They were in a country traversed by the caravans; it was no longer safe
to travel by day. They dismounted, and all that day they lay hidden
behind a belt of shrubs upon some high ground and watched the road and
the people like specks moving along it. They came down and crossed it in
the darkness, and for the rest of that night travelled hard towards the
river. As the day broke Abou Fatma again bade them halt. They were in a
desolate open country, whereon the smallest protection was magnified by
the surrounding flatness. Feversham and Trench gazed eagerly to their
right. Somewhere in that direction and within the range of their
eyesight flowed the Nile, but they could not see it.
"We must build a circle of stones," said Abou Fatma, "and you must lie
close to the ground within it. I will go forward to the river, and see
that the boat is ready and that our friends are prepared for us. I shall
come back after dark."
They gathered the stones quickly and made a low wall about a foot high;
within this wall Feversham and Trench laid themselves down upon the
ground with a water-skin and their rifles at their sides.
"You have dates, too," said Abou Fatma.
"Yes.
Pages:
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443