He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters."
While facing yet another insurrection, this time of the gunners, a courier arrived from Bomba with the news that our ships were off both that place and Derne. This gave us new strength and courage and ended the mutiny, and so at last we came to Bomba.
There, however, we found that the vessel that had been seen had departed. The fat was in the fire again, with the Arabs abusing us as impostors and infidels and threatening to leave us, if they did nothing worse.
But oh, the resourcefulness of our general! Withdrawing with the Christians to a high hill nearby, he ordered that a huge fire be kept burning on its crest all night; the next morning as the Turks and Arabs were scattering, to go to their homes, when the end of the expedition seemed indeed to be in sight, we saw from the top of the hill a sail. The United States' ship Argus, with Captain Hull in command was approaching. The next day the sloop Hornet arrived, laden with provisions. We then refreshed ourselves and our famished army, and unloaded from the Hornet the provisions necessary to feed us on the march to Derne.
The worst of the journey was over. We were approaching cultivated land. To keep the inhabitants from becoming hostile to us the Bashaw sent a herald through the camp to cry:
"He who fears God and feels attachment to Hamet Bashaw will be careful to destroy nothing. Let no one touch the growing harvest. He who transgresses shall lose his right hand!"
I now heard shrieks from the tent that sheltered the girl we had rescued by purchase from the Arabs. I saw two camels standing beside the tent, held by a young Arab who looked towards us furtively. It flashed across my mind that the young sheik whom I had suspected of an intention to add the girl to his household had seized upon the moment when we were engaged in putting down a rebellion to kidnap the girl. I rushed to the tent, followed by an Arab lad Mustapha, who also came from the girl's village, and who had shown an humble devotion to her by daily giving to the negress for the maiden a share of his ration of dates.
As we reached the door of the tent the sheik emerged with the girl in his arms. I jabbed the point of my pistol into his face while Mustapha plunged earthward in an effort to stay his strides toward the camels. The lad's attack was so vigorous that the sheik sprawled face downward into the sand, while the girl, released by his stumble, fell into my arms for support.
She was pale with terror and leaned against me like a broken lily. General Eaton, having pacified Hamet and his supporters, came dashing between me and the kidnapper, who had seized his knife and risen to his feet. I still menaced him with my pistol, but the general forbade me to fire.