ng--a fast car which might be ours.

I said a word to the others, and we dismounted and tethered our horses
at the near end of the courtyard. I heard the low hum of voices from
the cavalrymen by the stream, but they were three hundred yards off and
could not see us. Peter was sent forward to scout in the courtyard.
In the building itself there was but one window looking on the road,
and that was in the upper floor.

Meantime I crawled along beside the wall to where the car stood, and
had a look at it. It was a splendid six-cylinder affair, brand new,
with the tyres little worn. There were seven tins of petrol stacked
behind as well as spare tyres, and, looking in, I saw map-cases and
field-glasses strewn on the seats as if the owners had only got out for
a minute to stretch their legs.

Peter came back and reported that the courtyard was empty.

'There are men in the upper room,' he said; 'more than one, for I heard
their voices. They are moving about restlessly, and may soon be coming
out.'

I reckoned that there was no time to be lost, so I told the others to
slip down the road fifty yards beyond the caravanserai and be ready to
climb in as I passed. I had to start the infernal thing, and there
might be shooting.

I waited by the car till I saw them reach the right distance. I could
hear voices from the second floor of the house and footsteps moving up
and down. I was in a fever of anxiety, for any moment a man might come
to the window. Then I flung myself on the starting handle and worked
like a demon.

The cold made the job difficult, and my heart was in my mouth, for the
noise in that quiet place must have woke the dead. Then, by the mercy
of Heaven, the engine started, and I sprang to the driving seat,
released the clutch, and opened the throttle. The great car shot
forward, and I seemed to hear behind me shrill voices. A pistol bullet
bored through my hat, and another buried itself in a cushion beside me.

In a second I was clear of the place and the rest of the party were
embarking. Blenkiron got on the step and rolled himself like a sack of
coals into the tonneau. Peter nipped up beside me, and Hussin
scrambled in from the back over the folds of the hood. We had our
baggage in our pockets and had nothing to carry.

Bullets dropped round us, but did no harm. Then I heard a report at my
ear, and out of a corner of my eye saw Peter lower his pistol.
Presently we were out of range, and, l