There they halted, watered their horses and, after giving them a good feed, turned them out to munch the shrubs or graze on the grass, as they chose.

They then had a meal from the food they had brought with them, made a shelter of bushes, for the heat was intense, and afterwards sewed the Mahdi patches upon their clothes.
When the sun went down they fetched the horses in, gave them a small feed, and then fastened them to some bushes near.

As there was plenty of water in the wells, they took an empty gourd down and, stripping, poured water over their heads and bodies; then, feeling greatly refreshed, dressed and lay down to sleep.
The moon rose between twelve and one; and, after giving the horses a drink, they mounted and rode to Gakdul, which they reached soon after daybreak.

They had stopped a mile away, and Zaki went forward on foot, hiding himself as much as possible from observation.

On his return he reported that no one was at the wells, and they therefore rode on, taking every precaution against surprise.
The character of the scenery had completely changed; and they had, for some miles, been winding along at the foot of the Jebel-el-Jilif hills.
These were steep and precipitous, with spurs and intermediate valleys.
The wells differed entirely from those at Hambok, which were merely holes dug in the sand, the water being brought up in one of the skin bags they had brought with them, and poured into shallow cisterns made in the surface.