The Lance of Kanana: A Story of Arabia

by John Kendrick Bangs

  XII

  KANANA'S MESSENGERS

  Far and wide the impatient soldiers asked, "Why is the army inactive?"

  "Is not the motto of Kahled 'Waiting does not win'?"

  "Has he not taught us that action is the soul and secret of success?"

  "Does he not realize that the hosts of Heraclius are bearing down uponus, that he leaves us sitting idly in our tents?"

  "Is Kahled the Invincible afraid?"

  Such were the questions which they put to their officers, but no onedared carry them to the general, who sat in his tent without speaking,from sunrise to sunset, the first day after the girdle disappeared.

  "Is it the loss of his girdle?"

  "Did he not conquer Babylonia without it?"

  "Does he not fight in the name of Allah and the Prophet? Could abright-colored girdle give him strength?"

  Thus the second day went by.

  Kahled the Invincible was silent and sullen, and the impression grew andgrew that in some way the safety and success of the whole army dependedupon the recovery of that girdle.

  So intense was this sentiment, that when at midnight, after the thirdday, it was reported that a fragment of the girdle had been captured bysome scouts, and was then being taken to the general's tent, the wholearmy roused itself and prepared for action.

  Not an order had been issued, yet every soldier felt instinctively thatthe coming morning would find him on the march.

  It was midnight. For a day Kahled had not even tasted food. He sat alonein his tent upon a Persian ottoman. A bronze vessel from Babylonia,filled with oil, stood near the center of the tent. Fragments ofburning wick, floating in the oil, filled the tent with a mellow, amberlight.

  There was excitement without, but Kahled did not heed it till a soldierunceremoniously entered, bearing in his hand a part of the curtain fromthe palace of Babylon.

  With a sudden ejaculation Kahled caught it from the soldier's hand, butashamed of having betrayed an emotion, he threw it carelessly upon therug at his feet, handing the soldier a bag of gold, and bidding him seehow many pieces, lying flat, could touch it.

  The soldier worked slowly, carefully planning the position as he laidthe pieces down, and Kahled watched him as indifferently as though hewere only moving men upon the Arab's favorite checker-board.

  When every piece that could was touching the camel skin, the soldierreturned the bag, half-emptied, and began to gather up his share.

  Kahled deliberately emptied the bag, bidding him take the whole and go.

  He was leaving the tent when the general called him back. He had pickedup the skin, and was carelessly turning it over in his hand. It wasneatly cut from the girdle, in the shape of a shield, a little over afoot in width.

  "How did you come by it?" Kahled asked indifferently.

  "We were searching the plain, a day's journey to the north," the soldieranswered. "We were looking for travelers who might bring tidings of theenemy. We saw four strangers, Syrians, riding slowly, and a shepherd whoseemed to be their guide. Upon his horse's front, hung like abreastplate, where every eye could see, was yonder piece of the sacredgirdle. We dashed upon them, and the cowards ran. The shepherd was thelast to turn. I was ahead, but not near enough to reach him, so I threwmy lance. He fell from his horse and--"

  "You killed him?" shrieked the general, springing to his feet anddropping the camel skin.

  "No! no!" gasped the frightened soldier. "I only tried to. He wore acoat of sheepskin. It was too thick for my lance. He sprang to his feet,tore the lance from his coat, and ran after the rest, faster even thanthey could ride, leaving his horse behind."

  "'Tis well," muttered the general, and he devoutly added, "Allah bepraised for that sheepskin coat!"

  The soldier left the tent, and going nearer to the light, Kahledexamined the fragment of the sacred girdle. It was double. Two pieceshad been cut and the edges joined together.

  He carefully separated them, and upon the inner side found what heevidently expected.

  These words had been scratched upon the leather, and traced with blood:

  "Sixty thousand, from Antioch and Aleppo, under Jababal the traitor,encamp two days from Yermonk, north, waiting for Manuel with eightythousand Greeks and Syrians, now six days away. Still another army isyet behind. Thy servant goes in search of Manuel when this is sent."

  "Allah be praised for that sheepskin coat!" Kahled repeated, placing thefragment in his belt, and walking slowly up and down the tent.

  "Jababal is two days to the north," he added presently. "A day agoManuel was six days behind him. He will be still three days behind whenI reach Jababal, and while he is yet two days away, the sixty thousandin advance will be destroyed."

  An order was given for ten thousand horsemen and fifteen thousand camelriders to start for the north at once. The soldiers expected it, andwere ready even before the general.

  Four days and a night went by, and they were again encamped at Yermonk;but Jababal's army of sixty thousand men, was a thing of the past.

