t. George, following their example, let his
thoughts dwell upon the cool forests in the land of his birth, and
longed ardently for a few minutes' shelter beneath one of the great
elm trees that grew in the grounds of his father's house. The time
passed on, and mile after mile was covered, until shortly after noon
a watering-place was at length reached. Another short halt was
called, and a rest taken before the last stage of the journey was
begun. So far, only distant clouds of dust warned the travellers of
the nearness of their enemies, and with the subtle intuition of
Belbeis, they were skilfully avoided. Another twenty-five miles only
remained before Tel-el-Kebir would be reached, and already Helmar
was promising himself success.

Suddenly Belbeis roused himself from a light doze he had fallen
into, and, glancing quickly round the horizon, called on his
companions to saddle up their horses again.

"I see a party approaching from the north; we must hasten! I fear we
shall be observed," he said, as he sprang into the saddle.

George and the guide quickly followed his example, and the party
moved off with all possible haste. They had scarcely gone a quarter
of a mile when George drew Belbeis's attention to another cloud of
dust.

"See," he said, "there are some more ahead of us! It looks as if we
are hemmed in on all sides. We cannot retreat--our horses will not
last."

Belbeis gazed at the cloud George had drawn attention to, and then
anxiously glanced at the one to the north.

"They are both coming towards us, but it looks as if some conveyance
were with the one you have pointed out."

"Ah," said George, "and if so, what do you expect?"

"That I cannot say," replied Belbeis. "It might be one of Arabi's
patrols, or it might be--no, it cannot be British, their patrols
would never venture so far into the enemy's country, unless, of
course, it was in a strong force, and that does not seem to me the
case."

"Anyway," said George in determined tones, "we have come so far,
there must be no turning back--we'll make a fight for it. They are
not going to take me back to Cairo alive."

"Set your mind at rest on that point," said Belbeis quietly; "they
will not attempt to do so. The moment we are seen they will swoop
down on us and attempt to cut us up. Well, let them come!"

"So say I," answered Helmar, his eyes glittering with excitement as
he spoke.

The rolls of dust were coming nearer; the party to the north