THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 181 



delivered a meilage from Sidi Hafjan, that my people had 

 killed a man; they defired that themurderermightbe deliver- 

 ed to them, and that I ihould come to his tent, and fee juftice 

 done. " I told them, that none of my people, however pro- 

 " voked, would put a man to death in my abfence, unlefs 

 " in defence of their own lives ; that, if I had been there, I 

 " mould certainly have ordered them to fire upon a thief 

 " catched in the act of ftealing within my tent ; but, fince 

 " he was dead, I was fatisfied as to him, only expected that 

 " Sidi Haflan would give me up his companion, who had 

 " fled ; that, as it was near morning, I mould meet him 

 " when the caravan decamped, and hear what he had to fay 

 " in his defence. In the mean time I forbade any perfon 

 " to come near my tent, or quarters, on any pretence whatr 

 ever, till-day light." Away they went murmuring, but 

 what they laid I did not underftand. We heard no more 

 of them, and none of us flept. All of us, however, repeated 

 our vows of Handing by each other ; and we fince found, 

 that we had flood in the way of a common practice, of {trip- 

 ping thefe poor flrangers,. the Turks, who come every year 

 this road to Mecca. 



At dawn of day, the caravan was all in motion. They 

 had got intelligence, that two days before, about 300 Atouni 

 had watered at Terfowey ; and, indeed, there were marks 

 of great refort at the well, where we filled the water. We 

 had agreed not to load one of our camels, but let the cara- 

 van go on before us, and meet the Atouni firfl ; that I only 

 ihould go on horfeback, about two hundred yards into the 

 plain from the tent, and all the reft follow me on foot with 

 arms in their hands, . 



Hassan 