  Again a strip of the girdle was discovered. This time it hung upon theneck of a camel leading into the camp a long caravan laden with grainand fruit.

  The camel-driver reported that one had met them while they were upon theway to supply the army of Manuel. He had warned them that Manuel wouldsimply confiscate the whole and make them prisoners, and had promisedthat if they turned southward instead, to the camp of Kahled, with thetalisman which he hung about the camel's neck, they should be wellreceived and fairly treated.

  From this talisman Kahled learned that the army of Manuel was almostdestitute of provisions, and that a detachment with supplies was anotherfive or six days behind.

  The general smiled as he thought how the Bedouin boy had shrewdlydeprived the hungry enemy of a hundred and fifty camel-loads of food,while he secured for himself an excellent messenger to his friends.

  During the night Manuel's magnificent army arrived, and encamped justnorth of the Mohammedans. Manuel chose for his citadel a high cliff thatrose abruptly out of the plain between the two armies, and ended in aprecipitous ledge toward Arabia.

  Standing upon the brow of this cliff, a little distance from the tent ofManuel, one could look far down the valley, over the entire Mohammedanencampment.

  When morning dawned, the prince sent for the leading Mohammedan generalsto confer with him concerning terms of peace. He offered to allow theentire army to retire unmolested, if hostages were given that the Arabsshould never again enter Syria.

  The Mohammedan generals, who had been thoroughly dismayed at the sightof the Grecian phalanx, thanked Allah for such a merciful deliverance,and instantly voted to accept. The real authority, however, rested withKahled, who replied, "Remember Jababal!"

  With so many in favor of peace, Manuel hoped for an acceptance of histerms, and proposed that they consider the matter for a day.

  Kahled, with his hand upon the camel-skin in his belt, replied again:"Remember Jababal!"

  He realized that his only hope of victory lay in striking a tired andhungry enemy, and that each hour's delay was dangerous. Less than halfan hour later he was riding along the line of battle shouting the battlecry:

  "Paradise is before you! Fight for it!"

  The soldiers were ready, and there began the most desperate strugglethat was ever waged upon the plains of Syria.

  All day long the furious conflict raged. Three times the Bedouins weredriven back. Three times the cries and entreaties of their women andchildren in the rear urged them to renew the fight, and again theyplunged furiously upon the solid Grecian phalanx.

  Night came, and neither army had gained or lost, but among the Bedouincaptives taken by the Greeks were several who recognized Kanana. Theysaw him moving freely about the enemy's camp. They learned that he wassupposed to be a servant who had fled, with other camp-followers, at thetime of the slaughter of Jababal's army. They could see in it nothingbut cowardly desertion. They said:

  "He was afraid that we shou
ld be conquered, and instead of standing byus to fight for Arabia, he ran to the enemy to hide himself;" and intheir anger they betrayed him. They reported to the Greeks that he was aBedouin, of the army of Kahled, not a Syrian servant of Jababal.

  Kanana was quickly seized, bound and dragged into the presence of theprince. Manuel had suspected that some one had betrayed both Jababaland himself to Kahled, and chagrined at the result of the first day'sbattle, he fiercely accused Kanana.

  Calmly the Bedouin boy admitted that it was he who had given theinformation, and he waited without flinching as Manuel drew his sword.

  "Boy, dost thou not fear to die?" he exclaimed, as he brandished hissword before Kanana.

  "I fear nothing!" replied Kanana proudly.

  "Take him away and guard him carefully," muttered the prince. "Dying istoo easy for such as he. He must be tortured first."

  The second day and the third were like the first. The army of theProphet fought with a desperation that never has been equaled. TheIshmaelite counted his life as nothing so that he saw a Greek fall withhim. It was the fate of Allah and Arabia for which they fought, and theystood as though rooted to the ground, knowing of no retreat but death.

  Again and again their general's voice rang loud above the clashing arms:

  "Paradise is before you if you fight! Hell waits for him who runs!" Andthey fought and fought and fought, and not a man dared turn his back.

  Again and again the Grecian phalanx advanced, but they found a wallbefore them as solid as the cliff behind them.

  When a Bedouin lay dead he ceased to fight, but not before; and themoment he fell, another sprang forward from behind to take his place.

  XIII

  THE LANCE OF KANANA

  The army of the Prophet had not retreated one foot from its originalposition, when night brought the third day's battle to a close.

  Kahled sank upon the ground among his soldiers, while the women from therear brought what refreshment they could to the tired warriors.

  All night he lay awake beside his gray battle-horse, looking at thestars and thinking.

  Flight or death would surely be the result of the coming day. EvenKahled the Invincible, had given up all hope of victory.

