266 We Camp South of Siwah Town \_ l %97 



Lavigerie's White Fathers imitated in this their way of life.) One 

 might do worse in the world than be a Senussi brother. Every difficulty 

 seems now to be in the way of solution. Beseys is confident of ac- 

 complishing our journey by Jerabub to Benghazi. 



' Thus we travelled till four o'clock, when we reached the first iso- 

 lated garden outside Siwah, where Beseys found a friend, who invited 

 us to stay with him, and we should have done well to accept, and pres- 

 ently we encamped for the night just outside the Eastern town, of the 

 two of which Siwah is composed, half a mile away south of it in the 

 sand among some groups of palms. 



" 28th Feb. — A day of disaster. Last night after dark, Mohammed 

 Said, Omdeh of the Eastern town, came out to see us ; a fat, well- 

 dressed, dark-faced man whom Suliman pronounced to be ' a splendid 

 prince.' We had bought a lamb (for Sheykh Obeyd), and Suliman 

 cooked it for us. and Mohammed Said ate of it largely with a friend 

 and he had just got up to say good-night and go, having promised us 

 a guide and all we wanted for next day, when we saw lights coming, 

 and a number of persons, horse and foot, and the word passed that it 

 was the hakim (government representative), a maozvn (police officer), 

 the chief man being away at Skanderia. He was polite and amiable, 

 a slender man with no palate to his mouth, speaking almost in a 

 whisper, and with him a number of Siwans who, as I understand now, 

 were Sheykhs of the Western town. These all sat down, and I, too, 

 was obliged to stay out their visit while coffee was being made. Old 

 Beseys, as his way is, made most of the conversation, and he began very 

 imprudently to tell them we intended going to Benghazi. The sheykhs, 

 upon this, became curious and inquisitive. Old Beseys strung tales of 

 my being from Nejd, and I was obliged to join in to the extent of saying 

 that I was from beyond Sham (Damascus), between Sham and Bagdad, 

 and my name Sakr. They were curious to know my business, but I 

 answered vaguely, also as to our road. I did not for a moment suppose 

 there was anything hostile in their intention, and they drank their coffee 

 and said good night amiably enough, the only disagreeable incident being 

 that during the night a thief came to my tent and stole away my carpet 

 shelter, which I had used to seat my visitors upon outside. It had been 

 carelessly put back at the door of the tent, and the night was one for 

 thieves, being without a moon. I was awoke out of my sleep by Suli- 

 man's shout, who had seen the thief stealing away between the palms, 

 but too late to stop him with his prize. I was put out at this and all 

 the more resolved to move away early — Mohammed Said had sug- 

 gested it — to another place 'near his castle.' This castle was barely 

 half a mile away (to the west), a country house built upon a rock, and 

 we accordingly moved camp by daylight and pitched the tent a hundred 

 yards from the house on open ground. 



