The Greatest Danger We Had Run Was From The
Gerad Adan, A Fact Of Which I Was Not Aware Till Some Time After My Return
To Berberah:
He had always been plotting an _avanie_ which, if attempted,
would have cost him dear, but at the same time would certainly have proved
fatal to us.
Noon arrived, but no cavalry. My companions had promised that if
disappointed they would start before nightfall and march till morning. But
when the camels were sent for, one, as usual if delay was judged
advisable, had strayed: they went in search of him, so as to give time for
preparation to the caravan. I then had a sharp explanation with my men,
and told them in conclusion that it was my determination to cross the
Prairie alone, if necessary, on the morrow.
That night heavy clouds rolled down from the Gurays Hills, and veiled the
sky with a deeper gloom. Presently came a thin streak of blue lightning
and a roar of thunder, which dispersed like flies the mob of gazers from
around my Gurgi; then rain streamed through our hut as though we had been
dwelling under a system of cullenders. Deenarzade declared herself too ill
to move; Shehrazade swore that she would not work: briefly, that night was
by no means pleasantly spent.
At dawn, on the 24th, we started across the Marar Prairie with a caravan
of about twenty men and thirty women, driving camels, carrying grain,
asses, and a few sheep.
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