Colin was confident he heard such. He was not contradicted by his companions, who simply said they could not be sure they heard anything. But for the constant roaring of the breakers, rolling up almost to the spot upon which they stood, they would have declared themselves differently; for at that moment there was a chorus being carried on at no great distance, in a variety of most unmusical sounds, comprising the bark of the dog, the neigh of the horse, the snorting scream of the dromedary, the bleat of the sheep, and the sharper cry of its near kindred the goat, along with the equally wild and scarce more articulate utterances of savage men, women, and children. Colin was convinced that he heard all these sounds, and declared that they could only proceed from some encampment. His companions, knowing that the young Scotsman was sharp-eared, made no attempt to question his belief; but, on the contrary, gave ready credence to it. Under any circumstances it seemed of no use to remain where they were. If Bill did not return, they were bound in honour to go after him, and, if possible, find out what had become of him. If, on the other hand, he should be coming back, they must meet him somewhere in the pass through which the camel had carried him off, since there was no other by which he might conveniently get back to them. This point determined, the three mids, setting their faces for the interior of the country, started off towards the break between the sand-hills. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. BILL TO BE ABANDONED. They proceeded with caution, Colin even more than his companions. The young Englishman was not so distrustful of the "natives", whoever they might be, as the son of Scotia; and as for O'Connor, he still persisted in the belief that there would be little if any danger in meeting with men, and in his arguments still continued to urge seeking such an encounter as the best course they could pursue. "Besides," said Terence, "Colin says he hears the voices of women and children. Sure no human creature that's got a woman and child in his company would be such a cruel brute as you make out this desert Ethiopian to be? Sailors' stories, to gratify the melodramatic ears of Moll and Poll and Sue! Bah! if there be an encampment, let's go straight into it, and demand hospitality of them. Sure they must be Arabs; and sure you've heard enough of Arab hospitality?" "More than's true, Terry," rejoined the young Englishman. "More than's true, I fear." "You may well say that," said Colin, confirmingly. "From what I've heard and read, ay, and from something I've seen while up the Mediterranean, a more beggarly hospitality than that called Arab don't exist on the face of the earth. It's all well enough, so long as you're one of themselves, and, like them, a believer in their pretended Prophet. Beyond that, an Arab has got no more hospitality than a hyena. You're both fond of talking about skinflint Scotchmen."