reditary enemies, the Tatars.

The three spies were not less forbidding in appearance than the horde
of warriors Rob had passed upon the desert. Their features were coarse
and swarthy, and their eyes had a most villainous glare. Old fashioned
pistols and double-edged daggers were stuck in their belts and their
clothing, though of gorgeous colors, was soiled and neglected.

With all the caution of the American savage these Turks approached the
tree, where, to their unbounded amazement, they saw the boy lying
asleep. His dress and fairness of skin at once proclaimed him, in
their shrewd eyes, a European, and their first thought was to glance
around in search of his horse or dromedary. Seeing nothing of the kind
near they were much puzzled to account for his presence, and stood
looking down at him with evident curiosity.

The sun struck the polished surface of the traveling machine which was
attached to Rob's wrist and made the metal glitter like silver. This
attracted the eyes of the tallest Turk, who stooped down and stealthily
unclasped the band of the machine from the boy's outstretched arm.
Then, after a hurried but puzzled examination of the little instrument,
he slipped it into the pocket of his jacket.

Rob stirred uneasily in his sleep, and one of the Turks drew a slight
but stout rope from his breast and with gentle but deft movement passed
it around the boy's wrists and drew them together behind him. The
action was not swift enough to arouse the power of repulsion in the
Garment of Protection, but it awakened Rob effectually, so that he sat
up and stared hard at his captors.

"What are you trying to do, anyhow?" he demanded.

The Turks laughed and said something in their own language. They had
no knowledge of English.

"You're only making fools of yourselves," continued the boy,
wrathfully. "It's impossible for you to injure me."

The three paid no attention to his words. One of them thrust his hand
into Rob's pocket and drew out the electric tube. His ignorance of
modern appliances was so great that he did not know enough to push the
button. Rob saw him looking down the hollow end of the tube and
murmured:

"I wish it would blow your ugly head off!"

But the fellow, thinking the shining metal might be of some value to
him, put the tube in his own pocket and then took from the prisoner the
silver box of tablets.

Rob writhed and groaned at losing his possessions in this way, and
while hi