"We ask nothing better than to get away, my dear fellow," said M. Delange, "but if we turn our backs on these savages, or cease to have them under our rifles, they will fire upon us."
"You forget our safeguard, their chief," replied M. de Morin. "Where is Ali, the interpreter?"
"Here I am," said Ali, stepping to the front.
"Come along, then. I want to hold a parley with the chief, and you must repeat to him exactly what I say."
Whilst the Nomads were consulting amongst themselves, and, apparently, meditating an attack, M. de Morin thus addressed their leader—
"You have behaved scandalously to me! When I was dragged into your camp, I threw myself on your protection and I offered to pay you a large ransom if you would let me rejoin my friends. Not content with rejecting my offer, you allowed me to be insulted and ill-treated. You deserve a severe punishment, but I pardon you—on one condition— that we are allowed to depart, and that you go with us. At the gates of Djiddah, oblivious of your wrong-doing, I will restore to you your liberty—I swear it—if we have no farther cause of complaint against you or your men. Ten of them may follow us, and they will serve as an escort to bring you back. But if they utter a sound on the journey, if they indulge in a single threat, both they and you will perish. However you may decide, in five minutes we set out."
The Bedouin, after a moment's consideration and a careful scrutiny of the arms of the Europeans, spoke to his men, and an animated conversation took place between them. The interpreters alleged that the views of the chief were pacific, but that several amongst the younger members of the clan hesitated to fall in with them. At length these latter appeared to yield, and the captive chief, turning to M. de Morin, said—
"Let us start. I trust to your word, and you may trust to mine."
"Agreed," replied the young Frenchman. "But as I am on foot, as well as my servant, a circumstance which will retard our journey and yours, bring out two of your horses. We will return them to you, rest assured. We, at all events, are not thieves."
The chief gave the necessary orders, but they were only half obeyed. The horse borrowed by M. de Morin on the previous evening from Abou-Zamil was brought out for him, but a camel was offered to Joseph. At the sight of this beast, the unfortunate servant nearly fainted.