Frank Sheridan

“ Madcap Max was not a coward.
He had no real fear of death, but he would rather meet the great destroyer on the open field, or in any way but that slow struggle in the solitude of a big grave—a death from starvation.
The strongest soul would quake.
The hours passed along.
Time’s chariot wheels continue to revolve no matter who may wish to stay them.
Max began to think of other things besides death. ”

“ I am thy slave, do with me as thou wilt—I am thine.”
“No, Girzilla, not mine,” said Sherif; “if thou dost belong to anyone, ’tis to Max, the audacious young madcap.”
A tinge of carmine suffused itself over the girl’s face, and she bent down her head.
“He careth not. I am not of his race; the sun doth not care for the dark—I am dark——”
“But comely,” quickly added Max, quoting from Solomon. “I do care for thee, Girzilla. I——”
“Nay, I understand thee. I will lead thee or go with thee—but it is great Sherif el Habib who is the master. As he pleases so I wilt do.” ”

“ Ibrahim grew bolder when he found she did not answer him.
“Come, sweet voice of the night,” he said, as he approached the tent.
But Girzilla was asleep.
“My own gazelle——”
Max moved uneasily.
“I will sing to thee the songs of Istaphan. I will make thee a throne upon which thou shalt sit as queen of my heart.”
“Am I dreaming,” asked Max, “or where am I? Ah, I remember! I died out on the sand. Girzilla was with me. Where is she? Is this death? I am very comfortable. Am I dead? I don’t feel like it.”
Max pinched himself and smiled.
“If I am dead, I can hurt myself I find. This isn’t sand. ”

“ He saw the rioting, and felt that Shula was right—the people had but scant chance.
That made Max all the more determined.
He waved his sword above his head and rushed into the thickest of the fight.
“Long live the Mahdi!”
At the sight of the paleface the soldiers fell back.
“I am an American,” shouted Max, “but I am with you. The Mahdi is a native of your country, he is no foreigner. Strike for him, and let your cry be Egypt for the Egyptian, the Soudan for the Soudanese!”
The people lost their fear.
Like demons they sprang on the soldiers, but the soldiers did not return the fire. ”

“ Youth is ever buoyant, and before the steamer had left the English Channel, Max was the happy, light-hearted lad once again, laughing, chatting and larking with everyone he came in contact with.
His father could not hide his grief so easily, but showed by his manner how nearly broken was his heart and ruined his life.
When the troubled waters of the Bay of Biscay were reached, Max had given plentiful evidence of his love of practical joking, and showed that he fully deserved his sobriquet of Madcap. ”

“ Fearing to say more, the girl ran away, leaving Max far happier than when she had joined him.
He returned to his friends, and with that generous nature which characterized him, he sought out the Mahdi.
“I was wrong to speak as I did,” he said, “but I am not of thy faith. You adopt the crescent, my sign is the cross. Mahomet did a grand work for your people, but my Savior is Jesus.”
“He is one of our prophets.”
“I know it. But let us not talk of faith or creed. You are beset with danger. Your enemies may league against you——”
“They may, but they cannot triumph.” ”

“ The loud, stentorian voices of the officers of the magnificent palace steamer L’Orient, of the Peninsular and Oriental Line, sounded all along the Southampton docks, up the streets to the old gates, and even penetrated into some of the business houses of the quaint old English town.
The shout, so commonplace to the citizens of Southampton, was one of serious import to those gathered on the deck of the steamer.
Parting is never pleasant, and when the journey is a long one, and it is known the absence is for years, the last words are always tearful. ”

“ Max and Ibrahim were the heroes of the day.
Songs of triumph—in gibberish which might mean anything—dances of the most grotesque kind were indulged in, and it was plain to be seen that these poor savages were nearly mad with joy.
When the excitement was at its height, Max whispered to Ibrahim:
“Let us run—but as we do so we had better point our guns at the fellows; then they won’t follow.” ”