  He was too brave a man to fly, but he was also too brave to force othersto stand and be slaughtered for his pride.

  It was a bitter night for him, but as the eastern sky was tinged withgray, he at last resolved to make the sacrifice himself, and save suchof his people as he could.

  The women and children, with the wounded who could be moved, must leaveat once, taking all that they could carry with them, and scatterthemselves in every direction.

  When they were well away, he, with such as preferred to stand and diewith him, would hold the foe in check while the rest of the armyretreated, with orders to march at once to Mecca and Medina, and holdthose two sacred cities as long as a man remained alive.

  He breathed a deep sigh when the plan was completed, and rising, mountedhis tired charger, to see that it was properly executed.

  It was the first time in his career that Kahled the Invincible hadordered a retreat, and his only consolation was that he was neither tolead nor join in it.

  In the camp of Manuel the same dread of the coming day clouded everybrow. Food was entirely exhausted. Horses and camels had been devoured.They had neither the means with which to move away, nor the strength tostand their ground.

  Their solid phalanx was only what the enemy saw along the front. Rankafter rank had been supplied from the rear till there was nothing leftto call upon.

  All that remained of the eighty thousand iron-hearted fighters--thepride of the Emperor Heraclius--as they gathered about the low campfires, confessed that they were overmatched by the sharper steel ofMohammedan zeal and Bedouin patriotism.

  Manuel and his officers knew that for at least three days no reliefcould reach them; they knew, too, that they could not endure another dayof fighting.

  "If we could make them think that their men are deserting and joiningus, we might frighten them," suggested an officer.

  "Send for the spy," said Manuel quickly, "and let it be proclaimed tothe other prisoners that all who will join us shall be set free, andthat those who refuse shall be slaughtered without mercy."

  Haggard and worn Kanana stood before him. For fifty hours he had lainbound, in a cave at the foot of the cliff, without a drop of water or amorsel of food.

  "I am about to torture thee," said the prince. "Thou hast wronged memore than thy sufferings can atone, but I shall make them as bitter as Ican. Hast thou anything to say before the work begins?"

  Kanana thought for a moment, then, hesitating as though still doubtful,he replied:

  "When the tempest rages on the desert, doth not the camel lay him down,and the young camel say to the drifting sand, 'Cover me; kill me, I amhelpless'? But among the captives taken by the prince, I saw an old manpass my cave. He is full of years, and for him I would part my lips. Ihear that the prince will have the prisoners slain, but it is not thecustom of my people to make the women, the old men, and the childrensuffer with the rest. May it please the prince to double every torturehe has prepared for me, and in exchange to set that old man free?"

  "Who is he?" asked the prince.

  "The one with a long white beard. There are not two," replied Kanana.

  "And what is he to you?"

  Kanana hesitated.

  "He shall die unless you tell me," said the prince, and Kanana's coldlips trembled as he whispered:

  "He is my father."

  "'Tis well," said Manuel. "Let him be brought."

  The old man entered, but paused at the opposite side of the tent,looking reproachfully at his son. He had heard from the other captiveshow they had discovered Kanana, a deserter in the hour of danger, livingin the tents of the enemy. Even he had believed the tale, and he wasenough of a patriot to be glad that they betrayed his son.

  "Is this thy father?" asked the prince. "He does not look it in hiseyes."

  Kanana simply bowed his head.

  That look was piercing his heart far deeper than the threats of torture;but Manuel continued:

  "You have offered to suffer every torture I can devise if I will set himfree. But you have not compassed your debt to me. You gave to Kahled theinformation by which he conquered Jababal. You gave him informationwhich prevented his making terms of peace with me. But for you I shouldbe on my way to Mecca and Medina, to sweep them from the earth. But Ilike courage, and you have shown more of it than Kahled himself. It is apity to throw a heart like yours under a clod of earth, and I will giveyou an opportunity to save both yourself and your father. Stand upon thebrow of the cliff yonder, as the sun comes up. There, according to thecustom of your people, wave this lance above your head. Shout your ownname and your father's, so that all of your people can hear, and tellthem that in one hour thirty thousand Arabs will draw the sword for thecause of Heraclius. Then throw the lance, and if your aim be good, andyou do kill an Arab, that moment I will set thy father free, and thoushalt be made a prince among my people. Do not refuse me, or, after Ihave tortured thee, with red-hot irons I will burn out thy father'seyes, lest he should still look savagely upon thy corpse!"

  He had scarcely ceased speaking when the old sheik exclaimed:

  "My son! My Kanana, I have wronged thee! Forgive me if thou canst, butlet him burn out my eyes! Oh! not for all the eyes that watch the starswould I have a son of mine a traitor. Thou wouldst not lift a lancebefore. I charge thee now, by Allah, lift it not for any price that canbe offered thee by this dog of an infidel!"

