slaves.
 
 X 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 
 
 In the mystic liaze of the slowly dying day, 
 mounted on a ineherij or swift camel, I 
 carried my long rifle high above my head, 
 and rode speedily over the great silent wil- 
 derness of treacherous, ever-shifting sand. 
 Once I drew rein to listen, turning my eyes 
 to the left, where the distant serrated crests 
 of the mountains of Nanagamma loomed 
 forth like giant shadows; but as nothing 
 broke the appalling stillness, I, a mere 
 tribesman then, sped forward again, reach- 
 ing a small oasis, where I made my camel 
 kneel, and then dismounted. 
 
 As I strode towards the lonely shrine of 
 Sidi Okbar — a small doomed building con- 
 structed of sun-dried mud, under which 
 
 253
 
 254 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 reposed the remains of one of our most 
 venerated marabouts — I fear my burnouse 
 was brown, ragged, and travel-stained ; the 
 liaick that surrounded my face was torn and 
 soiled, and upon my feet were rough, heavy 
 slippers, sadly the worse for wear. The 
 latter, however, I kicked off on approaching 
 the shrine ; then, kneeling close to the sun- 
 blanched wall, cast sand upon myself, kissed 
 the earth, and, drawing my palms down my 
 face, repeated the Testification. In fervent 
 supplication I bowed repeatedly, and, raising 
 my voice until it sounded distinct on the 
 still air, invoked the blessing of Allah. 
 
 ''0 Merciful! O beneficent Grantor of 
 Bequests ! " I cried ; " King of the day 
 of Faith, guide us, ere to-morrow's sun hath 
 run its course, into the path that is straight, 
 and leadeth unto the kashah of our enemies 
 of Abea. Strengthen our arms, lead us in 
 times of darkness and in the hours of day, 
 destroy our enemies, and let them writhe 
 in Al-Hawiyat, the place prepared for in- 
 fidels, where their meat shall be venomous
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 255 
 
 serpents, and they shall slake their thirst 
 with boiling pitch." 
 
 Startled suddenly by a strange sound, I 
 listened with bated breath. The thought 
 occurred to me that my words might have 
 been overheard by some spy, and instinc- 
 tively my hand drew from my belt my 
 jamh'njalij the long, crooked dagger that I 
 always carried. Again a noise hke a deep- 
 drawn sigh broke the silence, and I sprang 
 to my feet and rushed round to the opposite 
 side of the building, just in time to see a 
 fluttering white robe disappearing in the 
 gloom. Quick as lightning I sprang to- 
 wards it, and in twenty paces had overtaken 
 the eavesdropper, who, with a slight scream, 
 fell to earth beneath my heavy hand. 
 
 "Eise!" I cried, roughly dragging the 
 figure to its feet. " Thou son of Eblis ! " 
 
 Next second, however, I discovered that 
 the fugitive was a woman, veiled, en- 
 shrouded in her haick, and wearing those 
 baggy white trousers that render the Arab 
 females hideous when out of doors.
 
 256 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 " Thou hast overheard my orison," I 
 cried, raising my knife. " Speak ! speak ! 
 or of a verity will I strike ! " 
 
 But the mysterious woman uttered no 
 word, and in a frenzy of desperation I tore 
 the veil from her face. 
 
 Aghast I stood; the knife fell from my 
 lingers. The countenance revealed was 
 amazingly beautiful, so charming, indeed, 
 that instantly I became entranced by its 
 loveliness, and stood speechless and abashed. 
 
 She was not more than eighteen, and 
 her features were regular, with a fair com- 
 plexion, a pair of brilliant dark eyes set 
 well apart under brows blackened by kohl, 
 and a forehead half - hidden by strings 
 of golden sequins that tinkled musically 
 each time she moved. Upon her head 
 was set jauntily a little scarlet cliaclda^ 
 trimmed heavily with seed-pearls, while her 
 neck was encircled by strings of roughly- cut 
 jacinths and turquoises, and in the folds of 
 her silken haick there clung the subtle 
 perfumes of the harem.
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 257 
 
 Slowly slie lifted lier fine eyes, still wet 
 with tears, to mine, and, with her breast 
 rising and falling quickly, trembled before 
 me, fearing my wrath. 
 
 '' Loosen thy tongue's strings ! " I cried 
 at last, grasping her slim white wrist with 
 my rough, hard hand. " Thou, art from 
 Afo, the City in the Sky, and thou hast 
 gained knowledge of our intended attack ? " 
 « Thy lips, stranger, speak the truth," 
 she faltered. 
 
 "Why art thou here, and alone, so far 
 from thine home on the crest of yonder 
 peak ? " I inquired, gazing at her in wonder- 
 ment. 
 
 "I came hither for the same purpose as 
 thyself," she answered seriously, looking 
 straight into my face, — '' to crave Allah's 
 blessing." 
 
 "Art thou a dweller in the house of 
 grief ? " I asked. " Tell me why thou didst 
 venture here alone." 
 
 She hesitated, tojang nervously with the 
 jewelled perfume-bottle suspended at her 
 
 s
 
 258 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 breast; tlieu slie answered, "I — I am be- 
 trothed to a man I bate. The Merciful 
 Giver of Blessings alone can rescue me 
 from a fate that is worse than death — a 
 marriage without love." 
 
 "And who is forcing thee into this hate- 
 ful union ? If it is thy father, tell me his 
 name ? " 
 
 *' Yes, it is my father. His name is Abd 
 el Jelil ben Sef e' Nasr, Sultan of Abea." 
 
 "The Sultan!" I cried in amazement. 
 " Then thou art Kheira ! " I added, for the 
 extraordinary beauty of the only daughter of 
 the Sultan of Abea was proverbial through- 
 out the Great Desert, from Lake Tsad, even 
 to the Atlas. 
 
 "Yes," she replied. "And from thy 
 speech and dress I know thou art of the 
 Azjar, our deadliest enemies." 
 
 "True," I answered. "To-morrow my 
 tribe, to the number of ten thousand, now 
 lying concealed in the valley called Deforou, 
 will swarm upon thine impregnable city 
 and "
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 259 
 
 ''Ten tliousand?" she gasped, pale and 
 agitated. " And thou wilt hill my father, 
 and reduce our people to slavery. Ah, 
 no ! " she added imploringly. " Save us, 
 stranger ! Our fighting men went south 
 one moon ago to collect the taxes at Deha- 
 gada, therefore we are unprotected. What 
 can I do — how can I act to save my father ? " 
 
 *'Dost thou desire to save him, even 
 though he would force upon thee this 
 odious marriage ? " 
 
 " I do," she cried. " I — I will save the 
 City in the Sky at the cost of mine own 
 life." 
 
 " To whom art thou betrothed," I asked, 
 tenderly taking her hand. 
 
 " To the Agha Hassan e Eawi, who dwell- 
 eth at Zougra, beyond the Nanagamma. 
 He is threescore years and ten, and 'tis 
 said he treateth his wives with inhuman 
 cruelty. One of his slaves told me so." 
 
 I stood silent and thoughtful. Though I 
 was a member of a tribe who existed w^hoUy 
 upon loot obtained from the caravans and
 
 26o THE VEILED MAN 
 
 towns we attacked, yet so earnestly did the 
 Sultan's dangliter appeal, that all thought 
 of preserving the secret of our intended 
 attack by murdering her disappeared, and I 
 found myself deeply in love. Mine was a 
 poor chance, however, I told myself. The 
 proud Sultan of Abea would never consent 
 to a brigand as a son-in-law, even if she 
 looked upon me with favour. 
 
 '' To-night, Daughter of the Sun, we 
 meet as friends ; to-morrow as enemies," I 
 said. '' Our spies have reported that thy 
 city remaineth undefended, and, alas ! there 
 is a blood-feud between my people and 
 thine ; therefore, when the hosts of the 
 Azjar enter with fire and sword, few, I fear, 
 will be spared. Wilt thou not remain here 
 with my tribesmen, and escape ? " 
 
 "No," she answered proudly. "I am a 
 woman of Afo, and I will return unto my 
 people, even though I fall before to-morrow's 
 sundown under thy merciless swords." 
 
 As she spoke, one hand rested upon her 
 supple hip, and with the other she pointed
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 261 
 
 to the liigli, shadowy peak whereon stood 
 the great white stronghold known to the 
 Kanoiiri people as The City in the Sky. 
 
 *' But thou, who art like a sun among 
 the stars, knowest our plans, and it is my 
 duty to kill thee," I said, hitching my 
 hurnouse about my shoulders. 
 
 *' I am in thine hands. If thou stainest 
 them with my blood, thou wilt ever have 
 upon thy conscience the remembrance that 
 thou hast taken the life of one who was 
 innocent of intrigue. If thou givest me 
 freedom, I shall have at least one brief 
 horn- of felicity with my people before — 
 before " 
 
 And she sighed, without concluding the 
 sentence. 
 
 " Thou, a fresh rose from the fountain- 
 head of life, art in fear of a double fate, — 
 the downfall of to-morrow, and the marriage 
 feast next moon. Let not thy mind be 
 troubled, for I stretch not forth the tongue 
 to blame," I said at last, endeavouring to 
 smile. '' In Ahamadou, of the tribe Azjar,
 
 262 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 thou hast a devoted friend, aud one who 
 may peradventure assist thee in a manner 
 thou hast not dreamed. Therefore mount 
 thine horse and return with all speed to 
 Afo — not, however, before thou hast given 
 me some little souvenir of this strange 
 meeting." 
 
