'Have you brought camels, Shedad, son of Amroo?' inquired one of the
welcomers to the welcomed.
'We have been to El Khuds,' was the reply. 'What we have brought back is
a seal of Solomon.
'From Mount Seir to the City of the Friend, what have you seen in the
joyful land?'
'We found the sons of Hamar by the well-side of Jumda; we found the
marks of many camels in the pass of Gharendel, and the marks in the pass
of Gharendel were not the marks of the camels of the Beni-Hamar.'
'I had a dream, and the children of Tora said to me, "Who art thou in
the hands of our father's flocks? Are none but the sons of Rechab to
drink the sweet waters of Edom?" Methinks the marks in the pass of
Gharendel were the marks of the camels of the children of Tora.'
'There is a feud between the Beni-Tora and the Beni-Hamar,' replied the
other Arab, shaking his head. 'The Beni-Tora are in the wilderness of
Akiba, and the Beni-Hamar have burnt their tents and captured their
camels and their women. This is why the sons of Hamar are watering their
flocks by the well of Jumda.'
In the meantime, the caravan, of which the four horsemen were the
advanced guard, issued from the pass into the plain.
'Shedad, son of Amroo,' exclaimed one of the Bedouins, 'what! have you
captured an harem?' For he beheld dromedaries and veiled women.
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