e with them, every now and then, if I want to rest."

"And you?" I asked.

"When you are down, I shall tie the rope to one of the columns and
follow. There are the knots on which to rest if the rope cuts my hands
too much. But don't be afraid: I am very agile. At Gao, when I was
just a child, I used to climb almost as high as this in the gum trees
to take the little toucans out of their nests. It is even easier to
climb down."

"And when we are down, how will we get out? Do you know the way
through the barriers?"

"No one knows the way through the barriers," she said, "except
Cegheir-ben-Cheikh, and perhaps Antinea."

"Then?"

"There are the camels of Cegheir-ben-Cheikh, those which he uses on
his forays. I untethered the strongest one and led him out, just below
us, and gave him lots of hay so that he will not make a sound and will
be well fed when we start."

"But...." I still protested.

She stamped her foot.

"But what? Stay if you wish, if you are afraid. I am going. I want to
see Gao once again, Gao with its blue gum-trees and its green water."

I felt myself blushing.

"I will go, Tanit-Zerga. I would rather die of thirst in the midst of
the desert than stay here. Let us start."

"Tut!" she said. "Not yet."

She showed me that the dizzy descent was in brilliant moonlight.

"Not yet. We must wait. They would see us. In an hour, the moon will
have circled behind the mountain. That will be the time."

She sat silent, her _haik_ wrapped completely about her dark little
figure. Was she praying? Perhaps.

Suddenly I no longer saw her. Darkness had crept in the window. The
moon had turned.

Tanit-Zerga's hand was on my arm. She drew me toward the abyss. I
tried not to tremble.

Everything below us was in shadow. In a low, firm voice, Tanit-Zerga
began to speak:

"Everything is ready. I have twisted the rope about the pillar. Here
is the slip-knot. Put it under your arms. Take this cushion. Keep it
pressed against your hurt shoulder.... A leather cushion.... It is
tightly stuffed. Keep face to the wall. It will protect you against
the bumping and scraping."

I was now master of myself, very calm. I sat down on the sill of the
window, my feet in the void. A breath of cool air from the peaks
refreshed me.

I felt little Tanit-Zerga's hand in my vest pocket.

"Here is a box. I must know when you are down, so I can follow. You
will open the box. There are fire-flies in it; I shall see them and