 "Thou slakest my thirst with the beverage 
 of kindness ! " she cried in joy. " I knew 
 when first I saw thee that thou werfc my 
 friend." 
 
 ''Friend? — nay, lover," I answered 
 gallantly, as, taking her tiny hand again, 
 I pressed her henna-stained nails softly to 
 my lips. She blushed and tried to draw 
 away, but I held her firmly until she with- 
 drew one of her gold bangles from her 
 wrist, and, with a smile, placed it upon 
 mine. 
 
 " Behold ! " she exclaimed with a merry, 
 rippling laugh," it is thy badge of servitude 
 to me ! " 
 
 "I am a slave of the most handsome 
 mistress in the world," I said happily.
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 263 
 
 Then, urging lier to warn the Sultan of 
 the intentions of the Azjar, I kissed her 
 once tenderly upon the lips, lifted her into 
 the saddle of her gaily caparisoned horse, 
 and then she twisted her torn veil about 
 her face, and, giving me " Peace," sped 
 away swift as an arrow into the darkness, 
 bearing intelligence that would cause the 
 utmost sensation in the mountain fast- 
 ness. 
 
 "I love her," I murmured, when the 
 sound of her horse's hoofs had died away. 
 ''But how can I save her? To-morrow, 
 when we enter Afo and loot the Palace, 
 she will be secured as slave. No ! " I 
 cried, " she shall never fall into Nikale's 
 brutal hands — never while I have breath ! " 
 
 The sound of whispering caused me to 
 fix my gaze upon a dark shadow thrown 
 by some ethel-bushes, and next second, 
 half a dozen of my fellow tribesmen ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 " So, dog of a spy! thou hast betrayed 
 us ! " cried a voice, which in a moment
 
 264 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 I was startled to recognise as that of my 
 enemy Mohammed El Sfaski. 
 
 " Yes," the others shouted with one 
 accord; "we watched the son of offal 
 speaking with the woman, and we over- 
 heard him telling her to warn the Sultan ! " 
 
 '' Follow her on the wings of haste ! " 
 cried El Sfaski. " Kill her, for death alono 
 will place the seal of muteness upon the 
 lips of such a jade." And in a few seconds 
 two black-veiled figures vaulted into their 
 saddles and tore past in the direction 
 Kheira had disappeared. 
 
 " Speak ! " thundered El Sfaski, who, 
 with the others, had now surrounded 
 me. '' Knowest thou the punishment of 
 traitors ? " 
 
 " Yes," I answered, hoarsely. 
 
 "Who is the woman whose blackness 
 and deceit hath captivated thee ? " 
 
 Three rapid shots sounded in the dis- 
 tance. The men had evidently over- 
 taken and murdered the daughter of the 
 Sultan !
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 265 
 
 I held my breath. 
 
 " I — I refuse to give thee answer," I 
 Baid resolutely. 
 
 " By Allah ! thou art a traitor to our lord 
 and to our tribe, and of a verity thou hast 
 also the eye of perfection. Therefore shalt 
 thou die ! " Then, turning to the others, 
 ho added — 
 
 "We have no time to bandy v^^ords with 
 this accursed son of the Evil One. Tie him 
 to yon tree, and let the vultures feast upon 
 their carrion." 
 
 With loud imprecations the men seized 
 me, tore off my haick and burnouse, and 
 bound me securely to a palm-trunk in such 
 a position that I could only see the great 
 expanse of barren sand. Then, with that 
 refinement of cruelty of which the nomadic 
 Azjar are past-masters, they smeared my 
 face, hands, and feet with date-juice, to 
 attract tlie ants and other insects ; and, 
 after jeering at me and condemning me to 
 everlasting perdition and sempiternal culpa- 
 bility, they remounted their horses, and.
 
 266 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 laughing heartily, left me alone to wait 
 the end. 
 
 Through the long, silent night, with arms 
 and legs bound so tightly that I could not 
 move them, I remained, wondering what 
 terrible fate had befallen the beautiful girl 
 Avho had overheard my orison. My two 
 clansmen had not returned. I knew the 
 men were splendid riders, therefore it was 
 more than probable that they had very 
 quickly overtaken her. Utterly hopeless, 
 well knowing that to the blazing sun and 
 the agonies of being half-devoured by in- 
 sects I must very soon succumb, I waited, 
 my ears on the alert to catch every sound. 
 
 In the sky a saffron streak showed on the 
 edge of the sandy plain, heralding the sun's 
 coming. I watched it gradually spread, 
 knowing that each moment brought me 
 nearer to an end of agony. I lifted my 
 voice in supplication to Allah, and showered 
 voluble curses upon the expedition about to 
 be attempted by my tribe. The pale, hand- 
 some face of Kheira w^as ever before me.
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 267 
 
 haunting me like a half-remembered dream, 
 its beauty fascinating me, and even causing 
 me to forget the horror of those hours of dawn. 
 
 Saffron changed to rose, and rose to gold, 
 until the sun shone out, lighting up the 
 trackless waste. The flies, awakened, began 
 to torment me, and I knew that the merciless 
 rays beating down upon my uncovered head 
 would quickly produce the dreaded delirium 
 of madness. The furnace heat of sunshine 
 grew intense as noon approached, and I was 
 compelled to keep my eyes closed to avoid 
 the blinding glare. 
 
 Suddenly a noise fell upon my ear. At 
 first it sounded like a low, distant rumbling ; 
 but soon my practised ears detected that it 
 was the rattle of musketry and the din of 
 tom-ioms. 
 
 The City in the Sky was being attacked ! 
 My tribesmen had arranged to deliver the 
 assault at noon, but what puzzled me was a 
 sullen booming at frequent intervals. It 
 was the sound of cannon, and showed 
 plainly that Afo was being defended !
 
 268 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 From where I was I could see nothing of 
 it. Indeed, the base of the mountain was 
 eight miles distant, and the city, perched 
 upon its summit, could only he approached 
 from the opposite side by a path that was 
 almost inaccessible. Yet hour after hour 
 the rapid firing continued, and it was evident 
 a most desperate battle was being fought. 
 This puzzled me, for had not Kheira said 
 that the city was totally undefended ? Still, 
 the tumult of battle served to prevent me 
 from lapsing into unconsciousness ; and not 
 until the sun sank in a brilliant, blood-red 
 blaze did the firing cease. Then all grew 
 silent again. The hot poison-wind from the 
 desert caused the feathery heads of the palms 
 to wave like funeral plumes, and night crept 
 on. The horrible torture of the insects, the 
 action of the sun upon my brain, the hunger, 
 the thirst, and the constant strain of the 
 nerves, proved too much ; and I slept, 
 haunted by spectral horrors, and a constant 
 dread of the inevitable — that half-conscious- 
 ness precursory of death.
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 269 
 
 So passed the second night, until the sun 
 reappeared ; but mine eyes opened not. The 
 heat of the blazing noon caused me no 
 concern, neither did the two great grey 
 vultures that were hovering over me; for 
 it was not until I heard voices in the 
 vicinity that I gazed around. 
 
 One voice, louder than the others, was 
 uttering thanks to Allah. I listened ; then, 
 summoning all my strength that remained, 
 I cried aloud, in the name of the One 
 Merciful, for assistance. 
 
 There were sounds of hurrying footsteps, 
 voices raised in surprise, a woman's scream, 
 and then objects, grotesquely distorted, 
 whirled around me, and I knew no more. 
 
 »ff * ^ * Tf^ 
 
 When I again opened my weary, fevered 
 eyes, I was amazed to find myself lying 
 upon a soft, silken divan in a magnificent 
 apartment, with slaves watching, ready to 
 minister to my wants. I took a cooling 
 draught from a crystal goblet handed to 
 me, then raised myself, and inquired where
 
 270 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 I was. The slaves made no reply, but, 
 bowing low, left. Then in a few moments 
 the frou-frou of silk startled me, and next 
 second I leaped to my feet, and, with a cry 
 of joy, clasped Kheira in my arms. 
 
 In her gorgeous harem dress of pale rose 
 silk, with golden bejewelled girdle, she 
 looked bewitching, though around her eyes 
 were dark rings that betrayed the anxiety 
 of the past few days. As our lips met in 
 hot, passionate kisses, she was followed by 
 a tall, stately, dark-bearded man of matchless 
 bearing, whose robe was of amaranth silk, 
 and Vv^ho wore in his head-dress a magnificent 
 diamond aigrette. Kheira savr him, and with- 
 drawing herself from my embrace, intro- 
 duced me to her father, the Sultan of Abea. 
 
 " To thee I owe my Hfe and my kingdom," 
 said the potentate, giving me " Peace," and 
 wringing my hand warmly. ''Kheira hath 
 related unto me the mercy thou didst show 
 towards her ; and it was thy word of warning 
 that enabled us to repel and defeat the 
 Azjar."
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 271 
 
 " Then thou didst escape, signet of 
 the sphere of elegance ! " I cried, turning 
 to the Sultan's daughter. 
 
 '' Yes ; though I was hard pressed by two 
 of thine horsemen, I took the secret path, 
 and thus were they bafiSed." 
 
 *' The Director of Fate apprised our 
 fighting men of our danger," said the Sul- 
 tan ; " and they returned on the same night. 
 The breeze of grace blew; the sun of the 
 favour of Allah shone. The news brought 
 by Kheira was quickly acted upon, and the 
 defences of the city so strengthened, that 
 when at noon the assault was delivered, our 
 cannon swept thy tribesmen fi'om the pass 
 like grains of sand before the sirocco. For 
 six hours they fought ; but their attempts 
 to storm the city gate were futile, and the 
 handful of survivors were compelled to retire, 
 leaving nearly five hundred prisoners, includ- 
 ing your Sheikh himself, in our hands." 
 
