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To-morrow at the break of day we mount, and fly with the wings of the wind to meet the enemy. Allah and his holy hosts are with us." "Allah and his holy hosts are with us!" is the joyous cry repeated by the kachefs. Soon all is still in the camp of Damanhour. Men and horses are at rest. Bey Bardissi alone has not yet retired. He calls the Bedouin sheik, Arnhyn, to his side.
"You are right, Arnhyn," replied Bardissi, "and it is this that I wish to prevent. I wish, if possible, to avoid encountering Mohammed Ali. It is of this that I desire to speak with you. Come, let us withdraw a little farther from the tents and discuss this matter." All is silent. The Mamelukes and kachefs lie sleeping beside their horses.
There, at the head of four thousand Mamelukes, surrounded by a body of beys and kachefs, comes Osman Bey Bardissi, the hero of so many battles. How sparkling his eyes, how radiant the smile with which he greets the populace that hails him with shouts of enthusiasm! He passes by, and now come the Albanians and Armenians.
Immediately after L'Elfi's departure, Bardissi called the kachefs of his Mamelukes, and those of Ibrahim Bey and Hassan Aga together, to hold a grand council of war on the plain of Damanhour. "Do you wish to be cautious like L'Elfi? shall we retreat from the approaching enemy?" cries Osman Bey, the crown of bravery. "Speak, ye kachefs!
Having vanquished both of them, I hardly think Taber Pacha will have any desire to sustain the third defeat. We will then turn our attention to Cairo, now stripped of soldiers." The kachefs, who had listened to Bardissi's words with sparkling eyes, spoke as one man: "We will not retreat from the enemy like L'Elfi! Lead us against him! We will vanquish him! We are strong and courageous!
From the proceeds of his booty he purchased a swarm of slaves, who were compelled to follow him. He was only a military power. The Mameluke princes measured his rank and influence by the number of followers in his train when he passed through the streets of Alexandria. There were kachefs who owned a thousand slaves, and beys who possessed two thousand.
In the cadi's name he proclaimed to the people a general amnesty for all past offences: "The new viceroy is to enter the city on the morrow. Let the city put on festive attire, and let a hearty welcome be extended him. Remove from the streets and houses all traces of conflict and bloodshed. Bury your dead, and care for your wounded, ye wives of the Mameluke beys and the kachefs.
I announce to him that I send the truest and bravest of all kachefs, and I beg him to take you to battle with him. I announce to him that I give him for the fatherland, and the most faithful friend I have, and beg him to place you at the starting-point, from which you are to run your race as a hero." "Oh, bitterness and anguish!" cried Youssouf, in tones of despair.
Now they were separated from the enemy by the canal only, but Cousrouf's cannon made impassible the one bridge that united the two shores. "Yet we must effect our passage to the other side," said Bardissi. "Yes, but the question is, how are we to do so?" said Mohammed. All the bim bashis and boulouk bashis, together with the beys and their kachefs, were called together in a council of war.
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