"No, no," cried he, "I had rather follow you on foot. No camel for me, no camel for me."
"If you follow us afoot," observed his master, "we shall not reach
Djiddah in three days. It is out of the question."
Fortunately, the interpreter Omar, accustomed from his childhood to a camel, gave up his horse to Joseph and took the despised steed.
The little band of Europeans, composed of ten persons, including the chief, who was carefully guarded by two horsemen in the centre of the troop, took the road to Djiddah.
Ten Bedouins, as had been agreed upon, followed them at a short distance.
CHAPTER XXX.
FROM MISS BEATRICE POLES TO MISS EMILY——
"He has come back to us! They have all come back to us! I am beside myself, and my heart is overflowing with joy! These men, I tell you, my dear Emily, are splendid! And so modest! If I ask M. de Morin, he refuses to tell me anything about himself. He declares that his adventures amongst the Nomads are not worth the trouble of recounting, and that it was neither more nor less than a trivial excursion, too insignificant even to be mentioned in our diaries of the trip. But, if I mention MM. Périères and Delange, it is quite another thing, and he exclaims at once that they are superb. Delange, he says, for a doctor, is a marvel; he is evidently concealing his past life from us, and he must have served in the Zouaves, or the Chasseurs d'Afrique, a seasoned warrior, with all the discipline of an old soldier and the dashing intrepidity of a young one. As for M. Périères, he says that he does not know which to admire the most in him, his boldness or his coolness in danger.
"Fortunately for us, the journalist and the doctor, in their turn, enlighten us about M. de Morin, who, they affirm, is a prodigy of recklessness, patience, dash, courage and energy. His good temper and spirits never deserted him, and it is to these qualities alone, so these two gentlemen say, that they owe their escape, safe and sound, from their terrible adventure.
"It appears that whilst on the road to Djiddah, our caravan encountered fresh dangers. The Bedouins who followed them were on the point of attacking them, but the good temper and self-possession of M. de Morin gained the day. Would you believe, dearest, that he actually succeeded in securing a meal for himself and his men, of which they stood in great need, I assure you? They halted about two in the afternoon at a sort of oasis which they came across on the road, and there they breakfasted, pistol in hand, be it remembered. Joseph waited upon both Europeans and Bedouins, and these latter individuals were in convulsions of laughter, which you would readily understand if I had given you all the details of this memorable expedition. I am, however, habitually discursive in my letters, and I invariably leave plenty of gaps. But, then, I always imagine that you are at my side as I write, and that you must have heard all that has reached my ears.