“ Ibrahim whispered to Girzilla’s father:
“What would become of your harem?”
“I will go,” said Sherif el Habib, with enthusiasm.
“No, no, no!” interrupted Max, excitedly, “it would never do. Both the illustrious Sherif el Habib and Mohammed have too much to lose.”
“Do you think we value our possessions more than principle?”
“Not at all; but it would be mighty inconvenient to lose all, and perhaps your lives as well. Let me go to Kordofan.” ”

“ There was an eloquent, passionate fervor in her manner which seemed to raise her from the apathetic lazy Egyptian race and elevate her to the level of the American.
Max was about to speak, but like a queen she motioned him to be silent.
“I have been here since I was so high”—again measuring two feet from the ground. “Did I ever take the sacred bandages from the bodies of the embalmed? Never. And yet thou couldst not be alone an hour without desecrating the dead. Isis will punish thee—Osiris will return and claim his own.” ”

“ The butchery was at its height when a cloud of dust and sand was seen in the distance, and in a few minutes a gallant band of well-armed Arabs rode into the center of the village, and charged the Fashodians with an impetuosity entirely foreign to the Arab nature.
“Come on, boys!” shouted Sherif el Habib, in good Arabian. “I don’t know what the quarrel is about, but the villagers are the weakest.”
“That’s so!” shouted Max; “and in my country we always go to help the under dog of the fight.” ”

“ When the day ended and the result of the fight was known, it was found that of the five thousand brave followers of Hubert Ponsonby and the Fashodan governor, not two hundred escaped.
The carnage was fearful.
The Mahdi lost about two hundred men, the enemy over four thousand.
Ibrahim and Max were the heroes of the hour, and the Mahdi, in a loud voice, proclaimed the “infidel” Max as an adopted son of the prophet.
Amid heartfelt cries of: “Great is Allah! The Mahdi hath come!” the sun went down, and Mohammed Ahmed was the greatest warrior the Soudan had ever known. ”

“ It was his intention to visit the shrine of the prophet at Mecca, across the Red Sea, and after exploring the wonders of Luxor, Carnac, and ancient Thebes, go up the Nile, past Cairo, to Alexandria.
It was just the kind of pilgrimage to suit Ibrahim, and his heart beat so fast with expectancy that his uncle feared he might bring on a nervous fever. When Mecca was reached Sherif was so full of religious fervor that he began to see visions and dream dreams, much to the annoyance and yet amusement of Ibrahim. ”

“ The girl was deeply agitated, for she realized from what Mohammed, her father, had told her, that the mission in which both Max and Ibrahim were to be engaged was one of deadly peril, and that the chances were that neither would ever be seen again alive.
But, like the grand old martyrs of olden times, the young men went forth, their lives in their hands, in support of the cause they had espoused. ”

“ Mohammed Ahmed was shrewd.
He knew that his victory would rouse all the animosity of the Egyptians and Turks against him.
A delay would be dangerous.
The Soudan must be his, and that at once.
He called together his chosen friends and told them that the victory must be followed up by still greater victories.
Sherif el Habib, full of the religious devotion which made men rejoice in being martyrs, advised the instant march on Khartoum.
“The presence of the Mahdi is enough; all men must acknowledge your mission,” he said, and really believed that the Mahdi could scatter his enemies by a mere word. ”

“ A number of the soldiers again shouldered arms, but the majority kept them reversed.
Max saw the advantage he had gained.
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He caught the bridle of a horse whose rider had fallen in the mêlée.
Vaulting into the saddle, he looked proud and defiant as he sat there, like a veritable centaur.
“Soldiers, you believe in Mahomet! Hark ye! I have fought with the great Mahdi. I have seen the thousands of Fashoda beaten back when he waved his wand. He has no need of sword or scimiter; he fights with his eyes, and when he waves his hand, armies fall back.” ”

