ey are," said he, in a quavering voice. "I did not
expect to see any Arabs in this part."

"Who they are?" cried the Frenchman. "You can see who they are. They are
armed men upon camels, Ababdeh, Bishareen--Bedouins, in short, such as
are employed by the Government upon the frontier."

"By Jove, he may be right, Cochrane," said Belmont, looking inquiringly
at the Colonel. "Why shouldn't it be as he says? why shouldn't these
fellows be friendlies?"

"There are no friendlies upon this side of the river," said the Colonel,
abruptly; "I am perfectly certain about that. There is no use in mincing
matters. We must prepare for the worst."

But in spite of his words, they stood stock-still, in a huddled group,
staring out over the plain. Their nerves were numbed by the sudden
shock, and to all of them it was like a scene in a dream, vague,
impersonal, and unreal. The men upon the camels had streamed out from a
gorge which lay a mile or so distant on the side of the path along which
they had travelled. Their retreat, therefore, was entirely cut off. It
appeared, from the dust and the length of the line, to be quite an army
which was emerging from the hills, for seventy men upon camels cover
a considerable stretch of ground. Having reached the sandy plain, they
very deliberately formed to the front, and then at the harsh call of
a bugle they trotted forward in line, the parti-coloured figures all
swaying and the sand smoking in a rolling yellow cloud at the heels of
their camels. At the same moment the six black soldiers doubled in
from the front with their Martinis at the trail, and snuggled down like
well-trained skirmishers behind the rocks upon the haunch of the hill.
Their breech-blocks all snapped together as their corporal gave them the
order to load.

And now suddenly the first stupor of the excursionists passed away, and
was succeeded by a frantic and impotent energy. They all ran about upon
the plateau of rock in an aimless, foolish flurry, like frightened fowls
in a yard. They could not bring themselves to acknowledge that there was
no possible escape for them. Again and again they rushed to the edge
of the great cliff which rose from the river, but the youngest and most
daring of them could never have descended it. The two women clung one
on each side of the trembling Mansoor, with a feeling that he was
officially responsible for their safety. When he ran up and down in his
desperation, his skirts and theirs all