uaded Ahmed to go up close and listen.

"The man is from El-Kerak," he said presently, while they all
still fought with words, using tremendous oaths by way of
artillery. "A council of the tribes has been summoned, to meet
at El-Kerak, but each sheikh is only to take two men with him,
because of the risk of fighting among themselves. Anazeh says
there can be no proper council without his being present, and
that he will attend the council; but as for taking only two men,
he has pledged his word to escort you with twenty men to El-
Kerak. He swears that he will carry out that pledge, even should
he have to fight the whole way there and back again!"

Anazeh suddenly cut short the war of words. His gesture
suggested that of Joshua who made the sun stand still. He tossed
a curt order to one of his men, who went off at a run toward a
village, whose morning smoke rose blue over a spur of the range a
mile away. Then Anazeh sat down to await events, and took no
more notice of the horseman's arguments. That did not worry the
horseman much. He kept on arguing. Every few minutes one of
Anazeh's men would go to him and repeat some tid-bit, as if the
old sheikh had not heard it; but all he got for his pains was a
gesture of contemptuous dismissal.

Ahmed kept growing more and more uncomfortable all the time. He
had attended to his boat, making it properly fast and covering
the engine, under the eyes of four men who were at pains to see
that he did not crank up and desert. Now he was back beside me,
trying to bolster up his own courage by making me afraid.

"They have determined to take me along with them to prevent me
from escaping," he complained. "That man on the horse is saying
that if more men go with Anazeh than you and two others, there
will certainly be fighting. And Anazeh answers, he has pledged
his word. Can you not say something to persuade Anazeh?"

I would rather have tried to persuade a tiger. Short of knocking
the old raider on the head and standing off his twenty ruffians,
I could not imagine a way of turning him from his set purpose.
And at that, I had not a weapon of any kind. I was the goods,
and the game old sportsman intended to deliver me, right side up,
perhaps, but all in one piece and to the proper consignee.

"I don't see anything to worry about," said I.

"Wait till you hear the bullets!" Ahmed answered. Nevertheless,
bullets or no bullets, I did not see what I could do about i