“ The standard bearer turned quickly on his camel to repel, as he thought, the attack made by Max, but was surprised to see the American ride away.
The fight was raging furiously when a loud report was heard, and the standard bearer was flying through space.
Alas! his beauty was defaced and his usefulness ended, for the madcap had charged the cartridge so well that the poor bearer of the crescent of Egypt was rent into a hundred pieces, and his remains had to be left scattered on the ground.
The Fashodians were superstitious, and believed that the prophet must have indeed come. ”

“ Max laughed so heartily at the idea that Ibrahim almost feared for his reason.
Taking up the challenge, however, he retaliated.
“And wouldn’t your ears be split with the chorus of tinkling cymbals?”
“It is horrible. Of course you refused the honor.”
“I did not.”
“Wha-at?”
“I did not, because I dare not.”
“Why?”
“Have you never heard of the custom of the Gondos?”
“No.”
“It is this: The chief calls a favorite to him and desires to honor him. He does so by giving him one or more wives—the more wives the greater honor.”
“Indeed!”
“If the favored one declines the honor, he insults the chief.” ”

“ The savages got so close that our heroes were compelled at times to dodge the fans of arrows, which threatened to mar the beauty of their faces, they were so near.
“It is time to stop this,” said Max, drawing his old-fashioned revolver—a weapon which must have been one of the first ever made, so primitive was its construction. It had been given to Max by Sherif el Habib, who believed it to be the most wonderful weapon ever invented.
Max happened to catch sight of a monkey jumping from tree to tree, so he put back his revolver and raised his rifle, a more modern and more reliable weapon. ”

“ The man Mohammed was evidently in a state of great mental exaltation, and like Sherif el Habib, believed that the promised savior or leader of the Moslems had come, and was awaiting an opportunity to crush the Christian nations and proclaim the rule of Mahomet.
Max was enchanted.
He liked enthusiasts.
He worshiped heroes.
But with his hero worship was mingled so much commercialism that men never gave him credit for any idea beyond the making of dollars.
“We will find this Mahdi,” he said, “and he shall lecture through the States. There will be millions in it.” ”

“ The color of his face was almost purple, and as he tried to stand up in the little boat his head fell back, and Max only saved him by a hair’s breadth.
Max was now alone.
Ibrahim lived, but was not only helpless, but in his delirium, dangerous to himself and his companion.
Selim was dead.
It grieved Max to have to throw the body overboard, but that was the only course which could be adopted.
Unstrapping the packages of food from the man’s back, he exerted all his strength and pushed the man overboard. ”

“ Now, I’ve got an idea—just forget that you are the Mahdi and, to put it plainly, a rebel——Oh, don’t wince; George Washington, the greatest man who ever lived, was a rebel until he was successful, then he was a patriot.”
“I have already told you to speak as you think,” said Mohammed Ahmed. “I shall not be offended.”
“My plan is this: Let some one go secretly to Khartoum, to Kordofan, and Senaar, and preach rebellion. Let whoever goes rouse the people—talk to them of the way they have been robbed, and then spring upon them the idea that you, their Mahdi, will deliver them. ”

“ When Mr. Gordon had been thrown from the donkey, his head struck a sharp piece of granite, and was severely wounded.
The chief saw that Mr. Gordon was dying, and ordered him to be lifted tenderly into the center of the cave.
Max tried to rise, but unknown to himself his feet had been again tied together.
“My father! Oh, dad, speak to me!”
The dying man turned his eyes round and a smile was on his lips.
“Max—I—am—going—av——”
Was he going to say “Avenge me?”
Max never knew, for a cloth was stuffed into the dying man’s mouth, and the bandits commenced a wild, weird dance round the body. ”

“ Will you not raise his flag?”
“We will.”
“What does it matter if a few are killed, they will die in a great cause. You have been robbed by Khartoum, pillaged by Egypt and taxed by Turkey. England now wants a share, and what will you have left?”
“Nothing.”
“The Mahdi can save you. He will be ruler of Egypt, of Turkey and the whole of the Mohammedan world. The crescent and star will float above all other flags, for the Mahdi will be prince of princes and shah of shahs.” ”