ANTIOCH TO ALEPPO 



morning a few jackals on the crest of the hill 

 one hundred yards from us, howled and barked 

 as if there were hundreds of them. In the dis- 

 tance we heard hyenas laughing in answer. 



Then came more camels. Three hundred 

 and eighty-six of them passed in silent proces- 

 sion, making scarcely a noise with their mushy 

 feet and all slowly weaving towards the coast, 

 laden with liquorice root. They didn't know 

 it, but they were part of the Tobacco Trust. 

 The whole of this load of liquorice root was 

 for shipment to America, there to be spat upon 

 the ground by the chewers of tobacco. It 

 seemed quite possible that a large part of what 

 the three hundred and eighty-six camels had 

 on their backs, my old friend Bill Sterrett of 

 Texas would use up in the next winter alone, 

 and that if Bill would quit chewing, the per- 

 centage of camels that pass along the old 

 Roman road would be noticeably less in the 

 future. Up to date I have not heard that Bill 

 has reformed. 



Morning came and we tried, by signs, to 

 show that we wanted to eat ; but it was hard to 

 make ourselves understood, and we lived on the 

 scantiest rations through the hot day. 



As evening came we saw some camel drivers 



[67] 



