and emptied.

"Now hand me down that water bag."

This was half filled, and then, exhausted with their work, they threw
themselves down and slept for some hours. When they awoke, the sun was
setting.

"Bring up the horses, Zaki. Let them drink as much as they like."

The gourds had each to be filled six times, before the animals were
satisfied. The riders then took another deep drink, ate a handful of
dates, and mounted.

"We are safe now, and only have to fear a band of marauding Arabs; and
it would be hard luck, were we to fall in with them. We had better ride
slowly for the first hour or so. We must not press the horses, after
they have had such a drink."

"Very well, master."

"There is no particular reason for hurry, and even if we miss the trail
we know that, by keeping straight on, we shall strike the river
somewhere near Korti or Ambukol."

For an hour they went at a walk, and then the horses broke into their
usual pace, of their own accord. It was getting dark, now, and soon
even Zaki could not make out the track.

"The horses will keep to it, my lord," he said; "their sight is a great
deal better than ours, and I dare say their smell may have something to
do with it. Besides, the track is clear of bushes, so we should know at
once, if they strayed from it."

They rode for five hours, and then felt that the horses were beginning
to fag.

"We will halt here," Gregory said. "We certainly cannot be more than
five-and-twenty miles from the river; and, if we start at dawn, shall
be there before the heat of the day begins. We can have another handful
of dates, and give the horses a handful each, and that will leave us a
few for the morning."

The horses, after being given the dates, were again turned loose; and
it was not long before they were heard pulling the leaves off bushes.

"Our case is a good deal better this evening than it was yesterday,"
Gregory said. "Then it looked as if it would be rather a close thing,
for I am sure the horses could not have gone much farther, if we had
not found the water. I wish we had a good feed to give them."

"They will do very well on the bushes, my lord. They get little else,
when they are with the Arabs; a handful of durra, occasionally, when
they are at work; but at other times they only get what they can pick
up. If their master is a good one, they may get a few dates. They will
carry us briskly enough to the river, tomorrow."

They did not talk long, an