s,
each of us riding as swift and fine a camel as Africa can breed. On
our right at a distance of about half a mile, and also on our left,
travelled other bodies of the Kendah of the same numerical strength
as that ahead, while the rear was brought up by the remainder of the
company who drove a number of spare camels.

Thus we journeyed in the centre of a square whence any escape would have
been impossible, for I forgot to say that our keepers Harut and Marut
rode exactly behind us, at such a distance that we could call to them if
we wished.

At first I found this method of travelling very tiring, as does everyone
who is quite unaccustomed to camel-back. Indeed the swing and the jolt
of the swift creature beneath me seemed to wrench my bones asunder to
such an extent that at the beginning I had once or twice to be lifted
from the saddle when, after hours of torture, at length we camped for
the night. Poor Savage suffered even more than I did, for the motion
reduced him to a kind of jelly. Ragnall, however, who I think had ridden
camels before, felt little inconvenience, and the same may be said of
Hans, who rode in all sorts of positions, sometimes sideways like
a lady, and at others kneeling on the saddle like a monkey on a
barrel-organ. Also, being very light and tough as rimpis, the swaying
motion did not seem to affect him.

By degrees all these troubles left us to such an extent that I could
cover my fifty miles a day, more or less, without even feeling tired.
Indeed I grew to like the life in that pure and sparkling desert air,
perhaps because it was so restful. Day after day we journeyed on across
the endless, sandy plain, watching the sun rise, watching it grow high,
watching it sink again. Night after night we ate our simple food with
appetite and slept beneath the glittering stars till the new dawn broke
in glory from the bosom of the immeasurable East.

We spoke but little during all this time. It was as though the silence
of the wilderness had got hold of us and sealed our lips. Or perhaps
each of us was occupied with his own thoughts. At any rate I know that
for my part I seemed to live in a kind of dreamland, thinking of the
past, reflecting much upon the innumerable problems of this passing show
called life, but not paying much heed to the future. What did the future
matter to me, who did not know whether I should have a share of it even
for another month, or week, or day, surrounded as I was by the s