[Illustration: "WELL, MY LAD, WHO ARE YOU?" _Page 124_] At Aboukir and Acre A Story of Napoleon's Invasionof Egypt BY G. A. HENTY Author of "The Dash for Khartoum" "By Right of Conquest""In Greek Waters" "St. Bartholomew's Eve" &c. _Illustrated_ BLACKIE & SON LIMITEDLONDON AND GLASGOW BLACKIE & SON LIMITED50 Old Bailey, LONDON17 Stanhope Street, GLASGOW BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LIMITEDWarwick House, Fort Street, BOMBAY BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LIMITED1118 Bay Street, TORONTO _Printed in Great Britain byBlackie & Son, Limited, Glasgow_ PREFACE With the general knowledge of geography now possessed we may well wonderat the wild notion entertained both by Bonaparte and the Frenchauthorities that it would be possible, after conquering Egypt, to marchan army through Syria, Persia, and the wild countries of the northernborders of India, and to drive the British altogether from that country. The march, even if unopposed, would have been a stupendous one, and thewarlike chiefs of Northern India, who, as yet, were not even threatenedby a British advance, would have united against an invading army fromthe north, and would, had it not been of prodigious strength, haveannihilated it. The French had enormously exaggerated the power ofTippoo Sahib, with whom they had opened negotiations, and even had theirfantastic designs succeeded, it is certain that the Tiger of Mysorewould, in a very short time, have felt as deep a hatred for them as hedid for the British. But even had such a march been possible, the extreme danger in which anarmy landed in Egypt would be placed of being cut off, by the superiorstrength of the British navy, from all communication with France, shouldalone have deterred them from so wild a project. The fate of thecampaign was indeed decided when the first gun was fired in the Bay ofAboukir, and the destruction of the French fleet sealed the fate ofNapoleon's army. The noble defence of Acre by Sir Sidney Smith was thefinal blow to Napoleon's projects, and from that moment it was but aquestion of time when the French army would be forced to lay down itsarms, and be conveyed, in British transports, back to France. The creditof the signal failure of the enterprise must be divided between Nelson, Sir Sidney Smith, and Sir Ralph Abercrombie. CONTENTS CHAP. Page I. MAKING A FRIEND 11 II. A BEDOUIN TRIBE 31 III. LEFT BEHIND 49 IV. THE BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 66 V. A STREET ATTACK 86 VI. THE RISING IN CAIRO 105 VII. SAVED 122 VIII. AN EGYPTIAN TOMB 142 IX. SIR SIDNEY SMITH 162 X. A SEA-FIGHT 182 XI. ACRE 199 XII. A DESPERATE SIEGE 217 XIII. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND 234 XIV. A PIRATE HOLD 251 XV. CRUISING 270 XVI. A VISIT HOME 287 XVII. ABERCROMBIE'S EXPEDITION 304 XVIII. THE BATTLE OF ALEXANDRIA 322 XIX. QUIET AND REST 340 ILLUSTRATIONS. Facing Page "WELL, MY LAD, WHO ARE YOU?" Frontispiece ALI AND AYALA APPEARED 144 EDGAR HITS OUT 184 WITH A TREMENDOUS CHEER, FLUNG THEMSELVES UPON THE PIRATES 256 GIVING A YELL OF DERISION AND DEFIANCE 328 * * * * * Plan of the Battle of the Nile 84 Plan of the Siege of St. Jean D'Acre 209 Plan of the Battle of Alexandria 329 AT ABOUKIR AND ACRE CHAPTER I. MAKING A FRIEND. Two lads were standing in one of the bastions of a fort looking over thesea. There were neither guards nor sentinels there. The guns stood ontheir carriages, looking clean and ready for action, but this was notthe result of care and attention, but simply because in so dry a climateiron rusts but little. A close examination would have shown that thewooden carriages on which they stood were so cracked and warped by heatthat they would have fallen to pieces at the first discharge of the gunsthey upheld. Piles of cannon-balls stood between the guns, half-coveredwith the drifting sand, which formed slopes half-way up the walls of therange of barracks behind, and filled up the rooms on the lower floor. Behind rose the city of Alexandria, with its minarets and mosques, itspalaces and its low mud-built huts. Seaward lay a fleet of noble shipswith their long lines of port-holes, their lofty masts, and network ofrigging. "What do you think of it, Sidi?" "It is wonderful!" his companion replied. "How huge they are, what linesof cannon, what great masts, as tall and as straight as palm-trees!Truly you Franks know many things of which we in the desert areignorant. Think you that they could batter these forts to pieces?" The other laughed as he looked round. "One of them could do that now, Sidi, seeing that there is scarce a gun on the rampart that could befired in return; but were all in good order, and with Britishartillerists, the whole fleet would stand but a poor chance againstthem, for while their shot would do but little injury to these solidwalls, these cannon would drill the ships through and through, and ifthey did not sheer off, would sink them. " "But why British artillerists, brother, why not our own people?" "Because you have no properly trained gunners. You know how strongAlgiers was, and yet it was attacked with success, twice by the French, twice by ourselves, and once by us and the Dutch; but it is a rule thata strongly defended fort cannot be attacked successfully by ships. Ifthese forts were in proper condition and well manned, I don't think thateven Nelson would attack them, though he might land somewhere along thecoast, attack and capture the town from the land side, and then carrythe batteries. Successful as he has been at sea, he has had someexperience as to the difficulty of taking forts. He was beaten off atTeneriffe, and although he did succeed in getting the Danes to surrenderat Copenhagen, it's well known now that his ships really got the worstof the fight, and that if the Danes had held on, he must have drawn offwith the loss of many of his vessels. " "I know nothing of these things, brother, nor where the towns you nameare, nor who are the Danes; but it seems to me that those great shipswith all their guns would be terrible assailants. As you say, theseforts are not fit for fighting; but this is because no foes have evercome against us by sea for so many years. What could an enemy do if theylanded?" "The Mamelukes are grand horsemen, Sidi, but horsemen alone cannot win abattle; there are the artillery and infantry to be counted with, and itis with these that battles are won in our days, though I say not thatcavalry do not bear their share, but alone they are nothing. Oneinfantry square, if it be steady, can repulse a host of them; but youmay ere long see the matter put to proof, for I hear that the officerswho came on shore this morning asked if aught had been heard of theFrench fleet, which had, they say, sailed from Toulon to conquer Egypt. It is for this that the English fleet has come here. " "Their bones will whiten the plains should they attempt it, " the othersaid scornfully. "But why should they want to interfere with us, and whyshould you care to prevent them doing so if they are strong enough?" "Because, in the first place, we are at war with them, and would preventthem gaining any advantage. In the second place, because Egypt is a stepon the way to India. There we are fighting with one of the great nativeprinces, who has, they say, been promised help by the French, who aremost jealous of us, since we have destroyed their influence there, anddeprived them of their chance of becoming masters of a large portion ofthe country. " The conversation had been carried on in Arabic. The speakers were ofabout the same age, but Edgar Blagrove was half a head taller than hisArab friend. His father was a merchant settled in Alexandria, whereEdgar had been born sixteen years before, and except that he had spentsome two years and a half at school in England, he had never been out ofEgypt. Brought up in a polyglot household, where the nurses were Frenchor Italian, the grooms Arab, the gardeners Egyptians drawn from thefellah class, and the clerks and others engaged in his father's businessfor the most part Turks, Edgar had from childhood spoken all theselanguages with equal facility. He had never learned them, but they hadcome to him naturally as his English had done. His mother, never anenergetic woman, had felt the heat of the climate much, and had neverbeen, or declared she had never been--which came to the samething--capable of taking any exercise, and, save for a drive in hercarriage in the cool of the evening, seldom left the house. Edgar had, from the first, been left greatly to his own devices. Hisfather was a busy man, and, as long as the boy was well and strong, wascontent that he should spend his time as he chose, insisting only on histaking lessons for two hours a day from the Italian governess, whotaught his twin sisters, who were some eighteen months younger thanhimself; after that he was free to wander about the house or to go intothe streets, provided that one of the grooms, either Hammed or Abdul, accompanied him. When at thirteen he was sent to England to stay with anuncle and to go through a couple of years' schooling, he entered a worldso wholly unlike that in which he himself had been brought up, that fora time he seemed completely out of his element. His father had an excellent library, and during the heat of the day theboy had got through a great deal of reading, and was vastly betteracquainted with standard English writers than his cousins orschool-fellows, but of ordinary school work he was absolutely ignorant, and at first he was much laughed at for his deficiencies in Latin andGreek. The latter he never attempted, but his knowledge of Italianhelped him so greatly with his Latin that in a very few months he wentthrough class after class, until he was fully up to the level of otherboys of his age. His uncle lived in the suburbs of London, and he wentwith his cousins to St. Paul's. At that time prize-fighting was thenational sport, and his father had, when he sent him over, particularlyrequested his uncle to obtain a good teacher for him. "Whether Edgar will stay out here for good, Tom, I cannot say, butwhether he does or not, I should like him to be able to box well. InEngland every gentleman in our day learns to use his fists, while outhere it is of very great advantage that a man should be able to do so. We have a mixed population here, and a very shady one. Maltese, Greeks, Italians, and French, and these probably the very scum of the variousseaports of the Mediterranean, therefore to be able to hit quick andstraight from the shoulder may well save a man's life. Of course he isyoung yet, but if he goes regularly for an hour two or three times aweek to one of the light-weight men, I have no doubt that when hereturns he will be able to astonish any of these street ruffians who mayinterfere with him. "Even if he is never called upon to use his fists, it will do him agreat deal of good, for boxing gives a quickness and readiness not onlyof hands, but of thought, that is of great service; and moreover, theexercise improves the figure, and is, in that respect, I think, fullyequal to fencing. Please put this matter in hand as soon as he arrives. As to his studies, I own that I care very little; the boy speakshalf-a-dozen languages, any one of which is vastly more useful to aresident here than Latin and Greek together. Naturally he will learnLatin. Of course his Italian will facilitate this, and it is part of agentleman's education to be able to understand a quotation or turn aphrase in it. Still, it is not for this that I send him to England, butto become an English boy, and that your Bob and Arthur and hisschool-fellows will teach him. " Edgar was quite as much surprised at his cousins and school-fellows asthey were with him. The fact that he could talk half-a-dozen languageswas to them amazing, while not less astonishing to him was theirignorance of the affairs of Europe except, indeed, of the FrenchRevolution--their vagueness in geography, and the absolute blank oftheir minds as to Egypt. It was not until three months after his arrivalthat he had his first fight, and the instructions he had received duringthat time sufficed to enable him to win so easy a victory, that it wassome months before he had again occasion to use his fists in earnest. This time it was in the streets. He was returning home with his cousins, when a pert young clerk thought it a good joke to twitch off his cap andthrow it into a shop, and was astounded when, before the cap had reachedthe floor, he himself was prostrate on the pavement. He was no coward, however, and leapt up, furious, to punish this boy offourteen, but in spite of his superior strength and weight, he was nomatch for Edgar, whose quickness on his legs enabled him to avoid hisrushes, while he planted his blows so quickly and heavily that in tenminutes the clerk was unable to see out of his eyes, and had to be ledaway amid the jeers of the crowd. This success increased Edgar's ardourto perfect himself in the art. If he could so easily defeat an Englishlad of seventeen, he felt sure that after another year's teaching heneed not fear an attack by the greatest ruffian in Alexandria. Hisuncle had taken advice on the subject, and, desirous of carrying out hisbrother's instructions to the fullest, changed his master every sixmonths; so that during the two years and a half that he was in EnglandEdgar had learned all that the five most skilled light-weight pugilistsin England could teach him. "Yes, he is going in for it thoroughly, " his uncle would say to hisfriends. "Of course, I shall have my own boys taught in another three orfour years, for I think that every gentleman should be able to defendhimself if assaulted by a street ruffian; but in his case he has tolearn when quite young or not at all, and I think that it will be veryuseful to him, as all these foreign fellows draw their knives on theleast occasion. " When Edgar returned to Alexandria, nine months before the time when heand Sidi were watching Nelson's fleet, his father was well pleased withthe change that had taken place in him. He had been tall for his agebefore he left, now he had not only grown considerably, but had widenedout. He was still far from being what may be called a squarely-builtboy, but he was of a fair width across the shoulders, and was a pictureof health and activity. The muscles of his arms, shoulders, and loinswere as tough as steel, his complexion was fresh and clear, and he hadscarce an ounce of superfluous flesh upon him. "Save for your complexion, Edgar, you might well pass as a young Bedouinif you were to wrap yourself up in their garb. I see you have profitedwell by your teachers' instructions. Your uncle wrote to me a year agothat you had administered a sound thrashing to a fellow seventeen yearsold who had meddled with you, and as, no doubt, you have improved inskill and strength since that time, I should think that you need have nofear of holding your own should you get into trouble with any of thesestreet ruffians. " "I should hope so, father; at any rate I should not mind trying. I knowthat I could hold my own pretty fairly with young Jackson. They call himthe 'Bantam'. He is the champion light-weight now, though he does notfight above nine stone, so there is not much difference between us inweight. " "Good! and how about your school work?" "Oh, I did pretty well, father! I was good in Latin, but I was nowherein figures. " "Not grown quarrelsome, I hope, on the strength of your fighting, Edgar?" "No, sir, I hope not. I never had a fight at school except the one I hadthree months after I got there, and I only had that one row you speak ofwith a clerk. I don't think it would be fair, you see, to get into rowswith fellows who have no idea how thoroughly I have been taught. " His father nodded. "Quite right, Edgar. My ideas are that a man who can box well is muchless likely to get into quarrels than one who cannot. He knows what hecan do, and that, if forced to use his skill, he is able to render agood account of himself, and therefore he can afford to put up withmore, than one who is doubtful as to whether he is likely to come wellout of a fight if he begins one. " Edgar found on his arrival at Alexandria that his mother and sisterswere about to leave for England. Mrs. Blagrove had become seriouslyindisposed, the result, as she maintained, of the climate, but which wasfar more due to her indolent habits, for she never took any exercisewhatever. Her general health was greatly impaired, and the two Italiandoctors who attended her--there being no English medical men residentthere--had most strongly advised that she should return home. They hadfrankly told Mr. Blagrove that a colder climate was absolutely necessaryto her, not only because it would brace her up and act as a tonic, butbecause she would probably there be induced to take a certain amount ofexercise. The two girls were to accompany her, in order that theyshould, like Edgar, enjoy the advantage of going to an English schooland mixing with English girls of their own age. They, too, had both feltthe heat during the preceding summer, and Mr. Blagrove felt that a stayof two or three years in England would be an immense advantage to them. Mrs. Blagrove was to stay with her father, a clergyman in the west ofEngland, for a few months, when her husband intended himself to go overfor a time. The war had much reduced business, the activity of theFrench privateers rendered communication irregular and precarious, therates both for freight and insurance were very high, the number ofvessels entering the port were but a tithe of those that frequented itbefore the outbreak of the war, and as no small part of Mr. Blagrove'sbusiness consisted in supplying vessels with such stores as they needed, his operations were so restricted that he felt he could, without anygreat loss, leave the management of his affairs in the hands of hischief assistant, a German, who had been with him for twenty years, andin whom he placed the greatest reliance. Edgar would be there to assist generally, and his father thought that itwould even benefit him to be placed for a time in a responsibleposition. It was, of course, a great disappointment to Edgar to findthat his mother and the girls were on the point of returning. Theirdeparture, indeed, had been decided upon somewhat suddenly owing to astrongly-armed English privateer, commanded by an old acquaintance ofMr. Blagrove, coming into port. She had been cruising for some time, andhad sent home a number of prizes, and was now returning herself toEngland for another refit and to fill up her crew again. As she was avery fast vessel, and the captain said that he intended to make straighthome and to avoid all doubtful sail, Mr. Blagrove at once accepted theoffer he made to take his wife and daughters back to England, immediately he heard that his friend was looking for a passage for them. Accordingly for the next week there was much packing and confusion. Atthe end of that time the three ladies, after a tearful adieu, sailed forEngland, and things settled down again. Edgar felt the absence of his sisters keenly. There were but a handfulof English traders in the city, and none of these had boys who were nearenough to his own age to be companions. However, it had the effect ofenabling him, without interruption, to settle down steadily to work withhis father, and to make himself acquainted with the details of thebusiness. This he did so industriously that Mr. Blagrove said more thanonce: "You are getting on so well, Edgar, that I shall be able to gohome for my holiday with the comfortable conviction that in yours andMuller's hands matters will go on very well here, especially as businessis so slack. " It was about three months after his return that Edgar had an opportunityof finding the advantage of his skill in boxing. He had, on the dayafter he came back, had a sack of sawdust hung up in his room, and everymorning he used to pummel this for half an hour before taking his bath, and again before going to bed, so that he kept his muscles in a state oftraining. Moreover, this exercise had the advantage that it enabled himto stand the heat of the climate much better than he would otherwisehave done, and to save him from any of that feeling of lassitude anddepression so usual among Englishmen working in hot climates. He wasreturning one day from a ride; dusk had fallen, and when just beyond thelimits of the town he heard shouts and cries, and saw a scuffle going onin the road. Cantering on, he leapt from his horse, dropped the reins onits neck, and ran forward. Two of the lowest class Maltese or Greeks were dragging a young Arabalong, holding his hands to prevent him getting at his knife, andbeating him about the head with their disengaged hands. It was evidentthat he was not one of the dwellers in the city, but an Arab of thedesert. His horse stood near, and he had apparently been dragged fromit. "What is the matter? what are you beating him for?" he asked in Italian. "This Arab dog pushed against us with his horse, and when we cursed him, struck at us. " "Well, if he did, you have punished him enough; but perhaps his story isa different one. " "Go your way, boy, " one exclaimed with a Greek oath, "or we will throwyou into that fountain, as we are going to do him. " "You will, eh? Unloose that lad at once or it will be worse for you. " The man uttered a shout of rage. "Hold this young Arab wolf's otherhand, Giaccamo, so that he cannot use his knife. I will settle thisboy;" and his companion seized the lad's other wrist. He rushed at Edgar, waving his arms in windmill fashion, thinking tostrike him down without the least difficulty, but he was astounded atbeing met with a terrific blow on the nose, which nigh threw him offhis balance, and this was followed an instant later by another on thepoint of his chin, which hurled him back, half-stunned, to the ground, with a vague impression in his mind that his head was broken intofragments. Before he even thought of rising, Edgar sprang at hiscompanion, who, releasing the Arab boy's hands, grasped his knife, butbefore he could draw it, a blow, given with all Edgar's strength and theimpetus of his bound forward, stretched him also on the ground, hisknife flying from his hand. The Arab boy had drawn his knife also, but Edgar exclaimed to him in hisown language, "No, no, pick up the other knife, and then stand over him, but don't stab him. " Then he turned to his first assailant, who wasrising to his feet, still confused and bewildered. He had instinctivelydrawn his knife. "Drop your knife, drop it!" Edgar cried. But with an oath the man sprangat him. His eyes, however, were full of tears, his ears sung, and hishead buzzed, partly from the blow on the jaw, partly from the force withwhich he had come in contact with the ground. Edward lightly sprungaside and avoided the cut aimed at him, and then delivered a blow withall his force just in front of the ear, and the man dropped again as ifshot. In a moment Edgar had wrenched the knife from his hand, then heturned to the young Arab. "That is enough, " he said; "they have both got more than they wanted;they are harmless now, we have their two knives. " The Arab, who was panting from his exertions, and who had evidentlyrestrained himself with difficulty from plunging his knife into hisfallen assailant, turned round towards him. "Who are you, brother, whose blows fell men like strokes of lightning?" "My name is Edgar Blagrove. I am the son of a merchant, whose place ofbusiness is in the great square. Who are you, and how did this businessbegin?" "My name is Sidi Ben Ouafy. I am the son of a chief. My father's tribelive in the oasis ten miles east of the old lake. I was riding from thetown when these two men, for whom there was, as you see, plenty of roomin the road, staggered suddenly against me, whether with evil intent ormerely to enjoy the pleasure of seeing me rolling in the dust, I knownot. They nearly unseated me from the suddenness of the attack, and as Irecovered I certainly struck at them with my whip. One seized me by thefoot and threw me off my horse, and then, as you saw, they fell upon me, beat me, and were dragging me to the fountain to throw me in when youcame up. Had they not heard your horse coming along they would, Ibelieve, have killed me. Henceforth you are my brother; my horses andall that I have are yours, and every sword of our tribe would leap fromits scabbard in your defence were it needed. To-morrow I will ride inagain, and my father himself will assuredly come with me. I cannot speakof my gratitude now, my head is still dizzy with the blows they gave me;even yet I cannot understand how it was that these two men have thusfallen before you, and you with no weapon in your hands. Are they dead?" "Not they, " Edgar said scornfully; "they are wondering what has happenedto them, and fear to move, not knowing that their own knives might notbe driven into their hearts did they venture to rise. Well, good-bye, Sidi; I will see you off first; and I should advise you, when you rideinto the town again, to bring your pistols with you. Like enough thesescoundrels will try to get revenge for this defeat. " "I will do so. I know not why I did not carry them to-day. I will notonly bring them, but two of my tribesmen shall ride with me. Butmethinks that you will be in greater danger than I shall, brother. " "I shall be on the look-out, and will, for a time, carry pistols withme; but I do not often go out after dark, and have no occasion ever toenter the streets where rogues of this sort live. As to an open attack, I have no fear of it; but I have no doubt that either of thosescoundrels would plant a knife between my shoulders if they had a chanceto do so. " Both the lads mounted their horses, and after a few words of farewellrode off in different directions. Not until the sound of the horses'hoofs died away did the two figures in the road move, then they sat up. "What has happened, Zeno?" "I know not, save that my head is ringing. I feel as if my jaws werebroken, and my nose is so swelled that it seems as big as my head. " "And I can scarcely see from my eyes, " the other said. "Cospetto, neverbefore have I been thus handled!" "We will kill him!" the other said furiously. "That of course; I know not who he was, but we shall doubtless find out. I can hardly believe even now that it was with his hand that he struckus--it was done so quickly. He was there--then I struck at him, when--paff!--and it seemed to me that the air was full of stars; then, paff again! my jaws cracked, I fell backwards, there was a crash, andthe world seemed to have come to an end. And you, Giaccamo, what did hedo to you?" "It was like that, except that I only had one blow, and there was anend of it. I was drawing my knife when it came--how, I know not. Myknife flew from my hand--there was a flash of fire from my eyes, and Iwas on the ground, and thought it best to lie there, lest that accursedyoung Arab should take it into his head to sheathe my knife in my body. The next time we will give the young fellow no chance to try thosestrange tricks upon us. " "You are right, Giaccamo; I would sooner fight against even Thomasso, who is the best knife-player in Alexandria, than face that fellow again. Who can he be, I wonder?" Edgar rode home, and after seeing his horse taken into the stable, wentinto the house. "I have found my boxing of use, father. " "How is that, Edgar?" The lad told him what had happened. "You were quite right to strike, my boy, " his father went on when he hadheard the story; "'tis likely enough that those ruffians would havekilled the lad. There are fellows here who would do murder for the sakeof a few copper coins; and, doubtless, those men thought that the youngchief would have some trinkets about him that would pay them for theirtrouble. I am sorry that you did not let the Arab put his knife intothem; it would have been a good riddance, for the town abounds withrascals of that kind--the scum of the Mediterranean, men who have madetheir native towns too hot to hold them, and have committed crimesuntold. As it is, you will have to be careful; fellows of this kind arenot of a forgiving nature, and will be patient enough to wait for theirrevenge, but sooner or later they will attempt to take it. " "It was so dark, father, that they can scarcely have seen my face. " "Perhaps not, but no doubt they were able to make out your figure, andthere are very few better-class young Europeans here. You will have tobe on your guard, lad; you had better always carry pistols with you. Clever as you may be with your fists, if you were attacked byhalf-a-dozen fellows with knives, you would stand but little chance withthem. Don't be out after dusk; in daylight you are fairly safe. At anyrate, you would be, if you avoid the rookeries, where the lower class ofEuropean inhabitants live. I have a brace of short-barrelled pistolsup-stairs I will give you. I carried them at one time when things werevery unsettled here. You have made two bitter enemies, but, on the otherhand, you have made a friend who may be useful. These Arabs, when theyonce form a friendship, are as true as steel, and in the event of anyfanatical troubles here, you would find a sure refuge among them. Thelad's father, Aboo Ben Ouafy, I know a little of, as he has madepurchases of me. His tribe is not a large one, but he himself is a finefellow. As the lad told you, their head-quarters are in an oasis someeight or ten miles, I believe, east of the old site of Lake Mareotis. They, of course, like all those people, are frequently absent on huntingor plundering expeditions. " The next day Sidi and his father, followed by half a dozen tribesmen, halted in front of Mr. Blagrove's place of business, and the two formerdismounted and entered. The Bedouin chief saluted the merchant gravely, while Sidi went up to Edgar, who was sitting at a table, for he nowworked for some hours a day in his father's office, and who rose at thelad's approach, and held out his hand in English fashion. "You are none the worse for our scrimmage last night, Sidi?" he saidheartily. "No harm was done, " Sidi replied gravely. "I am glad of what happened, for it has given me a friend, a brother. " "I am glad too, " Edgar replied, "for I too am happy to have gained afriend. " In the meantime his father was saying to Mr. Blagrove, "I have come, effendi, to thank you and your son for the assistance he rendered to myboy yesterday. I have no doubt that he saved his life, and that at theperil of his own. It is wonderful what my son tells me, that, with hishands alone he beat to the ground the two men who had attacked him, though they were armed with knives. I know not how it could be done, butsince it was done 'tis plain that he must possess skill unknown to us. Sidi has called him brother, and henceforth I shall regard him as a son, and my tribe will be his should he need their services. I doubt not thatthe attack was made in order to gain the horse my son rode, which is oneof famous breed, and would sell at high price at Cairo or any other ofthe large towns. I feel sure that they would have killed him in orderthat they might carry the horse away without search being made for it, for before we found that Sidi had been slain the horse would have been ahundred miles away. " "I know that your tribe is famous for having some of the best Arabianblood in the country, sheik, and I think it probable that you are right. The fellows may have seen your son ride into the town and determined towaylay him on his return. " "Your son did wrong not to kill them, " the Arab said, "he will be indanger from them. I have called not only to thank him, but to ask him tocome and bide with us for a time; he will assuredly be in danger here. Were I governor of the town I would chop off the heads of all thosepeople who breed disorders and are a curse to it. 'Tis well that Frankslike yourself should settle among us, and should trade with us, buyingour goods and selling to us those of Europe, but these thieves andcut-throats, these ruffians who neither trade nor work, but live byill-doing, should be rooted out. " "I should be glad for my son to stay with you for a short time, sheik. Ishare your opinion that these men will try to avenge themselves, and itwere well that he should be away for a time. Doubtless they will watchnarrowly to see if they can find the young fellow who interfered withthem, but if they meet with no one like him they may well think that hehas left the town. " "It is well!" the Arab said. "I am going now to the governor to lay acomplaint against these men. My son will go with me to tell him whatthey are like; the son of a sheik is not to be assaulted by townruffians with impunity. We may be kept some time, but when we have donewe will return hither. Will your son be ready to ride with us?" "Certainly, sheik; it will not take him five minutes to make hispreparations. " "He will not need a horse, " the sheik said; "I have brought one with mefor him. " Edgar had listened with delight to this conversation (which was inArabic, which his father spoke fluently). The idea of going to stay fora time in an Arab encampment was exciting indeed, for he had alreadybegun to find the life monotonous after the two years spent at schooland in the lively companionship of his cousins. "It were well that you should come out and see your horse, " the sheiksaid to him, "and make friends with him while we are away, for he is notaccustomed to Europeans, and might give you trouble were you to mounthim at once. " Edgar and his father both went out. One of the Arabs was standing atthe horse's head, rubbing its nose and talking to it as if it had been ahuman being. "That is the horse, " the sheik said gravely. "Only to one, whom I regardas a son, would I part with him. On his back you may scoff at pursuit byany foes, for outside my encampment there is not a horse in Egypt whichit could not distance. Now it is yours to do with as you like, save tosell it, for I would not that his blood should run in any veins savethose of the horses of my tribe. " "This is, indeed, a princely gift, sheik, " the merchant said warmly. "'Tis a noble horse, and one that a king might ride. My son is indeedindebted to you, and will value it beyond all price. " Edgar was warm in his expressions of gratitude and admiration, although, indeed, he was unable to appreciate at its full value the points of theanimal. It was a gray, and, to English eyes, would have looked light andwanting in bone, and fit rather for a lady's use than for a man's, withits slender limbs and small head; but one accustomed to Arab horses, asMr. Blagrove was, could see at once that it was of the purest strain andhighest breeding. "Come with me, " the sheik said to Edgar. "At present, you see, he is notaccustomed to your white face, but he will soon come to love you, andanswer to your call. " The horse, indeed, had laid back his ears, distended his dilatednostrils, and stepped back a foot or two; but as the sheik approached itgave a little whinny of pleasure, and, advancing, laid its muzzleagainst his cheek. "This is your new master, Beauty, " he said, as he stroked its glossyneck. "He will keep you well, and you will be as one of his children, and you must be a good friend and servant to him. " Edgar now stroked the animal. A quiver as of fear ran through it as hetouched it, but as he continued, this died away; and as Edgar spokequietly to it in Arabic, it was not long before it responded to hiscaresses, and after taking a good look at him with its soft liquid eyes, it put its head on his shoulder. "You are friends now, " the sheik said, with a tone of pleasure. "It isto few, even of my tribesmen, whom he would give such a greeting. Herecognizes you already as his friend. Give him a handful of sweetmeats, and the bargain will be sealed. " The merchant at once sent one of the native boys out to buy a bag ofsweetmeats. The sheik waited until he saw the horse taking these out ofEdgar's hands and munching them contentedly, then, leaving one of histribesmen in charge of the horse, he mounted, and rode off with his sonand the rest of his followers. Edgar stood for some time talking to thehorse, and then, leaving it to the native, went into the house to makehis preparations for the journey. "You have, indeed, done well for yourself, Edgar, " his father said as hecame in. "'Tis in every way fortunate. The Turks love us little, andthough they put up with us, as they need the goods that we sell, stillthere may at any moment be a fanatical rising, and it is well, indeed, to have made friends with one of the desert tribes, among whom you canfind a safe refuge. You little know the value of the horse he has givenyou. The breed is a famous one, and the sheik has been offered afabulous sum for one of his steeds, but nothing could tempt him to partwith one. An Arab prizes a valuable horse beyond all his earthlypossessions, and, save under the pressure of the direst want, nothingcould persuade him to part with it. In presenting it to you, therefore, the chief has shown his friendship in the most striking mannerpossible, and that he regards you, as he says, as one of his family. " CHAPTER II. A BEDOUIN TRIBE. It was two hours before the sheik returned. "We have been fortunate, " he said, as Mr. Blagrove and Edgar came outinto the court-yard as he entered. "The men have had their punishment. The governor, after hearing my story, sent to the head of the police, and charged him to take four men down with him into the quarter wheremen of this sort are generally to be found. When my son described themen to him, and said that he thought that one of them was a Maltesenamed Giaccamo, and the other was a Greek called Zeno, he spoke to someof his men, and they said they knew two fellows who generally went abouttogether that answered to the description. They were, he said, notoriousruffians, but except for rioting and wounding among their compatriots, with which the police did not concern themselves, they had been able tofind nothing against them, though they strongly suspected that they wereconcerned in many crimes. We went down with them to that quarter, andthe police soon found out the place where they lived, but on enquirywere assured that both men were ill, the old woman who came to the doordeclaring that they had been in bed for some days. However, the policeinsisted upon entering, and speedily brought them down. Sidi recognizedthem at once, and indeed they had scarcely lied in saying that they wereill, for the eyelids of one were so swollen and blackened that he couldnot see out of them, while the other's nose was well-nigh as big as therest of his face. "They were at once taken before the cadi. He heard my son's evidence, and then said that had it been proved they attempted to steal the horse, he would have had their heads smitten off, but that though this wasdoubtless their intention, they had not done so. He sentenced them to ahundred blows with a stick, and to be expelled from the town andneighbourhood, warning them that should they be found near the townagain, they would assuredly be punished with death. I waited and saw theblows administered, and although I felt angry that the cadi had notordered them to execution, I admit that the punishment was severeenough, and the wretches howled like whipped curs. I trust that therewill be no more trouble from them. Still, I hope that this will notprevent your son coming to visit us. " "Certainly not, sheik. He is prepared and ready to go, and he is lookingforward to his stay with you with so much pleasure that even did I wishit I could not now deprive him of the enjoyment of it. Still, I amheartily glad that the two fellows have been expelled the town, for Ishould never have felt easy as to Edgar's safety so long as they werehere. " A few minutes later the party set out. Edgar's valise was fastened tothe saddle of one of the sheik's followers. The road ran along the sandydunes that divided the low country, formerly covered by Lake Mareotis, from the sea, and as soon as they were well out from the town the horseswere broke into a gallop. While in point of actual speed even the bestArab horses cannot hold their own against a moderate English race-horse, whose greater height and longer stride gives him an advantage, they aregreatly superior in last, and possess extraordinary endurance andstamina. Brought up as if belonging to the family of their owners, theirintelligence has been cultivated as has that of dogs. They areexceedingly docile and affectionate. Their pace is a very easy one, andEdgar was delighted indeed at the manner in which his new acquisitionflew along without any apparent exertion, continuing the pace without acheck until they reached the Arab encampment in an hour and twentyminutes from leaving Alexandria. Here they leapt from their horses in front of a group of black tents. The oasis was of small extent, extending but two hundred yards across. In the centre was a group of thirty or forty palm-trees. Near these theherbage was thick, gradually dwindling away until it became lost in thesand. In the centre, near the tents, was a well, an irregularly-shapedpit some five-and-twenty feet deep, with a rough path down to it bywhich the women went to get water both for their own use and for that ofthe horses. A score of these were tethered on the grass. "You are welcome to our tents, " the sheik said; "may your visit be afortunate one! Mulick, " he called to one of the Arab boys, "take Beauty;but first, " he went on to Edgar, "it were best that you talked to him alittle, and gave him some sweets. He will soon get to love you, and itis well that he should hear your voice as often as possible. " "I will lead him out myself, " Edgar replied, "and then Mulick can tetherhim. I shall know another time how to do it myself. " Then he patted the Arab's glossy neck, rubbed its ears, and praised it, giving it a handful of sweets while he did so. Beauty evidentlyappreciated the attentions, and replied to him by a low whinny. Then hetook off its saddle and led it to a spot Mulick pointed out, and thenwatched the boy tether it, and took off the bridle and carried it backto the tents. A woman came out from the largest of these. She was notveiled, for except when they go into the towns the Bedouin women seldomconceal their faces. "Ayala, " the sheik said, "this is the young white lord who saved Sidifrom those who attacked him; henceforth he is as one of our tribe. " "May the blessings of Allah fall upon you!" the woman said. "Sidi is ouronly child. Had he been taken from us our lives would have been desolateindeed. " "I am very glad that I happened to come along at the time, " Edgar said. "It has been a most fortunate occurrence for me, as much indeed as forSidi. I have no friends of my own age, and it will be great pleasure tome to have him as a sort of brother. I am sure that we shall get oncapitally together. Besides which, your husband has given me a grandhorse, such as I could never have obtained for money. Sidi will be ableto teach me Arab ways, and I daresay I shall be able to show himsomething of our customs and life. " Edgar was now shown a tent that had been newly erected for his use. Thefurniture was simple, consisting only of a handsome Eastern carpet, which covered the ground, and a pile of rugs for sofa and bed. Hangingfrom one of the sticks that supported the tent was a porous jar ofwater. When he had hung up his rifle and pistols, powder-horn andbullet-pouch, its furnishing was complete. "Is this all your tribe?" he asked Sidi, as he came out from his tent. "Oh, no! our tribe dwells in a large oasis a hundred miles to the south, and fifty miles west of Cairo. There are other portions of the tribedwelling not far from the same spot, and we can ride five hundred strongwhen we go to fight the Berbers of Morocco. But my father is only sheikof his section. There are generally but six tents left here to keeppossession, and we are often away for months. We find that we can buysuch goods as the tribe requires cheaper at Alexandria than at Cairo, where, indeed, we do not often go, for ill-blood exists between us andthe authorities there, who ventured on some complaint to send out aparty of Mamelukes against us. We beat them back handsomely, but had toleave our oasis for a time, as we could not withstand the force theywould be sure to send against us. That was thirty years ago. They filledup our wells and cut down our palm-trees. The wells were soon clearedout again, and the palm groves have grown up. They have not interferedwith us again, but even now we care not to visit Cairo, though it may bethat the matter is altogether forgotten there. " Edgar remained a fortnight with his new friends, and enjoyed the lifemuch. He took lessons from Sidi in hurling a lance, and discovered thatit would need a long practice indeed to enable him to do so with theaccuracy shown by the Arabs. He also practised with his rifles andpistols. When he left he gave a warm invitation to Sidi to come and staywith him. This, however, the Arab lad declined. "I should not be comfortable in your European dwelling, " he said. "Ishould be miserable, sitting on one of those chairs. Your father isbusy, and so are you; I should be altogether out of my element. " "But I might have said the same thing here, Sidi?" "Oh, no! it is easy to fling off restraint, to throw yourself on thesand, to ride and shoot and hurl the spear. Those are sports that youcan enjoy as much as I do. I will come over often and see you, but donot ask me to stay. " Edgar saw that it was better not to press the matter, at any rate forthe present. In time, when Sidi became more accustomed to European wayshe might perhaps come to stay, but if he came now it would be a penancerather than a pleasure. After that time the young Arab rode overfrequently, leaving his camp at daybreak and arriving in time to spend along day with Edgar. Sometimes they rode together, sometimes walkedalong the sea-shore, and Sidi soon learned to enjoy as much as hisfriend a row or a sail on the water, which to him was at firstaltogether a novelty. The merchant possessed several boats, which heused in his business, and a pretty gig which carried a sail, in which hehimself went off to visit ships which brought goods for him. This was atother times at Edgar's service. He had learned, even before going toschool, to manage it, and it therefore was unnecessary to take anyonewith them. Sidi at first did not take kindly to an oar. Trained to hard exercise onhorseback and in the sports of the tribe, he had yet a great aversion toanything like steady labour, and was unable even to understand Edgar'swillingness to exert himself at an oar when he could have had men to rowhim about. In time, however, when he had mastered the initialdifficulties of the art, he took to the exercise, and they often spentthe whole day in the boat, either coasting along Aboukir Bay, or, moreoften, shooting on the lakes. The arrival of the British fleet had created quite an excitement inAlexandria, and the news they brought, that a large French fleet hadleft Toulon, carrying many thousands of troops, destined, it wasbelieved, to operate in Egypt, had caused an intense feeling of dismayamong the British merchants settled there, and a correspondingexultation among the French. "Will the French fleet be stronger than this?" Sidi asked, as he andEdgar leant on the parapet and looked at the long line of British ships. "There may be more of them--very likely there are, " Edgar saidcarelessly; "but that makes no matter, we are sure to thrash them. Inthe first place, we always do so somehow; and in the next, as our fleetis commanded by one of the best admirals we have, there is no fear oftheir being beaten. The only fear is that the fleet mayn't fall in withthe French until they have landed their troops. " "The troops could not stand against our Mamelukes, " Sidi saidscornfully. "They would soon drive them into the sea. " "I am not so sure of that, " Edgar said. "No doubt the Mamelukes aresplendid horsemen. I suppose they are as good as any in the world; buthorsemen cannot win a battle alone. The French infantry are very fine, and I doubt whether any number of horsemen could break their squares. Then their artillery is immensely superior to that of the Egyptians;that will give them a very great advantage. " "But if your fleet meets theirs and beats it, how could they ever getback again?" "I expect they mean to stay here and hold the country, " Edgar said. "Idon't know what good it would do to them; still I suppose they think itwould, or they would not take the trouble to come over. But if theyshould take the country, it would be very bad for men like my father, for they would be sure to put all the English in prison, and it would bethe ruin of their business. " "Would they put you in prison?" "I don't know; I expect so. They would hold all the English asprisoners. " "You would come out to us. You will be quite safe there. If theirsoldiers came, they would never catch us; we could move about anywhere, we know all the places where water is to be found, and they would onlydie of thirst if they went after us into the desert. " "Well, I hope that it is not going to be so, Sidi; but if the Frenchshould land here I should like it very much. I suppose you would fightagainst the French. " "If they came to take Egypt, of course we should, and then you could seeit all, and fight with us against them. " "It would be very jolly, Sidi, and I should like nothing better; but ofcourse I shall have to do as my father tells me. I expect he would shutup his place, and get all his goods on board a ship and go away till itwas all over, if he was able. No doubt he would want me to go with him. " That evening Edgar learned that he had rightly guessed the steps thathis father would take in case a French army landed. "It is an awkward business, lad, " he said. "Of course if Nelson comes upwith the French fleet, we may hope that it will come out right; but if, before he catches it, they manage to land twenty or thirty thousandtroops, our position here would be a most serious one. I intend tocharter the _Petrel_, which has just discharged the cargo she broughthere. I shall put all my most valuable goods on board at once, especially all the Egyptian carpets and other oriental work, so thatwithin a few hours of hearing that their fleet was off the coast, Ishould be ready to sail for England. Of course there would be an end tothe business here, so long as the French remained in Egypt; and no doubtany British subjects they could lay their hands on would be thrown intoprison, just as was the case when they occupied Holland. "I should not, however, propose to shut up the house altogether, foralthough we, as English, would be seized, and thrown into prison, andthe place closed, France is not at war with Germany, and Muller couldcarry on the shipping business without interruption, his own name beingsubstituted for mine. I should instruct him to do no trade with theinterior; everything will be turned topsy-turvy, and all trade of thatsort would be at an end. On the other hand, with the French mastershere, a considerable number of French and Italian ships will be comingin with stores of all kinds, these will often need supplies, repairs, and so on; and as we have men capable of doing anything in the way ofrefitting, Muller could keep things going, and carry on a business thatshould pay all expenses, and would probably leave a margin of profit. Atany rate, the house would not go to wreck and ruin, and the business beentirely lost. "I don't think the French occupation would be likely to last very manymonths. You may be sure that there would be great efforts made at home. A tremendous fleet would be sent out here, and the difficulties ofbringing in stores and reinforcements for the army would be enormous. Possibly we too may land an army. Certainly we could nowhere fight theFrench so advantageously as here; it would be the case of India overagain, as long as we are superior at sea, as we could bring troops heremore safely and more expeditiously than they could. However, that seemsto me the best arrangement we can make if the French land. To me itwould make no great difference, for, as you know, I had arranged to sailin three weeks for England. "The only alteration would be that you must accompany me instead ofstaying here. Even putting aside the fact that you would be made aprisoner, you would, if you stayed here, be a hindrance rather than ahelp to the business. Muller would carry it on as a purely German firm, while if you were here it would be evident that I had merely lefttemporarily, and that you were my representative. That would be fatal toMuller doing business with the French. " "I see that, father, although I must say that I would rather stop to seethe fun. " Mr. Blagrove smiled. "I don't suppose you would see much of it in any case, Edgar. However, that is out of the question. I daresay my correspondents in London willbe able to take you into their office, or get you a situation of thesame kind elsewhere, so that if you stop in England a year you will notbe wasting your time. However, the French have not come yet, and I canhardly think that they can intend to undertake an expedition, where, even if our fleet is not strong enough to do so at once, it will erelong certainly be raised to a point when it will completely cut them offfrom France. " "But even if they come, father, they may not succeed in conqueringEgypt. Don't you think that the Mamelukes will be able to make headagainst them?" "We don't know how strong the French are, but even if they come in greatforce, if the Mamelukes were well handled, Edgar, they ought to be ableto prevent them from advancing far inland. They ought to hang in cloudsround them, driving in their cavalry whenever they ventured to leave theshelter of their infantry fire. They ought to harass them night and day, and prevent them obtaining supplies of any sort. I am afraid thatnothing of that kind will be done. The Mamelukes have been spoilt, andthey are so puffed up that they believe themselves to be invincible, andthat they have only to make a grand charge to sweep the French away. "However, it will make no great difference to us when we are oncefairly away, for of course I shall not think of returning here untilmatters have settled down again. The French traders have had a bad timeof it since the war began, and most of them left long ago, for it was soseldom that a vessel got through our cruisers that they could not relyupon any regular supplies of goods. Of course, there are many smallshopkeepers who take their goods of me, and retail them out to thenatives, but all the importers left. I am afraid it is going to be ourturn now; that is, unless Nelson manages to intercept their fleet--novery easy matter, for they might land anywhere along the coast betweenthis and Syria. But I imagine that their descent will take place nearthis town, for from it they could follow the fresh-water canal to thepoint where it flows from the Nile, and so on to Cairo. "They may, however, land at either the Damietta or Rosetta mouths of theriver; still, I think that they are more likely to come here, seeingthat the ships could more closely approach the shore. " The British fleet remained but a few hours off Alexandria. The shortPeace of Campo-Formio had caused the greater portion of the Britishfleet to be recalled from the Mediterranean; and it was not until theFrench preparations were almost complete that the news reached Englandthat a vast number of transports had been collected by the French atvarious ports, that provisions of all kinds were being put on board, andit was rumoured that an army was about to embark for some unknowndestination. Nelson was at once sent off with a fleet to blockade Toulon, from whichport it was evident that the men-of-war intended to guard this greatfleet of transports would start. It arrived there on the first of June, only to learn that the French fleet had set out three days previously. The idea that Egypt was its destination had not entered the minds of theBritish ministers, and although Nelson had been furnished withinstructions as to the course to be taken in the case of almost everycontingency, this had never been even discussed. The French fleet consisted of 13 vessels of the line, 9 frigates, and 11corvettes and despatch-boats. All of these, with the exception of a fewof the smaller vessels, were furnished by Toulon. Here, too, 20, 500 menhad embarked in 106 transports. They were to be joined by 30 transportsfrom Marseilles, 20 from Corsica, 35 from Genoa, and 41 from CivitaVecchia, bringing up the total to 232 transports, carrying 32, 300 men. In one arm the army was extremely deficient, as only 680 horses could beput on board. Of these 300 were for the cavalry, --all of whom, however, took with them saddles and bridles, --the rest were for the artillery andtrain. Nelson started at once in search of the enemy, but having no clue to thedirection they had taken he was able to obtain no news of theirwhereabouts until he heard that they had captured, without resistance, the island of Malta. Then he returned with all speed, imagining for thefirst time that possibly Egypt was the object of attack, and made forAlexandria. On his arrival there he heard that nothing was known of theFrench movements, although in fact their fleet was on that day lying atanchor off Cape Harzet, twenty leagues to the west. Supposing, therefore, that they must after all have sailed for the coastof Syria or Constantinople, he steered for Alexandretta, and learningthat, after having captured Malta, the French fleet had sailed toCandia, he left for Rhodes, searched everywhere through the islands ofthe Archipelago, and it was only when he anchored off Cape Matapan, thesouthern extremity of the Morea, that he first learned that the Frencharmy had landed in Egypt a month before. The object of the French expedition was a vast one, but the means withwhich it was undertaken were insufficient for its execution, and thedifficulties in the way were infinitely greater than had been supposedin Paris. Bonaparte had been chosen for its command principally becausethe directory feared that the great popularity of the victorious generalwould render him formidable to themselves. They knew already that he wasby no means favourably disposed towards them, and they were thereforeanxious to remove him from the public eye. Napoleon, on his part, was perfectly aware of the reason for which hewas appointed to the command, but he accepted it under the belief that avast amount of glory was to be gained, and that, should the plans of thedirectory be entirely carried out, and India wrested from the English, his name would be placed by the side of Alexander in history. Alreadynegotiations had been carried on for some time with Tippoo Sahib. Commissioners had been despatched to him, and an alliance proposedagainst the British. His power had been greatly overrated by the French, and but a feeble idea was entertained of the enormous difficulties ofthe scheme they proposed, which was that, after completely subduing andorganizing Egypt, they should march through Syria and Damascus, thenceto the head of the Persian Gulf, and thence down through India. No account had been taken of the enormous difficulties of the journey. There was no thought of the powerful and warlike people of NorthernIndia. The only idea was to revenge the total overthrow of the Frenchpower in India by the British, to re-establish it on a firmer and widerbase than ever, and so not only to humiliate the pride of England, butto obtain a monopoly of the trade of the East. The news that possibly a French fleet might at any moment appear beforethe port spread the greatest dismay throughout Alexandria; the nativepopulation were furious, and foreigners scarcely dared to showthemselves in the streets. Mr. Blagrove and Edgar were busy from morningtill night on the day after the British fleet had left, in transportingthe goods from the store to the ship that had been chartered. "It is quite possible that all this is needless, " the merchant said toEdgar when they sat down to a hasty meal late in the evening. "I thinkmyself that it is almost absurd, although I do not mean to leaveanything to chance; but it is purely a surmise that the Frenchexpedition is intended to operate against Egypt. It seems to me thateither Greece or Syria is much more likely to be its destination. I havejust had a letter put into my hand, brought by the captain of a smallMaltese trader. It is from a correspondent in Malta. He states that theFrench fleet has appeared off the island and summoned the knights tosurrender, and that it is thought probable that the demand will beacceded to. He said that he sent me a line by a little coaster thatintended to sail late that evening, and was taking a cargo of grain forAlexandria. "That certainly looks as if the expedition is intended to operatefarther east, for Malta is altogether out of the way for a fleet comingfrom Toulon hither. Still it is just as well to continue our work. Thereis, naturally enough, a violent ferment among the native population, andthis may not improbably find vent in a fanatical attack upon theChristians. At any rate, we will get the rest of our goods of any valueon board, and then await events. " By the next evening their preparations were completed. The ferment hadnow somewhat cooled down, and people were beginning to think that theexcitement roused by a mere vague report was absurd. The next morning atbreakfast Mr. Blagrove said to his son: "I think, Edgar, that as things have quieted down, and we are allbeginning to hope that the scare was altogether unfounded, it would bejust as well that you should ride over to your friends in the desert, stay the night there, and come back to-morrow. They would think itstrange and discourteous if we were to leave suddenly withoutcommunicating with them; and as I hope our absence will be of shortduration, I should be very sorry to give people so well-disposed towardsyou any ground for offence. But return by to-morrow evening. In theextremely remote possibility of a French fleet being made out beforethat time, I must embark at once, if only for your mother and sisters'sake. It would be madness to wait here--simple madness. Even puttingaside the certainty of captivity for a very long period, it is by nomeans improbable that there would be a sudden rising on the part of thepopulation, and a massacre of foreigners. "I consider the contingency so remote, that it is scarcely worthspeaking of; but if the French fleet should arrive during the thirty-sixhours that you will be away, and I am obliged to embark and sail off, you must stay with your Arab friends. You see, I have some £8000 worthof goods on board the _Petrel_, and the loss would be an extremely heavyone for me; and I have besides £2000 in cash. I shall leave £1000 inMuller's hands, which will be ample for his needs, as there is a veryheavy stock of ships' stores in the warehouse. I shall, of course, instruct him to supply you with any money that you may require. Youunderstand that I regard all this as extremely improbable, but it isjust as well to make arrangements for every contingency. And then, should the French fleet come in sight, I can embark on board the_Petrel_, and set sail without any great anxiety on your account. Moreto relieve my mind than because I think there is any reasonable groundfor thinking it necessary, here are fifty pounds in gold; you had bestsew them up securely in the band of your trousers to-night; it will beno great trouble, and they will be safer there than if loose in yourpocket. " As Edgar rode away the next morning, he could not help thinking that itwould be great fun if the French were to arrive before he returned. Thethought of a year or two passed in a stuffy office in London was not anagreeable one; while, were he to stay with the Bedouins, he might have alife of excitement and adventure. No doubt they and the other tribeswould all fight against the invaders; impelled in the first place bytheir intense love of independence, and in the second, because theinvaders were Christians. The thought of dashing charges, of skirmishingwith the French cavalry, of pursuit, of flight, was very fascinating toa high-spirited lad of seventeen, and after indulging in these fanciesfor some time, he sighed, as he thought how small was the chance oftheir becoming reality. He was heartily welcomed on his arrival at the oasis. The news that Sidihad brought of the visit of the British fleet, and the fact that theywere in search of a great French fleet carrying an army that mightpossibly be intended for the invasion of Egypt, had created greatexcitement in the camp. "Do you think it can be true, " the sheik asked him, "that so wild anidea can have come to these people, as to think that they could conquerour country?" "That I cannot say, " Edgar replied. "If they did come, they would bevery formidable opponents, for they have conquered many countries inEurope; their soldiers are well trained and disciplined, and they willhave great numbers of guns; but my father thinks that they can hardlyintend to come here, for if they landed we should soon have enoughships-of-war here to prevent their return, and they would be cut offfrom France altogether. There is no news of their fleet, except thatthey have arrived at the island of Malta. Whither they sailed thence weknow not. Our fleet has gone in search of them, and will fight them whenthey find them. But if they should escape, and should really comehither, my father and I will embark on board a ship which he has loadedwith his most valuable goods, and we shall at once sail for England. Itis for this reason that I have ridden over this morning. If we shouldgo, our departure will be very sudden, for we should get up anchor assoon as the French fleet was made out in the distance, or, at any rate, as soon as it became dark enough to hide our departure; and I shouldhave been sorry indeed to go without saying good-bye to you. " "But for how long will you go, brother?" Sidi asked. "Until the trouble was over here, which might be only two or threemonths, but which might be as many years. " "And will you be glad to go back to your own country?" the sheik asked. "No, indeed. There I should have to work in an office in London, whichwould be very dull, while here my work is light, I have amusements, andI have my friends here. " "Why not stay behind with us until your father returns? You know thatyou would be most welcome, and that it would gladden all our hearts tohave you with us. " "I should like it above all things, sheik, " Edgar said warmly, "and Ithank you most heartily for the invitation, but of course I must do asmy father wishes, and he thinks it best that we should go to England ifthe French come, for they would keep us both as prisoners, and wouldseize all our goods and merchandise. However, it does not seem to himlikely that the French will really come here, and it was only because heconsidered that it was just possible they might do so that he himselfsuggested that I should come over and stay here until to-morrowafternoon, lest, if we should have to leave suddenly, you might notthink that we had forgotten you in our haste to be off. For myself, Iwish that I could stay here. I suppose that if the French came you wouldfight, and I could fight with your tribe?" "Assuredly we will fight, " the sheik said. "Why should these Franks comehere to molest us? I love not the Turkish rule much, but we are in noway molested. Assuredly every Arab through the desert will ride againstthem and aid the Mamelukes to drive them into the sea. How great an armywould they bring against us?" "We hear from the officers of our fleet that the news received inEngland said that some 30, 000 men were preparing to embark for someunknown destination. " "Thirty thousand!" the sheik said scornfully; "why, there are 10, 000Mameluke cavalry and fully 20, 000 infantry, janizaries, and spahis, besides the levy of the whole population, and the desert tribes can put5000 horsemen into the field. They will never dare to come against usunless with a force very much larger than you speak of. No, it is notagainst Egypt that the expedition can have sailed. " "That is what my father thinks, " Edgar said; "not because of the forceyou could bring against them, but because they would know that theymight be cut off at any time from returning by our fleet, and theirposition would then become desperate. We have long blockaded them intheir own ports, and if they are not strong enough to get out of these, still less would they be able to leave Egypt. " "Let us not talk more of them, " the sheik said contemptuously. "They aredogs; if they come hither we shall know how to deal with them. " CHAPTER III. LEFT BEHIND. The sheik spoke a few words to two of his followers, who at once mountedtheir horses and rode off. "They will bring us news if anything happens, " he said; "they will gointo Alexandria. " It was late in the evening when they returned. "You have news?" the sheik said, as they came up to the fire by which hewas sitting. The moon was shining brightly, lighting up the wide expanseof sand round the grove. "The Franks have come, " one said. Edgar sprung to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and alarm. "When did they come?" the sheik asked. "When we reached the city all was quiet, " the man said, "except thatsoldiers were working at the fortifications. When we asked why this was, they said that some Bedouins had come in two hours before with the newsthat the sea near Cape Harzet was covered with ships, and that they weresailing this way. Many did not believe the story, but all the people andthe soldiers were ordered to work on the fortifications, to bring upshot for the great guns, to carry stones to mend the walls where theywere broken, and to prepare for the defence. The sun was nigh half downwhen we saw a great many white dots on the edge of the sea. They werestill some leagues away, when everyone pointed and cried out, 'It is theenemy!' and worked harder than ever. It was not for two hours that wewere sure that they were ships. When we were so, we went, as you badeus, to the English merchant's. He was busy directing men, who were goingbackwards and forwards to a ship in the harbour. We said to him, 'Master, our sheik has sent us to carry him news should the fleet of theFranks come here. He told us to come to you if it did so, as you mightwish to send for your son. ' "'It is too late, ' he said; 'too late for my son to come to me. I am onthe point of starting now, as you see. Many of the ships have alreadyput to sea, and the captain has sent to say that he cannot risk hisvessel by staying longer. The French will be here within two or threehours, and although they will not venture to enter the harbour tilldaybreak they could capture all vessels going out. Tell my son that Iregret much that I let him go away for the day, but had no thought thatthe enemy would come so soon. Bid him not be uneasy about me, for itwill be dark in an hour, and the French will not be up until two hourslater, and they will have their hands full without trying to catch thecraft that are putting out from here. Here is a letter for him; I wasgoing to leave it here in case he returned. ' "Five minutes afterwards he took his place in a boat and was rowed offto the ship. We saw the men getting up the anchor, and then the sailswere spread, and she sailed out of the harbour. Then, not wishing to beshut up in the town, we went out through the gates and rode to themound by the sea-shore that is called Marabout. Then we got off ourhorses to see what would happen. It was dark when the Franks' vesselscame along; some of them sailed on towards the harbour, but most of themanchored and let down their sails, and presently one could see vastnumbers of boats rowing towards the shore. " When the man had finished, Edgar opened the note that was handed to him. It was written in pencil. _My dear Edgar, --In face of all probabilities the French fleet is in sight. They will be here soon after it is dark. The city is in a state of mid excitement. The captain of the 'Petrel' has just come in, saying that the French are coming along the coast from the west, and that I must be on board before it is dark. For some reasons I regret that you are not with me, but I believe that you will be quite safe with your Arab friends, and possibly this may be more to your liking than a long stay in London. Take care of yourself, lad. God bless you!