It was like passing another ship upon a hitherto empty sea.
They seemed to add a desired touch to the grim loneliness of the scene
that had begun to be a little awe-inspiring. Perhaps she was hungry,
perhaps she was tired, or perhaps she was only annoyed by the bad
arrangements of her guide, but before the advent of the mounted Arabs
Diana had been conscious of a feeling of oppression, as if the silent
desolation of the desert was weighing heavily upon her, but the body of
swiftly moving men and horses had changed the aspect utterly. An
atmosphere of life and purpose seemed to have taken the place of the
quiet stagnation that had been before their coming.
The distance between the two parties decreased rapidly. Diana, intent
on the quickly advancing horsemen, spurred ahead of her guide with
sparkling eyes. They were near enough now to see that the horses were
beautiful creatures and that each man rode magnificently. They were
armed too, their rifles being held in front of them, not slung on their
backs as she had seen in Biskra. They passed quite close to her, only a
few yards away--a solid square, the orderly ranks suggesting training
and discipline that she had not looked for. Not a head turned in her
direction as they went by and the pace was not slackened. Fretted by
the proximity of the galloping horses, her own horse reared
impatiently, but Diana pulled him in, turning in her saddle to watch
the Arabs pass, her breath coming quick with excitement.
"What are they?" she called out to Mustafa Ali, who had dropped some
way behind her. But he, too, was looking back at the horsemen, and did
not seem to hear her question. Her escort had lagged still further
behind her guide and were some distance away. Diana watched the rapidly
moving, compact square eagerly with appreciatory eyes--it was a
beautiful sight. Then she gave a little gasp. The galloping horses had
drawn level with the last stragglers of her own party, and just beyond
they stopped suddenly. Diana would not have believed it possible that
they could have stopped so suddenly and in such close formation while
travelling at such a pace. The tremendous strain on the bridles flung
the horses far back on their haunches. But there was no time to dwell
on the wonderful horsemanship or training of the men. Events moved too
rapidly. The solid square split up and lengthened out into a long line
of two men riding abreast. Wheeling behind the last of Mustafa's men
they came back even faster than they had passed, and circled widely
round Diana and her attendants. Bewildered by this manoeuvre she
watched them with a puzzled frown, striving to soothe her horse, who
was nearly frantic with excitement. Twice they galloped round her
little band, their long cloaks fluttering, their rifles tossing in
their hands.