“We have, unaccountably, gotten through their guard,” cried John, as he leaped from the wagon. “Follow me as fast as you can.” He sprang in front of the yaks to direct the way, and Harry urged the team forward as fast as the nature of the ground would permit, following closely on the heels of John.
The demons were coming on now in earnest, and could not be far behind, and they must have gone fully a half mile, with no river in sight. Suddenly John reappeared at the side of the wagon, and said: “Drive to the left for the open space. There is a brook there, and it will suit us just as well as the river.”
The wagon was rushed to the open space, and down to the little stream which came from the southwest. Without hesitating a moment John ordered the fort sections to be replaced, and heeding the practice lessons which they had exercised over and over again, before starting out, they were prepared, in less than three minutes, for the foe.
The besiegers again surrounded them, but evidently feared to attack. The first care of Harry was to provide the animals with fresh water. The two captives were again placed outside of the fort in a position where they could be easily guarded.
While so disposing the prisoners, George picked up a trinket that had fallen from one of them, who tried to recover it. It was a blue stone, and he noticed that the other prisoner also carried a stone of the same character. Each had a groove midway between the ends, to receive the cord which held it in place.
“What do you suppose they carry these things for?” asked George, as he exhibited the stone.
“They use them to ward off evil. It is remarkable,” answered the Professor, “that the Hindoos consider the turquoise as a sure guard against sudden or violent death.”
“That also reminds me,” said John, “that the belief is a common one throughout all Asiatic countries. Even at the present time almost all Russian officers wear the turquoise as a talisman against fate.”
“What is meant by talisman?”
“In all Oriental countries a figure cut in stone, metal, or any other material, and which, when made with particular ceremonies and under peculiar astrological circumstances, is supposed to possess certain virtues, but chiefly that of averting disease. Most savage tribes have some sort of charms or objects which are held in reverence, and the stone before you is a sample of this belief in the most remote parts of the world.”