--Your affectionate father. _ Edgar's first thought at hearing the news had been regret that he couldnot accompany his father, but this was very speedily succeeded by afeeling of delight that he would be enabled to witness stirring events. "Are you glad or sorry?" the sheik asked. "I am much more glad than sorry, " he replied. "My father, no doubt, isdisappointed that I am not returning home with him. I should on noaccount have remained behind had it been possible to join him in time. As it is, it is neither my fault nor his, but, as I think, a stroke ofgood fortune. And now, chief, I can accept your kind offer ofhospitality, and hope that if there is any fighting that I shall ride bythe side of Sidi. " The Arab smiled gravely. "That assuredly you shall do. It is, as yousay, no one's fault, but the will of Allah, that has left you in mycharge, and I doubt not that good fortune will befall us thereby. Now, what think you that is meant by the Franks landing at Marabout insteadof sailing on to attack the port?" "It means, no doubt, that they are going to assault the city by land. They probably do not know how weak are the fortifications, and fear thatthe fleet might suffer much injury from their guns, and may thereforeprefer to attack from the land side. " "But can they take the city that way?" "I have no doubt that they can. Their guns could blow in the gates in avery short time. Moreover, from the high ground near Pompey's Pillarthey could harass the defenders of the wall, or, if they chose, make abreach in it. The wall is very old, and in many places in a bad state ofrepair. " "Could we go into the city and aid in the defence?" the sheik asked. "There will be no entering from this side, sheik. The French army willbe between us and Alexandria, and, moreover, the guns from theirwar-ships will be able to sweep the sands. We might pass round by thesouth and enter the city from the other side; but your forty men wouldadd but little strength to the defence, and would be far more useful ashorsemen when the French begin their advance. " "How long will it take them, think you, to capture the town? Help cancome down from Cairo in a week. " "I think that the French will lose but little time, sheik. So long asthe town holds out, the fleet might be attacked by Nelson, should hecome back this way, while as soon as they have captured the town allthe light-draught vessels would find shelter in the harbour. You may besure that they would lose no time in mounting guns from the ships on theforts, and render themselves perfectly safe from attack. They say thatBonaparte is in command of the French. He is their ablest general, andvery active and enterprising. I should not be surprised if he capturesthe place before sunset to-morrow. " The sheik made no reply. It seemed to him that Edgar's opinion that thecity which had withstood many sieges could be captured in a few hourswas too absurd to need argument. "There is nothing to be done now, " he said; "let us sleep. To-morrow, before sunrise, we will make a detour round the south side of the cityand approach the eastern gate, and then decide whether to enter the townor not. " In a few minutes there was silence in the camp, but long before the sunrose everyone was astir. The women were to be left with the boys and oldmen. The preparations were of the simplest character; each of thethirty-eight men going hung a bag of dates at his saddle-bow, looked tohis firearms, and mounted. As the oasis was situated to the south-westof the city, they did not strike the old bed of Lake Mareotis untilhalf-way along what had been its south shore. At present all was silentin the distant city, and the sheik said shortly, "We will wait till wesee what is going to be done. " Presently two or three Arabs were seengalloping across the cultivated ground. They belonged to the Henedytribe, one of the wildest and most savage of the people of the desert. When they saw the group of horses they made their way towards them. Asthe sheik advanced a few paces, one of them leapt from his saddle andcame up to him. "What has happened, brother?" Ben Ouafy asked. "Last evening the Franks began to land, and all night they continued tocome ashore. At midnight Koraim, the commander of the town, went out tosee what they were doing, at the head of twenty Mamelukes, and fell upona company of their skirmishers, charged them, killed many, and carriedthe head of their captain in triumph into the town. At five this morningour tribe arrived. We rode up near them, and saw that they had neitherhorsemen nor cannon. They were divided into three columns, and weremarching towards the town. We dashed in between the columns and cut downmany of their skirmishers, but we were only five hundred, and dared notattack the column, which opened such a heavy fire that we were forced todraw off. Our sheik ordered us to ride south to carry the news toRamanieb that the Franks had landed. They may have sent the news fromthe town, but he thought it best to make sure. " "'Tis well!" the sheik said, and the Arab threw himself into the saddleagain, and with his companions rode south at a gallop. "You see, " thesheik went on to Edgar, "the Franks cannot mean to attack the town. Whatcould they do without cannon?" "It would assuredly be a desperate enterprise, sheik, but I think thatthey may attempt it, seeing that it is all-important to them to obtainpossession of the port before our fleet can return. " The party remained sitting, with the patience of their race, until thesheik should give orders for them to mount. Edgar got up several times, and walked backwards and forwards. He was less accustomed to waiting, and was burning for action. Just at eight o'clock there came suddenly totheir ears an outburst of firing, the boom of cannon, and the sound of acrackling roll of musketry. "The French have lost no time in beginning, " he said. The young Arab nodded. A flush of excitement glowed through the oliveskin, his hand tightly grasped his spear, and his eyes were fixed on thedistant city. Suddenly the sheik raised the vibrating battle-cry of theArabs, in which the whole of his followers joined, and then at a wildgallop they dashed forward, the horses seeming to share in theexcitement of their riders. After maintaining the pace for a couple ofmiles they reined in their horses somewhat, and at a canter swept alongthe neck that divided in old time the lakes of Aboukir and Mareotis, slackened down into a walk as they approached the fresh-water canal, where they stopped for a few minutes to allow their horses to drink, andthen continued at a leisurely pace until they mounted the high ground atRamleh. From here they obtained a view of the eastern side ofAlexandria. They could hear the din of battle on the other side of thetown, and could see the great fleet anchored, a mile from shore, sometwo miles to the west of the town. The wind, which had been blowingstrongly the night before, and had seriously hindered the work ofdisembarkation of the French troops, had now subsided. Some of themen-of-war were engaging the forts, but at so great a distance that itwas evident that it was a demonstration to distract the attention of thebesieged rather than a serious attack. Four or five ships, under theshortest sail, were cruising backwards and forwards parallel with theshore eastward of the town, and occasionally a white puff of smoke burstout from one or other of them, and a shot was sent in the direction ofscattered bands of horsemen near the shore. After gazing at the scene in silence for some minutes, the sheik turnedhis horse and rode back to a spot near the canal, where the moisture, permeating through its banks, had given growth to a luxuriant crop ofgrass. Here all dismounted and tethered their horses. Four of the Arabswere appointed to watch over their safety, and the rest reascended themound, and squatted down on the sands. Gradually the other parties ofhorse gathered there, and the sheiks gravely consulted together. All hada conviction that Alexandria would hold out until help came from Cairo. The question of entering the town was discussed. Presently the sound ofcannon ceased, but the rattle of musketry continued unabated. "Why have the guns ceased firing, think you?" the sheik asked Edgar. "It is one of two things, sheik. Either the French have got so close upto the walls that the cannon can no longer be brought to fire upon them, or they have stormed the walls and the fighting is now in the streets ofthe town. " "But there are two walls, " the sheik said; "the one known as the Arabwall, and the inner defences. It is impossible that they can havecarried both. " "It would seem so, " Edgar agreed; "but as the musketry is as hot, orhotter, than ever, it is evident that fighting is going on at closequarters, and that either the guns cannot be fired, or they have beencaptured. You see the walls were in many places weak, and the attemptsthat have been made during the past three or four days to repair thebreaches that existed were very incompletely done. I am very much afraidthat it is as I said, and that the French have gained an entrance. " Half an hour later, a number of horsemen, followed by a crowd of peopleon foot, poured out from the eastern gate. One of the leading horsemendrew rein for a moment as he passed the group of Arabs. "The town is lost, " he said; "the Franks have won their way into thestreets, and Koraim has surrendered. " An exclamation of fury broke from the Arabs. "It will be our turn next, " Ben Ouafy said, shaking his spear towardsthe city. "This is but the beginning of the work. They may take a city, but the sands will devour them. " As they knew that the French had no cavalry the Arabs remained quiet;the stream of fugitives continued to pour past them, men, women, andchildren. "We will return, " Ben Ouafy said at last. "We will move south and jointhe rest of the tribe, and then see what the government of Cairo aregoing to do. " The capture of the town had not been effected without loss. Menou'scolumn had attacked on the right, Kleber in the centre, Bon had movedround south of the town. The Arab wall was obstinately defended, Kleberand Menou were both wounded as they led the grenadiers to the assault;Bon, however, had met with less resistance, and had captured the innerwall before the other columns succeeded in doing so. For some time thebattle had raged in the streets, but the captain of a Turkish vessel hadbeen sent by Napoleon to the governor, pointing out that furtherresistance would bring destruction upon the town, while if he yielded, the French troops, who came as friends to deliver them from the tyrannyof the Mamelukes, would do no harm to anyone. Koraim thereuponcapitulated. He was at once attached to the general staff, and chargedwith maintaining order in the town and disarming its inhabitants. Proclamations were at once sent out through the country, declaring thatthe French had come to destroy the Mameluke domination, and that theywere friends of the Sultan of Turkey. Protection was offered to all thevillages that submitted; those that did not do so would be burnt. Sevenhundred Turkish slaves, who had been delivered at the capture of Malta, and who had been extremely well treated, were at once sent to theirhomes in Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, Syria, Smyrna, and Constantinople, being provided with ample sums of money to support them on their way. These measures had an excellent effect. Koraim sent out messengers tothe Arab tribes of the neighbourhood. His influence among them wasgreat, and their sheiks for the most part went at once into Alexandria, and agreed to keep the road open from Alexandria to Damanhour, and tosell and deliver within forty-eight hours 300 horses, 500 dromedaries, and 1000 camels. They were presented with dresses of honour and money. By this time the transports had all entered the old port of Alexandria, and were busy discharging their cargo and the troops they carried, andin a short time the whole French army was on shore. Scarce a word was spoken among Ben Ouafy's party on their homeward ride. The sheik gave his orders on his arrival. "We will wait for a day or two, " he said to Edgar as they dismounted. "The French have no cavalry, and would not come out here. Let us seewhat the other tribes are going to do; we are but a small body. " When, two days later, a messenger arrived from Koraim, the sheik, afterreading the contents of the proclamation, indignantly tore it in pieces. "Tell Koraim, " he said to the messenger, "that hitherto I have regardedhim as an honourable man, now I spit upon him as a traitor. Whateverothers may do, I will fight against the Franks till the last. " As soon as the messenger had departed, he gave orders for the tents tobe struck. "We must be going, Sidi, " he said; "some of the tribes may be taken inby these promises, and may give aid to the enemy; in that case theywould doubtless obey orders to attack those who refuse to do so. Threeof them can each put four or five hundred spears into the field. We willmove away at once. With fifty men we cannot fight two thousand. " The process of packing-up occupied but a short time. As soon as thetents were made into bundles the thirty camels were brought in andloaded. The women and children took their places on the top of thebaggage, and then the men mounted their horses, and the cavalcadestarted across the desert. "Which way do we travel, Sidi?" "We are not going direct. There are but few wells, and the distances arelong between. Mounted men alone can do the journey without difficulty, but it is a painful one with women and children, and we never go thatway unless in case of great necessity. We shall travel towards thesouth-east, keeping near the edge of the cultivated country until wereach the Nile, and then follow along the river bank until within a fewmiles of Cairo, thence it is three days' journey to the south-west. There is a well half-way. " After proceeding some ten miles, they perceived a party of Arabsgalloping in the direction of Alexandria. They changed their course, however, and soon came up with the Ben Ouafy caravan. Two of the sheiksof the party rode forward and exchanged salutations with the chief. "Whither are you journeying, Ben Ouafy?" "I am going south to join my tribe; and you--are you going toAlexandria?" "I am going there at once. " "Hast not the news reached you that the Franks have captured it?" "Truly we have heard so, and a messenger came to us but this morning, saying that they had come to deliver us from the Turks, and inviting usto go in thither and see them. Have you not received a message also?" "I received such a message, indeed, but its words were idle. For theTurks and their Mamelukes I have no great love. They prey upon the land, and enrich themselves at our expense; but the Franks would doubtless dothe same, and I would rather be fleeced by those of the true faith thanby kaffirs. " "But they come as our friends. " Ben Ouafy smiled. "Why should they come as our friends, Chief of OuladA'Ly; what have we done for them? Why should they cross the sea in theirships at great expense and much danger, to save those whom they knownot, from the Turks? You might as well expect the lion to come to rescuea deer attacked by a jackal. He might, it is true, drive it away, but itwould only be that he might himself slay and devour the stag. We haveheard of these Franks, how they have taken Italy and other countries;and think you, that if they should overpower the Osmanlis and defeat theMamelukes, that they will say, 'We have accomplished our purpose, wehave freed you from your oppressors, now we will sail back to France andleave you to manage your own affairs'?" "He promises to respect our religion, " the sheik said, "to buy horsesand camels from us at fair prices, to give us rich presents, and totreat us with honour. " "No doubt, no doubt. 'Tis easy to speak soft words when one needs aid, but such promises are forgotten when the object is attained. To-day heis the friend of the Arabs, to-morrow he will be their master, and ifwe aid these kaffirs against the followers of the Prophet, we shall welldeserve whatever may befall. " "Then you will not go in to the gathering to which he invites us?" "Assuredly not. Even were it for no other reason, I would wait and seewhat comes of the matter. We know not yet that he will conquer theMamelukes, and if he fails to do so, assuredly their vengeance willafterwards fall upon all who have assisted these people. " The sheik cast his eye over Ben Ouafy's cavalcade, as if estimating itsstrength. He saw, however, that it contained as many armed men as he hadwith him, and if the idea had entered his mind of commencing thecampaign by plundering it, he concluded it must be at once abandoned. "I have no intention, " he said, "of taking part with the Franks againstthe government. I am going to sell horses and camels. Frank money is asgood as Turkish, and, moreover, they threaten to attack and destroythose who refuse to aid them. Your tribe lives far away, though, indeed, you may abide here at times, and there is nothing of yours that they candestroy. I have my people to think of, their villages, their flocks andherds and horses; therefore, I shall go and see this great man, and hearwhat he says, and shall, if I can, keep on terms of peace with him. Anarmy so strong and so fierce that it has captured Alexandria after fourhours' fighting is too formidable for an Arab chief to resist; but, assuredly, I have no thought of fighting on his side against mycountrymen. " The sheik bowed courteously. "Every man has his own way of looking at things, and in a matter likethis each must do as seems best to him. Go in peace, and may goodfortune attend you!" The formal salutation was returned, and the sheiks rejoined theirparties, and each kept on their course as before they met. "There, my son, " Ben Ouafy said to Sidi, "you see how the desire forgain influences men to evil deeds. In order to sell a few hundred horsesand as many camels, the Oulad A'Ly are going to assist the Franksagainst true believers. It is true that they may not be going to fightfor them, but the animals that they sell to them will enable them tofight, which comes to the same thing. Of course he professes that he isthinking of saving his villages from destruction, but he must know wellenough that the Franks have other things to think of than to spread overthe country here, and give ample time to the Mamelukes to prepare fortheir coming. Moreover, as it is clear that the French have no cavalry, they could not make excursions, for if they seized all the horses inAlexandria, these would not suffice to mount a party strong enough toassail a tribe like the Oulad A'Ly, who can put nigh a thousand horsemeninto the field. " The party travelled without haste. Before arriving on the Nile, Edgarsuggested to the sheik that it would be as well were he to discard hisEuropean dress for an Arab one. "When we were at Damanhour, " he said, "I marked how the people scowledat me as I rode through the streets; and as no doubt you will ride intoCairo ere long, it would save trouble were I to be so attired that Ishould escape notice. " "It would be a good plan, " the sheik agreed. "I daresay Sidi can supplyyou with a suit. " "I can purchase what is needed at the next place we come to, " Edgarsaid, "I have money for any necessity that may arise. Even puttingaside the trouble of being constantly questioned, I should prefer theArab dress, for under this baking sun I think it would be a good dealmore comfortable than these English clothes. " Accordingly, at the next town they passed through, Sidi and Edgar wenttogether to the bazaar, and the latter purchased, after the usual amountof bargaining, clothes similar to those worn by his friend. The expensewas but small, for the costume of an Arab chief differed but little fromthose of his followers, except that his burnoose was of finer cotton, and his silken sash of brilliant colours, richer and more showy. Withthis exception the whole costume was white, and although some of theArab sheiks wore coloured burnooses, Edgar chose a white one, as bothhis friend and his father wore that colour. He bought two or threechanges of clothes, for he knew that water was often scarce, and thatwashing of garments could not be indulged in frequently. That night whenthe camp was pitched he donned his new costume, and placed his pistolsin his sash in Arab fashion. Sidi wound his turban for him, and gave himinstructions how the clothes were to be worn. Those he had taken offwere made into a bundle so that they could be resumed if necessary. Hefelt rather awkward as with his friend he sallied out from the tentwhich they now shared between them. "You look well, Edgar, " the sheik said approvingly, "but you will needto stain your arms and legs, and it will be better for you to stain yourface and neck also, for you would attract quite as much attention as awhite Arab as you would in your European dress. " "I was thinking so myself, sheik; it will be much pleasanter for me tobe able to pass anywhere without comment. " "You are taller than I thought, " the sheik said; "it had not struck methat you were much taller than Sidi, but I see now that you are as tallas I am. " "I suppose the flowing garments make one look taller, " Edgar said. "Ihave often been surprised, when standing near a native who looked to mea good deal taller than myself, to find that he was really not above myown height. " "My wife shall make a stain for you as soon as she can get the material. There will be no difficulty about that, for we often dye our burnoosesbrown, especially when we are starting on a long journey. " The sheik's wife and the other women were voluble in their expressionsof satisfaction at the change in Edgar. They had been but little in thetowns, and the comparatively tight-fitting European garments were, intheir eyes, ugly and unbecoming. Seen in the more graceful dress of theArabs they recognized for the first time that their guest was agood-looking young fellow, tall, active, and not ungraceful in figure, and that he could even compare not unfavourably with Sidi, who was afavourite with the whole camp. Even the men, impassive as they usuallywere, uttered a few words of satisfaction at Edgar having adopted anArab costume, and at his appearance in it. On the following day thesheik, taking his son, Edgar, and two of his followers, left the caravanand rode on to Cairo, leaving the others to travel by easy stages tojoin the rest of the tribe. "Doubtless we shall find many other sheiks assembled there, " he said asthey rode along; "the government is sure to have sent orders already forall the Bedouin tribes to hold themselves in readiness to gather thereto oppose the advance of the French. The levies of the city and theneighbourhood will also be called out, not so much perhaps to fight asto labour at the fortifications. That they will not ask of the Arabs, for no Arab would work like a fellah. We will fight, but we will leaveit to the peasants to work. The Mamelukes will, however, in the firstplace oppose the Franks. I love them not. They are the oppressors ofEgypt, but the lions of the desert are not more courageous. They areproud of themselves, and believe themselves to be invincible. They willnot believe that the Franks can stand for a moment against them, and youknow that the night that the Franks landed, twenty Mamelukes rode outagainst them, killed many, and brought in their heads in triumph. Theywould not ask us to charge with them, but would deem it shame to ask foraid in such an encounter, but they will be willing enough to accept ourhelp in cutting off the fugitives and in preventing others who may landfrom spreading over the country. " "Then you still feel sure that the Mamelukes will defeat the French?"Edgar said. "If it be the will of Allah, my son. The Mamelukes are not like thepeople who defended Alexandria; they are warriors. We Arabs are brave, we do not fear death; but when, from time to time, a tribe refuses topay its annual tribute, and a band of Mamelukes is sent against them, truly the sons of the desert cannot withstand them in combat, even whenmuch more numerous, and are either destroyed or forced to make theirsubmission. These men regard themselves not as simple soldiers; it is anarmy of emirs. Each has his two or three slaves to wait upon him, togroom his horse and polish his arms. Their dresses are superb; theirarms and trappings are encrusted with gold and gems. Each carries hiswealth on his person, and there are few who cannot show a hundred piecesof gold, while many can exceed that by ten times. It is true that theyare the oppressors of the people, and that Egypt has been drained ofits wealth for their support, yet we, who suffer from them, cannot butfeel proud of them. Are they not followers of the Prophet? They are menlike those whom the great Sultan Saladin led against the Christian hostswho strove to capture Syria. We have tales how brave these were, and howthey rode, clad in steel from head to foot; and yet their bones whitenedthe sands, and the true believers remained in possession of their lands. The Mamelukes are men such as those were, and until I see the contrary Ishall not believe that they can be defeated by these Franks. " "I hope that it may be so, sheik, and I doubt in no way their valour;but it is the guns and the discipline of the French that will, I fear, decide the conflict. " CHAPTER IV. THE BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS. The little party had ridden but a few miles when they saw a party offive or six hundred Arab horse approaching. The sheik rode to meet them, and after a short conversation with their leaders, returned. "We need go no farther for orders, " he said. "Mourad Bey, with 3000Mamelukes and as many Janizaries, is within a few miles. Orders havebeen sent to all the Arab tribes to hasten to oppose the march of theenemy, and from all parts they are riding hither. Doubtless my brother, who is the great sheik of the tribe of which we are a branch, is alreadyon his way to join him. We will at once ride and bring back all ourfighting men. The caravan can proceed without guard. Even a hostiletribe would respect it at the present time, when all are engaged withthe enemy. We shall speedily overtake them. They would not have startedfor an hour after we mounted, and cannot have gone many miles before wecome up with them. " Riding at full gallop, they soon overtook the caravan. The Arabsreceived with shouts of satisfaction the orders their leader gave themto retrace their steps. The old men, who were to proceed with thecaravan, were told that in the event of meeting with any partieshastening towards Ramanieh, to tell them that the orders were to harassthe French as they advanced, and to say that all the sheik's fightingmen were already engaged in the work. Then, after a brief adieu to thewomen, the Arabs rode at full gallop towards the river. It was on the morning of the 29th of June that the French had takenAlexandria, and on the 6th of July that they commenced their march. General Dugua, with Kleber's division, had been taken by water toRosetta, which they occupied without difficulty, and with a largeflotilla of boats carrying provisions and stores, proceeded up the Nileas far as Damanhour, at which town the main portion of the army arrivedafter two days' painful march. The French met with no resistance, owing to the fact that almost allBedouins near the coast had accepted Napoleon's tempting offers. Nevertheless the troops were already discouraged. They had expected tofind a rich and fertile country, with palm-trees, lovely towns, and anabundance of supplies of all kinds; but the Nile was now at its lowest, and during the previous season it had not, as usual, overflowed itsbanks and fertilized the country, consequently their march lay through asandy waste. The dust rose in clouds under their feet, the sun beat downupon them; they suffered agonies of thirst, and many dropped fromexhaustion. And their disappointment was great when they found that, instead of a rich and prosperous town, Damanhour was but a collection ofhuts, affording neither means of subsistence nor booty of any kind. Beyond the town large bands of Arabs had gathered, and the French armywere obliged to keep their ranks as they marched, to maintain a constantwatchfulness, and to travel at a slow pace in order that they might notbe separated from their baggage. General Muireur was seized with aserious fever, the result of heat, thirst, and disappointment. Hemounted his horse on the morning after his arrival there, and rode outbeyond the outposts. He had gone but a short distance when a party ofArabs, hiding among some bushes, sprang to their feet and poured in avolley. He fell dead, and his body was stripped, and the Arabs, mountingtheir horses, rode off before the outposts could arrive on the spot. From this time the French dared not straggle. Every man who left theranks or lagged behind was killed. The Arabs were seldom seen, but theylay concealed behind every inequality of the ground, every clump ofbushes. Occasionally, when there seemed to be an opening, a horde ofArabs would sweep down, but these always recoiled from the steady fireof the French infantry, and on the 10th of July the leading Frenchdivision, that commanded by Desaix, reached Ramanieh, on the Nile. Here, after their terrible march, the French troops were seized with adelirium of pleasure at seeing the verdure on the banks of the river, and the water. Disregarding all orders, they broke their ranks and rushed wildly to thestream, into which thousands of them plunged in their uniforms. In thecultivated fields great quantities of melons were found, affording adelightful food, for since they had left Alexandria there had beennothing to eat but the biscuits they had brought with them. Many paiddearly for over-indulgence in the fruit, numbers being prostrated withcolic, while not a few died. Next day the army rested, the horsesneeding the halt even more than the men, for they had not recovered fromthe long confinement of the voyage when they started from Alexandria, and the scanty supply of water, the clouds of dust, and the heaviness ofthe passage across the deep sand had caused the death of a large number, and had rendered the rest all but unserviceable. They had learnt from the natives that Mourad, with a large number ofMamelukes, was in front of them; and, indeed, on the day of theirarrival there they appeared in such force that the French formed inorder of battle outside the town. The Mamelukes rode backwards andforwards in front of the line brandishing their weapons and threateninga charge. A few rounds of artillery, however, speedily taught them thepower of the French guns, and they retired to Chebreisse, and the Frenchwere not disturbed the next day. Here the army had the satisfaction ofbeing rejoined both by Dugua's division, with its flotilla, and byanother fleet of boats from Alexandria. The Bedouins under the sheik had taken no part in the irregularskirmishes. There were already as many Arabs as sufficed for cutting offstragglers and compelling the French to march in military order, and thesheik determined to hold his small party together until some opportunityfor a general encounter presented itself. Sometimes from the crest ofthe sand-hills he and his followers watched the progress of the darkmasses of infantry. "They march very slowly, " he said to Edgar. "Why do they not go onquicker?" "I fancy that they are keeping pace with the baggage-train. Theiranimals must be completely exhausted; and last night as we followed themwe came upon many dead horses. They know that their only safety is tokeep together, and I doubt not that the men are well-nigh as exhaustedas the animals. Even on horseback the heat is terrible, and although wehave our water-skins well-filled, I feel it very much, and of course menon foot carrying their muskets and ammunition and knapsacks must feel itvery much more. I think they will go on faster after they have leftRamanieh. They will have the Nile by their side, and will have no wantof water. The sand is firmer, too, and moreover they will be able toobtain what they require from the boats. " On the evening of the 12th the French arrived at a village nearChebreisse. At sunrise the next morning a battle began between theflotilla and some Egyptian gun-boats that had come down from Cairo, together with some batteries that had been established on the banks. TheMamelukes sallied out from Chebreisse and charged down with such ardourthat it seemed as if they were about to hurl themselves on the Frenchinfantry. When within a short distance, however, they suddenly stoppedtheir horses, checking them almost instantaneously, then they dischargedtheir carbines, and retired as rapidly as they had come. This theyrepeated several times, but the shells of the French batteries playedhavoc among them. Never before had the Mamelukes encountered a shell-fire, and thedestruction wrought by these novel missiles bursting among them causedthem to retire at full speed, leaving three or four hundred dead behindthem, and abandoning some of the guns they had placed in position beforeChebreisse. A large Arab force had been drawn up in front of the townwhen the Mamelukes charged, in readiness to follow the latter as soonas they had broken the French ranks. This was the first opportunity thatEdgar had had of seeing any considerable body of this famous cavalry, and he acknowledged that nothing could be more superb than theirappearance. The splendour of their dress, the beauty of their horses, and magnificence of their arms and trappings excited his admiration tothe highest. "Now you will see, " the sheik said exultingly, "how they will gallopover the Franks!" Edgar said nothing, but sat watching the splendid array as they sweptdown upon the French line. Each of the French divisions was formed up insquare, with the artillery and dismounted cavalry in the intervals. Thevolleys of musketry that received the charging Mamelukes was sufficientto quell the ardour of the boldest horsemen in the world. In vain, before drawing off, they circled round and round the French formation, seeking for some weak spot upon which they could hurl themselves, andwhen at length they drew off, the French soldiers ran out from theirranks to plunder the fallen. In silence the Arabs followed the Mamelukes, and the chief did not say aword until they had ridden, at a leisurely pace, some distance beyondthe town. "You were right, " he said at last to Edgar. "I did not think that anymen on foot could have resisted that charge, but the Franks stood assteadily as if it were a flock of sheep that was approaching them. Thecannon are terrible. Who would have thought that the balls they shootwould explode and fly into pieces when they reach their mark! How is itdone?" Edgar explained as well as he was able the nature of shells, and how, when they were fired, a fuse was lighted of a length just sufficient toburn down to the powder within the ball at the time it reached theobject at which it was fired. The fight on the river had been more severe, and had been maintainedwith great obstinacy. At one time two gun-boats were taken by theEgyptians. These, however, were recaptured, and the admiral's shipburnt. Admiral Perrè, who commanded the first flotilla, was wounded by acannon-ball, and the loss on both sides was severe. For eight days the French continued to march forward. They sufferedterrible hardships, and at times were almost in a state of mutiny. Theinterminable extent of sand utterly dispirited them, and they came tobelieve that all that they had heard of Egypt was false, and that theyhad been deliberately sent there by the directory to die. They doubtedeven the existence of Cairo. Some, in their despair, threw themselvesinto the river and were drowned. Many died on the march, less fromsunstroke and exhaustion than from despair. At last the Pyramids came insight, and their spirits rose again, for here, they were told, the wholearmy of Mamelukes, Janizaries, and Arabs were assembled to give battle, and they hoped therefore to terminate the campaign at a blow. During the whole march they were harassed by the Arabs, and many werecut off and killed. Marches were always performed at night, and at teno'clock in the morning they halted for the day, preparing themselves forslumber by a dip in the Nile. On the 21st of July they advanced fromOmdinar, and at ten o'clock made out the enemy drawn up in line ofbattle. They had constructed a large entrenched camp, with forty piecesof ancient cannon incapable of movement. In this camp were 20, 000infantry, Janizaries, Spahis, and militia from Cairo. On the right werethe Mameluke cavalry, some 10, 000 strong, with one or two foot-soldiersto each horseman. To the left of the Mamelukes, and between them and thePyramids, were some 3000 Arab horse. The French army was drawn up in the same order as in their last fight, in great squares of divisions, the left resting on the Nile, and theright on a large village. Napoleon, with his staff, reconnoitered theenemy's entrenched camp, and by means of telescopes discovered that thecannon were not upon field-carriages, but were simply heavy ship gunsthat had been taken from their flotilla, and were served by the sailors. They, therefore, could not be moved, and it was evident that if theinfantry left the camp they must do so without guns. The entrenchmentitself was not formidable; it had been begun but three days before, andalthough it might be impracticable for cavalry, it would offer noserious obstacle to an attack by infantry. The discovery that the cannon were immovable, decided Napoleon in hisdispositions for the battle, and he gave orders that his army shouldmove across to his right, and should thus be concentrated for the attackupon the Mamelukes and Arabs. Mourad Bey, seeing Napoleon's object, atonce ordered two-thirds of his cavalry to charge the French while theywere in motion, while the others were to remain near the entrenchedcamp. So rapidly did they sweep down, that the French squares fell intosome confusion, and Desaix, with his division, which formed the head ofthe column, had difficulty in maintaining themselves, their ranks beingsomewhat broken by a grove of palm-trees through which they werepassing. They, however, received the Mamelukes with so terrible a fireof musketry and grape-shot that the charge was not pressed home. TheMamelukes, however, fought with desperate courage, sweeping round theFrench squares, and even endeavouring to back their horses into theline of bayonets, in hopes of breaking the wall of steel. At length, however, they could do no more, and Mourad, with 2000 men, rode off towards Gizeh, while the rest, not noticing the way that he hadtaken, owing to the cloud of dust and smoke, rode back to theentrenchment. The French now pressed forward with all speed, and adivision was thrown across the plain, so as to prevent the horsemen fromretreating by the line that Mourad had taken. The latter, seeing whathad happened, charged again and again with his Mamelukes, to endeavourto break an opening through the French, by which the rest of his forcescould join him. The divisions of Generals Bon and Menon advanced to theattack of the entrenchments; but the infantry, panic-stricken at thedefeat of the cavalry, did not await the attack, and after but two orthree rounds of shot had been fired by their cannon, deserted theposition, and fled in wild confusion to the river. Here some succeeded in making their way across by boats, while many swamover. The Mamelukes also attempted to swim their horses; a fewsucceeded, but more were drowned. The total loss on the Egyptian sideamounted to some 10, 000 men, including infantry, cavalry, and the slavesof the Mamelukes. 1000 prisoners were taken, and some 2000 camels andhorses fell into the victors' hands. Great booty was captured by theFrench soldiers, and for days they occupied themselves in recovering thebodies of the drowned Mamelukes, which amply repaid their trouble, asfour or five hundred pieces of gold were often found upon them, besidesjewels and other valuables. The great bulk of their less portableproperty they had, however, placed on board sixty boats, and these, whenthe battle was seen to be lost, were set on fire, and their contentsdestroyed. The Arabs had taken little share in the battle. When the Mamelukescharged, they had been ordered to remain in reserve, and only to chargewhen the latter had broken the French squares. Burning with impatiencethey watched the mighty torrent of horse sweep across the plain, thencame the roar of artillery and the incessant rattle of musketry. Thenthey saw with astonishment the cavalry recoil; they witnessed chargeafter charge, and then saw them sweeping round the squares, while theplain, where they had first attacked, was strewn thickly with the bodiesof men and horses right up to the bayonets of the French line. The Arabsburst into cries of dismay. "Nothing can stand such a fire as that, " Edgar said to Sidi; "themusketry and grape from the cannon are mowing them down like grass--itis terrible!" For a time the Mamelukes were hidden from sight by the cloud of smokeand by the dust raised by their horses' hoofs, then they were seen toemerge. "There is Mourad's banner!" the sheik exclaimed; "they are making forGizeh, but surely all cannot be there--there are not more than 2000 withhim. " Then another body of about equal strength broke out from the dust of thebattle, and went towards the entrenchments. "Let us join them there, " the Arab shouted; and at full gallop they rodeacross and joined the Mamelukes. Then, heralded by a tremendousartillery fire, the French line advanced, pouring heavy volleys ofmusketry into the cavalry, and upon the defenders of the entrenchments. In two or three minutes the infantry were seen to be throwing away theirguns, leaping from the entrenchments, and flying in a disordered crowdtowards the river. Had the French possessed any cavalry, not one of thefugitives could have escaped. The Mamelukes, seeing that all was lost, had ascertained that Mourad had ridden towards Gizeh, and now started toendeavour to rejoin him; while among the Arabs the cry rose, "To thedesert!" and, turning their horses, they galloped away, passed the footof the Pyramids, and out into the desert, where they halted, seeing thatonce out of reach of the fire of the French guns, there was no fearwhatever of their being pursued. "It is the will of Allah, " the sheik said, as he and his partydismounted. "Truly you were right, friend Edgar; we know not how tofight. Who could have dreamt that men on foot could have withstood thecharge of five thousand horsemen? And yet the Mamelukes fought, asalways, bravely. " "They did indeed, sheik, " Edgar agreed. "They did all that was possiblefor men to do, but against such a fire of infantry and artilleryhorsemen are powerless. Had our infantry been as well trained as thoseof the French, and instead of remaining in the entrenchments, where theycould render no assistance whatever, marched against the French infantryand broken their squares, the Mamelukes would then have been able todash down upon them, and not a French soldier would ever have reachedtheir ships again; but without infantry the horsemen could do nothing. " "Then you think that all is lost, Edgar?" "Assuredly all is lost for the present, sheik. Mourad Bey and the partywith him may get away, but the rest are penned in between the French andthe river, and few of them will escape. As for the infantry, they are amere mob, and even if they get away they will never venture to standagainst the French. Napoleon will enter Cairo to-morrow, and there hewill remain. Numbers of horses will fall into the hands of the French. They will take many more in Cairo, and before long they will havecavalry as well as infantry, and then no part of the country will besafe from them. " "Then is Egypt to fall altogether under the rule of the French?" "Only for a time. Our fleet will soon return, and their troops here willbe cut off from their country. They may remain here for some time, butat last they will have to go. I think that we shall send an army out tofight against them. We shall know what their strength is, and that theycannot be reinforced; and they will find in the long run that althoughthey may have captured Egypt, they are themselves but prisoners. " "And what would you advise?" the sheik asked. "You understand the waysand customs of the Franks, while I know no more than a little child. Thus, you see, in this matter you are the graybeard and I but a boy. Therefore speak freely what you think will be best. " "Then I should say, sheik, that your best course would be to return atonce to your oasis. The French army will doubtless remain near Cairo. They will send cavalry and light artillery over the country, to searchout their enemies, and to reduce all to obedience. Around Alexandria allwill be quiet, and so long as French convoys are not attacked, the forcethere is not likely to interfere with peaceable people. If you returnthere you will live unmolested. You can wait and see how matters go. Ifthere is any great rising against the French, it will be open to you totake part in it, but at present hostilities against the French wouldonly bring down their vengeance. It may be that the Arabs in the greatoasis to the west will continue the war, but in the end they will besure to suffer by so doing. " "I think that your advice is good, " the sheik said. "Sidi and you shallreturn home at once with half my followers. I will ride at daybreak withthe other half. In one long day's ride I shall reach the spot where thewomen and baggage have gone, and I will escort them back. The road willcertainly be safe from the Franks, who will, for some time, be occupiedwith Cairo, though it is hardly likely that the town will resist. Ibrahim, after the destruction of the Mamelukes and the defeat of thearmy, cannot hope to resist a great attack; for the fortifications, likethose of Alexandria, have been suffered to decay, and the French wouldassuredly soon force an entrance. However, after the march that theyhave made they will need rest, and for a time the roads will be safe. But this is not so with regard to the Arabs. The whole country will bein confusion, and an unarmed caravan might well be plundered by anyparty of Arabs who met it, though they would not interfere with it wereit headed by a sheik with armed followers. Therefore I will go to fetchthem. My son will ride fast, and take possession again of our home, lestsome of our neighbours, finding it deserted, should occupy it, and thentrouble would follow. " Accordingly, the next morning at daybreak the troop divided and rode offin different directions. The greater part of the gathering had scatteredthe evening before, and determined to return home and wait events. Fourdays' rapid travelling took Sidi and his companions back to the oasis, which they found exactly as they had left it, the tribes in theneighbourhood having been all too busy in following the French army, andpicking up baggage left behind by the break-down of the horses, toattend to other matters. The next day Sidi and Edgar rode into Alexandria Everything there wasgoing on as peacefully as usual; French soldiers lounging about thestreets, a number of labourers, under the direction of French officers, were at work restoring the fortifications on the sea face of the town, the shops were all open, the markets were as well supplied as usual. ToEdgar's surprise a good many French sailors were to be seen in thestreets. "Their fleet cannot have sailed, " he said to Sidi. "Let us ride outthrough the East gate to Ramleh. It may be, of course, that there is adespatch-boat lying in the port, though I did not see one. I can hardlyfancy that the French admiral would have kept his fleet here, for Nelsonmust sooner or later get the news of what has taken place, and it iscertain that when he does he will hurry back at full speed. " From the elevation of Ramleh, however, the French fleet could be madeout, lying in Aboukir Bay in a long line. "Hurrah!" Edgar exclaimed; "there they are. I mean to see this battle, Sidi, if I have to stop here a month. It cannot be long before Nelsonarrives. I cannot think why the French admiral should have risked beingcaught in a trap like this, when a defeat would cut the French army offfrom Europe altogether. " "But what will you do?" "I shall go into the town, and buy three or four of your Arab blankets, and put up a little tent here. " "I will share it with you, " Sidi replied. "I will send one of our twomen back and tell him to return with two more. There will be four ofthem to look after the horses, and to fetch things out from the town aswe may require them. I should like to see the battle too; it must besomething terrible to hear the noise of so many great cannon. " The inaction of the French has never been satisfactorily explained. Admiral Brueys bore a high reputation as a sailor. He was a personalfriend and possessed the complete confidence of Bonaparte. The latterhad given him the strictest injunctions to sail for Toulon as soon as hehad completed the discharge of the stores that he had on board. Insteadof doing this, however, he anchored in Aboukir Bay, and there waited. Itmay have been that he feared that Napoleon might never reach Cairo, orthat he might be defeated in a great battle there, and that it might benecessary for him to return to the port and to re-embark his army. Noother explanation is possible of his delay in carrying out theimperative orders that he had received. After the despatch of the messenger the two friends rode along the shoreuntil they could not only make out the exact position of the Frenchfleet, but count the guns in the broadsides of each vessel. It consistedof thirteen line-of-battle ships, comprising the flag-ship the _Orient_, of 120 guns, three of 80, and nine of 74, together with four frigates, four mortar vessels, and a number of gun-boats, while on an island aheadof the line was a battery of guns and mortars. Many parties of Arabswere riding about on the shore, and there were several of theirencampments. Some had been attracted to the spot from a considerabledistance in order to view the great vessels of which reports had reachedthem, others again were simply there from the spirit of restlessnessthat pervaded the population. The news of the battle of the Pyramids had not yet arrived, and all werein suspense. The belief that the Mamelukes would defeat the French wasall but universal. Had this taken place the whole of the Arab tribeswould at once have harassed the retreat of the defeated army, and withthe Mamelukes pressing upon them it is probable that not a singleFrenchman would have reached the sea. As Edgar and his friend werewatching the French fleet a vessel was seen over the spit of sand. Shewas some three miles out at sea. "There is another of their ships of war, Sidi. I wonder whether she hasbeen scouting along the coast to gather news as to where our fleet maybe at present?" When she came abreast of the extremity of the bay she changed her courseand bore closer in. "She is coming in to join the others. I wonder what news she brings?" When, however, she approached within two miles of the French fleet sheagain changed her course, and bore along parallel with the coast. "I suppose she is going into Alexandria. She hasn't got any coloursflying. That is curious, too; all the ships here are flying theirs. Look! there are men at the mast-heads of several of the ships examiningher with telescopes. That is curious, too, for she is not signalling. There she is, turning again and making out to sea. Perhaps she is aBritish ship sent on ahead by Nelson to discover the position of theFrench. If it is so we shall most likely have the fleet here to-morrow. Then we shall see a big battle; at least we shall if the French don'trun away. See! there is a twelve-oared boat starting from the admiral'sship and rowing right away. They must be going to Alexandria. They arerowing hard, too. " They watched it for some time, and then returned to their tent. Twohours later a number of ships' boats were seen coming out fromAlexandria. "They are men-of-war boats, " Edgar said. "I think I must have beenright, and that that vessel we saw must have been an English frigate. That boat has been sent to order all the sailors we saw in the streetsof the town to return at once. " For some hours boats continued to pass, all filled with men, but therewere no signs of movement on the part of the ships. "If it was one of our frigates the French admiral must have made up hismind to fight them. They have got a great advantage, covered as they areby those two land batteries. Besides, I know that there is a spit ofsand running out there which will make it very awkward for an enemy, notknowing its position, to attack them. There is one thing, the Frenchwill find it difficult to sail out if they want to. You see the wind ison shore, and they are all riding head to it. There can't be much waterinside them. No doubt they could get out all right if they had plenty oftime and no one to interfere with them, but it would be a difficultbusiness to manage if the British fleet were upon them. " At ten o'clock the next morning a number of large vessels were seen inthe distance. They bore down towards Alexandria, but the wind was lightand they made but slow way, and it was five in the afternoon before, having changed their course, they formed into line of battle and headedfor the French fleet. The scene from the shore was intensely exciting. In each fleet there were thirteen battle-ships, but the French shipswere the larger and more heavily armed. They carried forty-six moreguns, and the weight of their broadside was 14, 029 pounds to 10, 695pounds, while they carried 2300 more men, and were 5000 tons heavier. They had, too, in addition, four frigates, besides the mortar vessels, gun-boats, and the battery on the island of Aboukir. Soon after sixo'clock, the two leading vessels of the British fleet being withinrange, the French opened fire, as did the guns of the battery. Edgaruttered an exclamation of disgust as one of the largest of the Englishships was seen to stop suddenly in her course. "She has run on the shoal!" he exclaimed. "Look, our ships are steeringfor the head of the French line; they mean to go inside them. " As the British vessels reached the head of the French ships theyanchored one after another, each laying itself broadside to broadsideagainst an opponent, and the battle commenced with terrible energy, thetremendous roar of the guns astounding the Arabs who were gathered onthe sand-hills. At first the French reply was feeble. They were takenentirely by surprise by Nelson's manoeuvre. Believing that he couldonly attack them from outside, they had prepared only on that hand forthe fight, and in clearing the decks for action all the useless gear andfittings had been piled over on the other side, and it was some littletime before this could be cleared away and the guns got ready foraction. Then for a time their fire was as heavy as that of the British. Nevertheless some of them had suffered terribly before they were able toreturn a shot, and this contributed in no small degree to the Britishvictory. The loss of the _Culloden_, which was the vessel which struck on thesands, and of the _Leander_, which went to her assistance, was serious, and had the French rear-admiral, Villeneuve, who commanded the fivevessels at the rear of the French line, cut his cables and come to theassistance of his comrades, the eight British ships, engaged with asmany French, would have been in a serious position. He did not do so, however, possibly fearing to run his ships aground. Consequently the_Alexandria_ and the _Swiftsure_ came in to the assistance of theBritish ships, some of which were being terribly damaged by the greatlysuperior weight of the French fire. The _Bellerophon_, dismasted anddisabled by the enemy's fire, dropped out of the line, and the_Alexandria_ took her place, while the _Swiftsure_ attacked the_Franklin_. The _Leander_, seeing how hard was the fight, relinquishedher attempt to get the _Culloden_ afloat, and, sailing in, engaged inthe battle. [Illustration: Battle of THE NILE 1st. August 1798. ] For a time the issue was doubtful. The three English seventy-four-gunships were matched against one of a hundred and twenty and two ofeighty-four. Darkness did not put a stop to the engagement, whichcontinued to rage with unabated fury, the battle being practicallybetween twelve British ships and eight French ships of the line andtheir four frigates and gun-boats. By ten o'clock five of the French vanhad surrendered, and the great hundred-and-twenty-gun ship, the_Orient_, was in flames. The excitement of the Arabs as the battlecontinued was unbounded. It seemed to them that mortal men could notsustain so terrible a conflict, and exclamations of wonder andadmiration rose constantly among them. The light of the burning vessel enabled the whole of the terrible sceneto be clearly witnessed. Half the ships were partly or wholly dismasted, the rigging was cut to pieces, and the sails were riddled with balls. The splintered sides, bulwarks shot away, and port-holes blown into one, showed how terrible was the damage inflicted on both sides. Higher andhigher rose the flames on board the _Orient_. Men could be seen leapingoverboard into the water from the burning ship, and soon after ten sheblew up with a tremendous explosion, the concussion of which was sogreat that many of the Arabs were thrown to the ground. For ten minutesa dead silence succeeded the roar of battle, not a gun was fired oneither side. The British vessels near the spot where the _Orient_ hadlately floated lowered what boats there were uninjured and set to workto rescue the survivors, who were either clinging to spars or wereswimming. Several of these, too, were hauled in at the lower port-holesof the ships. The French ship _Franklin_ was the first to recommence firing, but aftera few more broadsides from the _Swiftsure_ she hauled down her colours. The firing continued without any abatement until three o'clock in themorning. It then died away for a time, but recommenced at six o'clockwith fresh fury, and it was not until two in the afternoon that it cameto an end. Villeneuve, seeing that all was lost, now woke up and cut hiscables. Three of his ships ran aground, but with the _Guillaume Tell_and the _Genereux_ and two frigates he made off, there being only oneBritish ship that was in condition to make sail in pursuit. The twoline-of-battle ships and one of the frigates were afterwards captured bya British squadron. Thus of the thirteen French ships of the line eight had surrendered, onehad blown up, two had escaped, and two were on shore. If the _Culloden_could have got into action, it is probable that not one of the Frenchfleet would have left Aboukir Bay. The British loss in killed andwounded was 895. 3105 of the French, including the wounded, werecaptured, and 5225 perished in the fight. The victory was the mostdecisive that was ever won at sea. CHAPTER V. A STREET ATTACK. Not until the last gun was fired did Edgar and his Arab friend return totheir tent, utterly worn out by excitement and watching. "I told you what it would be, Sidi, " Edgar said as they went along. "Iwas certain that we should thrash them. It is a tremendous victory, andyou see it is as important for you as it is for us, for the French armyis now cut off. It will be a long time indeed before the French can fitout another fleet strong enough to have even a chance of fighting ours, and, as far as I can see, the only possible escape for their army is tomarch all the way round by Syria to Constantinople, and I should thinkthat after this the Sultan will at once declare war with them, for byconquering Egypt they have taken one of his provinces. " This turned out to be the case. The news of the capture of Egypt hadfilled the Sultan with indignation and rage, but the fear excited bythe success of the French arms in Europe deterred him from declaring waragainst so formidable a foe until the report of the destruction of theirfleet reached Constantinople, when he at once plucked up courage, declared war against France, and ordered two armies to be gathered forthe reconquest of Egypt. The news of the destruction of the French fleetcaused intense excitement throughout Egypt. It showed that the Frenchwere not, as many had been inclined to consider them, invincible, andthat it was improbable they would be able to receive any reinforcementsfrom beyond the sea. A week previously the Arabs had felt completely crushed, now the feelingof independence and hope sprang up again, and the whole situation was atonce changed. Sidi had, directly the fight came to an end, sent off oneof his followers to meet his father, and to inform him of what had takenplace. Four days later the man returned; he had met the chief and hisparty just as they had reached the river. The latter had resolved atonce to rejoin the desert tribesmen, and to escort the caravan back totheir oasis; his wife, the women, and the animals were to remain there. The party now at the encampment with Sidi were to join him at once. "The sheik bids me say, " the messenger went on to Sidi, "that he wouldthat you should not wait until the others are ready to start, but, if heis willing, should at once ride with your white friend to Cairo, if heis disposed to go with you; there, from his knowledge of the language ofthe Franks, he would be able to gain much information as to theirdesigns. "He bids you regard him as your leader, and to act as he may advise. Twoof us are to go with you to look after your horses. He begs that one ofyou will come to the base of the Great Pyramid on the twelfth day afterI left him, that is in ten days from now, to tell him what news youhave gathered and to consult with him. He is convinced that the news yousent him will call all the Arabs to arms again. " "That is just what I should wish, " Edgar said. "I have been thinking forthe last four days that I should like to be at Cairo. That is the placeof interest now. " He and his friend talked the matter over. "It will be better, " Edgarsaid, "that we should go as simple Arabs, and that we should take twohorses of less value than those which we now ride. You could send themup by the party that will rejoin your father. As two young Arabs onordinary horses, we should attract no attention. We could encamp withour two men just outside the town, and go in and out as we pleased; noone would be likely to notice or question us. Or we might even wear thedress of the fellaheen, which would be safer still, for if the Arabsbegin to make attacks upon French parties, as they are likely to do, anyof them wandering in the streets of Cairo might be regarded withsuspicion by the soldiers. " "I will do just as you advise, Edgar. I suppose that we had better startat once. " "Certainly, as soon as we have eaten a meal. Will the man who broughtthe news in be fresh enough to start again at once?" "Certainly he would, " Sidi said in a tone of surprise; "an Arab neverfeels fatigue on horseback. Of course he must have a fresh horse. I willpick out another man to accompany us, and two horses for ourselves. There are two that would suit us well, for they are both sound and fast, though but poor animals to look at, and no one will cast an eye of envyupon them. " "That is just what we want, Sidi. " In less than an hour they were galloping across the plain. The journeyof 110 miles was accomplished in two days, and the party, withoutentering the town, encamped on some waste ground outside the walls. Herewere many small huts belonging to the poorest class of the population, together with many small shelter tents of black cloth erected by partiesof wandering Arabs like themselves. They had, on the previous night, changed their attire, and had nothing to distinguish them from thepoorer classes of Arabs, who, having given up the desert life, earned aprecarious existence in the towns. The two men with them looked withdisdain at their surroundings, and Edgar felt obliged to warn them. "You must remember, " he said, "that the lion couches before he springs, and crawls and conceals himself until he is within reach of his prey, sois it needful also for us to bear ourselves humbly. We are come to seewhat the French are doing; how they comport themselves, and what is thefeeling among the population. We are as spies who come to examine acountry before it is attacked, and to carry out our object we must bearourselves so that suspicion may not fall upon us. If you are questioned, remember that we are four men ready to act as guards to a caravan or onany such service that may present itself. " Leaving the two men to look after the horses, Edgar and Sidi entered thecity. The scene was intensely interesting, Cairo being vastly moreoriental in its appearance than Alexandria. The narrow streets werecrowded; strict orders had been issued against plundering, Napoleonbeing anxious to win the good-will of the population, and merchandise ofall sorts was displayed in the shops. Each trade had its special bazaar, the gold and silversmiths, the dealers in silks, in carpets, richlyembroidered garments, tobacco, long pipes with jewelled mouthpieces, narghiles with their long twisted stems; workers in iron, vendors of theyellow shoes used by the women in walking, the dainty gold-embroideredvelvet slippers for indoors, or the pointed upturned shoes of the men, had each its own bazaars scattered throughout the streets. Women, in their long dark blue garments, and the hideous white linenyakmash covering the whole face below the eyes, and falling to thebreast, moved through the crowd, others of higher rank, seated ondonkeys and attended by eunuchs, made their way back from the baths, orfrom visits to their friends. Stout Turkish merchants or functionariesrode along perched on high saddles, looking as if they would bear to theground the little donkeys, that nevertheless went lightly along withtheir burden. French soldiers abounded, gazing into the shops, andoccasionally making small purchases, chattering and laughing, thefatigues and sufferings of the march being now forgotten. There were comparatively few of the richer class in the streets, many ofthese having left the city at the approach of the French, while on thenight before the latter entered there had been serious tumults in thecity, and the houses of many of the beys had been broken into andsacked. Through all this crowd Edgar and Sidi wandered unnoticed. "It does not look as if there were any strong feeling against theFranks, " Sidi remarked, as they issued into a large square which wascomparatively deserted, and seated themselves on a bench in the shade ofthe trees near a fountain. "No; but it is not here that one would expect to find any signs ofdisaffection. No doubt the traders are doing a good business, for everyofficer and soldier will be sure to spend all his pay in presents forthose at home, or in mementoes of his stay here, and I am sure thethings are pretty enough to tempt anyone. It is in the poorer quartersthat trouble will be brewing. " Presently a group of French officers came along and seated themselves ata short distance from the two young Arabs. Having not the slightest ideathat these could understand what they said, they talked loudly andunrestrainedly. "The thing is serious, gentlemen, " one of them, who was clearly ofsuperior rank to the rest, said. "Since the news of this mostunfortunate affair arrived, there has been a great change in thesituation. For the last two days there has not been a single horsebrought into the horse-market, and the number of bullocks has fallen offso greatly that the commissariat had difficulty this morning in buyingsufficient for the day's rations for the army, but the worst of it is, that assassinations are becoming terribly common, and in the last threedays fifty-two men have been killed. There will be a general order outto-morrow that men are not to go beyond certain limits, unless at leastfour are together, and that they are not, under any pretext whatever, toenter a native house. "Besides those known to have been killed, there are twenty-threemissing, and there is no doubt they too have been murdered, and theirbodies buried. The Egyptian head of the police has warned us that thereare gatherings in the lower quarters, and that he believes that some ofMourad's emissaries are stirring the people up to revolt. A good manyparties of Arabs are reported as having been seen near the city. Altogether I fear that we are going to have serious trouble; not thatthere is any fear of revolt, we can put that down without difficulty, but this system of assassination is alarming, and if it goes on, the menwill never be safe outside their barracks, except in the mainthoroughfares. One does not see how to put it down. An open enemy onecan fight, but there is no discovering who these fellows are in a largepopulation like this, and it would be of no use inflicting a fine on thecity for every French soldier killed; that would affect only the richerclass and the traders. There is no doubt, too, that the news that ourfleet has been completely destroyed has dispirited the soldiers, whofeel that for the present, an any rate, they are completely cut off fromFrance. " "That is certainly serious, general, " one of the officers said, "andthere seems only the project of the invasion of India or a march toConstantinople. After our march here, though it was but little over ahundred miles, and the greater portion of the way along the bank of theriver, with our flotilla with stores abreast of us, neither of thesealternatives look as easy as they seemed to us before we set foot inthis country. " "No, indeed, colonel; our campaign at home gave us no idea of what themarch of our army would be across these deserts, and it certainly seemsto me that the idea of twenty thousand men marching from here to Indiais altogether out of the question. If our fleet had beaten the English, gone back and brought us twenty thousand more men, and had then sailedround the Cape, and come up to Suez to fetch us and land us in India, the thing would have been feasible enough, and in alliance with theSultan of Mysore we might have cleared the English out altogether, butthe land march seems to be impossible; a small body of men could neverfight their way there, a large body could not find subsistence. " "No; I fancy that Constantinople will be the place at which we shallemerge. A march to Palestine will, of course, be hard, but it is onlythree or four days from the Egyptian frontier. I don't fancy that therewill be any difficulty on the way up through Syria and Asia Minor, andthat almost everywhere we shall find cultivated land, and an abundantsupply of provisions for the army. As for the Turks, I have no doubtthat we shall thrash them, if they venture to interfere with us, aseasily as we did the Egyptians. I have no fear for the safety of thearmy, and if the Egyptians venture on a rising here, before we start, weshall give them such a lesson that a few thousand men left here shouldhave no difficulty in keeping the country in order. " They chatted for some time longer, and then moved off. Edgar repeated tohis friend the substance of their conversation, and they then returnedto their tent. The next day they wandered through the poorer portion ofthe town. Groups of men were assembled in many places, talkingexcitedly; when, as it sometimes happened, a party of French soldierscame along, they broke up, only to assemble at another spot. Sidi andEdgar mingled with them, and gathered that in a short time there wouldbe trouble. It was agreed that so long as the whole French army remainedthere nothing could be done, but it was regarded as certain that itwould soon break up. It was argued that they could not remain at Cairo. Mourad was gathering a large force higher up on the Nile. The Arabs weremoving again. Damietta and Rosetta would have to be occupied. There werenumbers of the Mamelukes between Cairo and Suez. The French could notremain quietly until the whole country was in arms against them. Nodoubt columns would be sent off, and as soon as they were gone, the timefor a rising would come. They were going down a quiet lane when two men came out from a house. One of them looked fixedly at Sidi and exclaimed: "This is the Arab boy who got us into trouble at Alexandria; now it isour turn. " Paying no attention to Edgar, who was so entirely altered by hisdisguise as to defy recognition, the two men seized Sidi, and began todrag him into the house. Edgar sprang forward and struck one of them soheavy a blow in the face that he released his hold of Sidi and staggeredback against the wall. Then with a shout of fury he drew his knife andrushed at Edgar. The latter also snatched his knife from his girdle, shifted it into his left hand, and threw himself into the usual boxingattitude with his left foot forward. The Maltese paused in his rush. This line of defence was altogether new to him. He had been engaged inmany a fierce fray, but his opponents had always, like himself, foughtwith their knives in their right hands. The momentary indecision was fatal to him. With the speed of a practisedboxer Edgar changed feet. Springing forward with his right foot inadvance he caught his opponent's wrist with his right hand, and snatchedthe man's arm across his body, and plunged his own knife to the hiltunder the other's arm. He was but just in time, for the Greek, who, having hurled Sidi into the passage, had turned to the assistance of hiscomrade, was close upon him, giving vent to a hoarse howl of fury as hiscomrade dropped. Edgar faced him in the same attitude as that in whichhe had met the Maltese. The man paused out of reach and then crouched, swaying his body from side to side in readiness for a spring, but henever gave it. Sidi, although thrown heavily down, had leapt up againwith the activity of a cat, and with a single bound from the door hereached the Greek and buried his knife between his shoulders. Almost atthe same moment there was a shout from the other end of the street, andtwo or three men were seen running towards them. "Through the house, Sidi!" Edgar exclaimed. They rushed in, closed and fastened the door, and then ran out into theyard behind the house, which was fortunately empty. They were over thewall in a