In addition to her intense anxiety about Roger she had another. The shattered Army was, all this time, trudging past them on the track a hundred yards away. Bonaparte's policy of scorching the earth might delay the pursuit by regular Turkish cavalry, but the merciless Arabs would, she knew, be close on the heels of the French rearguard and, even should they spare her, she felt sure they would murder Roger. In consequence, on the morning of May 30th she decided that they must abandon the little camp they had made by the seashore and move on.
But when she examined Roger soon after dawn she found that the bubo under his arm was so swollen that it was ready to burst. As he was conscious she had two of the Mamelukes hold him down, then lanced the great swelling with her sharp dagger, squeezed out the pus and washed out the cavity with seawater. He was then put in the litter and they took the road again.
After the operation he sank into a coma and all day Zanthe feared that any moment he might die from weakness, but when they made camp that evening he was conscious and able to mutter a few words. Again they bathed him in the sea and for the first time in four nights he slept. Next day he was a little easier and, provided his heart held out, it began to look as if he would pull through.
The halt of two days had been a welcome respite for the prisoners and the seabathing had helped to recruit their strength, so they were now making better progress. But, by then, their store of water was running low. The seawater thereabouts had an exceptionally high degree of salt and, if allowed to dry on Roger after his immersions, it tended to clog his pores and prevent him from perspiring. As he could not be rubbed down hard Zanthe had to sponge off the salt with a moistened cloth, and this had eaten into their limited supplies of water. By June 3rd their need had become desperate so, at sundown that evening, she sent four of the Mamelukes out with orders to get water, even if they had to kill for it.
Some hours later they returned in triumph with several gallons of water, and they had not had to rob others in order to obtain the precious liquid. In certain places along the coast, near the southern end of the Syrian desert, there are small sand-dunes, composed of such fine sand that the heavy rains in winter are absorbed by them as though they were giant sponges. Later, when the dry weather comes, their crust hardens; but it can be pierced with a stick and, even after many months, water will trickle out. The Mamelukes had recognized some dunes as this type of natural reservoir and laboriously, but joyfully, filled from them the empty waterskins they carried.
After a further four days' march they reached the Roman ruins of Pelusium. At the nearby village on the shore Zanthe succeeded in hiring a native dhow, so that they could make the remainder of the journey by sea. For much of the time Roger had been sunk in a lethargy, and still had hardly the strength to raise his arm. But he had recovered sufficiently to know what was going on round him and, when Zanthe told him about the boat, he asked her to release the Turkish prisoners and make for Alexandria.
They called at Damietta, where Zanthe went ashore with two of the Mamelukes to buy more palatable provisions, fruit and various other things. On her return Roger dictated to her a letter to Bonaparte, which they later sent ashore to the garrison Commander, General Menou, for forwarding. In this letter Roger reported his misfortune and narrow escape from death, then said that he proposed to convalesce in Alexandria at the villa of his friend the Greek banker, Sarodopulous.
On June 1'th they reached Alexandria. It was now two and a half weeks since Roger had been smitten with the pestilence and the past week spent at sea had done him a lot of good; but, even so, he was still so weak that he could not walk without assistance and had to be carried in a litter by the Mamelukes out to Sarodopulous's villa.
He had lost so much flesh that his face was gaunt and his clothes hung loose about him. For a moment Madame Sarodopulous failed to recognize him; then, greatly shocked by his appearance, she gave him a most friendly welcome which was fully endorsed by her brother-in-law and son when, that evening, they returned from their counting house in the city. Roger had already been put to bed and it was Zanthe who, while dining with the family, gave them a full account of the grim time he had been through since he had been taken prisoner three months earlier at Acre.
Next day Roger signed a chit empowering the banker to draw for him his arrears of pay from the French Paymaster in Alexandria and asked the Greek to have the blades of six fine scimitars engraved. Each was to be inscribed with the name of the Mameluke concerned and the words: ' Member of the guard that conveyed Her Highness Princess Zanthe safely from Acre to Alexandria during the great retreat in the year of the Hegira 1177. For courage and fidelity, from Colonel Breuc, aide-de-camp to General-in-Chief Bonaparte.'
When the scimitars were ready Roger asked Zanth6 to present them. Then, giving each of the Mamelukes a handsome present of money, he thanked them for all they had done and ordered them to proceed to Cairo and rejoin their regiment. Overwhelmed by such kindness, these simple but magnificent fighting men kissed Zanthe's feet and, with tears in their eyes, took leave of Roger.
Roger had been helped down to the terrace for this little ceremony and it became his routine to spend most of his time there dozing, talking or walking up and down leaning on Zanthe's arm, for gradually more lengthy periods. The Sarodopulouses could not do enough for them. Nowhere could Roger have been provided with more nourishing fare to restore his vitality. Breasts of quail, chicken livers a la brochette, curried lobster, gazelle meat stewed in wine, soups made from pressed wild duck and the finest fruits succeeded one another to tempt his appetite. The Sarodopulouses displayed the greatest admiration for Zanthe's courage in having nursed Roger through the pestilence and, without servility, showed how honoured they felt at having as their guest a Princess of the Imperial House. Madame Sarodopulous insisted on replenishing Zanthe's wardrobe with many beautiful garments and her son Achilles made himself her slave, endeavouring to anticipate her every wish and thinking up all sorts of pastimes to amuse her.
Even Zanthe's efforts to save Roger's life might have proved unavailing had it not been for his splendid constitution. For many years he had frequently ridden long distances at the utmost speed possible. Whenever he had had no serious matter to attend to, he had always spent an hour or more a day in a fencing school and, when shooting game, had been capable of walking many miles without feeling fatigue. In consequence, his health had been excellent and his muscles as strong as whipcord. Now, his splendid physical condition before he caught the pestilence stood him in good stead. With every comfort, the most nourishing food and no worries, he began to put on flesh and feel like his old self again.
For the first few days Roger remained too lethargic to think of much besides his miraculous preservation, Zanthe's love and her devotion to him, the kindness of the Sarodopulouses and the joy of having his recovery aided by security, quiet and lazing in the shade of the terrace watching little green lizards darting from place to place along the sunlit balustrade. But, as his mental faculties returned to him, he began again to enjoy speculating with his host on the course of the war.
As usual, Sarodopulous's agents had kept him well informed; so he was able to tell Roger of the major events that had taken place in Europe up till about eight weeks earlier.
Austria had dragged her feet in the matter of actually committing her Armies to the new war of the Second Coalition. Although already negotiating an offensive alliance with Russia, Turkey and Britain in the winter, she had allowed both Piedmont and Naples to be overrun by the French without lifting a finger, and in the early spring had still shown great reluctance to take positive action. At length it had been forced upon her through the entry of a Russian Army into Austria, under the late Catherine the Great's famous Commander, General Suv6roff. The French had demanded that, within eight days, the Russians should withdraw from Austrian territory; the Emperor had ignored the demand and it had then been tacitly accepted by the two countries that a state of war existed between them.