like
company to the poor wanderer, and he did not attempt to secure them; so,
throwing himself at full length on the ground, he flung his arms across
his eyes to shield them from the white glare of the sky.

Suddenly a step sounded near. Yusuf started to his feet and grasped his
scimitar, but he was instantly beset by half a dozen wild Arabs, who
dashed upon him, screaming their wild Arabian jargon, and waving their
short swords over their heads.

Blows fell thick and fast. Yusuf had a dazed consciousness of seeing the
swarthy, wrinkled visages and gleaming teeth of his opponents darting in
confusion before him, of hacking desperately, and of receiving blows on
the head; then a sudden gush of blood from a wound on his forehead
blinded him, and he fell.

All seemed over. But a shout sounded close at hand. Several Arabs,
splendidly mounted on nimble Arabian horses, and waving their long,
tufted spears, appeared on the scene. The Bedouin robbers fled
precipitately, and Yusuf's first sensation was that of being gently
raised, and of feeling water from the pool dashed upon his face.

The priest had not been severely wounded, and soon recovered enough to
proceed with the party which had rendered him such timely aid.

An hour's ride brought them to the head of another and more fertile glen
or wady, through which a mountain stream wended its way between two
bands of tolerably good pasturage. A full moon in all its brilliancy was
just rising. Its cold, clear light flooded the wady, bringing out every
feature of the landscape with remarkable distinctness. At some distance
lay a group of tents, black, and pitched in a circle, as the tents of
the Bedouins usually are. Camp-fires studded the valley with glints of
red; and the barking of dogs and shouts of men arose on the night air
above the hoarse moanings of the camels. Yusuf was indeed glad to see
evidences of Arab civilization, and to look forward to the prospect of a
good supper and a friendly bed.

The return of the party was now noticed by the men of the encampment. A
group of horsemen, also armed with long spears tufted with ostrich
feathers, left the tents and came riding swiftly and gracefully towards
their returning companions.

An explanation of Yusuf's sorrowful plight was given, and he was
conducted to the tent of the Sheikh, which was marked by being larger
than the rest, and situated in the center of the circle, with a spear
placed upright in the ground befor