Then the tense silence was broken by a voice exclaiming in Arabic: "Peace be between us!" to which Sheikh Wadherim replied: "There is peace between us." Instantly the Arabs discharged their rifles in the air, and urged their camels forward to mingle with the tribes already in possession of the oasis. Utterly worn out, Hugh was lifted from his horse, and the three comrades in distress threw themselves upon the hard ground. In spite of the cramped position of their arms--for Hugh was again secured--they slept the sleep of utter exhaustion. The correspondent was the first to awake. It was broad daylight, but the sun was not yet high enough to cause discomfort. Standing in front of the three English captives were the Sheikh Wadherim and another Arab, evidently a person of importance. "These, then, my brother, are the tokens of our victory over the unbelieving dogs?" asked the stranger. "Aye, thanks be to Allah and Mohammed his prophet. We drove them even into the sea. Few escaped to tell the tale, and they were taken up by the houses that float upon the deep." "'Tis a pity, brother, that more were not brought hither," remarked the stranger meditatively. "One, in truth, seems well able to do a day's work at the salt pans. As for the others, they are beardless boys. Are most of the men of the Kafir host thus?" "Nevertheless, they are worth a good price, Abdullah. In a few moons they will be as strong and as willing to toil as the white unbeliever who was brought from the south. Take them at the price I ask----" "Nay, Wadherim, I will have the man, and not the hairless youths. As you say, they will fetch a good price at Tlat----" "But----" The sheikhs moved on, still talking volubly. Reeves grasped enough to know the meaning of their conversation, even though he had the presence of mind to affect utter ignorance. He was to be separated from his two young companions. CHAPTER IV The Sheikh's Salt THE Englishman looked at his sleeping comrades. The lads were slumbering deeply, too fatigued even to dream of their tribulations, which, indeed, were hardly begun. Separation was one of the worst things that might befall them, and, if possible, Reeves meant to prevent it. But how? He racked his brains to think of a plan. Scheme after scheme rapidly suggested itself, only as rapidly to be passed by as impracticable. He strove to remember what rituals the Arabs observed when they swore blood-brotherhood. He would willingly claim relationship with the lowest of the tribe, could he by so doing keep the lads with him. At last a dim recollection of bygone days, a tale he had heard in his youth, flashed across his mind. "Give me the chance," he muttered to himself, "and I'll risk it!" Presently Hugh opened his eyes, and groaned as the pain of his thong-tied arms recalled the desperate situation in which he and his companions were placed.