Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 13, 2025
"Mustapha, speak out." "He will come after a while." "Yes, yes." "And he will find no Bab Azoun, no band of illustrious robbers to do battle with." John's mind instantly hits upon flight as the cause for all this. "Why do you speak so?" "This wonderful soldier, he do it all; by the mighty power of his arm he will overcome the hosts of Bab Azoun.
Few indeed are they who escape, but the victory is shorn of its principal feature, when the fact is disclosed that the dread terror of the desert, the notorious rebel, Bab Azoun, is not among the slain. He was seen to fall, and yet they cannot find his body, search as they may. Not being mounted, the French soldiers are unable to give pursuit to the little band that hewed a way out.
I feared that it would be the end, for Bab Azoun and his followers usually dash into the desert when they have secured plunder, the pursuit from the French soldiers being what they fear, since the Algerian rulers have given all over into the hands of the Franks. "Monsieur, I was surprised to see them start off on foot.
"Down, monsieur!" exclaims Mustapha. Not a second too soon do they drop upon the necks of their horses, for a blinding flash comes from the men of Bab Azoun, a flash that is accompanied by a roar, and a hail-storm of lead sweeps through the space occupied by the forms of John Craig and his guide just a brief interval before.
This opens up a new vista. John is visibly agitated by the news. "I believe I see light; the hand of Pauline Potter is behind it all." "Monsieur, pardon." "Well, what is it now?" "From all he said I was inclined to believe it was a man who bought Bab Azoun." "Yes, yes; but you see he may have been mistaken. Besides, Blunt fought like a tiger. It does not matter just now.
There is no time just now to use them, for the rush of horses' hoofs are heard up the road, as the men of Bab Azoun come racing along, intent upon overhauling the fugitives. They sweep past the rocky tomb like a young cyclone; it is a spectacle none of those who gaze upon it will ever forget.
Again it flashes through John's mind; did not the driver in speaking of the facts tell Mustapha that in his opinion it was a man who had entered into a conspiracy with Bab Azoun? John's first thought was of Pauline Potter that she had hoped to get hold of him; but now he changes his mind, and locates the trouble elsewhere, fixing it upon the veteran.
Again and again have they sought to track his band over the plains, along the desert and into the wild recesses of the mountains, but it has always turned out a failure. Bab Azoun, on his native heath, laughs them to scorn, and once laid an ambuscade in which the soldiers suffered badly.
Mustapha, putting his knowledge of the place into good use, has led his companion into a cleft where there is hardly room to crawl; but, as they reach the end, they have a chance to gaze upon the interior where the Arabs and Kabyles, the Moors and negroes, who battle under the free banner of Bab Azoun, are assembled. Eagerly John looks upon the face of Lady Ruth.
When the news of the battle is known in Algiers, great excitement abounds. There are many sympathizers of Bab Azoun among the native population, and in some quarters their ugly teeth are shown; but France has too secure a hold of Algeria not to be ready for such an emergency, and her troops parade the streets, armed for battle.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking