Royson was so perplexed by the discovery that his gaze did not wander
from the abandoned camp. Abdur Kad'r, quicker than he to read the
tokens of the desert, pointed to a haze of dust that hung in the still
air far to the north.
"The Italians have gone, Effendi," he said. "Perhaps they, too, were
looking for an oasis with five hills. Behold, they have found one by a
fool's counting, for this is the fifth hill within two kilometers of
Suleiman's Well. The ways of Allah are wonderful. Can it be that they
have discovered that which you seek?"
A sharp pang of disappointment shot through Royson's breast. He was
about to tell Abdur Kad'r that they must now regain their camels and
hasten to the oasis while there was sufficient light to examine the
excavations, when the sheikh suddenly pulled him down, for Dick had
stood upright on a boulder to obtain an uninterrupted field of vision.
"Look!" he growled. "Four of them! And, by the Holy Kaaba, they mean
mischief!"
Royson's eyes were good, clearer, in all probability, than the Arab's,
but they were not trained to detect moving objects with such minute
precision.
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