 '' And how was I rescued? " I inquired, 
 after briefly explaining how my conversa- 
 tion with Kheira had been overheard.
 
 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 a 
 
 On the day following tlie fight, we went 
 imto the shrine of Sidi Okbar to render 
 thanks to Allah, and there found thee dying 
 of heat and thirst. Thou didst sacrifice 
 thy Hfe to save our ruler and his city, 
 therefore w^e brought thee hither," she 
 said. 
 
 Then, taking my hands, the Sultan added, 
 " Thou hast the verdure of the meadows 
 of life. May Allah preserve thee, and grant 
 unto thee long years of perfect peace, and 
 an eternal rose-garden of happiness. Wipe 
 off the rust of e?i7iui and fatigue from the 
 speculum of thy mind, and follow me ; for 
 a feast is already prepared for the celebra- 
 tion of this victory." 
 
 And we passed onward through the 
 private pavilions — bewildering in their 
 magnificence of marble and gold, and 
 green with many leaves — to the Great 
 Hall of the Divan, where, standing under 
 the royal baldachin of yellow silk brocade, 
 tlio Sultan of Abea rejoiced me with his 
 favours, proclaiming me, Ahamadou, tribes-
 
 THE MYSTERY OF AFO 273 
 
 man of the Azjar, the Saviour of the City 
 in the Sky. 
 
 No Tonareg has ever contracted mar- 
 riage with an Arab ; therefore, after tarrying 
 in hio for many moons, I made peace with 
 my people and returned unto them, for the 
 wild life of the limitless sands was more 
 congenial to me than the ease and perfumes 
 of palaces and the favours of kings.
 
 XI 
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 
 
 Fab south, beyond the Atlas Mountains, 
 beyond that great, limitless plain of the 
 Talidat where nothing meets the aching 
 eye but a dreary waste of red -brown, 
 drifting sand, one experiences some curious 
 phases of a life comparatively unknown, and 
 little understood in European civilisation. 
 There, life to-day is the same as it was ten 
 centuries ago — the same as it will ever be : 
 free and charming in its simplicity, yet with 
 many terrors ever present, and sun-bleached 
 bones ever reminding the lonely traveller 
 that a pricked water-skin means the end of 
 all things. 
 
 On a journey alone from Biskra to Mour- 
 zouk, in Fezzan, I foolishly disregarded the 
 
 274
 
 LEFI ml alone to WAll Illli END. 
 
 P. 274.
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 275 
 
 injunctions of my fellow tribesmen, and was 
 rendered extremely uncomfortable by the 
 astounding discovery tbat the camel caravan 
 I bad joined in Zaouia Timassanin, and 
 with wbicb I bad been travelling for twenty 
 days, belonged to the Kel-Izbaban, a tribe 
 of marauders and outlaws with whom we 
 had had for years a fierce blood feud, and 
 whose depredations and relentless butchery 
 of their weaker neighbours caused them 
 to be held in awe from Morocco across to 
 Tripoli, and from Biskra to Lake Tsad. In 
 addition, I ascertained that the Sheikh, 
 known to me as Sidi El-Adil, or '' The 
 Just," was really none other than Abdul- 
 Melik, like myself, a pirate of the desert, 
 agaiust whom the French Government had 
 sent three expeditious, and upon whose 
 head a price had been set. 
 
 With bronzed, aquiline features, long 
 grey beard, and keen, deep-set eyes; tall, 
 erect, agile, and of commanding presence, 
 he was a splendid specimen of the true-bred 
 Arab of the plains. Though he expressed
 
 276 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 intense hatred for the Infidel, and invoked 
 curses most terrible upon the horsemen of 
 the Eoumis in general, and those of the 
 Azjar in particular, he, nevertheless, treated 
 me with haughty courtesy, and extended 
 to me the hand of fiiendship. As, at the 
 head of our cavalcade of two hundred 
 armed horsemen and a long string of 
 camels, he rode day hy day across the 
 parched wilderness, interspersed by small 
 sand-hills and naked ledges of rock, 
 speckled with ethel - bushes half over- 
 whelmed by sand, he was truly an imposing 
 figure. His burnouse was of finest white 
 wool, embroidered heavily with silk ; the 
 haick surrounding his face was of spotless 
 china-silk, and around his head was wound 
 many yards of brown camel's hair. The 
 saddle upon w^hich he sat was of crimson 
 velvet, embroidered with gold and set with 
 precious stones, and stirrups and spurs of 
 massive silver completed the trappings of 
 his splendid coal-black horse, which he 
 managed w4th rare perfection and skill. On
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 277 
 
 my white Ku-hai-lan stallion, I usually rode 
 at his side, chatting to him in his own 
 tongue, wliile two hundred of his people, 
 erect in their saddles, and with their long- 
 harrelled rifles slung behind, were ready to 
 instantly execute his slightest wish. 
 
 The days were breathless and blazing. 
 Scorched by the sun, and half suffocated by 
 the sand-laden wind, our way lay through a 
 wilderness that Nature had forsaken. At 
 night, however, when the outlaws of the 
 desert had cast sand upon their feet and 
 prayed their maglirih, and we had encamped 
 under the palms of the oasis, eaten our dates 
 and kouss-kouss, and slaked our thirst from 
 our water-skins, then commenced the real 
 luxury of the day — the luxury of idleness — 
 as, recHning on a mat in front of the 
 Sheikh's tent, with coffee and a cigarette, 
 the great Abdul-Melik would relate with 
 slow distinctness stories of past encounters 
 between his people and the hated Christians. 
 
 While sentries with loaded rifles kept a 
 vigilant look-out lest we should be surprised
 
 278 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 by the ever-watcliful SpaMs or Chasseurs, 
 half - a - dozen Arabs would squat in a 
 semicircle before the great Sheikh, and, 
 twanging upon their queer little banjos 
 fashioned from tortoise-shells over which 
 skin is stretched, would chant weirdly, 
 in a strange staccato, Arab songs of love 
 and war. At that hour a coolness falls 
 over everything, intense silence reigns, 
 the sky above grows a deeper and deeper 
 blue, and the palms and talha trees 
 look mysterious in the half-light. Soon 
 the stars shine out like diamond points, 
 and it grows darker and darker, until 
 the chill night-breeze of the desert stirs 
 the feathery heads of the date-palms. 
 Then the lawless nomads, my companions, 
 would wrap their burnouses closely about 
 them, scoop out a hole in the warm sand, 
 and there repose until the first flush of 
 dawn. 
 
 About five weeks after I had inadvertently 
 thrown in my lot with the Kel-Izhaban, and 
 after penetrating a region that, as far as
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 279 
 
 I am aware, has never been explored by 
 Europeans — for it remains a blank upon 
 the most recent map issued by the French 
 Depot de la Guerre — we were one evening, 
 at a spot evidently pre-arranged, joined by 
 a body of three hundred horsemen, who 
 armed themselves with the rifles they 
 obtained from our camel's packs, and then, 
 leaving the camels in charge of half-a-dozen 
 men in a rocky valley called the Anzoua, 
 we all continued our way in high spirits, 
 jesting, laughing, and singing snatches of 
 songs. Throughout that night, and during 
 the following day, we rode at the same 
 steady pace, with only brief halts that were 
 absolutely necessary. On the second night 
 darkness fell swiftly, but the moon rose, 
 and under its bright mystic Ught we sped 
 forward, until suddenly the gaunt man, 
 in a dhty, ragged burnouse, who acted as 
 our guide, shouted, and we pulled up 
 quickly. Then, in the moonlight, I could 
 just distinguish among the trees of the 
 little oasis a few low, white houses, of what
 
 2So THE VEILED MAN 
 
 I subsequently learned was the little desert 
 village of Tilouat, inhabited by the Kel- 
 Emoghri, and distant ten leagues from the 
 town of Ideles. 
 
 Abdul-Melik shouted an order, clear and 
 distinct, whereupon the horsemen spread 
 themselves out in two long lines, and with 
 their guns carried across their saddles, the 
 first line crept slowly and silently forward. 
 By this movement I knew that we were 
 about to attack the village, and held my 
 own rifle ready for purposes of self-defence. 
 Sitting in the second line, I advanced with 
 the others, and the breathless moments 
 that followed were full of excitement. 
 
 Suddenly a shot startled us, and at the 
 same moment a muttered curse fell from 
 the Sheikh's lips as he saw that our presence 
 had been detected, for the shot had been 
 fired in the village as a sound of warning. 
 Almost instantly it was apparent that we 
 had been betrayed, for a great body of 
 horsemen galloped out to meet us, and in 
 a few moments I found myself lying behind
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 281 
 
 my horse pouring forfch volley after volley 
 from my rifle. 
 
 The fusillade was deafening, and for full}^ 
 half an hour it was kept up. About twenty 
 of our men had been killed or wounded, 
 when suddenly the first line rose with loud 
 shouts as if they were one man, and, mount- 
 ing, rode straight at their opponents, while 
 we followed at headlong speed upon our 
 enemies almost ere they had time to 
 realise our intention. The melee was awful. 
 Swords, rifles, and keen, crooked jamhiyahs 
 were used with terrible effect, but very soon 
 all resistance was at an end, and the work of 
 looting the village commenced. 
 