  Kanana did not look at his father. His eyes were fixed on Manuel, andwhen all was still, he asked:

  "Will the prince allow his captive to sit alone till sunrise andconsider his offer?"

  "Take him out upon the cliff and let him sit alone," said Manuel; "buthave the irons heated for his father's eyes."

  Kanana chose a spot whence he could overlook the valley, and whateverhis f
irst intentions may have been, he changed them instantly, with hisfirst glance. He started, strained his eyes, and looked as far as hiskeen sight could pierce the gray light of early morning.

  Then his head sank lower and lower over his hands, lying in his lap,till the wings of his turban completely covered them. He did not move orlook again.

  In that one glance he had recognized the result of Kahled's lastresolve. In the gray distance he saw that laden camels were moving tothe south. He saw the dark spots, most distant in the valley, suddenlydisappear. They were folding their tents! They were moving away! Kahledthe Invincible had ordered a retreat.

  Kanana knew that to retreat at that moment meant death to Arabia, but hedid not move again till an officer touched him on the shoulder, andwarned him that in a moment more the sun would rise.

  With a startled shudder he rose and entered Manuel's tent.

  "Is the word of the prince unchanged?" he asked. "If I speak the wordsand throw the lance and kill an Arab, that moment will he set my fatherfree?"

  "I swear it by all the powers of earth and heaven!" replied the prince.

  "Give me the lance," said Kanana.

  His father crouched against the tent, muttering: "For such an act,Kanana, when I am set free I will find first a fire with which to heatan iron, and burn my own eyes out."

  Kanana did not heed him. He took the lance, tested it, and threw itscornfully upon the ground.

  "Give me a heavier one!" he exclaimed. "Do you think me like your Greekboys, made of wax? Give me a lance that, when it strikes, will kill."

  They gave him a heavier lance.

  "The hand-rest is too small for a Bedouin," he muttered, grasping it;"but wait! I can remedy that myself. Come. Let us have it over with."

  As he spoke he tore a strip from beneath his coat, and, turning sharplyabout, walked before them to the brink of the cliff, winding the stripfirmly about the hand-rest of the lance.

  Upon the very edge he stood erect and waited.

  The sun rose out of the plain, and flashed with blinding force upon theBedouin boy, clad in his sheepskin coat and desert turban, precisely asit had found him in the porch of Aaron's tomb, upon the summit of MountHor.

  His hand no longer held a shepherd's staff, but firmly grasped a Grecianlance, that gleamed and flashed as fiercely as the sun.

  Upon Mount Hor he was bending forward, eagerly shading his eyes,anxiously looking away into the dim distance, searching the path of hisdestiny.

  Now there was no eagerness. Calmly he stood there. Vainly the sunflashed in his clear, wide-open eyes. He did not even know that it wasshining.

  Not a muscle moved. Why was he waiting?

  "Are you afraid?" muttered the prince, who had come as near as possiblewithout being too plainly seen from below. "Remember your old father'seyes."

  Kanana did not turn his head, but calmly answered:

  "Do you see yonder a man upon a gray horse, moving slowly among thesoldiers? He is coming nearer, nearer. That man is Kahled theInvincible. If he should come within range of the lance of Kanana, Isuppose that Manuel would be well pleased to wait?"

  "Good boy! Brave boy!" replied the prince. "When thou hast made thy mindto do a thing, thou doest it admirably. Kill him, and thou shalt beloaded down with gold till the day when thou diest of old age."

  Kanana made no reply, but standing in bold relief upon the cliff,watched calmly and waited, till at last Kahled the Invincible left theline of soldiers, and alone rode nearer to the cliff.

  "Now is your chance! Now! now!" exclaimed the prince.

  Slowly Kanana raised the lance. Three times he waved it above his head.Three times he shouted:

  "I am Kanana, son of the Terror of the Desert!" in the manner of theBedouin who challenges an enemy to fight, or meets a foe upon the plain.

  For a moment, then, he hesitated. The next sentence was hard to speak.He knew too well what the result would be. It needed now no straining ofthe eyes to see his destiny.

  All the vast army down below was looking up at him. Thousands would hearhis words. Tens of thousands would see what followed them.

  "Go on! go on!" the prince ejaculated fiercely.

  Kanana drew a deep breath and shouted:

  "In one hour thirty thousand Arabs will draw the sword in the army ofHeraclius!"

  Then gathering all his strength, he hurled the lance directly at thegreat Mohammedan general, who had not moved since he began to speak.

