“Yer honour, it’s bad news I bring!” he exclaimed, panting for breath, though he did not forget to touch his hat to his commander; “the spalpeens of Arabs have been and taken Mr Desmond, and our ’terpreter Hamed, and they’ll be after cutting their throats if we don’t look sharp and carry them help. As they were hurrying them down the hill, and looking thunder and lightning at them, Hamed cried out to me, ‘Run for your life and tell the captain!’ and shure, run I did, for they’d have been after cutting my throat if I hadn’t.”
On receiving this intelligence, Jack immediately despatched Mr Matson’s boat to the ship with directions to signalise Murray to send his boats, well armed, on shore, desiring his own lieutenant to return with two more from the ship. He immediately, with his boat’s crew, pushed on in the direction Tim believed Desmond and Hamed had been carried. Instead, however, of going over the hill, he led his men round it at a turn, hoping by this to cut off the Arabs as they descended into the plain. Tim, one of the most active of the party, kept well ahead. He had just rounded the rocky point, when he caught sight of a party of Arabs, twenty or more in number, with Desmond and Hamed in their midst. Hamed, by the gesticulations he was employing, was apparently expostulating with his captors; while Desmond was using strenuous means to show them that he was disinclined to move forward.
The Arabs were so engaged with their prisoners, that they did not observe the approach of the English till they were close upon them. Jack and his companions redoubled their speed.
“Hurrah!” shouted Tim. “Knock the blackamoors down right and left, and we’ll be up soon.”
Desmond was perfectly ready to follow this advice, and two or three well-directed blows enabled him to spring out from among the astonished Arabs and join his friends. Hamed made a similar attempt, but, being tripped up, was caught by the Arabs, two of whom held their daggers at his breast.
“They stickee into me, they stickee into me!” shouted poor Hamed, “if you not doee what they ask.”
“What is it?” inquired Jack, who continued advancing towards the Arabs.
“Dey let goee if not shootee,” answered Hamed.
“Tell them that, though they deserve to be punished for daring to capture Her Majesty’s officers, I will not injure them if they will inform me in what direction our friends have gone,” said Jack.
Hamed on this appeared greatly relieved, and a long parley ensued between him and the Arabs. Their chief, a ragged old fellow, with somewhat tattered, though once rich, garments, stepped forward, and, making a profound salaam, uttered a long address, which Hamed briefly interpreted. “He say you pay him a hundred dollars, he takee where English stop, and fightee black fellows.” The Arab himself and his followers were as black as negroes, by the bye, having probably more African than Asiatic blood in their veins.