moment into another yard, entered a door that stood open, wentnoiselessly along the passage, for both were barefooted, opened a doorand went out into the lane beyond, pausing for a moment before they didso to see that there were no blood-stains that would attract attentionon their dress. As their arms were bare, there were but a few spots ofblood to be seen. They wiped the blood from the hands that held theknives on the inside of their dress, and then walked quietly out, pulledthe door to, but did not attempt to close it, walked quietly down thelane, took the first turning, turned again four or five times, and thenquickened their pace to a fast walk, and in ten minutes emerged from thelabyrinth of lanes they had been traversing. Up to this time not a wordhad been spoken from the moment they entered the house. "We are well out of that, Sidi, " Edgar said. "Who would have thought ofour meeting those two scoundrels again? I am sorry that I had to killthat man, but it was his life or mine. " "You have assuredly again saved my life, Edgar. I am sure that theywould have murdered me. " "No doubt they would, " Edgar said. "But as I was with you, and was notlikely to stand and look on while they did it, it was a fight of twoagainst two, and you did your share. " "It was a poor share, brother. You drew off the attention of the manthat would have killed me, and I had but to strike him down withoutdanger to myself. Again you have saved my life. " "That may be, but I think that you in turn saved mine, for I doubtwhether I should have got on as well with the second fellow as I didwith the first. " "Oh, I have no doubt you would!" the young Arab said confidently. "Howdid you kill him? I saw nothing of it. " "It was simple enough, " Edgar replied, and related how the shortconflict had begun and ended. "You must really teach me these things, Edgar. It is wonderful how quickyou are, and with a knife too; for I have heard you say that in Englandpeople never fight with knives. " "One learns quickness from boxing, " Edgar said carelessly. "That is oneof the advantages of it. It teaches one to think quickly and actquickly; and if one can fight with one's fists, of course one can fightwith a knife. It was a boxing trick I used, and a very useful one, andmore easy than it would be against a good boxer, who would have hit mewith his left before I could strike my blow, but of course this fellowhad no idea of doing that, so that unless I had failed to grasp hiswrist it was a certainty. Did the other hurt you? I heard you go downwith a crash. " "I feel stiff, " Sidi replied, "and I expect that I shall be a good dealworse to-morrow, for I am sure I am bruised all down the back; but thatis no matter. It is a good thing that we have done with those two men; Ifelt sure that they would try to be revenged on us if they ever fell inwith us again. " The next day, the anniversary of the establishment of the republic, wascelebrated by a grand review of the troops, and a few days later thenews came that Desaix's division, which had set out in pursuit of Mouradon the day after the battle of the Pyramids, had overtaken him, andanother fierce fight had ensued. The charge of the Mamelukes had brokenone of the French squares, and for a time great confusion prevailed, butDesaix shouted to the soldiers to throw themselves down on the ground, and then the next square opened so terrible a fire on the Mamelukes thatthey were forced to retreat. Two days later Kleber marched with hisdivision for Damietta. In the native quarter the agitation continued, but so far peace had notbeen broken, and the French took little heed of what was passing, andhad no idea that there was any danger of a rising. Had it been theirobject to provoke such movement, they could hardly have taken stepsbetter calculated to bring it about. They had, in the first place, aftertheir arrival proceeded to largely strengthen and increase thefortifications, and in doing so had altogether disregarded the feelingsof the people, had pulled down houses and mosques, had desecrated tombs, and cleared away all buildings on spaces of ground across which the gunswould play. This desecration of their sacred places had given rise tothe deepest feelings of exasperation among the people. In the next place, many of the fortifications were converted so that theguns menaced the town instead of the country round, and at the citadelespecially, which dominated the whole city, guns were placed to overaweit. The next step was deeply resented by the people, for interferingwith their ancient usages. Cairo was divided into fifty quarters, eachof which had a wall and gate. These gates were closed at night, orindeed at any time, by the orders of the chief of the quarter, and theinterruption caused by these breaks in the line of communication hadgiven rise to many quarrels between the soldiers and the townspeople. The inconvenience was a distinct one, and the French, without givingany notice of their intentions, sent a strong party of engineers, supported by troops, to demolish all these gateways. The taxes were onerous in the extreme. By means of a council that hadbeen appointed, consisting of notabilities who had, either by fear orbribery, been brought over to the side of the French, a crushingtaxation was imposed, and this rendered the trading and upper classes, upon whom the burden principally fell, as hostile to the Frenchdomination as were the lower classes. Thus the French themselves had, bytheir high-handed conduct and their absolute disregard for the feelingsand religious sentiments of the people, prepared a mine that was on thepoint of exploding. That afternoon a messenger arrived from the sheik, saying that he shouldbe at the Pyramids on the following morning, at nine o'clock, and thathe wished them to meet him there. "Would you take the men with us, Edgar?" "No, I think it would be best to leave them. They are well establishedhere now, and have come to be looked upon by those around them as havingleft the tribe altogether and as intending to work as carriers. I shouldtell one or other of them to go into the town every day, and see howmatters are going on. If your father, as I hope, decides to take no partin any attack on the French here, he can easily send a messenger torecall them. " Accordingly, the next morning they mounted at daybreak, rode down toBoulak, and were, with their horses, ferried across the river; then theymounted again and rode to the Pyramids. An hour later a cloud of dustwas seen rising to the south-west, and in a few minutes the sheik, withfifty followers, rode up. "What is the news?" he asked his son as he leapt from his horse. "Weheard that the people of Cairo are about to rise against the Franks, andnumbers of our people have already ridden to join them in the attack. " "The city is in a very disturbed state, father, but as yet the risinghas not begun. " "That is good, my son. We were unable to strike a blow at the Franks inthe battle here; this time we will do our share, with the aid of Allah. "You do not think that that is well?" he broke off as he glanced atEdgar. "It is for you to decide, sheik, " Edgar said. "For my part, I do notbelieve that the rising will be successful. It is true that a largenumber of the French are absent. Desaix has gone with his division tocapture the northern provinces and drive out Mourad Bey and theMamelukes. Kleber marched yesterday, they say, to Damietta, but there isstill a strong force here. I doubt not that the rising will besuccessful at first. Many French soldiers away from their regiments willbe cut down and killed, detached parties may be attacked andoverpowered, but I believe that in the end their discipline willtriumph. Their cannon will sweep the streets, the guns of the citadeland the new forts that they have armed will shell the town; andalthough, if a really desperate defence is made, the town can hardly becaptured without great loss, Bonaparte is sure to do so sooner or later, for, if necessary, he can call back Kleber and Desaix. It is a matter oflife and death to them. Were the country to hear that Cairo had beenrecovered and the French driven out with heavy loss, there would be arush to arms. The army would, I believe, be able to fight its way downto Alexandria, but when beleaguered there, unable to obtain any storesfrom the country round, and their retreat from sea cut off, theirposition would be desperate. " "I do not say that you are not right, " the sheik said gravely. "Youunderstand the mode of warfare of these Franks much better than I do, and have been right in all your predictions of what would happen; butwhatever may be the danger, it is clear to me that it must be faced. Brave men do not shrink from encountering death, and how can a followerof the Prophet shrink from death in battle with infidels. Numbers of mycountrymen will assuredly take part in the struggle, and did I ride awaywithout sharing in the conflict, I should not be able to lift up my headagain. It may be that it is fated that I shall not return; so be it; ifit is the will of Allah that I should die now, who am I to oppose it? "Let there be no more said on this. I know, my friend, that you are notafraid of danger, and that your counsel is not prompted by any thoughtof personal fear. I acknowledge that all you say may come to pass, butmy mind is made up. Thousands of Arabs will fight there, and I shall notdraw back. Sidi will, of course, fight by my side, but it is not yourquarrel, and there is no reason why you should risk your life in astruggle that you believe to be hopeless. " "Assuredly, chief, I shall ride with you. You have treated me as one ofyour tribe, and I have come to regard myself as such. Sidi is as mybrother, and were there no other reason, I would ride to battle by hisside. Moreover, this is as much my business as yours. My country is atwar with France, and if at present Egypt is invaded by them, it is notbecause France desires to capture Egypt, but because by their occupationof the country they hope to strike a blow at England. " "It is well!" the chief said. "I think not that either you or Sidi willfall. Allah sent you to his aid when he was in danger, and he wouldhardly have done so had it been his will that you should both perish soshortly afterwards; but we are all in His hands, and shall die when ourtime comes, and not before. " Then, as if dismissing the subject, he asked Sidi what had happened inthe town, and whether they had been questioned by any as to theirbusiness. "The principal thing, father, that has happened to us is, that we againmet the two men who attacked me at Alexandria, and were beaten andturned out of the city, and as it happened then, I should have lost mylife had it not been for my brother. " "Tell me about it, " the sheik said, his face hardening and his fingersplaying with the hilt of the long knife in his sash. Sidi related the whole adventure. The sheik stood stroking his beard gravely as Sidi spoke. His eyesturned from his son to Edgar. "Bishmillah!" he exclaimed, when the story was finished, "Allah musthave sent you to be Sidi's protector. Without doubt, he would have losthis life had he been alone. Truly it is a wonderful thing this Englishscience that you possess, and that enables you, though but a lad, toknock down strong men, and although unused to a knife, to slay ruffiansaccustomed to it from their childhood, with their own weapons. More thanever am I beholden to you, Edgar. Twice have you saved my son's life. Had you been alone, these men would not have recognized you, and it wasbut because he was attacked that, as on the last occasion, you joined inthe fray. Show me, I beg you, how you slew this man. " "It was simple, sheik. Had I fought him in his own fashion he would, Ihave no doubt, have killed me. But my method was as new to him as hiswould have been to me. Will you draw your dagger and advance at me as ifgoing to strike? Now, if I have my knife in my right hand also, youknow what to do; you would try to grasp my wrist with your left hand. Ishould try to grasp yours in the same way. We should struggle, but withyour superior strength you would soon wrench your right hand free, andstrike me down. Now, you see, I take my closed knife in my left hand, pointing it straight towards you, with my left foot forward; that is theposition in which we stand when we use our fists. You, like thatMaltese, are puzzled, and stand, as he did, for a moment indecisive;that would have been fatal to you. As, you see, I leap forward, changingmy advanced foot as I do so, catch your wrist, and pull your arm with asudden jerk towards me, and at the same moment strike you under the armwith my left hand. " An exclamation of wonder broke from the Arabs standing round listeningto the conversation, as with lightning speed Edgar repeated themanoeuvre that had been fatal to the Maltese. "Bishmillah, " the chief ejaculated, "but it is wonderful! It is true Ishould have been a dead man had your blade been opened, and yourmovement was so rapid that I could not have avoided it. " "No, because you were not accustomed to it. Had you been an Englishboxer you would have leapt back as quickly as I leapt forward. I shouldhave failed to grasp your wrist, and should in that case have leapt backagain to my former position, for had I remained thus I should have beenat your mercy. Had I succeeded in doing so before you struck me, weshould have been as we began, and I should have tried some other trick. Certainly as long as I stood with my left arm extended and my knifepointed towards you, you could not have closed with me--for I am muchquicker on my feet from the training that I have received--and I couldhave got back more quickly than your knife could fall, and even if theblades fell at the same moment you would but gash my shoulder, whereas Ishould pierce you at a vital point. "It is with this as with other matters. You have been trained fromchildhood to sit your horse. You can stoop over while you are gallopingat full speed and pick up a stone from the sand. You can twirl yourlance round your head and throw it into the air, and catch it as itdescends while going at full speed. You can do things that no untrainedEnglishman could do. So is it with me. I have learned boxing from thebest masters in England, I have practised daily for two years and ahalf, and I have gained a quickness that could not be imitated by onewho has not had such teaching and practice. " "It is true, " the sheik said. "But it is not the less wonderful in oureyes that, though knowing the use of our weapons, we should be but aschildren in your hands when thus fighting on foot. I wonder no longerthat you should so easily have conquered this man. What say you, mybrothers?" An exclamation of assent broke from the Arabs, who, in spite of Edgar'sexplanation, henceforth regarded him with an almost superstitiousrespect. As soon as the troop had arrived, Edgar had gone to see hishorse, which, as well as that of Sidi, the sheik had brought with him. It had whinnied with pleasure as he came up to it, and he stood pattingit for some time, and giving it some dates. He now went over to itagain, and on his return asked the chief: "Were you thinking of riding that splendid horse of yours?" "Certainly I was, " he replied, in a tone of surprise. "I do not mean to take mine, " Edgar said, "and I think that it would bea great pity if you and Sidi were to ride yours. I can understand that, in a fight on the plains, it would be a great advantage to be somounted, for either in pursuit or flight it would be invaluable, but inthe narrow streets of Cairo it would be a sin to risk so splendid ananimal, and the one I have been riding would be just as useful. We shallbe fighting, not against cavalry, but against infantry and artillery, and it would be useless to ride a horse that would outstrip those of therest of the band; while even if we won the day our satisfaction would belessened indeed had one to mourn the loss of one's friend. " "You are right, " the sheik said gravely. "Were I to lose Zeila it wouldbe like the loss of a child; we love each other dearly. I had notthought of it before. It seemed to me a matter of course that if I rodein the battle she should carry me as she has done a score of times; but, as you say, this will not be like fighting in the desert, when mansingles out man, and one's life depends as much upon the intelligenceand quickness of the horse as upon one's skill with spear and scimitar. Two of my followers shall take our three horses back to our camp in thedesert. You and Sidi are already mounted. One of the men shall give mehis horse, and shall ride on Sidi's; each will then have but one tolead. If my son and I are killed, the two horses will be valuablepossessions to my wife. " Accordingly the saddle was shifted from the sheik's horse to that of oneof his followers, and the latter, with his comrade, was told to startfor the oasis as soon as the rest of the party set out for Cairo. CHAPTER VI. THE RISING IN CAIRO. As soon as a meal had been eaten the Arabs mounted again, rode to aferry two miles above the city, crossed there, and joined a large partyof their countrymen, who were gathered at a short distance from thecity. There was much excitement among them, for one of their number hadjust returned, bringing news that there was fighting in the town. Napoleon had gone in the morning to examine the ruins of Old Cairo. Onhearing that there were armed gatherings in various parts of the town, General Dupres started from the barracks of Birketelfi with a detachmentof dragoons. On his approaching one of these gatherings fire was openedupon him. He and some of his dragoons were shot, and the rest gallopedwith the news to Junot, who was in command, and who at once sent toacquaint Bonaparte with what was taking place. The latter returned at once, found the first two gates at which hearrived in the hands of the insurgents, and making a detour, entered thetown by that of Boulak, and, joining Junot, he ordered the whole of thetroops to be concentrated in the great open space known as the Square ofEl-Esbekieh, where were the headquarters and barracks occupied by aportion of the troops, and the houses in which the staff-officers, servants, and others lodged. Cannon were placed at the mouth of all thestreets leading from it, and the troops were ordered to remain underarms all night. The Arabs had, soon after the sheik's party joined them, entered the town by one of the gates that had been seized by theinsurgents, and established themselves in one of the large open spacesnear the walls. Parties galloped down into the town, and from time totime brought back news of what was being done. They reported that no attacks had been made on the troops, but that thewhole town was in a state of insurrection; that the keepers of theFrench restaurants had been, for the most part, killed, and all theirhouses pillaged; and that the insurgents had gathered in great force inthe cemetery, near the Square of El-Esbekieh. The sheik, with hisfollowers and many of the other Arabs, rode down to this spot inreadiness to take part in the attack that would, he supposed, be at oncemade on the French. Finding that nothing was done, the sheik rode to theMosque of Gama El Ashar, where the leaders of the insurrection weregathered. He dismounted and went in. He found a tumultuous debate goingon, a few being ready for instant attack, while the others urged theadvisability of waiting until the next morning, when many more Arabs, and the inhabitants of Old Cairo and other places, would have joinedthem. The sheik at once took part in the debate, and urged strongly that theattack should be made without an instant's delay. "You are giving time for the Franks to prepare themselves, " he said. "You have already lost the advantage of surprise. After the first shotwas fired there should not have been a moment of delay; but no shotshould have been fired until you had given us notice. Then together weshould have flung ourselves upon them when they were confused anddismayed, and had no time to form plans or to gather themselves in oneplace. You have already lost that advantage, but do not give them anylonger time. You may be sure that already swift horsemen have been sentto order the divisions that have just marched to return at once, and byto-morrow evening they may be here. " "You have spoken truly, " one of the leaders said, "that no shot shouldhave been fired until all was in readiness, and that we should then haveattacked at once with all our force. But the impatience of individualshas destroyed our plans. The evil has already been done; the Franks aregathered together. They can receive no reinforcements until to-morrownight, while in the morning we shall be joined by fully 10, 000 men;therefore nothing would be gained, and much lost, by attacking to-day. " The majority of those present agreed with this opinion, and the sheikreturned to the cemetery. "You were right, " he said to Edgar moodily. "To be successful, such arising should have been prompt. They should have wasted no time inkilling tradesmen and plundering their shops. They should have hurledthemselves at once upon the troops and cut them to pieces before theyhad time to recover from their surprise. Had they acted thus they mighthave succeeded. Now they have allowed the whole of the French to gather, with their guns, and after what happened in the battle, I fear there canbe little doubt of what will occur when we attack them; but this doesnot alter my determination to do my best towards gaining a victory. "Even if defeated the affair will not be without advantage. The Frankswill begin to see that, easy as was their first victory, the Egyptiansare not a flock of sheep to be maltreated and robbed without evenventuring to murmur, and that they cannot afford to scatter their forcesall over the country. Moreover, the news that Cairo is in insurrectionwill spread through the country and excite a feeling of resistance. Manywill die, but their blood will not have been shed in vain. The Frenchthink that they have conquered Egypt--they have, in fact, but marchedto the capital. They only hold the ground they stand on, and it willnot be long before they feel that even that is trembling under theirfeet. " Some sheep that had been brought, slung across the horses, were cut up, fires lighted, and supper eaten, and when two men had been posted assentinels, the rest wrapped themselves in their burnooses and lay downto sleep. Edgar's reflections were not pleasant, and he sat up for sometime talking to Sidi. "You think that we shall be beaten, " the latter said, after they hadtalked for some time. "There is no reason, brother, why you should takepart in a fight that you think will end badly. Why should you not leaveus, and go out of one of the gates in the morning?" "I cannot do that, Sidi. I have, of my own free-will, cast in my lotwith your people. It is thanks to them that I have escaped a prison andperhaps death, and I cannot withdraw now because there is danger. Totell you the truth, I am more disgusted at the murder of all theunfortunate shopkeepers than thinking of any personal danger to-morrow. There is nothing brave or patriotic in slaying unarmed men, and thedeeds done yesterday are rather those of street ruffians thirsting forplunder than of men trying to shake off subjection to foreigners. Suchdoings as these bring disgrace upon a cause. " This view of the case was new to Sidi. In the wars that the Arabscarried on with each other, or with the tribes of Morocco, there was nofine distinction between combatants and non-combatants: women as well asmen were killed or carried off as slaves, and that there was anythingwrong in this had never occurred to him. "But they are enemies, " he ventured to protest. "They were foreigners, but not enemies, " Edgar replied. "Many of themwere settled here long before the French landed, and, like my father, lived peaceably among you. They are not in any way responsible for theaction of the French government, or of Bonaparte and his army. Amongcivilized people, save that after the capture of a town by storm, thesoldiers become maddened and behave sometimes like demons, the lives ofpeaceful people are never menaced. Soldiers fight against soldiers, andnot against quiet traders or cultivators of the ground. To me all thathas been done to-day is nothing short of a murderous butchery, andto-morrow I would much more willingly join in a charge on the rabble whohave done these things than upon the French soldiers, who are for themost part honest fellows and have injured no one since they came intothe town, though they may have looted houses which they found desertedby their inhabitants. "However, as my country is at war with them, and I have an opportunityof fighting them, I shall do so, but I would rather have done it with anArab force alone out on the desert than in conjunction with theseblood-stained ruffians. However, the matter is settled now, and at anyrate it will be a satisfaction to fight by the side of yourself and yourbrave father, who sees as well as I do that defeat is almost certain. "So saying he lay down to sleep, but with sore forebodings of what waslikely to take place the next day. When daylight broke it soon became evident that the insurgents hadneither a leader nor fixed plans. Some were in favour of attacking atonce, while others urged that it would be better for the French to doso. The argument was, that whereas at present the French were allassembled, ranged in order, and ready for an attack, they must be brokenup as soon as they issued from the various streets leading into thesquare. The sheik, after talking the matter over with Edgar, rode withsome of his followers to the spot where the leaders were discussing thematter. "There is much in what you say, " he exclaimed, when one of those whourged delay had spoken; "but if we are to await their attack let usprepare for it. All who have firearms should go on to the roofs of thehouses of the streets through which they will march, and fire down intothem as they pass along. Those who have other arms should take theirplaces in the lanes, running out of them and break into the column as itcomes along, while we Arabs will charge them in front. " Some strongly approved of this advice, others said that the questionmust be referred to the council at the mosque, and things remained asthey were before. The French had made a move early. Soon after daybreak Captain Sulkouski, one of Napoleon's aides-de-camp, started with two hundred cavalry tomake a circuit of the town, and to reconnoitre the position of theinsurgents. He rashly charged into the middle of a large party of Arabs, but was killed with many of his men. Two hours later scouts rushed intothe cemetery, and announced that the French were in movement along thestreets leading towards it, and almost immediately afterwards severalbatteries, which had been placed during the night on spots commandingthe cemetery, opened fire. There was no hesitation now on the part of the insurgents; they rushedforward in confused masses to meet the enemy. As they did so the leadingranks of the columns opened, and cannon, which were being dragged alongby the infantry, poured volleys of grape into the crowded mobs. Many ofthe Egyptians ran into the houses, and from there kept up a heavy fire. But pressing steadily forward, the French fought their way into thecemetery, and opening out, poured such heavy volleys into the Egyptiansthat these speedily ran up the streets leading from it, leaving numbersof dead behind. The Arabs had fallen back before the French entered thesquare, as the crowded tombstones rendered it impossible for them to actwith any effect there, and the sheik's party, with several others, tookup their position at some distance up the principal street leadingtowards the mosque. As soon as a heavy French column entered this street fighting began inearnest. From roof and window a deadly fire was poured into them, bodiesof men armed with sword and dagger rushed out of the narrow lanes andthrew themselves on the flanks of the column. Many French soldiers werekilled, but the bayonet did its work, and the assailants who had piercedthe column fell to a man. The blood of the French soldiers was now up. The sudden attack uponthem, the killing of many of their comrades, and of severaldistinguished officers who had been caught riding unguardedly throughthe city, had exasperated them to a pitch of fury. They had been underarms all night, and the sight of many shops gutted, and their lateinmates lying dead at their doorway or in the road, filled them with athirst for vengeance, and they moved forward eagerly. "Now it is our turn!" one of the Arab sheiks said sternly, then raisinghis war-cry he led the way down the street, followed by a hundred of hisfollowers. Behind them rode Ben Ouafy, with Sidi and Edgar beside him, and his own band following closely. There was only room for eight men toride abreast. Although their front ranks were swept away by the fire ofthe leading ranks of the French column, the Arabs charged with splendidbravery, but when within twenty paces of the column there was a suddenmovement, the ranks opened, and two cannon loaded to the muzzle withgrape poured a murderous discharge into them. The effect was terrible. The greater portion of the band that led thecharge was swept away; the others would have turned, but the Beni Ouafywere racing forward. "Charge, " the sheik cried, "before they can loadagain!" "Forward, forward!" the Arabs' war-cry pealed out loud and shrill from ahundred throats, and the whole then dashed down upon the French column. The leading ranks were cut down, the cannon were for the momentcaptured, and the Arabs pressed forward with shouts of victory; but theFrench in front, pressed upon by those behind, could retreat but a shortdistance. Those in front defended themselves with bayonet and clubbedmuskets, those behind poured their fire into the Arabs, who, beingraised above their comrades' heads, offered an easy mark. The road was speedily blocked with fallen men and horses, but thestruggle continued until there was a movement from the French column, and pressing their way along, a number of soldiers dragged two more gunsto the front. Then the head of the column opened sufficiently for themuzzles to project between those of the first line, and again the stormof grape swept the street. This was too much for the Arabs, and thosewho survived turned their horses and galloped back. The sheik and hisparty had just reached the French line, all in front of them havingfallen, when the cannon poured their contents down the street. Edgar hadcaught sight of the guns just before, and uttered a warning shout. "To the right, sheik, to the right!" while he himself, with a sharp pullat the bridle, caused his horse to wheel to the left, and thus when theguns were fired, their contents passed between Edgar and his twofriends. The sheik gave a cry of dismay as he saw that the greater partof his followers were destroyed, and shouted to Sidi and Edgar to flyfor their lives. Riding at a mad gallop they dashed along, but thebullets of the French pursued them vengefully, and half-way down thestreet Edgar felt a sudden sharp pain in his right arm, and at the samemoment his horse gave a sudden spring and then rolled over. He was atthe time somewhat in rear of the sheik and Sidi, and they were for themoment unaware of what happened to him. Fortunately the horse did notfall upon him, and in an instant he was upon his feet again. Looking round he saw that he had fallen close to the open door of a shopwith an Italian name over it; he ran into it. The shop had beencompletely ransacked, and three bodies, those of the proprietor and twolads, lay on the floor. There was no door leading out behind, and he ranup the stairs. The rooms were littered with the remains of the furnitureand belongings. The bedding, curtains, and everything that could be ofuse to the spoilers were gone, but the European clothes, which could notbe worn by them, were still about. The only windows looked into thestreet. There was no apparent means of escape; the only hope was indisguise. Tearing off his Arab garments and thrusting them into acupboard, he threw on without a moment's delay, trousers, a coat thatbuttoned up, and a pair of European shoes, thrust a cap on his head, andthen ran downstairs again. Fortunately the column, after defeating itsassailants, had paused for two or three minutes, while the soldiersbroke into the houses from which they had been fired upon and slew allthey found in them, and its head was still a hundred yards away whenEdgar looked cautiously out. He had time to throw off his coat and tohastily bandage the wound in his arm, from which the blood had beenstreaming down; then as he heard the tramp of the advancing column heran down to the door, and as the troops came up, waved his hand, dancedas if for joy, and shouted a welcome in Italian, mingled with a fewwords of French, pouring at the same time a voluble string ofmaledictions on the ruffians who had killed his master and his twocomrades. A mounted officer riding at the head of the column shouted tohim to go in and to remain quiet, saying that there was no fear that hewould be molested now. Edgar drew back a little, but remained at thedoor, sometimes shouting encouragement to the soldiers, sometimesapparently weeping convulsively, and acting as if half out of his mindwith relief at his deliverance. As soon as the column had passed he returned upstairs, bandaged hiswound much more carefully than before, put on a shirt, and chose thebest garments that he could find. All these had no doubt belonged to theproprietor, and he now went boldly out and followed the French column. These met with very slight resistance on their road towards the Mosqueof Gama El Ashar. When they neared this spot they halted until the othercolumns should reach the point of attack. Before they had left thesquare General Gonmartin had moved round from Boulak with ten guns andtaken post on the height near Fort Dupres, and at mid-day thirty gunsfrom this fort and the citadel opened fire on the town. As it was knownto the French that great numbers of the fugitives from the cemetery hadfled to the mosque, where already a strong body of armed men wereassembled, it was deemed imprudent to attack it until secure that therewas no danger of a great mass of the insurgents falling upon them whileso engaged. Shells fell fast on the mosque, and fires broke out in several parts ofthe town. Edgar joined a group of several civilians, who, having eitherbeen hidden during the massacre or having escaped to the French lines, now came up, deeming that they would be safer near the troops thanelsewhere. All had stories of hairbreadth escapes to relate, but, feigning not to be able to follow their narratives, Edgar, after a fewwords in Italian, joined the troops, who were engaged in eating the foodthat they had brought with them. At three o'clock a tremendous roar of fire in the direction of FortDupres burst out, as some seven or eight thousand of the insurgents, among whom were a number of Arabs, poured out from the nearest gate toendeavour to carry the battery, while at the same moment a tremendousmusketry fire from the minarets and roof of the Mosque of Hassan, andfrom the houses near the wall, was poured at the French artillerymen, toprevent them from working their guns upon their assailants. Gonmartin, however, had with him three battalions of infantry and 300 cavalry, andwith these he charged the advancing crowd. The Arabs fought bravely, butwere, for the most part, slain, and the insurgents, unable to stand theheavy volleys, followed by a bayonet charge of the infantry, fled backto the gate from which they had sallied out, 400 of them being takenprisoners and sent to the citadel. A great number of the fugitives fled to the Mosque of Gama El Ashar, which was now crowded. Their reports of the disaster shook the courageof those already there, and when four columns of French infantry emergedsimultaneously from the ends of as many streets, the fire opened uponthem from the roof of the mosque was but feeble. Six guns were instantlyplaced commanding its gate, which was shattered after two or threerounds had been fired, and then, with a shout, the infantry rushed inand commenced the work of slaughter. This was terrible, no quarter wasgiven, and some 6000 Moslems perished there, while 2000 had been killedin the previous fighting. Satisfied with this terrible act of vengeance, the French troops weremarched back to the square they had left in the morning, Bonaparte beingsure that there would be no more rioting after the terrible lesson thathad been taught the inhabitants. Late in the evening, indeed, the chiefmen waited upon him and implored mercy for the town. Several of them hadbeen members of the council who directed the movement, but theyrepresented that they had been compelled to act against their will, andNapoleon, satisfied that there would be no more troubles, pardoned themon condition of their at once issuing a proclamation condemning therioters, and ordering all to return to their ordinary avocations, and tohand over to the authorities any who should preach mischief. After the capture of the mosque, Edgar went down to the great squareoccupied by the French, and gathered from the talk of the officers therethe result of the sortie. All agreed that the Arabs had fought bravely, and that few indeed had left the field alive. Edgar made his way out ofthe town by the Boulak gate, which was still open, and found the twoArabs still at the spot where he had left them when he and Sidi rode offto meet the chief at the Pyramids. They were full of excitement at thebattle that had raged all day. "I have bad news, " he said. "I rode with the sheik and his son againstthe French. My horse was killed, and I received a wound in the arm, but, as you see, I obtained a disguise, and have escaped without furtherharm. You heard that there was a great fight outside the walls?" "Yes, my lord. Many men came running past here, and said that the Frenchhad beaten them. " "I greatly fear, " Edgar went on, "that the sheik and his son took partin that fight. Many Arabs went out with those who attacked the battery, and I think it almost certain that the sheik and his son were amongthem. Most of the tribesmen were killed in the fight in which I waswounded. The sheik would have joined his countrymen, knowing that therewould be no mercy shown the Arabs taken in the town. I hear that almostevery one of those who rode out were killed, and I want you to come withme to search among the dead, for doubtless there are many wounded amongthem, and one or other may yet be alive. There will be a bright moon, and we shall have no difficulty in recognizing them. It will benecessary only to search among those in white. " The two men were greatly moved at the thought of the fate of theirchief, his son, and so many of their followers, and assented at once tohis proposal. "We must wait until it gets quite dark, " Edgar said. "Have you any food, for I am faint with hunger and loss of blood?" After he had finished his meal, the horses were handed over by the Arabsto the care of one of their neighbours, with whom they had madeacquaintance. The rough tent was pulled down in order that they mightwrap the dark blankets over them to conceal their white clothing. "You had better leave your pistols behind, " Edgar said, "but take yourknives; we may come across some ruffians engaged in robbing the dead, and the knives may come in useful. I hope that, as is most likely, theFrench have sent down parties from the forts to watch the gates, so asto prevent any of the leaders in the trouble from making their escape;but some plunderers may well have come across from Old Cairo, so it isas well to be armed. Take your lances also, not for fighting, but tomake a litter with, should we find either the chief or his son. " The sun had set a short time before they started, but the moon would notrise for another hour, and they were unnoticed, or, at least, unquestioned as they went round towards Fort Dupres. Indeed, theyencountered no one on the way. The din of battle had been succeeded by adead silence, no sound was heard from the city, whose population wereawe-stricken by the events of the day, and terrified by the expectationof further acts of vengeance by the French. Those in the suburbs hadheard but vague rumours of the fighting in the streets and of themassacre at the mosque, but they had learned from fugitives of thedefeat of the great sortie, and knew that the insurrection had beencompletely crushed. The moon was just rising when Edgar and hiscompanions reached the spot between Fort Dupres and the city walls, where the fight had taken place. The bodies lay thickly piled here at the spots where the struggle hadbeen fiercest. For a time they found none save those of the men of thecity, but after two hours' search they came upon a number of Arabs, whose white garments showed up clearly in the moonlight. Lying amongthem were many bodies of French cavalrymen, showing that the Bedouinshad sold their lives dearly. Body after body was carefully examined, afew were found to be still living, and as the Arabs had, at Edgar'sorders, brought water-skins with them, they were able to give somelittle aid to these. Presently they came to a spot where the bodies weremore closely heaped than elsewhere and almost as many French as Arabslay together. "Now, search most carefully, " he whispered, "this is where the laststand was evidently made. " The greatest caution was indeed necessary, for the fort lay a couple ofhundred yards away, and the French sentries could be plainly made outagainst the sky-line as they marched backwards and forwards. Presentlyone of the Arabs uttered a low exclamation. Lying by the side of hisdead horse, and surrounded by the bodies of five or six Frenchcavalry-men, lay the sheik. His white dress was dabbled with blood, oneside of his face was laid open by a sabre cut, and four or five patchesof blood at various points of his dress pointed to the existence ofother wounds. Edgar knelt beside him and placed his ear to his heart. "Thank God, he still lives!" he exclaimed; "give me your water-skin;Hassan, lift his head. " Edgar poured a little water between the sheik'slips, sprinkled some on his face, and then, tearing off a strip of hisgarment, brought together the edges of the wound in the face, from whichblood was still slowly oozing, laid a wad of rag along it, and thenbound it tightly with the bandage. "We must see to the other wounds after we have got him away, " he said. "Now, Hassan, do you two bind one of those spare blankets to the shaftof the two spears, wind it round them until the sides are not more thanthree feet apart. " While the men were doing this he continued to allow a few drops of waterto trickle between the sheik's lips. When the stretcher was ready it waslaid on the ground beside him; he was gently lifted on to it, the cloakstrapped to his horse's saddle was placed under his head, and the otherspare blanket thrown over him. Then the two Arabs lifted the ends of thespears on to their shoulders, and, led by Edgar, made their way from thescene of conflict. When they had gone half a mile they laid the sheikdown. "Do you stay here, Ali; pour a little water between his lipsoccasionally. Hassan and I will go back and look for Sidi. " The sheik was lifted from the blanket, and Hassan, shouldering thelitter, they returned at a rapid pace to the spot where they had foundthe sheik. They had already made a hasty search here before leaving, butwithout success, and now examined with the greatest care the body ofevery Arab who had fallen near the spot, for Edgar made sure that, unless he had been previously stricken down, Sidi would have fallen nearhis father. Again their hunt was unsuccessful. Then they widened theircircle until after three hours' search they became convinced that he wasnot among those who had fallen on the field, that he had either beenkilled in the city, made prisoner, or escaped altogether. When at lastconvinced that further search would be useless, they returned to thespot where they had left the sheik. "He has opened his eyes, " Ali said, "and murmured two or three words, but I could not hear what he said. " "There are hopes at any rate that he is not mortally wounded, " Edgarsaid. "Now let us go on again with him; do you two each take one of thespears at his head, I will take my place at his feet; we shall get onfaster so. " Bearing down towards the river, they reached, after an hour's fastwalking, a grove of palm-trees near a village. "We will leave him here, " Edgar said; "it must be five miles from thetown. The French will have enough to do to-day without searching forwounded. Do you two stay with him. If he becomes sensible and wantsanything, here is some money, and one of you can get food from thevillage, but beyond some fresh fruit to make him a cooling drink with, he is not likely to need anything. I shall return at once and enter thetown by the Boulak gate as soon as it is open. I heard in the town thatthere were three or four hundred prisoners taken, and that they wereconfined in the citadel, and would be tried in the morning. The firstthing to do is to find out if Sidi is among them, in which case I shalldo all in my power to save him. Pour a little water over my hands, Ali. Wait a moment, " and he took up a double handful of the sandy soil, "nowpour it on to this. I must get rid of these blood-stains. " After a vigorous rubbing with the wet sand his hands were, as far as hecould see in the moonlight, clean, and with a few last words to the men, he started back for the city. It was with difficulty that he made hisway to the spot where the horses had been left. It had been a terribletwenty-four hours, with their excitements and emotions, and he had losta good deal of blood from the flesh wound in his arm. The gray light wasjust stealing over the sky when he arrived there, and he threw himselfdown on a secluded spot a short distance from his old camping-ground, and slept for a couple of hours. Waking, he went to the hut, by the sideof which the horses were tethered. He and Sidi had spoken several timesto the man who lived there, and he possessed two donkeys which workedfor hire in the city. "You do not recognize me?" he said. The man shook his head. "I am one of the young Arabs who were staying in the little tent closeby. You see I am in disguise. It was not safe to be in the cityyesterday in Arab dress, nor is it to-day. " "Of course I remember you now, " the man said. "Where are those to whomthe horses belong?" "They are not likely to come here to-day. A friend of theirs waswounded in the fight at Fort Dupres, and they have found him and carriedhim off. I have been with them. Tell me, is there any blood on my face?" The man shook his head. "Now I want you to go to one of the shops near the gate and get food forme. It matters not what it is some kabobs, or a pillau, or anything theymay have, and a large bowl of milk. I am faint and weary. Here ismoney. " In a quarter of an hour the man returned, and Edgar, after eating ahearty breakfast and drinking a quart of milk, felt greatly better. He now entered the town. There were no signs of renewed fighting, andlistening to the talk of the officers near the headquarters, he gatheredthat Bonaparte had granted a pardon to the inhabitants, but that theprisoners taken in the attack on Fort Dupres, among whom were many ofthose most deeply concerned in the rising, were to be tried at teno'clock by court-martial, and that probably a great part of them wouldbe shot. CHAPTER VII. SAVED. Hiring a donkey, for he still felt weak, Edgar rode out to the citadel. He found the town gate open, as Napoleon, to show his contempt for thepopulation and his perfect confidence that they would not venture torise again, had ordered everything to go on as usual. Paying thedonkey-boy when within a short distance of the citadel, he sat down on ablock of stone a little way off the road, and waited for the hour whenthe court-martial was to open. From what he had heard in the square hewas afraid that the Arab prisoners would all be among those sentenced todeath, as the general opinion was that a stern lesson was needed intheir case, as they had, with the exception of those dwelling nearAlexandria, proved themselves bitterly hostile to the French. "I am afraid that I shall have to lie, " he said to himself. "I hatethat, and I would not do it for myself, but the lie will hurt no one andmay save Sidi. Anyhow I won't tell more than I can help. " During the two hours that he sat there he made up his mind as to thestory that he should tell. As the hour approached, several Frenchofficers of rank rode into the citadel. He saw a few people go in onfoot, but all were questioned by the sentry at the gate. A few minutesbefore ten he went up. "You cannot pass without an order, " the sentry said in French. "I wish to speak to the officer, " Edgar replied in a mixture of Frenchand Italian. "I am a witness. I have to give evidence at the trial ofone of the scelerats. " The sentry called a non-commissioned officer, who, after speaking a fewwords to him; entered the guard-house near the gate, and an officer cameout. "What do you want to come in for?" he asked. "I have evidence to give, monsieur, for one who is, I believe, among theprisoners. He is, like myself, but a lad; but he saved my life from oneof those villains of rioters, and slew him with his own hand, when myemployer, Signor Pancherasi, and two other of his assistants were killedby them. I would urge this in his favour. " "Well, it is but fair that you should be heard;" and calling a soldierfrom the guard-house, he told him to accompany Edgar to the spot wherethe court-martial was to be held, and to inform the officer in charge ofthe prisoners that the lad desired to give evidence in regard to one ofthem. Thanking the officer, Edgar went up with the soldier into the greatquadrangle. In one corner were a large number of prisoners, guarded by aline of soldiers with fixed bayonets. Three or four officers werestanding on the steps in front of a large open door. One of them, asEdgar passed near, called out to his companion: "Whom have you got there, my man?" The soldier led Edgar up to the group, saluted, and stood at attention. "He has come to give evidence for one of the prisoners, general. " "It must needs be pretty strong evidence then, " the officer said, "considering that they were all taken when fighting against us. Well, mylad, who are you?" "I do not speak French well, monsieur: Italian is my language. My nameis Giovanni Baptista. I was in the employ of Signor Pancherasi, who soldgoods of our country in the broad street leading up from the square ofEl-Esbekieh, where your soldiers beat the Arabs yesterday. " "I recognize the young fellow, " one of the officers said. "He rushedout, half out of his mind with joy, as I rode past at the head of thecolumn. Well, go on, lad. Tell us what you have got to say. " "Well, monsieur, an Arab boy saved my life when the others were killed. One had fired at me, and the bullet went through my arm, when the Arab, who had some of his people with him, sprang forward, and just as the manwas going to rush at me with his scimitar he sprang upon him and stabbedhim between the shoulders. I do not remember much more, for I wasfrightened; but there was a quarrel between him and his Arabs and theothers. I think I fainted. When I came to I was alone with the bodies ofmy master and comrades, and there I remained in hiding until your troopscame along. " "But why should this Arab have interfered in your behalf?" "A few days before, sir, I was going with a parcel of my master's goodsthrough one of the narrow lanes, when I saw two rough men ill-treatingan Arab boy. He seemed to be the son of a sheik, and they were trying torob him and he resisted, and seeing that he was a boy like myself, Ishouted at the top of my voice for aid, and ran in with my knife. Thenwe fought for a minute, but doubtless it would have gone hard with us, had not two of your soldiers, who heard me shouting, come running up, and the men then took to their heels. The young Arab said that hisfather would show his gratitude to me for having aided him, but I hadnot heard of him again until, hearing our cries, he ran in with someother Arabs, and, as I have said, saved me from death. " "Let me look at your wound?" the general said. Edgar took off his coatand showed the blood-stained bandage. "Well, you can look among the prisoners and see if your friend is here. If he is, when you see him brought in you must come in and repeat yourstory. By the way, how did you understand what this Arab said about hisfather?" "I have been out here some years, monsieur, and can speak a littleArabic. " "Well, as you have lost your master, and are out of employment, if yougo down to the intendence and say that General Rombaud sent you, andthat you can speak enough French and Arabic to get on with, they willfind you some employment where you can be of use. " "Thank you very much, monsieur, " and, bowing, Edgar went off with thesoldier to the group of prisoners. There were in all about a score of Arabs, and these kept in a bodytogether. To his great joy, he recognized Sidi among them. His head wasbound up, and he looked weak and exhausted, but, like his companions, and indeed the great proportion of the prisoners, he maintained an airof indifference to his position. Thinking it as well that he should notbe recognized, and feeling sure that the guard would permit nocommunication to take place with any of the prisoners, Edgar turned awayand went and sat down on some steps between the prisoners and those onwhich the officers were standing. In a few minutes they went in by thedoor behind them. Five minutes later a sergeant came out, and calling four men from acompany drawn up near the door, went across to the group of prisonersand presently returned with six of them. In a few minutes they came outagain. Three of the men, in charge of a single soldier, were marchedaway in the direction of the gate; the other three were taken to a doora short distance away, thrust in, the door was locked after them, andtwo soldiers placed there as sentries. The barred windows told theirtale, and Edgar had no doubt that the three men who had entered weresentenced to death. In the meantime, another party had taken six moreprisoners in. So the matter proceeded for upwards of an hour, fiveminutes at the outside sufficing for each batch. At the end of this timethe group of Arabs was reached. Hitherto about half of the men taken hadbeen suffered to depart, but this time the six Arabs were all taken tothe fatal door. Edgar did not recognize any of them, and indeed, he knew that thegreater part of the sheik's followers had fallen in the attack on theFrench column in the street. Sidi was in the next group, and Edgar roseto his feet, saying to the soldier who still stood by his side, and whohad heard the conversation with the general, "That is the lad. " The manwent with him to the door, told the sentries there that the general'sorders were that the witness was to be allowed to enter, and Edgarfollowed the party into a large room. Six French officers were seated ata table. The president, who was the general who had spoken to him, looked up: "Is that the lad?" he asked, pointing to Sidi. "That is he, monsieur. " "As we have heard your testimony, it is not necessary to take it again. "Sidi had given a sudden start on hearing Edgar's voice. "This youngfellow has testified to us, " General Rombaud said to two of the membersof the court-martial, who had not been present on the steps when theconversation took place, "that this young Arab saved him from murder atthe hands of some of the rabble, by killing the man who was about toslay him, and that he did this in return for a service this youngItalian had rendered him in succouring him when attacked, some timebefore, by two robbers. As he is but a lad, and of course acted underhis father's orders, I think we may make him an exception to the rule. You can go free, young sir, but let the narrow escape that you have hadbe a lesson to you not to venture to mix yourself up in treasonablerisings again. You can take him away with you, " he added to Edgar. Sidi moved away from his companions with an unsteady step. He had madeup his mind that his fate was sealed, and had been prepared to meet it, and the sudden revulsion of feeling was almost too much for him. He gavehis hand silently to Edgar, and as the latter bowed and murmured histhanks to the general, they went out together, one of the soldiersaccompanying them. In spite of his Arab stoicism, the tears were runningdown Sidi's cheeks as they issued into the open air. "I am not crying for joy that I am freed, brother, " he said, "but withpleasure at seeing you alive. When we got to the end of that street andsaw, for the first time, that you were not with us, and, looking back, could see that your horse had fallen, we gave you up for dead, andbitterly did my father reproach himself for having permitted you toshare in our attack. He is among the dead, brother; I saw him fall. Ihad been separated from him by the rush of the French horsemen, but Isaw him fighting desperately, until at last struck down. Then, almostmad, I struck wildly. I felt a heavy blow on my head, and should havefallen had not a French soldier seized my arm and dragged me across hissaddle in front of him. I was dimly conscious of being handed over tothe infantry, and placed with some other prisoners. I sank down, andshould have bled to death had not an Arab among them bandaged my head. The fight was nearly over then, and I was brought up here. " "I can give you good news, Sidi. I went last night with the two men whomwe had left behind, and searched for some hours among the dead for youand your father, and found him at last. He was insensible, but not dead. We carried him off, and the other two are with him in a grove six milesaway, and I have every hope that he will recover. He has five or sixwounds, but I do not think that any of them are mortal. " Sidi fairly broke down on hearing the news, and nothing further was saiduntil they had issued from the gate. The officer was still there who hadspoken to Edgar on entering. "So you have saved your friend?" he said pleasantly, as Edgar passed. "He is lucky, for I fancy he will be the only one of the Arabs who willissue out of here to-day. " "I thank you much, monsieur, for having let me pass, " Edgar saidgratefully. "I feared so much that I should not be allowed to enter tospeak for him. " The officer nodded, and the two lads went out. They had gone but ahundred yards when Sidi said: "I must sit down for a while, Edgar. I have eaten nothing sinceyesterday morning, and I have lost much blood, and all this happiness istoo much for me. Don't think me very childish. " "I don't think you so at all, Sidi. It has been a fearful time, and Idon't wonder that you are upset. Look, there is a quiet spot betweenthose two huts. Do you sit down there; you can't go on as you are. Inthe first place, your dress is covered with blood; and in the next, youare too weak to walk. I will go into the town. There are plenty of shopsclose to the gate, and I will buy a burnoose that will cover you, and achange of clothes for you to make afterwards. I will get you some foodand a little cordial. " Sidi shook his head. "Nonsense, man!" Edgar went on. "This is medicine, not wine, and youmust take something of the sort or you won't be fit to travel. I shallget some fellah's clothes for myself, a basket of food and other thingsto take out to your father, and I will hire a couple of donkeys. You areno more fit to walk six miles than you are to fly, and I feel rathershaky myself. I sha'n't be away more than half an hour. " After seeing Sidi seated in the place he had indicated, where he wouldnot be seen by those passing on the road, Edgar at once went in throughthe gate. The provisions, and two or three bottles of good wine, werequickly purchased, but it took him some little time getting the clothes, for had he not bargained in the usual way, it would have seemed strange. As it was, the man of whom he purchased them congratulated himself onhaving made the best bargain that he had done for many a day. He boughttwo Arab suits, and two such as were worn by peasants, and a brownburnoose for Sidi to put on at once. Then, going out with theprovision-basket and the clothes in a bundle, he went to the gate again, chose a couple of donkeys from those standing there for hire, and wentalong the road for a short distance. Telling the donkey-boy to wait withthe animals until his return, he took the basket and the burnoose, whichhad been made up into a separate parcel, and went to the spot where hehad left Sidi, who rose to his feet as he reached him. "I am better now, and can go on. " "You are not going on until you have made a meal anyhow, " Edgar replied;"and I feel hungry myself, for I have been up a good many hours. " Sidi sat down again. The basket was opened, and Edgar produced somebread and some cold kabobs (kabobs being small pieces of meat stuck on askewer). Sidi eat some bread and fresh fruit, but he shook his head atthe meat. "I shall do better without it, " he said. "Meat is for the strong. Mywound will heal all the faster without it. " He did, however, drink from a tumbler Edgar had brought with him a smallquantity of wine mixed with the water. "I regard you as my hakim, and take this as medicine because you orderit. " "I feel sure that the Prophet himself would not have forbidden it whenso used. You look better already, and there is a little colour in yourcheek. Now, let us be off. If your father has recovered consciousness, he must be in great anxiety about you. " "But I want to ask you about yourself?" "I will tell you when we are mounted. The sooner we are off the better. " He was glad to see that, as they walked towards the donkeys, Sidistepped out much more firmly than before. He had put on his burnoose assoon as Edgar joined him, and this concealed him almost to his feet whenhe had mounted. "We are not pressed for time, " Edgar said to the donkey-boy. "Go alonggently and quietly. " The donkey started at the easy trot that distinguishes his species inEgypt. "Now, Edgar, " Sidi said, as soon as they were in motion, "here have youbeen telling me about my father, and I have been telling you aboutmyself, but not one word as yet have you told as to how you escaped, andso saved the lives of both of us. Allah has, assuredly, sent you to beour good genius, to aid us when we are in trouble, and to risk your lifefor ours. " "Well, never mind about that now, Sidi. I will tell you all about it;but it is a good long story. " So saying, he narrated his adventures in detail, from the time when hishorse fell with him to the moment when he entered the room where thecourt-martial was being held. He made the story a long one, in order toprevent his friend from talking, for he saw when he had spoken how greatwas his emotion. He made his narrative last until they came within aquarter of a mile of the village near which the sheik was hidden. "Now we will get off, " he said, "and send the donkeys back. " He paid the amount for which he had bargained for the animals, andbestowed a tip upon the boy that made him open his eyes with delight. They turned off from the road at once, made a detour, and came down uponthe clump of trees from the other side. The Arabs had seen themapproaching, and welcomed Sidi with exuberant delight. To his firstquestion, "How is my father?" they said, "He is better. He is very weak. He has spoken but once. He looked round, evidently wondering where hewas, and we told him how the young Englishman, his friend, had come tous, and how we had searched for hours among the dead, and, at lastfinding him, had carried him off. Then he said, 'Did you find my son?'We told him no, and that we had searched so carefully that we felt surethat he was not among the dead, but that you had gone back to the townto try and learn something about him. He shook his head a little, andthen closed his eyes. He has not spoken again. " "Doubtless he feels sure, as we could not find you, that you are dead, Sidi. I have no doubt the sight of you will do him a great deal of good. I will go forward and let him know that you are here. Do not showyourself until I call you. " The sheik was lying with his eyes shut. As Edgar approached he openedthem, and the lad saw he was recognized. "Glad am I to see you conscious again, sheik, " he said, bending overhim. The sheik feebly returned the pressure of his hand. "May Allah pour his blessings upon you!" he whispered. "I am glad that Ishall lie under the sands of the desert, and not be buried like a dog ina pit with others. " "I hope that you are not going to die, sheik. You are sorely weak fromloss of blood, and you are wounded in five places, but I think not atall that any of them are mortal. " "I care not to live, " the sheik murmured. "Half my followers are dead. Imourn not for them; they, like myself, died in doing their duty and infighting the Franks--but it is my boy, of whom I was so proud. I oughtnot to have taken him with me. Think you that I could wish to live, andgo back to tell his mother that I took him to his death. " "He was not killed, sheik; we assured ourselves of that before wecarried you away, and I found that, with twenty other Arabs and two orthree hundred of the townsmen, he was taken prisoner to the citadel. " A look of pain passed across the sheik's face. "Your news is not good; it is bad, " he said, with more energy than hehad hitherto shown. "It were better had he died in battle than be shotin cold blood. Think you that they will spare any whom they caught inarms against them?" "My news is good, sheik, " Edgar said calmly; "had it been otherwise Iwould have left you to think that he had died on the field of battle. Ihave reason to believe that Sidi has been released, and that you willsoon see him. " For a moment the sheik's eyes expressed incredulity; then the assuredtone and the calm manner of Edgar convinced him that he at leastbelieved that it was true. "Are you sure, are you quite sure?" he asked, in tones so low that Edgarcould scarce hear him. "I am quite sure--I would not buoy you up with false hopes. Sidi isfree. He is not far off now, and will speedily be here, directly heknows that you are strong enough to see him. " For a minute the sheik's eyes closed, his lips moved, but no sound camefrom them, but Edgar knew that he was murmuring thanks to Allah for hisson's preservation. Then he looked up again. "I am strong enough, " he said; "your news has made a man of me again. Send him here. " Edgar walked away and joined Sidi. "Be very calm and quiet, " he said; "your father is very, very weak. Donot break down. He knows that you are close by, and is prepared to seeyou. Do not, I beg of you, agitate him; do not let him talk, or talkmuch yourself; be calm and restful with him. " He turned away and walked to the end of the trees, where he engaged in ashort conversation with the two Arabs. Then he turned again, and wentnear enough to catch a sight of the sheik. Sidi was kneeling by hisside, holding his hand to his heart, and a smile of happinessilluminated the drawn face of the wounded man. Satisfied that all wasgoing on well, he joined the men. "In the basket you will find a small cooking-pot, " he said. "Pick upsome of the driest sticks that you can find, so as not to make anysmoke. Put some kabobs into the pot with as much water as will justcover them; then place it over the fire, and let it stew until the meatis in threads. Strain the broth off. I will give it to him, a sip at atime. " "We need not be afraid of the smoke, " one of the men said. "We went downto the village to get bread and dates. A man saw that we were Arabs, andasked us for news of what was going on in Cairo. Some fugitives passedalong yesterday evening, and said that the French were killing all theMoslems. We told him that it was not as bad as that, but that many hadassuredly been slain. He called down maledictions upon the French, andseeing that he was a true man we said that we had a wounded comradewith us, and that he was lying in the grove. He told us that he was theowner of it, and that we were welcome to use it, but prayed us not tocome to him again; for if the Franks came along in search of fugitives, and happened to search the grove, and found that he had been supplying awounded man with provisions, it might cost him his life. We told himthat he need not fear, for that we would not betray him, but that, atany rate, we would not come to his shop again. " "Then make the fire immediately, Hassan; the sooner the sheik has alittle nourishment, the better. If he seems strong enough to bear it, Iwant to carry him off to the mountains at once. It is quite possiblethat the French may be searching the villages round for woundedfugitives, and I would fain get him up among the hills. Sidi, too, hasan ugly wound in the head, and needs a few days' rest. I think I haveeverything that they can want for the next two or three days, and youhave a good supply of fruit. We must find some place among the rockssheltered from the sun. When it is dark you must go down to the fountainand fill up your water-skins there. " An hour later Edgar carried the cup of broth to the sheik. "Sidi, do you lift your father up a little--a very little. I want him totake some of this broth. It is all a question of keeping up yourstrength now, sheik, and I hope that you will try and drink a little. " "I, too, want to get strong, " the sheik said, "I have something to livefor now. " He drank a few mouthfuls, and then motioned to his son to lower his headdown again. "'Tis strange, " he said, "that we three should be together again when itseemed that none of us would meet on earth. " "It is very pleasant to be together again, " Edgar said heartily, "andit will be more pleasant still when we are able to get about againtogether. " There had been but few words exchanged between father and son. To berestored to each other was sufficient, and the sheik had not evenwondered as to how his son had so unexpectedly arrived. After drinkingthe broth he closed his eyes, and in a few minutes it was evident, byhis quiet breathing, that he was asleep. Edgar moved quietly away, beckoning to Sidi to follow him, and when hejoined him at the edge of the grove, told him of the plan that heproposed. "Do you think that he is strong enough?" Sidi asked. "I do not think that it will do him harm, Sidi; indeed I think that if, before he goes to sleep, we lay him on that blanket that we brought himhere in, we might carry him without waking him. Of course I should tellhim this evening what we thought of doing. It may be that the Frenchwill make no search for the wounded. I saw proclamations signed by someof the principal sheiks and ulemas, calling upon the people to betranquil, and announcing that Bonaparte had consented to forgive thepast; but you know that did not prevent their trying those prisonersthis morning, and, I doubt not, executing a large number of them. Therefore, although they may leave the lower class alone, they may seizeany of their leaders they may find, and if they came upon your father, his wounds would show that he had been engaged in the fighting; and ifthey took him to the town many of those who saw him there might denouncehim as the sheik who led his horsemen against one of their columns. Ofcourse they may not search, but it is as well to be on the safe side, and it is better to run the slight risk that the journey might do himthan to chance his being captured here. " Sidi heartily agreed. "Now, Sidi, you may as well get rid of those clothes and put on thepeasant's suit I bought you. I shall do the same; then should we becaught sight of, at a distance, we should simply be taken for twofellahs who have gone up into the mountains, either to shoot game or forsome other purpose, while the white clothes would excite suspicion. I amsorry now that I did not get them for Hassan and Ali, but it is likelyenough that I may be able to buy such things in the village. By the way, your father said, when we were riding from the Pyramids to the town, that there were a good many old tombs up in the hills. Of course, forto-night, it would be enough if we take him a short distance up, thento-morrow we can search, and if we can find one of those tombs, it willbe a safe place for him to stop in; and being cut in the solid rock, itwould be pleasantly cool. There will be no fear whatever of any Frenchsoldiers coming along and entering there, and we can live quietly untilhe is fit to sit a horse. When you have taken off those things that youhave on, you had better tear off a number of long strips for bandages. We did what we could roughly when we first carried your father off thefield; but we can bandage his wounds carefully now, and yours also mustwant looking to badly. " When the sheik woke, after two hours' sleep, he drank some broth. Hisvoice was louder and clearer, and it was evident that even the smallquantity that he had taken before, and the quiet sleep, had refreshedhim greatly. "Now, sheik, " Edgar said, "Hassan and Ali are going to bandage yourwounds carefully. They say that they are both accustomed to it, and nodoubt they have some experience, for wounds are common enough in yourraids and forays. " Edgar by this time had put on the dark-blue blouse, reaching