sun, but for the Arabs, who, in spite of their hardihood, grew faint
and weak as the sun, like a ball of fire, poured its scorching rays on
the white, glistening sand.

Then came a curious silence: a silence in the midst of silence; so
deep and intense that it could almost be felt, while the air grew red
like blood, and in a moment, with one accord, masters, servants and
animals threw themselves on the sand. The Arabs lay with their faces
downwards and their cloaks thrown over their heads; the camels, not
even stopping to grumble, stretched their necks straight out along the
sand, closed their curious, oblique nostrils and lay absolutely
motionless.

Cara's mother had often told him about this, and taught him how to
close his nostrils when caught in a _simoom_. At first Cara wondered
what had happened, and even when he saw his mother lay down and
stretch her neck along the sand did not realize what it meant; but in
another instant his mother had warned him, and as he lay down and
closed his little nostrils he noticed a huge, curious cloud sweeping
across the desert.

And that was all he did notice, for the next instant he felt scorched
and suffocated, while a heavy weight was on his limbs and body and
head. How long he lay there quivering all over with fright and gasping
for breath he never knew, but he was aroused by the groans and
grumbles of the camels and the cries of the Arabs. He struggled up at
last, and for a moment thought he too had been loaded for a journey,
for the _simoom_ had covered him with a small mountain of sand.

After a few snorts and groans, Cara shook himself and looked round.