The Oasis by Pauline Gedge Read Free Book Online Page B

brother’s thoughts were suddenly entangled in the past, even as his were. At the farther end of that ribbon his father’s blood had gushed into the sand and changed their lives forever. Then it was gone, replaced by an irregular row of tall palms, and Ahmose sighed lightly. “All the boats should be safely past Qes within the hour,” he said in a low voice. “We have seen nothing and no one, Kamose. I think we may risk some time to sleep before we approach Dashlut. How much farther is it?”
    “About eight miles,” Kamose responded automatically. “We can put in soon. Besides, I want to send out scouts. I must know if there are any soldiers in the town and how the houses lie. What I ought to do is order one of the ships on past Dashlut to intercept anyone trying to escape and warn Teti at Khemmenu, but as Khemmenu is only a further eight miles north it will not matter. We will be on him before he can crawl from his couch, let alone summon his Setiu from their beds.” He made no attempt to disguise the tone of contempt. “Yes, we will rest, Ahmose. And beyond Dashlut I think we will rest again.” He must have betrayed the secret thought behind the words, for Ahmose swung to him, peering into his face.
    “Kamose, what are you going to do to Dashlut?” he asked urgently. Kamose put a finger at his lips.
    “I will rouse the mayor and give him one chance to surrender. If he refuses, I shall destroy the town.”
    “But why?”
    “For two reasons. First because it is Apepa’s southernmost outpost. Qes does not really count. Apepa rules all Egypt but his fingers only reach as far as Dashlut. Like the fool he is, he has not bothered to garrison anything farther south, although Esna and Pi-Hathor are actively his and of course he treatied with Teti the Handsome of northern Kush. Thus he presumed that the rest of Egypt was safely enclosed, and with the arrogance of all the Delta dwellers he saw us as crude, provincial and impotent. If I demolish Dashlut, I send a message to the whole country that I am bent on conquest, not talk. Secondly, I must leave fear at my back. There must be no doubt regarding my intention, no temptation on the part of the administrators I leave behind to hope for aid or send for it once my forces have passed by. The Setiu defeated us without one arrow being fired against them, Ahmose,” he finished emphatically. “Such complacency must never be allowed again.”
    “Kamose, there are certainly Setiu in Dashlut,” Ahmose said anxiously. “Farmers and artisans. But there are also many Egyptians. Is it wise …”
    “Wise?” Kamose broke in roughly. “Wise? Don’t you understand that if we stop at every village to sift through the populace to determine who is Setiu and who not, who will ally themselves with us and who will say the words only and then stab us in the back, we will never reach the Delta? How will you tell friend from foe, Ahmose? Will the man who smiles be a friend and the ill-favoured a foe?”
    “That is not fair,” Ahmose protested quietly. “I am not as ingenuous as you suppose. But I shrink from such indiscriminate bloodshed. Why not simply station loyal troops in each town as we go?”
    “Because such a strategy would bleed the army dry when every man will be needed at Het-Uart. How many professional soldiers has Apepa got in his capital? A hundred thousand? More? Certainly not less. Besides, when victory is ours, the men will want to take their earnings and go home. They will not wish to stay in northern towns and I cannot blame them. Then, if I were Apepa, if I fled and survived, I would plot a countermove. That must not happen.”
    “Gods, how long have you been nursing this ruthlessness?” Ahmose muttered.
    “What choice do I have?” Kamose whispered. “I hate the necessity, Ahmose. Hate it! I must maim Egypt in order to save her, and I pray every day that in wounding her I do not damn myself. Dashlut must go!”
    Ahmose stepped back. “You hope the mayor