Leaving the scene of the tragedy, he communicated to Stratford his impressions of the state of affairs, and they agreed to minimise as far as possible the importance of what had occurred when in the presence of the ladies. Accordingly, they talked cheerfully of the advantage of being rid of the escort of a mutinous and discontented body of troops, and said nothing of the unwelcome thought which had suggested itself to Dick, that the mutineers might have taken it into their heads to ride on in advance, so as to lie in wait for the caravan at some awkward corner. The body of the unfortunate Ethiopian captain was buried with military honours, and the cavalcade, now much diminished in numbers, took the road again. The next difficulty that confronted the leaders of the party was caused by the action of the guides, who came to Stratford that evening and begged that he would allow the usual order of the march to be changed for the next few days, so that the journey should be carried on at night, and the necessary halt take place during the hours of daylight. The Mission, they said, was now approaching the region dominated by Fath-ud-Din’s two fortresses, Bir-ul-Malik and Bir-ul-Malikat, and it was all-important that its passage should not be perceived by the watchmen upon the walls. This appeared at first sight very reasonable, and Stratford and Dick, having heard what the men had to say, and dismissed them, found themselves somewhat at a loss as to their answer. “If we were sure that we can trust these fellows,” said Stratford, “it would be all right, but Jahan Beg warned us against them particularly. Then, again, why didn’t they state when we engaged them that it might be advisable to make night marches for part of the way, at any rate while we are in the sphere of influence of the garrisons of these forts?” “Oh, as to that,” said Dick, “no doubt they would say that they didn’t bargain for the soldiers mutinying and deserting us, and thought that under their escort we should be safe enough, even in the daytime. But I don’t like this nocturnal idea for two reasons. We should be quite unable to identify the features of the country at night, and they might lead us astray without our discovering it; and moreover, if the mutineers or Fath-ud-Din’s friends should happen to mean mischief, a night-attack on the column as it marched would simply smash us up. We should have more chance in daylight, or even in case of a night-attack on the camp, for the baggage gives us a certain amount of cover when it is properly piled and the beasts picketed.” “But on the other hand, if the guides are trustworthy, we are doing a very mad thing in rejecting their advice.” “Quite so; we have a choice of evils. But if you remember, Jahan Beg was of opinion that the fellows ought to be able to take us past the forts without our even coming in sight of them, so that this exaggerated carefulness seems unnecessary.”