"
He was right. When the sheikh came he received orders to prepare for an
instant march towards the coast by way of the caravan route. Then the
burning zeal of archeology received a check.
"It is impossible that the _kafila_ should move in that direction
before to-morrow's dawn, O worthy of honor," said Abdur Kad'r
emphatically. "We can march south to-day, if Allah wills it, knowing
that we shall find food and water within fifteen kilometers without
fail. To reach the Well of Moses is a different thing. I have not seen
the place during thirty years. We must travel early and late, and carry
with us a water supply that will not only suffice for the journey but
safeguard us against any failure of the well when we arrive there. What
proof have we, Effendi, that it is not choked with sand?"
Fenshawe was too skilled in the varying contingencies of desert life
not to admit the truth of the sheikh's reasoning, but he held to the
belief that von Kerber had secret information as to the practicability
of the route.
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