“His belief will not bring it there!” answered Sayd. “It may by this time be dried up, and we may have many a long mile to march before we reach another.”
A few minutes after this a line of trees appeared ahead. The blacks raised a shout of joy, supposing that beneath their shade the looked-for water would be discovered. Worn out as many of them were, they hastened their steps until even the carriers broke into a run, and the whole mass rushed eagerly down the bank, but as they reached the bottom a cry of bitter disappointment escaped them; not a drop of liquid was to be seen, only a smooth mass of black mud, with cracks across in all directions, showing that the water had evaporated.
Water must be had at every cost, or the whole party might perish. Their numbers, their arms, their courage would not avail them. Those who had before traversed the country immediately set to work with pointed sticks to dig along the bed of what was once a stream, in the hopes of obtaining water, and many dug holes of five and six feet deep, but no water appeared.
“Then, men, you must dig deeper,” shouted the chiefs as they went about among their people.
A little thick liquid bubbled up, the labourers shouted with joy, and several of the more thirsty rushed in, and kneeling down lapped it up, although it was of the consistency of mud.
The men again set to work, and at length a sufficient quantity of water came bubbling up to enable their companions to obtain a few mouthfuls. The camp fires were then lit, and the men gathered close round them, for it was a locality where a prowling lion was very likely to pay them a visit.
Sayd and Ned had a sufficient amount of water to prevent them suffering. As Ned looked out over the dark plain, he could see objects flitting by. Sayd thought that they were deer, which, fleet of foot, were passing across the desert to some more fertile region. Several times the roars of lions were heard, but none ventured near the camp, being scared by the bright blaze kept up.
At an early hour all were again on foot, and eagerly descended into the holes, which now contained rather more water than on the previous evening, but still barely sufficient to quench their thirst. There was none to fill their water-bottles. The Arabs, kneeling on their carpets, joined by the Mohammedans among their followers, offered up their prayers to Allah as the first gleam of the sun rose above the horizon; then the morning meal being hastily taken, the pagazis shouldered their loads and the march commenced.
As Sayd had predicted, no songs, no shouts were heard; even the merriest among the blacks were silent. Scarcely a word was uttered as the caravan moved forward, the dull sound of human feet treading the baked earth alone broke the silence. On and on they trudged; the sun, as he rose, got hotter and hotter, striking down with intense force on their heads. Ned marched alongside Sayd. The latter had two favoured followers—young Hassan, partly of Arab birth, who acted as his gun-bearer; and a huge negro, a freed man, Sambroko by name, possessed of prodigious strength and courage. These two had followed their master’s example, and supplied themselves with gourds of water, two of which the negro carried slung round his neck.
For some hours the caravan proceeded as rapidly as at first. It was hoped that a stream would be found soon after noon, where Abdullah promised to halt to give the men the rest they so much needed; but noon was passed, already the sun was in their eyes, and no stream was seen. To halt now would be to lose precious time. With parched lips and starting eyeballs the men pushed on, and, instead of songs and jokes, cries and groans were heard on every side. Now a weary pagazi sank down, declaring that he could carry his load no longer; now another and another followed his example. In vain the Arab leaders urged them to rise with threats and curses, using the points of their spears. The hapless men staggered on, then dropping their loads attempted to fly. Two were shot dead as a warning to the rest, and their masters distributed their loads among the others who appeared better able to carry them, but, ere long, others sinking down, stretched themselves on the ground and were left to die in the desert. Time would have been lost in attempting to carry them.