For a few more hundred feet the way was very gradual, with many rocks of different sizes affording footholds. But as he came to a sharp break in the side of the mountain, the lofty pointed crag shaped up straighter and more jagged. Once he thought he had gone as far as possible, but finally managed to get to the brink of a slab that had threatened to hinder his progress. "On to the top," he thought, bringing his foot up another notch with difficulty. At last, panting and perspiring, he ascended the last stretch and took his position on the flat surface of a platform-like formation. Then he turned to look below. A cry of astonishment came from his lips as he saw that he was hundreds and hundreds of feet in the air. Far, far below, he could dimly make out his dromedary by the outermost side of the mountain. The beast seemed no larger than an ant. "I wonder if Dad and the others can be seen," he mused, turning his gaze in the opposite direction. "Yes!" he muttered excitedly. "There they are." He had caught sight of his father and friends being led up the valley by their Arab captors. The camels on which they rode seemed only crawling, so small did they appear. As usual, his binoculars were strapped over his shoulder, and he took them out to get a closer view. Through them he could see the worried expressions on his friends' faces, and the surly grins of the Arabs. There was a sort of narrow ledge that passed up the little valley and around the mountain. It was up this that the captives were being led. "There's probably a hideout somewhere around here," the youth thought, shifting his eyes from the camel procession to the rugged country ahead. From his lofty perch it might be possible to get a glimpse of the hidden cave in which were the riches. Bob scanned the landscape about him but finally gave up and again followed the movements of his friends and the Arabs. "If it's anywhere around here, it's concealed from view," he thought. The youth was crouching low behind a flat shelf of rock, so as to be invisible to the Arabs if they should happen to look up in that direction. He knew that their seeing him would spell his doom. As Bob watched the line of camels and their riders, it seemed that they were making no time at all; yet he knew that they were winding around the mountain as fast as possible. Up, up, up they went, but always in sight. Bob noticed that they were gradually moving away from him, and he wondered if he would be able to follow their movements to the end. "If I can't, I'll have to change peaks," he thought, although he realized that this would be difficult and dangerous. The Arabs and their captives were now nearing a high wall of rock that would prevent them from being seen. But it would be for only a short time--if they did not stop opposite it. After what seemed like hours to Bob, they emerged again into view, this time at the brink of a high cliff.