Page:A Prisoner of the Khaleefa.djvu/52

his men of some orders they had received, and to "secure their men alive." Even in that moment it flashed upon me that we had been led into an ambush, else why the reference to "our master's orders" given by their leader? Elias, Hasseena, and I ran towards "F" to take cover; it was no use my using my fowling-piece on that struggling mass, as I should have struck friend and foe. Just as we reached the base of the hillock, Elias was captured, and the five or six dervishes who had pursued us occupied themselves with examining the contents of the bag he was carrying — my three hundred dollars, jewellery, etc. They gave a mere glance towards me, and then moved off. Pushing a few stones together, I laid out my cartridges, reloaded my revolvers, and prepared to die fighting. Ismail, the leader of our caravan, had by some means managed to get clear of the mass, and, reaching my camel, mounted it and rode off, riding hard to the right of "F." Seeing Hasseena and me, he called to us to try and secure camels and follow him up. Hasseena on this ran down the hillock; I had not noticed her disappearance from the immediate vicinity of the hillock, as I was too much occupied hurriedly making my diminutive zareeba of stones. Glancing over the stones later, I was astonished to see her walking at the head of the dervishes who had secured Elias, they following in Indian file. Hasseena called out that I was given quarter, and that I was to stand up unarmed. This I refused to do, and as they kept advancing, 1 kept my gun pointed at them from between the stones. Hasseena again called out,