In the first moments of this amazing discovery, Bob’s mind was confused by the multiplicity of his sensations and imaginings. There were several problems all clamouring at once for solution: his uncle’s fate, the plight of Lawrence, the future of the mine. But he soon realized that no good result would come of aimless conjectures; "One thing at a time, and concentrate your attention" had been the motto dinned into him by one of his schoolmasters. The one insistent thing now was to learn all that he could about this encampment--too large to be a fortuitous gathering of nomads, too regular to be other than military in its organization. Bob flew straight for the camp, and when he came above its centre he began to circle round and round with the object of getting a clear and orderly idea of its nature. Observation from the great height to which he had risen was not easy, and the necessity of keeping part of his attention upon the aeroplane was a drawback. Naturally he could not entrust the machine to Fazl, who was making his first flight. On the other hand the Gurkha, who was wholly without nervousness, could devote himself entirely to the task of observing. Thus, combining what Fazl reported with what he was himself able to see, Bob obtained in the course of twenty minutes a pretty good notion of the disposition of the camp and the various movements that were going on. To the north, a large body of horsemen, who were exercising when he first caught sight of them, came to a halt, and were evidently intent on watching the flying machine. Still farther northward, long trains of primitive ox wagons were lumbering towards the camp, with a caravan of camels here and there. Attached to the body of cavalry on the plain there were no fewer than six batteries of field artillery. There was no regular road into or out of this solitary region, but from the appearance of the ground it was clear that the army had reached its present position from the north-west. There was a narrower and fainter track leading from the camp in the direction of the valley--no doubt the route followed by the men now posted on the river bank.