V—"I MAKE MY ESCAPE DISGUISED AS A BEDOUIN WOMAN"
My tunnel being completed, I fixed the hour of departure with my Bedouin friend, arranging for him to be waiting at a specified spot about two hundred yards away. The time appointed was in the dead of night—at 12.30 A.M., to be exact—and as the hour approached I worked myself into a feverish state of excitement. I became terribly nervous, thinking of the risk I was about to take and the journey that awaited me if I got free. I realized, almost for the first time, the manifold difficulties of my enterprise, and I told myself I was only going to my doom. Then, as the hands of my watch moved steadily onward, the reaction came, and I grew calm and confident. Courage was needed to make this dash for freedom—well, I would show courage. The moment for action came, and swiftly I removed the mattress that had hitherto concealed my secret passage, put my head through the aperture, and peeped out to survey my surroundings.
So terrible was the tension at that moment that the very grasses which waved in the faint night breeze and the leaves that rustled in the trees caused me to start as though my plans had been discovered; I saw myself, in my mind's eye, thrown back into my cage and subjected to all the humiliating punishments and sufferings that would inevitably have followed. So much was I overcome by my feelings at this moment that I wept for very fear, and, kneeling down, prayed fervently to my Maker to give me back the courage which I felt was leaving me and restore the strength of mind and body that alone could see me safely through that never-to-be-forgotten ordeal.
When the nerve-storm passed I quietly emerged from my hiding place and crept silently away through the grass, making for the point where I was to meet my Bedouin Good Samaritan. I passed through the open gateway in the fence without accident, and arrived at the rendezvous quite breathless. Thank Heaven! My friend was there, and to my surprise and joy he had secured for me a camel, upon which I was to continue my flight.
My joy at this first success is indescribable. There was no time to be lost, however, so I speedily divested myself of my prison attire, which, upon the advice of my Bedouin friend, I carefully buried. I then dressed myself with all possible haste in the disguise my friend had procured for me.
This consisted of a Bedouin dress of some blue-colored stuff with white spots, and resembled an overall or woman's nightgown, secured around the waist with a red sash. The head-dress was a small loose-fitting green bonnet, which had stitched to it a cheap black cotton substitute for woman's hair. Suspended from my ears were large brown polished wooden earrings and droppers, and over all I threw loosely a large piece of thin black veiling, resembling a shawl, which covered the whole of my head, face, and figure, leaving only my eyes showing. My feet were left quite bare. No facial make-up was necessary, my skin being smooth and quite as brown as any Bedouin's. Being thoroughly familiar, from my various impersonations, with the adjustment of a woman's dress, I was able without difficulty to put this costume on in the dark, and I was greatly helped by the fact that before the war my parents had employed a Bedouin servant whose dresses I had worn on the occasion of various carnivals.
The problem of shaving had already occurred to me, and fortunately for my purpose, a very simple solution was available. I obtained some powder which, after being mixed with water and applied to the face, completely destroys the hair for the time being. This depilatory is in common use amongst the Bedouins, Arabs, and Turks for the removal of hair, whether from the body or face. My toilet being completed, I rose to my feet—looking to all appearance a typical Bedouin woman—and the pair of us mounted the camel and rode steadily on for fifteen hours to a place called Wad-el-Arish. Our rations during that long, weary journey consisted of onions, bread, and a few dates.
Upon arrival at Wad-el-Arish my good friend and I parted company, for he feared to accompany me farther lest he should run into danger, as there would be great risk for him in passing that way by reason of the troops journeying in the same direction. I used all my powers of persuasion to induce him to continue with me, assuring him optimistically that no harm would come to him, but despite all my efforts to allay his fears, he declined. Ere we parted, he bestowed on me such good things as he was able to spare for my comfort and sustenance during my travels, giving me a flask of water, dry bread, and dates. Then, after a hearty farewell, he retraced his steps, riding the camel, while I continued alone on foot, following the track left by the troops who were journeying across the desert.
VI—"I MEET A PACK OF HUNGRY JACKALS IN THE DESERT"
My first day in the desert was a hot and tiring one, but in spite of the discomfort I continued to walk on until the evening, never losing sight of the soldiers and camels far ahead. When darkness fell I settled down on the sand for the night with only a dirty blanket for my covering, the desert for my bed, and the heavens to shelter me.