He Finds Himself in Deep Waters
the men to fall back and screen themselves with the trunks of date palms. In every case the trooper obeyed with a celerity that was heightened by his supreme surprise that a man who should be dead by rights was contrarily walking, talking and commanding.
Mahmud once ventured an explanation.
"I posted these men out here, master," he murmured deferentially, "that they might the better watch the desert."
"Ye did right, under the circumstances; but now the situation is altered. We must protect every man—we shall need them all."
"Truly," muttered Mahmud to himself, "this is prophecy! Truly we shall see great fighting before nightfall."
Inspired or not, O'Rourke was speaking simple truth; they were to need every man ere long. Their little force had been sadly decimated of late; there remained in and about the oasis scarcely thirty fighting men. And as to the number of Tawareks—who could tell? They might easily outnumber the invaders ten to one, each inspired by rabid ferocity and the desire to avenge the death of the leader whom O'Rourke had slain.
Why they had held off so long, was the question. To Mahmud's mind there was only one answer; they had been awaiting reinforcements from an oasis more distant than Zamara, with whose aid they expected to exterminate the French party to the last man.
Under cover of the night, too, they had improved their position; as was evidenced by the nearer line of fire, they had pushed daringly in toward the oasis, taking up sheltered, posts on dunes that brought them within easy range of the invaders.
In event of a combined attack from any one quarter, the
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