believers had been called together for prayer; and the
bond which united the Mahommedan members of the caravan with the
Christian travellers, it was seen, had been loosened in a very
conspicuous manner.

Instead of, as usual, each little party starting off as soon as they
were ready, they all waited till the whole caravan had loaded their
camels, when they began their march in close order, to be ready in case
of being attacked.

After advancing some distance they saw four men seated ahead of them, on
an eminence. The doctor, being in the first line of the caravan,
dismounted and led forward his camel. A party of archers had been
despatched to reconnoitre. What was his surprise to see them and the
unknown individuals executing a wild sort of armed dance. Suddenly two
of the dancers rushed upon him and grasped the rope of the camel, asking
for tribute. Barth seized his pistols, when, just in time, he was told
they were friends.

The eminence is an important locality in the modern history of the
country. It was here, when the Kel-owi, a pure Berber tribe, took
possession of the territory of old Gober, that a covenant was entered
into between the red conquerors and the black natives, that the latter
should not be destroyed, and that the principal chief of the Kel-owi
should only be allowed to marry a black woman. As a memorial of this
transaction, when caravans pass the spot where the covenant was entered
into, the slaves make merry and are authorised to levy upon their
masters a small tribute.

The black man who had stopped the doctor was the chief of the slaves.
As the caravan proceeded, the merry creatures executed another dance,
and the incident would have been of great interest if the members of the
caravan had not been depressed with the forebodings of mishap.

They now reached a small village of leathern tents, inhabited by a
people of the tribe of Fade-ang, in a valley on the frontier region of
Aire. The chief was respected as a person of great authority, and, it
was said, was able to protect them against the freebooting parties which
their guests of the other day, who had gone on before, were sure to
collect against them. He had been invited to the camp; but he sent his
brother instead, who, it was soon evident, could render them no
assistance. The travellers were soon surrounded by the inhabitants, to
whom a number of small presents were given. These men were very
inferior in appearance even to t