King Solomon's Mines Chapter 5

In which our intrepid company prepares to cross a vast and merciless desert, burdened by scant supplies and guided only by ancient and uncertain maps, their resolve tested by heat, thirst, and the silent, unyielding expanse. With a mysterious native companion whose cryptic words hint at hidden knowledge, they set forth beneath the moon’s pale light, driven by hope and the faint promise of salvation beyond the distant mountains.