down belowthe knee and girt by a belt at the waist, which forms the main articleof dress of every Egyptian peasant. On his head was a brown cap of roughwool, of something of the same shape as a fez. These, and a pair of lowTurkish shoes, completed his costume, underneath which he wore theEuropean one, the trousers being rolled up above the knees, so as not toshow. While the operation of dressing the wounds was going on, he wentdown into the village, and finding a shop where they sold such things, bought similar suits to his own for the two Arabs. When he returned, thesheik's wounds had been dressed, a blanket rolled up under his head, andhe was looking altogether more comfortable. Edgar now told him his planof carrying him off. "It will be best, " he said, "much the best. Though I have said nothing, I have wondered to-day whether the French would come along, and it hastroubled me; besides, I shall gain strength faster up in the hills. Yourplan is a good one. I think that I shall sleep well in the blanket. Evenif I wake it will not matter; the motion will be easy, and my woundshave been well bandaged, and I have no fear of their breaking outagain. " In addition to the severe sabre cut on the face, the sheik had anotheron the left arm. A third had struck him slantingly on the right side, ashis arm was raised to strike; a musket shot had also made a deep grooveon the hip. When in the village, Edgar had purchased, among otherthings, several sticks of kabobs, and when it became dark the two Arabs, now in their peasant dress, went down and filled the water-skins at thevillage well. The sheik drank off the rest of the broth, and was thencarefully lifted and laid down on the blanket, which was still attachedto the spears. The other blanket was then placed under his head, and inhalf an hour his son, who was watching him, was glad to see that he wasagain asleep. Some more kabobs were put in the pot to stew, and whenready the broth was poured into a wine-bottle that Edgar had emptied. Assoon as the moon was fairly up they started, as before, the two Arabstaking the pole at the sheik's head, Edgar those at his feet, where theweight was comparatively a light one. Sidi would have divided this withhim, but Edgar laughed at the idea. "I shall be well pleased, Sidi, if you can do the walk without needinghelp; the weight is really nothing. If he had been a big fleshyEnglishman it would be a different thing altogether, but you Arabs aresimply bone and muscle, and divided between three the weight is notworth talking about. " The blankets had been rolled up and placed across the men's shoulders, the water-skins hung by their straps on either side, and they carriedthe baskets, on which were also placed the bundles of clothes, betweenthem. No stir or movement showed that the sheik was conscious of beinglifted from the ground. After twenty minutes' walking they got beyondthe area of cultivated ground, and were able to head directly for thehills, and two hours later they were well up among them, and Edgar andSidi agreed that there was small chance indeed of any French parties, especially of cavalry, searching such broken and rugged ground. A spotwas chosen where the ends of the spears could be laid on two flat stoneshigh enough to keep the bottom of the hammock from touching the groundbetween them. Sidi bent over his father, and, listening to his breathing, saw that hewas sound asleep. His only share of the burden had been a small, shallowiron pot, in which a little charcoal fire glowed brightly. A small bagof this, the most common fuel in Egypt, had been bought in the village. The broth was poured into a tin, which was hung a short distance abovethe fire, so that it would warm slowly. Then Edgar and Sidi, who wereboth completely worn out, wrapped themselves, one in his burnoose andthe other in a blanket, and lay down; Hassan and Ali, who had by turnsslept during the day, undertaking to keep watch by the side of thesheik, and to give him the broth as soon as he woke. Edgar dropped off to sleep instantly; when he awoke the sun had risen. He saw that Sidi was still asleep. The hammock had been lowered to theground, and Ali was holding the cup to the sheik's lips. Edgar saw atonce that he was better, the drawn expression and the ashen shade roundhis lips had greatly abated, and his eyes were brighter. Living sofrugal and active a life, the Arab, like the Red Indian, can bear woundsthat would be fatal to a dweller in towns; and as none of the sheik'swounds were in themselves very serious, and it was loss of blood alonethat had brought him to death's door, the night's rest, the nourishmentthat he had taken, and above all, his joy at finding his son living, hadalready placed him on the path to recovery. "I am glad to see you looking much better than you did yesterday, " Edgarsaid heartily as he came up. "I hope that you have slept well?" "I have woke but twice, and each time took some of the broth, andstraightway went off to sleep again. I did not feel my move here, andwas indeed surprised on my first waking, when Ali told me that I wassafe up in the hills. See, I can already lift my right hand. I shall notbe your patient long. " "There is no hurry, " Edgar replied. "After I have had some breakfast Ishall start out to look for one of those tombs that you told me of. There we shall have shelter from the heat of the sun and from thenight-dews. There will be no fear of the French lighting upon us; andindeed I do not think that, now they have Cairo under their feet again, they will trouble more about the matter. They have other things to thinkabout; and although Cairo will be quiet for a long time after this, theFrench will know that their merciless slaughter of the Mussulmans willexcite the deepest feeling of hatred against them, and that it will beeven less safe than before for small parties to move about. "Kleber will no doubt start again with his division for Damietta. Desaixis many days' journey to the south. Probably a force will march to Suez. I heard it said by some French officers that this would probably be thenext move, and Napoleon will not care to further weaken the garrison ofthe city by sending out search parties. " "Is Sidi's wound a bad one?" "No, it is nothing like so severe as that which you received on thecheek. It was a downright blow, but his turban saved him. It is a prettydeep scalp wound extending down to the ear, and he lost a good deal ofblood, but it was anxiety for you and the prospect of death for himselfin the morning that caused it to seem more serious than it was. In threeor four days he will be nearly himself again. " "And you, did you escape unhurt? We deemed you certainly dead. " "No; my horse was shot, and I at the same moment got a bullet through myarm. Beyond the loss of a little blood it was of no consequence. I raninto a house close by and sheltered there until the French column cameout, and then went out in some European clothes I found there, and hadno more trouble. " CHAPTER VIII. AN EGYPTIAN TOMB. While the Arabs were preparing breakfast, Edgar searched for a spotwhere the sheik could lie in shelter during the mid-day heat; for, hotas it was on the desert sands, the heat was fully as great on the barerocks of the hills. After some search he found a spot where two ledgesof rock ran parallel to each other, with a passage of some six feetbetween them, on each side of which they rose perpendicularly sometwelve feet in height. The fissures ran nearly north and south, andtherefore, except for an hour at noon, the bottom was entirely in shade. It was within half a mile of the spot where they encamped for the night;and returning, the sheik was carried there at once, and was laid on theblanket. The spears were found to be long enough to reach across at thetop. The blanket that had formed the hammock being unrolled, it formed asort of awning that could, when the sun was high, be moved a little oneway or the other, so as to keep him in the shade. Learning from thesheik in which direction the tombs that he had spoken of were situated, Edgar started with Hassan, and after half an hour's walking came uponthem. They were, for the most part, square-cut holes in the face of theperpendicular rock. Some of them were only flanked by pilasters cut inthe stone; others had more ornate designs. All had originally beenclosed by great stone slabs. These had long since been moved or brokenup by treasure-seekers. The plan of most of them was similar--a shortpassage, terminated by a chamber of from ten to twenty feet square. Vestiges of the paintings that originally covered the walls could stillbe seen. Choosing one of the larger tombs, Edgar aided Hassan to removefragments of stones that projected above the dust and sand, which laysix inches deep over the floor. Well satisfied, he returned to thesheik. "We have found a good place, " he said. "The air was quite cool in there, and the sand will make a much more comfortable bed than this bare rock. " The sheik made no reply, but lay looking at him with an expression thatpuzzled him, and he was about to turn to Sidi to ask whether his fatherwas worse, when the latter said, "While you have been away my son hasbeen telling me all that you have done for him, and that it was you whosaved his life as well as mine. I am weak now, I cannot say what is inmy heart, it is too full for words. " "Don't say any thing about it, sheik, " Edgar said earnestly. "Did younot adopt me into your tribe? Does not Sidi call me brother? Have younot sheltered me in your tents when I had nowhere else to go? Is it notnatural then that I should do all in my power to repay these benefits, and to rescue you and my brother Sidi from the hands of your enemies? Ideem myself most fortunate that I have been enabled to do so, and, indeed, ran but little risk in either case. It was a small thing tosearch for you among the dead, and to have you carried off; while, having found the disguise of a European, there was no risk of my beingrecognized as having fought against the French when I went to testify infavour of Sidi. Save as to my own name I had need to go but littlebeyond the truth. I had won Sidi's gratitude by aiding him against tworuffians. He had slain a man who was about to attack me, though that didnot take place, as they supposed, at the time of the massacre of theEuropean shopkeepers, but the main facts were true, and there was nofear that in the telling of them I should get myself into trouble. " The sheik shook his head. "'Tis well to say so, my friend, and I supposethat it is the way with your people to make but little of their goodactions. It was not the risk you may have run. Many men are brave, andwe who charged that column of Franks, after those in front of us hadbeen swept away by their cannon, have a right to say that we are notcowards; but you see the difference: Sidi and I thought you dead, butbeyond resolving to avenge you, we did nothing. The idea that we mightdisguise ourselves, and, after the Franks had advanced, gone andsearched the streets and found whether you were still living, neveroccurred to us, and I think that no Arab would have thought of it. "But you had scarcely passed through the first danger of beingdiscovered than you began to think of us. You learnt that many Arabs hadbeen killed when we poured out of the city, and that others had beentaken prisoners. Wounded yourself, you lose no moment in finding my twofollowers. All night you search among the dead for me, and carry me offto a place of safety. Then, without rest, without pause, you return tothe city and begin to take measures to rescue Sidi. He was in thecitadel, strongly guarded by French troops. There was but one way ofsucceeding. You thought of that way. You planned it all out. Youinvented a likely story, which was yet very close to the truth. You wentinto the midst of the men that you have been fighting against, and youso sustained the character that you had chosen, that none of the Frenchofficers suspected for a moment that you were aught but what you seemed, and so, listening to your pleading on his behalf, let him go free. Welldid I say, the other day, that though we might be beaten, I believedthat you and my son would escape, for that Allah had clearly sent you tosave him from danger, and that he would therefore assuredly preserve youboth. " [Illustration: ALI AND AYALA APPEARED _Page 150_] "It is Allah, who is our God as well as yours, who is to be thanked, sheik, that all our lives have been preserved, " Edgar said reverently, "and that we are again united when so many have perished. " In spite of the shade of the blanket overhead, Edgar found ittremendously hot in the middle of the day, but as soon as the sun hadpassed west, he was able to get some hours' comfortable sleep. A shorttime before sunset they started again and carried the sheik to the cave. The two Arabs did this while Edgar and Sidi loitered behind pulling upthe parched-up bushes that grew here and there among the rocks, andmaking them into faggots. As soon, therefore, as the sheik was laid downthe fire was lighted, giving a cheerful air to the dark chamber. Ali andHassan went down again and brought up the provisions, water, andbundles. The air was cool and pleasant in the tomb, and a hearty mealwas made by all but the sheik, who, however, not only drank a cup ofbroth, but ate some dates with something like an appetite. "Now, sheik, " Edgar said, after he had put some more sticks upon thefire, "we can chat about our future plans. I have been talking withSidi. It must be a fortnight or three weeks before you are fit to sit ahorse again. It is very fortunate, by the way, that you sent yourfavourite horse, as well as Sidi's and mine, back by two of yourfollowers from the Pyramids when you decided to enter the town; and thatwe rode other horses in that charge in Cairo. It would have been a loss, indeed, if those noble steeds of ours had been all killed. " "That was one of my first thoughts when I was able to think, " the sheiksaid. "Next to my wife, my son, and you, I love Zeila, and it would havesorely spoiled my joy that we are reunited, had she fallen in thebattle. It was your advice that saved her life also. " "My idea is, " Edgar went on, "that either Hassan or Ali shall go back tothe town, get one of their horses, and ride to the oasis, where all yourspare horses and some of your followers are. " "I have thirty men there, " the sheik said. "I thought it as well not tobring all, for had misfortune happened, the women and children wouldhave been left without protectors; but there is surely no occasion forHassan to go yet. In three days he might be there, and be back inanother three, and though I hope to mend quickly, surely I could notmount a horse in a week's time. " "That I quite see, sheik, but as your wife and the women are there also, I thought it well that he should start at once. Two or three of your menmay have escaped from that fight. They would be sure to make for theoasis, and will doubtless report that all, save themselves, have beenkilled. Your wife will be mourning for you and Sidi as dead, and it isfor that reason that I would send one of the men at once with the goodnews. " "How thoughtful you are, lad! No gray-beard could think of things morethan you do. I had not once thought that the news might reach her; but, as you say, it may well be that two or three at least of my men may haveescaped. Ali shall start to-morrow at daybreak, but when he has givenhis message to my wife, what next is he to do?" "I should say, sheik, that he should bid your men be at the GreatPyramid in twenty-one days from this, and that on the following morningyou will join them there at daybreak. " "I may be well enough before that, " the sheik said. "That we cannot say for certain, " Edgar said; "'tis best that we shouldname a date when we may hope that you will be fit to ride long and faragain if need be. We know not what are the plans of the French, but 'tislike enough that though they may have granted pardon to the people ofthe city, Bonaparte will endeavour to strike some heavy blows at theArabs. He knows how terribly they harassed him on his march here, andthat wheresoever his troops may move, they will again swarm round him. He has overawed Cairo, and can safely leave a small garrison there if hemarches away. And he may well seek to overawe the Arabs by makingexpeditions against their oases, which he can now easily do, as hiscavalry are all mounted on Egyptian horses, capable of supporting thirstand making long journeys, and he may think that by striking at yourcamping-places, cutting down your palm-trees, and filling up your wells, he may compel you to promise to cease from all attacks upon his troops. " "He might certainly damage us greatly in that way, " the sheik agreed;"but few of his horses are equal to ours. You may be sure that thetribes near Alexandria, who basely sold him horses, did not part withtheir best, while those the Franks took at Cairo are not accustomed tothe desert, save, indeed, those of the Mamelukes, of whom there werefew, for most of their horses were killed with their masters. But werethey even as well mounted as we are, they might indeed reach our oasesand do terrible damage, as for ourselves, we could laugh at them, forthey would have to carry far heavier weights. It is not that the Frenchsoldiers are heavier than we are, but with their riding-boots, theiraccoutrements, their valises, and other matters, they would ride fromforty to fifty pounds heavier than we should, and their horses, unaccustomed to such burdens, would soon tire. Would it not be well tobid, say, four men, to come straight hither to act as a guard?" "I think not, sheik; the fewer of us there are about here the better, and were we discovered, four men or forty would be useless. We mightdefend the mouth of the tomb for a short time, but even were we to beatoff every attack, it would be but a matter of hours before we wereforced to surrender for want of water. Hassan can start with Alito-morrow morning, and bring the second horse back here; it will be veryuseful for bringing up water and provisions. And now that Hassan has hispeasant dress on, he would attract little attention were he noticedriding among the hills. I will tell him to buy two more skins, largerthan those we have. The four will then bring up sufficient water to lastus and the horse for three days at least, so that he will only have tomake an occasional journey down to the village. Indeed, there areseveral villages within a short distance of each other on the riverbank, and by going sometimes to one and sometimes to another for foodand water, he will not attract attention at all. " "So be it, " the sheik said. His voice now had weakened, and, afterdrinking some more broth, he composed himself for sleep--an examplewhich was speedily imitated by the others. Sidi gave Ali and Hassan thenecessary instructions, and before they started, Edgar took the formerapart and had a private conversation with him. "It is possible, Ali, that the sheik's wife will, when you arrive there, want to start at once to attend him. If she does, do not try to dissuadeher, it will be a great comfort to him to have her with him, and willaid his recovery. I know that she is skilful in the dressing of wounds, and will be able to cook things such as he would like, far better thanwe could. No one can guide her here but yourself. Of course, when youare once fairly across the river, you will take off that long blue gown, and ride in your Arab dress, and she will ride with you in her owndress, until you get within a short distance of the river; beyond that, of course, you will again put the peasant's dress on; and before youstart to-day get such a dress also for her, and let her slip it on overher own. "It were best that you did not approach the ferry until it is gettingdark. You would do well to bring a comrade to take the two horses back;Ayala could not use them. One frequently sees women riding on donkeys, but for a peasant woman to be mounted on a horse would be unusual. Besides, we should not know what to do with them here, and they wouldhave to go down every day for water. If you start at noon to-day fromCairo, you will be there on the afternoon of the third day, and if youstart again next morning will be here on the sixth day. I will light afire a short distance from the front of the cave so as to act as a guideto you when you get into the rough ground. If you are not here thatnight I shall know that she is not coming. I shall say nothing about itto the sheik or Sidi; it is better that they should not be lookingforward to it. If she did not come they might be fearing that somemisadventure had happened on the journey. In any case, you understandthat you are not to propose it to her, but are to remain altogethersilent on the subject unless she herself insists on coming. " Hassan returned with the horse carrying the four water-skins and someprovisions, including a supply of coffee, just as darkness set in; hereported that Ali had started before noon. The next six days passedquietly. Hassan went down twice with the horse for water, fresh meat, fowls, and other provisions, and a supply of grain for the horse, whichwas stabled in the next tomb to that they occupied. The sheik gainedstrength, slowly indeed but steadily. At each meal he took a basin ofbroth prepared either from fresh meat or chicken, and to Edgar'ssatisfaction his hands remained cool, and there were no signs of fever. On the sixth day he was able to sit up, leaning against the wall of thechamber. At dusk that evening Edgar strolled out, as he usually did, to enjoy thecool evening air. He told Hassan to accompany him, and they soon pluckedup some withered and dead bushes among those growing between the rocks. These were piled some twenty yards on one side of the entrance to thetomb. Then Hassan went into the chamber, picked up a piece of glowingcharcoal out of the fire with which to light his pipe, placed it on thebowl, and after taking two or three draws, went out into the air. Thepiece of charcoal was placed among some dried leaves and twigs and blownuntil a flame shot up. Then some dried sticks, which had been collectedfor the purpose, were placed carefully on this, and the fire soon burnedup. "That will do, Hassan, " Edgar said. "I don't want a big blaze that canbe seen a long distance away. You sit here and feed it carefully, so asto keep up the flame not more than a foot or two in height. " Hassan obeyed the orders. Ali had told him on leaving that he mightpossibly return with the sheik's wife, but that he was not to mention itto Sidi or the sheik himself. Edgar walked up and down near the fire. Anhour later he heard voices below, and gave an exclamation of pleasure, and two or three minutes later Ali and Ayala appeared within the circleof light, the former leading the horse on which she was sitting. "How is he?" she exclaimed, as she slipped from the saddle, and hurriedforward to meet Edgar. "He is getting on very well; he is gaining strength, and has had nofever. I will lead you to him. Hassan, you can put out that fire now, but bring some of the brands into the tomb; they will make a cheerfulblaze. Perhaps you had better do that before we go in. If the sheik askswhy you do it, say it is by my orders, and that I thought it would bemore cheerful than the glow of the charcoal. "He will not be a minute, Ayala, and were you to go in now you wouldscarce see him or he you. " With the patient obedience of Arab women she stopped at once. "Ali has told me, " she said, turning to him, "how much you have done forus, and how you saved the lives of both my husband and son. " "I was fortunate in being able to do so, " he replied, "and that withoutthe slightest risk to myself. " Then changing the subject, he went on, "Ithought that you would wish to come. " "Certainly I should, " she said. "My place is by his side. And is Sidiwell also? And you--Ali said that you also were wounded?" "Mine was a trifling business, " he said, "and Sidi's not much worse. Weboth suffered from loss of blood, which perhaps is a good thing, as wehave had no fever, and though our wounds are somewhat sore, we havealmost ceased to think of them. There, I can see by the light that thefire is burning up inside. Now we will go in. Keep a little way behindme; it would startle him were you to go in suddenly. " He walked into the tomb. "Sheik, " he said, "here is a friend come to see you. " "A friend!" the sheik repeated in surprise. "Who is it?" "She has ridden all the way from the oasis, sheik. I was sure she wouldcome. She is your wife!" and Ayala ran forward and threw herself uponher knees by the side of the sheik. Edgar went out with Hassan, and leftthem and Sidi together. Ayala now took the entire charge of the sheik. Edgar went downfrequently to one or other of the villages on the river bank, partly forchange and exercise, partly to learn what he was doing at Cairo. Heheard that, under the direction of French engineers, the greater portionof the population of Cairo were employed in building forts on elevatedpositions round the town, where the guns would completely dominate thecity, that it was said that the Sultan had declared war with France, andthat an army from Syria had advanced and had established itself at afort in the desert half-way between the frontier of Syria and Egypt. "I made sure, " he said, after talking the news over with the shiek andSidi, "that the Sultan would be driven to declare war against theFrench. It would have been impossible for him to have allowed the Frenchpermanently to establish themselves as masters of his province of Egypt. Even if he himself had been willing to suffer it, the whole Moslempopulation would have risen against him. No doubt the news of thedestruction of the French fleet decided him to take this step. Now thatno more reinforcements can reach them here, he may well consider thathis army is capable of annihilating them. The Turks are goodsoldiers--that is to say, they have always shown themselves capable offighting desperately when well led. "Unfortunately, that is not likely to be the case. The pashas have noexperience in war, while the French have the best generals in Europe. The Turks are badly disciplined, while the French are veteran soldierswith perfect confidence in themselves and in their leaders. Still, inany case, this will greatly increase Napoleon's difficulties; he willhave to send the greater portion of his army to meet the Turks, at thesame time will have to keep Egypt in subjection. The British governmentwill be blind if they do not see that the opportunity is a grand one forstriking a blow at the French, and I should think that they would erelong send an army out here, though they may not do so unless they seethat the Turks alone can do nothing against them. " Later Edgar heard that columns of French cavalry had gone out into thedesert and had driven away the bodies of Arabs that had assembled againa few miles off the Nile. They had, however, been unable to gain anyadvantages over them, as the Arabs had always fallen back upon theirapproach, and the French, finding pursuit useless, had returned to thecity. Once or twice a few Arabs had been killed when the cavalry hadbeen so closely followed by a battery of artillery that the Arabs wereunaware that the French had guns with them, and had therefore contentedthemselves with keeping beyond carbine shot, their first intimation oftheir presence having been when the cavalry rode rapidly to the rightand left, leaving the guns exposed. Even then their loss had been slight, for the slight undulations of thedesert afforded shelter, and riding at full speed along some hollow theywere almost out of range before the artillery could limber up after thefirst discharge of their guns and advance to a position whence theycould see their flying foes. By the end of the three weeks the sheik was strong enough to walk up anddown for some time in front of the tomb, and he declared himself quiteable to make the journey. Edgar had some doubt on the subject, but heknew that the Arabs were so thoroughly at home on their horses that theyscarcely felt the slightest inconvenience after the longest day'sjourney, and Zeila's pace was so easy and smooth that he hoped the chiefmight not suffer from it. At two o'clock on the morning of the day when the band would be awaitingthem at the Pyramids the party started. All, save the sheik, were intheir peasant disguises. He was in his Arab dress, disdaining, howevergreat the occasion, to put on the dress of a peasant. He wore, however, a dark burnoose which completely covered his figure. Edgar and Sidi had, the day before, carefully examined the face of the hill, and had found atrack by which peasants drove up their goats to pasture among the hillsat the time when the shrubs were sufficiently fresh and green for themto browse. The chief mounted the horse with an exclamation of pleasureat finding himself again in the saddle. The two lads led the way a paceor two in front of the horse. Ayala walked by the side of her husband. Hassan and Ali followed behind with the second horse. The descent required great care. Although Sidi carried a torch, it tookthem upwards of an hour to get to the foot of the hills. When on thelevel ground Ayala was assisted to mount Ali's horse, and they went morebriskly along. There was, however, no occasion for haste, for the ferrywas but four miles away, and the boat would not cross until dawn. Ali, however, had gone down on the previous day and had bargained with theferryman to be ready, as soon as it was light, to take over a party whohad a long journey to make. Dawn was just breaking as they reached thebanks of the river. A few moments later the ferryman arrived. He lookedsurprised at seeing an Arab with four peasants, but made no remark; hewas to be well paid for getting up two hours earlier than usual, and itwas no business of his whether an Arab crossed or not. The sheik, hiswife, and the two lads first got on board, then Ali and Hassan led thehorses and stood by their side as the boat pushed out from the shore. Inten minutes they were across. As soon as they landed, the sheik andAyala mounted and set off at an amble--a pace between a walk and a trot, the two legs on each side moving together. This pace is in general useamong horses in Egypt and Turkey, and is as comfortable and easy as awalk. The sun had risen half an hour when they neared the Pyramid. As soon asthey were seen a party of thirty horsemen dashed out and rode towardsthem at full gallop, brandishing their spears or guns over their heads, and as they approached uttering shouts of welcome. Sidi and the twoArabs had, like Ayala, taken off their peasant smocks and caps, and hadwound their turbans round their heads as soon as they had landed. Tothem the disguise was very repugnant, for the Arabs looked down withsupreme contempt upon the fellah population of Egypt. Edgar had followedtheir example, not from any dislike to the dress, but because he thoughtthat the sheik would prefer rejoining his followers, with the wholeparty dressed in Arab costume. There was no doubting the genuineness of the welcome that the Beni Ouafygave their chief. Until Ali had arrived with news of their escape, they, like his wife, had deemed that he and his son had fallen, and there wasdeep emotion in their faces as they circled round and round the littleparty, discharging their guns, tossing their spears in the air, catchingthem as they fell, and shouting their welcome. The sheik and those withhim fired off their guns as the party came up, and the sheik, in spiteof his efforts to maintain the impassive expression of his face, wasevidently much moved. As soon as the demonstration ceased he startedagain without a word. The others followed his example, and they rode ina body until they reached the Pyramids, when he dismounted. In aninstant all were off their horses and gathered round him. "My brothers, " he said, "I thank you for my welcome. It gladdens myheart to be among you again, but I cannot forget that many saddles havebeen emptied, that many of our women are widows and their childrenfatherless. I rode away with fifty men. I hear that but ten, and theyall wounded, returned to your tents. Two, Ali and Hassan, remained withthe horses; the rest met their death with their face to the foe, dyingas a Moslem should do in defence of his faith and his country. But theloss to us is a grievous one; half of our fighting strength is gone. Youhave heard from Ali that had it not been for this brave young friend, whom you regard as one of yourselves, since he is my son's adoptedbrother, both I and my son would have died. Later I will tell you how hesought for and carried me senseless from among the dead upon the fieldof battle, and how he ventured into the council of the Franks and bystratagem persuaded them to free my son, who was one of the Arabprisoners. "It will be a tale to tell your children how this English lad, himselfwounded, saved the lives of the sheik of your tribe and his son. Butthis is no time for telling it to you in full now. See, there is a greatdust rising by the river; it is probably the cavalry of the Franks, withperhaps some guns. They are far away yet, but it will not be long beforethey are here. I have resolved to journey quietly back to our home. Ifeel that it will be some time ere I shall be fit to ride fast and far. My wife will, of course, accompany me. I will take Ali and Hassan andtwo others. We shall travel quietly and slowly, and shall keep well outfrom the river, so as to run no risk of falling in with any fresh party. The rest of you will ride back to fetch the women and children, with thecamels and other animals, and to warn my brother that bodies of Frenchcavalry are moving about, devastating the oases, cutting downpalm-trees, and filling up wells. I should advise him, for the sake ofthe tribe, to hasten to make his submission, which, as he did not takepart in the rising in Cairo, he may well be able to do, though they willperhaps send him into that town, and hold him as a hostage for hispeople. Now bring out the horses. " Zeila was first brought up, and her delight was as great as that of thesheik at the meeting, but there was no time for prolonged endearments. After a few loving words to the horse the sheik mounted. Ayala, who wasto ride behind him, was lifted to her seat, Ali and Hassan, with two menthe sheik picked out, sprang into their saddles, and the party startednorth. Then Sidi and Edgar mounted their own steeds and set out with therest towards the south-west. By this time the French were within a mileof them, and it could be made out that they were a body of some fifteenhundred cavalry, who were, as far as could be seen, unaccompanied byguns. "'Tis probable that they are going a long distance, " Edgar said, "andthat the guns would much delay them, for it is hard work indeed draggingthem over the sands. " The French had already experienced that they had no chance of overtakingthe Arabs, and the cavalry accordingly paid no attention to so small aparty, but continued their journey at a trot. After riding for four orfive miles they were left far behind by the tribesmen, but thedust-cloud showed their position. "They are coming exactly the way that we are, " Sidi said, looking back;"it may be that they are bound for my uncle's oasis. " "It would be as well to find that out, Sidi. Do you give me two of yourbest mounted men and then ride straight on with the others. We willremain here till they approach, and then ride on for another eight orten miles, still keeping them in sight. They will assuredly camp at thewells of Orab if they are making for the oasis. These are about twentymiles from the Nile, and they will go no further to-day, for it is asmuch again before they come to another well. When we have with certaintymade out that they are making for the wells of Orab, we will follow youat full speed, but do not wait for us, and, save to give your horses adrink, do not draw rein till you reach your people and deliver yourfather's message. I don't suppose that I shall overtake you before youget there, but I shall not be long after you, and my report may decidehim what he had best do. " Sidi at once picked out two men who were, he knew, among the bestmounted of the tribe, and told them to remain with Edgar and act underhis orders. Then at a much more rapid pace than before he pursued hisjourney. Edgar and his men dismounted, sitting down on the sands untilthe French were again within a mile of them, then they cantered onahead. The French had followed so exactly the line along which the partyhad ridden that Edgar felt quite convinced that they were making for thewells. However, he kept at the same distance ahead of them until theArabs told him that they were now within five miles of the water. "Then we will go on, " he said. "It is certain now that they are goingthere, and as you say there are no camping grounds within many miles ofthe wells, I think it is certain that they are bound for the oasis ofthe Beni Ouafy. " They now rode at full speed to the wells. Here for a quarter of an hourthey halted, refilled their water-skins, gave the horses a drink and ahandful of dried dates, eat a few themselves, and then started on theirlong ride. Had not Edgar had perfect confidence in the Arabs' knowledgeof the country he would have felt uneasy, as hour after hour they rodeacross wastes of sand without, so far as he could see, any landmarkwhatever to guide their course. He remarked this to them. Both smiled. "You Franks can make your way over the sea when there is nothingwhatever to guide you, " one of the men said; "it would be strange if wecould not do the same over the land that we have traversed many timesbefore. " "At sea they have a compass with a needle that points always to thenorth, so that they know in what direction they are going. " "We have the sun, " one of the Arabs answered; "but even without that wecould find our way, and do so even on the darkest night. The horses knowthe way as well as we do. When they have once journeyed over a trackthey never forget it, and even did they swerve a little it would notmatter, for they can smell water miles away, and would always, ifunguided, make for it. " At ten in the evening Edgar rode into the Bedouins' encampment, havingpassed over eighty miles since leaving the Pyramid. Sidi's party hadarrived there half an hour earlier, and he found that his friend was nowin the tent of the sheik. Edgar went there at once, and Sidi introducedhim to his uncle, who was some years older than his father. "I am rejoiced to see you, " the sheik said gravely. "I heard how you hadbefore befriended Sidi, and the messenger who arrived here told us howyou had saved the lives of my brother and nephew, and I wanted to seeyour face. "Truly you are young, indeed, to have done such wonderful deeds, and tohave so much wisdom, as well as courage. Sidi tells me that some fifteenhundred of the Frankish cavalry are riding hither. " "I think that there can be no doubt of it, " Edgar replied. "Certainlythey have gone to the wells of Orab. We left them but a short distancefrom it. They will camp there to-night. They may, for aught I know, change their direction to-morrow, but in any case it will be three daysbefore they are here. They would not journey more than twenty miles aday. " "They are too strong for us to fight, " the sheik said. "I was at thebattle near Cairo, though, as we arrived late, and did not know at whatpoint my brother's men were gathered, I did not join them, but when allwas over rode off with Mourad and his Mamelukes. I can put but sixhundred horsemen in the field at short notice; though, had I a week'stime, I could call up another four hundred, who are encamped at somewells far away to the west. But even were they here I could not ventureto engage in open fight with fifteen hundred Franks. "I have given orders that at daybreak the tents shall be struck, and allthe women and children, with the baggage and as many bunches of dates asthe camels can carry, shall start at once for the wells of Azim, seventymiles away. It is a long journey, and there is no water by the way, sothere is no fear of the French following. There are already a hundred ofmy tents there, for although this oasis is a large one, being nigh eightmiles long and two wide, it is not large enough for the whole of mypeople. The one at Azim is smaller, but it will support us for a time;and there is an abundance of water for the camels, which number twelvehundred, and the sheep and goats, of which there are about two thousand. A hundred of my men will ride with them as a guard, and to drive theanimals. "With the others I shall, if the Franks do damage here, harass them ontheir retreat, and by dashing among them at night will do them such harmthat they may regret the day that they came hither. Sidi will start inthe morning with the women and camels of his father's branch of thetribe. I shall send in the morning two horsemen with a white flag tomeet the Franks, and to tell them, in my name, that none of my followershave aught to do with the affair in Cairo, and that I desire to live inpeace with them. Upon their return I shall know what to do. " An Arab woman now brought in refreshments, consisting of a pillau andsherbet, after which coffee was handed round, and Sidi and Edgar threwthemselves down on heaps of blankets for a few hours' sleep. As soon asday broke, the encampment was a scene of bustle and confusion. The womenpulled down the tents, rolled up the blankets composing them, andfastened the poles in bundles. Numbers of men scattered to cut bunchesof dates, and of these huge piles were collected. Three hours later thecamels were brought up, and men and women alike employed in loadingthem. This occupied over an hour. As soon as it was completed, the womenand children took their places on the top of the burdens, and the camelsat once filed off, three abreast. A party with the sheep, goats, and spare horses had started as soon asit was light. The rest of the escort scattered themselves along on eachside of the long column of camels. Sidi's party left at the same hour. The sheik up to that time had been engaged in superintending thearrangements for shifting camp, and asked Sidi and Edgar to stop behindfor an hour or two in order that he might hear a full account of theevents at Cairo. When the story was finished they partook of a meal, andthen, after saying adieu, mounted and rode off, and in an hour's timeovertook the slow-moving cavalcade. Six days' travel took them to theirold camping-ground, where the sheik, with his little party, had arrivedthree days previously. CHAPTER IX. SIR SIDNEY SMITH. The first intimation that Napoleon received that the Sultan had declaredwar with France, was the news that an army from Syria had advanced andestablished itself at a fort in the desert half-way between the frontierof that country and Egypt. He had, in the interval, endeavoured to makehimself familiar with the country. Forts had been erected all roundCairo on heights dominating the town, so that a comparatively smallforce could overawe the population. He himself paid two visits to Suez. Desaix had pushed the Mamelukes still farther into Upper Egypt; adivision had established the French authority at Damietta and Rosetta, and every arrangement was made by which the main body of the army couldmove away with a fair hope that Egypt would remain quiet during itsabsence. It was now the beginning of December. During the journey down to thecoast Edgar had thought seriously of his position. It seemed to himthat, although finally the French would have to evacuate Egypt, a longtime might elapse before this took place, and he finally came to theresolution to attempt to escape. He was doing neither himself nor hisfather any good by remaining. He had already witnessed a great battle byland, and one by sea, and he thought, by returning home and rejoininghis father, he would be better employed in acquiring commercialknowledge in a business in London than in remaining in Egypt. Accordingly, on the day after his arrival at the oasis he mounted androde into Alexandria, and entered his father's place of business for thefirst time since the French had landed. Muller did not recognize him ashe entered, owing to his Arab dress and coloured skin. There were twonative clerks present, and Edgar went up to him, and said in a lowvoice: "I want to talk with you, Mr. Muller. " The latter started slightly onhearing the voice, but only requested him in Arabic to follow him intothe inner office, then he closed the door. "My dear Edgar, " he said, "I am delighted to see you. I have been ingreat uneasiness about you. I had no doubt that you were with thatBedouin chief, but whether he had taken part against the French, orremained quiet, I knew not, and have been for a long time expecting tohear from you. " Edgar gave him a brief sketch of what he had been doing since he hadbeen away, and then said, "I am desirous of making my way to England. Ofcourse it will be impossible to go direct, but if I could get to Italy, I might get a ship home from there. " "That would not be difficult. No large Italian vessels come in here, butsmall ones do so not infrequently. They generally bring spirits, wines, and other goods that command a ready sale here, and they make aconsiderable profit on their trading. No doubt you could obtain apassage in one of these. " "And how goes on business, Mr. Muller?" Edgar asked after the questionof the passage had been discussed for some time. "We have been pretty busy ever since the French arrived. Many of thetransports and store ships received damage on their voyage. We have hada fair share of the work. Before you go I will draw up a short statementof what we have done, for your father. I am on very good terms with theFrench general and his staff. I represented to them that your fatherhad, on seeing the approach of their fleet, determined to abandon hisbusiness altogether and leave the country, and that having saved aconsiderable sum during my service with him, I was able to purchase fromhim the heavy goods that he could not take away with him, and arrangedto conduct the business on my own account. I may tell you what perhapsyou did not know, that, before leaving, your father executed a deed ofpartnership with me, by which he gave me a fourth share in the business, and moreover arranged that I was to receive half the profit of it duringthe French occupation. On his return it was arranged that the businessshould be conducted under the name of Blagrove, Son, & Muller. " "I am glad to hear it, Mr. Muller. My father indeed mentioned to me, some months before he left, that he intended to take you intopartnership, and that possibly he should, after a time, leave me herewith you and should fix himself in London and carry on the business ofthe firm there, so the French invasion has only hastened it on. Ofcourse I have my European clothes here, and though I fancy I have growna couple of inches in the last five months, I daresay they will do verywell for me. The best plan will be to take the passage for me as aFrench lad, the son of a trader in Cairo, who, in view of the lateevents there, his father is sending home. " "I will look at my sailing lists, " Mr. Muller said, "and will see if anyItalian craft is intending to sail in the next day or two. " He left the room, and returned in two or three minutes. "There is one bound for Naples. She will sail on Saturday, so there arefour days to make your preparations. " "That will do well, " Edgar said; "on Friday evening I will be here. " He had, on the previous evening, acquainted the sheik and his son of hisintention. Both had expressed deep regret, but acknowledged that hisarguments in favour of the plan he proposed were so strong that theycould urge nothing against them. On the Friday afternoon the sheik andSidi both rode down to Alexandria with him. The former returned thatevening to his camp, one of his followers taking Edgar's horse, whichthey promised to keep for him until his return, as he assured them thatit would be next to impossible to get a passage for it to England, andthat even could he do so it might die during the voyage, and moreoverthat it would be useless to him in London. Sidi slept at the house, andaccompanied him on board on the following morning. The Italian craft was a brig of about a hundred and fifty tons burden, but as Edgar was the only passenger the accommodation was ample. A fewminutes after he stepped on board the crew began to get up the anchor, and as soon as this was done, Mr. Muller and Sidi said good-bye andreturned to shore. Edgar had, on coming on board, spoken a few words tothe captain, who was glad to find that his passenger spoke Italianfluently. The wind was very light, and the brig made but littleprogress, and five days after sailing was still a hundred miles south ofthe Italian coast. Edgar, however, greatly enjoyed the time. He was inno particular hurry, and the comparatively cool air and the fresh greenof the sea was delightful to him after the dry heat and sandy waste ofEgypt. On the sixth day a vessel-of-war was seen in the west. The captain feltno uneasiness; coming from Alexandria, a French vessel would regard himas a friend, while a British ship would certainly not interfere with anItalian trader, for the court of Naples was most friendly, and a portionat least of the British fleet were off the town. The ship-of-war wasbringing up the breeze with her, and came along fast, and ere long thecaptain was able to declare that she was British. As she approached theyfound that she was the _Tigre_, an eighty-gun ship captured some timebefore from the French. When she came near she fired a gun across thebows of the brig, which at once lowered her sails. The man-of-war wasthrown up into the wind as she approached, and a voice shouted inFrench, "What ship is that, and where from?" "He wants to know your name and where from, " Edgar translated, and thecaptain shouted back, "the _Annetta_, bound from Alexandria to Naples. " "Send a boat alongside with your captain, " was the order from the_Tigre_. "Shall I go with you, captain, to translate, " Edgar volunteered. The captain gladly assented, and the boat was at once lowered, and theywere rowed to the _Tigre_. On ascending the deck they were taken to thecaptain. The latter glanced at Edgar and said, "Why, surely you areEnglish?" "I am, sir. My father was a merchant at Alexandria. I was away at thetime the French arrived, and was left behind, and have been with a partyof Arabs ever since. " "Can you speak Arabic?" "Yes, sir. " "Any other languages?" "French and Italian, sir. It was for that reason that I came on boardwith the captain to interpret for him. " "Where are you going now?" "I was going to Naples first, in order to take a passage home fromthere. " "Ah! What have they got on board?" "Little enough, sir. They came across with spirits and wine and othercargo. The man is a small trader and part owner of the ship. " "Tell him if he carries stores again to Alexandria his ship will beseized as a prize by the first ship-of-war that comes across her. Bycarrying them to Alexandria he is aiding the French. Now about yourself. What are you going home for?" "To join my father in England. " "What are you going to do there?" "I believe that I shall go into an office, sir, till my father canreturn to Egypt again. " "You speak these three languages well. " "Yes, sir; well enough to pass as a native. " "Have you been doing any fighting ashore?" "Not much fighting, sir, --the Arabs could not stand against the French;but I have seen a good deal. I saw the battle of the Pyramids, the seafight in Aboukir Bay, and the street fighting in Cairo. " "Well, with your knowledge of languages you ought to be able to dobetter than go into a London office. You might be very useful to me, and if you like to go with me to Constantinople, where I am bound, Iwill give you a midshipman's rating. You may have an opportunity ofseeing some more service, and when this affair is over you could, ofcourse, leave the navy if you thought fit and rejoin your father. Whatdo you say? I will give you five minutes to think it over. " It required less time than this for Edgar to take his resolution. He hadno fancy whatever for work in a London office, and the prospect ofserving on board ship, the chance of seeing Constantinople and otherplaces, and possibly of active service against the French, was vastlymore pleasant. Before the end of that time he went up to the captain, touched his hat, and said that he thankfully accepted his offer. "Very well, then, that is settled, " the officer said kindly. "I willgive you ten minutes to row back to the brig and return with yourclothes. " In ten minutes Edgar was on board again, having explained to theastonished captain that he was going as interpreter on board the Britishship. As soon as he stepped on deck again orders were shouted, the sailstrimmed, and the _Tigre_ proceeded on her way. An officer came up toEdgar. "What is your name, sir?" "Edgar Blagrove, sir. " "I remember the name, " the officer said. "I put into Alexandria some tenmonths ago to get some repairs done, and I remember that your fatherundertook them. " He beckoned to a lad of about the same age as Edgar. "Mr. Wilkinson, " he said, "you may take this young gentleman, Mr. Blagrove, down to the cockpit and introduce him to your messmates. He isentered on board the ship as a midshipman by Sir Sidney Smith'sorders. " The midshipman took him below without a word. There were two other ladsin the cabin. "Allow me, " Edgar's guide said with a theatrical flourish of the hand, "to introduce to you Mr. Blagrove, a fellow midshipman and messmate. " "Really, Wilkinson, one never knows whether you are in earnest orplaying the fool, " growled one of the others, who was a master's matesome nineteen years old. "On the present occasion I am in earnest, Mr. Condor, " Wilkinsonreplied. "Where did he spring from?" "He has just come on board from that little brig that we made lie tojust now. " "I come from Alexandria, " Edgar said quietly. "From Alexandria!" Condor repeated in surprise, for he had not been ondeck when the Italian captain had answered the hail. "I was accidentally left behind when most of the English inhabitantsleft when the French ships came in sight. " "What did they do to you? Have you been in prison ever since?" "Fortunately they never laid hands on me. A sheik of one of the Arabtribes was a friend of mine, and I have been staying with him eversince. " "How did you make them understand what you wanted?" "I can talk Arabic as well as I can English, " Edgar replied. "Still you must have felt it awfully slow stopping at an Arab camp allthis time. " "It has not been by any means slow. The tribe harassed the French ontheir march. We were present at the battle of the Pyramids, though wedid not take any active part in it; for when the Mamelukes were defeatedthe Arabs knew that alone they had no chance of success. Then we camedown to the place where they generally encamp, some twelve miles fromAlexandria, and I had the good luck to see Nelson's fleet destroy theFrench in Aboukir Bay. " "That was luck!" Wilkinson said warmly. "I would have given anything tohave been in that fight. " "You are taking late to the sea, " the midshipman who had not yet spokenremarked. "I have no intention of taking to the sea for good, " Edgar replied. "Myfather has one of the largest businesses in Alexandria, and as soon asthe French leave Egypt I shall go back there. Sir Sidney Smith asked meto come, as I talk French and Italian as well as Arabic, and he thoughtthat I should be useful to him as an interpreter, and said he would rateme as a midshipman. I was very glad to accept, as I should have nothingparticular to do if I had gone home, and I thought that it would be farmore pleasant to have two or three years of active service. " "Have you been in England?" Wilkinson asked. "Yes, I was there nearly three years, and only returned a few monthsbefore the French landed. " "Well, it seems a rum start, " Condor said, "but I suppose Sir Sidneyknows what he is doing. " "I should imagine he did, " Edgar said quietly. "Possibly, if you like toquestion him he will be good enough to explain the matter to yoursatisfaction. " "Look here, youngster!" Condor growled. "You have come in here as amidshipman, and let me tell you that whether a fellow is an interpreteror not we don't allow cheek here. " "But you allow rudeness, eh?" Edgar said quietly. "I am new to ship'smanners, but at school, anyhow, a fellow was just as likely to getthrashed for rudeness as he was for cheek. " "Come, Condor, " Wilkinson said, as the master's mate sprang to his feet, "you won't do yourself any good by quarrelling with a fellow who hasjust come on board. He has certainly said nothing offensive to you. Moreover, it is quite possible that the captain may want to ask himquestions about Egypt, and if he had any marks on the face you may bepretty sure you would get such a wigging that you would never wantanother, and possibly you might never have a chance of getting one. " "Very well, " Condor said, sitting down again, "you are safe for a day ortwo; but mind, the first time I get an opportunity I will give you thesoundest thrashing that you ever had. " "I am sorry that it must be postponed, " Edgar said quietly, "but Idaresay it will keep. " "Come on deck, Blagrove, " Wilkinson said, putting his arm into that ofEdgar. "He is an ill-tempered brute, " he went on as soon as they hadleft the cockpit. "He only passed his examination a week before wesailed, and we all heartily wish that he had failed. He is a regularbully, and as none of us are older than I am he has pretty well his ownway, for he is a strong chap, and, as I heard from a fellow who sailedwith him, knows how to use his fists, and none of us would have anychance with him. It is a great nuisance, for we should all be verypleasant together if it were not for him. However, I don't expect hewill dare touch you, for the captain may, at any time, want you to putquestions to craft he may overhaul, and Condor would certainly get ithot if he found out that he had been interfering with you. " Edgar smiled. "I can assure you that I do not want the captain's assistance in thematter. Boxing is a branch of my education which has not beenneglected, and I fancy that Mr. Condor will not find that he has it allhis own way. " "Well, if you could lick him we should all regard you as a benefactor, Blagrove; but I am afraid you will find him a great deal too strong andheavy for you. " "Well, we shall see, as he says, on the first opportunity. I don't thinkthat I am at all a quarrelsome chap, but I am certainly not going to putup with being bullied by a fellow like that. " At this moment the boatswain came up. "Mr. Blagrove, " he said, "I havethe first lieutenant's orders to take you to the tailor to be measuredfor your uniform--an undress suit, he said. The tailor can manage that, but you will have to get the rest of your kit later on. " "You will find me on deck, Blagrove, " Wilkinson said, as Edgar followedthe boatswain, who led the way to the lower deck, where, by the light ofa couple of lanterns, two or three tailors were at work. "Hall, the first lieutenant's orders are that you are to measure thisyoung gentleman for a midshipman's undress uniform, and you are to puteverything else by and push it forward. " "Very well, " the man replied. "It makes no odds to me what I does first. I doubt whether the first lieutenant will be pleased to-morrow; he torehis trousers yesterday, and sent them down to me to be mended. " "Well, one of your hands can finish that, " the boatswain said. "Anyhow, you have got to do this suit, or you will hear of it. " Edgar was measured for his uniform by the head tailor, who was a cockneywho had been carried off by the press-gang. It was soon found that hewas of no use as a sailor, but as he was by trade a tailor he was givena rating below, and it was not long before he gave such satisfactionthat he was made chief of the little party employed on that work. Returning on deck Edgar rejoined Wilkinson, and was introduced by him toseveral other midshipmen, who were all predisposed to like him, asWilkinson had informed them of his little encounter with Condor, and ofhis readiness to fight the bully of the mess. This was considered, however, a sign of pluck rather than wisdom, and one of them expressedthe general sentiment when he said, "You see he has been brought upamong these Egyptian chaps, who have no idea whatever of fighting. Hemay have licked some of them easily, and that may have made him think hecan fight; he will find the difference when he stands up against afellow like Condor. " The first lieutenant presently sent for Edgar to come to thequarter-deck. "I quite understand, Mr. Blagrove, that although you are given amidshipman's rating, it is really as an interpreter that Sir SidneySmith has engaged you. Would you wish to perform midshipman's dutiesalso? I have asked him what are his wishes in the matter, and he left itentirely with you, saying that the very nominal pay of a midshipman wasreally no remuneration for the services of a gentleman capable ofinterpreting in three or four languages, but that as the rules of theservice made no provision for the engagement of an interpreter, exceptunder special circumstances, and as you said that you did not think itlikely you should make the sea your profession, you might not care toundertake midshipman's duties in addition to those of interpreter. " "Thank you, sir; but I should certainly wish to learn my duties asmidshipman, and to take my share in all work. My duties as interpretermust be generally very light, and I should find the time hang heavily onmy hands if I had nothing else to do. I hope, therefore, sir, that youwill put me to work, and have me taught my duty just as if I had joinedin the regular way. " "Very well, Mr. Blagrove, I think that you are right. I will put you inthe starboard watch. I am sure that Mr. Bonnor, the third lieutenant, will be glad to keep a special eye on you. Do you understand anythingabout handling a boat?" "Yes, sir. I have been accustomed to sailing, rowing, and steering aslong as I can remember. " "That is something gained at any rate. Do you know the names of thevarious ropes and sheets?" "I do in a vessel of ordinary size, sir. I was so often on board craftthat were in my father's hands for repair that I learned a good dealabout them, and at any rate can trust myself to go aloft. " "Well, Mr. Wilkinson is in your watch, and as I put you in his charge tostart with, I will tell him to act as your instructor in these matters. Please ask him to step here. "Mr. Wilkinson, " he went on, as the midshipman came up, "I shall beobliged if you will do what you can to assist Mr. Blagrove in learninghis duties. He has been knocking about among boats and merchant craftsince his childhood, and already knows a good deal about them; butnaturally there is much to learn in a ship like this. You will, ofcourse, keep your watches as usual at night, but I shall request Mr. Bonnor to release you from all other duties for the present, in orderthat you may assist Mr. Blagrove in learning the names and uses of allthe ropes, and the ordinary routine of his duty. He will, of course, attend the master's class in navigation. There will be no occasion forhim to go through the whole routine of a freshly-joined lad in otherrespects; but he must learn cutlass and musketry drill from themaster-at-arms, and to splice and make ordinary knots from theboatswain's mate. Thank you, that will do for the present. " Lieutenant Bonnor came up to Wilkinson a few minutes later, and told himthat he was to consider himself relieved from all general duties atpresent. "I hope you won't find this a nuisance, Wilkinson, " Edgar said. "Not at all, " the other laughed; "quite the contrary. It gets one off ofall sorts of disagreeable routine work, and as you know something aboutit to begin with, I have no doubt that you will soon pick up your work. A lot of the things that one has to learn when one first joins are notof much use afterwards, and may not have to be done once a year. However, I can lend you books, and if you really want to pick up all thewords of command you can study them when you have nothing else to do;and I can tell you there are plenty of times when one is rather glad tohave something to amuse one; when one is running with a light wind aft, like this, for instance, we may go on for days without having to touch asail. Well, we will begin at once. We won't go aloft till you have gotyour togs; a fellow going aloft in landsmen's clothes always looksrather a duffer. Now, let us see what you know about things. " As the names of the halliards, sheets, and tacks are the same in anysquare-rigged vessel, Edgar answered all questions readily, and it wasonly the precise position assigned to each on deck that he had to learn, so that, even on the darkest night, he could at once lay hands on themwithout hesitation; and in the course of a couple of days he knew theseas well as his instructor. On the third morning he put on hismidshipman's clothes for the first time. "You are a great deal stronger fellow than I should have taken youfor, " Wilkinson said, as he watched him dressing. "You have a tremendouslot of muscle on the shoulders and arms, and on the back too. " "I took a lot of exercise when I was at school in England, " Edgarreplied, "and I have been accustomed to riding ever since I was a boy, and for the last five months have almost lived in the saddle. I havedone a good deal of rowing too, for I have had the use of a boat as longas I can remember. Of course, I have done a lot of bathing andswimming--you see, the water is so warm that one can stay in it for along time, and one can bathe all the year round. I cannot even rememberbeing taught to swim, I suppose it came naturally to me. I am sure thatmy father would never have let me go out in boats as I used to do if hehad not known that I was as much at home in the water as out of it. " "Now we will go aloft, " Wilkinson said. Edgar ran up almost as quickly as his companion. He had not only beenaccustomed to ships in the port of Alexandria, but on the voyage toEngland and back he had spent much of his time aloft, the captains beingfriends of his father, and allowing him to do as he liked, as soon asthey saw that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. "This is not the first time that you have been aloft, sir, " one of thetop-men said, as he followed Wilkinson's example, instead of going upthrough the lubber's hole. "It is the first time that I have ever gone up the mast of aman-of-war, " Edgar replied; "but everything is so big and solid here, that it seems easy after being accustomed to smaller craft. It is awonderful spread of sail, Wilkinson, after having been on board nothingbigger than a brig. I used to help reef the sails on my way back fromEngland; but these tremendous sails seem altogether too big to handle. " "So they would be without plenty of hands, but you see we have a greatmany more men in proportion here than there are on board a merchantcraft. Will you go up higher?" "Certainly. " And they went up until nothing but the bare pole, with thepennant floating from its summit, rose above them. "You don't feel giddyat all, Blagrove?" "Not a bit. If she were rolling heavily perhaps I might be, but she isgoing on so steadily that I don't feel it at all. " "Then I will begin by giving you a lesson as to what your duties wouldbe if the order were given to send down the upper spars and yards. It isa pleasure teaching a fellow who is so anxious to learn as you are, andwho knows enough to understand what you say. " For two hours he sat there explaining to Edgar exactly where hisposition would be during this operation, and the orders that he wouldhave to give. "When we get down below, " he said, when he had finished, "I will giveyou all the orders, and you can jot them down, and learn them by heart. The great point, you see, is to fire them off exactly at the rightmoment. A little too soon or a little too late makes all the difference. It is generally a race between the top-men of the different masts, andthere is nothing that the men think more of than smartness in gettingdown all the upper gear. When you have got all the words of command byheart perfectly, you shall come with me the first time the order isgiven to send down the spars and yards, so as to see exactly where theorders come in. It is a thing that we very often practise. In fact, as arule, it is done every evening when we are cruising, or in harbour, orat Spithead, or that sort of thing. When it is a race between thedifferent ships of a squadron, it is pretty bad for the top-men who arethe last to get their spars down. But, you see, as we are on a passage Idon't suppose we shall send down spars till we get to Constantinople. " "What are we going there for?" "As far as I can understand, the captain is going on a sort ofdiplomatic mission. His brother is our ambassador there, and he isappointed to act with him in some sort of diplomatic way, I suppose, toarrange what troops the Sultan is going to send against the French, andwhat we are to do to help him, and what subvention is to be paid him, and all that sort of thing. I expect you will be pretty busy while weare there. Do you understand Turkish?" "Yes, it is very like Arabic. All the officials and upper classes inEgypt are Turks, and one hears more Turkish than Arabic, except amongthe Bedouin tribes. " While they were talking they were leisurely descending the shrouds sideby side. As soon as they gained the deck, the captain's steward came upto Edgar, and said that Sir Sidney Smith would be glad to see him andMr. Wilkinson to dinner that evening. The captain had abstained frominviting him until he should have got his uniform, thinking that hewould find it uncomfortable sitting down in civilian dress. The factthat he was going to dine late in no way interfered with Edgar'senjoyment of his mid-day meal. During the two days he had been on board, he had got on friendly terms with all his messmates excepting Condor, who studiously abstained from noticing him in any way. The youngermidshipmen he bullied unmercifully, and had a general dictatorial waywith the others that made Edgar frequently long for the opportunity ofgiving him a lesson. He had no doubt that Condor had determined to postpone the occasionuntil they had left the Pireus, at which point they were to call, as hisservice might be required there to interpret. Once away from the island, he would not be likely to be called upon to translate until they arrivedat Constantinople. It was a pleasant dinner in Sir Sidney Smith's cabin. There were presentthe first and third lieutenants, the captain of the marines, the doctor, Wilkinson, and Edgar. Sir Sidney Smith was a delightful host; hepossessed a remarkable charm of manner, was most thoughtful and kind toall his subordinates, and, though strict in all matters of discipline, treated his officers as gentlemen and on terms of equality in his owncabin. He had already accomplished many dashing exploits in the Balticand elsewhere, and was beloved both by the sailors and officers. It wasa time when life in the navy was very rough, when the lash wasunsparingly used for the smallest offences, and when too many ships weremade floating hells by the tyranny of their commanders. "I should have asked you to dinner on the day that you came on board, Mr. Blagrove, " Sir Sidney said kindly, as the two midshipmen entered, "but I thought that you might prefer my not doing so until you got youruniform. It has been some privation for myself, for I am anxious to hearfrom you some details as to what has been doing in Egypt, of which, ofcourse, we know next to nothing at home. " During dinner no questions were asked, but after the cloth had beenremoved and the decanters were placed upon the table, he said: "Now, Mr. Blagrove, we shall be glad if you will give us details of howyou came to be left behind, of your personal adventures, and what youyourself witnessed, and your opinion of the situation in Egypt. This isdesirable, not only as a matter of general information, but because itwill be really useful to me to understand the situation fully, for thepurposes of my mission. " Edgar began his story, but was interrupted almost at the outset by SirSidney asking him how he came to be so intimate with these Bedouins. Hewas therefore obliged to relate how he had rescued the sheik's son froman attack by two of the lowest class of Europeans in Alexandria. Edgartold the story modestly, making as little as possible of his share init. "And were these fellows armed, Mr. Blagrove?" "They had their knives, but they had not time to use them. These fellowshave no idea of boxing, and a straight hit is a mystery to them. Thething was all over in less than a minute. " "Then, I suppose, you can box?" Sir Sidney said, with a smile. "I was taught it in England, sir. My father thought that it would beuseful, for the population of Alexandria is a rough one. " Sir Sidney said no more, and Edgar told his story without furtherinterruption, and then answered many questions as to the proceedings ofthe French, the rising in Cairo--of which Sir Sidney now heard for thefirst time, and the prospect of a general insurrection. "I don't think that there is much chance of that, sir. The defeat of theMamelukes led them to believe that the French were invincible. Thedestruction of their fleet showed that this was not the case, and led tothe rising at Cairo, but their easy defeat there, and the terribleslaughter inflicted upon them, will certainly cow them for a long time, and as long as the whole French army remains there, I don't think therewill be much further trouble, but if a portion were to march away, nodoubt they might muster up courage to attack those that remained. MouradBey, with a considerable force of Mamelukes, still keeps the field, andthe Arab tribes would certainly join him if they saw a chance ofdefeating the invaders. " "And the two men you had that trouble with, have you ever come acrossthem again, Mr. Blagrove?" the first lieutenant asked. "We came across them in Cairo, sir, " Edgar replied reluctantly. "I waswith my friend, the sheik's son. They did not recognize me, being in myArab dress, but they knew him at once and pounced upon him, and weredragging him into a house. Of course, I took his part and there was afight. " "And what was the result, Mr. Blagrove?" "The result was that they were both killed, " Edgar said quietly. "Theyattacked us with knives, and we had to use ours. My friend killed one ofthem and I killed the other. It was unfortunate, but it was their livesor ours, and if we hadn't done it then, the thing would have happenedagain, and next time we might have been stabbed before we had a chanceof defending ourselves. " "I can quite understand that, Mr. Blagrove, " Sir Sidney said kindly, while the others smiled at the matter-of-fact way in which Edgar relatedwhat must have been a very dangerous business. "I see that, whatever else we may have to teach you, it will not be howto use your weapons. Indeed, it seems to me that you are getting on veryfast. I saw you go up the shrouds to-day, and I can see that you willvery soon be as much at home there as any of my midshipmen. And now, gentlemen, we have had rather a long sitting, for it is nearly teno'clock; but I am sure that you must have been as interested as I havebeen myself, in the information Mr. Blagrove has been good enough togive us. " "By Jove, Blagrove, " Wilkinson said when they had left the cabin, "ifyou had told me all this before I should not have felt so doubtful aboutyour fight with Condor. So you can really use your fists well?" "I learnt for over two years from some of the best light-weights inLondon, " Edgar replied, "and unless he has had wonderfully good teachersI ought to have no trouble about the matter. " Two days later the _Tigre_ left the Pireus. To Sir Sidney Smith'sdisappointment, he had not found Lord Nelson there, as he had expectedto do, and he was the more disappointed inasmuch as he had missed LordSt. Vincent, who was commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, atGibraltar. CHAPTER X. A SEA-FIGHT. Finding that the last news from Lord Nelson was that he was sailing tojoin the fleet blockading Toulon, Sir Sidney Smith remained but a coupleof days at the Pireus, and then continued his voyage to Constantinople. They had had no intercourse with any of the natives, and Edgar'sservices had consequently not been called into requisition. In the afternoon Condor came up to Edgar, who was talking with some ofthe other midshipmen, and said: "Now, Mr. Blagrove, if you really meant what you said, I think this is agood opportunity to settle our affair. Your valuable services are notlikely to be required for a few days, and if you don't wish to back outyou had better come with me below. " "With pleasure, " Edgar said quietly. "I have had some difficulty inwaiting, and have several times been on the verge of stopping yourpleasant habit of bullying youngsters. " "Well, you need not say any more, " Condor said savagely; "let us seewhat you can do. " Wilkinson and two or three others who were off duty went down at oncewith Edgar, and as the news spread among the others, every midshipmanwho could possibly get away unnoticed, stole off also, and joined themon the lower deck. Half a dozen lanterns were lighted and hung up fromthe beams. A few of the sailors, seeing so many midshipmen going downthere, guessed that there was a fight coming off, and descending thehatchway forward, stole noiselessly aft to watch it. Wilkinson had said nothing to the others of what he had heard in thecabin. The general belief was that although Edgar, no doubt, would makea plucky fight of it, he had no chance whatever with an opponent nearlythree years his senior, two or three stone heavier, and with areputation for being able to use his fists well. The opponents stripped to the waist and faced each other. Wilkinsonacted as Edgar's second; none of the older ones would act for Condor, but a lad of fifteen, who dared not refuse his request, did so. The combat is best described in the language in which one of the tarswho witnessed it related it to his comrades. "I never seed such a thing in all my born days, " he said. "It did notlook a fair thing, for it was like a man against a boy. Condor is aboutthree inches taller than the young 'un, and much more strongly built. The young 'un stripped well, and looked a wonderfully wiry young chap;there was a determined look about his face, and I guessed that he wasgame to the backbone; but his chance did not seem worth speaking of. Well, they stood up. The young one moved about quick on his pins for amoment, and then, it was so quick that you could scarce see how it wasdone, he gave a sort of bound, and hit out with his right, and the nextmoment Condor was on his back. "I never saw such a clean, knock-down blow in all my life. The mids, they all cheered, and it was plain enough to see which way their'pinions went. Condor was not down a moment; up he jumped again, lookingas savage as a bull, but somewhat dazed. He meant mischief this time, and went with a rush at the young 'un; but lor, the latter just jumpedout of his way, and hit him such a smack in the eye that it staggeredhim altogether. But he did not lose his legs this time, and made anotherrush. It was the same thing over and over again. The young 'un did justwhat he liked with him, and after five minutes he knocked him silly, hiseyes were beginning to close, he was just bleeding like a pig at thenose; but it was a cut on the mouth that finished him, and knocked himout of time altogether, and the young 'un had never been as much astouched once. "You should have heard how the middies cheered. As to the young 'un, heseemed to take it as a matter of course, and said, 'There is nothing init. Condor fought pluckily enough, but he knows next to nothing ofboxing, while, though I say it myself, I am a first-rate boxer. I oughtto be, having been taught by the best masters in London for a couple ofyears. ' [Illustration: EDGAR HITS OUT _Page 184_] "They had to chuck some water on Condor's face to get him round, for theforce with which he struck the deck stunned him. When he was helped tohis feet, the young 'un went up to him and held out his hand. 