noon
You would do well to bring a comrade to take the two horses back ; Ayala could not use them . One frequently sees women riding on donkeys , but for a peasant woman to be mounted on a horse would be unusual . Besides , we should not know what to do with them here , and they would have to go down every day for water . If you start at noon to-day from Cairo , you will be there on the afternoon of the third day , and if you start again next morning will be here on the sixth day . I will light a fire a short distance from the front of the cave so as to act as a guide to you when you get into the rough ground . If you are not here that night I shall know that she is not coming . I shall say nothing about it to the sheik or Sidi ; it is better that they should not be looking forward to it .