56 The Arab Horse 



Lady Blunt's book, ''The Bedouin 

 Tribes of the Euphrates," is full of the 

 praises of Hagar's performances, and one 

 of the best was after having been ridden 

 more than twelve hundred miles in three 

 months of travel in the desert, from 

 Aleppo to Deyr, Bagdad, through Meso- 

 potamia to Shergat, then west again across 

 the Euphrates and to Tadmar. It was 

 when they turned back to meet Mr. 

 Skene at Arak, after having started 

 from Tadmar to join Jedaan in the 

 desert. 



" It was still nearly dark when we 

 mounted, but we would not wait longer 

 than for the rise of the morning star, and 

 started at a gallop as soon as we had it 

 for a guide. The Zaptiehs on their tired 

 horses made a show of accompanying us, 

 declaring it was impossible they should 

 allow us to go alone. But Hagar had 

 quite other ideas, and after the first two 

 miles they dropped behind and were 

 lost to sight. And now began the longest 

 gallop I ever took in my life. It was 

 fifteen miles to Arak, and we never 



