but tharkay answered their many questions readily enough , and having fed his eagle and set it aside , hooded , to sleep , he even opened up the kit which had carried him there so that they might inspect the vital equipment : a special sort of desert tent , fur-lined and with leather-reinforced holes spaced evenly along the edges , which he explained could be lashed quickly together with similar tents to form a single larger sheet to shield a camel , or in larger numbers a dragon , against sandstorm or hail or snow .