The initial attempt to use the surviving rooms of the castle almost ended in disaster, as the ticks left behind by the herds of goats sheltered here by the local Bedouins during the winter months were carriers of disease, and after a month and a half 20 members had already fallen ill with fever. Injections of penicillin, the just recently introduced wonder drug, saved their lives. Signalling was the only means of communication with the comrades from Kiryat Haim and the rest of the world, but the lack of potable water was the main problem, as the pools they had built to collect rainwater did not provide drinkable water even after treatment.