The Quest - Smith Wilbur (читать лучшие читаемые книги TXT) 📗

At daybreak the troopers came to admire mother and baby. Horsemen all, they knew better than to crowd them. At a discreet distance they pointed out to each other the new foal's shapely head and long back.

'Good deep chest,' said Shabako. 'He will be a stayer. He will run all day.'

'Front legs not splayed or pigeon-toed. He will be fast,' said Hilto.

'Hindquarters finely balanced, neither sickle-hocked nor hip-shot. Yes, fast as the wind,' said Tonka.

'What will you call him, Magus?' Meren asked.

'Whirlwind.'

'Yes,' they agreed at once. 'A good name for him.'

Within ten days Whirlwind was frolicking around his dam, butting her udder fiercely when she did not let down her milk fast enough for his appetite.

'Greedy little fellow,' Taita observed. 'Already he is strong enough to follow when we go on.'

Meren waited another few days for the rise of the full1 moon before he took once more to the south road. As Taita rode down the column Meren saw him looking at the water-pots and lime bags strapped to the back of each pack mule. Hurriedly he explained, 'I am certain we will have no further need of them, but…'

He groped for an explanation.

Taita supplied it. 'They are too valuable to discard. We can sell them in Qebui.'

'Exactly what I had in mind.' Meren looked relieved. 'Not for an instant did I doubt the efficacy of your magic. I am sure that from now on we will find only good water ahead.'

So it proved. The next pool they came to was green and filled with huge catfish that had long barbels round their mouths. The shrinking pools had concentrated them in dense shoals so they were readily speared.

Their flesh was bright orange and rich with fat. They made delicious eating. Among the men Taita's reputation was now carved in marble and embossed in pure gold. The four captains and their troopers were ready to follow him to the ends of the earth, which was exactly what Pharaoh had ordered them to do.

Fodder for the horses was always in short supply, but Taita had passed that way before and hunted in the surrounding country. He led them on detours from the river to hidden valleys in which grew stands of a low, leathery desert shrub that seemed dead and desiccated, but buried beneath each plant an enormous tuber was filled with water and nutrients.

They were the staple diet of the oryx herds in hard times - they pawed them up with their hoofs. The troopers chopped them into chunks. At first the horses refused to touch them, but hunger soon overcame their reluctance. The men cached the water-pots and lime bags and replaced them with tubers.

They sustained the pace of the march over the ensuing months, but the weaker horses started to falter. When they broke down, the troopers despatched them with a sword blow between the ears that went deep into the skull. They left their bones to bleach in the sun. In all twenty two died before they faced the final obstacle: the Shabluka gorge, a narrow cutting through which the Nile forced its way.

Above the gorge the Nile, in spate, was almost a mile wide. However, through the gorge it was compressed to a hundred yards from one steep rocky bank to the other. When they camped below it they saw running

water for the first time since they had left Karnak. A thin stream emerged through the rocky chute and spilled into the pool below. However, it had not run more than a mile before it was sucked into the sands and vanished below them.

They ascended the Shabluka Ridge up a wild-goat track along the lip of the gorge. From the summit they looked southwards across the plains to a distant line of low blue hills. 'The Kerreri hills,' said Taita. 'They stand guard over the two Niles. Qebui is only some fifty leagues ahead.'

The course of the river was marked by groves of palm trees along each bank, and they followed the western bank towards the hills. The river flowed stronger as they drew nearer to Qebui and their spirits rose. They covered the last leg of the journey in a single day and at last stood at the confluence of the Nile.

Qebui was the outpost at the furthest limit of the Egyptian domain.

The small fort housed the governor of the nome and a detachment of border guards. The town spread out along the southern bank. It was a trading post, but even at this distance they could see that many buildings were run-down and abandoned. All trade with Mother Egypt in the north had been strangled by the failure of the Nile. Few were prepared to take a caravan along the perilous road that Taita, Meren and their men had negotiated.

'This flow of water comes down from the highlands of Ethiopia.' Taita pointed to the wide, eastern river course. The water was running and they could see shadoof wheels turning along the far bank as they lifted the water into the irrigation channels. Wide fields of green dhurra surrounded the town.

'I expect to find good supplies of grain here to fatten the horses.'

Meren smiled with pleasure.

'Yes,' Taita agreed. 'We shall have to rest now until they are fully recovered.' He patted Windsmoke's neck. She was sadly out of condition: her ribs were showing and her coat was dull. Even though Taita had shared his ration of dhurra with her, feeding her foal and the rigours of the journey had taken their toll on her.

Taita turned his attention to the eastern fork of the river. 'That is the way Queen Lostris led the exodus,' he said. 'We sailed the galleys as far as the mouth of another steep gorge which they could not surmount, anchored them there and went on with chariots and wagons. In the mountains the queen and I chose the site of Pharaoh Mamose's tomb.

I designed it and concealed it most cunningly. I have no doubt it has never been discovered and desecrated. Nor will it be.' For a short while

he reflected on his achievement with satisfaction, then went on, 'The Ethiopians have fine horses, but they are warriors and fiercely defend their mountain fastnesses. They have driven back two of our armies sent to subdue them and bring them into the empire. I fear that there will never be a third attempt.' He turned and pointed directly down the southern branch of the river. It was wider than the eastern fork, but it was dry, not even a trickle moving in its bed. 'That is the direction we must follow. After a few short leagues the river enters the swamp that has already swallowed two armies without trace. However, if we are fortunate we will find it much reduced. Perhaps we might find an easier way through it than the others did. With judicious use of the royal Hawk Seal we will be able to procure from the governor native guides to lead us. Come, let us cross to Qebui.'

The governor had been stranded at this outpost for the seven years of the drought. His name was Nara, and he was bent and yellowed after constant attacks of swamp-fever, but his garrison was in much better case. They were well fed with dhurra, and their horses were fat. Once Meren had shown him the royal seal and informed him of Taita's identity, Nara's hospitality was unbounded. He ushered Taita and Meren to the guesthouse in the fort and placed the best rooms at their disposal.

He sent slaves to attend them and his own cooks to prepare their meals, then threw open his armoury for them to re-equip their men.

'Choose the horses you need from the remount depot. Tell my quartermaster how much dhurra and hay you require. There is no need to stint.

We are well provisioned.'

When Meren inspected the men in their new quarters he found them well content. 'The rations are excellent. There are not many women in the town but those few are friendly. The horses and mules are filling their bellies with dhurra and green grass. No one has any complaint,'

Hilto reported.

After his long exile Governor Nara was eager for news of the civilized world, and hungry for the company of sophisticated men. In particular Taita's learned dissertations fascinated him. Most evenings he invited him and Meren to dine with him. When Taita revealed to him their intention to ride south through the swamps, Nara looked grave.