2 ;o LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



tiuued on our way with scarcely a halt until sunset, when 

 we again approached the river, and after crossing this 

 we were soon at our destination. Abdullah en route 

 suddenly left us and galloped off to an Arab we saw 

 to our right, and much to my surprise he seized hold of 

 the terror-stricken man's spear and carried it off in 

 triumph. This was evidently thought to be a capital 

 joke by Abdullah and his companion, as they rode on 

 side by side and examined the weapon, and it gave me 

 the chance of seeing how thoroughly an Egyptian soldier 

 appreciates the connection between might and right. 

 On my arrival I found that my haversack with its 

 treasures and toilet requisites for the night (a tooth-brush) 

 had been jolted off the back pommel of my native saddle 

 during some part of the journey. 



Ranfurly has without doubt a sharp attack of dysen- 

 tery, from which he has been suffering for a few days, 

 but he has been very well looked after by Emanuel, in 

 the same way as Gumming was on the Salaam, and we 

 must hope that this attack also may neither prove a 

 long nor very grave one. It was most probably pro- 

 duced in the first place by the air of their camp at Em- 

 hagga being poisoned by the decaying meat that their 

 men had left lying about in the immediate neighbourhood 

 for the vultures, and which had not been found out by 

 them. Passing the camp at Emhagga one day I ob- 

 served a very unpleasant odour from this source, and I 



