The Amulet of Power - Mike Resnick [31]
They bedded down shortly after dark. Lara thought she’d stay awake for a few more hours, but her injuries and her exertions of the previous night caught up with her the second she lay down, and the next thing she knew Omar was gently shaking her awake and explaining that she had slept for almost twelve hours and it was time to leave.
The day passed uneventfully. About two hours before sunset Omar sent Hassam ahead to make sure the oasis was free from Mahdists. He reported back to them ninety minutes later, stating that there was absolutely no sign of life there.
“Good,” said Omar. “We will reach it an hour after sunset, let the camels drink, and fill our canteens. Barring dust storms, we should only have to stop once more for water before we cross the border and enter the Sudan.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Lara.
They urged their camels on as a strong wind arose, and reached their goal when Omar had predicted. There was a small water hole surrounded by no more than a dozen palm trees. Lara couldn’t figure out why the water didn’t evaporate, and finally decided it must be fed by a ground spring.
“Gaafar,” ordered Omar, as they all dismounted, “make sure the area is secure. Hassam, fill our canteens while the camels drink.”
“No!” yelled Lara suddenly, and everyone froze.
“What is it?” asked Omar.
“Hassam, don’t touch that water!” she said.
He looked at her curiously.
“Did you drink from it when you were here earlier?” she asked.
“No,” he replied, looking offended. “I do not drink before my leader.”
“But your camel did, didn’t he?”
Hassam frowned. “Yes.”
“What is this all about?” demanded Omar.
“Look,” said Lara, pointing to Hassam’s camel, which had not advanced toward the water with the others, but was hanging back.
The poor beast was swaying unsteadily on weakened legs, a stream of white foam dripping from its mouth. Hassam rushed over to it, but before he could reach it the camel collapsed. It began bleating, and then, suddenly, it stiffened its forelegs spasmodically and died.
Hassam opened the dead animal’s mouth. The tongue was black and bloated.
“This is the only well for a hundred miles or more, right?” asked Lara.
“That is correct,” said Omar.
“The Mahdists are obviously a well-organized force,” said Lara. “They knew we weren’t going to show ourselves by going alongside the Nile, and they figured that if we survived their first attack, sooner or later we’d wind up at this well, so they poisoned the water. If we’d arrived even five minutes sooner, before the camel began showing any symptoms, that would have been all our fates in another two or three hours.”
“What kind of wondrous woman are we traveling with?” said Gaafar almost worshipfully. “Lara Croft, you have saved our lives for the second time!”
“I haven’t done a thing,” replied Lara.
“But you have,” insisted Gaafar stubbornly.
“We’re in the desert, we’ve lost a camel, the oasis is poisoned, and we’re out of water,” she said grimly. “Somebody had better save the saver.”
11
“We’d better give this some serious thought,” said Omar as the wind continued blowing sand through the air. “Obviously we can’t continue on our route. For all we know, the next six or eight or ten oases and wells are poisoned.”
“Why would they bother?” asked Hassam. “They will assume we died here.”
“Will they still assume it when they come by to collect the Amulet in the morning and there are no bodies here and only one camel?” asked Lara sardonically.
“He’s a really good shot, though,” said Omar with a smile of amusement as Hassam lowered his eyes in embarrass-ment and shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“I think the first thing we’d better do is bury the camel and see if there’s any way to hide the fact that we were here at all,” suggested Lara. “If they don’t know that we figured out the water was poisoned, if they think we were in a hurry and just went right past it, they may wait until we reach the next oasis or well before coming after us, whereas if they know we found out this oasis was poisoned, they’ll figure