 Half demented by excitement and success, 
 my companions entered the houses, shot 
 down the women with relentless cruelty, 
 tore from them what little jewellery they 
 possessed, and plundered, wrecked, and 
 burned their homes out of sheer delight 
 in destruction. I stood vratching the 
 terrible scene, but unable to avert the 
 great calamity that had fallen so swiftly
 
 282 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 upon the peaceful little place. The fieudish- 
 ness of our enemies had, alas ! not been 
 exaggerated. Abdul-Melik laughed glee- 
 fully, uttering some words as he rode past 
 me swift as the wind. But I heeded him 
 not ; I loathed, despised, and hated him. 
 
 While dawn spread in rosy streaks, the 
 work of plunder still proceeded, but when 
 the sun shone forth, only the smoke-black- 
 ened walls of Tilouat remained standing. 
 The plunder was quickly packed upon our 
 horses, and soon afterwards we rode off, 
 carrying with us twenty men and women 
 who had been captured, all of whom would 
 eventually find their way into the great 
 slave-market, far away at Mourzouk. 
 
 At sundown, five days afterwards, we 
 descended into a rocky valley, and suddenly 
 came upon a wonderful mass of scattered 
 ruins, of amazing magnitude and extent, 
 which Abdul-Melik told me were the remains 
 of a forgotten city called Tihodayen, and as 
 we approached, I saw by the massive walls 
 of hewn stone, the fallen columns half-
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 283 
 
 embedded in the sand, and by an inscription 
 over an arched door, that they were relics 
 of the Roman occupation. When we dis- 
 mounted, I found that the ruined city 
 gave shelter to the outlaws, and was their 
 habitual hiding-place. 
 
 An hour later, reclining on mats under 
 the wall of what had once been a great 
 ]3alace, the outlaw Sheikh and myself ate 
 our evening meal of sauhusaj, heryseJif and 
 luzmyeh, and drank copiously of dushab, 
 that luscious date-syrup which is so accept- 
 able after the heat and burden of the 
 Saharan day, while my companions feasted 
 and made merry, for it appeared that they 
 kept stores of food concealed there. 
 
 On commencing to smoke, Abdul-Melek 
 ordered that the captives should be brought 
 before him, and when, a few minutes later, 
 they were ushered into his presence, they, 
 with one exception, fell upon their knees, 
 grovelled, and cried aloud for mercy. The 
 single captive who begged no favour was 
 a 3^oung, dark-haired girl of exquisite
 
 284 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 beauty, with black, piercing eyes, pretty, 
 dimpled cheeks, and a complexion of 
 almost European fairness. She wore a 
 zouave of crimson velvet heavily em- 
 broidered with gold, a heavy golden girdle 
 confined her waist, and her wide trousers 
 were of palest rose-pink silk, while her 
 tiny feet were thrust into velvet slippers 
 of green embroidered with gold thread. 
 But her dress had been torn in the fierce 
 struggle with her pitiless captors, and as 
 she stood, erect and defiant, with her 
 hands secured behind her with a leathern 
 thong, she cast at us a glance full of 
 withering scorn. 
 
 The Sheikh raised his hand to command 
 silence, but as her fellow-captives continued 
 wailing, he ordered the removal of all but 
 this girl, who apparently set him at de- 
 fiance. Turning his keen eyes upon her, 
 he noted how extremely handsome she was, 
 and while she returned his gaze unflinch- 
 ingly, her beauty held me in fascination. 
 In all my journeys in the Land of the Sun
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREA T TORTURE 285 
 
 I had never before seen such an absolutely 
 perfect face. 
 
 " Whom art thou ? " demanded the 
 dreaded chief, roughly. '* What is thy 
 name ? " 
 
 *' I am called Khadidja Fathma, daughter 
 of AU Ben Ushshami, cadi of Ideles," she 
 answered, in a firm, defiant tone. 
 
 " Ali Ben Ushshami ! " echoed Abdul- 
 Melik, knitting his brows fiercely. ** Thou 
 art his daughter ; the daughter of the 
 accursed son of offal who endeavoured to 
 betray me into the hands of the Eoumis," 
 he cried, exultantly. '' I have kindled the 
 hghts of knowledge at the flambeau of 
 prophecy, and I vowed that I would ere 
 many moons seek vengeance." 
 
 '* I have anticipated this thy wrath ever 
 since thine horde of cowardly rufiians laid 
 hands upon me," she answered, with a 
 contemptuous toss of her pretty head. 
 '' But the daughter of the cadi of Ideles 
 craveth not mercy from a servant of Eblis." 
 
 " Darest thou insult me, wench?" he
 
 286 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 cried, palo with passion, and starting up as 
 if to strike her. " Thou art the child of 
 the man who would have given me into 
 the hands of the Spahis for the sake of the 
 two bags of gold offered for my head. I 
 will return his good offices by sending him 
 to-morrow a present he will perhaps appre- 
 ciate, the present of thine own hands. He 
 will then be convinced that Abdul-MeHk 
 knoweth how to repay those who seek to 
 injure him." 
 
 *'Dost thou intend to strike off my 
 hands ? " she gasped, pale as death, never- 
 theless making a strenuous effort to remain 
 calm. 
 
 "At sunrise the vultures will feast upon 
 thee, and thine hands will be on their way 
 to Ideles," he answered, with a sinister 
 smile playing about his hard mouth. 
 
 *' Malec hath already set his curse upon 
 thee," she said, " and by each murder thou 
 committest so thou createst for thyself a 
 fresh torture in Al-Hawiyat, where thy food 
 will be offal and thou wilt slake thy thirst
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 287 
 
 with boiling pitch. True, I have fallen 
 captive into thine hands, having journeyed 
 to Tilouat to see my father's mother who 
 was dying ; hut thinkest thou that I fear 
 thee ? No ! " she added with flashing eyes. 
 ** Though the people dread thee as the 
 great and powerful Chief, I despise thee 
 and all thy miserable parasites. If thou 
 smitest off mine hands, it is but the same 
 punishment as thou hast meted out to 
 others of my sex. Thou art, after all, a 
 mere coward who maketh war upon women." 
 
 " Silence, jade ! " he cried, in a tumult of 
 passion, and, turning to the men beside him, 
 commanded: "Take her away, secure her 
 alone till dawn, and then let her hands be 
 struck off and brought to me." 
 
 Roughly the men dragged her away, but 
 ere she went she cast at us a look of haughty 
 scornfulness, and, shrugging her shoulders, 
 treated this terrible mandate with ineffable 
 disdain. 
 
 " The jade's hands shall be sent to her 
 father, the Cadi, as a souvenir of the interest
 
 288 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 lie taketh iu my welfare," the Sheikh 
 muttered aloud. ** Her tongue will never 
 again utter rebuke or insult. Verily, Allah 
 hath delivered her into my hands a weapon 
 to use against mine enemies." 
 
 I uttered eager words of intercession, 
 pointing out the cruelty of taking her 
 young life, but he only laughed derisively, 
 and I was compelled to sit beside him 
 while the other captives were questioned 
 and inspected. 
 
 That night I sought repose in a shed 
 that had been erected in a portion of the 
 ruins, but found sleep impossible. The 
 defiantly beautiful face of the young girl 
 who was to die at dawn kept recurring to 
 me with tantalising vividness, and at length 
 I rose, determined if possible to save her. 
 Noiselessly I crept out, my footsteps muffled 
 by the sand, saddled one of Abdul-Mehk's 
 own horses, and without attracting the 
 notice of either sentry on duty at each 
 end of the encampment, I entered the 
 ruin where, confined to an iron ring in
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 289 
 
 the masonry by a leathern band, she 
 crouched silent and thoughtful. 
 
 '•'' Fi amdni-illah ! ^^ I whispered, as I 
 approached. " I come to have speech with 
 thee, and assist thee to escape." 
 
 "Art thou a friend?" she inquired, 
 struggling to her feet and peering at me 
 in the gloom. 
 
 "Yes, one who is determined that the 
 outlaw's command shall never be executed," 
 and taking the jamhiyah from my girdle, I 
 severed the thongs that confined her hands 
 and ankles, and next second she was 
 free. 
 
 Briefly I explained how I had saddled a 
 fleet horse and placed a saddle-bag with 
 food upon it. 
 
 " If I get safely away I shall owe my life 
 to you," she said, with intense gratitude, 
 pressing my hand for an instant to her 
 quivering lips. "I know this place, and 
 ere two moons can have risen I can travel 
 through the rocky defile and be at my 
 father's house in Ideles. Tell me thy 
 
 u
 
 290 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 name, so that my father may know who 
 was his daughter's liberator." 
 
 I told her, and in the same hasty breath 
 asked for some souvenir. 
 
 ''Alas! I have nothing," she answered; 
 " nothing but a strange ornament which 
 my father's mother gave to me immediately 
 before she died, an hour previous to the 
 attack being made upon the village," and 
 placing her hand deep into the breast of her 
 dress she drew forth a rough disc of copper, 
 about the size of a crown piece, with a hole 
 in it, as if it had been strung upon a thread. 
 
 *' When she gave it to me she told me it 
 had been in her possession for years, that 
 it was a talisman against terror, and that 
 some curious legend was attached to it, 
 the nature of which I do not now recollect. 
 There is strange writing upon it in some 
 foreign tongue of the Koumis that no one 
 has been able to decipher." 
 
 I looked, but unable to detect anything 
 in the darkness, I assured her that its 
 possession would always remind me of
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 291 
 
 her, and slipped it into the pocket of my 
 gandoura. 
 