'I hopethere will be no more ill-feeling between us, Condor, ' he said. 'Youhave made a bad mistake, and have had to pay for it. Only I say this, that as long as I am on board there shall be no more bullying in thecockpit. We are all gentlemen, I hope. As long as we are on duty, ofcourse, we obey the orders of our superiors, and, as our senior officer, we should all obey you; but when off duty we are equals. And if anyoneattempts to bully anyone else, he has got me to reckon with. "'There is no reason why we should not have a pleasant time when we arebelow, and I will do my best to see that we do have it. You are thesenior of the mess, and as such have to keep order; but beyond that youhave no right to interfere. Now let us shake hands and say no more aboutit. ' "Condor shook hands without saying a word, and then slipped away. I haveseen many a fight since I first took to the sea, but never such a fightas this before. It were just a massacre of the innercents, and I don'tthink a fellow was ever more thoroughly sucked in than Master Condorwhen he undertook the job. " Condor had to go on the sick-list half an hour after the fight was over. His eyes were almost closed, his face was enormously swollen, and he hadlost three teeth--the effect of the blow that had brought the conflictto a close. "Did you know how it was going to be, Wilkinson?" one of the otherseniors said as they went up on the deck again. "I guessed pretty well, from what Blagrove was telling Sir Sidney whenhe dined with him, that Condor would meet his match, but I did not thinkthat it was going to be a hollow thing like that. " "What do you mean, sir, by skulking below?" the second lieutenantangrily asked one of the midshipmen of his watch as he returned on deck. "I just slipped below for a few minutes, sir, " the lad said. "Well, you had better be careful, or you will find yourself at themast-head, " the lieutenant said sharply. "I fancy there has been a fight, " the first lieutenant said as Mr. Knight passed him, grumbling to himself. "I noticed just now that therewere only two midshipmen on deck. Do you see, they are coming up thehatchway, one by one, looking as innocent as a cat that has been at thecream-jug. They seem to be pretty nearly all here now, but I don't seeany signs in any of their faces that they have been in trouble. "Well, well, midshipmen are only boys, and boys will quarrel. I expectwe both had our share of it before we got our epaulettes. " The other laughed. "I suppose so, " he said; "and after all it does themno harm, and it is much better, if two boys do quarrel, that they shouldfight it out and have done with it, instead of always wrangling. " "I thought it might have been Blagrove, " the first lieutenant said. "Anew hand generally has a fight before he has been on board a fortnight. After that he finds his level. However, it is not him, for there he is, looking as cool as a cucumber. It must have been some sort of meeting todiscuss some fancied grievance. I daresay we shall hear something aboutit sooner or later. " Half an hour afterwards the doctor came on deck. There was a smile onhis face as he went up to the first lieutenant. "One of your officers is on the sick list, Mr. Canes. " "What is the matter with him?" "I should say that it would come under the head of contusions. " The lieutenant laughed. "Bad contusions?" "Rather more serious than is usual in these cases. Face greatly swelled, eyes closed, very great enlargement of the nose, lips puffed and badlycut, three front teeth missing. " "By Jove, that is severe punishment! Who is it?" "Master's mate Condor. " "Why, who has he been fighting with?" The doctor laughed. "I could hardly believe it when I heard. I waylaidyoung Jocelyn, who was executing a war-dance of delight, and questionedhim. It is your last acquisition, Blagrove. " "Impossible, Doctor! There is the lad himself, without the slightestsign of having been engaged in a fight. I have been looking at them allrather closely, for they nearly all disappeared about half an hour ago, and one knows what that generally means. Mr. Knight was very angry aboutit, so when they came back again I glanced at them; and as none of themwere marked in any way, or showed any signs of their having been engagedin a bout of fisticuffs, I came to the conclusion that there had been nofight. And you mean to say that Blagrove punished Condor in that fashionwithout receiving a mark himself? Condor is a powerful fellow, and mustbe nearly three years older than the lad. It seems well-nighimpossible!" "I was astonished myself, but, if you remember, he told us the otherevening at the captain's table that he had earned the good-will ofthose Arabs by rescuing the sheik's son from an attack by two Europeanruffians. He certainly told it in a very modest tone; but that a ladcould thrash two men armed with knives seemed to me to border onromancing. Young Jocelyn said that the fight did not last more than fiveminutes, and that Blagrove did not receive a scratch. His delight wasexcessive, and I fancy Condor is rather a bully. You see there is nobodyelse in the mess anywhere near his weight and age, and he took advantageof it accordingly. The boy said that after it was over and they shookhands, Blagrove told Condor that there should be no bullying in the messin future. "I asked what the affair was about. Jocelyn did not know, but said thathe heard that something had happened when Blagrove first came on board, and that they all knew that there was going to be a fight, but he thinksthat it was put off until they left the Pireus for some reason orother. " "That young fellow must be a marvellously good boxer to be able topunish a fellow so superior in age and weight without showing a markhimself. The lesson is certainly likely to do Condor good. I have heardfrom Mr. Bonnor, who was in the same ship with him on his lastcommission, that the fellow had a bad name as a bully, but that, unlikemost fellows of that sort, he had pluck, and could fight, which makesBlagrove's victory all the more surprising. However, of course we shalltake no notice of it. I have merely your official report that Mr. Condoris on the sick-list suffering from severe contusions. I suppose it willbe some days before he can show up?" "I should say that it will be a week before he is fit to come on deck. As to the loss of his teeth, it will be a serious disfigurement until hegets home again and can be fitted with some fresh ones. Well, at anyrate this will give Blagrove a good standing among the others. It isalways awkward for a lad who joins a good bit later than usual. " It was not only among the midshipmen that the defeat of Condorestablished Edgar as the most popular member of the mess. During thevoyage out, Condor had already rendered himself obnoxious to the men bythe roughness of his tone when speaking to them, and by his domineeringmanner whenever the officer of the watch was engaged elsewhere, and thereport of the manner in which he had been punished excited great delightamong them, and rendered Edgar a most popular personage. They hadnoticed his behaviour the first time that he had gone aloft, and hadagreed that the new middy was a good sort and no greenhorn. "He will make a first-rate officer, " one old tar said. "You mark mywords if he don't. New hand as he is, you will see that he will show upwell on the first opportunity. " The fight, too, raised rather than lowered Condor in their opinion. Themen who had seen it all agreed that, although he had not a shadow ofchance from the first, he had fought with unflinching pluck, andstruggled on most gamely until knocked out of time. Consequently, whenhe returned to duty he was treated with the same respect as before, andwith none of the covert grins that he had expected to notice among them. The young fellow was not a fool, and while in the sickbay had thoughtmatters over a good deal. It was of course mortifying to have beenthrashed by an antagonist he despised, but he was conscious that he hadbrought the punishment upon himself. Hitherto he had not, since he firstjoined the service, met with his match among those of his own age andstanding, and had come to think himself an exceptional sort of fellow;but the discovery that he was but a child in the hands of a really goodboxer, while it humiliated him, was extremely useful. A lesson of thiskind is sure to have an effect, good or bad. Among some it sours thetemper, produces an active hatred of the person who gave it, and rendersa lad savage and morose. On the other hand, among more generous naturesit has an opposite effect. Thinking matters over, a lad will feel thathe has been going in the wrong direction, that he has been puffed upwith an exaggerated idea of his own powers, and he will determine to getinto a better groove, and to break himself of his faults. Condor belonged to the latter class. As he lay in bed he saw clearlythat he had made a great mistake, that his successes had been won simplybecause those he licked were less skilled or strong than himself, andthat, in point of fact, instead of being, as he believed, a good boxer, he knew next to nothing about it. Edgar had, after the first day, gone in regularly to have a chat withhim. He had been somewhat doubtful as to how his advances would bereceived, but had determined to do his best to become friends withCondor, whom he felt, rather remorsefully, he had punished terriblyseverely. "I hope, Condor, " he said the first time he entered, "that you willbelieve that I have come in because I am really sorry that you have beenhurt so much, and not from any idea of triumphing over you. It was onlynatural that I should have got the best of it. I knew beforehand that Iwas sure to do so. I learned boxing for over two years from some of thebest light-weight fighters in London. I worked very hard, and at the endof that time, except that I was of course their inferior in strength, Icould hold my own very fairly with them. That was more than a year ago, and since then I have gained a lot in height, in length of reach, andin strength, so you really need not feel mortified that you were soeasily beaten, because I consider that if you had been twice as strongas you are, and four or five years older, it would have come to the samething. A man who can box only in what you may call a rough-and-ready wayhas practically no chance whatever with a really scientific pugilist, which I may say I am. I hope you bear me no malice, and that we shall befriends in future. " "I hope so too, Blagrove. I feel that I deserve what I have got, and itwill be a lesson that I shall not forget. You have taken me down a greatmany pegs in my own estimation, and I shall try and make a fresh startwhen I am about again. " "I am very glad to hear it, " Edgar said warmly. "I am sure it must bevery much more pleasant to be liked by everyone than to be disliked; andone is just as easy as the other. " "I don't know that I ever thought of it before, " Condor said, "but Isuppose it must be. I will try the experiment when I get up. I shallfeel very small among the others. " "I don't see why you should. You did all that you could, and no onecould have done better who had not been taught as I have, and I am surethat no one will think the least degree the worse of you because you hadno chance with me. Why, I thrashed a couple of ruffians in Alexandria, armed with knives, in a quarter of the time that it took me to beatyou. " "At any rate I shall know better in future, " Condor said, with a poorattempt to smile with his swollen lips. "I have learned not to judgefrom appearances. Who would have thought that a fellow brought up inEgypt would have been able to fight like a professional pugilist. Yousaid that you had been a couple of years at school in England, but thatdidn't go for much. We have all been at school in England, and yet notmany of us know much of boxing. How was it that you came to learn?" "Well, you see that there is a very rough population inAlexandria--Greek, Maltese, and Italian, in fact the scum of theMediterranean--and my father, who is a very sensible man, thought thatthe knowledge of how to use my fists well might be of much greater valueto me than anything else I could learn in England, so he asked my uncle, with whom I lived when I was at school, to get me the best masters inboxing that he could find. I got to be very fond of it, and worked veryhard. I had three lessons a week all the time I was at school, and thelast year changed my master three times, and so got all their favouritehits. Of course I used to get knocked about, for some boxers can't helphitting hard, and to the end I used to get punished pretty heavily, because though I might hit them as often as they hit me, they were ableto hit much harder than I was, but I fancy now that they would find itpretty hard work to knock me out of time. My father used to say thatbeing really a good boxer kept a man or a boy out of trouble. A man whoknows that he can fight well can afford to be good-tempered and put upwith things that another man wouldn't, and if he is driven to use hisfists gets off without being knocked about; and besides, as soon as itis known that he can fight, others don't care about quarrelling withhim. I know that it was so with me. I had a fight or two at first, but Ivery quickly improved, and after that I never had a quarrel for the restof the nearly three years I was at school. " "One thing is certain, Blagrove, you are not likely to have anotherquarrel as long as you remain on board the _Tigre_. You will come andsee me again, won't you?" "Certainly I will. I can see that it hurts you to talk now, but youwill soon get over that, and then we can have some good chats. " During the voyage up to the Dardanelles, the _Tigre_ encounteredchangeable weather; the sails had often to be shifted. When he was onwatch, Edgar always went aloft with his friend Wilkinson and took hisplace beside him, listened to the orders that he gave, and watched himat work. In a few days he was able to act independently and to do hisduty regularly, and to aid in tying down a reef when a sudden squallcame on. They caught sight of many islands as they passed through the Aegean. Edgar was disappointed with the Dardanelles, but delighted with hisfirst view of Constantinople. It was on the day that they cast anchorthat Condor for the first time put in an appearance at mess. His facehad resumed its normal appearance, save that there were greenish-yellowpatches under the eyes. Wilkinson, who was by a week or two the seniormidshipman, and had occupied the president's chair with reluctance, atonce left it. They had not expected him until the next day, or he wouldnot have taken it. Edgar had that morning particularly asked the othersas a personal favour to give Condor a hearty welcome on his return. "I think you will find him a much more pleasant fellow than he wasbefore, " he said. "At any rate he has been punished heavily, and I thinkthat you ought to welcome him heartily. " Wilkinson and two or three of the older midshipmen had gone in severaltimes to see Condor, and had been pleased at the friendly way in whichhe had spoken of Blagrove. There had, however, been little talk betweenthem, for Condor had not seemed disposed for conversation. Condor walkedto his accustomed seat at the head of the table. "I hope things will go on better than they have done, " he said gruffly. "All I can say is, it sha'n't be my fault if they don't;" and withoutmore words he proceeded to cut up the salt meat placed in front of him. For a short time the conversation was constrained, and it was evidentthat those who spoke were talking for the sake of talking; but this soonwore off, and by the end of the meal even the youngest mids were talkingand laughing with a feeling that somehow a change had come over theplace. A quarter of an hour after the meal had ended, a boat waslowered. "Mr. Wilkinson, you will take charge, " the first officer said. "Mr. Blagrove, you will accompany the captain on shore. " A few minutes later they reached the landing-place. A number of men atonce crowded round to proffer their services, and the captain said: "Choose one of them for a guide, Mr. Blagrove. Ask him to take us to ourembassy. " Edgar at once chose a quiet-looking Turk, and, to the latter's surprise, addressed him in his own language. The others fell back disappointed, and the guide soon conducted them to the embassy. "I shall not want you here, Blagrove. I shall be engaged for at least acouple of hours. You can either stroll about and have a look round or goback to the boat as you please. It is now two o'clock; call again herefor me at four. " Cairo had prepared Edgar for Constantinople, and indeed he thought theformer city more picturesque in the variety of costume than the latter. The views from the hill of Pera, whether looking up the Golden Horn, across it at Stamboul, over to Scutari and the shores of the Sea ofMarmora, or up the Bosphorus, were beautiful beyond anything that hehad ever seen, and leaving the exploration of the city for another day, he sat down under the shade of some cypress trees close to a Turkishcemetery and entered into a conversation with the guardian of the tombs, who pointed out the various mosques and places of interest to him. Atthe end of two hours he repaired to the embassy. Presently a dragomancame down and asked him if his name was Blagrove, and on his replying inthe affirmative, said that Sir Sidney Smith had ordered him to say thathe could return in the boat to the ship, for that he would dine ashore, and the boat was to be at the wharf at ten o'clock. Sir Sidney Smith remained two months at Constantinople. His duty, inconjunction with his brother, Mr. Seymour Smith, was to engage theSultan in an active alliance with England, and to concert, as a navalofficer, the best plan to be pursued to render that alliance effective. The former portion of the commission had already been carried almost toa successful termination by his brother, and the treaty was signed onthe first week of January, 1799. The details of the latter were arrivedat in the course of several meetings between Sir Sidney Smith and theTurkish pasha and admiral. To these latter meetings Edgar alwaysaccompanied his chief as interpreter, Sir Sidney preferring his servicesto those of the dragoman of the embassy, as he was better able tounderstand and explain the naval points discussed. The Porte, indeed, was able to do but little towards aiding in the navaloperations. Two bomb ships and seventeen gun-boats were all the vesselsthat they were able to produce, but it was some time before they wouldagree to place these entirely under Sir Sidney Smith's command. AhmedPasha, or, as he was generally called, Djezzar Pasha--Djezzar meaningthe butcher, from the cruel and brutal nature of the man--the Governorof Syria, was in Constantinople at the time, and was present at thesemeetings. He was aware that Napoleon was marching against him; andalthough usually he paid but little attention to the Porte, orrecognized any orders received from it, he had now hurried there torepresent the situation and ask for assistance. Bonaparte lost no time after hearing that Djezzar had sent forward aforce to occupy the fort of El-A'rich in the desert, between Syria andEgypt, and on the 8th of February set out with 12, 428 men for theconquest of Syria. Djezzar, who had returned to his pachalik, havingearly news of the movement, despatched a force, consisting principallyof cavalry, to support the garrison of El-A'rich, and they were joinedthere by Ibrahim Bey with a force of Mamelukes. The march of the Frenchwas painful, and they suffered greatly from thirst. However, theydefeated the Turk and Mameluke cavalry with heavy loss, and El-A'rich atonce surrendered. The garrison were allowed to depart on undertaking notto serve again, and four days later the army entered Palestine, andbelieved that their fatigues and sufferings were at an end. Two days later, however, a cold rain set in, and the troops, who hadbeen suffering greatly from heat, felt the change painfully. On the 3rdof March they arrived in front of Jaffa. A Turk was sent in to summonthe garrison to surrender. The commandant simply ordered his head to bestruck off and sent no reply. The fire of the field artillery in a fewhours effected breaches at several points. The French, in spite ofopposition, burst into the town, which was given up to sack, and a largenumber of the inhabitants, as well as the soldiers, were massacred. Between 3000 and 4000 prisoners were taken, among these doubtless weresome of those who had been allowed to march away from El-A'rich. Thedifficulties in the way of provisioning the army were great. Many wereill from the effects of the change of climate, and the position wasbecoming serious. To feed 3000 or 4000 prisoners added greatly to the difficulties, andNapoleon took a step which has been a foul blot on his reputation. Theywere marched into a vast square formed of French troops; as soon as allhad entered the fatal square the troops opened fire upon them, and thewhole were massacred. The terrible slaughter occupied a considerabletime; and when their cartridge-boxes were emptied, the French soldiershad to complete the massacre with their bayonets. Of the whole of thesevictims one only, a mere youth, asked for mercy; the rest met their fatewith heroic calmness and resolution. Napoleon's excuse for this hideousmassacre was that the soldiers had broken the engagement they took at ElA'rich, but this applied to only a very small proportion of thegarrison, and the massacre was wholly indefensible, for if unable tofeed his prisoners, they should have been allowed to depart unarmed toseek subsistence for themselves. The effects of this horrible massacre recoiled upon those whoperpetrated it. The great number of dead bodies speedily tainted theair, and the maladies from which the troops suffered became vastly moreserious, and the plague broke out among them and carried off aconsiderable number. Kleber's division made a reconnaissance towardsJerusalem, but the people of Nablous and the mountaineers assailed themwith so terrible a fire, as they endeavoured to make their way up thenarrow valleys, that they were forced to retire and join the main bodyof the army. When the French marched from Jaffa there were still many oftheir men stricken with the plague in hospital. Napoleon has beenaccused of having had these poisoned. The statement has been repeated over and over again, and has been asoften vehemently denied, among others by Bonaparte himself. It stillremains, and always will remain, doubtful. There can be no doubt thatthe transport of plague-stricken men would have been a source of dangerto the whole army; and as very few of those once attacked by the plagueever recovered, but few would have benefited by the operation, while thecondition of the great majority would have been rendered still morehopeless and painful by the journey. Upon the other hand, had they beenleft behind they would assuredly have been massacred by the inhabitants, who had suffered so terribly at the hands of the French. Rather than beso left, the unfortunate men would assuredly have vastly preferred somepainless form of death at the hands of their friends. The probabilitiesare that all the sick, whose final recovery was considered by thesurgeons as within the limits of probability, were taken on, and thatthose whose cases were absolutely hopeless were not allowed to fallalive into the hands of their foes. Napoleon's position was an extremely difficult one. He had shown muchsolicitude for the wounded. When the whole army were panic-stricken atthe outbreak, he had himself visited the hospitals, been present atoperations, talked encouragingly to the sick, and had done all in hispower to relieve their condition. But he could keep the army no longerin the tainted air of Jaffa. He could not take men at the point of deathaway with him to communicate the malady to those who had so far escaped, nor could he leave them to be murdered in their beds by the infuriatedpopulation. It is uncertain really what course was taken; but it mustbe assumed that Napoleon, who was always anxious to win the affectionand regard of his troops, would, putting all other matters aside, nothave perpetrated any act that would have been condemned by the soldiersof his army. CHAPTER XI. ACRE. At last all was satisfactorily arranged. By the terms of the convention, Sir Sidney Smith was appointed to the command, not only of the Turkishfleet, but of the Turkish army in Syria, a most important point, as thePorte had no confidence whatever in Djezzar, who, like many others ofthe pashas of the outlying possessions of Turkey, almost openly defiedthe authority of the sovereign. Djezzar was already at Acre, and someTurkish gun-boats, under Hassan Bey, had also been despatched thithertowards the end of February. The welcome order was issued for the_Tigre_ to sail on the 1st of March. Her destination was Alexandria, which, as forming part of the Sultan's possessions, came under the termsof the convention; under the terms of which it had been agreed that twoBritish men-of-war and three frigates should be stationed in Easternwaters to give such aid as was possible to Djezzar, both in activeoperations, and by capturing store-ships destined for the use of theFrench army. The _Theseus_, of 84 guns, commanded by Captain Miller, was already atAcre; and her captain and Colonel Phelypeaux were giving greatassistance to the pasha in putting the place into a better state ofdefence, while his presence there animated the pasha and his troops todetermine upon a stout defence. It was with deep satisfaction that the officers and men of the _Tigre_received the orders to prepare for sailing at once. They had now beennearly two months in Constantinople; the novelty of the scene had wornoff, and all were impatient for active service. Things had been going onpleasantly among the midshipmen. Condor had shown by his behaviour thateither he sincerely regretted the conduct that had made him sounpopular, or that the lesson that he had received had been so severethat he would not risk any repetition of it. At any rate there was peaceand comfort in the cockpit. Just at first, two or three of the younger middies were disposed to takeadvantage of the altered state of things, but Wilkinson, Edgar, and theother two seniors supported Condor, and told them that if the latter didnot keep them in order, they would do so themselves, after which threatmatters went on quietly. The change from salt provisions to fresh meat, with an abundance of fruit and vegetables, had been very pleasant, andadded to the good temper and harmony that prevailed. Edgar had not felttime hang heavily on his hands, for he was constantly on shore with SirSidney Smith, who found his services as interpreter of great value. Hadit been an ordinary case, the other midshipmen of older standing wouldhave felt somewhat jealous, but they knew that he went as interpreterrather than as midshipman, and as some of them had leave to go ashoreevery day, they could amuse themselves according to their liking, whilehe was kept hard at work translating documents, examining the state ofstores, or attending prolonged meetings between his commander and theTurkish naval officials. They had therefore no reason for envying himhis post. He himself was glad of an occasional holiday at the rare intervals whenSir Sidney had no business on land, and made excursions to his brotherup the Bosphorus, or to towns on the Sea of Marmora, when Edgar was ableto join parties who, hiring horses at the landing-place, took long ridesover the country, starting sometimes from Pera, and sometimes fromScutari on the other side of the water. He was certainly not less gladthan his comrades when the order came to prepare for sailing. The windwas favourable, the voyage was a speedy one, and the _Tigre_ arrived offAlexandria on the 7th of March. Here they remained for some days. Newshad already been received by sea from Jaffa of the capture of El-A'rich, and of the approach of the French army to Jaffa. This had caused no uneasiness, as the town, having a garrison of 8000men, was believed to be able to resist any assault. When, however, onthe fifth day after the arrival of the _Tigre_ off Alexandria, a smallTurkish vessel brought the news that Jaffa had been captured, and some3000 of the garrison killed in cold blood, besides a large number of theinhabitants, Sir Sidney decided to start instantly, in order to aid inthe defence of the important stronghold of Acre, which would certainlybe the next object of assault by the French. Committing to the captainof the _Lion_ the charge of continuing the blockade with the gun-boatsunder his command, sail was at once hoisted, and the _Tigre_ started forAcre. On her way she picked up the _Theseus_, which was out cruising, and thetwo men-of-war arrived off Acre on the 15th of March, and, to thesatisfaction of all, found that Napoleon had not yet appeared before thetown; Sir Sidney Smith, owing to the terms of the convention, at onceassumed the command of the operations. The arrival of the men-of-warexcited great enthusiasm among the garrison and inhabitants, who, now, for the first time, believed in the possibility of beating off theFrench, and of being spared the horrors that had befallen Jaffa. On the following morning the French were seen marching along between thelower slopes of Mount Carmel and the sea, and the men-of-war boats, running in close to the shore, opened fire upon them, and compelled themhastily to change their course and to ascend the hill until beyond therange of the guns. As no attempt had been made to return the fire by the artillery, SirSidney Smith was convinced the French must be unprovided with a siegetrain. Having learned from people who had escaped by boat from Jaffa, that only field-pieces had there been employed to batter the wall, heordered a constant watch to be kept for any ships seen approaching, asBonaparte would hardly have hoped to take so strong a place as Acrewithout heavy guns, and had doubtless arranged for a battering-train tobe sent from Alexandria by sea. This would probably be ordered to makeeither for Jaffa, or for Caiffa, a small port a few miles south of Acre. The _Theseus_ was at once sent down to Jaffa, to prevent any landing ofguns or stores being effected there, while the _Tigre's_ boats wereplaced at intervals between Caiffa and Acre. The next day a corvette and nine gun-boats were seen rounding thepromontory of Mount Carmel. The signal was made for the recall of theboats, and the _Tigre_ at once got under sail and started in pursuit, picking up her boats as they came alongside. Bonaparte had been ignorantthat there were any British vessels on the coast, or he would hardlyhave sent the boats from Alexandria without a stronger escort, and thecorvette and gun-boats no sooner caught sight of the _Tigre_ than theymade out to sea. The chase lasted for some hours, and one by one sevenof the gun-boats were picked up, surrendering in each case as soon asthe _Tigre's_ guns opened upon them. The corvette and the other twogun-boats succeeded in making their escape, but their commander, believing it hopeless to attempt to carry out his mission in the face ofa British man-of-war, sailed direct to France. The capture was a most valuable one, for the possession of the gun-boatsenabled a blockade of the coast to be carried on much more effectuallythan could otherwise have been done, and on board were found, asexpected, the guns and battering-train intended for the siege of Acre. The _Tigre_ returned with her prizes to the port, and the crew were atonce employed in transporting the captured guns and ammunition on shore, when they were conveyed by the Turkish troops to the batteries, whichwere before very deficient in guns, and the capture added, therefore, much to the strength of the defences. Edgar's services as an interpreter were again called into requisition. Mr. Canes was sent on shore with a party of sailors to assist the Turksin moving the guns to their new positions, and half an hour beforelanding he sent for Edgar and told him that he had arranged with SirSidney Smith that he was to accompany him. "A good deal of the hard work will have to be done by the Turks, and itwill save much trouble if you are with me to translate my orders tothem, or rather to their officers. Sir Sidney is of opinion that therewill be a great deal more for you to do on shore than on board. He will, of course, be much on shore himself, and I am carrying a note to thepasha, requesting him to assign a suitable house for him to take up hisabode there and which he will make his headquarters. Lieutenant Beattywill be posted there with twenty marines, furnishing a guard, and forother purposes. A room is to be assigned to you. You will then be handywhenever the captain is on shore, and at other times will assist me orother officers with working parties. Of course two or three natives willbe engaged as servants. One of them will be a cook, and LieutenantBeatty and you will establish a small mess together. You will, ofcourse, have shore allowances. I think that you may consider yourselffortunate, for you will have an opportunity for seeing all that goes on, while the others will of course only come ashore by turns. " "Thank you, sir, " Edgar said, much pleased. "I shall like it very much. " The Turkish soldiers worked well, tugging at ropes, while the sailorsused levers to get the guns up steep places. Edgar was kept busytranslating the first lieutenant's orders to the Turkish officers, andfor the first three days had hardly time to snatch a meal until thesailors returned at nightfall to the ship. He got on very well with thelieutenant of the marines, who was a pleasant young fellow. On the dayafter they landed they heard heavy firing, and going up to the highestpoint of the rocky promontory on which Acre stood, could make out that anumber of gun-boats were cannonading Caiffa. The place appeared to makeno reply to the fire, and at last two gun-boats, believing that therecould be but few French troops there, sailed up the harbour. Lambert, the French officer in command, had, however, a howitzer and asmall gun, and eighty French troops, but he gave orders that theseshould not reply to the fire of the gun-boats, and that not a musketshould be discharged until he gave the word. The two small gun-boatscame on confidently, until, when at a distance of only a hundred yardsfrom the shore, where they intended to land and set fire to the Frenchstorehouses and to do as much damage as possible, a heavy fire wassuddenly poured in. The two guns, loaded to the muzzle with grape, swepttheir decks, and the heavy volley of musketry did much damage. Lieutenant Beatty, who had brought a telescope on shore with him, exclaimed: "By Jove! those two little gun-boats have caught it hot. See, there isone of them putting about, but the other seems to be drifting towardsthe shore. " This was indeed the fact; she was slightly in advance of the other, andwas the principal target of the fire. The midshipman who commanded her, and most of her crew, were killed, and before the few survivors couldrecover themselves from the surprise into which they had been thrown bythe unexpected attack, the vessel had grounded. The heavy fire ofmusketry continued, the guns again poured in their fire, and as escapewas impossible, the few men who remained alive at once hauled down theirflag and surrendered. The capture was a valuable one to the French. Thegun-boat carried a 32-pounder, and as Napoleon's heaviest guns were but10-pounders, the cannon was invaluable. As soon as its capture was known, some artillery horses were sent to theport and transported it to the batteries, at which the French werealready hard at work. For the first day or two it was almost useless, for, with the exception of a few shot taken with it, they had none thatwould fit it; but as soon as the besieged began to fire they obtained anample supply of cannon balls, which were eagerly collected by thesoldiers, a small reward being paid for every shot that was brought in. In a short time, however, the French were in a better position forcarrying on the siege with vigour, for as it became necessary to retainthe _Tigre_ and _Theseus_ to assist in the defence of the town, Frenchvessels were able to land artillery at Jaffa and other points, and theyhad ere long an ample supply for their batteries. "There is no doubt, " Lieutenant Beatty said, "that that gun-boat hasbeen captured, and from her not attempting to go round and sail out asher companion did, I am afraid that the crew must have been almostannihilated by the enemy's fire. It was a very risky thing to send thosetwo small craft in alone, even though the place had not replied to theirfire, for even if the French had no guns, they might have had manyhundreds of men in the town, against whom the crew of those two boatscould have done nothing whatever. However, the loss is not seriousexcept in the matter of the crew. I don't suppose she carried more thanone gun. " "But even that is important, " Edgar said, "for I know they have prettyheavy guns on board those boats, and in the hands of the French it wouldgive us some trouble. " "We shall have hot work of it presently, Blagrove. The walls areabsolutely rotten, and it would be absurd to call them fortifications;and if the French open fire at close quarters, they will make a breachin no time. If Phelypeaux's plans had been carried out, the place wouldhave been in a position to make a serious defence; but I hear that heand Captain Miller of the _Theseus_ have been trying in vain to get theTurks to carry out their plans. "Djezzar was always saying that what they wanted should be done, but itwent no further than that; and what little has been accomplished hasbeen done by the men of the _Theseus_; and I believe that the draggingof the guns we captured to their places was the first job on which theTurkish soldiers really worked; but, of course, Sir Sidney had a gooddeal more influence than Miller had, as he is commander-in-chief of theTurkish army, and if Djezzar did not give him the help he asked for, hewould have the power to take the matter altogether out of his hands. Histroops have no love for him, for, as his nickname shows, he is as cruelas he is ambitious. "There can be no doubt that he intended to throw off the authority ofthe Sultan altogether. The position of the guns show that. I hear thatwhen the _Theseus_ arrived there was not a single gun mounted on theface of the town on the land side, every one being planted on the wallsto seaward. However, I believe he is personally plucky, but as thisplace is nothing like so strong as Jaffa was, he must see that, as agarrison of 8000 there could not resist the enemy, the 3000 men underhim would not have a shadow of a chance were it not for our help. Evenwe could do nothing if it were not that the position of the town enablesus to cover the land approaches. " The position of Acre, the ancient Ptolemais, was indeed very favourablefor its protection by a fleet. It stood on a projecting promontoryalmost square in shape; three sides were entirely washed by the sea; thenorth-eastern side had no natural protection, but at an angle of thewall a tower, which was the strongest point of the defences, covered itto some extent. Near the tower, and with its garden abutting against thewall, stood the pasha's palace. The masonry of the greater part of thewall was old and crumbling. From the sea to the north of the townvessels anchored there could cover the approaches to the northern sideby their fire, while these could similarly be swept by ships anchored inthe Bay of Acre on the south side of the fortress. The water here, however, was too shallow for the men-of-war to anchorin. The _Tigre_, therefore, was moored more than a mile from the shore;next to her was the _Alliance_ sloop. Three of the gun-boats capturedfrom the French, and two Turkish gun-boats, lay nearer to the shore, andthe fire of all these vessels swept the ground across which it wasalready evident that the French main attack would be directed. This wasalso covered by the fire of the _Theseus_ and three of the capturedFrench gun-boats. The French had, on their arrival, promptly seized avillage within half a mile of the wall, and pushed forward theirtrenches with vigour, establishing four or five batteries, which at onceopened fire. Napoleon calculated that he should be master of the town in three daysat the utmost, and this no doubt would have been the case had he onlyTurkish resistance to overcome. As soon as the _Tigre_ returned from hershort cruise, Sir Sidney Smith took up his residence on shore. Hebrought with him Condor and Wilkinson, to act as his aides-de-camp, andfifty sailors were established in an adjoining house in readiness forany emergency. Here the mess was now established, although LieutenantBeatty and Edgar continued to sleep in Sir Sidney Smith's house, the oneto be near his men, the other in readiness to attend upon his commanderat any moment night or day. As far as possible the midshipmen's mess adhered to regular hours fortheir meals, but Sir Sidney Smith took his at any time when he couldsnatch them. One or other of the midshipmen came ashore each day with aboat's crew, so that at any moment orders could be sent to the _Tigre_or the _Theseus_. Except at the evening meal, when the fire generallyslackened, it was seldom that more than two of the midshipmen's mess satdown together, being constantly employed either in carrying messages ororders, or in keeping a watch at threatened points, in order that SirSidney should at once be made acquainted with any movements of theenemy. [Illustration: Map of Siege of ST. JEAN D'ACRE by the French Army of Egypt from 19. March to 21. May 1799. ] The French had lost no time, for on the 25th their batteries opened fireagainst this tower, and, after four hours' firing, a breach, consideredby the French to be practicable, had been effected. The Turkish guns had returned the fire, aided by two mortars worked byBritish sailors, but the Turks believed that their walls were strongenough to stand a prolonged siege, and as the French fire was heavyagainst the tower, those near it had betaken themselves to saferpositions. Sir Sidney Smith was on board the _Tigre_. Djezzar seldomstirred from his palace. He had no capable officer under him, and no onewas in the slightest degree aware of the serious damage the Frenchbattery was inflicting upon the tower, and there was no thought that anattack could be made upon the town for a considerable time. Edgar hadbeen engaged all the morning with Sir Sidney, and when the latter wenton board ship he went into the next house, where he found the others atdinner. After that was over he proposed a stroll down to the corner againstwhich the French fire was directed. Wilkinson and Beatty agreed toaccompany him, but Condor, who had been all day at work seeing gunsplaced in position, said that he did not care about going out again. Onreaching the wall facing the French position they found that there waslittle doing. A few of the guns were being worked, throwing their shotinto the garden between the French batteries and the town. Along therest of the line the Turks were squatting under the parapet, smoking andtalking. "What are the French firing at?" Edgar asked a Turkish officer. "They are firing at the tower. They will do no harm. Some of the shotscame in at the loopholes; so, as the soldiers there could do no good bystaying, they have come out. " "That seems rather a careless way of doing business, " Edgar remarked ashe translated what the officer said, to his companions. "Well, at anyrate we may as well go and see what the effect of their fire is. Theirbattery is not a heavy one, but as it is not more than four or fivehundred yards from the tower it may really be doing some damage. " As they neared the tower at the angle of the wall they found that theramparts there had been entirely deserted by the Turks. "This is a rum way of defending a town, " Wilkinson remarked. "If this isthe way the Turks are going to behave, the sooner we are all on boardship the better. " The French fire was brisk, the thuds of the balls, as they struck thetower, occurring five or six times a minute. The three officers enteredthe tower. Two or three holes appeared in the wall of the floor by whichthey entered it. "The masonry must be very rotten, " Beatty said, "or they would not haveknocked holes in it as soon as this. " They descended the stairs into the story below, and uttered asimultaneous exclamation of alarm. A yawning hole some eight feet wideappeared. "This is serious, Wilkinson. Let us take a look down below. " "Look out!" Wilkinson shouted as a ball passed just over their heads andstruck the wall behind them. "Stand back here a moment. " He ran forward and looked down. "By Jove!" he exclaimed, "there is a breach down to the bottom of thetower level with the lower storey ground, and a heap of rubbish at thefoot outside. I don't think it is high enough yet for anyone to get upto the opening, but it will soon be practicable if it is not now. Look!look! I can see a large body of French among the trees there. They areabout to advance to storm the breach. Run, Blagrove, and wake up theTurks. We will go back and fetch up the marines and blue-jackets. Theenemy may be in the place in five minutes. " Leaving the tower, Edgar ran along the wall. "Take your men to the tower at once!" he shouted to the first Turkishofficer he saw. "The French are crossing the ditch. " Instead, however, of obeying him the officer and his men ran to one ofthe steps leading up to the wall, and commenced shouting, "The Frenchare in the town!" Edgar saw that he had told the news too suddenly, and that it washopeless for him to try to stop the flood, therefore ran along the walluntil he reached the stairs leading down to the open space in front ofDjezzar's palace. As he had been frequently there before, he made hisway straight to the apartments where Djezzar transacted business. "The French have breached the tower, pasha, " he said, "and theirstorming party was about to cross the ditch when I came away. There areno troops there to defend the breach, and those on the wall are flying. Unless you yourself go out and rally the men to the defence the town islost. " Djezzar was thunderstruck at the news. He had showed himself brave inbattle, but with the fate of Jaffa in his mind he now lost heartaltogether. "It is too late!" he said, and catching up his sword he ran out of thepalace, and directed his flight towards the landing-place. Edgar ran towards the breach again, and on the way came upon his twocompanions running along, with the marines and blue-jackets after them. Fortune, however, had done more for the town than its defenders. Led byan officer with sixteen sappers, and followed by twenty-five grenadiers, the French party prepared to mount to the assault. Their orders were tomount the breach and hold it, and the moment this was done the main bodyof the storming party were at once to follow. But they met with anunexpected obstacle. Instead of finding, as they had expected, merely ashallow ditch, they found themselves at the edge of a counterscarp, thewall being fifteen feet in depth, with a regular moat filled with waterbetween them and the foot of the breach. They had brought with them only two or three short ladders, which wereintended to be used, if necessary, to aid them in clambering up the heapof rubbish to the breach. The French had no idea of the existence of thecounterscarp. The ladders that they had brought were too short to enablethem to descend it, and the officer in command hesitated as to whatcourse to adopt. The mysterious silence maintained by the enemy wasdisquieting. That the Turks had all fled and the tower was undefendeddid not occur to the officer in command, and he feared that they musthave placed mines in the breach, and were for the present abstainingfrom showing themselves or firing a shot, in hopes of tempting him tomake an assault. Before he could decide what was best to be done therewas a loud tramp of feet inside the tower, and then the British sailorsand marines showed themselves suddenly at the openings on each floor, and at once opened a heavy fire. Many of the French fell at once, and seeing that there was nothing to bedone, the officer gave the order for the rest to retreat, which they didhastily. Djezzar was furious when he heard what had happened, andquestioned Edgar; and, on hearing that the tower had been altogetherdeserted, as well as the adjacent portion of the wall, he ordered theinstant execution of six of the officers and a number of the men forthis gross neglect of their duty. He was exasperated that he himselfshould have shared in the panic that had seized them when informed thatthe French were assaulting the breach, and that no resistance had beenoffered by his men; and Edgar congratulated himself that he was not oneof his officers. When the old pasha, however, recovered from the stateof fury into which he had fallen, he complimented the three Britishofficers highly on the quickness that they had shown, which had, as herightly said, saved the town, for, had the French found themselves stillunobserved, they would assuredly have managed to get down thecounterscarp, and to establish themselves in the tower in force beforeany suspicion of what was going on took place. The French, whose operations were hidden by the gardens, at onceproceeded to drive a gallery in order to blow up the counterscarp, uponwhich their guns could not be brought to bear, and on the 29th the minewas sprung. It did some damage, but it had not been driven quite farenough. Led by an officer of the staff named Mailly, the French rushedforward as soon as the mine exploded. They clambered down over thebreach that had been made on the counterscarp, crossed the fosse bythree ladders they had brought with them, and reached the foot of thebreach. There was, however, too great a distance between the pile ofrubbish at the foot of the wall and the great hole above it for them toenter without fixing their ladders. As they were in the act of doing this the Turks, who had at their firstappearance again been seized with a panic, but had been brought back bya number of their officers, who adjured them to stand, saying that itwas better to die fighting the infidel than to be shot by Djezzar, opened a heavy fire. Mailly was killed, several of the grenadiers andsappers fell round him, and the rest retired, meeting, as they climbedthe counterscarp, two battalions who had joined them as soon as thebreach was reported practicable; but upon hearing from the grenadiersthat this was not the case they fell back again after losing theircommanding officer and many men from the Turkish fire. This success greatly encouraged the Turks, who had heard from those whohad escaped from Jaffa that no obstacles were sufficient to daunt theFrench, and from this time Sir Sidney Smith began to entertain hope thatthe town could be held, of which, owing to the supineness of Djezzar andhis troops, he had hitherto been very doubtful. The French at oncerecommenced mining. In eight days they completely blew up thecounterscarp, and on the twelfth carried their gallery under the ditchwith the intention of blowing up the whole tower. By this time the besieged were aware that the French were at workmining. Colonel Phelypeaux had, during the interval since the lastattempt, worked indefatigably. The breach had been filled up withcombustible materials, a number of shells had been placed on theplatform of the tower, with fuses attached in readiness to hurl downinto the midst of a storming party, heaps of great stones had been piledthere for the same purpose, and the Turkish soldiers, seeing thereadiness and alacrity with which the British worked, had gainedconfidence. The faint sound of mining under the tower brought about aconsultation between Sir Sidney Smith, Captain Wilmot, ColonelPhelypeaux, and the pasha. The engineer officer pointed out to the pashathat it was impossible to say what the result of the firing of the minemight be, as it would depend upon the quantity of powder employed. "If a large quantity is used, " he said, "it may entirely blow down thetower and a considerable quantity of the walls adjoining it, and leaveso large a breach that the French would be able to pour in in such forcethat your troops, who might well be panic-stricken at the explosion, would not be able to make any effective opposition. " "But what can we do to prevent it?" the pasha asked. "Nothing can be directly done, " Sir Sidney said; "but if we make a sallyin force we might drive the French back, discover the mine, and carryout the greater part of the powder, and place a small portion under theditch, and, exploding it, allow the water to run in; or, if the mencarry with them a number of fascines, we might establish a work fiftyyards from the foot of the wall. This would put a stop to their mining. An enemy attacking it would, as he advanced, be swept by the guns of thetwo men-of-war and the gun-boats, and the garrison would further becovered by the fire from the tower and walls. I propose that we shouldsally out in three columns. The central column, which will be composedof the marines and sailors of our ships, will make straight for themouth of the mine and force its way in; the other two columns willattack the enemy's trenches on right and left. " "The plan seems to me to be a good one, " the pasha said; "it shall bedone as you propose. " On the night of the 15th of April two columns of men were gathered atmidnight in the street leading to the water-gate, a short distance tothe right of the tower, the third column close to a gate some littledistance to its left. Lieutenant Beatty was, with his party of marines, to join the landing force, but to their disappointment neither Condornor the midshipmen were to take part in the sortie, as the little partyof seamen were to be held in reserve. Sir Sidney Smith himself intendedto take his place on the tower, whence he could watch the operations. Wilkinson and Edgar were to act as his aides-de-camp, the latter tocarry messages to the Turkish officers commanding the two columns, while Wilkinson was to perform the same office to the central column. "You and Mr. Condor may probably have opportunities of distinguishingyourselves later on, " he said; "the other midshipmen may have their turnto-night. " CHAPTER XII. A DESPERATE SIEGE. Just as day began to break, the gates were opened, and the columns movedout one after the other. The order that the strictest silence was to beobserved was obeyed by the sailors and marines; but the Turks, who werewrought up to a pitch of enthusiasm, made so great a noise that themoment they issued from the gate shots were fired by the advancedpickets, and a few seconds later the roll of drums in the French linesbroke out, and it was clear that the whole camp was alarmed. Sir SidneySmith uttered an exclamation of anger. As concealment was useless, hethen sent the two midshipmen to order all the batteries to open fireupon the French trenches, and as the first gun boomed out the ships andgun-boats on both flanks also opened fire, and the trenches by which theFrench must advance from the village were swept by a storm of shot. TheFrench batteries joined in the din, while the infantry in the advancedtrenches opened a heavy musketry fire. "By Jove, the Turks mean fighting this time!" Wilkinson said, when heand Edgar had both returned from carrying their orders. "Look at them, they are going at the French trenches in gallant style. " The dark masses could be plainly made out in the gray light that wasnow stealing over the sky. Undaunted by the heavy fire of the French, the Turks rushed at the earthworks, scaled them, and engaged in adesperate hand-to-hand fight with their defenders. But the chiefattention of the little group on the tower, where Captain Wilmot andColonel Phelypeaux had also stationed themselves, was riveted upon thefight going on in front of them. Already the French were thronging downfrom their trenches, and the blue-jackets and marines were engaged in afierce fight. Knight, second of the _Tigre_, received two balls in hisleft arm as he advanced, but upon arriving at the top of the shaft ofthe mine he and the pioneers at once leapt down into it. One ran forward to see if it was charged, and brought back news that itwas not. Lieutenant Knight and the little party of sailors workeddesperately to pull down the props that supported the roof of thegallery, but they had little time allowed them for doing so. Had it notbeen that the noise made by the Turks had given the alarm so long beforethey reached the spot the work might have been completed. As it was, they had performed but a small portion of it when an officer ran in tosay that they must at once come up, as the party could no longer keepback the swarming throng of the enemy. Colonel Douglas, who was incommand, cheered on his hardly-pressed men, who had found the resistanceof the French so desperate that they had been unable to drive them outfrom their advanced trench. Lieutenant Knight, exhausted by the loss of blood, and his efforts toaid the pioneers, had to be assisted from the gallery and carried off bythe seamen. Major Oldfield, who commanded the marines of _Theseus_, waskilled, with two of his men. Mr. Janverin, midshipman of the _Tigre_, and eleven men were wounded. Beatty, and Forbes, a midshipman of the_Theseus_, were both slightly wounded, as were five marines of thatship, and a seaman and two marines of the _Alliance_. As soon as theparty began to draw off, a heavy fire was opened on the French by theTurkish troops on the wall. The batteries opened with renewed vigour, while the bugles sounded to order the retreat of the two Turkish corps. All gained the gates unmolested. The Turks were in high spirits. According to their custom at the time, they had cut off the heads oftheir fallen foes and brought in sixty of these trophies. The French loss had been considerably greater, for from the desperatenature of the fighting the Turks had been unable to decapitate thegreater part of their fallen foes. In addition to the heads they alsobrought in a great number of muskets and some intrenching tools. Thelast were an extremely valuable prize, as the garrison had been muchhampered in their work by the small number of available picks andshovels. Although, so far as the main object of the sortie, it had beena failure, the result was, upon the whole, a satisfactory one. The Turkshad met the French in fair fight, and had held their own against them, and they were so pleased that during the rest of the siege they neveronce wavered. The attack, too, showed the French that their enemy wasnot to be despised, and compelled them to take much greater precautionsthan before, and to maintain, at all times, a strong force in theiradvanced trenches. On the 25th a tremendous explosion was heard, and the troops from allquarters rushed towards the tower to repel the expected assault. Had themine been carried a few feet farther, the whole tower would have beendestroyed, but the French miners had come across a vault whichprojected a little distance beyond the tower above it, and believingthat its wall was that of the tower itself, they had placed the chargeagainst it. Although therefore a partial failure, the effect wastremendous. A portion of the outer wall of the tower was blown down, some two hundred Turks, who formed its garrison, and some pieces ofcannon, were buried in the ruins. A small party of French rushed forwardbefore the smoke had cleared away and established themselves in thelower stories. The Turks, however, rallied very quickly from the shock, and opened so tremendous a fire from the walls, aided by the cross-firefrom the ships, that no reinforcements could reach the party in thetower, and the next morning early they evacuated the place, which wasrendered untenable by the fire of the Turks in the story above them. So soon as they had left the building the enemy concentrated theirbatteries upon it. At the sound of the explosion Sir Sidney Smith, withthe sailors and marines of his guard, at once rushed through the streetsto the tower. "Bravo, the Turks!" Wilkinson exclaimed, as he and Edgar ran along bythe side of the sailors. "Listen to their musketry fire! It is clearthat they are standing their ground anyhow, and that there is no panicthis time. " Sir Sidney was greatly relieved when, on his arrival at the tower, hefound that, although shaken and shattered, it still stood an obstacle toan entry into the town. He went along the wall, warmly praising theTurkish officers and men for their courage. "That is a weight off my mind, colonel, " he said to Phelypeaux. "I havebeen scarcely able to close an eye for the last week. That mine has beena perfect nightmare to me. There was no saying when it was going toexplode, and although the Turks have worked hard at that countermine weset them to dig, I had little hope that you would be in time, as you hadto take it right under the foundations of the tower. I think that wemust congratulate ourselves heartily that it has been no worse. " "I think so, indeed, Sir Sidney. The Turks have certainly behavedadmirably to-day. I thought they would when they once got over theiridea that the French were invincible. They have always proved themselvessplendid soldiers when well led, and I have no doubt the example of yourmen, and their carelessness of danger, have animated them with adetermination to show that they too can fight. " From the time of their entering Palestine the French had been amplysupplied with provisions of all sorts by the natives. As soon as hecrossed the frontier from Egypt, Bonaparte had sent proclamationsbroadcast among the people. A large proportion of the inhabitants of thehill country were Christians, and the assurances that he came to freethem from the domination of the Turks, just as he had freed Egypt, wasreceived with enthusiasm by the simple and ignorant people, who knewvery little of what was passing in the world around them. Theconsequence was, that as he marched north from Jaffa, deputations methim, comprising most of the leading men. These received presents, andpromises that they should never again fall under the dominion of theTurks; while they, on their part, promised to supply cattle, corn, wine, and wood to the utmost extent of their resources. These promises theyfaithfully kept, and also did good service in aiding the transport ofstores landed at Jaffa. Sir Sidney now endeavoured to counteract the effect of Napoleon'sproclamations, and by means of native emissaries landed by the ship'sboats at various points along the coast, sent out a large quantity ofaddresses of his own, telling them that Napoleon was, it was true, atwar with the Sultan, but that this was no question of religion, and thathe was but endeavouring to pass through Syria, in order to make his wayto Europe, his retreat by sea having been cut off; and that he would beperfectly ready at any time to make terms with the Sultan, and wouldleave them, without a moment's thought, to the vengeance of the Turks, against whom they were now helping him. He added, that Djezzar Pasha, being convinced that they had been deceived by Bonaparte, and wereacting in ignorance of the true state of things, promised solemnly thatall who, now that the truth was told to them, withdrew their aid fromthe French, should be pardoned for the course that they had hithertotaken. These papers soon bore fruit. The English were known to be favourable tothe Syrian Christians, and the assurances of Sir Sidney Smith had greatweight, and there was soon a sensible decrease in the amount ofprovisions and supplies brought into the French camp. The breach widened under the heavy fire kept up continuously upon it bythe French batteries, and as it was evident that other assaults would bemade at that spot, the engineers began to throw out a ravelin, oradvanced work, from the foot of the walls on each side of the breach, soas to take any assaulting party in flank. On the 1st of May the French, thinking that the breach must now be practicable, advanced for thefourth time. A heavy gale had blown all day, the ships of war and gun-boats wererolling heavily at their anchorage, and it was doubtless thought thatthey would be unable to use their guns. In the afternoon, therefore, abody of men ran forward with six scaling-ladders; crossing the moat asbefore, they planted their ladders and attempted to mount the breach. They were, however, assailed by so heavy a fire of musketry from theTurks that the leading party were literally swept away. In spite of theheavy weather, the ships joined their fire to that of the batteries, anda storm of shot and shell was rained upon the trenches, and the 2000 menwho had been seen to advance in readiness for the assault, finding itimpossible to issue from their shelter, retired to their camp. Themarines of the two men-of-war had manned the new works, and their firecontributed much to the repulse of the French. Sir Sidney Smith, in his despatches home, expressed his regret at theheavy loss of life encountered by the French in their desperate attemptsto perform the impossible feat of entering by a breach that could onlybe reached by scaling-ladders. The point of attack had certainly beenbadly chosen, for, while the masonry of the upper chamber tower was veryrotten, that of the lower part was excellent; whereas the wallsthemselves were, in most places, badly built, and could have beendemolished in a very short time by the heavy guns the French now had intheir batteries. Thirty of these had been landed at Jaffa, and broughtup to the front. In addition to the sortie of the 16th April, Sir Sidney Smith kept thebesiegers constantly on the alert by landing parties from the ships'boats on the flanks of their lines of trenches. The attacks weresometimes pushed home, the earthworks were overthrown, the fascinescarried off for use in the redoubts, guns spiked, and intrenching toolscaptured, and these attacks greatly added to the labour imposed upon thebesiegers, who were compelled not only to keep strong bodies in theadvanced trenches but to defend the whole line of attack against flanksurprises by their enterprising foes. The Turks vied with the British in activity, making frequent nightattacks on the trenches, and generally succeeding in carrying off anumber of fascines, which were greatly needed, and were of specialutility in the construction of the ravelin. The day