CHAPTER X
HE SAVES THAT WHICH HE LOVES THE BEST
In an instant the little valley was the scene of confusion; for a frantic moment men were running hither and thither, apparently aimlessly, weaving in and out amongst their comrades—shouting, screaming, cursing aloud.
Danny, obedient to the order of O'Rourke, shouted to his men, commanding them to form a square similar to that used by British infantry when repelling attacks.
In the center of the square would be placed all those who might be counted upon to act as noncombatants in event of a possible mêlée between the landing party and the rightful lords of the desert—the Tawareks. These would be, probably, Madame la Princesse de Grandlieu, her husband, Prince Felix, together with Mouchon and D'Ervy and Monsieur Lemercier himself—Leopold the First, Emperor of the Sahara.
O'Rourke seized the arm of the princess, near to whom he had been standing, in a grasp whose roughness might only be condoned in view of his anxiety to get her quickly to the place of most safety. She did not resist; she did not even seem to resent his action. In her eyes, upturned to his, O'Rourke caught a look—even in that moment of terror and confusion—which he never forgot, which he was to treasure jealously for the rest of his days—a look of confidence, commingled (he dared hope) with an emotion deeper, stronger. In the deepening twilight they shone like clear,
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