  Throughout those two great armies one might have heard a sparrow chirp,as the gleaming, flashing blade fell like a meteor from the cliff.

  The aim was accurate. The Bedouin boy cringed, and one might haveimagined that it was even more accurate than he meant. It pierced thegray charger. The war-horse of Kahled plunged forward and fell dead uponthe plain.

  A fierce howl rose from the ranks of the Ishmaelites. Men and womenshrieked and yelled.

  "Kanana the traitor! A curse upon the traitor Kanana!" rent the veryair.

  Such was the confusion which followed that, had the Greeks been ready toadvance, a thousand might have put a hundred thousand Bedouins toflight. But they were not ready.

  Kanana stood motionless upon the cliff. He heard the yells of "Traitor!"hut he knew that they would come, and did not heed them.

  Calmly he watched till Kahled gained his feet, dragged the lance fromhis dying horse, and with it in his hand, hurried toward the soldiers.

  Only once he turned, and for an instant looked up at the solitary figureupon the cliff. He lifted his empty hand, as though it were a blessingand not a malediction, he bestowed upon the Bedouin boy; then hedisappeared.

  With a deep, shivering sigh, Kanana pressed one hand beneath hissheepskin coat. A sharp contortion passed over him, but he turned aboutand stood calmly, face to face with Manuel.

  "You did well," said the prince, "but you did not kill an Arab. It wasfor that I made my promise."

  "'And if you kill an Arab,'" gasped Kanana, "'that moment I will setyour father free'! Those were the prince's words! That was his promise,bound by all the powers of earth and heaven! He will keep it! He willnot dare defy those powers, for I have killed an Arab!"

  Clutching the sheepskin coat, Kanana tore it open, and, above abrilliant girdle, they saw a dagger buried in his bleeding breast. Hetottered, reeled, stepped backward, and fell over the brink of thecliff.

  "You may as well go free," said Manuel, turning to the sheik. "Amonstrous sacrifice has just been made to purchase your liberty."

  Turning abruptly he entered his tent to consider, with his officers, thenext result.

  "I think they are flying," an officer reported, coming from the cliff."The horsemen and camels are hurrying into the hills. Only foot soldiersseem remaining in the front."

  "Let every soldier face them who has strength to stand!" commanded theprince. "Put everything to the front, and if they fly give them everypossible encouragement."

  The order was obeyed, and the fourth day of battle began; but it wasspiritless and slow.

  The Bedouins, with their constantly thinning ranks, stood with grimdetermination where their feet rested, but they made no effort toadvance.

  The wearied out and starving Grecian phalanx simply held its ground.The prince was not there to urge his soldiers on. The voice of Kahleddid not sound among the Mussulmans.

  An hour went by.

  Suddenly there was an uproar in the rear of the army of Heraclius. Therewas a wild shout, a clash of arms, and the watch-word of Islam rangabove the tumult, in every direction.

  Ten thousand horse and twenty thousand war-camels poured in upon thatdefenceless rear, and, even as Kanana had declared, in just one hourthere were thirty thousand Arabs wielding their savage swords in thearmy of Heraclius.

  Another hour went by. The battle cry of Kahled ceased. The shout ofvictory rang from the throats of the Mussulmans. Manuel and all hisofficers were slain. The magnificent army of Heraclius was literallyobliterated.

  Treasure without limit glutted t
he conquered camp. Arabia was saved.

  Quickly the soldiers erected a gorgeous throne and summoned Kahled tosit upon it, while they feasted about him and did him honor as theirvictorious and invincible leader.

  The veteran warrior responded to their call, but he came from his tentwith his head bowed down, bearing in his arms a heavy burden. Slowly hemounted the platform, and upon the sumptuous throne he laid his burdendown.

  It was the bruised and lifeless body of Kanana.

  With trembling hand the grim chief drew back the sheepskin coat, and allmen then beheld, bound about the Bedouin boy, the sacred girdle!

  "I gave it to him," said Kahled solemnly; "and upon the fragments youhave returned to me, he wrote the information by which we conqueredJababal and Manuel. You saw him throw this lance at me; you called him'traitor!' but about the hand-rest there was wound this strip. See! Inblood--in his blood--these words are written here: 'Do not retreat.The infidels are starving and dying. Strike them in the rear.' It washis only means of reaching me. It was not the act of a traitor. No! Itwas the Lance of Kanana that rescued _Arabia_."

  "I GAVE IT TO HIM," SAID KAHLED, SOLEMNLY.]

  THE END

  * * * * *

  American Heroes and Heroines

  By PAULINE CARRINGTON BOUVE

  Illustrated

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