after the repulse ofthe fourth attack the garrison suffered a heavy loss in the death ofColonel Phelypeaux, who died of fever brought on by want of rest andexposure to the sun. On the same day another, and almost as serious aloss, was sustained, for Captain Wilmot was killed by a musket shotwhile in the act of mounting a gun in the breach. The midshipmen had, two days before, lost one of their comrades namedMorris, who, with three seamen, was killed in one of the sorties, eightother blue-jackets of the _Tigre_ being wounded at the same time. On thenight of the 2nd of May the enemy made two desperate attempts to capturethe English ravelins, but the marines in charge, aided by the fire fromthe walls and ships, held their ground, and repulsed the French withmuch loss. Every day the fighting increased in fury. Between the 1st and9th the French made no less than five attacks upon the breach; thesewere all beaten off with very heavy loss; while the defenders, on theirpart, made frequent sorties to compel the assailants to stand on thedefensive, and to interfere with their attempts to carry the approachesup to the foot of the walls. The fire of the vessels was still maintained, but the besiegers had soraised and strengthened the earthworks protecting their traverses andtrenches that they were now able to go backwards and forwards to thefront with but little danger from the ships' fire. Edgar had now lost the companionship both of Condor and Wilkinson. Thesehad both gone back to their ship, for the death of Morris and thewounding of Forbes and Lieutenant Knight had left the ship short ofofficers. Condor acted as junior lieutenant until the latter was fit forservice again, and both he and Wilkinson took part in the boat attacksand the sorties from the town. Edgar was therefore now in command of theblue-jackets on shore, who were held always in readiness to run to theaid of the garrison at any spot where there might be sudden danger. It was believed that the French were again mining in several places, andalthough Colonel Douglas, who had succeeded Phelypeaux in command of theengineering operations, set parties at work to drive countermines, thework progressed slowly, and it was difficult to ascertain the precisedirection in which the enemy were driving their galleries. Edgar stillacted as interpreter to Sir Sidney Smith, and was the bearer of hisorders to the Turkish officers. He was very glad that it was but seldomthat he was called upon to accompany his chief in his visits to thetower, for the stench here from the unburied bodies of the French and ofthe Turks overwhelmed by the explosion was overpowering. Numbers of theTurks stationed here were attacked by mortal illness, others becamedelirious, and it was necessary to change the force holding it at veryfrequent intervals. On the evening of the 7th of May there was immense satisfaction in thetown, as a number of sail were seen on the horizon. It was certain thatthis was the force under Hassan Bey, which had been originally intendedfor Egypt, but had been diverted from its course by Sir Sidney Smith'sorders. Its arrival had been anxiously looked for during the last month, but it had been detained by calms and other causes at Rhodes, and it wasonly a portion of the force that now, on the fifty-first day of thesiege, made its appearance. From the enemy's camp on the hills the fleet was made out as soon asfrom the town, and the effect was in a very short time apparent by thefire of the enemy's batteries being redoubled, and it was apparent thatBonaparte had determined to make a great effort to capture the townbefore the arrival of the reinforcements; and in a short time a greatcolumn was seen advancing to the attack. Two of the _Tigre's_ 68-pounders, mounted on native craft lying in thelittle port near the water-gate, opened upon them with shells, while twoguns, manned by British sailors, one on the castle of the lighthouse, the other on one of the ravelins, poured grape into them. But the columnmoved on. The tremendous cannonade from their batteries overpowered thatfrom the guns on the walls, and they suffered but little from the firefrom the ravelins, as they had, the night before, constructed twobreastworks from the end of their trenches to the breach, the materialsused being sandbags and the bodies of their own slain. In spite of the efforts of the defenders the French effected a lodgmentin the tower. Its upper story had now been entirely destroyed by theenemy's fire, and the fragments had so increased the heap at the foot ofthe breach that the assailants were able to mount without the use ofladders. This was the most critical moment in the siege. Hassan's troops were already in their boats, and were rowing to shore. "Run down to the landing-place, Mr. Blagrove, " Sir Sidney said, "take mygig, and row out to meet the boats, and order them to come round to theport here, instead of landing at the other end of the town. There is nota moment to be lost; the Turks are losing heart. " Edgar had just brought up the little party of sailors, and leaving themto the leading of the petty officer with them, ran down at the top ofhis speed to the landing-place. The gig's crew were standing near theboat, listening anxiously to the terrible din of the conflict. "Jump in, men, and row for your lives!" Edgar exclaimed; "every minuteis of consequence. The French will be in the town in five minutes. Iwant to meet the boats, coxswain. " The sailors, who had already guessed that his errand was urgent by thespeed at which Edgar dashed down to the boat, stretched themselves totheir oars and rowed as if racing, and met the Turkish boats a quarterof a mile from the shore. "I am sent by the commander-in-chief, Sir Sidney Smith, to order you torow round to the mole and land there. Order the men to row theirhardest. Every moment is of consequence. The French are on the point ofentering the town. " At once the flotilla of boats changed its course, the soldiers cheered, filled with the excitement of the moment, and the sailors tugged attheir oars; and, headed by the gig, in ten minutes the boats reached thelanding-place by the mole, and as the troops leaped out, Edgar, burningwith impatience and anxiety, led them to the breach. It was still held. Some of the Turks, as the French entered the tower, had been seized witha panic and fled, but a few remained at their post. While some hurleddown stones from above on to the column ascending the breach, others metthem hand to hand at the top of the heap. Here Sir Sidney Smith himselftook his place with three or four of his officers and the handful ofblue-jackets. The combat was a desperate one. The swords of the officers, thecutlasses of the sailors, the pikes of the Turks, clashed against thebayonets of the French. Soon an important ally arrived. The news hadspeedily reached Djezzar that Sir Sidney and his officers werethemselves defending the breach. The old pasha had hitherto taken nopersonal part in the conflict, but had, as was the Turkish custom, remained seated on his divan every day, receiving reports from hisofficers, giving audience to the soldiers who brought in the heads ofenemies, and rewarding them for their valour. Now, however, he leapt tohis feet, seized his sabre, and ran to the breach, shouting to thesoldiers to follow him. On his arrival at the scene of conflict herushed forward and pulled Sir Sidney and his officers forcibly back fromthe front line. "You must not throw away your lives, " he said; "if my English friendsare killed, all is lost. " Fortunately, the shouts of the pasha, as he ran, caused a number ofsoldiers to follow him, and these now threw themselves into the fray, and maintained the defence until Edgar ran up with the soldiers who hadjust landed. The reinforcements, as they arrived, were greeted with enthusiasticshouts from the inhabitants, numbers of whom, men and women, hadassembled at the landing-place on hearing of the approach of the boats. The garrison, reanimated by the succour, ran also to the breach, and thecombat was now so stoutly maintained that Sir Sidney was able to retirewith the pasha, to whom he proposed that one of the newly-arrivedregiments, a thousand strong, armed with bayonets and disciplined in theEuropean method, should make a sally, take the enemy in flank, or compelthem to draw off. The pasha at once assented, a gate was opened, and the Turks rushed out. Their orders were to carry the enemy's nearest trench, and to shift thegabions and fascines to the outward side, and to maintain themselvesthere. The new arrivals, however, were not yet inured to fighting, andas the French batteries opened upon them, and the soldiers, leaping onto the parapets, poured volley after volley into their midst, theyfaltered, and presently turned and fled back to the gate, their retreatbeing protected by heavy discharges of grape from the 68-pounders in theport. The sortie, however, had its effect. The French had sufferedheavily from the flanking fire as soon as they had shown themselves onthe parapet, and the assaulting column, knowing from the din of battlethat a serious sortie had been made, fell back from the breach, theirretreat being hastened by the discharge of a number of hand-grenades bya midshipman of the _Theseus_ on the top of the tower. But the assault was not yet over. Napoleon, with several of his generalsand a group of aides-de-camp, had been watching the fight from aneminence known as Richard Coeur de Lion's Mount, and had beencompelled to shift their position several times by shells thrown amongthem from the ships. Their movements were clearly visible with afield-glass. Bonaparte was seen to wave his hand violently, and anaide-de-camp galloped off at the top of his speed. Edgar, who wasstanding near Sir Sidney Smith, was watching them through a telescope, and had informed Sir Sidney of what he had seen. "Doubtless he is ordering up reinforcements. We shall have more fightingyet. " He then held a consultation with the pasha, who proposed that this timethey should carry out a favourite Turkish method of defence--allow theenemy to enter the town, and then fall upon them. The steps were removedfrom the walls near the tower, so that the French, when they issued fromthe top of the ruined building, would be obliged to follow along thewall, and to descend by those leading into the pasha's garden. Here twohundred Albanians, the survivors of a corps a thousand strong who hadgreatly distinguished themselves in the sorties, were stationed, whileall the garrison that could be spared from other points, together withthe newly-arrived troops, were close at hand. The Turks were withdrawnfrom the breach and tower, and the attack was confidently awaited. It came just before sunset, when a massive column advanced to thebreach. No resistance was offered. They soon appeared at the top of theruin, which was now no higher than the wall itself, and moved along therampart. When they came to the steps leading into the pasha's garden, aportion of them descended, while the main body moved farther on, andmade their way by other steps down into the town. Then suddenly thesilence that had reigned was broken by an outburst of wild shouts andvolleys of musketry, while from the head of every street leading intothe open space into which the French had descended, the Turkish troopsburst out. In the pasha's garden the Albanians threw themselves, sabrein one hand and dagger in the other, upon the party there, scarce one ofwhom succeeded in escaping, General Rombaud, who commanded, being amongthe slain, and General Lazeley being carried off wounded. The din of battle at the main scene of conflict was heightened by thebabel of shouts and screams that rose throughout the town. No wordwhatever of the intention to allow the French to enter the place hadbeen spoken, for it was known that the French had emissaries in theplace, who would in some way contrive to inform them of what was goingon there, and the success of the plan would have been imperilled had theintentions of the defenders been made known to the French. The latterfought with their usual determination and valour, but were unable towithstand the fury with which they were attacked from all sides, andstep by step were driven back to the breach. Thus, after twenty-fourhours of fighting, the position of the parties remained unaltered. Bonaparte, in person, had taken part in the assault, and when the troopsentered the town had taken up his place at the top of the tower. Kleber, who commanded the assault, had fought with his accustomed bravery at thehead of his troops, and for a time, animated by his voice and example, his soldiers had resisted the fiercest efforts of the Turks. But evenhis efforts could not for long maintain the unequal conflict. As thetroops fell back along the walls towards the breach, the guns fromelevated positions mowed them down, many of the shot striking the groupround Bonaparte himself. He remained still and immovable, until almostdragged away, seeming to be petrified by this terrible disaster, when hedeemed that, after all his sacrifices and losses, success was at lastwithin his grasp. During the siege he had lost five thousand men. The hospitals werecrowded with sick. The tribesmen had ceased to send in provisions. Evenshould he succeed in taking the town after another assault, his forcewould be so far reduced as to be incapable of further action. Itsstrength had already fallen from sixteen thousand to eight thousand men. Ten of his generals had been killed. Of his eight aides-de-camp, fourhad been killed and two severely wounded. The next evening the Turkish regiment that had made a sortie on thenight of their landing, but had been unable to face the tremendous firepoured upon them, begged that they might be allowed to go out again inorder to retrieve themselves. Permission was given, and their colonel was told to make himself masterof the nearest line of the enemies' trenches, and to hold them asdirected on the occasion of his previous sortie. The work was gallantlydone. Unheeding the enemy's fire the Turks dashed forward with loudshouts, leapt into the trenches, and bayonetted their defenders; butinstead of setting to work to move the materials of the parapet acrossto the other side, carried away by their enthusiasm they rushed forward, and burst their way into the second parallel. So furiously did theyfight that Kleber's division, which was again advancing to make a finalattempt to carry the breach, had to be diverted from its object toresist the impetuous Turks. For three hours the conflict raged, andalthough the assailants were greatly outnumbered they held their groundnobly. Large numbers fell upon both sides, but at last the Turks wereforced to fall back again into the town. The desperate valour with which they had just fought hand to handwithout any advantage of position showed the French troops how hopelesswas the task before them; and Kleber's grenadiers, who had been victorsin unnumbered battles, now positively refused to attempt the ascent ofthe fatal breach again. Receiving news the next day that three French frigates had just arrivedoff Caesarea, Sir Sidney determined to go in pursuit of them, but thepasha was so unwilling that the whole force of British should departthat he sent off the _Theseus_ with two Turkish frigates that hadaccompanied the vessels bringing the troops. The voyage was an unfortunate one. Captain Miller, as the supply of shotand shell on board the men-of-war was almost exhausted, had for sometime kept his men, when not otherwise engaged at work, collecting Frenchshell which had fallen, without bursting, in the town. A number ofthese he had fitted with fresh fuses, and a party of sailors wereengaged in preparing the others for service, when from some unknowncause one of them exploded, and this was instantly followed by thebursting of seventy others. The men had been at work on the fore part ofthe poop, near Captain Miller's cabin, and he and twenty-five men wereat once killed and the vessel set on fire in five places. Mr. England, the first lieutenant, at once set the crew to work, and by greatexertions succeeded in extinguishing the flames. He then continued thevoyage, and drove the three French frigates to sea. The loss of Captain Miller, who had been indefatigable in his exertionsduring the siege, was a great blow to Sir Sidney Smith. He appointedLieutenant Canes, who had been in charge of the _Tigre_ during hisabsence on shore, to the command of the _Theseus_, and transferredLieutenant England to the place of first lieutenant of the _Tigre_. It was generally felt that after the tremendous loss he suffered in thelast of the eleven assaults made by the French that Napoleon could nolonger continue the siege. Not only had the numerical loss been enormousin proportion to the strength of the army, but it had fallen upon hisbest troops. The artillery had suffered terribly, the grenadiers hadbeen almost annihilated, and as the assaults had always been headed bypicked regiments, the backbone of the army was gone. It was soonascertained indeed that Napoleon was sending great convoys of sick, wounded, and stores down the coast, and on the 20th the siege wasraised, and the French marched away. CHAPTER XIII. AN INDEPENDENT COMMAND. The departure of the French had been hastened by the rapidly-increasingdiscontent and insubordination among the troops. During the later daysof the siege Sir Sidney Smith had issued great numbers of printed copiesof a letter from the Sultan authorizing him to offer a safe passage toFrance to the French army if it would surrender. This offer was atempting one indeed to the soldiers. They had suffered hardships of allkinds since they had disembarked at Alexandria. They had been parchedwith thirst, half-choked with blinding dust, and had seen their comradesfall in numbers smitten by sunstroke. They counted but little the lossesthey had suffered in the battles in Egypt--that was in the ordinary wayof the business of a soldier; but the dread of assassination wheneverthey ventured out from their lines, whether in camp or on the march, hadweighed heavily upon them. Then had come the plague that had more thandecimated them at Jaffa, and now they were reduced to well-nigh halftheir strength by the manner in which they had been sent time after timeagainst the breach in the wall of an insignificant town, which wouldhave been of no use to them if taken, as they could have been shelledout of it by the British men-of-war and gun-boats. Sir Sidney Smith had passed through the terrible siege without ascratch, although freely exposing himself, and two attempts atassassination by the French emissaries in the town had also failed. The_Tigre_ sailed at once to place herself between Jaffa and Damietta, andso cut off the retreat of the French army by sea. Not anticipating thatthis would be the case, Napoleon, on his arrival at Jaffa, embarked thetwenty-three guns he had brought with him, on board ship, together withall the sick and wounded who were unequal to the desert march. So great was the haste, that the vessels were despatched short of hands, and without provisions or water. As soon as the _Tigre_ was made out thevessels all steered for her, confiding in the well-known humanity of theBritish to their prisoners. They were not mistaken. Sir Sidney hadabundance of supplies and water put on board them, and he convoyed themto Damietta, where they received from their countrymen the surgical andmedical aid that was beyond his power to afford them. Edgar was not onboard the _Tigre_ when she fell in with the convoy of wounded. SirSidney had, early on the morning after the departure of the French, informed him that he should, in his despatches, report most favourablyof the assistance that he had rendered him both as interpreter andaide-de-camp during the siege. "For the present, " he went on, "I shall have no great need for aninterpreter, as I shall probably have little to do for some time beyondcruising backwards and forwards on the coast of Egypt to prevent shipsfrom France entering the ports with stores and ammunition, therefore Ishall be able to give you employment which I think that you will like. One of the gun-boats captured from the French is a fast sailer. HassanBey tells me that when he was at Rhodes he heard great complaints of thepiracy that was being carried on among the islands. The Turkish troopsin most of these were withdrawn by him to swell his force as he sailedsouth, and there are now no vessels of war in those waters. The Frenchflag has been driven from the sea, while our work has been too seriousto admit of our paying any attention to the Aegean, although, as I knewbefore I left London, the complaints of merchants and ship-owners of thecapture of merchantmen trading with Constantinople and other easternports were numerous. At the present moment I can well spare one of thegun-boats; the others will go down to watch the Egyptian coast. I shalltherefore commission the _Foudre_, and re-name her the _Tigress_. Ishall appoint Mr. Wilkinson to the command. Mr. Condor would, of course, have had it, but he has been transferred as third lieutenant to the_Theseus_, and as Wilkinson is senior midshipman, he will have her. Ishall appoint you his second in command. She carries eight guns, and hasroom for two more, which I shall place on board from those on the walls. Her own guns are fourteen-pounders, and with two eighteens she will beheavily armed. Her complement was fifty-two men. I will give you fortyfrom the _Tigre_, and will draw fifteen from the _Theseus_, and fivefrom the _Alliance_. You will need a stronger crew with two extra guns;besides, you may want to send landing-parties on shore, or to cut outpiratical craft, and ought therefore to be strong-handed. " "Thank you very much, sir. I shall be very glad to be employed on suchservice. " "Please send Mr. Wilkinson to me, Mr. Blagrove. I have his instructionswritten out for him. " "Sir Sidney Smith wants you, Wilkinson, " Edgar said as he went into thenext house. "What is up?" "There is a report that you have been making love to a Turkish girl; youwill get it hot. " "Bosh!" Wilkinson said, laughing, as he put on his cap. "I have notspoken to a feminine of any kind since we left England. " In a quarter of an hour he returned. "Hurrah, Blagrove! this is glorious. I am all the more pleased that youare going with me. How lucky Condor being promoted to the _Theseus_, orof course he would have had it. Then Knight, being still unfit for dutyfrom the effects of the wounds he received in the sortie, and our firstlieutenant being new to the ship, the third lieutenant cannot be spared. Sir Sidney spoke very kindly. He said that it was a heavy responsibilityfor so young an officer, but that he trusted I should prove equal to it, and that I must remember that prudence was just as necessary as courageand dash. He gave me a good deal of advice, which I shall think over andtry to act on when I sober down a bit. Now we are both relieved fromother duty, so we will pack up our kit. "Sir Sidney is going on board the _Tigre_ in five minutes, and he saidthat we could go on board with him, and we had better do so, as therewas no time to be lost. Mason, one of the gunner's mates, is to go withus. We are to have sixty blue-jackets and five marines for sentries, andso on. He thinks that we can't do better than take the Turk who has beencooking for him, and our cook here. They are both very good fellows. Onewill be our steward and cook, and the other cook for the men. Theboatswain's mate and the purser are to go with us to the brig, and seewhat is required in the way of stores. Everything has to be got on boardby to-night, as Sir Sidney sails early to-morrow morning, so there is notime to be wasted. " While he was talking the two midshipmen were throwing their spareclothes into the kit-bags, in which they had brought them ashore. One ofthe sailors slung them across his shoulder and followed them down to thelanding-place. The bags were stowed under the thwarts forward, and thelads waited until their commander came down. "Remember, Mr. Wilkinson, " the latter said as he took his seat in theboat, "you and Mr. Blagrove must be here at seven o'clock this evening, for I am landing at that hour to pay a final adieu to the pasha, and heasked me to bring you both with me. I mention it now, as it might slipmy memory. The men you had on shore all gave you satisfaction, didn'tthey?" "Yes, sir, they were all willing and ready for work at any hour, day ornight. " "Then you may as well have them as a body. Some twenty of them have beenkilled, wounded, or laid up by fever, but with the men now on board theywill make the crew up to its full strength. " The gig was now on her way, and the shore party of sailors and marineswere gathering round the cutter that had been sent to take them onboard. Before leaving the quarters that they had occupied, themidshipmen had made hasty arrangements with the two Turks, who hadgladly accepted their offer. They had been told that one or other of themidshipmen would be sure to be on shore some time during the day. Therefore they were to hold themselves in readiness to embark at once. On arriving on board, the lieutenant was requested by Sir Sidney to telloff five marines to form part of the complement of the gun-boat. Tenminutes after their arrival the two midshipmen started with two pettyofficers to inspect the stores of the gun-boat. "She is a very pretty craft, Blagrove!" Wilkinson said with delight ashe regarded with pride his new command. "Yes. I doubt whether we should have ever taken her if she had not beenso deep in the water with the guns and stores she had on board. TheFrench certainly know how to build ships; there is no question aboutthat. I doubt whether we have such a good-looking gun-boat in theservice. Anyhow I have not seen one. " The petty officer who commanded the gun-boat saluted as Wilkinson cameup to the side and announced that he had come to take command of theboat. "Am I to remain on board, Mr. Wilkinson?" "Yes, Mr. Philpot. I am to have two petty officers, and Sir Sidney saidthat as you knew all about the brig you would be very useful to me. Allthe men are to remain here. Now we must overhaul the stores. What haveyou got on board?" "We have a very short supply of powder and ball, not above ten roundsfor each gun, and there is hardly any small-arm ammunition. There aretwelve barrels of salt junk, eight of flour; there is a cask of rum thatwas broached last week, half a cask of sugar, and some bags of coffee. Ihave not sounded the water-tank, but I don't think that there is much inthere. " A thorough examination was now made. An exact inventory of theprovisions was taken, and the amount of water on board was ascertained, the boatswain's stores were gone over, and were found to be wellsupplied with rope, sail-cloth, and other necessaries. A calculation wasthen made as to the amount that would be required for the futurestrength of the crew for a three months' cruise. The boat was then rowedback to the _Tigre_. As soon as they arrived there, and reported to thefirst lieutenant what was required, a signal was made to the gun-boat tosend one of her boats ashore at once with water-casks, and to fill upthe tanks. A party was set to work to hoist up the barrels of stores, according to the list handed in by Wilkinson, while Edgar was sent onshore with forty men, with an order to the Turkish commander ofartillery, to hand over to him two 18-pounders and as much ammunitionfor them and the 14-pounder guns as could be provided. Mason, the gunner's mate, who was to sail in the _Tigress_, accompaniedhim to aid him to get the guns down to the boat. The Turkish officer atonce handed over the guns, but was able to supply but little ammunition, for which, now that the French had retreated, there was no longer anyuse at Acre. However, he told off twenty men to aid the sailors ingetting the guns and ammunition down, and in two hours the whole hadbeen placed on board the boats, bringing them down very low in thewater. When the last party were on their way down, Edgar hurried to hisold quarters and had a consultation with the two Turks, who were orderedto purchase a supply of wine, meat, and such other stores as they couldfind for the cabin use, and were told to have everything at thelanding-place, and to be in readiness to go on board themselves, by fouro'clock in the afternoon. Had the order been given two days before, there would have been littlefor the Turks to have purchased; but the town was already full ofnatives from the hills, many chiefs having come down to assure the pashaof their fidelity, and to inform him that bands of their horsemen werehanging on the rear of the retreating French. Great numbers of thevillagers had come in to inspect the scene of the desperate strugglethat had for upwards of two months gone on unceasingly. Many wereanxious to obtain employment in the work of burying the dead andclearing away the ruins. Almost all brought in something to sell--sheep, goats, and chickens, eggs and vegetables. Of the latter Edgar hadordered that a large supply should be brought for the use of the crew;for although native boats from the north had, while the siege went on, often arrived with fresh provisions, the supply had been insufficientfor the demand, and many of the sailors were suffering alike from thewant of fresh food and from their hard work, and most of all from thehorrible effluvia from the unburied bodies that bestrewed the groundover which the fighting had taken place. As the heavily-laden boats rowed out to the brig they were overtaken bythe water-boats, which were now making their third trip; they reportedto Edgar that what they now carried would completely fill up the tanks. Wilkinson was on board, having come off with the boats with the storesfrom the _Tigre_. It had been a hard morning's work, but both were wellsatisfied with it; and as they sat down to a lunch composed of a loaf ofbread and a bottle of wine Edgar had brought off with him, they chattedover the future prospect in high glee. "This is not so spacious as the room you have been occupying for thelast two months, " Wilkinson said, "but it beats the cockpit hollow. " "Yes, it is a very snug little cabin, and the French skipper evidentlyknew how to make himself comfortable. It is lucky that everyone has beenso busy since we took her that no one has thought of stripping it. Thereare his telescope, a big roll of charts, and two brace of pistols, allin their places. I know the French officers were all permitted to taketheir clothes away with them; so no doubt the lockers are empty. " This, however, on examination, proved not to be the case, for in themwere found three or four dozen of wine, two dozen of brandy, a goodsupply of chocolate, coffee, and other cabin stores. "I see, Mr. Philpot, " Wilkinson said when they went on deck, "you havehusbanded the captain's stores most carefully. " "Yes, sir; no orders were given to me about them, and I knew that Imight be relieved any day. I think I have had three bottles of brandy. Iused to take a tot every night, thinking that there could be no harm inthat. " "No harm at all, " Wilkinson said. "I suppose properly, under ordinarycircumstances, the stores should have been handed over at once to the_Tigre_; but as no orders were given about it, I think you wereperfectly right in taking toll, though I don't know that it would havebeen justified by the regulations. However, certainly I shall risk itmyself. " "Of course, sir, as commander of the ship, it is a different thingaltogether. I was only put here to look after the men working the guns. " For some hours the crew were hard at work lowering down the stores intothe hold, packing the ammunition in the magazine, hoisting up the twoeighteen-pounders and their carriages, and getting them into position. At half-past three a boat was sent ashore, and returned with the twoTurks and a quantity of provisions. The carcases of three sheep werehanded over to the crew, with the greater portion of the vegetables, onesheep being kept for the use of the cabin and the petty officers, together with a supply of vegetables sufficient for some days. A goodsupply of fruit had been brought, which was also divided. As soon as thedeck was cleared, all hands were set to wash it down. "They need not scrub until to-morrow morning, Mr. Philpot, " Wilkinsonsaid. "The men have had a hard day's work; they can clean her properlythe first thing to-morrow. Have you taken a look at the rigging?" "Yes, sir, everything is in first-rate condition. " "No doubt she was thoroughly fitted out before she sailed. Shecertainly looks like it, " Wilkinson replied as he glanced at the coilsof ropes. "We shall get up anchor at daybreak. I want to be under sailbefore the _Tigre_. It would not look smart for a line-of-battle ship tobe under weigh before a brig. " At half-past six, Wilkinson and Edgar, both in full uniform--for thelatter had provided himself with a full kit, having bought the outfit ofone of the midshipmen of the _Theseus_ who had been killed, and whohappened to be about his own height and size--took their places in aboat and rowed ashore. In a few minutes Sir Sidney Smith arrived. "Nearly ready for sea, Mr. Wilkinson?" "Yes, sir, we shall be ready to sail to-morrow morning. Everything maynot be quite ship-shape yet, but a few hours' work on the way will geteverything in order. " "Very good work!" Sir Sidney said approvingly. "I hardly thought thatyou would have got your guns on board to-day. " "The commandant gave us a complement of Turks to help to carry themdown, sir, which made short work of it. " "I expect that you will be having a more lively time of it than I shall. I may pick up a few store-ships, but blockading is always dull work. However, I hope before very long they will be sending a force out fromEngland to finish with the French in Egypt. You must remember that youcan't be too careful with those Greek and Moslem pirates; one is as badas the other, and from what I hear they generally work two or threetogether, and though their craft may be small they carry a number ofmen; therefore, boat expeditions against them should always bestrong-handed. You must bear in mind that although a command like thisis a fine opportunity for a young officer to distinguish himself, uponthe other hand, if he meets with a misfortune it tells against him. If Ihad not seen you and Mr. Blagrove both frequently under a heavy fire Ishould scarcely have ventured to appoint you to such a charge; but Iknow that you are both cool and steady, and being so short of officersas we are, and feeling that it is of urgent importance to do somethingto put a stop to the alarming increase of piracy, I consider myselfjustified in making these appointments. " By this time they had reached the pasha's palace. The latter evidentlyconsidered the visit to be a ceremonious one, and a guard of honour wasdrawn up in the court-yard who saluted as they passed in. For a time thepasha and Sir Sidney exchanged compliments in the usual oriental style, Edgar translating their speeches. "Without you and your brave sailors the town would have fallen on thefirst day the French opened fire, " the pasha said. "My men werethoroughly dispirited by the events of Jaffa, and to tell you the truth, I myself absolutely despaired of resistance, and should have left beforethe French arrived had not your ships come into the bay. If Jaffa, whichwas very much stronger than this place, and with a garrison of 8000 menin good heart, fell at the first assault, what could be done here, wherethe defences needed but a few shot to fall in ruins, and the garrisonwere panic-stricken and believed the enemy to be absolutely invincible?" "No troops could have fought better than yours towards the end of thesiege, pasha. The way in which they threw themselves sabre in hand uponthe French bayonets was splendid, and my own sailors could have foughtno better than they did when the French entered the town. " "Yes, yes, they did well then, but at the beginning their hearts werewater, and a hundred French grenadiers could have taken the place. Ihope you will return here soon. " "I fancy that there is little chance of that, pasha, unless it be that Ihear that those three French frigates the _Theseus_ chased a few daysago are on the coast again, in which case I may run across and try tocatch them. Certainly there is no fear of the French coming here again;the news of what has taken place here will cause such excitement amongthe Egyptians that Bonaparte will have as much as he can do to maintainhis hold on the province. I shall take care to do justice to yourselfand your soldiers in sending my report of the siege to the Sultan, mysovereign's ally, and in whose service I hold rank. " The old pasha smiled. "At any rate, Sir Sidney Smith, I shall take carethat the Sultan shall not send you hither to capture Acre instead ofdefending it. I have had a lesson that my troops are not so formidableas I had deemed, and he shall have no further reason for complaintagainst me. And now, young gentlemen, " he went on, turning to themidshipmen, "I hear that you are going to sail in one of the gun-boatscaptured by your commander, to endeavour to punish some of the piratesthat are doing so much mischief, not only to the trade among theislands, but to vessels trading from our ports and others with Stamboul. You, young sir, have rendered me, as well as Sir Sidney Smith, greatservice throughout this siege by interpreting between us and thusenabling me to understand his wishes, instead of being obliged to learnthem through those who might have reported their substance to theFrench. Likewise you have daily carried his orders to my officers, andoften through heavy fire. Had you been an officer of mine I should haveknown how to recognize your services. I could have given you muchpromotion, and, for such is the custom in our army, have presented youwith so many purses. As you are not, I have no power to give youpromotion, and Sir Sidney Smith tells me that as a British officer youcould not receive gifts in money even from a foreign monarch. He hassaid, however, that, as a personal present, and as a token of my regardfor the services that you have rendered me, he considers that you couldaccept such a present in the form of a jewel as I might think it rightto offer you. " He took a box of Turkish make that stood on the table beside him. "This, " he said, "is an aigrette which I myself have worn in battle; andno more appropriate present could be made to one whom I have seenstanding unflinchingly in a fire that might well have appalledveterans. " Then he turned to Wilkinson. "You, sir, have throughout the siege beenon service on shore here, and during the first part of the siegecommanded the little body of sailors who checked the first attempt ofthe enemy to capture the tower. I saw you fighting bravely during thatterrible struggle in the breach when it so nearly fell into the hands ofthe French. I therefore present you with a ring of honour similar tothose that I have requested Sir Sidney Smith to have the kindness togive in my name to the officers who distinguished themselves mostgreatly in the defence of my town. " Edgar translated the pasha's speech, and then opened the box presentedto himself. It contained a superb aigrette, mounted upon a brooch-likeornament by which it was fastened to a turban. This ornament, which wassome four inches in diameter, was composed entirely of precious stones, with an emerald of great size in the centre. He looked at Sir SidneySmith. "It is too valuable altogether, " he said. "You can take it, " his commander said with a smile; "he showed it to methis morning. " Edgar then expressed his thanks in suitable terms to the pasha, and alsothose of Wilkinson, whose ring contained a diamond of great beauty; thenat a sign from Sir Sidney they left the room, leaving him to concludehis interview with the pasha alone. In a quarter of an hour he joinedthem outside the palace. "I congratulate you on your presents, " he said. "Yours, Blagrove, isundoubtedly very valuable, and had you intended to remain permanently inthe service I do not know that I could have allowed you to accept it. Asit is, I see no harm in it. I may tell you that the pasha asked me if Ithought that you would remain in his service. He says your knowledge ofseveral languages would be of much value to him, and that he should liketo have one about him on whose courage, as well as fidelity, he couldrely. I told him that I knew that you had other plans, and that youwould probably leave the navy as soon as the French evacuated Egypt, andwere, I knew, anxious to return to your parents in England. I have nodoubt, Mr. Blagrove, that he would have been willing to give you termsyou could hardly have hoped for elsewhere; but the pasha is an old man, you would have been an object of jealousy to his officers and officials, and he is at times guilty of cruelties at which I know you would revolt, and your position therefore would have been a precarious one, and yourenemies might not improbably endeavour to remove so formidable a rivalin their master's favour by assassination, so I thought that for yourown interest it is better that I should take upon myself to decline theoffer. " "Thank you, sir. I should not have liked to enter his service at all. It would be an idle life as well as an unpleasant one, and, besides, Iknow that my father wishes me to take his place in Alexandria. " "Djezzar has behaved very handsomely, " Sir Sidney said. "He obtainedfrom me a list of all the officers of the three ships and of the pettyofficers who have specially distinguished themselves. He has given mejewels to hand to all the officers in his name, and also purses of moneyfor the petty officers. He is, you know, immensely rich. The old fellowwas really grieved that he could not offer anything to me; he said asmuch, but I at once pointed out that, putting everything else aside, itwould be an unheard-of thing for the commander-in-chief of the Sultan'sarmy to receive a present from one, however high in rank, who was underhis orders. He just now insisted, however, that we should exchangerings, and as he had absolutely tears in his eyes when he spoke, I couldnot refuse, though mine was but a signet-ring with my crest, and his adiamond worth, I should say, a thousand pounds if it is worth a penny. " They had by this time reached the landing-place. "Now, lads, we part here for the present; I hope that you will have aprosperous cruise, and do credit to my choice. You understand, Mr. Wilkinson, that you will remain on your station among the islands untilyou receive other orders from me. " After seeing Sir Sidney off, the two midshipmen took their places intheir boat, and were rowed off to the _Tigress_. "That was an unexpected piece of luck, Blagrove, " Wilkinson said whenthey had started. "I thought, perhaps, that he might make you a present, for you have seen him every day, and besides interpreting, have carriedorders to his officers under a heavy fire, and done all sorts ofthings, but except that I landed several times to take part in thesorties, and was lucky enough to be on shore at that fight at the breachand when the French got in, I did no active work. I had no hopes ofgetting anything beyond perhaps a mention in the chief's despatches. " "I feel quite ashamed at having so much more valuable a present, Wilkinson. " "Oh! I am sure that no one could begrudge it to you, " Wilkinson replied. "You don't get any special pay for being an interpreter, and it givesyou a tremendous lot of work; besides, going about as you do with SirSidney, you were constantly under fire. Besides, the pasha saw a greatdeal more of you than he did of anyone else, except the chief himself. Icongratulate you upon it heartily; if you ever want to turn it intomoney it will be quite a small fortune. Luckily my father is in aposition to make me a good allowance, so I have no intention of everparting with this ring, it will be a remembrance of the siege, and thesort of thing to wear on grand occasions. " They found that during their absence the men had worked hard, and that, except for a final scrub, the brig was now ship-shape and in good order. At four o'clock in the morning the crew were again on deck It was stilldark, but the men set to with a will to scrub the decks, for, as theysaid, if they passed near the _Tigre_ they should not like the decks tolook like those of a trader in ballast. An hour's hard work and they hadfinished, just as the look-out reported that the _Tigre's_ men weregoing aloft to loosen sails. It was light now, and in a very few minutesthe canvas was spread and the anchor catted. The _Tigre_, with her greatsail spread, was not yet under way, and the brig, as she laid her coursewest, passed a hundred yards under her stern. The _Tigress_ ran up herensign, for the sun was just showing, and dipped it in salute. Themidshipmen waved their hands to their comrades on board, and salutedmore formally Sir Sidney, who stood at the bulwarks watching the craftas she passed, and who returned the salute with a cheery shout of "Welldone, _Tigress_!" Then she went on her course, after the exchange of a cheer between thecrews clustered by the bulwarks of the _Tigress_ and in the tops of theman-of-war. "Now we are fairly off, " Edgar said, "what do your written instructionssay?" "I am to go to Rhodes, there to make inquiries of the port authoritiesas to any outrages that have been lately reported, and to be guided bywhat I hear. In fact, the matter is left entirely in my hands, after weonce get there. I don't know how we had better divide the watches. Itwould hardly be the thing for me, as skipper, to take a watch, and yetthat would be the most satisfactory way of arranging it. I could takethe gunner and you the boatswain. In fact, I think it would beridiculous to work it in any other way. " "Just as you like, Wilkinson, but I have no doubt that the boatswainwould do just as well or better than I should. " "No, I will take a watch, at any rate until we see how the pettyofficers get on. It is ticklish navigation among these islands, and Icertainly should not feel comfortable if neither you nor I were on deck. There is the _Tigre_ fairly under way, steering south by west. We arewalking along, ain't we? This breeze just suits her, and she is a verydifferent craft now to what she was when we overhauled her, laden downpretty nearly to her covering-board. I don't think, in a breeze likethis, that the _Tigre_ would be able to catch us, although, of course, if the wind strengthened much her weight would tell. However, there isno doubt at all that this craft is fast. I hope ere long we shall tryour speed against one of these pirates. I expect that off the wind withthose big lateen sails of theirs they are very fast, but on the windthey would have no chance with us. When we get away from Rhodes we willdisguise her a bit, put a yellow streak to her, and give her the look ofa trader. They are much more likely to find us than we are to findthem. " "Where are we to send our prizes, that is, if we take any?" "If they are small craft we are to burn them, but if we take any thatwould be likely to be of use to the chief in the blockade we are to sellthem. Any prisoners we take we are to hand over to the pasha at Smyrnaif they are Moslems; if they are Greeks, the fewer prisoners we take thebetter. It would be infinitely more merciful to shoot them down in fairfight than to hand them over to the tender mercies of the Turks, but SirSidney said that he would largely leave the matter to my discretion. Iwould rather that he had given me positive orders in writing on thesubject, for it is an awkward thing for a midshipman to have a thinglike this left to his discretion, especially as at other times superiorofficers don't seem to think that midshipmen possess any discretionwhatever. " CHAPTER XIV. A PIRATE HOLD. On arriving at Rhodes, Wilkinson and Edgar rowed ashore as soon as theanchor was dropped, and called upon the Turkish governor. They werereceived with much honour, and the governor was delighted to hear thenews, which they were the first to bring, that the French had abandonedthe siege of Acre and were retreating in all haste to Egypt. He gaveorders for a salute to be fired at once in honour of this great success, and then asked Wilkinson what he could do for him, assuring him that hewould put all the resources of the island at his disposal. Edgar, asinterpreter, assured the governor that they had no occasion to availthemselves largely of the offer, but that, in consequence of the amountof ammunition expended in the siege they were short of both powder, ball, and musketry ammunition, and would be very much obliged for aslarge a supply as he could spare them. He gave orders at once for theissue to him of as much as they required. Edgar then went on: "The object of our coming here, sir, is to endeavour to check the piracythat is now being carried on among the islands. Numerous complaints havereached Sir Sidney Smith from Turkish, British, and Greek merchants;ships are constantly missing, and there is no doubt that they have beencaptured and scuttled, and their crews massacred. " "Your ship is a small one for such a purpose, " the governor said, forfrom the divan on which he was sitting he commanded a view of the port. "I hope that she is large enough, " Edgar replied; "she is heavily armedfor her size, and she is a fast sailer. Sir Sidney Smith had no largervessel at his disposal, as he needs the two men-of-war and the smallfrigate for watching the Egyptian coast, and, indeed, had he been ableto send a larger craft, it would not have been so well suited for thepurpose, for the pirates would hardly have ventured to attack her. Weshall, after we have put out to sea, disguise the brig and rig her as amerchantman in order to tempt them out. We shall not do it until we arewell away, for the pirates may have friends here who might send theminformation. We shall head for the south, and shall give out that we areto rejoin our commander off Alexandria, as we have only come round hereto give you news of the retreat of the French. We shall be glad if youwill furnish us with two men having a thorough knowledge of the islands, and of the spots where the piratical craft are most likely to harbour. They must be trusty men who will not open their lips here as to ourdesigns. " "I can find you two such men, " the governor said. "They both used to becaptains of craft that traded among the islands, but now own severalvessels; some of these have disappeared, and they are continually comingup here and pestering us with their complaints, though I have told themagain and again that I can do nothing in the matter; I know that theywould very gladly go with you in order to aid in the punishment of thepirates. " Such indeed turned out to be the case. Edgar had a long talk with them, and learned from them the spots where it was supposed that the pirateshad their rendezvous, as many vessels whose course had lain near themhad disappeared. He asked them to go into the town and gather whatfurther information they could from men whose craft had been chased buthad succeeded in getting away, and told them to be at the landing-placeafter dark so that their passage to the ship would be unnoticed, forthey agreed with him that undoubtedly many of the pirates had agents atRhodes and other important ports, and that intelligence was carried bysmall, quick-sailing craft, to the pirates, of vessels likely to bevaluable prizes. An abundant supply of ammunition was taken off to thebrig in the course of the afternoon, and the supply of fresh provisionsreplenished. The two young officers dined with the governor, who had a large party intheir honour, including many of the military authorities. The nextmorning they started at six, and held their course south until they weresure that the brig could no longer be seen even from the highest pointon the island, and at four bells in the afternoon changed their course, and, sailing between Scarpanto and Carso, headed north and passed beforenightfall between Slazida and Placa. The crew had been busy painting abroad yellow line round the brig, in slackening the rigging, and givingthe vessel the appearance of a slovenly merchant brig. They had learnedfrom the Turks that although undoubtedly acts of piracy took place inthe Western Archipelago, these were comparatively isolated actscommitted upon small vessels becalmed near one or other of the islands, the attacks being made in boats, but that it was among the numerousislands lying off the coast of Asia Minor between Nicaria and Samos onthe north, and Serrest and Piscopia on the south, that piracy was mostfrequent. As a rule, they said, vessels coming down from the Dardanelles kept wellwest of Mitylene and Chios, rounded Naxos and Syra and bore south toSantorin before shaping their course east, if bound for Syria, so as toavoid the dangerous neighbourhood. To begin with, they advised that thecourse should be laid so as to pass a short distance east ofAstropalaia. This, they said, had long been one of the headquarters ofpiracy. It had, before the war began, been several times attacked byTurkish or European ships of war, the craft found there burnt, and thecoast villages destroyed; but since then it was believed that it hadagain become the headquarters of pirates from some of the otherislands, as its position was a favourable one for attack, lying in thedirect lines of traffic between both Constantinople and Greece and theeastern trades with Rhodes, Cyprus, Syria, or Egypt. The night was fine, with a gentle breeze. A sharp look-out was kept fortwo groups of tiny islands that were scarce more than rocks, that had tobe passed before nearing Astropalaia. The breeze died away at daybreak, and left the vessel becalmed at a distance of some six miles from theisland. "We could not be better placed, " one of the Turks said. "You see thegroup of islands at the mouth of that bay; they are called the PirateRocks, and in the old days every one of those rocks was the strongholdof a pirate ship. Thirty years ago four Turkish frigates caught eighteenpiratical craft lying at anchor behind their shelter, and destroyedevery one of them, but it was not long before others took their places. " "If there were a good wind blowing, Edgar, I should like nothing betterthan to sail right in there, " Wilkinson said, "but in this light breezethose fellows would run away from us with their big sails and theirsweeps. " "If there are any of them in there now, " one of the Turks remarked asWilkinson closely surveyed the islets through his glass, "most likelythey have made you out before this. I only hope there will not be toomany of them. " "The more the merrier!" Wilkinson laughed as Edgar translated this. "With ten guns and sixty blue-jackets we ought to be able to beat offany number of the scoundrels. Ask him how many guns these fellowsgenerally mount?" The Turk shook his head. "They are of all sizes; some are only row-boats, without guns at all, and carrying perhaps not more than a dozen men. Two will row, and therest lie down in the bottom. They will have some fruit, perhaps, piledup in the stern, and as they row up to a small craft at anchor orbecalmed, there are no suspicions of their real character until they getclose alongside. Then they leap up, and carry the vessel before the crewhave time to arm themselves. If she is very small and useless to them, they will take out everything of value, fasten the prisoners down below, and scuttle her; if she is larger, they will tow her into some littlebay and take out the cargo in boats at their leisure, cut the throats ofthe prisoners, alter the appearance of the ship so that she cannot berecognized, engage a dozen more hands, and set up on a larger scale. "Some of the craft are used as fishing-boats when times are quiet andthere are ships of war about, while the larger ones may go into trade. Some of the smaller craft will carry a couple of guns, the larger oneseight or ten, but these are generally much smaller than yours, thoughsometimes they are armed with cannon taken from prizes; but, as a rule, they do not trust at all to their guns. They do not wish to drawattention by their sound to what is going on, and they either attack atnight and carry their prey by boarding, or, if it be in the day, thecrew are sent below, the guns hidden, and they have so peaceful anaspect that it is only when they change their course suddenly, whenwithin a few hundred yards, that any alarm is excited, and they arealongside before a trader can load his guns, and, as they are crowdedwith men, carry her before any serious resistance can be offered. " [Illustration: WITH A TREMENDOUS CHEER, FLUNG THEMSELVES UPON THEPIRATES _Page 262_] At Rhodes they had taken on board a dozen bucket-loads of earth. Thenight before, some of these had been emptied into a large tub, which wasthen filled up with water and stirred briskly, after which thesailors had gone aloft and wetted the sails with muddy water, renderingtheir appearance dingy in the extreme. Here and there white patches hadbeen left, which gave the sails the appearance of being old and recentlymended, and with the yards set at different angles and slackenedrigging, the _Tigress_ would not have been recognized as the smart craftthat had, twenty-four hours before, sailed from Rhodes. The sailors wereall in high glee. After the hard work they had had at Acre they lookedupon this as a holiday, and entered with the greatest zest into the workof disguising the ship. "Now, lads, you must sit down, " Wilkinson said, "and only five or sixheads must be shown above the bulwarks. They doubtless have some goodglasses taken from the ships they have captured, and if they saw that wehad an unusually strong crew they might smell a rat. " It was now a dead calm, the sails hung idly down, and the brig layalmost motionless on a waveless sea. "I am pretty sure that I can make out the upper spars of two or threecraft behind that long, low islet, Wilkinson, " Edgar said after, for thetwentieth time, gazing long and earnestly through his telescope. "I fancied so two or three times, Edgar, but I am by no means sure thatit is not fancy. I felt more sure of it at first than I do now, forthere is a slight mist rising from the water. If they don't come out tous by the afternoon we will go in and have a look at them. We have gothalf a dozen sweeps on board, and with those and the boats we could workher in in a couple of hours. " "I hope we sha'n't have to do that, " Edgar replied. "They would guesswhat we were at once, and would be scattering in all directions. Wemight pick up one or two, the rest would get off and carry news of us toall the islands round. " "Perhaps you are right, " Wilkinson agreed. "It would certainly beunfortunate to begin by giving them a scare. " "Besides, " Edgar went on, "if the calm holds till night, they may comeout and try to take us by surprise. " The day passed very slowly. The heat was great, and the men picked outspots on the deck where the sails threw a shade, and dosed off to sleep. They had, long before, made every preparation; the cutlasses had beenground, the boarding-pikes sharpened, and the pistols loaded and primed. Piles of shot lay by the side of the guns, and it needed only to fetchup the powder cartridges from the magazine to be ready for action. Themarines had cleaned and loaded all the muskets, and placed them in theracks. At two o'clock, after dinner had been eaten, Wilkinson said tothe boatswain: "The starboard-watch can sling their hammocks and turn in if they like. If these fellows mean to come out and attack us, they will hardly do itbefore it becomes dark; perhaps not until two or three o'clock in themorning, and as we shall have to be watchful, there is no occasion forboth watches to stay on deck now. The port watch shall go off from twobells till eight; as they take the first watch they will be all thebrighter for a snooze beforehand. " "I wish the beggars would come out and have done with it, " he went on toEdgar, as the boatswain turned away and blew his whistle. "I think I mayas well go down, as it is your watch on deck. Have me roused when theychange at two bells if I don't wake of my own accord. " Contrary to their usual custom in a calm, the earnest desire of all onboard was that it should continue, for should a breeze spring up theywould be forced to sail away, and the pirates might not pursue them. Assoon as it got dark, Wilkinson told the boatswain that it would be aswell that a song should be started occasionally, but that not more thanfive or six men were to join in chorus. If, as they came out, they hearda dead silence they might think it unnatural, and it was quite possiblethat a boat would come on ahead of them to try and make out what theyreally were. In the intervals between the songs silence reigned, and allon deck listened intently. About nine o'clock Edgar exclaimed: "I can hear oars!" "So can I, " Wilkinson replied, after listening for a minute. "I don'tthink that they are sweeps. No, it is a boat rowed by either two or fourmen--four, I think. " In a minute or two they were satisfied that it was but a boat. The orderwas given for another song, after which three or four men were to talkand the rest to sit down below the bulwarks and to keep silence. The twoTurks took their places near the officers. From the speed at which theboat was approaching it was certain that she was not deeply laden, andthere was no fear, therefore, of a surprise being attempted. She passedwithin twenty yards of the tafrail, and they could make out that she wasan ordinary fisherman's boat. There was a pile of nets in the stern, andfour men were standing up rowing. "I wish we could get a little wind!" one of them called out. "We wish so, too, " one of the Turks answered. "We have been lyingbecalmed all day. " "Bound for Constantinople, I suppose?" came from the boat. "No, for Smyrna. We are bringing a cargo from Ancona, and shall load upat Smyrna with fruit. " With a Turkish good-night the men rowed on, and the singer forward atonce began another song. For a quarter of an hour they could hear thesound of the oars growing fainter and fainter, then it ceased. "They have rowed straight on till they think they are out of hearing, "Wilkinson said. "Now they will make a circuit and go back to theirfriends with the news. There is no doubt we are in luck if we get abrush with them the first night after our arrival on our cruisingground. " About three o'clock in the morning a confused sound could be heard. Intwo or three minutes every man was at his post. "There are only two, or at most three of them, " Edgar said, in a tone ofdisappointment, "and I doubt whether they are not big rowing-boats. Thestrokes are too quick for either sweeps or for boats towing. What abeastly nuisance! I suppose when these fellows took back the report, that though we were a good-sized brig we did not seem to have manyhands, they thought that it was not worth while to tow out a big craftwhen row-boats would do. They think that with twelve or fifteen hands ineach boat, and the advantage of surprise, they would be able tooverpower us at once. " "The surprise will be the other way, " Wilkinson said angrily. "We shallsend them all three to the bottom at the first broadside. " "I don't think I should do that, Wilkinson; for, if you do, there is anend of our chance of capturing any of their larger craft. " "Of course I see that; that is the annoying part of the business. Whatdo you propose, then?" "I should say that the best plan would be, not to hail them until theyget close on board, then for a man forward to give a sudden shout, as ifhe had been asleep on his watch and had only just heard them. Then theywill come tumbling on board, thinking that the ship is already theirs. We might divide our men, and keep them half forward and half aft. Themoment they all get on board, rush down upon them. Tell off six men, with orders to jump down into their boats as soon as they can, and topush them off, so as to cut off their retreat. The boats will be veryuseful to us, for we can tow the brig in with them. The people in therewill think that she has been captured, and we shall get right in themiddle of them before they find out that they have caught a tartar. " "By Jove, that is a first-rate idea!" To their surprise, the men were at once called away from their guns anddivided into two parties. Edgar and the boatswain commanded thatgathered forward, Wilkinson and the gunner that aft. Nine men were toldoff for the capture of the boats, for, as Edgar pointed out, when thepirates found that they were caught in a trap, a good many of them mightleap overboard and try to get into the boats, and it might need fullythree men to keep them off. "Now, lads, you understand, " Wilkinson said, as the parties were aboutto take up their places, "you must crouch down and keep yourselvesperfectly quiet until the word is given; it is important to get them allon board. When they see no one on deck they will think that the one ortwo men who might be on the watch have run below. You can use yourpistols freely when the fighting once begins. When the fellows find thatthey are trapped, they are likely enough to fight hard, and I don't wantto lose any men. Keep your cutlasses in readiness, but trust principallyto your boarding-pikes. " The boats were but four or five hundred yards away when the crew of the_Tigress_ took up their position. A minute later one of the men in thebow shouted suddenly: "There are boats coming!--quick, on deck!