The Veiled Man Page 4

the treasure-house was stifling. Having, therefore,deposited the throne of Balkis in fitting place, we left, returningthrough the concealed door to the narrow burrow which had exit in thesmall pavilion. Side by side we slowly crossed court after court of thegreat palace which had witnessed pageants of such magnificence thattheir splendour has been proverbial till this day, she pointing out theprincipal objects of interest, halting to explain curious sculpturedwall-pictures and inscriptions commemorating the triumphs of the greatqueen, or pausing to recall some long-forgotten story of love, hatred,or malice connected with the spot whereon we stood. In that mellowsunset-hour, as we lingered together beneath the cool shadows, I learntmore of the historic, time-effaced empire of Balkis than savants haveever known. As scholar, it delighted me to hear it from the lips of onewho had descended in the direct royal line from that famous woman, who,according to our Sura, entitled "The Ant," became convinced during hervisit to Solomon that, by worshipping the sun she had dealt unjustlywith her own soul, and resigned herself unto Allah, the lord of allcreatures.

  She had given me some wine and dates, and we had passed through thegreat hall with its transparent pavement and out upon the terrace beforethe 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 thegreat sculptured columns sprang upon her. She uttered a loud scream;but, ere he could secure her hands, I had drawn my poignard and dealthim an unerring blow, causing him to reel and fall back heavily upon thestones.

  A dozen soldiers, headed by Victor Gaillard, their evil-faced,narrow-browed, moustached officer in his gold-laced uniform andcherry-coloured trousers, had nearly gained the top of the steps. Butthe ugly sight of blood had already unnerved my fair companion, who,turning 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 nolonger wore my black _litham_, therefore the elegant youth from Paris,sent by the French to rule the Dwellers of the Desert, could not havebeen aware that I was a Touareg, one of the bandits of the Azjar, whomhe amused himself by hunting when inclined for sport. Onward we sped,crossing court after court, until we again entered the subterraneanburrow, and groping along it in the darkness, my companion found at lastanother secret door, which she opened, pushed me into it, and enteringherself, closed it. Then we listened. There was no sound. Apparentlyour pursuers had not dared to follow us there.

  "This," she explained beneath her breath, "leadeth by a secret way outupon the mountain-side. We may yet escape."

  Upward we toiled in a tunnel so narrow that ofttimes we were compelledto 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 oflight above, and succeeded in emerging upon the bare rocky side of thegiant 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 heardan exclamation in French, and, looking down, saw Gaillard, with three ofhis Zouaves below us, scrambling up as quickly as they were able.

  Instantly I saw that their further progress was barred by a sheer cliffof rock quite fifty feet in height, and that we were in a positionimpregnable. Balkis, noticing our situation, also turned towards himwith a low scornful laugh.

  Next instant the fierce uncurbed anger of this young _boulevardier_found vent, for, with a loud imprecation in French he declared that sheshould never escape him, and ere I could divine his intention he hadsnatched a rifle from the man standing at his side and covered the womanhe had desired to marry.

  I sprang quickly towards my fellow-fugitive; but ere I could drag herdown to earth, our only cover, there was a flash, a loud report, andBalkis, with a shrill shriek, stumbled forward mortally wounded, androlling helplessly down the mountain-side, fell dead almost at the veryfeet of her brutal murderer.

  The gold-braided officer laughed.

  It was one of the most heartless assassinations I had ever witnessed,but knowing that efforts would undoubtedly be made to shoot me also, Ithrew myself upon my stomach and crawled upward quickly with hands andtoes.

  "See, men; I have brought down the dainty little bird!" I heardGaillard exclaim, as he walked to where the body was lying crumpled in aheap. "Give me her necklaces and bracelets. The rest of her jewels youmay 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 lastremaining daughter of the Queen of Saba, while their lieutenant amusedhimself by firing at me. A dozen shots he sent after me, but all thebullets sang over my head, until at last, when the darkness becamecomplete, I halted, breathless, behind a projection of rock, and therewaited, watching from my elevated position the camp fires lighted, andthe soldiers exploring the deserted ruins by the aid of flambeaux.

  Once during the night I thought I heard a noise like thunder, anddistinctly felt the mountain tremble. But soon after dawn I had thesatisfaction of seeing our enemies strike their camp and march slowlyout towards the plain. The few jewels they found about the palace theyhad 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 ascreaming crowd of grey vultures, and, re-entering the palace toascertain the extent of the depredations of the Franks, I was amazed todiscover a dense black smoke issuing from the pavilion before the mouthof the cave. I tried to advance, but sulphurous fumes almost overcameme. Instantly I discerned the truth. The thin partition of rock whichdivided the treasure-house from the burning crater within had beenbroken through, and the suppressed fire of the volcano was issuing ingreat volume from the burrow, together with quantities of molten lavaand ashes which have since entirely overwhelmed the ruins.

  Three years afterwards I had occasion to travel to Algiers to seeGaillard, then raised to a responsible position in the Bureau Arabe,regarding a Zouave whom we had captured and afterwards set free. Icasually mentioned the buried ruins of the forgotten City of the SevenShadows at the spot he knew so well, but he merely replied--

  "Ah! yes, I know. I once explored them and found a curious cave therein the side of the mountain. I blew it up with dynamite in order thatit 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 whoperformed the work."

  Victor Gaillard, although now a Colonel, and back in his beloved Paris,where he sits in the Chamber of Deputies as representative of aconstituency in the Alpes Maritimes, does not know that by theirresponsible use of his explosive he lost for ever the greatestcollection of gold and jewels that has ever been brought together.

  The only single gem of the vast treasure of Balkis that has beenpreserved is the magnificent blood-red ruby which at this moment adornsmy sword-hilt. In both colour and size it is matchless. Never can Ihandle that weapon without reflecting upon its tragic story, or withoutvisions rising to my eyes of the beautiful queen who reigned so brieflyover her vanished and forgotten kingdom.

  CHAPTER TWO.

  A SAPPHO OF THE SAND.

  Throughout our breathless land of sun and silence there is a well-knownadage that the word of a Veiled Man is like water poured upon sandwhich, when once dropped, is never to be recovered. I am, alas,compelled to admit that there is much truth in this; nevertheless, toevery rule there is an exception, and in every tribe of the Touaregs,from those of the Tidikelt to those of the Adrar, are to be found menwho are not thieves or evil-doers, even though they may be marauders.

  Those acquainted with the progress of recent events in Algeria willremember that when our brothers, the Kabyles, ro
se against our nowmasters, the French, and committed the terrible massacres at Al-Setit,news was promptly circulated over every one of the vast Saharan plainsthat the forces of Al-Islam had, at last, risen against the infidels.Eager for the fray, most of the desert tribes, among them the Touaregsof the Benin Sissin, Haratin, and Kel-Owi, or "People of the Light,"united against the Roumis. Hence, we of the Azjar pressed northward inforce in order to unite with the warlike Beni-Mzab in a formidableattack upon the French posts at Gardaia and Wargla, south of the greatAtlas range. Assembling at the El Gettara oasis we left our women, oldmen, and children encamped, crossed the high sunbaked lands of theTademayt, then, passing up the rocky waterless valley of the Miya,traversed the region of bare red sand-hills known as the Erg, andleaving Wargla fifty miles to the east, set our camels' heads towardsMetlili, halting one day's march off that town.

  In ordinary circumstances we should never have dared to