Kanana was quickly seized, bound and dragged into the presence of the prince. Manuel had suspected that some one had betrayed both Jababal and himself to Kahled, and chagrined at the result of the first day's battle, he fiercely accused Kanana.
Calmly the Bedouin boy admitted that it was he who had given the information, and he waited without flinching as Manuel drew his sword.
"Boy, dost thou not fear to die?" he exclaimed, as he brandished his sword before Kanana.
"I fear nothing!" replied Kanana proudly.
"Take him away and guard him carefully," muttered the prince. "Dying is too easy for such as he. He must be tortured first."
The second day and the third were like the first. The army of the Prophet fought with a desperation that never has been equaled. The Ishmaelite counted his life as nothing so that he saw a Greek fall with him. It was the fate of Allah and Arabia for which they fought, and they stood as though rooted to the ground, knowing of no retreat but death.
Again and again their general's voice rang loud above the clashing arms:
"Paradise is before you if you fight! Hell waits for him who runs!" And they fought and fought and fought, and not a man dared turn his back.
Again and again the Grecian phalanx advanced, but they found a wall before them as solid as the cliff behind them.
When a Bedouin lay dead he ceased to fight, but not before; and the moment he fell, another sprang forward from behind to take his place.