--pirates! pirates!" Then four or five men down in the forecastle also shouted, ran up ondeck, and then, with cries of alarm, ran below again, and then, butquietly this time, joined their comrades, who were crouching as closelytogether as possible forward of the bitts. There was a roar of voicesfrom the boats. They could hear the oars plied desperately; then closelyfollowing this came three bumps against the side of the brig, and, clambering up the chains, the pirates poured tumultuously upon the deck, breaking into a shout of triumph as they met with no resistance. Therewas a pause of astonishment as the guns were seen; then their leadershouted that these could be but dummies, intended to run out andfrighten people in the daytime. "Down below, men!" one shouted; "finish with them first; it will be timeto talk afterwards. " One of the Turks, who spoke a little French, crouching by the side ofWilkinson, translated his words. Some of the pirates rushed towards theforecastle, others aft to the cabins, where they would find theofficers. Then some figures crawled out from below the tarpaulins thatwere loosely thrown over the guns, looked over the rail, and then sprangdown into the boats, which were entirely deserted. As they did so therewas a shout from Wilkinson; it was answered by Edgar, and thenfive-and-twenty seamen sprang up from each end of the vessel, and with atremendous cheer flung themselves upon the pirates. Taken completely bysurprise, and somewhat outnumbered, many of these were cut down or runthrough by the pikes before anything like serious resistance could beoffered; then, headed by their leaders, they fought with the desperationof cornered animals. All of them carried pistols as well as yataghans. Some few of them ranto the side, and with yells of fury leaped overboard to recapture theboats. Pistols cracked on both sides, cutlass and yataghan clashedtogether; but the British shouts rose high over the yells of thepirates. In three minutes the fighting was virtually over, the greaterportion of the pirates lay dead on the deck; a few had jumped overboard, and the rest, throwing down their arms, fell on their knees and criedfor mercy. "That will do, men--that will do!" Wilkinson shouted; "scoundrels asthey are, we cannot kill them in cold blood. Get some lengths of rope, boatswain, and tie them hand and foot. " The men who had leapt into the water and swam towards the boats did notattempt to climb in when they saw three sailors in each, standing withcutlass and pistol ready to oppose them, and they swam back towards thebrig. A rope was thrown to them, and they were permitted to climb up oneby one, being bound and laid by their comrades as they gained the deck. None of the sailors had been killed, though several had received uglygashes. "Now, boatswain, put the starboard watch into the boats; lower the twoship's boats also--we will get as many oars to work as possible tilldaylight. " Each of the captured boats rowed six oars, and thirty men were soon atwork towing the vessel towards the bay. The port watch then set to workto clear the deck. The dead were all thrown overboard; the others wereunbound, made to strip off their jackets, then bound again and carrieddown to the hold, the hatchway being closed on them. They found thatmost of the survivors were Greeks, the Turks having to a man fallenfighting. "These mixed crews are worst of all, " one of the Turks said. "TheTurkish pirates are bad enough, and so are the Greeks--there is littleto choose between them; but it is only the worst desperadoes who willconsort together. You did wrong to spare a man. " "We could not kill them when they threw down their arms, " Wilkinsonsaid. "We will hand them over to your authorities, either at Smyrna orat Rhodes. They will make short work of them, I fancy. " As soon as the first gleam of dawn appeared in the sky the boats werecalled alongside. Those of the _Tigress_ were hoisted up, and the men inthe others were given the jackets of the prisoners, some having turbansand some the Greek headgear. These garments had also been stripped fromthe dead before the bodies were thrown overboard, and were laid in aheap in readiness for those on deck to put on when they approached thebay. When it became daylight they were not more than a mile and a halffrom the islands. The men in the boats had been warned not to row tooregularly; and those on board had already put on their disguises. Asthey passed between two of the islets exclamations of satisfaction burstfrom Wilkinson and Edgar, for six vessels were anchored behind thelargest of these. The brig's head was turned towards them, and as theyapproached shouts of welcome and exultation could be heard from theircrews. The craft were of various sizes, two of them were not above thirty tonsburden, and each carried two light guns, the others were from fifty to ahundred and fifty tons, and carried from six to twelve guns. The_Tigress_ was within about four hundred yards of the line when the helmwas put down, as if to take her in between two of the largest craft. Then Wilkinson, who, with Edgar, were both in the Turkish disguises, waved his hand for the men in the boats to come alongside. As they didso there was a shout of surprise from the crew of the nearest vessel, for there was no mistaking the sailors' white trousers for the baggyinteguments of the Turks. At the same moment the port-holes opened, theguns were run out, and before the last man had gained the deck, the tenguns poured in their broadsides. By Wilkinson's orders three on each side were trained on the craftnearest to them, the remaining two on each broadside being aimed at thevessels next to these. The guns had all been double-shotted, and at thesame moment the broadsides were fired the ensign was run up to the peak. A wild hubbub of shouts of astonishment, fury, and alarm rose from thepirate ships, and were re-echoed by numbers of men belonging to theircrews, clustered on the shore, to see the prize brought in. Some ran totheir guns and began to load them, others jumped into their boats orsprang overboard and swam towards the shore. As fast as the guns onboard the _Tigress_ could be loaded the fire was kept up, the forwardones sweeping the deck of the craft nearest to them with grape, whilethe others sent round-shot into those farther away. It was but for a short time that the pirates thought of fighting; theirlight guns were no match for the heavy metal of those on board the brig, and in a quarter of an hour after the first shot was fired the largestof their craft had been sunk, and the other five were entirely deserted. The boats were manned, the brig's head was first pulled round until herbroadside bore on the shore, then the anchor was dropped, and the gunson the port side opened with grape upon the pirates on shore, and atfive or six houses that were perched high on the rock. Leaving theboatswain in charge, Wilkinson and Edgar both took their places in theboats and rowed from ship to ship. All were found empty, and as theyagreed that only two of the largest were worth taking away, the otherthree were burned. When they were fairly on fire the boats returned to the brig. Not apirate was to be seen on the island, though they were sure that althoughnumbers of them had been killed, there must still be fully two hundredof them there, but they must either have hidden among rocks or madetheir way down to the seaward face. As several boatloads might haverowed away to other islets, it was decided to take a landing party offive-and-thirty men on shore, for as their operations would be coveredby the guns of the brig, there was little probability of the piratesattempting to attack them. As soon as they landed, the sailors, led bythe two midshipmen, climbed rapidly up the hill, and without a shotbeing fired approached the houses on the top. From these a heavymusketry fire suddenly broke out. The men would have rushed forward atonce, but Wilkinson called out to them to throw themselves down behindshelter, and as they did so a shell flew overhead, struck the largest ofthe houses and exploded. Shot followed shot rapidly, the fire of the pirates ceased, thenWilkinson gave the word, and the sailors leapt up and with a cheerrushed forward. Save for a few women the houses were entirely deserted, but some fifty men were seen running down the seaward face. A couple ofvolleys were poured into these, and then, placing a dozen of the men onguard, the midshipmen entered the houses. The shells had worked greatdamage. Over a score of men lay dead within them, and as many otherswounded. The women had been in the cellars, and they were glad to findthat none of them had been hurt. These cellars were very extensive, eachhouse having one. Several of them were crammed with goods of all sorts, evidently the proceeds of prizes, and of such varied description thatthey judged that each house formed a storehouse to one vessel, asotherwise the more valuable goods would have been collected together, instead of sails, ship-gear, bales of valuable silks and embroideriesfrom Constantinople, Broussa, Smyrna, Chios, Alexandria, and Syria beingmixed promiscuously together. Here too were a quantity of European manufactures, showing that it wasnot only native craft that had suffered from their depredations. Therewere numbers of barrels of Greek wine, puncheons of rum, cases ofbottled wines of different kinds evidently taken from English ships, great quantities of Smyrna figs, and of currants, Egyptian dates, andsacks of flour. "This will bring us in a nice lot of prize-money, Blagrove, " Wilkinsonsaid, after they had roughly examined the contents of the greatsubterranean storehouses. Presently a still larger find was made. Therewas, close to the houses, what appeared to be a well. One of the sailorslet down a bucket, and hauling it up found, to his surprise, that it wassalt water. The well was deep, but certainly not deep enough to reachdown to the sea level, and he carried the bucket to Wilkinson andpointed out where he had got the water from. "There is something curious about this, " the latter said. "Lower me downin the bucket, lads. " As he descended he saw that the well was anancient one, and probably at one time had been carried very much lowerthan at present. In some places the masonry had fallen in. At one ofthese points there was an opening cut into the rock. He called to thoseabove to hoist him up again, and procuring a lamp at one of the houses, he and Edgar descended together. Entering the passage they found that itwidened into a great chamber some forty feet square and thirty high, which was literally crammed with goods. "I should never have given the fellows credit for having taken thetrouble to cut out such a place as this, " Wilkinson said. "I have no doubt that it is ancient work, " Edgar remarked. "I should saythat at some time, perhaps when the Genoese were masters here, a castlemay have stood above, and this was cut either as a storehouse or as aplace of confinement for prisoners, or one where the garrison might hidethemselves, with provisions enough to last for a long time, in case theplace was captured. The pirates may have discovered it in going down tosee if the well could be cleared out, and saw that it would make asplendid place of concealment. " "But how about the salt water, Edgar?" "I should say that they cemented the bottom or rammed it with clay tomake it water-tight, and that as fresh water was scarce they brought upsea water, so that anyone who happened to look down would see that therewas water in it. If, as was probable, it would be the Turks who capturedthe place, they would, when they found that it was salt, not troubletheir heads further about the matter. Possibly even these pirates mayknow nothing of the existence of this store, which may have lain heresince the last time the Turks broke up this nest of pirates, and who, you may be sure, left none of them alive to tell the tale. Well, this isa find. " A thorough search was now made of the island, but it was found that thewhole of the pirates had made their escape in boats. These had rowedaway from the seaward face of the island, so that they were unseen bythose on board the brig. Before taking any step to carry away the goods, the other islets were all visited and found to be deserted. Five or sixmore magazines of spoil were discovered. These were emptied of theirmost valuable contents, and the houses all burned to the ground. Thisoperation took two days, and it required six more to transfer thecontents of the cellars and great store cavern to the brig. Boats hadcome off on the first day of their arrival from various villages in thebay, conveying one or more of the principal inhabitants, who assuredWilkinson that they had no connection whatever with the pirates, andthat they were extremely glad that their nest had been destroyed. Wilkinson had little doubt that, although they might not have beenconcerned in the deeds committed by these men, they must have been inconstant communication with them, and have supplied them with fruit andfresh meat and vegetables. However, he told them that he should reporttheir assurances to the Turkish authorities, who would, when they had aship of war available, doubtless send down and inquire into the wholecircumstances, an intimation which caused them considerable alarm, asthey had no doubt that, if no worse befell them, they would be made topay heavy fines. "The only way that you have to show your earnestness in the matter, "Wilkinson said, "is to organize yourselves. You have no doubt plenty ofboats, and the first time that a pirate comes in here row out from allyour villages, attack and burn it, and don't leave a man alive to tellthe tale. In that way the pirates will very soon learn that they'dbetter choose some other spot for their rendezvous, and the authoritieswill be well content with your conduct. " The amount of spoil taken was so great that the _Tigress_, when she setsail again, was nearly a foot deeper in the water than when she enteredthe bay. The prisoners had been the subject of much discussion. It wasagreed that they were probably no worse than their comrades who hadescaped, and they did not like the thought of handing them over to beexecuted. They were, therefore, on the third day after the arrival ofthe brig, brought up on deck. Three dozen lashes were administered toeach, then they were given one of the boats in which they had attackedthe ship, and told to go. CHAPTER XV. CRUISING. Before sailing, the yellow band was painted out, for the pirates whoescaped would probably carry the news of what had happened over thewhole archipelago. Ten men were put on board each of the prizes, and the_Tigress_ sailed up through the islands and escorted them to Smyrna, where the pasha, after hearing an account of their capture, at once gavepermission for them to be sold as prizes, and as the news of the retreatof the French had given a considerable impetus to trade, they fetchedgood prices. As soon as this was arranged, the _Tigress_ sailed awayagain. For some months they cruised among the islands, putting intoevery little bay and inlet, boarding every craft found there, andsearching her thoroughly to see if there was any property belonging toplundered vessels on board. Once or twice she came upon two or three large craft together, and hadsome hard fighting before she captured or sank them; but, as a rule, thecrews rowed ashore as soon as they saw the real nature of the new-comer. Some thirty craft were sent as prizes into Smyrna or Rhodes, and theresold, as many more were sunk or burned. They had, in no case, foundspoil at all equal to that which had been captured at Astropalaia, butthe total was nevertheless considerable. Once or twice they wereattacked by boats when anchored in quiet bays, but as a vigilant watchwas always kept they beat off their assailants with heavy loss. The rigof the brig was frequently altered. Sometimes she was turned into aschooner with yards on her foremast, sometimes into a fore-and-aftcraft; and as the time went on and captures became fewer and fewer, itwas evident that she had established a thorough scare throughout thearchipelago, and that for the time the pirates had taken to peacefulavocations, and were indeed completely crippled by the loss of so largea number of their craft. The _Tigress_ had but one awkward incident during the voyage. The daywas bright and clear. The two Turks had been, as was their custom, squatting together on the deck, smoking their pipes. Wilkinson and Edgarwere pacing together up and down, when the latter said: "Look at these two native craft; they have both let their lateen sailsrun down. I am sure I don't know why; there is not a cloud in the sky, except that little white one over there. " They were passing the Turks at the moment, and Edgar said to one ofthem: "The two craft over there have just let their sails run down. What canthat mean?" The Turk leapt to his feet with a quickness very unusual to him. "It is a white squall!" he shouted. "Down with every stitch of canvas, sir. Quick, for your lives! the squall will be upon us in five minutes. " It was Wilkinson's first experience of the terribly sudden squall of theLevant, but he had heard of them and knew their danger, and he shoutedat the top of his voice: "All hands take in sail! Quick, lads, for your lives!" The boatswain's whistle rang loudly in the air, and he repeated theorder at the top of his voice. The men on deck, who had been engaged onvarious small jobs since they came up from dinner, looked astounded atthe order, but without hesitation ran up the ratlines at the top oftheir speed, while the watch below looked equally surprised as theyglanced upwards and around at the deep blue of the sky. "Quick, quick!" the Turk exclaimed. "Let go all sheets and halliards!" Wilkinson shouted, "Do the sails up anyhow, men. " Although the sky was unchanged they could see the light cloud Edgar hadnoticed advancing towards them at an extraordinary rate of speed, whilea white line on the sea kept pace with it. "Hard up with the helm--hard up!" Wilkinson shouted. "Hold on a momentwith those head sails; that will do, that will do. Let go the halliards;down staysails and jib. " The sailors, now conscious of the coming danger, worked desperately. Thelight upper sails were secured, the courses had been clewed up, but thetopsails were still but half-lashed when Wilkinson shouted again: "Down for your lives! Down on the weather side; slip down by theback-stays. You men to leeward, hold on--all hold on, " he shouted a fewseconds later. There was a dull roaring sound, rising to a shriek as the squall struckthe vessel. Most of the men had gained the deck in safety, but many of those comingdown by the ratlines were still some distance from the deck. It was wellfor them that they were on the weather side; had they been to leewardthey would have been torn from their grasp, whereas they were nowpinned to the rigging. Two sounds like the explosion of cannon wereheard. The main and foretopsails both blew out of their gaskets, belliedfor an instant, and then burst from the bolt-ropes and flew away, andwere speedily lost to sight. So great was the pressure that the brig wasdriven bodily down until the water was almost level with the rail at thebow, and it looked for a moment as if she would go down by the head. One of the jibs was run up, but only to be blown away before it wassheeted home. Another was tried, the sheet being kept very slack. Thisheld, her head lifted, and in a minute the _Tigress_ was flying alongdead before the wind. The storm-jib was brought up, hooked on, andhoisted. This, being of very heavy canvas, could be trusted, and as soonas it was set the other was hauled down. "Thank God, that is over!" Wilkinson said, "and we have not lost ahand. " By this time all the men had gained the deck. "How long will this last?" Edgar shouted in one of the Turks' ears. "Perhaps one hour; perhaps four. " "Let us have a look at the chart, " Wilkinson said. "When we last lookedthere was a group of rocks ten miles ahead, and at the rate we are goingthe _Tigress_ will be smashed into matchwood if she keeps on this coursefor long. " Edgar nodded. "We must get trysails on the main and foremast, " Wilkinson went on, "andmanage to lay her course a couple of points to the west. I wish we hadthose upper spars down on deck, but it is of no use talking of thatnow. " Wilkinson went down to the sail-room with the boatswain and four seamento bring up the two heaviest and strongest of the triangular sails. "We must sheet them home before we hoist them, " he said, as theyreturned on deck. "We should never be able to haul the sheets in whenthe sails once fill. " Twenty men went aft with them and commenced the task. The fore-trysailwas bent to some of the mast-hoops, and the sheet fastened to a cavel onthe port side. "Port your helm a little, my man, " Wilkinson said. "That will do, justenough to keep the wind on the starboard quarter. Keep her at that, keepher at that. " Edgar had the sail ready to hoist. "Slacken the tack alittle. Now, half a dozen of you tail on here, and get ready to haul itdown as soon as the sail is up to its full height and the halliardssecured. Now, lads, tail on to the halliards. Away with her. " The sailors ran forward with the rope, but as the sail rose the strainwas so great that once or twice they were brought to a standstill. Atlast the boatswain shouted: "That is enough. Come back a little, but keep a firm grip of it. That isright!" he shouted, as he twisted the slack of the rope over the cleet. "Now, lads, down with the tack; down with it! Belay!" The main-trysail was hoisted as successfully. Small as were the sails, and slight the angle with the wind, the pressure brought the ship downnearly to her covering-board. Wilkinson and the boatswain took theirplaces by the wheel. "Keep her full, lads, but not a bit more. She will do at that. By Jove, Blagrove, " he said, as Edgar came aft and glanced at the compass, "thatwas a narrow squeak! If you hadn't noticed those native craft lowertheir sails and called our attention to it, we should have turned turtleas sure as fate. We have got her snug now. If we were right as to ourposition at noon we shall clear those rocks nicely. " "I don't think we can have been far wrong, by the position of theislands. At the same time I will go up to the foretop, " Edgar said; "Ishall be able to make them out some distance away, for, if you remember, two of them are thirty or forty feet above the water. " "Mind how you go, " Wilkinson said. "You had better take one of the menup with you; you can hold each other on then. " Edgar went forward and told one of the best of the hands to go aloftwith him. "All right, your honour!" "It will be a tight job, but I daresay we can do it. Get a couple oflines seven or eight feet long; we will fasten them under our arms, andif a puff comes harder than usual we can twist the end round a shroud orratline. " In a couple of minutes both were roped and ready to mount. It was hardwork, and several times they had to use the rope to prevent their beingtorn from their hold. But at last they reached the top, and fastenedthemselves securely there. The scene was a singular one. Overhead was acloudless sky, somewhat paler in tint than it had been before the squallburst. Below was a white mass of foam, which, from the height on whichthey stood, seemed almost pressed level by the force of the wind. Ondeck they had been drenched with the sheets of spray torn off the headsof the waves as soon as they began to lift themselves, but here theywere above this, and there was nothing to prevent their looking round inall directions. "There are the rocks, sir, " the top-man said, after they had been sometwenty minutes in their position, "over the lee bow, about two pointsoff our course. " "I see them now, " Edgar said. "I thought we should have made them out bythe white foam round them, but it is white everywhere. " He shouted down to the deck, but it was some time before he could makehis voice heard above the roar of the squall. He pointed aft when atlast one looked up. The sailor ran aft to the helm, and calledWilkinson's attention to Edgar. The latter pointed in the direction ofthe rocks. Wilkinson waved his hand, and Edgar, then leaving the sailoron watch, made his way down to the deck. "We shall go within half a mile of them, " he said, when he joined hiscomrade. "It is lucky that we looked at the chart as soon as we did, " Wilkinsonshouted back, "for even with this rag of sail I should not have liked tobring her nearer to the wind than we are now. " "I don't think it is blowing quite as hard as it was, " Edgar said. "Icertainly got down more easily than I went up. " "I was thinking so myself, Blagrove, though there is not muchdifference. I don't care, now that we are clear of those rocks, how longit keeps on. Directly we pass them we can keep her off the wind again, and there is nothing in our course then for over forty miles, and thenit is only a small island with deep water all round. I have just beentaking another look at the chart. " By another hour the strength of the wind had considerably abated, thefore-staysail was reefed and hoisted, and before sunset sail was on heragain, and the hands were aloft preparing to get up fresh topsails. At the end of six months, on their going into Rhodes they found that asmall gun-boat had arrived with orders from Sir Sidney Smith for them torejoin him. "You have done exceedingly well, " the latter said in his letter. "Thepashas both of Smyrna and Rhodes have written to me expressing theiradmiration at the work that you have accomplished, and indeed yourreport of the number of pirate vessels taken or destroyed speaks foritself. " They were not sorry at the receipt of the order. During the past monththey had only made two or three captures, and these were craft of smallsize, and they were well content to give up their independent life, andreturn to regular duty. A week later they made out the _Tigre_ lying offthe Damietta mouth of the Nile. The man-of-war signalled to them toanchor near her. As soon as they did so Wilkinson went on board. "I am glad to see you back, Mr. Wilkinson, " Sir Sidney said cordially. "You have fully justified my confidence in your energy and discretion. The pashas write to me saying that piracy seems to be completelysuppressed, and that it is two months since either of them received acomplaint of a vessel being chased or missing. Therefore, as I wantedyou here, where we have not half enough ships for the work, I thought itas well to recall you. Your craft seems, " he went on, as he surveyed the_Tigress_ through his glass, "a good deal lower in the water than shewas?" "Yes, sir, she is down nearly two feet and a half. I reported to youthat we gained a considerable amount of booty at Astropalaia, and ofcourse we have added gradually to that, but never had anything like sogood a haul. The hold up to the level of the main deck is full. " "Full of what, Mr. Wilkinson?" "Miscellaneous cargo, sir--dried fruit, Manchester goods, and Easterngoods of all sorts. I have not taken an exact inventory of them, sir, for we were generally pressed for time, and I thought that the thingswere less likely to be damaged if I did not open the bales. I really donot know exactly what we have got, but there is certainly a good deal ofsilk and a quantity of embroidered things. " "That sounds well, anyhow, " Sir Sidney said, smiling, "but I am afraidthat it will not turn out so well for you personally as it ought to do. You see the craft herself was a prize of the _Tigre_, and her officersand crew are still borne on our books; therefore, although you weredetached on altogether independent work, you still rank as a tender ofthe _Tigre_, and we all share with you, and indeed all your names havebeen sent in on the list of those entitled to share in the prizes thatwe have made here. As these have been generally laden partly withammunition and partly with luxuries for the use of the army, they werefor the most part valuable, and up to this time we calculate that a sumof fifty or sixty thousand pounds will be shared. " "We quite understood, sir, that we should share with the _Tigre_ in allthat we captured. It would have been too bad if, in addition to our luckin having an independent cruise on board the _Tigress_, we were to getan advantage over our comrades in the way of prize-money. We have, as Itold you in my last report, received twelve thousand five hundredpounds, the result of the sale of the thirty-two craft we sent intoSmyrna and Rhodes. It is in gold, and I thought that it would be betterfor you to send off a boat for it than for me to bring it myself now. What are we to do with the cargo, sir?" "I must think that over, Mr. Wilkinson. You have not lost many hands, Ihope, while you were away?" "No, sir, we have not done any very hard fighting. We had two men shotin the attack of the pirates' hold at Astropalaia, and more than halfthe crew have been wounded more or less seriously, but fortunately allgot over it. " "That is very satisfactory, Mr. Wilkinson. In giving me a full report ofyour work, give a list of the casualties in each case. Some of thepeople at the Admiralty seem to have an idea that the credit of anyaffair depends largely on the size of the butcher's bill, whereas, inpoint of fact, it should be exactly the other way, for not unfrequentlyheavy loss means that measures were badly taken by the officers incommand, whereas a light one shows that the arrangements were allexcellent, and the work carried out without a hitch. I shall be glad ifyou and Mr. Blagrove will dine with me. It is not very regular for youboth to leave the ship together, but there are no signs whatever ofchange of wind, and one can reckon with some certainty here upon theweather for at any rate twenty-four hours in advance. If you should seeany change before you come off, or any fall in the glass, Mr. Blagrovemust stay on board. " Wilkinson now joined his comrades, who were gathered a short distanceaway waiting until he had finished his talk with Sir Sidney. "Come downbelow, Wilkinson, and give us the news. We heard that you had taken someprizes from the pirates; we want to hear all about it. Is Blagrove allright?" They were soon gathered in the cockpit. "I have not much time to stay, "Wilkinson said, "and, before I tell you my story, I want to hear yournews, for beyond a few rumours current at Smyrna and Rhodes, we reallyknow hardly anything of what has taken place since we left you at Acre. " "We have had rather a dull time, " one of them said; "the only excitementwas a fight between the Turks, aided by our boats, and the French. Whenwe returned here, we found that instead of being fifteen thousandstrong, as promised, the Turks on board their transports under MustaphaPasha were but five thousand strong, which was raised to seven thousandby the two thousand we brought with us from Acre. On the 15th of Julythey landed, attacked the redoubt and castle of Aboukir with greatpluck, and carried it by assault. A week later, we heard that Bonapartewas at Ramanieh, and had no doubt that the Turks would soon have him onthem. Sir Sidney tried hard to get them to erect a strong line of worksacross the spit of ground on which the fort stands. "Had they done so they could, with the assistance of our boats and theirown gun-boats, have maintained their ground. The chief set to work atonce to endeavour to get things into shape. The Chiflick regiment, thatwe had brought with us from Acre, was posted in the village at the endof the spit. The Turkish gun-boats were ordered to take their placesdirectly the assault began on each side of the isthmus, so as to sweepit with their fire, but when that time came the beggars would not move, and did not arrive until it was all over. "The Turks in the village were attacked several times, but made amagnificent defence. We helped them with our guns as much as we could, but could render them very little assistance. At last we saw that anattack was to be made in earnest; peremptory orders were sent to theTurkish gun-boats to go in and take up their stations, and our boats allwent in to the west side of the spit. Nothing could be worse than thearrangements of the Turks. They had sent very little provisions and nextto no water on shore, and their troops were nearly half-mad with thirst, and more than half-mutinous. However, they moved forward to the village, and they there repulsed three attacks made by the French columns. Probably no more attacks would have been made, if it had not been fortheir beastly custom of cutting off the heads of the fallen. Lots ofthem ran out of the village to do this, and this so infuriated theFrench that they came on again with such a rush that they entered thevillage with the flying Turks. "The confusion was terrible, and the Turks were driven out. The spit ofsand was covered with fugitives, hundreds threw themselves into thewater and swam out to us. The castle, which, as you know, is a littlebit of a place, was crowded almost to suffocation, and thousands couldnot get in. The fire of our boat guns kept the French back for a time, and when at last the Turkish gun-boats got into position, they had tofall back and make advances against the castle in a regular way. Unfortunately Mustapha Pasha had been taken in the village, and thegarrison had no one to command them, still they resisted for two days, and then surrendered, being almost mad with thirst, for, although wespared as much water as we could, it was impossible for us to findsufficient for six or seven thousand extra men. "Our marines saved the castle the first day, Colonel Douglas landing andtaking command and restoring order, for the Turks were fighting fiercelyamong themselves when we got in, and during the night he managed to sendoff about a thousand of them to their ships. The whole business wasbrought about owing to Mustapha Pasha not acting in accordance with theadvice that Sir Sidney had sent him to act against either Damietta orRosetta, as our ships would station themselves in the Bay of Aboukir, and so threaten Alexandria that the French would not care to weakentheir force there by sending any considerable number of men to actagainst the Turks. There, that is all that has happened. Now let us hearyour yarn. " Wilkinson gave a brief account of the trip of the _Tigress_. "You see, " he said, "we have not done much fighting; indeed, with theexception of the first scrimmage at Astropalaia we can scarcely havesaid to have had anything worth calling fighting at all. We picked up alot of small piratical craft, destroyed the majority of them, and soldthe others at Smyrna or Rhodes. We got altogether twelve thousand fivehundred for them, and as, of course, that will be shared by the _Tigre_, we have done pretty well our share in the way of earning prize-money forthe ship. More, indeed, for the _Tigre's_ share of the prizes that youhave taken here won't come to more than fifteen or twenty thousand atthe outside. Besides that, we have got some booty on board the_Tigress_, but what it is worth I have no idea, for we simply bundledthe things down below without opening anything. Still, no doubt it willbe enough to give you a few pounds a head. " As soon as he could get away Wilkinson returned to the brig. Thatevening, at the admiral's table, he gave a much more detailed account oftheir doings than he had done in his reports. When he had finished, SirSidney Smith said: "That attack upon the pirates' hold was extremely well managed, Mr. Wilkinson, and does you and Mr. Blagrove great credit. You were verybrief in your account of it, and only said that a considerable amount ofbooty, which had evidently been taken from plundered ships, was foundconcealed, and that the more valuable portion was shipped on the_Tigress_. I will come on board in the morning, and you can have a fewof those bales brought up on to the main deck, and we can see what is inthem. " A dozen bales were opened the next day; two contained European goods, the rest Eastern manufactures, silks and embroideries, Turkish, Syrian, and Persian carpets and rugs. "That is enough!" Sir Sidney said. "Now, can you roughly give me an ideawhat proportion of European goods, dried fruits, and what we may callgenerally Eastern goods, you have?" "There are about twenty tons of fruit, sir, thirty tons of Europeanbales, and fifty or sixty tons of Eastern goods. Of these, I should saythat two-thirds are carpets and rugs, we could pretty well tell thesefrom the others by the size and feel of the bales; the rest are, judgingfrom the few we opened, cloth for female garments--muslin, silks, scarves, sashes, and embroidered goods. "It is extraordinary how so great a collection could have been made. " "There have been a great many vessels employed in the making of it, sir, and we may say that we have here the pick from at least a hundred, perhaps several times that number, of captured craft of several sizes. No doubt the pirates would, in all cases, put aside goods of this kind, for although of no use to themselves, and no doubt very difficult tosell, they would store them away under the idea that some time or otheran opportunity would occur of turning them into money. " "Well, there is no doubt that you have an extremely rich prize. I shouldbe afraid to give even an approximate calculation of what all this isworth. Some of our East-Indiamen bring very valuable cargoes home; but Ishould doubt whether any one ship ever carried as much costlymerchandise as you have stored here. I will think over how they had bestbe got to England. The things will require careful handling, for if theywere consigned to an ordinary prize agent they might be sold anyhow andfor half their value. " On the following day the two midshipmen were signalled to come on boardthe _Tigre_. "I have been thinking your matter over, gentlemen, " Sir Sidney saidwhen they had entered his cabin. "I have power to appoint a prize agentin England. As a matter of fact I have not done so. Coming out here, asI did, on a diplomatic mission, I had no thought of taking prizes. Thosewe have picked up here I simply sent to the agent at Gibraltar, which, by the way, is one of the very worst places one can send them to, as thevessels are sold at ridiculous prices. Ordinarily Malta would be theport we should have sent them to from here, but as it is still in thepossession of the French, Gibraltar is the only port in theMediterranean. Of course they might be sent to England; but there is thedifficulty of detaching men and officers, and the risk of their beingcaptured by French privateers, so that practically we are driven toGibraltar. "Of course the prize court will have the disposal of the cargo, but Iwill write to the head of the court, who is a personal friend of mine, asking him to intrust the sale of the Eastern goods to your father, Mr. Blagrove, saying that as he has been for years engaged in trade in theEast, and must therefore be acquainted with the value of these things, is in the habit of sending Egyptian silks and so on to London for sale, he must know the channels in which they could be best disposed of. Ofcourse the dried fruits and the English goods could be sold by thecourt, but it would never do to throw such a quantity of Eastern goodson the market at once. Among the prizes that have been taken is a smartbrig of about the same size as the _Tigress_. She was caught making forAlexandria with powder and ball for the French army. Fortunately for usher captain was not a first-class navigator, and so missed his mark byabout ten miles, and found himself, to his consternation and oursatisfaction, close under our guns. "I was going to send her to Gibraltar to be sold. I do not think thatwe can do better than buy her to carry home your cargo. I will call acourt of four officers to put on her the price they consider it probablethat she will fetch, which, I should say, if she were sold at Gibraltar, would not be over eight or nine hundred pounds. You, Mr. Blagrove, canbuy her in the name of your father, and I will take your bill at threemonths upon him. Then there is the question of the crew. As to theofficers, I can send you home, Mr. Wilkinson, with despatches. I havenot had an opportunity of forwarding any for some weeks now; and to you, Mr. Blagrove, I can give three months' leave on urgent private business. As to men, we have small craft coming over here constantly from Sicilywith fruit and fresh provisions, and I have no doubt that, with theoffer of good wages, you would be able to pick up ten or twelve menwithout much difficulty. "On board our ships there are, I should say, at least twenty men whohave been invalided by boards of doctors as being unfit for service, either from the effects of wounds or climate, and this would be a goodopportunity for sending them home. Many of them are still fit for easywork, and would, at any rate, counterbalance your Italian crew. Ofcourse I should formally take a passage for them in Mr. Blagrove's ship. The prize mounts six guns, but I would advise you to keep well out ofthe way of French privateers. Of course the final result of the sale ofthe merchandise would have to be paid by your father, Mr. Blagrove, intothe prize court for division among those entitled to it. "With the ship, as your father's property, the case is different; thatis his private venture. He will, of course, charge freight on themerchandise, and he will get two or three pounds a head for taking theinvalids home. As he will certainly get double the price the brig wouldfetch at Gibraltar, that and the freight would a good deal more thanclear all expenses, and he will of course have the usual prize-agent'scommission on the sales he effects. What do you think of that plan?" Both the midshipmen were highly pleased with the proposal, and thankedtheir commander very heartily for his kindness. A board of officersassembled on the following day and assessed the value of the French brigat £850, and Edgar formally bought her in his father's name for thatsum, and drew a bill upon him for payment in three months. He had several times heard from him since he had entered on board the_Tigre_, and in the first letter Mr. Blagrove gave a hearty approval ofthe course that he had adopted, and said that a year or two at sea wouldgive him a thorough knowledge of ships and be a considerable advantageto him in their business. The receipt of Edgar's first letter, and of aheavy budget containing the account of his doings in Egypt from the dayon which he was left behind to that on which he sailed, had been animmense relief to them all, for hitherto they had been in absoluteignorance of what had taken place. His father, however, thought that hehad, even according to his own account, run a very needless risk intaking part in the rising at Cairo, although he saw that, having for thetime become so thoroughly associated with the Arabs, it would have beendifficult for him to avoid acting with them when there was danger in sodoing. CHAPTER XVI. A VISIT HOME. The new purchase, which was named the _Suzanne_, was towed alongside the_Tigress_, and the crew began at once to get up the cargo and transferit to her hold. More method was observed in restowing the cargo than hadbefore been possible. The dried fruit, as the heaviest of the goods, wasplaced in the middle of the brig; the European goods, whose brands andpacking enabled them to be easily distinguished from the rest, wereplaced forward; and the Eastern bales packed aft. This was done underthe direction of the petty officers. During the four days that it took to complete the work, Edgar boardedseveral of the Italian craft, and succeeded in inducing ten active youngsailors to join him, by the offer of a rate of pay several times higherthan that they earned in their native craft, and of a free passage backon the first opportunity. Condor was appointed to the command of the_Tigress_, as two supernumerary lieutenants and four midshipmen had beensent out from home to the _Tigre_, and two midshipmen received actingorders as his lieutenants. There was much satisfaction among the juniorofficers of the _Tigre_ when they heard from Wilkinson the nature of thespoil he had gathered, and all sorts of guesses were hazarded as to itsvalue. "I cannot help you there in the least, " he said. "I know that Turkishand Eastern carpets fetch a big price at home; and of course silk, andgold and silver embroideries, are valuable; but, as I only know thecontents of about a hundred bales, I have no more idea of what the totalis likely to come to than you have. " "You did not get any money, Wilkinson, or jewels?" "Neither one nor the other. I suppose that the money was divided whencaptured, and the jewels either given to the women or sold. They werethings that might be disposed of anywhere. At any rate we found none ofthem, and the only cash is, as I told you, the twelve thousand fivehundred pounds that the prizes fetched, out of which our share is notlikely to be more than twenty or thirty pounds each. Still, that is notto be despised. " "It will come to more than that, " one of the party said. "I havecalculated it up, and though I have not the exact rules--" "Well, if you haven't got the exact rules, Macleod, your calculationsare not worth more than our guesses. It won't be much more than fortypounds anyhow, and I suppose a bit more than that for our share of theprizes captured here. Of course they were worth a good deal more, butthen there are all the ships-of-war to share. If our prize turns out aswell as I hope, it will come to a good bit more, as it is only to bedivided among the _Tigre's_ crew. " "You and Blagrove are going home in the prize, are you not?" "Yes, I carry Sir Sidney's despatches; Blagrove gets three months'leave. " "Who is going to command the craft that you have bought for your father, Blagrove?" "I have persuaded the captain of that store-ship that came in yesterdayto let me have his second officer for two or three months. She is likelyto be here some time; and if we have luck, and his mate gets a returnpassage soon after he arrives in England, he may be back again in sixweeks. From another ship of the same sort I got a young fellow for mate. The ships are chartered by government, and will likely enough be herefor months, as they will furnish stores not only to the ships on thecoast, but to any that may come down here from the fleet blockadingToulon. In fact they will act as general shore-ships, until they havecleared out their cargo. " "Then he will be your captain?" "He will be entered on the ship's books as captain, " Edgar replied witha laugh; "but I fancy that Wilkinson and myself will not care to be idleon the voyage. " Three days after the cargo was transferred, twenty invalids were placedon board. Two or three had lost limbs, but the rest were men who hadbeen pulled down by fever and could not shake it off so long as theywere on the coast. On the following morning the anchor was got up andthe _Suzanne_ sailed for England. The nominal captain was a smart youngsailor, who was glad indeed of the opportunity, for three or four monthsof enforced idleness on the Egyptian coast was not at all to his taste. The extra pay that he would receive was a consideration, but the factthat he was to be nominally--for Edgar had explained the situation tohim--in command was the great inducement. He had fortunately passed his examination and obtained his certificateas captain before sailing on the present voyage. Had it not been forthis he could not have accepted Edgar's offer. The voyage was a rapidone. They stopped for two days at Gibraltar to take in water. They hadsome little trouble with the prize-agent there, for of course the ship'spapers showed that she had been a prize, and she should have been sentthere to be condemned and sold. Sir Sidney Smith, however, had written, saying that as the ships on the station were already short-handed, hecould not spare a prize crew, and that he had therefore only the choiceof burning the prize or of selling her there, and that a court ofofficers from the various ships-of-war had fixed her value at £850, anda purchaser having been found at that price, he had deemed it expedientto sell her, and now forwarded his bill for the amount, to be divided inthe usual course by the prize officials at Gibraltar, as if they hadsold her themselves. He stated that as she had been loaded withmunitions of war for the French army, no question could arise as to thelawfulness of her capture. The officials shook their heads over the irregularity, but as thedefence of Acre had made a great sensation in England, and a vote ofthanks had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, and by many of thecorporate bodies in England, to Sir Sidney and those serving under him, they agreed to set the matter right; and thereupon, on the evidencegiven by Wilkinson and Edgar as to the circumstances of the capture, they formally condemned the ship and authorized the sale that had beeneffected. That point satisfactorily settled, they sailed at once, shapedtheir course, after issuing from the Straits, a hundred miles west ofthe usual ship track, and met with no suspicious sail until they enteredthe Chops of the Channel. Then one or two craft that looked like Frenchprivateers were observed; but the _Suzanne_ was a fast vessel and kepther distance from them, holding her course up Channel, and one morning, soon after daybreak, dropped anchor among a number of other merchantmenon the Mother bank off Ryde. Directly the anchor was down the gig was lowered, and Wilkinson, Edgar, and the captain were rowed into Portsmouth, the brig being left incharge of the mate. The former went to the dockyard and reported to theadmiral that he had brought home despatches from Sir Sidney Smith forthe Admiralty. "In what ship have you brought them?" "As there was no ship of war likely to be sailing, a passage was takenfor me in a trader, a prize that had been sold, and was being broughthome. " "Very well, sir. You will, of course, post with it at once for London. Have any particular events happened there?" "No, sir. Beyond the fact that a few prizes have been picked up there isnothing doing. But I understood from Sir Sidney that there had been noopportunity of sending home reports for a month, and that therefore hethought it best to take the opportunity of forwarding his despatches bya private ship. She is also bringing home some goods captured frompirates in the Levant by the _Tigre's_ tender, the _Tigress_, which Ihad the honour to command. There are also twenty men on board invalidedhome. " "Very well, Mr. Wilkinson. I have nothing further to say to you, and youwill doubtless wish to start without delay. I will send off for the sickmen at once. " The captain returned on board to take the brig round to London. The twofriends reached town late that night, and Wilkinson went straight to theAdmiralty with the despatches. He was at once taken to the room whereone of the junior officials was on duty. "Despatches from Sir Sidney Smith, sir, " Wilkinson said. "Anything important?" "I believe not. There was an opportunity for sending them, and SirSidney availed himself of it. " "Then it will not be worth while to wake up the admiral at this time ofnight?" "I should say certainly not. But I thought it my duty to bring them hereat once. " The other nodded. "Where do you put up, Mr. Wilkinson?" "At the Golden Cross. " "Very well. If you are wanted you can be sent for in the morning. Youhad best call here about eleven, so that you can answer any questionsthat the admirals may ask. " In the morning the midshipman went across. Half an hour later his namewas called out, and he was at once shown into a room in which two of thenaval lords were sitting. "You are the bearer of the despatches from Sir Sidney Smith, Mr. Wilkinson?" "Yes, sir. " "He has sent us the report you gave him of your cruise in the brig_Tigress_ among the Greek and Turkish islands. There can be no doubtthat you did your work exceedingly well, as is shown by the long list ofprizes captured or destroyed. He mentions that he has received alsoreports from the Pasha of Smyrna and the Governor of Rhodes, speaking inhigh terms of the services that you have rendered, and saying that forthe time piracy appears to have entirely ceased and the seas to be opento peaceful traders. What time have you to serve?" "I have another six months, sir. " "Well, I think, if you feel prepared, it would be as well for you totake advantage of your being at home to pass, and we will take care thatyou shall get your promotion as soon as you have served your full time. You would like a couple of months' leave, no doubt, before you return. Would you rather wait before going in to be examined, or would youprefer going in at once?" "I would rather go in at once, sir. I should enjoy my holiday muchbetter if it was over. " "I do not think it will take very long, " the admiral said with a smile. "After having been in command of a ten-gun brig for six months youshould be able to satisfy the requirements of the examiners withoutdifficulty. You will be good enough to wait in the ante-room. " The delay was not long. In ten minutes the official messenger requestedhim to follow him, and took him to a room where three naval captainswere sitting. The one in the centre looked up from the papers that hewas examining. "Good-morning, Mr. Wilkinson! I see by these papers that you have forsix months been in command of the ten-gun brig _Tigress_, cruising forpirates among the Turkish and Greek islands. " "Yes, sir. " "I suppose during that time you met once or twice with bad weather?" "We had one tremendous squall, sir. " "It came suddenly upon you?" "Yes, sir. Our first intimation of it was that we saw two native craftsuddenly lower their sails. " "Let us know exactly the measures that you took and the orders yougave. " Wilkinson described what had passed from the time that the first orderwas given until the violence of the squall abated. "That will do as far as seamanship is concerned, " the officer said. Another now asked him a few questions as to navigation, and these beinganswered correctly, the president, after a word with the others, said: "That will do, Mr. Wilkinson. You have answered creditably, and, indeed, the mere fact that Sir Sidney Smith should have considered you fit tocommand the _Tigress_ in so difficult and dangerous a work as cruisingamong those islands is in itself a better guarantee of your fitness forpromotion than the most rigid examination could be. " A few further questions were asked, and then Wilkinson was congratulatedupon having passed successfully. He then went to the prize court, sawthe President, and presented Sir Sidney Smith's note to him. He read itthrough, and then glanced at a copy of the bill of lading which had beentaken when the cargo was transferred. "You do not know the contents of all those bales and casks, Mr. Wilkinson?" "No, sir. The greater portion of them have never been opened. Some, ofcourse, one could recognize from the nature of the packing, and I putthem down as nearly as I could guess--Manchester goods, woollen, hardware, and so on; but, as we wanted to be off, and it was better thatthe things should remain in their original packing, we did not troubleto open them, and they were received as cargo consigned to you. " "The Eastern goods you know nothing about, I suppose?" "Nothing whatever. " "Well, when the brig arrives in the river the captain will, of course, call here, and I will give him instructions where to land them. " "I understand, " he went on, looking again at the letter, "that Mr. Blagrove, to whom Sir Sidney asks me to intrust the sale of these goods, is an expert in this special line?" "Yes, sir; he has been for many years established as a merchant inAlexandria, and Sir Sidney thought that he would not only be able toestimate accurately the value of the goods, but would know exactly whereto place them, and would, by bringing them gradually forward, get farlarger sums for them than if they were thrown all at once upon themarket. " "I see the vessel is his property, Mr. Wilkinson?" "It is so, sir, his son purchased it in his name. He is afellow-midshipman of mine in the _Tigre_, and was with me in the craftwith which we captured all these goods and the vessels that have beensold for twelve thousand five hundred. This I have brought up with me ingold, and will pay into the hands of anybody you may appoint, to beadded to the proceeds of the sales, for division by the court. " "Have you any idea of the value of these Eastern goods?" "Not in the slightest, sir; only a few of the bales were opened in thepresence of Sir Sidney Smith. He himself said that it would be betternot to open more, as there were no facilities for repacking. " "I think that it was a very good idea of Sir Sidney's to suggest that itwould be for the advantage of all concerned to vary the usual course, and to place these goods in the hands of an expert instead of sellingthem by auction. I should like to see Mr. Blagrove. I suppose you knowhis address. Is he in town?" "He is living in Dulwich, sir. " "Well, will you let him know that if he calls upon me to-morrow morningI will give him full authority to act in the matter, and then we cansettle whether to stow that portion of the cargo in our warehouses orwhether to make other arrangements. I will myself write to Sir SidneySmith to thank him for his suggestion with respect to the sale of thesegoods, and to say that I have so arranged it. The question of freightis, of course, a matter altogether separate, and I shall give Mr. Blagrove a cheque for the amount arranged between his representative andSir Sidney Smith at the rate of three pounds per ton when he brings methe receipt of the officer in charge of the warehouse of his havingreceived the stores in good order from the ship. " Edgar had, on reaching London, stopped at the Golden Cross for thenight, and the first thing in the morning taken a hackney-coach anddriven at once to Dulwich, where his father had taken a house close tothat of his brother. It was now the first week in December. Edgar droveup to the entrance to the garden in which the house stood, paid thecoachman, and then rang the bell. The servant opened it, and lookedsomewhat surprised at seeing a young naval officer standing there. "Are Mr. And Mrs. Blagrove in?" he asked. "Yes, sir, they are both in. " "All right!" he said; "show me to the room where they are. You need notannounce me; I am their son. " The girl at once led the way into the house, and Edgar walked into theroom, where the party were seated at breakfast. Mr. Blagrove was sittingwith his back to the door, and did not see him come in. His mother andsisters looked up in surprise as he entered unannounced. It was twoyears since they had seen him, and they scarcely recognized in the tallyoung officer the lad whom they had last seen at Alexandria on theirdeparture for England. Mr. Blagrove, on seeing their eyes fixed on thedoor, turned round, and leapt to his feet. "My dear Edgar, " he exclaimed as he warmly embraced him, "where have yousprung from? Your last letter was from Smyrna three months ago. Mother, "he went on, turning round, "let me introduce your boy to you. " For some minutes there was little coherent conversation. "Now, sit down, Edgar, " Mr. Blagrove said at last, "and let us hearwhat unexpected chance has brought you home. I suppose, as you are inuniform, that you have not left the service. " "Not at all, sir; I am home on three months' leave, having come home inthe _Suzanne_, a brig belonging to yourself. " "Belonging to me!" Mr. Blagrove said in astonishment. "What on earth doyou mean?" "I bought her in your name, father, and you will have a bill presentedin the course of a couple of months or so for eight hundred and fiftypounds. At any rate you will not be a loser by her. There will be fromsix to seven hundred pounds, I cannot say how much exactly, for thecargo was not weighed, but it is somewhat over two hundred tons at threepounds a ton, and there is, besides, a hundred pounds for thepassage-money of twenty invalid sailors, so you see you get the ship forpractically about a hundred pounds, to which there will have to be addedthe payment of a captain, mate, and ten Italian sailors. She was valuedby a court of naval officers at eight hundred and fifty pounds, thatbeing the price they considered that she might fetch if sold there. Ishould say that she is worth quite double that. She is about threehundred tons, and carried six guns, so at any rate you are likely tomake a thousand by the transaction. "Then I have to inform you that, at Sir Sidney Smith's request, which Ihave no doubt will be complied with, you will be appointed, by thepresident of the prize court, agent for the sale of what Eastern goodsthere are on board her. The cargo is made up of European goods, driedfruits, and Eastern goods. They are what we captured from the pirates, and Sir Sidney Smith suggested that it would be as well to intrust toone who knew the value of the Eastern goods the work of selling themprivately, instead of putting them up to auction, and he requested thatthe agency should be given to you. Wilkinson, who has come home with me, is going to see the president of the prize court this morning, and he isto come up here afterwards. Of course Sir Sidney did it chiefly tooblige me, but he thought that the goods would really fetch more if soldin that way. He said, of course, that you would get a commission on thesale, and as you said in the last letter that I received that you weregetting very sick of having nothing to do, I thought you might like thejob. " "Certainly I should like it, Edgar, and that purchase of the ship seemsa very satisfactory one, though, of course, the profit will be yours andnot mine, as I had nothing to do with it. " "Oh, yes, it is your business, father; she is bought with your money, and I am glad that I have been able to do something for the firm. Ishall soon be getting my prize money, which will keep me in cash for avery long time. " "We won't argue about that now, Edgar. At any rate I shall be glad tosee to the sale of these Eastern goods, though, of course, it will bebut a small thing. " "I don't know, father. I think that it will be rather a large thing. Atany rate there is something between eighty and a hundred tons of them. " "Between eighty and a hundred tons!" his father replied. "You mean withthe dried fruits, of course. " "Not at all, father! The fruits will be sold in the ordinary way in theprize court. " "Then, what can these things be?" "I should say the great proportion of them are carpets--Turkish, Persian, and Syrian. " "A hundred tons of such carpets as those, Edgar, would be worth a verylarge sum, indeed; surely you must be mistaken?" "It's the accumulation of years of piracy, father; perhaps from hundredsof ships captured by those scoundrels. But, of course, they are not allcarpets. There are silks, muslins, embroidered robes, Egyptian scarvesand manufactures, and other sorts of things. We have not opened above adozen bales out of some twelve hundred, and have, therefore, no idea ofthe relative value of the others. We were a tender of the _Tigre's_, ourcraft being a prize taken by her, and all of us, officers and men, beingborne on her books, the whole ship divides. Still, if the things areworth as much as we think, it will bring us in a handsome sum. And thereis, besides, twelve thousand five hundred in cash, the proceeds of thesale of the vessels we captured; and we also share with the other shipsunder Sir Sidney Smith's command in the value of the vessels and cargoesthey have captured as they tried to reach an Egyptian port. They saythey were worth something like forty thousand, of which the _Tigre's_share will be about half. " "Well, Edgar, if there are a hundred tons of such goods as you describe, your cargo must be a valuable one indeed. Of course I can tell nothingabout it until I see them opened. At any rate it will give meoccupation, and I should say a good paying occupation, for some time. " "I suppose you got that letter, father, that I sent from Constantinople, from Mr. Muller?" "Yes, and a very satisfactory one it was. It reconciled me to someextent to staying here. It was not pleasant to think that one was livingupon one's capital, but I found from his statement that my share of thebusiness he was doing would fully cover my expenses here. And now, letus hear something more about your doings. Your letter fromConstantinople told us about your adventures in Egypt; then we had onewritten the day after the French had retreated from before Acre, and theone that we received from Smyrna two months since; but that was a shortone, and beyond saying that you had been very lucky in capturing anddestroying a number of pirates, and that you were enjoying your cruisevery much, you did not give us any detail. You may as well tell us thatpart first. " Early in the afternoon Wilkinson arrived. As Edgar had spoken warmly ofhis kindness to him when he had first joined the _Tigre_, and of thefriendship that had sprung up between them, he was very cordiallyreceived by Mr. And Mrs. Blagrove. The former was well pleased when heheard the details of the interview with the president of the prizecourt, and said that he would go up and see him in the morning. "I will hire a warehouse for a month or two, " he said. "It will be muchmore satisfactory than working in a place where a lot of other businessis being transacted. The bales will all have to be opened and examined, the goods classed and assorted, and I shall have to bring people downthere to examine them. The expense will be nothing in comparison to theadvantage of having a quiet place to one's self. " On the following morning Mr. Blagrove went up and had a verysatisfactory talk with the president of the prize court. The _Suzanne_arrived four days later, having made a fast run from Portsmouth. By thattime Mr. Blagrove had engaged a warehouse, where, in a short time, thewhole of the goods of which he was to dispose were safely stored. Wilkinson went down on the day after his arrival to his people inDevonshire, and Edgar established himself as assistant to his father. Asbale after bale was opened, the latter was astonished at the beauty andvalue of some of the contents. A few only of the bales contained commoncountry cloths, and it was evident that such goods of this sort as hadfallen into the hands of the pirates had been sold at once, as there wasa ready market for them at the towns and villages of the islands and themainland. Many of the carpets were of great size. Some of the very largeones Mr. Blagrove valued at fully £500, and there were scores worth from£50 to £100. Some of the silks and embroideries he pronounced to bealmost priceless. "They must, " he said, "have been specially woven and worked for theladies of the Sultan's harem. " When, after a month's stay, Edgar prepared to rejoin with his friendWilkinson, not more than one-third of the contents of the warehouse hadbeen sold, but these had fetched over £40, 000, and his father had nodoubt that he should obtain a proportionate sum for the remainder. TheItalian sailors who had aided to bring the _Suzanne_ home had been sentoff a week after her arrival by a vessel bound for Naples, and the brigherself had, as soon as the cargo was all cleared out, fetched £1800 byauction, being almost a new vessel. "I have no doubt, " Mr. Blagrove said, "that ere long a British army willbe sent out, and the French compelled to leave Egypt. If I thought thatthe war was likely to go on for some time as at present, I should saythat you had better leave the service. As it is, you would not be doingmuch good if you stayed here, and so may as well hold on. " It was the first day of March, 1800, when the vessel with supplies forthe troops, in which Wilkinson and Edgar had taken their passage, joinedthe fleet off Alexandria, and until the beginning of December they tookpart in the somewhat tedious work of blockading the Egyptian coast. Inspite of their efforts the fleet were not always successful, for fromtime to time one or other of the ships was forced to sail to Cyprus toobtain fresh supplies, although quite a fleet of small vessels wasemployed in bringing water, fresh meat, and vegetables for the use ofthe fleet, as the health of the seamen would have suffered much fromliving for so long a period upon salt meat. In November news was received that the army under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, which had for so long been engaged in watching Cadiz, was to sail uponan expedition for the reconquest of Egypt. It was stated that theexpedition would, in the first place, sail for Syria, there to join thearmy that the Sultan assured the English government was in readiness toadvance. Sir Sidney Smith was ordered to sail at once for that coast, toascertain the real state of things, and to decide upon the spot wherethe fleet had best assemble, for, from its long absence from England, there were many repairs needed, and it was desirable that the situationshould be such that the ships could be careened, and a portion at leastof the weeds that had accumulated be scraped off. His absence was in one respect unfortunate, for some of the otherblockading ships were, after a very heavy gale, obliged to go to Cyprusto repair damages; and two French men-of-war heavily laden with troopsand ammunition managed to run safely in to Alexandria, therebyincreasing the strength of the French army by four thousand seasonedsoldiers, and by an ample supply of ammunition. It was a greatdisappointment to the crews when, on their return to their stations offthe coast, they found that the French had taken advantage of theirabsence, and that the result of their eighteen months of incessant vigilhad been wasted. Wilkinson had by this time served his full time, and Condor having beenappointed to the _Theseus_, Sir Sidney Smith again gave the command ofthe _Tigress_ to him, with the rank of acting lieutenant, which would, he was sure, be confirmed. "I suppose you would like to have Mr. Blagrove with you?" "Certainly, sir. There is no one I would rather have. " "It is a pity that he has not served his time yet, " Sir Sidney said. "Heis a most active young officer, and his knowledge of so many languagesis of immense advantage. I would gladly give him an independent command, but as there are so many midshipmen senior to him, I could not do so. You know the coast of Anatolia probably better than anyone else here. Which harbour would you recommend as the most suitable for the entry ofa large fleet? It must be well sheltered, and the shore should offerfacilities for heeling the vessels over as far as possible in order toclean them. I know that at Rhodes there is not enough water forfirst-class men-of-war. " "By far the best place I know, sir, is the Bay of Marmorice. It is onthe mainland almost opposite Rhodes, and within a day's easy sail. Wewent into it quite by accident, for the entrance might be passed withoutnotice, but we had been chasing a suspicious craft, and saw herdisappear, and, following her, found ourselves in a great landlockedharbour, big enough to hold a hundred ships-of-war, and absolutelysheltered. It is by far the finest harbour that I have ever seen. " "I am sailing for Rhodes in the first place. Lord Keith, who commandsthe fleet, has written to request me to meet him there; and if yourreport is correct, it will save me the trouble of examining the wholeline of coast between Rhodes and Acre. " Edgar was glad to be again on board the _Tigress_. The account of thesale of the goods she had captured had now been received; the totalamounted to £133, 000, of which £110, 000 had been paid in to the prizecourt by Mr. Blagrove, the other £23, 000 had been the proceeds of thefruits and other goods. There were in addition the sums received forvessels sold. The astonishment of the officers of the _Tigre_ was greatindeed when they heard the result, for very little had been said aboutthe value of the cargo, and the sum realized was at least three times asgreat as the most sanguine had hoped. "It was an excellent plan getting your father to undertake thebusiness, " Sir Sidney Smith said to Edgar, when the latter informed himthat he had received a communication from his father saying how much thegoods he had sold had realized. "I don't suppose they would have fetcheda third of that amount had they been sold in the ordinary way by auctionby the prize court. I am sure that we must all feel greatly obliged tohim. " "And he must feel greatly obliged to you, Sir Sidney; for, as he toldme, his commission had been fixed at three per cent, so he has, afterpaying his expenses, done a fine stroke of business for himself. " "He has managed extremely well, Mr. Blagrove, and it has been afortunate affair for us all. " CHAPTER XVII. ABERCROMBIE'S EXPEDITION. On arriving at Rhodes Sir Sidney Smith left the _Tigre_, and in the_Tigress_ sailed across to the Bay of Marmorice, preferring to exploreit, in the first place, in a craft drawing but little water. He wasdelighted with the harbour, and after a day spent in sounding in variousparts of it, found that there was ample depth of water for the largerships, and that there were spots where these could lie alongside, runthe upper-deck guns directly ashore, and careen the ships over to apoint that would enable them to be freed of a considerable proportion oftheir weeds and barnacles. Returning to Rhodes, he then started in the_Tigre_ for Syria. He took Edgar with him as interpreter, replacing himtemporarily by another midshipman, and leaving Wilkinson with a reportfrom himself to Lord Keith strongly recommending Marmorice as beingsuitable in all respects for a rendezvous for the fleet and transports. On the 28th of December the first division of the fleet arrived, and wasat once ordered to proceed to Marmorice, the _Tigress_ sailing ahead toshow the way. The second division arrived four days later. Tents were atonce erected ashore. The sick were landed and encamped; whole regimentswere also put under canvas, while the ships which carried them werecareened and cleaned. Sir Sidney Smith had already returned with thenews that there was practically nothing that could be called an army inSyria, and his report was so discouraging that General Abercrombie andLord Keith resolved that it would be far better to land the army inEgypt than to disembark at Jaffa and take the long and fatiguing marchacross the desert, merely in order to gain the aid of a few thousanduseless Turkish troops. Great disappointment was occasioned by the remounts for the cavalry thathad been purchased at Constantinople, for when these arrived they weresuch wretched animals that they were for the most part found to beabsolutely useless, and the greater portion were either shot or sold fora dollar each. On the 8th of February one of the most terriblehail-storms that ever was experienced, took place, and lasted forforty-eight hours. The thunder rolled without intermission; thehailstones were as big as large walnuts, and lay two feet deep in thecamp. The scene of confusion there was terrible; horses broke loose andrushed wildly about seeking shelter from the hail. The men dared notventure out, so terrible was the force with which the lumps of ice camedown. Ships drove at their anchors, and many lost their upper spars, andthe _Swiftsure_ was struck by lightning. The weather continued violent for some time, and it was not until the23rd of February that the ships weighed anchor, and, numbering a hundredand seventy-five, set sail, and made their way out of the harbour. Theexpedition on which the troops were about to embark was a mostadventurous one. They had by this time learned that the French hadreceived very considerable reinforcements, and that the force was a muchlarger one than had been reported. The Turkish army with which they wereto operate was non-existent, and the only gleam of satisfaction was thatBonaparte himself had managed to get through the blockading force in asmall craft, and had arrived in France, and that, therefore, the Frencharmy would not have the benefit of his leading, or be animated by hispresence among them. Edgar found himself brought unexpectedly into notice. The fleet wasentirely unprovided with reliable maps of Egypt, and none of theofficers had any previous knowledge of it beyond the port of Alexandria. Sir Sidney Smith was able to give every information regarding the coast, but had never set foot on shore. "It is most unfortunate, " General Abercrombie said, when he, Lord Keith, and Sir Sidney Smith were discussing the matter. "Here we are about toland in a country of which we know absolutely nothing. If we had, asoriginally intended, landed at Jaffa and marched through El A'rich withthe Turks, we should have had the benefit of their knowledge and that ofthe Arabs of the country. As it is, we are totally ignorant of itsfeatures, while the enemy are thoroughly acquainted with them. It islike a blind man fighting in the dark against one who can seeperfectly. " "By the way, " Sir Sidney exclaimed suddenly, "I have a young officer whoknows the country well. He has been a resident at Alexandria for years, and, riding about, knows every foot of the country within many miles ofit. He has been up to Cairo, was with the Arabs who harassed the Frenchmarch, was present at the battle of the Pyramids, and at the fighting inCairo, and knows the position of all the French forts round that city. He was on his way to England when I overhauled the craft he was in, onmy way out, and as he speaks Arabic perfectly, to say nothing of Frenchand Italian, I offered him a berth as midshipman and to act as myinterpreter. In the latter capacity he was invaluable both inConstantinople and at the siege of Jaffa. He is, moreover, a mostgallant young officer, and was second in command of the _Tigress_ whenshe did such good service in eradicating piracy among the islands, capturing and destroying over a hundred piratical craft. " "That is good news indeed!" the general said. "Will you send for himnow? His knowledge would be invaluable to me. " A boat was sent off at once to the _Tigre_ with an order for Edgar tocome on board the flagship immediately. Much surprised, but supposingthat he was wanted to act as interpreter between Sir Sidney and someTurkish official who had come on board, he at once took his place in thegig and was rowed to the flagship. As soon as he reached the deck anofficer told him that he was wanted in the admiral's cabin. There he wasagain surprised at seeing not only the admiral, but General Abercrombieand Sir Sidney Smith. "This is Mr. Blagrove, Lord Keith, " Sir Sidney said. "I can speak mosthighly of him, as a most gallant and able young officer, and as a masterof four or five languages. In the capacity of interpreter he hasrendered signal services. " "Take a seat, sir, " the admiral said. "How long has he served, SirSidney?" "About two years and two months, sir, and therefore I have been unableto recognize the services that he has rendered me in his doublecapacity, beyond mentioning them in my reports. " "I hear, Mr. Blagrove, " Lord Keith went on, "that you are intimatelyacquainted with the country round Alexandria, have visited Cairo, andknow the city and its defences. How did you go to Cairo?" "I rode, sir, in company with a party of Arabs with whom I was livingafter the sudden and unexpected departure of my father when the Frenchfleet first appeared in sight. I may say I went up and down twice, forwe went back to fetch the women of the tribe. " "Sir Ralph Abercrombie will be glad to learn from you all theinformation that you can give him respecting the country roundAlexandria, and also what you can tell him of the route between thatplace and Cairo. As we were in the Mediterranean when we received ordersto undertake the invasion of Egypt, we have no maps of the country, andpractically know nothing whatever about it. However, of course, in thefirst place the most important part of the affair is to learn thepositions round Alexandria. " "I shall be very glad to answer any questions, sir. " The general then began to examine him. "Can you draw, sir?" "I have no knowledge of military drawing, " Edgar replied, "but I couldpoint out the position of the villages. " The general pushed a large sheet of paper towards him. "The position of the villages will, of course, be useful, " he said, "asthese are points that would be naturally defended; but what is of mostimportance is the position of the sand-hills and other eminences, thepoints at which artillery would command the surrounding country, preparethe way for a force advancing to attack the French, or to check columnsadvancing against us, the line which the enemy would be most likely tooccupy, those by which we might best attack him in front or turn hisposition. " Edgar looked at the paper in doubt. "I am afraid, sir, that is beyond me altogether; but if you will tell mewhere the landing would probably be effected, I could go on from thatspot and indicate the various risings and falls of the ground. " "Of course you know the Castle of Aboukir?" "Certainly, sir. I was on the sand-hills for two days, within half amile of it, watching the approach of Lord Nelson's fleet and the battleof Aboukir. " "Good!" the general said; "we shall probably land near there. " "The sand-hills rise sharply from the water's edge, and a short distancebehind there are several points on which the French would probably placebatteries to