16 
INTRODUCTION. 
of a valuable booty, assented to every thing. M. Partarrieu 
immediately directed part of the chests with which the 
camels were usually laden to be filled with stones, and hav- 
ing locked these chests, he had them carried to the chief of 
the village ; he then put aside the chests containing our 
goods. The camels, it is well known, are accustomed to cry 
when they are loaded ; to obviate the danger in which this 
cry, the signal for our departure, might have involved us, we 
took care to make our camels utter this cry for several suc- 
cessive nights, that the inhabitants of the village might not 
know the moment of our flight. 
All the arrangements being made, a very dark night was 
chosen, and as soon as we judged that every body was asleep, 
we started, leaving tents, huts, and palisades, standing, 
without extinguishing the fires which we had kindled, without 
even removing the pots which had been set on them for our 
supper, that the discovery of our departure by the inhabitants 
might be delayed as long as possible. The justice of this 
calculation of a prudent foresight was speedily demonstrated. 
Part of the caravan pushed on before by a route which it 
opened for itself. 1 remained with the rear-guard, under the 
direction of M. Partarrieu and an English serjeant who had 
the superintendence of the baggage : this division set out 
an hour later than the other. 
Such was our fear of being discovered, and so sensible were 
we of the imminence of our danger, that our march was 
more like a rout than a retreat. Forsaken chests and bales 
were to be seen every where ; nay the very animals, as if 
aware of the peril and anxious to avoid it, were more un- 
tractable than ever, and scampered away across the country 
after throwing off their loads. It was more than two hours 
before we came up with our first division. Gracious Heaven ! 
what anxiety we felt during those two painful hours ! scarcely 
durst we ask what had become of our companions, scarcely 
durst we think of them ; we fancied that they were taken, 
