THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. S 9 



the boat, he and the Moor jumped in with great agility. 

 A number of people was affembled, and three mots were 

 fired at us, very quickly, the one after the other. 



I cried out in Arabic, "Infidels, thieves, and robbers ! come 

 :t on, or we mall prefently attack you :" upon which I im- 

 mediately fired a fhip-blunderbufs with piflol fmall bullets, 

 but with little elevation, among the bufhes, fo as not to 

 touch them. The three or four men that were neareft fell 

 fiat upon their faces, and Hid away among the bumes on 

 their bellies, like eels, and we faw no more of them. 



We now put our vefTel into the ftream, filled our fore* 

 fail, and flood off, Mahomet crying, Be upon your guard, if 

 you are men, we are the Sanjack's foldiers, and will come 

 for the turban to-night. More we neither heard nor faw. 



We were no fooner out of their reach, than our Rais, 

 filling his pipe, and looking very grave, told me to thank 

 God that I was in the vefTel with fuch a man as he was, as 

 it was owing to that only I efcaped from being niurdered 

 a-fhore. " Certainly, faid I, Haffan, under God, the way of 

 ' efcaping from being murdered on land, is never to go 

 " out of the boat, but don't you think that my blunderbufs 

 ' was as effectual a mean as your holinefs ? Tell me,Mahc- 

 £ met, What did they do to you ?" He faid,They had not fcen 

 us come in, but had heard of us ever fince we were at Mctra- 

 henny, and had waited to rob or murder us ; that upon 

 now hearing we were come, they had all ran to their 

 houfes for their arms, and were coming down, immediate- 

 ly, to plunder the boat ; upon which he and the Moor ran 

 off, and being met by thefe three people, and the bov, on 

 Vol. I. M ' thc 



