Page:In Desert and Wilderness (Sienkiewicz, tr. Drezmal).djvu/310

 302 would he see below? Arabs from the eastern coast? Smain's dervishes, or savage negroes who, escaping from their native villages, sought protection from the dervishes in the inaccessible thickets of the hills? Would he find death, or slavery, or salvation for Nell?

It was imperative to ascertain this. He could not retreat now, nor did he desire to. After a while he stepped in the direction of the fire, moving as quietly as possible and holding the breath in his bosom. Having proceeded thus about a hundred paces he unexpectedly heard from the direction of the jungle the snorting of horses and again stopped. In the moonlight he counted five horses. For the dervishes this would not be enough, but he assumed that the rest were concealed in the high grass. He was only surprised that there were no guards near them nor had these guards lighted any fires above to scare away the wild animals. But he thanked the Lord that it was so, as he could proceed farther without detection.

The luster on the rocks became more and more distinct. Before a quarter of an hour passed, Stas found himself at a place at which the opposite rock was most illuminated, which indicated that at its base a fire must be burning.

Then, crawling slowly, he crept to the brink and glanced below.

The first object which struck his eyes was a big white tent; before the tent stood a canvas field bed, and on it lay a man attired in a white European dress. A little negro, perhaps twelve years old, was adding dry fuel to the fire which illumined the rocky wall and a row of negroes sleeping under it on both sides of the tent.

Stas in one moment slid down the declivity to the bottom of the ravine.