oppose the landing. " He sketched the line of coast, drew a few lines indicating the trend ofthe sand-hills, and marked the special eminences. Then step by step heshowed the line where the French would probably post themselves, were asuccessful landing effected, between the heights of Ramleh and the sea, described the country, and, as far as he could, the lay of the land. "How about water?" the general asked after he had questioned Edgar formore than half an hour. "There are wells at several points, " he said, "but for the most partthey are too near the French position for them to be useful to you untilyou have driven them into the town. There is, however, a well here, " andhe marked a spot about a mile from the landing-place. "I cannot tell youits exact position. There is a peasant's hut there. He was speaking tous while we were watching the battle, and he told us that he so hatedthe French that he had filled up his well so that they should not fetchwater from it for the garrison of the castle. I have no doubt that Icould find the hut, and the man will, I am sure, show you where the wellhas been, and it will probably take but little trouble to clear it out. The Arabs, however, told me that wherever you find clumps of trees youwill be sure to find water at no great depth. " "That is very valuable information, " the general said. "It is bad enoughto have to depend upon the fleet for provisions; but the difficulties oftransporting water sufficient for some 12, 000 men, with the cavalry andartillery horses, would be enormous. "Thank you, Mr. Blagrove. I must have some more conversation with you. " Edgar bowed and retired. "You must let me have that young fellow, " the general said to Sir SidneySmith. "He is evidently thoroughly acquainted with the country. As heknows nothing of military drawing, one cannot get the full advantage ofhis information here; but if I had him on shore with me his knowledgewould be invaluable, for he could then point out to me the nature of thecountry beyond the points we can see. " "I should be very happy to lend him to you, Sir Ralph, and I am sure hewill be glad to go, for really a midshipman's pay is absurd as aconsideration for the services that he has rendered as interpreter. Fortunately his father was a merchant at Alexandria, and money is of nogreat importance to him, and he really entered the navy only for thepleasure of seeing service, and to pass the time until the departure ofthe French would enable his father to return to his business. Of courseif he had served his time and passed I should most strongly recommendhim for promotion to lieutenant at once. As it is, I am powerless. " "There are exceptions to every rule, " Lord Keith said, "and ascommander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, I think that I might overstepthe line. Could he pass?" "I have no doubt whatever that he could do so, " Sir Sidney said. "Certainly he could in practical knowledge of seamanship, after beingsecond in command of a ten-gun brig for six months among the islands, the commander being a midshipman only a few months older than himself. Owing to the loss of so many officers at Acre, I was unable to spare oneof higher rank, and the complaints of piracy were so urgent andfrequent, that I felt it absolutely necessary to send a ship up to tryand put a stop to it. I had some misgivings at the time, but my choicewas more than justified, as was shown by the number of craft captured;and when I say that the plunder taken sold for over one hundred andthirty thousand pounds, it speaks well for both their skill andactivity, for navigation among those islands is a very ticklishbusiness. " "I will call a board to-morrow to examine him, " the admiral said, "andwill at once, if he passes, appoint him as acting lieutenant, and sendhome a report, if you will get one drawn up, Sir Sidney, as to hisexceptional services, and saying that I was partly influenced in takingso exceptional a step by the consideration that Sir Ralph Abercrombiehad asked that he should be appointed to his staff, both from hisknowledge of the country and of the Arab and Turkish languages. " The next morning the flagship signalled to the _Tigre_. The flagmidshipman, after spelling out the message and reporting to Sir Sidney, ran forward to Edgar. "You are to go on board the admiral's ship at once; the signal has beenmade for you. " On reaching the ship he was conducted down to the wardroom, where, tohis surprise, three naval captains were seated at a table. "Please to sit down, Mr. Blagrove, " the one in the centre said, "we wantto ask you a few questions. " Supposing that he was about to be asked more about Egypt, or perhaps thedepth of water in the port of Alexandria, Edgar prepared to answer, andthe first questions justified his anticipations, for he was questionedminutely as to the point for which a ship would head to round thedangerous reef extending from the outer point of the western port. Thenhe was asked as to the depth of water between this and the shore, theguns that could be brought to bear upon it, and the depths at variouspoints in the harbour itself. All these he was able to answer at once. Then he was asked various questions as to harbours in the Turkish andGreek islands, and as he had constantly consulted the charts during hiscruise in the _Tigress_, he was able to reply readily on all thesepoints. The next question surprised him. "Now, Mr. Blagrove, if caught by a sudden and heavy squall, when underfull sail, among these islands, and having but three or four minutes tostrip the ship, what orders would you give?" As he had in his mind every order that Wilkinson had given on theapproach of the squall, he was able to repeat them with accuracy. "You are cutting them rather short, Mr. Blagrove. " "Yes, sir; but the time is very short. When cruising there we werestruck by a squall less than three minutes after we had notice of itscoming, and everything had to be done at once and with the greatestpossible speed. As it was, the men were not out of the rigging when thesquall struck us. " "Supposing you had had ten minutes' notice, how would you haveproceeded?" Edgar gave the orders as laid down in the text-book, for after thenarrow escape they had had, he and Wilkinson had especially learnt theseby heart. "Very good indeed, Mr. Blagrove. " Two or three questions in navigation were then asked, and these werealso answered well, as they had found it absolutely necessary to be ableto find their exact position when cruising in such dangerous waters. "Thank you, sir, " the officer said when the last question had beenanswered; "we shall have much pleasure in certifying that you havepassed your examination in a most creditable manner. " Edgar looked a little bewildered. "Sir Sidney Smith perhaps did not inform you, Mr. Blagrove, that, byLord Keith's orders, you were to be examined to-day, and that we havesat as a board for that purpose?" "No, indeed, sir, I had no thought of such a thing. I shall not haveserved my time for nearly three years. " "I suppose Lord Keith had some special reason for having you examinednow. It was a good opportunity, you see. You will please remain on deckfor a few minutes while we draw out the certificate. " He was soon called in again and presented with a certificate, sayingthat he had passed the examination most satisfactorily. "You will now go to the admiral's cabin, " the president said; "hedesires to speak to you. " Still greatly puzzled why he should be examined so long before his time, Edgar sent in his name to the admiral, and was at once shown in. SirSidney Smith was with him. "I am very glad to hear from the examining board that you have passedyour examination with great credit, Mr. Blagrove, " the admiral said. "Sir Sidney Smith has spoken to me in very high terms of the servicesyou have rendered him, and the general commanding the troops hasrequested that you should be told off to his staff, where your knowledgeof the country will be of great service to him. Under these veryexceptional circumstances I have taken the exceptional step of havingyou examined at once, and as you have passed with flying colours I nowhand you your appointment as acting lieutenant. The appointment is, ofcourse, a temporary one, but when I explain to the Admiralty my reasonsfor making it, and inclose the report of your services that Sir SidneySmith has handed to me, I have no doubt that the step will be confirmed. I may say that one reason for my doing this at the present moment isthat as you will be on Sir Ralph Abercrombie's staff, I think that, asthe navy is to be represented, it should be represented by an officerwith at least the rank of lieutenant, so as to give him a proper status. I congratulate you, Lieutenant Blagrove, on the promotion that you have, in my opinion and in that of your immediate superior, most worthilywon. " Thereupon he shook Edgar warmly by the hand. Sir Sidney Smith did thesame, and with a smile stopped Edgar's disjointed words of thanks andpointed to the door. Some of the middies of the flagship nudged eachother and smiled at his pale face as he walked to the gangway. "He has been getting a wigging and no mistake, " one said to another. "Helooked all right when he went in, for I noticed him as he came on deck;but he has evidently got into some awful scrape, and will becourt-martialled and sent home, I should say, or his captain would havekept the affair in his own hands instead of bringing him up before theadmiral. " "Anything the matter, Mr. Blagrove?" Mr. Knight, who was still secondlieutenant on the _Tigre_, asked him, as he came on board. "'Tis notoften that a midshipman is signalled for by an admiral's flagship, andyou are looking rather shaky. " "No, sir, there is nothing wrong, but I do feel a little queer. When Igot there I was taken down to the wardroom, where three captains weresitting. They asked me a number of questions about the port ofAlexandria, the depth of water, the batteries, and so on. Of course Iknew about that from going so often on board ship in the harbour andfrom sailing in and out. Then, to my surprise, they asked me what Ishould do if the ship I was in command of was caught in a sudden squall. As we had been caught in a white squall in the islands, of course I wasable to answer. They asked me some other questions as to navigation, and I could not for the life of me make out what they were doing, andwas thunderstruck when they told me that they were a board, and that Ihad passed my examination with great credit. When they gave me thecertificate I was taken to the admiral's cabin;" and he then repeatedthe substance of what the admiral had said. "I congratulate you, Blagrove. You are a lucky young dog; but I don'tthink that luck is the proper word, for you owe it entirely, first toyour knowledge of languages, then to your own behaviour and pluck. It israre indeed, I can tell you, that a midshipman of two years' standing ispassed and promoted. I have no doubt that, as the admiral said, yourgoing on Abercrombie's staff had a good deal to do with it, because, forthe credit of the navy, one would not like to be represented by amidshipman on such service. Well, you must borrow an epaulette;" for atthat time a naval officer did not mount two epaulettes until he hadobtained the rank of commander. At first Edgar's story was altogether disbelieved in the cockpit, wherehis arrival was anxiously expected, as all were curious to learn what hehad been signalled for. When at last they understood that he was inearnest, he was very warmly congratulated. Three of them were senior tohim; but he was so generally liked, and his acquirements in the way oflanguages so fully acknowledged, that there was no feeling of jealousy, especially as they felt sure that, when the campaign was over, SirSidney Smith would get him appointed to another ship. Two of them thatevening got a boat and rowed to several other men-of-war, and at lastsucceeded in buying an epaulette from an officer who had bought the kitof another who had died some time before, and this they formallypresented to Edgar that evening. While at Marmorice Bay the latter had almost daily interviews with thegeneral. At these the quarter-master and adjutant-generals and severalother superior officers were often present, and he was asked innumerablequestions as to the country between Alexandria and Cairo, theprobabilities of obtaining animals for the baggage-waggons andartillery, the amount of provisions that could be obtained from thecountry, the length of the marches and the nature of the ground, andwhether the Arabs were likely to render any efficient assistance. Allthese questions he answered to the best of his power, saying, however, that it would be absolutely necessary to depend to a large extent on theboats for provisions as the French had done, for that comparatively fewhorses could be obtained, as the French had purchased all that theycould lay their hands on. Then to an engineer officer he described the position of the old andnewly-erected works at Cairo, saying that the latter were intendedsolely to overawe the town, and that some of them were open works in therear, although no doubt they would be much strengthened, and some of theguns turned outward, as soon as news was received of the landing of theBritish army. He pointed out that many of the guns must, however, beretained in their present position, in case the population should riseas soon as the army approached, and that the guns were in most casessmall, as the French had brought no battering-train with them. "There is no doubt, " the general said, "that Damietta and Rosetta mustbe taken before we advance, and that a strong force of our gun-boats andarmed ships' boats must convoy the native craft laden with provisionsand stores, for from what you describe of the country, and thedifficulty of obtaining animals, it is clear that we shall have todepend upon the river for food. " On the 24th the great fleet sailed, and on the 1st of March anchored inAboukir Bay. The weather was boisterous and a landing was impossible. The next morning, to their mortification, a French frigate was seen toenter Alexandria. She had passed near several of the blockadingsquadron, but was in some way furnished with a British navalsignal-book, and answered all the signals made to her without attractingthe slightest suspicion. During that night a French brig also ran in. Not until the 8th did the sea moderate sufficiently for a disembarkationto be attempted. This delay of seven days was most unfortunate, as itenabled the French general to make every preparation for opposing thelanding. On the morning of the 8th the brigade of Guards, and part of the 1stbrigade, amounting in all to 5500 men, under the command ofMajor-general Coote, embarked in boats, and at three started for thespot where they were to gather for the landing. But the ships werewidely scattered, and it was not until nine o'clock that the boats wereall marshalled in order. In the meantime the remainder of the 1st and the 2nd brigades were takento the ships close inshore, so that no time might be lost after theboats had landed the other division. Edgar had the night before been rowed to the ship on which were thegeneral and his staff, and accompanied them to the vessel near the shoreon which he took his post. On either flank of the transport's boats wereposted three gun-vessels and two of the fleet's launches. Twobomb-vessels were placed close to them, and three sloops-of-war weremoored with their broadsides to the shore. Sir Sidney Smith had charge of the launches which contained thefield-artillery. As the signal-gun fired, the oars all dipped in thewater together, and the men burst into a tremendous cheer. For a moment the French remained passive; 2000 men were posted on thetop of the sand-hills, which here formed a crescent. In the centre rosetwo hills, to a height of 180 feet, apparently inaccessible. Twelve gunswere posted on the sand-hills, and the Castle of Aboukir was able toassist with the fire of its guns. So strong was the position that theFrench had hardly deemed it possible that the British would decide toattack them here; but as the boats dashed forward, every man rowing asif his life depended upon his efforts, they could no longer doubt theintentions of the British, and a tremendous fire of grape and musketry, shot and shell, was opened. Some of the boats were sunk, but most of those on board were saved bythe others, and the greater part of the line, without a check, pressedon until they reached the beach. The 23rd and 40th, whose boats were thefirst to land, rushed up the height without stopping to fire a shot, and, charging the two French battalions with the bayonet, carried it andtwo hills in the rear, taking three pieces of cannon posted there. The42nd Regiment formed up as if on parade, and mounted the sand-hillsunder the fire of two pieces of artillery and a battalion of infantry. The moment they reached the crest 200 French cavalry advanced to charge, but fell back under the heavy fire opened upon them. They rallied behind the hills, and charged down upon the Guards as thelatter were beginning to land. The 58th, however, poured a volley intothem, and gained time for the Guards to form up, when the cavalry againrode off. The 54th and the Royals, being in heavy transport boats, arrived a little later, but were in time to check a French columnadvancing through a hollow against the left flank of the Guards. TheBritish were now in full possession of the heights, and the Frencheverywhere fell back, keeping up, however, a fire from another range ofsand-hills for an hour and a half, when, as the troops got into motionagainst them, they retreated, having lost 300 men and eight pieces ofcannon. The advance of the boats had been anxiously watched by Sir RalphAbercrombie's staff from the deck of the _Mondovi_. It seemed to Edgarwell-nigh impossible that any of these could reach the shore, so torn upwas the water by shot, shell, and bullets. A hearty cheer broke from allon board as the men in the boats that first arrived were seen to jumpout on to the shore. These were repeated again and again as the 23rd, 40th, and 42nd won their way up the hill, and the French could be seenhastily retiring. But it was not until the Guards and the three otherregiments were seen formed up in order ashore--for the French might, foraught it was known, be preparing to take the offensive and recover theground that they had lost--that it was felt that full success hadattended the operation. The moment they had landed their freight theboats returned to their ships, and by evening the navy succeeded, withthe greatest exertions, in conveying the whole of the remainder of theforce to the shore. As soon as the fight was over, the troops were set to dig for waterwherever there were clumps of trees, and succeeded in finding it inseveral places. Edgar was requested by the general to ride with a troopof cavalry to find out the hut where the peasant who had spoken to himlived. He took them almost straight to the spot. The peasant was there, but had difficulty in recognizing in the young officer, the apparentArab with whom he had spoken on the day of the battle of Aboukir. However, on being told that the French had been defeated, and that theBritish intended to drive them out of the country altogether, he at oncepointed out where the well stood. Some of the troopers had been provided with shovels. All dismounted andworked by turns, and late in the evening the officer in command of theparty rode into camp with the welcome news that a large supply of watercould be drawn from the well. The army advanced some little distance thenext day, and established itself on the narrow strip of land between thesea and the Lake of Aboukir; while the stores were brought ashore and ahospital established on the beach. On the 12th the force moved fourmiles farther, and on the following day marched to attack the French, who were encamped on a ridge. They had received reinforcements fromCairo, bringing up their strength to 6000 men. They had some thirtyguns, and the ground, which sloped regularly and smoothly down, affordeda natural glacis, which would be swept by their fire. The army marched in two columns against the French right, their advancebeing supported by the guns of some of the ships' launches, which hadentered the Lake of Aboukir. The French guns played rapidly, and the92nd, which was the leading regiment, pushed forward, while the Frenchcavalry, which charged the 90th, were received with a heavy fire anddriven back. The columns now formed into line, and, pressing steadilyforward, the French were compelled to abandon their position, and toretreat to the works on the heights before the town itself. Unfortunately, the British general, from the ease with which he hadturned the enemy from their first position, thought that he might carrythe second by a sudden attack. But, although the troops foughtgallantly, they were unable to win the position, which was strong andwell armed, and after some hours' fighting they were called off. Theirloss during the day had been about 1100 killed and wounded, while thatof the French was not more than half this number. The ground on which the army now took up its position was a strong one. The right was on high ground, and extended to the ruins of a Romanpalace within fifty yards of the sea. The left was on the canal thatsupplied Alexandria with water; here two batteries were ordered to beconstructed, the lake protected its rear from attack. The distance fromthe sea to the lake was about a mile, and the position occupied was highand commanding. In front of this line was a plain on which cavalry couldact, and beyond this was the French position, a high and steep ridge, extending from the sea to the canal. The army laboured unceasingly atthe work of constructing batteries, and bringing up guns and provisions. Water was fortunately found in abundance, and the nights being cold, tents were landed and set up. The castle of Aboukir had been leftunattacked as the army moved forward, but was now besieged andsurrendered on the eighteenth. CHAPTER XVIII. THE BATTLE OF ALEXANDRIA. On the afternoon following the capture of Aboukir Castle, an Arab wasseen riding at full speed towards the British left. He was pursued bysome French cavalry, and another party endeavoured to cut him off. Thegeneral happened to be at the time watching the troops at workcompleting the batteries on that flank. "That Arab is well mounted, " he said, as he and those around him watchedthe chase. "I believe he will get through if he is not shot, " for, atthis moment, the cavalry behind him, seeing that he was leaving themfast, began to use their carbines. Waving his gun over his head, andfrom time to time giving a yell of derision and defiance, the Arab sweptround towards his right, and so passed ahead of the troop that hadendeavoured to cut him off, then bore round again, until he reached thebank of the canal, and galloped along it, slackening his pace as amusketry fire was opened from the battery, and the French cavalry turnedand rode away. The Arab rode across the bridge over the canal, and thencantered up to the battery. As he was crossing the bridge, the idea thathad for a minute or two previously been in Edgar's mind rose to acertainty. "It is Sidi!" he exclaimed. The general turned and looked at him interrogatively. "It is the young chief of the Beni Ouafy, the tribe I was with when Iwas here, sir; we call each other brother, and indeed are that infeeling. We have saved each other's life more than once. " "Go and meet him then, and bring him here, " the general said. "You spokefrequently of him when describing your journeys to and from Cairo. " Sidi had checked his horse as he approached the battery, not seeing anyentrance to it, and was pausing, irresolute which way to turn, whenEdgar leapt from an embrasure and ran towards him. The Arab did not inthe least recognize his friend in the naval officer who advanced to meethim. He had supposed him to be in England, and, indeed, as it was nowsome months over two years since they had parted, and Edgar had grownand widened out into a fine manly figure, Sidi would hardly haverecognized him had he come across him suddenly in a civilian dress. Hewas astounded, when, on coming close to him, Edgar held out both handsand cried: "Sidi, my brother!" The voice was unchanged. Sidi, with the shout of "All praise be toAllah!" flung himself from his saddle, grasped Edgar's hands, and stoodthere speechless with joy and emotion, and with tears standing in hiseyes. Edgar himself was much moved. "Is all well with you, Sidi?" he asked; "the chief and your mother?" "It is well with us all, " Sidi answered. "We talk of you always, but hadnot hoped to see you so soon. Little did I dream that I should not knowyou when we met, though, when we heard that your people had landed andhad beaten the French, we thought that the time might not be very faroff when the Franks would go, and you might return. So you are anofficer, one of the ship officers?" "Yes, Sidi. We met a ship-of-war as I sailed from here, and since Icould speak Arabic and Turkish I was made an officer, and was at thesiege of Acre, where we beat off the French; but we will talk of allthat afterwards. Our general saw you coming, and thinking that you mighthave news for us, requested me to bring you to him. " "I have news, " Sidi said. "Do not tell me now, it is best that you should tell him first. " Walking side by side, Sidi leading his horse, they went round to theentrance to the battery. As they entered, Edgar told one of thegeneral's orderlies to hold the horse, and then took Sidi up to SirRalph Abercrombie. "This is the English general, Sidi, " he said. Sir Ralph held out hishand to the young sheik, who raised it to his forehead. "Our hearts are rejoiced, " he said, "that you have come at last to fightfor us against the Franks. I bring you news, my lord. Late yesterdaytheir general, Menou, with a large force, arrived at Damanhour. I havebeen among them. There must be five thousand men. His intentions are tomarch to-day and to attack with all his force to-morrow morning. " "This is important news, indeed!" the general said, as Edgar translatedthe message. "Ask him if he speaks merely from report or from his ownknowledge. " Sidi then said that some of the tribe had early that morning startedwith a number of sheep, intending to bring them round into the Britishcamp. They were surprised by a body of French cavalry coming fromDamanhour. Several of the tribesmen were killed, but two escaped, beingwell mounted, and brought the news to their camp. On the way they methim, he having started some hours later, knowing that he could easilyovertake them before they reached the British camp. Seeing theimportance of the matter, he told them to tell his father that he shouldtry and find out how many of the French were at Damanhour, and take thenews to the British. He had then ridden toward that place, andremembering how he had passed unsuspected before, had left his horsethere, had obtained the loan of a peasant's dress, had bought half adozen sheep, and had driven them into the town. He found it crowded with the French. Having sold his sheep, he hadwandered about among the soldiers, and had entered into conversationwith some of the natives who had been engaged at Cairo as drivers of thebaggage-carts. From them he had learned that the Frenchgeneral-in-chief, Menou, who had succeeded Kleber on the latter'sassassination at Cairo, was himself there, and that he intended toattack at once with the troops he had brought, and with those in thecity. As soon as he obtained this news he returned to the village, changed his dress, mounted, and rode off at full speed. The party that had been seen chasing him was a cavalry squadron, whom hehad come upon suddenly while they were dismounted and sitting down inthe shade of a grove, and who, judging that he was making for theBritish camp, had started in pursuit. Knowing well enough that theycould not catch him, he had amused himself by keeping but a shortdistance in advance, and had not put his horse to its full speed untilhe saw the mounted party coming out from the French lines to cut himoff. The general listened attentively to Edgar as he translated the story. "Please to question him again, Lieutenant Blagrove, as to the reportthat Menou intends to attack us as soon as he gets here. It is, as yousee, of the greatest importance. Late as it is this afternoon, andformidable as are the French lines, I should endeavour to carry them assoon as the troops can form up, for it would be hopeless to try to do soto-morrow when Menou arrives. If, on the other hand, he really means totake the offensive, I should prefer remaining in our present position, for I think that we could maintain it against the whole of the Frencharmy, and that more easily than we could carry their line of defencesheld by only the troops at present in front of us. " Edgar questioned Sidi again. The latter said that he had heard the samestory from three different persons. The French had arrived late theevening before, and when he left, the bugles were sounding and theywere beginning to fall in for their march, and would probably reachAlexandria by ten at night. The men had said that it was the talk amongthe soldiers that they should take the English by surprise at daybreakand drive them into the sea. "That certainly seems to decide it, " the general said. "They have made amistake indeed, if they think that they will catch us napping. " Orders were at once issued for a number of the troops to set to work tocomplete the defences. Another battery was, during the night, erected infront of the Roman ruins. A redoubt in front of the position of theGuards was strengthened, and other points seen to. At three o'clock in the morning the army was, as usual, under arms. Halfan hour later there was a sudden outburst of firing on the extreme left. The firing continued, but it did not increase in strength, as would havebeen the case had a serious attack been made, and General Moore, who wasthe general officer of the night, remained on the right, against whichportion of the line he believed the real attack would be delivered. Itwas still dark, and all waited anxiously for some sign of the spotagainst which the storm was to burst. Suddenly loud shouts were heard in advance of the right. A roar ofmusketry immediately broke out. Covered by the inequalities of theground, the French had crept up unobserved by the sentries until closeat hand, and the moment the alarm was given, sprang forward in greatforce, and the advanced pickets fell back on the main position at once. A heavy column of French advanced against a ruined wall, behind whichthe 58th were lying. The wall was of considerable length, and in manyplaces had fallen and left wide openings. Here the 58th were posted. Their colonel made his men hold their fire until the enemy were close tothem, when volley after volley was poured into them, so well aimed anddeadly that the enemy retired quickly into a hollow in their rear, thenwheeled round to the right, and while one column marched straight at thenewly-formed battery, another endeavoured to force its way round itsleft and take it in rear. The 28th Regiment stationed there opened a heavy fire on the forceattacking them in front, but the flanking column, now joined by a third, forced its way in behind the battery. While some attacked it in therear, the rest penetrated into the ruins held by the 58th. Its colonelwheeled back the left wing of the regiment, and after two or threevolleys, fell on the French with the bayonet. At this moment the 23rdcame up in support, and the 42nd advanced from the left, and, keeping onthe outside of the ruins, cut off the troops which had entered, andafter suffering heavy loss they were compelled to surrender. The 28th had remained firmly at the front line of the redoubt, and theyand the 58th had hitherto been supporting simultaneously attacks infront, flank, and rear. The arrival of the 42nd for a time relievedthem, but as the latter regiment approached the right of the redoubt, the enemy's cavalry, which had passed round by its left, charged themfuriously and broke them. The Highlanders, however, gathered in groups, and fought desperately until relieved by the fire of the flank companiesof the 40th, and the cavalry, passing on, were about to charge thissmall force, when the foreign brigade came up from the second line andpoured such a heavy fire into the French cavalry that they fled. [Illustration: GIVING A YELL OF DERISION AND DEFIANCE _Page 323_] As soon as the fire broke out, General Abercrombie, with his staff, mounted and proceeded towards the point where the battle was raging. On the way he detached his aides-de-camp with orders to differentbrigades, and while thus alone with an escort of dragoons, some of theFrench cavalry dashed at him and he was thrown from his horse. A Frenchofficer rode up to cut him down, but he sprang at him, seized his sword, and wrested it from his hand. At that instant the officer was bayonetedby one of the 42nd. [Illustration: Battle of ALEXANDRIA arst. March 1801. ] While this incident was proceeding Sir Ralph received a musket-ball inthe thigh, and also a severe contusion on the breast, probably by asplinter of stone struck by a cannon-ball. In the heat of the action hewas unconscious of the first wound, but felt much pain from thecontusion. At this moment Sir Sidney Smith rode up; he had accidentallybroken his sword, and the general discerning it, at once presented himwith the one that he had wrested from the French officer. He then tookup his station in the battery, from which he could obtain a view of thewhole scene of the battle, for by this time it was daylight. The conteststill raged. Another body of cavalry charged the foreign brigade, butwere received with so heavy a fire that they did not press the chargehome. The French infantry were now no longer in column, but spread outeverywhere in skirmishing order. The ammunition of the English on theright was by this time totally exhausted, and but one cartridge remainedfor each of the guns in the battery. The chief point of attack was now the centre. Here a column ofgrenadiers, supported by a heavy line of infantry, advanced to theassault, but the Guards stoutly maintained themselves until GeneralCoote, with his brigade, came up, and the French were then driven back. All this time the French guns kept up an incessant cannonade on theBritish position. The attack on the British left, which had been but afeint, was never seriously pursued, but was confined to a scattered fireof musketry and a distant cannonade. General Hutchinson, who commandedhere, kept his force in hand; for, had he moved to the assistance of thecentre and right, a serious attack might have been made on him, and theflank being thus turned, the position would have been taken in rear. On the right the French as well as the British had exhausted theirammunition, and the singular spectacle was presented of two hostileforces pelting each other with stones, by which many heavy blows weregiven on both sides, and some killed, among them a sergeant of the 28th. The grenadiers and a company of the 40th presently moved out against theassailants, and the French then fell back. General Menou, finding thatall his attacks had failed, now called off his troops. Fortunately forthem the artillery ammunition was now exhausted, but they lost a goodmany men by the fire of some British cutters, which had during the wholeaction maintained their position a short distance in advance of theBritish right, and greatly aided the defenders of the redoubt by theirfire. By ten o'clock the action was over. Until the firing ceased altogetherSir Ralph Abercrombie remained in the battery paying no attention to hiswounds, and, indeed, the officers who came and went with orders wereignorant that he had been hit. Now, however, faint with loss of blood, he could maintain his position no longer, and was placed in a hammockand carried down to the shore, and rowed off to the flagship. As soon asthe French had withdrawn, attention was paid to the wounded. The totalloss was 6 officers and 230 men killed, 60 officers and 1190 menwounded. The French loss was heavier. 1700 French, killed and wounded, were found on the battlefield, and 1040 of these were buried on thefield. Taking the general proportion of wounded and killed, the Frenchloss, including the prisoners, amounted to 4000 men; one French standardand two guns were captured. The total British force was under 10, 000 men, of whom but half wereseriously engaged. The French were about 11, 000 strong, of whom all, save the 800 who made the feint on the British left, took part in thefighting. On the 25th the Capitan Pasha, with 6000 men, arrived in thebay, and landed and encamped. Three days later the army was saddened bythe news of the death of Sir Ralph Abercrombie. He was succeeded in hiscommand by General Hutchinson. For some time Edgar had an idle time ofit. The French had failed in their attack, but they had not beendefeated, and their position was too strong to be attacked. The CapitanPasha had with him an excellent interpreter, and therefore his serviceswere not required in that capacity. The night before the battle he stopped up all night talking with Sidi, relating all that had happened since he had left him, and hearing fromhim what had taken place on land. This was little enough. A great numberof the Arabs had gathered in readiness to sweep down upon the Frenchwhen they attacked the Turkish army at Aboukir, but when the latter had, with terrible slaughter, been driven into the castle, they had scatteredto their homes. The next day the young Arab witnessed with delight therepulse of the French attack, and at the conclusion of the fight rodeaway to tell his father of Edgar's return, and of the events that he hadwitnessed. The sheik had come back with him on the following day, accompanied by some of his followers, and their tents were pitched on asand-hill a short distance in the rear of the British lines. Until April 13th nothing was done. The army was too small to undertakeany operations, and was forced to remain in its position, as it might atany moment be again attacked. In the pocket of General Roiz, who had been killed in the battle, wasfound a letter from General Menou, expressing fear that the Englishwould cut the Canal of Alexandria and let the waters of it and LakeAboukir into the old bed of Lake Mareotis. It was evident that animmense advantage would be gained by this. Our own left would be secureagainst attack. The French would be nearly cut off from the interior, and the British army be enabled to undertake fresh operations. GeneralHutchinson, however, hesitated for a long time before taking the step. Atract of rich country would be overwhelmed, and none of the Arabs couldsay how far the inundations would reach. However, the step was evidentlyso much to the advantage of the army that at last he gave the order, and on the 13th of April the work began, and that evening the waterrushed out from Lake Aboukir through two cuts. Others were opened thenext day. The rush of water quickly widened these, and soon theinundation spread over a large tract of country behind Alexandria. A considerable force was at once detached to support Colonel Spencer, who was menacing Rosetta, and marched to El Hamed. Sir Sidney Smithascended the Nile with an armed flotilla as far as El Aft, and on the19th aided the Turks in capturing Fort St. Julian, a strong placebetween Rosetta and the mouth of the Nile. After the fall of St. Julian, Rosetta was taken possession of with but little difficulty. Soon afterthis, to the deep regret of the navy, Sir Sidney Smith was recalled tohis ship. The Grand Vizier had a serious grudge against him. This arosefrom a capitulation that had, shortly after the retreat of the Frenchfrom Acre, been agreed upon between the Turkish authorities and theFrench, by which the latter were to be permitted to evacuate Egypt. Sir Sidney Smith had not been consulted, but considering, and justly, that the advantages were great, had signed it. Lord Keith, ascommander-in-chief, had refused to ratify the treaty, and the Englishgovernment, who were in high spirits at the blow struck at the French atAcre, agreed with his action. Sir Sidney Smith, as soon as he receivedLord Keith's despatch, sent a mounted messenger to Cairo to informGeneral Kleber that the terms of the convention were rejected. Thedespatch reached the French just as they were preparing to evacuateCairo. Unfortunately, the Grand Vizier, who, with his army, was but ashort distance away from the town, did not receive a similar intimation, and approaching the city with his troops, but without guns, wasattacked by the French, and suffered a disastrous defeat. The Turks had not forgiven Sir Sidney Smith for this misfortune, but thelatter had not supposed for a moment that the Turks themselves wouldhave neglected to apprise the Grand Vizier of the news, and only thoughtof warning the French. The Grand Vizier now demanded that Sir SidneySmith should not take part in any operations in which he and the Turkisharmy were concerned, or retain the command of the naval flotilla that hehad created, and with which he had performed such excellent service inopening the Nile for the ascent of the gun-boats and the native craftladen with stores for the supply of the troops that were to advanceagainst Cairo. General Hutchinson, very weakly and unworthily, and tothe indignation and regret both of the army and fleet, at once gave way, and Admiral Keith, instead of supporting his subordinate, who had gainedsuch renown and credit, and had shown such brilliant talent, acquiesced, and appointed Captain Stevenson of the _Europa_ to succeed Sir Sidney incommand of the flotilla that was to ascend the Nile to Cairo. This surrender of one of our most distinguished officers to theprejudices of a Turkish commander was, in all respects, a disgracefulone, but from Sir Sidney Smith's first appointment Admiral Keith hadexhibited a great jealousy of his obtaining a command that rendered himto some extent independent, and had lost no opportunity of showing hisfeeling. Indeed, there can be little doubt that the discourteous mannerin which he repudiated, without any authority from the Englishgovernment, the convention that would have saved all the effusion ofblood and cost of the British expedition was the result of his jealousyof the fame acquired by Sir Sidney Smith. The latter, greatly hurt atthe unjust and humiliating manner in which he had been treated, at oncereturned to the _Tigre_, where the delight of the crew at being againunder his command was at least some alleviation to the pain he felt. Edgar, who had obtained leave of absence for a week, and who had riddenwith the sheik for a stay of a few days at his camp, had not heard ofthe slight inflicted upon his kind friend until his return. He at oncewent on board the _Tigre_ and sent in his name to his commander. "I have come, Sir Sidney, " he said when he was shown into the latter'scabin, "to say that I desire to be recalled from service on shore. Afterthe manner in which you have been deprived of your command, I feel thatI could not remain for a day upon the staff of General Hutchinson. " Sir Sidney smiled. "You are too impetuous, Blagrove. I have received too many assurancesfrom the officers of the fleet to doubt what their feelings are at thecourse that has been taken, but that can make no difference in theirduty. It is to do their best in the various positions they occupy, without allowing the question whether they consider that an individualhas been unjustly treated to influence them in any way. The servicecomes before everything. It is distinctly for the benefit of the servicethat General Hutchinson should have the advantage of your knowledge ofthe country and of its languages, and, moreover, you really receivedyour promotion in no small degree owing to the fact that you were goingto act as a sort of interpreter and guide to the general commanding theexpedition, and although unhappily Sir Ralph Abercrombie's death hascaused a change in that command, that in no way alters the arrangements. "In the next place I think that you would be foolish to resign, becausethere can be no doubt that there will very shortly be an advanceagainst Cairo. The inundations and the strong defences that the troopshave been throwing up will enable a comparatively small number to holdthe garrison here in check. The Capitan Pasha's men have fought bravelyat Rosetta, and the Grand Vizier's army is making its way down to joinhim. From what they say these are a mere rabble, but with five thousandor six thousand of our troops and Capitan Pasha's force, we ought to beable to make a good fight, even without the Vizier's people. At anyrate, you would like afterwards to have gone to Cairo with our troops, and there is no doubt that your knowledge of the country will be veryvaluable. It would be a pity not to see the thing through when you havebeen in it from the very beginning. "Lastly, Mr. Blagrove, I should be sorry, indeed, that any naval officershould evince any feeling whatever with regard to a matter purelypersonal to myself. I should therefore take it as a particular favour tome that you should continue to hold the appointment to which you havebeen posted. " "Thank you, Sir Sidney, " Edgar said; "of course I will in that caseretain the appointment. Now that I think of it, indeed, I feel that itwas an impertinence to manifest in any way my feeling at GeneralHutchinson's conduct; my excuse must be that I only returned from mytrip with the sheik half an hour since, and on hearing the news was sostirred that I ran down to the landing-place and came off on the impulseof the moment. You have shown me such extreme kindness, sir, that at thetime it seemed to me a matter almost personal to myself. " "Do not apologize, " Sir Sidney Smith said kindly; "the feeling did youcredit as a man, though as an officer personal feelings cannot bepermitted to sway the actions. Now go ashore again and report yourselfas returned from leave. " The advance up the Nile did not take place for some little time, asgreat preparations were necessary. Fortunately large numbers of nativecraft had been captured from the French, and stores were landed andplaced on board these for the use of the troops. Colonel Stewart was incommand of the British advanced force which accompanied the CapitanPasha's division. A large force of gun-boats and rowing-boats werefurnished by the fleet, and following the river banks the expeditionproceeded up the river. The French resistance was very feeble. Detachedparties were taken or driven off, but there was no fighting of a seriouscharacter. For a time Edgar remained with General Hutchinson beforeAlexandria, then he accompanied him to Rosetta, and, joining the mainBritish division, came up with the Turkish army, that had now beenjoined by that of the Vizier, and the whole advanced towards Cairo. They met with no real resistance on the march. There can be little doubtthat the French generals were hampered by the intense longing among thetroops to return to France. Their disasters in Syria had to some extentbeen retrieved by the defeat of the Turks at Aboukir, but the appearanceof the great fleet of men-of-war and transports on the coast, followedby the failure of Menou to drive, as was confidently expected, hisassailants back to their ships, produced a profound effect. The reportthat Alexandria had been almost cut off from the rest of Egypt by theinundation of Lake Mareotis, and that to regain the city an army wouldhave to force its way along the narrow neck of land between the lakesMareotis and Aboukir, seemed to diminish still further their hope ofever getting away. The news, therefore, that a great force of British and Turks, supportedby gun-boats, and accompanied by an immense flotilla carrying stores, was ascending the Nile, reduced them almost to despair, and so unwillingwere they to fight, that when, on the approach of the Vizier's army toCairo, it was met by four thousand French, these suffered themselves tobe repulsed by the rabble and fell back to Cairo. They were well aware that if they surrendered they would be guaranteed apassage back to France. Better terms than this they could not hope toobtain after the most vigorous resistance, involving a great and uselessloss of life. Therefore as soon as the whole allied force approachedCairo, negotiations were begun, and on the 28th of June (1801) thesewere concluded, and one of the gates of the town occupied by the CapitanPasha's body-guards, and a fort by the 30th Regiment, and on the 10ththe French evacuated the city, and the next day the Turkish troops tookpossession of it. In the meantime fighting had been going on almost incessantly in frontof Alexandria. General Coote, who was in command of the besieging force, gradually gained ground. The French lines were forced backward, and onSeptember 2nd, finding the contest altogether hopeless, and most of theBritish troops from Cairo having returned, reinforced by a Britishnative Indian army, the garrison capitulated. The number of troops, including the sick, who surrendered in Alexandria, were 10, 528, whilethe force that surrendered at Cairo, which, like the other, was embarkedin British ships and taken to France, was 13, 672; included among themwere 1900 sailors who had for the most part been landed after the battleof Aboukir, while some had been drawn from the French war-ships that hadsucceeded in running the blockade. The Indian force arrived in time to witness the surrender of Alexandria, but the fact that the work was practically accomplished by the 12, 000men who landed under General Abercrombie, aided after their work washalf done by a Turkish force of no great value, renders the operationone of the most brilliant in our military history, and redounds equalcredit upon the gallant soldier who died in the hour of victory, on hissuccessor whose operations were most skilfully conducted, and on theBritish officers and soldiers who endured no ordinary amount ofprivation and labour under a burning sun. Upon the advance to Cairo Edgar had been accompanied by the sheik andhis son with a score of their followers. The information that they wereenabled to give the general was of the greatest importance and value. The sheik was intimately acquainted with every foot of the ground, andon the force halting in the afternoon he was able to inform thequartermaster-general of the most likely spot for the nextcamping-ground, and of the distance and nature of the country to betraversed. At daybreak he would start ahead with his party, ascertainfrom the inhabitants of the villages whether any bodies of the enemywere in the neighbourhood, and arrange with them to forward suchsupplies of food and vegetables as remained at their disposal for sale, to the spot selected for the camping-ground that afternoon. The supplies were but small, for the French had well-nigh made the wholecountry below Cairo a desert. Nevertheless, such as could be producedwere gladly purchased by the commissariat for the use of the troops, andowing to the custom prevalent throughout the East of storing grain incovered pits, the supply obtained as forage for the horses largelyexceeded expectations, for the peasants regarded the British asdeliverers from their oppressors, and upon being assured by the sheikthat they paid well for everything that they required, the pits that hadescaped the French searchers were thrown open at once. GeneralHutchinson, on his return to carry out the siege of Alexandria to aconclusion, reported to Admiral Keith his very warm appreciation of theservices that Lieutenant Blagrove had rendered him. Long before thattime the admiral had received from England a confirmation of the actingrank he had given Edgar. As soon as the capitulation was signed, although it had been stipulated that the British troops were not to gointo the town until the French took their departure, many officers didso, as General Menou freely gave permission to enter to anyone whoapplied for it. Edgar was one of the first of these, and, riding in, alighted at his father's house. CHAPTER XIX. QUIET AND REST. Mr. Muller came forward to meet his visitor as he entered, thinking itprobable that this naval officer had come in reference to somearrangements to be made with regard to the transports that would carrythe French army away. It was three years since he had last seen Edgar, and the latter had grown from a boy into a young man, and the uniformhad altered him beyond recognition, for no news had been received fromEngland since he had left, and Mr. Muller had supposed that he was allthis time there with his father. Edgar smiled as he saw the absence ofrecognition in his face. "Don't you know me, Mr. Muller?" he asked. "I have no doubt changed agood deal since you saw me last in the dress of an Arab. " "Mr. Edgar Blagrove!" the latter exclaimed in astonishment. "Yourdisguises are endless, sir, and I think that this is the best of them, though why you should have adopted it I do not know. " "It happens that it is not a disguise at all this time. I am what I seemto be, a naval lieutenant. I have been serving in the navy ever since Ijoined it, ten days after I sailed from here, and was through the siegeof Acre with Sir Sidney Smith. As you see, I have had the good fortuneto be promoted. I have been serving ashore since we first landed here, and have been up to Cairo with the force that marched there as a sort ofguide and interpreter. " "I am sure I congratulate you heartily. But you don't intend to stop inthe navy, do you?" "No, I think not. Of course I like the life, and have been so fortunatein getting early promotion and in being mentioned in despatches that Iought to rise very rapidly if I stayed in it, and I am sure that SirSidney Smith would interest himself for me. But I do not think that itwould be fair to my father. He has reckoned on taking the management ofthe business at home, and that I should be established here with you, and probably it would be the best thing for me in the long run. The warwith France cannot last many years, and when peace comes there will, ofcourse, be a great reduction of the navy, and an immense number ofofficers put upon half-pay, without much chance of again obtainingemployment. My time during the last three years will not have beenmisspent. As a lieutenant in the service who had obtained exceptionallyrapid promotion I should be able to secure orders for stores or repairsto any men-of-war who might put in, and the knowledge I have gained ofships, their fittings, rigging, and so on, would render me far moreuseful to you in superintending the harbour work than I would have beenhad I not had that experience. " "Certainly, Mr. Blagrove. I myself have, as you know, always been incharge of the office here, and as far as books and accounts go I think Iknow my work thoroughly, but in the last three years I have felt that mywant of knowledge of the practical side of the business has been aserious drawback. I have been able to have the repairs necessary toFrench transports and so on carried out, for the two shipwrights aregood workmen, and after it was done I could, of course, calculate whathad been the cost, and charge it with a percentage for profit; but, as arule, captains want an estimate before we begin, and I was unable togive one. "On a few occasions I did so after consulting the shipwrights, but Iburnt my fingers badly in each case, for it turned out that the defectswere much more serious than met the eye; so after that, I refused togive an estimate at all, and lost some business in consequence, for aFrench firm here snapped up all the work they could get, and were alwaysready to give an estimate, though I believe in nine cases out of tenthey either did not carry out their work thoroughly or else whenhalf-way through were obliged to ask for considerable increase on theground that the amount to be done far exceeded what they supposed. Thishas been so notorious that for the past year we have had our hands full, and I believe that they intended to leave even if the French occupationhad continued. Indeed, they came to me three months ago and asked if Ishould be inclined to buy their yard and appliances and stock. I refusedat that time, but I am of opinion that the matter is well worththinking over. Since trade increased again we have been very cramped forroom. Of course it formed but a small portion of your father's business, but I think that in future it could be made at least as important a partas the inland trade, and certainly with you at the head it could belargely extended. " "That would quite suit me. As you know, I have always been fond ofships, and now, after being three years at sea, am naturally more fondof them than before; and although I could make myself very happy inlooking after the work of a ship-yard and superintending the businessafloat, I should feel altogether like a fish out of water if I were tobe kept to book-keeping inside. I know that there is a ship sailing forEngland to-night with despatches. I will sit down at once and write tomy father, and say that I am ready to leave the navy at once and fall towork here. He is certain to come out as soon as he hears the news thatthe place has surrendered, and that the French are going. "I will tell him what you say about the other ship-yard, and ask him togo to the Admiralty. I have no doubt that the president of the prizecourt, who had some business with my father, and has since been on veryfriendly terms with him, will give him a good introduction, and maypossibly go with him to urge that as I am going to undertake thesuperintendence of a ship-yard here, and that we hope to be of serviceto ships of war putting in for repairs, they will consent to my going onhalf-pay instead of retiring altogether. It would certainly strengthenmy position here so far as our ships of war are concerned. I daresaythat you will be sending off too. " "Yes; I have kept everything written up and copies made so that I couldsend them off should an opportunity offer; and a couple of hours' workwill enable me to bring matters pretty well up to date. " "I suppose, except for the ship work, everything has been of late verydull?" "Very dull indeed. We have had literally no goods whatever from theinterior. Of course production has fallen off very greatly, and the saleof Egyptian products at Cairo, to the troops, has been considerable. Then, too, the disturbed state of the country has prevented themanufacturers from sending valuable goods down here, so that practicallythat part of the business has been at a standstill, and I have notattempted to accumulate a stock. However I have lately purchased manylarge lots from native traders here who feared that their shops might bepillaged in the event of a riot, and especially lately when they wereafraid that if your people took the town by storm there might be ageneral sack. So as I was certain that the French must go before long, and I got all these goods at a bargain, I have bought freely. Then Ihave not done badly with goods run in by French ships that managed toslip through the blockade, and which were laden with speculative cargoesof luxuries for the army. As we are almost the only European house open, and I was able to pay cash, I bought things up largely, and realizedvery good profits by supplying the native shops here and the officers ofthe garrison, and also sent a great deal of wine and goods of that sortup to Cairo, getting leave from the commandant here for them to go upunder the guard of any body of troops that happened to be proceedingthere, so that altogether the firm had not done badly, all thingsconsidered. " "Are you short of cash now, Mr. Muller? for if so I can give you a drafton my father, who has some money of mine in his hands, for a thousandpounds, the result partly of prize-money, partly of a speculation Imade in the purchase of a prize which I went home in. I bought it in hisname, but he insists that as it was purely my speculation he should putthe profit to my account. " "Thank you; I do not require it. I have had no opportunity of sendingthe money home for the last three years, and have therefore an abundanceof funds for all purposes. " "I suppose that you must be very short of timber, cordage, and shipstores?" "Not so much so as you would think. I am indeed very short of timber, and would gladly take the whole cargo of a ship laden with it should itarrive, but in other respects I am well off, for I boarded everytransport and merchantman before they left the port, and bought up alltheir spare stores, which they were glad enough to part with onreasonable terms, for there was no advantage in carrying them back toFrance, and of course I could well afford to pay a considerable advanceon the prices they would obtain there. I hope that you will stay herefor the night, Mr. Blagrove, for I am anxious to hear all that you havebeen doing. I can offer you nothing but horse-flesh for dinner, for thetown is in a state of starvation. " "I cannot do that. I have only leave till five o'clock, and indeed Ionly obtained permission to enter the town for two hours, and the Frenchmight object were I to stop here to-night. " Edgar wrote a long letter to his father. An hour after he had done so heleft, taking it and the trader's packet away with him. These he placedin the headquarter-staff mail-bag. The letters were to be taken the nextmorning by the _Carmine_, which carried Sir Sidney Smith and ColonelAbercrombie, who were in charge of the naval and military officialdespatches, giving an account of the successful termination of thecampaign, to England. Lord Keith was most anxious that the men-of-warshould get away from the coast before bad weather set in, andaccordingly 5000 of the troops, under the command of General Craddock, embarked on board the ships of war, and sailed on the 12th of September, and two days later the first division of French marched to Aboukir, andembarked on board transports. Keith was in command of the fleet, and on the way fell in with a shipbringing despatches which had been sent out in anticipation of an earlyfall of Alexandria. The fleet was ordered to rendezvous at Malta. General Coote, with 6000 of the troops, were to be taken to Gibraltar. General Moore was ordered to England. General Hutchinson had leave toreturn home, and Lord Cavan was to remain in command in Egypt. Edgarhad, two days after his visit to the city, been appointed as thirdlieutenant to one of the frigates that sailed with the first division ofthe army, and convoyed it to Gibraltar. It arrived there at the end ofSeptember, but as no orders had been received as to the destination ofthe force, the sick were landed, to be cared for in the hospitals, andthe rest of the troops remained on board ship until the middle ofNovember, when a vessel brought the news that a general peace had beenvirtually concluded. England gave up all her conquests with the exception of Ceylon andTrinadad, while France was permitted to retain all hers. The treaty ofAmiens, which was finally signed in the following March, was one of themost humiliating ever made by England. With it came an order for theships at Gibraltar to carry the greater portion of the troops retainedon board, to England. The wind was favourable, and on the last day ofthe month the fleet cast anchor in Spithead. It was soon known thatalmost the whole fleet were to be paid off and the ships laid up atonce. The men were pleased at the news, for most of the vessels had beenengaged in arduous service in the Mediterranean for years, and the menwere glad at the prospect of an opportunity of a turn ashore, until theyhad got rid of the prize-money that had accrued to them. The officers, on the other hand, were depressed at the news. To them itmeant that they might be years before they again obtained employment, that all chances of gaining distinction or promotion were at an end, andthat they would be reduced to live on their scanty half-pay for anindefinite time. Mr. Addington indeed, who was now in power, thoughtonly of retrenchment, and although it was evident to every thinkingperson that such a peace could only be of short duration, he crippledthe country by paying off the greater portion of her ships-of-war; andwhen in May in the following year war again broke out, and Pitt returnedto power, the whole work of getting the navy into fighting order had tobe done over again. Two days after the fleet anchored at Spithead, Edgarwas delighted to see his father on board a shore-boat that camealongside. "Everything has turned out well, " he said as soon as the first greetingwas over. "On the very day that I got your letter, I had an intimationthat the war was likely to come to an end shortly. I thought it better, therefore, to wait before moving in your matter until things weredefinitely settled, as it was infinitely better that you should be puton half-pay because the war had come to an end than to apply to give upactive service while the war lasted. " "Certainly, father. There can be no doubt of that. " "Of course I got the letter that you wrote when you were at Gibraltar, saying what ship you were on, and learned from my friend CaptainHarrington of the prize court, that unless some hitch occurred in thenegotiations, the fleet there, with the troops on board, would at oncebe ordered home, and on arrival would be paid off. There was, therefore, no occasion for me to make any application in the matter. The troopsare, I see, landing to-day, and I suppose that in a week at latest theships will be taken to the harbour and you will all be paid off. " "Nothing could be better, father. " "At any rate, there would be no chance whatever of your obtainingemployment until the war breaks out again. When it does, my friendHarrington says that he has no doubt that he will be able to obtain foryou an official post at Alexandria, with special instructions to aid inthe provisioning and general repairs of any ships-of-war that may put inthere, and that indeed he has no doubt that he will be able to get youthe post of vice-consul there at once, for this, as you know, is as arule given to merchants of standing, and as Sir Sidney Smith is inLondon, he would no doubt be able to support you in the matter. Ofcourse there will be a consul-general in Egypt, and a vice-consul ateach of the ports. So far, no appointments of the kind have been made, and, as he says, from your knowledge of the country, with our firm beinglong established as merchants there, with your knowing so many languagesand your naval record, there can be little doubt that, if you apply, andare backed by Sir Sidney Smith, you will get the appointment at once. " "That would be capital, father. I hope that Muller's account of the workof the last three years has been satisfactory?" "Perfectly so. We have done much better than I could have expectedunder the circumstances; and indeed the profits of the last three yearshave been nearly as large as those of the years before the Frenchlanded. " Four days later the order arrived for the ship to pay off, and Edgar atonce posted up to town, for the number of officers wanting to go up wasso large that it was impossible to secure a place by a coach to Londonfor a week to come. The next day he called upon Sir Sidney Smith andstated to him the plans he had formed. "They could not get a better man for the place, " the admiral saidwarmly, for he had now been promoted to that rank. "If you will bring meyour formal application for the post of vice-consul at Alexandria, Iwill myself take it to the proper quarter. Put your qualification as aresident merchant and as a linguist as strongly as you like. I will urgeyour naval record, and myself testify to your abilities as a linguistand to the services which you have rendered. " A week later Edgar received his formal appointment as His Majesty'svice-consul at the port of Alexandria, and was given a fortnight's leavebefore starting to take up his work. Wilkinson, who had also beenordered home and placed upon half-pay, stayed with Mr. Blagrove duringthe time Edgar was at home, and was much more communicative as to thework his comrade had done than the latter had himself been. "I can tell you, " he said, "that for a midshipman to be promoted afteronly two years and a half service is an almost unknown thing in thenavy, and shows what was thought by Lord Keith and Sir Sidney of hiswork. " Mr. Blagrove returned to Alexandria with his son, having before hestarted freighted a ship with timber, principally oak, of the kinds andsizes that would most frequently be in demand for the execution ofrepairs, together with an apparatus for steaming and bending them. Hehad already, directly after receiving Edgar's letter from Gibraltar, sent out directions to Mr. Muller to take over the yard and premises ofthe French firm. The old name had not been replaced at the entrance ofthe offices, but now read Blagrove, Son, & Muller, while over the doorof the premises recently acquired was now placed the words, "BritishVice-consulate, " and an office here was set apart for consular business, an Italian clerk, who spoke English well, being established there. Asthere were still some thousands of British soldiers in Alexandria, amongwhom were many officers who had been personally acquainted with Edgarwhile he had served on the staff of the general, his position was a verypleasant one. The Egyptian governor of the city, a Turkish general, whohad been with the army of the Capitan Pasha, and to whom Edgar hadfrequently carried communications, also received him warmly. "I am glad, indeed, to have a British vice-consul here, " he said, "whospeaks our language so perfectly, and who is a British officer. So oftenthese posts are given to small traders, who, instead of endeavouring tosmooth over difficulties, seem to delight in causing them. Whenever youhave any complaint to make, sir, I hope that you will come direct to me, and I will see that right is done. " After spending a month at Alexandria, Mr. Blagrove returned to England, perfectly satisfied that matters would go on well, with his steady-goingpartner controlling the commercial part of the business, and Edgartaking the management of the shipping side. The business indeedflourished greatly, and when, some time afterwards, the Turks wereforced to join in the European coalition against England, the firm wasenabled to continue their business without molestation, as the CapitanPasha himself took him under his special protection. Four years afterhis appointment Edgar returned to England on a short visit, and waspresent at the marriage of one of his sisters with Wilkinson, who hadreturned home wounded after the battle of Trafalgar; though only a monthat home, he persuaded a friend of his sisters to return as his wife toAlexandria. Ten years later Mr. Muller died. Mr. Blagrove, who was now getting on inyears, wished to have Edgar at home with him; and as moreover theclimate was telling upon the latter's wife, the business was wound upand the premises and good-will disposed of for a considerable sum ofmoney to another firm doing business there. Scarce a week had passedduring Edgar's stay in Alexandria without either the sheik or Sidiriding into Alexandria to see him. He on his part purchased a large tentfrom a Turkish general who had been recalled to Constantinople. This waslarge and commodious, divided by hangings into two or threecompartments. It was set up in the Beni Ouafy's oasis, and there he andhis wife sometimes went out with their two children and spent a fewdays. It was with the deepest regret that he and his Arab friends badefarewell to each other when he finally left for England. Before sailing he made an advantageous arrangement with the firm thathad purchased the business, that his father should act as their agent inLondon, and by the influence of Sir Sidney Smith he himself obtained anappointment in the Admiralty. As his father's savings during many years, and his own share of the property during the time that he had beenpartner amounted to a considerable sum, he cared less for the increaseof his income by going on full pay again than for the employment that itafforded him. His father and mother died within a few months of eachother in 1825. His second sister had been married some fifteen yearsbefore to a London merchant. At the general reduction of the navy after the great war, Wilkinson wasretired with the rank of commander, and he and his wife settled down ina pretty house within a few hundred yards of that of Edgar at Hampstead, and the two friends often talked over their experience at Acre, and ofthe cruise in search of pirates among the islands of the Archipelago. THE NEW POPULAR HENTY At Aboukir and Acre: A Tale of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt. At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris. At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War. Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion of Britain. Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. Both Sides the Border: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower. The Bravest of the Brave: or, With Peterborough in Spain. By Conduct and Courage: A Tale of the Days of Nelson. By England's Aid: A Story of the Freeing of the Netherlands. By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. By Right of Conquest: or, With Cortez in Mexico. 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