The dromedary flew over the desert still more swiftly than in the morning, his feet hardly touching the ground; clouds of sand were whirled aloft, and enveloped the animal and the riders as with a thick veil. No one saw them, and, had any one seen them, he could not have told who they were.
Arrived at the boundary line of the desert, where two horses awaited them, the sheik halted. Having dismounted with Mohammed, he addressed a few loud words to the dromedary; it turned, and flew homeward across the desert.
"It knows the way," said the sheik, smiling. "It will return alone to Butheita."
They mounted the horses, and rode on swiftly through meadows, and palm and sycamore groves.
The sheik now drew rein. "Do you see that black line standing out against the evening sky? That is your camp. If you desire it, I will accompany you farther. It rests with you to decide."
"I will ride on alone, sheik. Farewell, and accept this for your hospitality."
He held out to the sheik a purse filled with gold-pieces. The latter proudly rejected it.
"With one breath you say things that do not agree with each other.
You wish to pay me, and yet you say you have enjoyed my hospitality.
The guest does not pay, unless it be with love and friendship. If
you pay me in that way, I shall rejoice, and Butheita also, I know."
"O sheik, I thank you both for your hospitality, and will love you and hold you in good remembrance. Farewell, sheik!"
He pressed his knees to his horse's flanks and rode off in a rapid gallop. Evening had already sunk down when he approached the plain where his soldiers lay encamped. He dismounted, and left his horse to return alone. He then glided stealthily to the rear of his tent, and, raising the canvas, slipped in. No one was in this apartment where his couch lay, but in the first one he heard loud voices. His officers were speaking of him. They were making anxious inquiries and conjectures as to where the general might be, and were considering whether they should make further search for him or break up camp and return to Cairo. They were the voices of his bim bashis and boulouk bashis. Smiling, he listened for a time to their conversation. He then drew back the curtain and stepped into the outer apartment. A joyous shout greeted his entrance. They eagerly rushed forward, and anxiously inquired where he had been, the meaning of his absence, and if any evil had befallen him.