“How?” asked the others.
Colin made no verbal reply; but instead, he was seen to insert his telescope into the sand-parapet, in such a way that its tube passed clear through to the other side, and of course commanded a view of the beach, along which the two forms were advancing.
As soon as he had done so, he placed his eye to the glass, and in a cautious whisper announced that both the horseman and camel-rider were within his “field of view.”
Chapter Sixteen.
The Trail on the Sand.
The tube of the telescope, firmly embedded in the sand, kept its place without the necessity of being held in hand. It only required to be slightly shifted as the horseman and camel-rider changed place, so as to keep them within its field of view.
By this means our adventures were able to mark their approach and note every movement they made, without much risk of being seen themselves. Each of them took a peep through the glass to satisfy their curiosity, and then the instrument was wholly entrusted to its owner, who was thenceforth constantly to keep his eye to it, and observe the movements of the strangers. This the young Scotchman did, at intervals communicating with his companions in a low voice.
“I can make out their faces,” muttered he after a time, “and ugly enough are they. One is yellow, the other black. He must be a negro; of course he is, he’s got woolly hair too. It’s he that rides the camel, just such another as this that stumbled over us. The yellow man upon the horse has a pointed beard upon his chin. He has a sharp look, like those Moors we’ve seen at Tetuan. He’s an Arab, I suppose. He appears to be the master of the black man. I can see him make gestures, as if he was directing him to do something. There! they have stopped, they are looking this way!”