The King's Talisman — page 56: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE KINGS TALISMAN. 47 startled blacks were not used to meeting, and then, as their eyes fell upon their leader’s cleft skull, they instinctively shrank back from the lifted sword, and in a moment more they were engaged with the common foe. The Bedouins had already begun to give out beneath the onset of the first charge; but when the Nubians came on to the attack, and Noureddin returned to his post, they fell back, wavered for a moment, and then turned their horses’ heads and galloped off across the desert. Once more the Petran train was in order of travel. Only four had fallen in the conflict, and one of those had sunk beneath the blade of their commander, while ten of the Bedouins had paid for their avarice with their lives. The nine remaining Nubians resumed their stations by the side of the pavilion, but they wore not the haughty bearing that had characterized them before. As their eyes rested upon the young lion who had so utterly overcome them, they seemed to sink into a sort of. trembling fear, and ever and anon a hurried whisper of consultation would pass among them. Noureddin noticed their movements, and was not slow in comprehending the subject of their eager whispers. The young man, had he been without a clew to the mys- tery of the final destination marked out for him by the king, might never have suspected that of which he was now confident; but being sure that some of his train were under instructions to put him to death as soon as convenient after the mission had been performed, he had not the least doubt that the Nubians were the appointed murderers, and he also felt convinced that their present movements were in some way connected with the event; but from their every appear- ance he easily saw that the fearful lesson he had given them had not been without a salutary effect, and the other eunuchs, too, were much influenced by the occurrence. They looked upon the young man with wondering express- ions of countenance, plainly evincing by their manner that (Elo) GEomicbooks