 Then together we crept along under the 
 shadow of the wall, and, gaining the spot 
 where the horse stood in readiness, I held 
 her for a second while she kissed my hand, 
 uttering a fervent w^ord of thanks, and 
 afterwards assisted her into the saddle. 
 Then a moment later, with a whispered 
 ^^ Allah iselemeck!^^ she sped away, with 
 her unbound hair flying behind her, and 
 was instantly lost in the darkness. 
 
 On realising that she had gone I was 
 seized with regret, but feeling that at least 
 I had saved her from a horrible doom, I 
 returned to my little shed and, wrapping 
 myself in my burnouse, slept soundly until 
 the sun had risen high in the heavens. 
 
 Opening my eyes, I at once remembered 
 Khadidja's quaint souvenir, and on examin- 
 ing it, was astonished to find both obverse 
 and rcA^erse of the roughly fashioned disc 
 covered with an inscription in English 
 crudely engraved, or rather scratched,
 
 292 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 apparently witli the point of a knife. 
 Investigating it closely I was enabled, 
 after some difficulty, for I have oul}^ an 
 elementary knowledge of the tongue of the 
 Koumis, to read the following surprising 
 words : — 
 
 " This record I leave for the person into 
 icliose hands it may fall, for I am starving. 
 Whosoever reads this let him hasten to Zemnou, 
 in the Zelaf Desert, two days from the icell of 
 El Ame'ima, and from the Bab-el-Oaed pace 
 twenty steps ivestivard outside the city icall, 
 and under the second bastion let him dig. 
 There ivill lie he rewarded. John Edward 
 CJiatteris, held captive in the Kashah of Borhii 
 by order of the Sultan 'Othmdn, Sunday, 
 June 13, 1843." 
 
 Chatteris ! Instantly it occurred to 
 me that a celebrated English explorer, 
 archseologist, and member of the Koyal 
 Geographical Society of that name, had 
 years ago been lost, and his fate had 
 remained a complete mystery. Inquiries 
 for news of him had been circulated
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 293 
 
 thronglioiit the great Desert among the 
 wandering tribes, with an offer of a reward. 
 This, then, was a message inscribed witli 
 apparent difBciilty within the impregnable 
 citadel of the warrior Sultan of Borkn, 
 whose little moantain kingdom was situate 
 five hundred miles south of Mourzouk, 
 between the Tibesti Mountains and Lake 
 Tsad ; a secret that for half a century had 
 been in the keeping of those wbo could not 
 decipher it. 
 
 What might not be buried at the spot 
 indicated by this curious relic of the great 
 traveller ? My curiosity was excited to 
 the utmost. Impatient to investigate the 
 truth, but compelled, nevertheless, to re- 
 main patient until such time as I could 
 escape from my undesirable companions, I 
 concealed the disc and rose to join Abdul- 
 Melik at his morning meal. 
 
 Khadidja's escape caused the old outlaw 
 intense chagrin, and his anger knew no 
 bounds, but luckily no suspicion fell upon 
 me, and having remained with them during
 
 294 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 two whole moons I succeeded one day, 
 when we were near the town of Ehat, 
 in evading them and getting away. As 
 quickly as possible I returned to In Salah, 
 where I exhibited the metal disc with its 
 strange inscription to our three headmen, 
 who became at once interested in it, an- 
 nouncing their intention to accompany me 
 next day to investigate the truth of the 
 engraved record. 
 
 With an escort of twenty of our men, all 
 well mounted and armed, w^e rode out of In 
 Salah at dawn, and for nine days continued 
 our journey across the desert due eastward, 
 first taking the caravan route to Tarz Oulli, 
 beyond the French boundary, and continuing 
 through the rocky region of the Ihtshaouen 
 and across the Djedid Oasis, imtil one 
 evening, at the maghrih hour, the high 
 white walls and three tall minarets of the 
 desert city of Zemnou came within view. 
 It was unsafe to take our men nearer, 
 therefore we returned and bivouacked until 
 darkness set in. Then, dressed in the haick
 
 THE THRONE OF THE GREAT TORTURE 295 
 
 and burnouse of the Arab of the plain, the 
 three headmen with myself, carrying spades 
 concealed beneath our flowing drapery, ap- 
 proached the town and crept under the 
 shadow of the walls, until we reached the 
 Bab-el-Oued, or principal gate. Guarded 
 by strong watch-towers on either side, the 
 gate was closed, and silently we crept, 
 anxious and breathless, on over the sand 
 westward until we had counted twenty 
 paces and reached the second bastion. 
 
 Then, after glancing eagerly around to 
 reassure ourselves that we were not ob- 
 served, we all five commenced to dig 
 beneath the wall. Discovery, we knew, 
 would mean death. The sand was loose, 
 but full of stones, and for some time we 
 worked without result. Indeed, I began 
 to fear that someone had already been 
 able to decipher the record and obeyed 
 its injunctions, when suddenly the spade 
 of one of my companions struck something 
 hard, and he uttered an ejaculation. With 
 one accord we worked with a will, and
 
 296 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 within ten minutes were unearthing an 
 object of extraordinary shape. 
 
 At first it puzzled us considerably, but 
 at length, when we had cleared the earth 
 sufficiently to remove it, we made a cursory 
 examination by the aid of wax tapers, and 
 discovered that it was a kind of stool with 
 a semi-circular seat, supported by six short 
 columns of tvvdsted gold in imitation of 
 serpents, the seat itself being of gold 
 inlaid with many precious stones, while 
 the feet consisted of six great yellow 
 topazes, beautifully cut and highly polished, 
 held in the serpents' mouths. The gold 
 had become dimmed by long contact with 
 the earth, but the gems, as we rubbed off 
 the dirt that clung to them, gleamed and 
 sparkled in the tapers' fitful rays. 
 
 The stool, or throne, was so heavy that 
 it was with difficulty two men dragged it 
 out of the trench, and breathless with 
 anxiety we all lent a willing hand to carry 
 it over the five miles of open desert to 
 where the men were awaiting us. Our
 
 THE THRONE OF THE ORE A T TOR TURE 297 
 
 arrival was greeted with cheers, but quickly 
 the strange relic was wrapped in saddle- 
 bags and secured upon the back of a spare 
 horse. At once we set out on the first stage 
 of our return journey, reaching In Salah in 
 safety ten days later, and learning with 
 satisfaction on our arrival that Abdul-Melik 
 had, during our absence, been killed in a 
 skirmish with the French Spahis in the 
 Ahaggar. 
 
 Not until I had sent the jewelled seat to 
 England, through an Arab merchant whom 
 I knew in Algiers, and it was exhibited 
 before a meeting of the Eoyal Geographical 
 Society, was I aware of its real antiquarian 
 value. From the letters sent home by the 
 intrepid Dr., Chatteris, and still preserved in 
 the archives of the Society, it appeared 
 that during 1839 Salman, the great Sheikh 
 of Aujila, assembled a formidable following, 
 and proclaiming himself Sultan of Tunis, 
 led an expedition through the country, ex- 
 torting money from the people by reason 
 of horrible tortures and fearful barbarities.
 
 298 THE VEILED MAN 
 
 While sentencing his unfortunate victims, 
 he always used a curiously-shaped judgment- 
 seat, which, for ages, had been the property 
 of the Sultans of Sokoto, and it thus became 
 known and dreaded as the Throne of the 
 Great Torture, it only being used on 
 occasions when he sentenced the unfortu- 
 nate wretches to torture for the purpose of 
 extracting from them knowledge of where 
 their wealth was concealed. 
 
 Against this fierce rebel the Bey of Tunis 
 was compelled to send a great expedition, 
 and after several sanguinary encounters at 
 Sinaun, and in the Um-el-Cheil, he was 
 utterly routed and killed in his own strong- 
 hold at Aujila. Dr. Chatteris, in the last 
 letter received from him, mentioned that 
 he had secured the jewelled throne, but 
 that on account of the superstitions of the 
 Arabs it was an extremely difficult matter 
 to convey it to the coast. 
 
 Fearing lest he should lose it, he had 
 apparently buried it, and soon afterwards 
 unfortunately fell into the hands of the
 
 THE THRONE OE THE GREAT TORTURE 299 
 
 Sultan of Borku, who held him captive 
 until his death. 
 
 Khadidja is still living in Ideles, where 
 she is happily married to the yonnger son 
 of the Governor, but in the seclusion of her 
 liarem she is still in ignorance that, by the 
 curious little souvenir with which she re- 
 warded me, she added to England's national 
 collection of antiquities a valuable and 
 highly interesting relic. 
 
 Visitors to the British Museum will ex- 
 perience but little difficulty in finding it, 
 for in the Oriental section at the present 
 moment one of the most frequently in- 
 spected and greatly admired treasures is 
 the quaint, historic, and bejewelled Throne 
 of the Great Torture. 
 
 THE END 
 
 PEINTKD BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
 
 OVELS BY WILLIAIVI LE QUEUX. 
 
 Third Edition. Cloth, 6s. 
 
