Now, a camel has been taught, by long experience, that
the legitimate end of a march is supplied only by something in the
shape of an oasis, no matter how slight may be its store of prickly
bushes and wiry grass. Therefore, these Bisharin brethren must have
felt something akin to surprise when they were tethered and fed in a
rock-strewn wady which offered neither food nor water. Animals and men
had to depend on the supplies they had carried thither. Shelter, of
course, there was none, and at nine o'clock the sun was already high in
the heavens.
One unhappy beast made a tremendous row when Hussain mounted him again
after a brief respite, and bade him be moving. Nevertheless, protest
was useless, and only led to torture. Finally, squealing and weeping,
the camel moved off, while his erstwhile sympathizers regarded him
blandly and unmoved, seeing that they were not disturbed, but permitted
to munch in peace the remains of a meal. Hussain was soon out of sight.
According to Abdur Kad'r's calculations, the Italian camp was in the
center of the next important valley.
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