Two paths led over the mountain from the oasis to the sea; both followed
deep and stony gorges, one of which was named the "short cut," because
the traveller reached his destination more quickly by that road than by
following the better road in the other ravine, which was practicable for
beasts of burden. Half-way up the height the "short cut" opened out on a
little plateau, whose western side was shut in by a high mass of rock
with steep and precipitous flanks. At the top of this rock stood a tower
built of rough blocks, in which the anchorites were wont to take refuge
when they were threatened with a descent of their foes.

The position of this castle--as the penitents proudly styled their tower
--was well-chosen, for from its summit they commanded not only the "short
cut" to the oasis, but also the narrow shell-strewn strip of desert which
divided the western declivity of the Holy Mountain from the shore, the
blue-green waters of the sea, and the distant chain of hills on the
African coast.

Whatever approached the tower, whether from afar or from the
neighborhood, was at once espied by them, and the side of the rock which
was turned to the roadway was so precipitous and smooth that it remained
inaccessible even to the natives of the desert, who, with their naked
feet and sinewy arms, could climb points which even the wild goat and the
jackal made a circuit to avoid. It was more accessible from the other
side, and in order to secure that, a very strong wall had been built,
which enclosed the level on which the castle stood in the form of a
horseshoe, of which the ends abutted on the declivity of the short road.
This structure was so roughly and inartistically heaped together that it
looked as if formed by nature rather than by the hand of man. The rough
and unfinished appearance of this wall-like heap of stones was heightened
by the quantity of large and small pieces of granite which were piled on