 The Day of Temptation 
 
 Jl §fovB of %voo §iftcs 
 
 Atl.enseurn 'As in other novels by the same author, the interest of this 
 
 volume is mainly sensational ; but it may be added that Mr. Le 
 Queux's sensational writing is seldom ineffective. In " the Day of 
 Temptation" a Queen's Messenger plays a by no means insigni- 
 ficant part in the drama, and it is remarkable that in a previous 
 book the same author has told us a good deal about these despatch- 
 bearers. As a whole, the story is readable and interesting. No 
 exception will be taken to its moral tendency. The subject in- 
 volves the occurrence of supposed incidents of very recent date.' 
 'TheBaronde 'The Baron, ever delighting in romance and mystery, is glad to 
 Book-Worms' recommend, and strongly too, a book by Mr. William Le Queux, 
 in Punch entitled "The Day of Temptation." Mr. Le Queux possesses the 
 
 art of at once awaking and then sustaining the reader's Qu-eux- 
 riosity. At the close of every chapter, except the final one, the 
 interested peruser exclaims with the melodramatic receiver of con- 
 fidences, '* Proceed ! Sweet Warbler ! Your story interests me 
 much!" Do we know Bruciani's Restaurant in Regent Street? 
 Not yet ; but if there be a Bruciani's, then William Le Qu-onqueror 
 should never want for a meal or a bottle of rare Italian wine as 
 long as Bruciani's shall exist. How well, how awfully well, must 
 AVilliam Le Q. (a very sharp-pointed Q.) know this monstrous 
 Metropolis to be able to write as he does, p. 174 : — "The life of a 
 man or woman can always be taken for a sovereign in London, if 
 only one knows where to look for men ready to accomplish such 
 work." There's a sovereign ready for despatching an obnoxious 
 person I The Baron trembles. Forty enemies of his at sixpence 
 a piece can procure the services of a quiet assassin, and no questions 
 asked ! " James ! " cries the Bold Baron to his faithful attendant, 
 " bring me my shirt of chain mail to wear over my merino vest, see 
 that my umbrella-handle-revolver is loaded, give me my electric- 
 current gloves, also my sword-stick, and I will go out for an hour's 
 exercise through Piccadilly, Regent Street, Waterloo Place, the 
 Strand, the Embankment, and back again ! But first — to Scotland 
 Yard ! or to call on Mr. William Le Queux !" ' 
 Literary ' "^^^ story is replete with mysteries — mysterious despatches, 
 
 World mysterious signed and unsigned letters, mysterious individuals of 
 
 all sorts, and mysterious deaths. As we read we seem to walk 
 along the gay Passeggio at Leghorn, among the tamarisks and 
 
 300
 
 THE DAY OF TEMPTATION—Continucd. 
 
 oleanders, with the bright sky overhead, and the musical cadence of 
 the water in our ears. We see the white houses with their red 
 roofs backed by the blue peaks of the Lucca Mountains and the 
 purple Apennines. We walk the blazing white streets, and hear 
 the careless chatter of happy pedestrians. We feast our eyes on 
 the voluptuous beauty of black-haired, dark-eyed Italian girls. In 
 "The Day of Temptation," as in all Mr. Le Queux's work, there 
 are stirring incident and piquant dialogue, with not an approach to 
 dulness from beginning to end. The story is told with all Mr. Le 
 Queux's now well-known power and picturesqueness, and all who 
 have enjoyed and admired his previous novels will be entertained 
 by "The Day of Temptation." He does not atTect the "literary 
 study" or the "problem novel," but is content to tell an interest- 
 ing story in his own vivid and interest-coaipelling manner.' 
 
 ' Mr. Le Queux makes another palpable hit with " The Day of People 
 TenipLaiion," a really powerful novel, strong in characterisation, of 
 sustained interest from cover to cover, and without a single check in 
 its movement. The plot, too, is cleverly and naturally worked out.* 
 
 ' Mr. Le Queux introduces to us a precious set of scoundrels — Scotsman 
 conspirators, murderers, outlaws — desperate and dangerous charac- 
 ters, whose aim is the destruction of the existing regime in Italy, 
 and the triumph of Anarchy. The novel will be enjoyed by all 
 who would move in an atmosphere of mystery and excitement.* 
 
 ' Mr. Le Queux holds a foremost place among the acknowledged 
 writers of artistic sensational literature. In his latest book, "A 
 Day of Temptation," Mr. Le Queux is as good as ever. It abounds 
 in situations of thrilling interest, and, when once begun, defies you 
 to put it down until you have finished it.* 
 
 * After having read philosophical and psychological novels, novels 
 with a purpose, and novels where the charm lies in their style alone, 
 it is a relief to take in hand a book with no other purpose than to 
 while away the time in a pleasant way, to set one's mind at rest 
 after the day's hard work, or after heavy literary or scientific study. 
 In Mr. William Le Queux's stories, the reader, after having been 
 kept wondering and guessing, but always intensely interested, and 
 after having been constantly kept in suspense by new complications, 
 new secrets, new stirring incidents, will find, to his relief, that all 
 ends well. All this author's works are undeniably entertaining, and 
 written in that dashing style which has made his books as popular 
 in England as in America. He writes those books which one reads 
 through at a silting, enjoying them while reading them, and finding 
 no time nor inclination to criticize their improbabilities. This is 
 due to the author's cleverness as a bright story-teller.' 
 
 Weekly 
 Dispatch 
 
 Book Notes 
 
 (j!fcw York) 
 
 301
 
 NOVELS BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 
 Tho Morning 
 Post 
 
 Truth 
 
 Fifth Edition. With Frontispiece, 6s. 
 
 If Sinners Entice Thee 
 
 H ^^omaitcc of ii^c ^^imcra 
 
 'Mr. Le Queux's perennial imagination is a boon for a large 
 portion of the reading pulilic. It has the advantages of running in 
 no fixed groove. From East to West, whether picturing the lives 
 of the wild tribes of the desert, or taking us, as in the present book, 
 to the centres of European civilization, his cosmopolitan experi- 
 ence is backed by a graphic descriptive power which almost invariably 
 makes his works worth perusal. Fortunately for himself, he has 
 been able to avoid in a marked degree the too florid style that 
 generally becomes a stumbling-block to novelists of his class, and 
 his later productions may be favourably compared with those which 
 first made him known. His new story has all the elements of 
 an exciting melodrama. . . . The plot is intricate and well put 
 together ; even the most experienced will find it difficult to divine 
 the real nature of Zertho's hold on Brooker until the author wishes 
 him to do so. Very pretty is the picture of the quiet English 
 village of Stratfield Mortimer, to which, from leading the feverish 
 existence of a dishonest adventurer, Brooker has retired with his 
 daughter and his ward, whose sudden and cruel end interrupts his 
 dream of peace and retirement. Henceforth, at Zertho's bidding, 
 Liane and her father are to follow him to the haunts of dissipation, 
 where formerly the two men, poor and obscure, were but too well 
 known. Nice and Monte Carlo have been described times without 
 number, but never more vividly than by Mr. Le Queux.' 
 
 * I defy you to put down "If Sinners Entice Thee," once you 
 have got well into its swing, until the close.' 
 
 Athenaeum 
 
 ' The Baron de 
 Book-Worms ' 
 in Punch 
 
 Fifth Edition. Cloth Gill, 6s. 
 
 Scribes and Pharisees 
 
 ' Mr. Le Queux works up his subjects thoroughly. If he is describ- 
 ing the daily routine of a newspaper office, the roulette tables at 
 Monte Carlo, or the galleries of the Uffizi, he takes equal trouble 
 to complete the picture. " Scribes and Pharisees " is, as he says, 
 a story of literary London, of the life which, for the literary man, 
 " possesses so many bitter memories. " The narrative is well and 
 carefully written, and it constitutes a distinct advance on the volumes 
 which Mr. Le Queux has published in the course of the last few years.' 
 
 ' Cleverly told story of Bohemian life in Paris and London. Just 
 a flavour of Trilby in the earliest portion. The denouement leaves it 
 a trifle uncertain as to the actual guilt of the accessory before the 
 fact ; but though the murder is at the beginning, the mystery about 
 it is preserved to the very end. With this novel at hand, you need 
 not regret imprisonment in the house by bad weather for a whole 
 afternoon.' 
 
 302
 
 NOVELS BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX. 
 
 British 
 Weekly 
 
 Sixth Edition. Cloth, y, 6d. 
 
 Whoso Findeth a Wife 
 
 'The reader of" WTioso Findeth a Wife" speedily finds himself Athenajum 
 in an atmosphere of the deepest mystery and secrecy. • . . The 
 author creates opportunities for the introduction of varied scenes 
 and personages in the course of his story. The unravelling is not 
 the mere winding up of foregone conclusions that is so often the 
 despair of sensation lovers. Mixed with the tissue of the story are 
 several hints and warnings as to England's naval and military un- 
 readiness. Mr. Le Queux has in another book already expressed 
 something of his views on that matter. Glimpses into diplomatic 
 circles, scenes in the Foreign Office, the comings and goings of 
 trusty "messengers," their code and signals, and so forth, are much 
 in evidence. . . . There is plenty of swing and " go," and the 
 author manages to keep up the interest almost all the time.' 
 
 ' Mr. Le Queux's plot is entirely original, and is worked out with 
 extraordinary power. The hero, who has the appropriate diplo- 
 matic name of Deedes, is private secretary to the Earl of Warnham, 
 who, by the way, cannot be identified with any Foreign Minister 
 of recent years. . . . Through the "dusty, deadly ways" of in- 
 trigue, treachery, and crime, Mr. Le Queux conducts his readers with 
 unerring skill. The interest never slackens, and we feel through- 
 out that we are not peeping through keyholes, but are taken into 
 the inmost chambers of mystery. Mr. Le Queux has given us one 
 of the most remarkable novels of the season.' 
 
