THE SEARCH FOR BOXALL--THE ARAB ENCAMPMENT--WE FIND WATER--BEN MAKES A
"CIRCUMBENDIBUS" OF THE ARAB CAMP--CAPTURED BY BLACK ARABS--ANTONIO'S
ESCAPE FROM THE WRECK--HIS RECEPTION BY THE OUADLIMS.
Night found us in the midst of the vast desert, numberless low
sand-hills scattered about around us, and the starry sky overhead. Here
we must remain until daylight, or retrace our steps to the sea-shore.
We might manage to get back, if we had strength sufficient to walk, as
the stars would serve us as a guide, and a few points out of our direct
course would not make much difference; whereas, should we attempt to
keep to the south-east, we should very probably pass some distance
either on the one side or the other of the line we wished to follow, and
miss the Arab camp altogether. We could not hide from ourselves, too,
the danger to which we were exposed from wild beasts; for besides
hyenas--of the existence of which in the neighbourhood we had had ocular
evidence--there was reason to believe that tigers, panthers, and even
lions might be prowling about in search of prey; and our wooden swords,
even though their points had been hardened in the fire, would be of
little avail should we be attacked. I did not express my apprehensions
to my companions, however, though I had no doubt they also entertained
them. My duty, I felt, as the leader of the party in the place of
Boxall, was to do my utmost to keep up my own and their spirits.
We sat silent for some time; Halliday was the first to speak. "I wish
that I had a mouthful of water," he said, in a hoarse voice. "Should we
push on and find none to-morrow, what are we to do?"