li's plight. Stas' heart raged and a number of times he passionately
interceded for him, but when he perceived that this inflamed Gebhr
still more, he set his teeth and remained silent.

But Kali understood that those two interceded for him, and he began to
love them deeply with his afflicted heart.

For two days they rode in a stony ravine lined with high steep rocks.
From the stones heaped and scattered in disorder it was easy to
perceive that during the rainy season the ravine was filled with water,
but at present its bed was entirely dry. On the walls, on both sides,
grew small patches of grass, a great many thorns, and here and there
even a tree. Gebhr directed his way by this stony gullet because it
went continually upwards; so he thought that it would lead him to some
eminence from which he could descry smoke during the daytime and
Smain's camp-fires at night. In some places the ravine became so narrow
that only two horses could go side by side; in other places it widened
into small, round valleys, surrounded as if by high stone walls, on
which sat big baboons, playing with each other, barking, and displaying
their teeth at the caravan.

It was five o'clock in the afternoon. The sun already lowered towards
the west. Gebhr thought of a resting place; he wanted only to reach
some small valley in which he could construct a zareba, that is,
enclose the caravan and horses with a fence of thorny mimosa and
acacias, for protection against attacks of wild animals. Saba rushed
ahead, barking at the baboons which at sight of him shook uneasily, and
all of a sudden disappeared in the bend of the ravine. Echo repeated
loudly his barking.

Suddenly, however, he became silent and after a while he came rushing
to the horses with hair bristling on his back and tail curled under
him. The Bedouins and Gebhr understood that something must have
frightened him, but staring at each other and desiring to ascertain
what it could be, they proceeded farther.

But riding around a small bend, the horses shied and stood still in one
moment as if thunderstruck by the sight which met their eyes.

On a fair-sized rock situated in the middle of the ravine, which was
quite wide at that place, lay a lion.

At most, a hundred paces separated him from them. The powerful beast,
seeing the riders and horses, rose on his fore paws and began to gaze
at them. The sun, which now stood low, illumined his huge head and
shaggy breasts, and in that ru