 ' Mr. William Le Queux is an accomplished weaver of plots Globe. 
 strong and ingenious, and of incidents varied and picturesque. In 
 this book he forsakes the realms of Oriental mystery and weird 
 imagination, and relies on the more up-to-date possibilities of 
 political intriguing, with which he mingles domestic troubles of the 
 most desperate sort. In fact, Mr, Le Queux's new romance is 
 brimful of exciting moments, and the secret document whose loss at 
 the beginning of the book leads to the story's effective situations, 
 serves as the cause of both political and matrimonial disputes grave 
 enough to satisfy any taste. There is a great deal of lively and 
 forcible writing in the novel ; and its hero, who tells his own 
 story and that of his wife (the supposed spy and traitor), contrives 
 to carry his readers through a perfect labyrinth of strange experi- 
 ences. These, with which Nihilism has much to do, introduce 
 a number of persons who serve to display Mr. Le Queux's ability 
 in character-drawing.' 
 
 ' Mystery and romance are the " notes " of the story, but they are 
 mystery and romance of the moment, and we are at once interested 
 in plots and intrigues which are conceivable in their essence, though 
 not in some of their details, and which deal with the possibilities of 
 war by Russia and France against England. Incidentally, the 
 novelist gives one or two hints which might perhaps be taken 
 seriously with advantage, as, for instance, when he shows us in the 
 course of his romance the danger and folly of allowing, through 
 newspaper and other channels, vital statistics as to our defensive 
 strength and other matters connected with the safety of our country 
 to be put at the disposal of all the world.' 
 
 Court 
 Journal.
 
 NOVELS BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 
 Illustrated by Alfred Pearse. Sixth Edition. Cloth, y. 6d. 
 Picttire Boards, 2s. 
 
 The Eye of Istar 
 
 ^ ^oinance of f^c ^axxb of f^e "glo ^efujrn 
 
 Boston ' The author of this volume has already given us an inkling of 
 
 Courier, U.S.A. the enchantment with which he has invented this intensely interest- 
 ing narrative in one or two previous novels of a not dissimilar 
 tone. In this story, the reader cannot fail to behold the author's 
 masterpiece as he follows the course and development of as melli- 
 fluous a tale of Oriental romance as was ever told. As one reads, he 
 almost imagines himself under some Aladdin spell, so charmingly 
 beautiful is the word-painting, and so fascinating the style of the 
 Arab hero who is supposed to relate the story of his adventures. 
 Elegance of expression and great beauty of imagery make a very 
 successful demand of the language from the first to the closmg 
 chapter, and render the work in these particular regards a very 
 delight in literature. As may be imagined, the Eastern story- 
 teller's command of choice adjectives and exclamatory remarks, as 
 well as fanciful and poetic phraseology, is indeed masterly — and so 
 faithfully has the author of "The Eye of Istar" portrayed the hero 
 and his romance, that it would appear the work had been done by 
 an Oriental writer. It has all the sweet, unalloyed savour of a 
 chivalric tale of Arabia and the deserts, it is ingeniously and 
 smoothly told, and is written so pleasingly that it will attract many 
 new readers towards Mr. Le Queux's interesting romances of the 
 East.' 
 
 Illustrated by ALFRED Pearse. Gilt edges, 6s. Second Edition, 
 
 The Great White Queen 
 
 Jl lale of "grcasott anb ^treasure 
 
 Standara 
 
 St. James's 
 Gazette 
 
 Literary 
 World 
 
 ' A curious story of a strange, and in many respects a very 
 advanced, people in Central Africa. It is crowded with adven- 
 ture, and written in a natural and vigorous style.' 
 
 'As Mr. Le Queux possesses a pretty gift of imagination and 
 the power of erecting any number of strong situations, all who take 
 up this book may rest assured of getting their fill of mysteries and 
 horrors.' 
 
 'Mr. Le Queux possesses the art of weaving romances that 
 enthral the reader to the last page. ... It is a terribly fasci- 
 nating story. No one could resist it if it fell in his way.'
 
 NOVELS BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX 
 Fifth Edition, "^s. Gd. Picture Boards^ 2s. . 
 
 Devil's Dice 
 
 * Since the clay of Wilkie Collins, there has not been a writer Sheffield 
 able to keep up a mystery as cleverly as Mr. William Le Queux Daily 
 
 has done in " Devil's Dice." It is an advance on any previous Telegraph 
 work Mr. Le Queux has done, and will take rank as the first 
 of current istories. We are plunged into a delicious view of 
 mystery from the commencement, and are tantalized by the 
 approaching revelation till the very last pages. As for incident, 
 it is full thereof. There is murder, marriage to a bride who dies 
 as the ceremony is completed, weird adventures in chambers and 
 deserted houses, and such an extraordinary plot and denouement 
 as entitle the author to the credit of being one of our very best 
 inventors.' 
 
 • Fertility of imagination and an admirable knack of postponing Athenaum 
 the interpretation of his secret are the best gifts of Mr. Le Queux. 
 
 For his matter, it is ever sensational. Of its kind, this narrative 
 may be considered a favourable specimen.' 
 
 Sixteenth Edition. Price 3i'. dd. 
 
 The Great War in England 
 
 With an Introduction by Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, V.C. 
 Numerous Illustrations by T. S. Crowtiier, and Military Maps. 
 
 OPINIONS OF SOME GREAT AUTHORITIES 
 
 The Duke of Cambridge, writing to the Author, says, 'Such 
 books cannot fail to have a good effect in inducing people to 
 think more seriously of the necessity which lies upon the whole 
 country to be always prepared, and to be more open-handed in 
 giving money for the means of defence.' 
 
 - Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, writing to the Author, says, ' I 
 have read with considerable interest your vivid account of the 
 dangers to which the loss of our naval supremacy may be expected 
 to expose us. . . . Under the conditions specified by you, I should 
 be inclined to regard your forecast of the supposed conflict as being 
 unduly favourable^ 
 
 ■' The Marquis of Salisbury says, "It is very realistic and 
 interesting.' 
 
 F. V. WHITE & CO., 14, Bedford Street, Strand, W.C. 
 
 X
 
 F. V. WHITE & CO.'S 
 
 Catalogue of Publications 
 
 ALEXANDER (Mrs.). 
 Barbara, Lady's Maid and Peeress. 6«. 
 The Cost of Her Pride. 6s. 
 Ilrs. Crichton's Creditor. 2s. 6i. 
 A Golden Autumn. 2s. M. and 2s. 
 A Pight with Fate. 2s. U. and 2s. 
 
 ATLEE (H. FALCONER). 
 
 The Seasons of a Life. 6s. 
 A Woman of Impulse. 6s. 
 
 ALLEN (GRANT). 
 A Splendid Sin. 3«. Gd. and 2s. 
 
 ARMSTRONG (Mrs.). 
 Letters to a Bride. 2s. 6d. | Good Form. 2s., cloth. 
 
 BOUSTEAD (LEILA). 
 
 The BUie Diamonds, is. and is. 6d. 
 
 BENTLET (H. CUMBERLAND). 
 
 A Near Thing-, is. 
 
 CAMERON (Mrs. LOVETT). 
 A Man's Undoing:. 6s. and 2s. 6d. 
 Two Cousins and a Castle. Ss. 6d. 
 Little Lady Lee. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 A Soul Astray. 2s. Cd. and 2s. 
 A Tragic Blunder, 2s. ed. and 2s. 
 A Bachelor's Bridal. 2s. Gd. and 2s. 
 
 The Ways of a Widow. 6s. 
 
 A Sister's Sin. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 Weak Woman. 2s. 6d. and 2.?. 
 
 A Daug-liter's Heart. 2s. 6d. and 2j. 
 
 A Lost Wife. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 In a Grass Country, is. and 3s. 6d. 
 
 The Man Who Didn't, is. and is. 6d. 
 
 CLEEVE (LUCAS). 
 The Monks of the Holy Tear. 6s. 
 
 CROMMELIN (MAY). 
 Divil May Care. 6s. 
 
 CROMMELIN (MAY) and BROWN (J. MORAY). 
 
 "Violet Vyvian, M.F.H. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, VJ.C.
 
 F. Y. WHITE & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 
 CALAEOUR (ALFRED). 
 
 The Confessions of a Door Mat. i*. and i«. td. 
 
 DAY (WILLIAM). 
 
 Turf Celebrities I Have Known. I65. 
 
 FENN (GEORGE MANVILLE). 
 
 Cursed By a Fortune. 6s. and 2s., cloth. 
 The Case of Ailsa Gray. 3s. 6d. and 2s, 
 
 FARJEON (B. L.). 
 Miriam Rozella. 6s. 
 The March of Fate. 2s. ed. and 2s. 
 Basil and Annette. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 A Young: Girl's Life. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 Toilers of Babylon. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 FRASER (Mrs. ALEXANDER). 
 
 A Modern Bridegrroom. 2s. 
 
 FETHERSTONHAUGK (The Honourable Mrs.). 
 Dream Faces. 2s. 6d. 
 
 GRIFFITH (GEORGE). 
 
 The Destined Maid. 6s. 
 
 Knights of the White Rose. (Illustrated.) 3s. ed. 
 Romance of Golden Star. (Illustrated.) 3s. 6d. and 2s. 
 The Gold Finder. (With Frontispiece.) 3s. 6d. 
 
 GROSSMITH (WEEDON). 
 
 A Woman with a History, is. and is. 6d. 
 
 GORDON (LORD GRANVILLE). 
 
