to him.

'Here are tracks of horses and camels that have entered the valley thus
far and not passed through it. They are fresh; let all be prepared.'

'We are twenty-five men well armed,' said Baroni. 'It is not the Tyahas
that will attack such a band.'

'Nor are they the Gherashi or the Mezeines,' said the Sheikh, 'for we
know what they are after, and we are brothers.'

'They must be Alouins,' said an Arab.

At this moment the little caravan was apparently land-locked, the
defile again winding; but presently it became quite straight, and its
termination was visible, though at a considerable distance.

'I see horsemen,' said the Sheikh; 'several of them advance; they are
not Alouins.'

He rode forward to meet them, accompanied by Tancred and Baroni.

'Salaam,' said the Sheikh, 'how is it?' and then he added, aside to
Baroni, 'They are strangers; why are they here?'

'Aleikoum! We know where you come from,' was the reply of one of the
horsemen. 'Is that the brother of the Queen of the English? Let him
ride with us, and you may go on in peace.'

'He is my brother,' said Sheikh Hassan, 'and the brother of all here.
There is no feud between us. Who are you?'

'We are children of Jethro, and the great Sheikh has sent us a long way
to give you salaam. Your desert here is not fit for the camel that your
Prophet cursed. Come, let us finish our business, for we wish to see a
place where there are palm trees.'

'Are these children of Eblis?' said Sheikh Hassan to Baroni.

'It is the day of judgment,' said Baroni, looking pale; 'such a thing
has not happened in my time. I am lost.'

'What do these people say?' inquired Tancred.

'There is but one God,' said Sheikh Hassan, whose men had now reached
him, 'and Mahomet is his Prophet. Stand aside, sons of Eblis, or you
shall bite the earth which curses you!'

A wild shout from every height of the defile was the answer. They looked
up, they looked round; the crest of every steep was covered with armed
Arabs, each man with his musket levelled.

'My lord,' said Baroni, 'there is something hidden in all this. This is
not an ordinary desert foray. You are known, and this tribe comes from a
distance to plunder you;' and then he rapidly detailed what had already
passed.

'What is your force, sons of Eblis?' said the Sheikh to the horsemen.

'Count your men, and your muskets, and your swords, and your horses, and
your camels; and if they were all double, they would not