Gregory gazed in that direction.
"Yes, I can notice them now, but I should not have done so, if you had not seen them."
"They are on watch, my lord."
"Well, they can hardly see us, at this distance."
"You may be sure that they see us," Zaki said; "the eyes of an Arab are very keen, and could not fail to catch two moving objects--especially horsemen."
"If they are looking for us, and have seen us, Zaki, they would not be standing stationary there."
"Not if they were alone. But others may have been with them. When they first caught sight of us, which may have been half an hour ago, the others may have gone down to Abu Klea, while those two remained to watch which course we took. The Arabs can signal with their lances, or with their horses, and from there they would be able to direct any party in pursuit of us."
"Well, we must keep on as hard as we can, till dark; after that, we can take it quietly. You see, the difficulty with us will be water. Now that they have once made out two horsemen riding north, they must know that we have some special object in avoiding them; and will, no doubt, send a party to Gakdul, if not farther."
They crossed the rough country as quickly as they could, and then again broke into a canter. An hour later, as they crossed a slight rise, Zaki looked back.
"There are some horsemen in pursuit, my lord. They have evidently come from Abu Klea."