“Where are the accommodation ladders?”
“Watch,” advised Ned. “All ready, Mr. Boss Camel Man.”
A tall Bedouin, who appeared to be in charge, came forward grinning.
“How many camel you want?”
“All you have.”
“Only got twenty. Party take the others. Some of you can go on by special train, if you like.”
A great number of the blue-jackets preferred to go by train and only fifteen wished for camels. Among these latter were Ned and Herc.
“All ready,” said Ned, and then in obedience to sharp-barked commands from their owners, the ships of the desert folded their legs and sank majestically down on the sands.
“All aboard,” cried Ned; “one at a time. Take it easy. That’s it. Herc, you——”
But Herc had already mounted. He grabbed from the camel driver his short goad and jabbed it into his camel. The creature shot up as if it had been on springs and raced off across the desert at its top speed.