repair it was to be left
untinkered with and taken to Tamanrasset or the nearest larger
settlement where it would be fixed free of charge.

There were many strange features about the smiths, as each man could
see. Among others, were their strange weapons. There had been some soft
whispered discussion among the warriors in the first two days of their
stay about relieving the strangers of their obviously desirable
possessions--after all, they weren't kinsmen, not even Tuareg. But on
the second day, the always smiling one named Abrahim el Bakr had been on
the outskirts of the _erg_ when a small group of gazelle were flushed.
The graceful animals took off at a prohibitive rifle range, as usual,
but Abrahim el Bakr had thrown his small, all but tiny weapon to his
shoulder and _flic flic flic_, with a sound no greater than the cracking
of a ground nut, had knocked over three of them before the others had
disappeared around a dune.

Obviously, the weapons of the smiths were as great as their learning and
their new instruments. It was discouraging to a raider by instinct.

Then, too, there was the strangeness of the night talks their leader was
known to have with his secret _Kambu_ fetish which was able to answer
him in a squeaky but distinct voice in some unknown tongue, obviously a
language of the djinn. The _Kambu_ was worn on a strap on Omar's wrist,
and each night at a given hour he was wont to withdraw to his tent and
there confer.

On the fourth night, obviously, he was given instruction by the _Kambu_
for in the morning, at first light, the smiths hurriedly packed, broke
camp, made their good-byes to Moussa-ag-Amastan and the others and were
off.

Moussa-ag-Amastan was glad to see them go. They were quite the most
disturbing element to upset his people in many seasons. He wondered at
the advisability of making their usual summer journey to the Tuareg
sedentary centers. He had a feeling that if the clan got near enough to
such centers as Zinder to the south, or Touggourt to the north, there
would be wholesale desertion of the Bela, and, for that matter, even of
some of his younger warriors and their wives.

However, there was no putting off indefinitely exposure to this danger.
Even in such former desert centers as Tessalit and In Salah, the
irrigation projects were of such magnitude that there was a great labor
shortage. But always, of course, as the smiths had said, if you worked
at the projects your children m