ys suspected these electrical inventions would be my ruin some
day," he reflected, sadly; "and now I'm side-tracked and left helpless
in this outlandish country, without a single hope of ever getting home
again. They probably won't be able to kill me, unless they find my
Garment of Repulsion and strip that off; but I never could cross this
terrible desert on foot and, having lost my food tablets, I'd soon
starve if I attempted it."

Fortunately, he had eaten one of the tablets just before going to
sleep, so there was no danger of immediate starvation. But he was
miserable and unhappy, and remained brooding over his cruel fate until
a sudden shout caused him to look up.

14. Turk and Tatar

The Tatars had arrived, swiftly and noiselessly, and a dozen of the
warriors, still mounted, were surrounding him.

His helpless condition aroused their curiosity, and while some of them
hastily cut away his bonds and raised him to his feet, other plied him
with questions in their own language. Rob shook his head to indicate
that he could not understand; so they led him to the chief--an immense,
bearded representative of the tribe of Kara-Khitai, the terrible and
relentless Black Tatars of Thibet. The huge frame of this fellow was
clothed in flowing robes of cloth-of-gold, braided with jewels, and he
sat majestically upon the back of a jet-black camel.

Under ordinary circumstances the stern features and flashing black eyes
of this redoubtable warrior would have struck a chill of fear to the
boy's heart; but now under the influence of the crushing misfortunes he
had experienced, he was able to gaze with indifference upon the
terrible visage of the desert chief.

The Tatar seemed not to consider Rob an enemy. Instead, he looked upon
him as an ally, since the Turks had bound and robbed him.

Finding it impossible to converse with the chief, Rob took refuge in
the sign language. He turned his pockets wrong side out, showed the
red welts left upon his wrists by the tight cord, and then shook his
fists angrily in the direction of the town.

In return the Tatar nodded gravely and issued an order to his men.

By this time the warriors were busily pitching tents before the walls
of Yarkand and making preparations for a formal siege. In obedience to
the chieftain's orders, Rob was given a place within one of the tents
nearest the wall and supplied with a brace of brass-mounted pistols and
a dagger with a sharp, zigzag