 The Race of To-Day. 6s. | Warned Off. 6s. 
 
 GRIMWOOD (Mrs. FRANZ ST. CLAIR). 
 
 The Power of an Eye. is. and is. ed. 
 
 GOWING (Mrs. AYLMER). 
 Gods of Gold. 6s. 
 Merely Players. 6*. 
 
 HENTY (G. A.). ~~~ ~ 
 
 A Woman of the Commune, A Tale of Two Sieges of Paris. (Illustrated.) 6s. 
 •nd 3s. 6d. 
 
 HUNGERFORD (Mrs.). 
 The Coming: of Chloe. 6s, and 2s. 6d. 
 
 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, "W-G.
 
 F. V. lATHITE & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 
 PHILIPS (P. C.) and C. J. WILLS. 
 Sybil Ross's Marriagre. 2s. 6d. and 2». 
 
 'RITA." 
 
 Vig-nettes. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 Joan & Mrs. Carr. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 The Man in Possession. 2s.6d.&2«. 
 
 The Countess Pharamond. 
 Miss Kate. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 2s. Cd. 
 
 BIDDLi: (Mrs.). 
 
 A Kich Man's Daugrhter. 
 
 2s. 6d. 
 
 ROGERS (C. v.). 
 Her Marriage Vow. 6s. 
 
 ROBERTS (MORLET). 
 
 The Courag-e of Pauline, is. and is. 6d. 
 
 SIMS (G. R.). 
 As it Was in the Beginning:. 2s. 6d. | The Coachman's Club. 
 Dorcas Dene, Detective, is. and is. 6d., cloth. 
 Dorcas Dene, Detective. (Second Series.) is. and Is. 6i. 
 
 2s. 6d. & 2s. 
 
 ST. AUBYN (ALAN). 
 A Fair Impostor. Cs. 
 A Proctor's Wooing-, as. &2s., cloth. 
 To Step Aside is Hiiman. 2s. 6d. 
 
 and 2s. 
 
 The Wooing: of May. 3s. ed. and 2s. 
 A Trag-ic Honeymoon. 2s. 
 In the Sweet West Country. 
 2s. 6(2. and 2s. 
 
 STUART (ESMi:). 
 Arrested. 6s. 
 
 I The Streng:th of Two. 6s. 
 
 SERGEANT (ADELINE). 
 
 Told in the Twilig:ht. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 In Vallombrosa. 3s. 6iZ. 
 
 A Valuable Life. 6s. 
 
 THOMAS (ANNIE). 
 Four Women in the Case. 
 
 6s. I Essentially Human. 6s. 
 
 WARDEN (FLORENCE). 
 
 Girls will be Grirls. 6s. 
 
 Dolly the Romp. (Illustrated.) 3s.6d. 
 
 Our Widow^. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 A Lady in Black. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 Dr. Darch's Wife. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 A Spoilt Girl. 2s. 6(2. and 2s. 
 
 A Perfect Fool. 2s. 6i. and 2s. 
 
 Strictly Incogs. 2s. 6(2. and 2s. 
 
 My Child and I. 2s. 6(2. and 2s. 
 
 A Wild Wooing-. 2s. 6(2. and 2s. 
 
 The Girls at the Grange. 2s. 6(2. 
 
 Little Miss Prim. 6s. 
 
 The Mystery of Dudley Home. 
 
 2s. 6(2. 
 A Young- Wife's Trial. 2s. ed. & 2s. 
 Kitty's Engag:ement, 2s. 6d. & 2s. 
 A Woman's Face. 2s. 
 The Woman with the Diamonds. 
 
 Is. and Is. 6d. 
 
 A Scarboroug:h Romance, is. 
 
 and Is. ed. 
 
 Two Lads and a Lass, ls.kis.6d. 
 
 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, M^.C.
 
 F. V. WHITE & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 
 WINTER (JOHN STBANGE). 
 
 The Price of a Wife. 3j. M. 
 
 The Peacemakers. 6j. 
 
 Everybody's Favourite. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Into an Unknown World. 2j. ed. 
 
 The Strange Story of My Life. 
 2j. 6i. and 2s. 
 
 Truth Tellers. 2». 6d. 
 
 A Magrnificent Youngr Han. 
 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 A Blameless Woman. 2s. 6dl. and 2t. 
 
 A Born Soldier. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 A Seventh Child. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 The Soul of the Bishop. 2$. cd. 
 ana 'IS. 
 
 Aunt Johnnie. 2s. 6d. and 2s. 
 
 ULy Geoff. 2s. ed. and 2s. 
 
 The Same Thing with a Differ- 
 ence. Is. and Is. 6d. 
 
 I Married a Wife. (Profusely Illus- 
 trated.) Is. and Is. 6d. 
 
 Private Tinker ; and other Stories. 
 (Profusely Illustrated.) Is. and Is. dd. 
 
 The Maj or's Favourite, is. & is. 6d. 
 
 The Stranger Woman, is. & is. ed. 
 
 Sed Coats. (Profusely Illustrated.) 
 is. and is. 6(i. 
 
 A Man's Man. is. and is. M. 
 
 That Mrs. Smith, is. and is. 6d. 
 
 Three Girls, is. and is. ed. 
 
 Mere Luck, is. and is. cd. 
 
 liumley the Painter, is. & is. ed. 
 
 Good-Bye. is. and is. ed. 
 
 Heart and Sword. 6s. 
 
 Only Human. 2s. 6^. and 2j. 
 
 The Other Man's Wife. 2s. M. and 
 
 2s. 
 
 Army Society. 2s. 
 
 A Siege Baby. 2s. Cd. and 2s. 
 
 Beautiful Jim. 2s. ed. and 2s. 
 
 Garrison Gossip. 2j. ed. and 2*. 
 
 Mrs. Bob. 2s. ed. and 2s. 
 
 Two Husbands, is. and is. ed. 
 
 A Gay Little Woman, is. and is. ed. 
 
 A Seaside Flirt, is. and is. ed. 
 
 The Troubles of an Unlucky 
 
 Boy, Is. and Is. 6d, 
 Grip. Is. and Is. ed. 
 I Loved her Once. is. and Is. ed. 
 He Went for a Soldier, is. and 
 
 Is. 6d. 
 Ferrers Court. !«• and is. ed. 
 A Little Fool. is. and Is. 6d. 
 Buttons. Is. and is. ed. 
 Booties' Children. (Illustrated.) l». 
 
 and Is. Gd. 
 The Confessions of a Publisher. 
 
 Is. and Is. ed. 
 My Poor Dick. (Illustrated.) is. and 
 
 Is. ed. 
 That Imp. Is. and is. ed. 
 Mignon's Secret, is. and 1*. 6d. 
 Mignon's Husband, is. and is. ed. 
 On March, is. and is. 6d. 
 In Quarters, is. and is. ed. 
 In the Same Regiment, l*. and 
 
 is. Od. 
 
 WILLIAMS (W. PHILLPOTTS). 
 Over the Open. 6s. 
 
 YOLLAND (E,). 
 In Days of Strife. 6*, 
 
 I Mistress Bridget. 6s. 
 
 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, W.C.
 
 F. v., WHITE & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 
 SIX SHILLING NOVELS. 
 
 In One Vol., Cloth Gilt, Price 6s. each. 
 
 HEART AND SWORD. Bj' John Strange Winter. 
 IF SINNERS ENTICE THEE. By Wili.iam Le Queux. 
 THE COST OF HER PRIDE. By Mrs. Alexander. 
 THE DESTINED MAID. By George Griffith. 
 THE WAYS OF A WIDOW. By Mrs. Lovett Cameron. 
 THE PEACEMAKERS. By John Strange Winter. 
 MISS RAYBURN'S DIAMONDS. By The Hon. Mrs. Jocelyit. 
 HER MARRIAGE VOW. By C. V. Rogers. 
 A WOMAN OF IMPULSE. By H. Falconer Atlee. 
 SCRIBES AND PHARISEES: A Story of Literary London. By 
 William Le Queux. 
 
 THE MONKS OF THE HOLY TEAR. By Lucas Cleeve, 
 
 Author of " Lazarus," &c. 
 WARNED OFF. By Lord Granville Gordon. 
 THE SIREN. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY. By Richard Marsh, Author of "The 
 Beetle." 
 
 THE SEASONS OF A LIFE. Bv 11. Falconer Atlee. 
 BLANCHE CONINGHAM'S SURRENDER. By Jean Middle- 
 mass. 
 
 THE STRENGTH OF TWO. By Esme Stuart. 
 
 MIRIAM ROZELLA. By B. L. Farjeon. 
 
 MERELY PLAYERS. By Mrs. Aylmer Gowing. 
 
 WHOSO FINDETH A WIFE. By William Le Queux. 
 
 THE RACE OF TO-DAY. By Lord Granville Gordon. 
 
 OVER THE OPEN. By W. Phillpotts Williams. 
 
 A FAIR IMPOSTOR. By Alan St. Aubyn. 
 
 GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS. By Florence Warden. 
 
 THE EYE OF ISTAR. By William Le Queux. (Illustrated.) 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF DAPHNE. By Mrs. Alec McMillan. 
 
 GODS OF GOLD. By Mrs. Aylmer Gowing. 
 
 MISTRESS BRIDGET. By E. Yolland. 
 
 LITTLE MISS PRIM. By Florence Warden. 
 
 14, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, W.G.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 NOV 1 2004 
 
 Form L9-Rcries 444
 
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 L677V
 
 University 
 
 Southern 
 
 Library