test possible
noise. His paces were long, and made with wonderful rapidity; and each
time his foot came to the ground he uttered a horrible yell, as though
it had been planted upon a sheet of red-hot iron.

Bill's brother had now so far recovered from his feigned illness, that
he was able to walk along with the boy slaves.

Naturally conversing about the locusts, he informed his companions that
the year before he had been upon a part of the Saaran coast where a
cloud of these insects had been driven out to sea by a storm and
drowned. They were afterwards washed ashore in heaps; the effluvia from
which became so offensive that the fields of barley near the shore could
not be harvested, and many hundred acres of the crop were wholly lost to
the owners.

CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN.

THE ARABS AT HOME.

Soon after encountering the locusts, the kafila came upon a well-beaten
road running through a fertile country, where hundreds of acres of
barley could be seen growing on both sides.

That evening, for some reason unknown to the slaves, their masters did
not halt at the usual hour. They saw many walled villages, where dwelt
the proprietors of the barley-fields, but hurried past them without
stopping either for water or food, although their slaves were sadly in
need of both.

In vain the latter complained of thirst and begged for water. The only
reply to their entreaties was a harsh command to move on faster
frequently followed by a blow.

Towards midnight, when the hopes and strength of all were nearly
exhausted, the kafila arrived at a walled village where a gate was
opened to admit them. The old sheik then informed his slaves that they
should have plenty of food and drink, and would be allowed to rest for
two or three days in the village.

A quantity of water was then thickened with barley meal, and of this
diet they were permitted to have as much as they could consume.

It was after night when they entered the gate of the village, and
nothing could be seen. Next morning they found themselves in the centre
of a square enclosure surrounded by about twenty houses standing within
a high wall. Flocks of sheep and goats, with a number of horses, camels
and donkeys were also within the enclosure.

Jim informed his companions that most of the Saaran Arabs have fixed
habitations, where they dwell the greater part of the year, generally
walled towns, such as the one they had now entered.

The wall is intended fo