"What has alarmed the Pearl of the Isles?" he asked, in the poetic phraseology of his race.
Thyra stood with dishevelled hair, and dilated eyes fixed upon the approaching army, at which she pointed with trembling fingers.
"Look! look!" she exclaimed, "they are coming—the Turks are upon us!"
Kara-al-Zariel followed her gaze.
He saw the cloud; he knew the danger.
"To horse!" he thundered. "To arms! every son of the desert, and every Christian guest!"
Instantly the horses were untethered, and the riders mounted; armed men assembled on foot, and every warrior appeared in readiness.
Jack Harkaway and his friend Harry, by this time familiar as old soldiers with these sudden calls to arms, soon answered the summons; and the rest of their party, on hearing the danger, were not backward in preparing for it.
There were in the encampment a large number of fleet Arab steeds, more than were actually required by the tribe, but the chief, like many of his race, dealt largely in horseflesh.
This was particularly fortunate on the present occasion, for their Christian allies could also be mounted, and if overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, could save themselves by flight.