, to get back to the
coast at all risks.

The caravan to which Sayd belonged was far larger than that of Mohammed.
It was under the command of a magnificent fellow in appearance,
Habib-ibn-Abdullah, to whom his followers looked with reverential awe.
There were numerous other chiefs, each attended by fifty or more black
free men or slaves, some armed with muskets or swords, and the rest with
spears and knives, or bows and arrows. Sayd had about fifty of these
men under his orders, entrusted to him by his father and other relatives
at Zanzibar.

The caravan waited in the entrenched camp, expecting every hour to be
attacked; but the negro chiefs had gained information of the number of
the garrison, and thought it wiser not to make the attempt, intending
probably to way-lay the caravan on its march, and cut it off should an
opportunity occur.

Several days passed by; no enemy appearing, Abdullah, mustering his men,
ordered the march to begin. With drums beating, colours flying, and
trumpets sounding, they marched out in gallant array, the armed men
guarding the pagazis, who carried the bales of cloth, boxes of beads,
and coils of wire. Though they looked so formidable, Ned, after the
disgraceful defeat suffered by Mohammed, did not feel that confidence
which he might otherwise have experienced. To avoid the defiles which
had proved so disastrous to their friends, Abdullah took a course to the
northward, which, after being pursued for a couple of days, was changed
to the westward. Ned looked out anxiously in the hopes of meeting a
return caravan; still none appeared, and he was convinced that it would
be madness to attempt returning by himself without the means of even
paying for his food. Sayd was as kind and attentive as he could desire,
generally marching alongside him, when they managed to converse freely
together, the young Arab eking out his English by signs. A strict watch
was kept night and day for enemies, but none ventured to attack them.
Abdullah, however, consented to pay tribute to the various chiefs
through whose territory the caravan passed. It consisted of so many
yards of cloth, with a string or two of beads or several lengths of
wire. Although muskets, powder, and shot were in demand, the Arabs
refused to part with them, suspecting that the weapons might be turned
against themselves when any difficulty might arise. The country of the
more warlike tribes having been passed, the Arabs marched wit