Quiet rose again from the desert, broken only by the surf-wash on the sand, the far, tremulous wail of a jackal, the little dry skitter of scorpions.
The three scouts lay quiet for ten minutes after the volleying had ceased.

Silence settled over the plain; but, presently, a low moaning sound came indistinctly from the east.

It lasted only a moment, then died away; and almost at once, the slight wind that had been blowing from the sea hushed itself to a strange calm.
Rrisa gave anxious ear.

His face grew tense, but he held his peace.
Neither of the white men paid any heed to the slight phenomenon.

To them it meant nothing.