We had gone about a mile, when suddenly a score of horsemen made their
appearance on top of the rise before us. Not knowing whether they were
friends or foes, we swerved away to the left, regaining the road by a
detour. After sunset we saw a small bonfire blaze forth about three
miles away in the direction we were going. We hardly knew what to make
of such an unusual sight. The night was a fairly dark one, but we pushed
on rapidly. In the middle of a hard canter my horse suddenly struck his
forefeet against some obstacle, and came crashing down upon his head. It
was an anxious moment for me. When we had disentangled ourselves I
hastened to feel the pony's knees, and found to my joy that they were
but little damaged. Whilst still laughing over this mishap, we heard
voices to our right. We listened for a moment. First came the question
_in English_--
"Where are they?"