"And if you see any sign of attack in the Arab camp, let out a yell of alarm."
"You're telling me? Nobody will have to ask me to do that little thing."
"The rest of us are going to be busy getting ready for the night attack," Dick explained. "We have to assemble the two tribes, select the best men for the battle and see to it that they have plenty of arrows and other weapons."
"Okay. You've given me a soft job," said Dan. "I can play sentinel all day. Now if I only had a big bunch of dates to eat and a good book to read—" he added laughing.
"Say, you'd make a great soldier," cried Dick. "You're the sort of soldier that goes to the guard house for the duration of the war."
"Go on. I was just kidding!"
"Well, big boy, this is serious. Here, I'll lend you the binoculars and you keep your eyes on the Arabs down there. If they start to climb the cliffs, we will roll big rocks on them and give them something to remember us by."
But the Arabs seemed satisfied to take things easy for a while.
Dan took the binoculars and after a brief survey of the Arab camp, began to search the horizon in all directions.
"I was just thinking," he explained, "that this would be a great time for my dad to make his appearance in the cabin plane."