520 
THROUGH ASIA 
formed over uneven ground. It was wonderful to see with 
what surety of foot the camels clambered up the steep 
inclines, which the men only climbed with the utmost exer- 
tion, slipping back at every step they took. The ridge 
rose to relatively but an inconsiderable height above the 
general level ; all the same, it afforded a wide view. Why 
did I not pale with horror when my gaze swept eastwards 
over that unending ocean of fine yellow sand, and its 
gigantic billows peeping up one behind the other for 
miles upon miles ? I can only suggest, it was because 
I believed that the star of my fortunes, which had always 
shone so clear above my head, would not become extinct 
now. On the contrary, to my eyes the desert ocean was 
invested with a fascinating beauty. Its silence, its un- 
broken stillness, exercised a magic charm over me. It 
was a grand, a majestic sight. The wizard power of the 
desidcrmm incogniti was drawing me on with an irresistible 
spell to enter the castle of the desert king, where I was to 
unseal the revelations of bygone centuries, and discover 
the buried treasures of old-world legend and story. My 
motto was “Win or lose.” I knew nothing of hesitation, 
nothing of fear. “ Onwards ! Onwards ! ” whispered the 
desert wind. “Onwards! Onwards !” vibrated the camels’ 
bells. A thousand times a thousand steps to reach my 
object ; yet accursed be the first step I take backwards ! 
The dunes increased rapidly in height, the maximum 
being some 6o to 70 feet. It was terrible work getting over 
them. The camels slid cleverly down the steep slopes. 
Only one of them fell, one of the two that carried the 
water-tanks, and had to be unloaded and reloaded. Some- 
times, when our path was stopped by abrupt declivities, we 
were obliged to stand still, whilst the men dug out and 
trampled down a path for the animals. By this the dunes 
had increased to a height of 80 to 100 feet. When I stood 
at the base of one of them, and looked up at the caravan 
creeping along its brink, I thought how little it looked. 
As far as possible we kept to the same curving line of 
summits, so as to escape going up and down more than we 
could help. As a consequence of this, our track was very 
