I have always had a dread of horse-fights, and this was not a single fight; it was a melee, fresh horses every minute breaking loose to join it.

Right in my way two angry stallions rose up, boxing one another like the lion and the unicorn, and a little boy of ten or thereabouts ran in between and, jumping, caught their head-ropes.
I escaped at last and rode down through the village to the bottom of the valley, where a grove of walnut trees cast pleasant shade beside a stream.

There Rashid found me later in the day.

He told me that my disappearance had caused consternation and alarm, the Consul-General and his lady having asked for me.

Bidding him remain with the two horses, I went back on foot to the castle, where I stayed only the time necessary to pay my respects.
As I was returning towards the valley, a litter borne between two mules was leaving the meydan.