206 LIFE WITH THE HAM RAN ARABS. 



near the river at sunrise and wait whilst they wash 

 feet and hands, and then devote several minutes to 

 Mahomet. 



Mohamed the cook, though a Nubian, is equally 

 regular in his devotions, but at the same time he evi- 

 dently has an eye to business. In the midst of them 

 this afternoon he called out to Vivian, ' Governor, two 

 goose ! ' and then, without cutting them short, watched 

 Vivian fire a right-and-left with effect, and joined 

 heartily in the laughter caused by Ibrahim in his unsuc- 

 cessful efforts to catch a wounded bird which had fallen 

 into a shallow offshoot of the river, and there exhibited 

 its diving powers with great effect. In this offshoot we 

 have discovered a delightful bathing-place, where we 

 need feel no fear of the presence of a crocodile. Over 

 one part the stream flows rapidly and is pleasantly 

 cold for the morning bath, and in another there is a 

 small though deep sandy pool, which almost answers all 

 the purposes of a warm bath, if, after a long day's ride, 

 we return home wearied and feel disposed to have one. 



Passing this afternoon near a new encampment of 

 Arab hunters, we saw under a tree in the distance a 

 donkey very like Jarrone, and on telling this piece of 

 news to Hadji Basheer he begged us to keep it a great 

 secret until to-morrow morning, so that he may go to 

 their camp before any of our men can communicate with 

 them. He believes that if the Arabs have found Jarrone, 



