OUR IMPRISONMENT TERMINATES. 309 



to us. The latter had no impediments to freedom of 

 movement in the way of clothes, but their mothers were 

 so enveloped in a huge dirty brown sheet that half their 

 time was taken up in keeping it wrapped .round them. 

 One family was on the move to-day, and the mansion 

 was packed up before our eyes by the simple process of 

 pulling down three strips of matting, rolling them up, 

 and then collecting the wooden supports over which 

 they were stretched. At II A.M. our imprisonment 

 terminated, for there arrived three mounted soldiers, 

 with our own soldier on the donkey, and seventeen 

 camels. It was indeed a joyful sight, though the 

 number was far too limited for our wants ; and now 

 with no future contretemps we shall still be able to reach 

 Souakim by the Qth, without any forced marches. M. 

 Voight writes that great regret was felt for our mis- 

 fortune, and that the Vakeel at once put into prison all 

 the relations of our deserters who could be found, and 

 had handed over their wages to our new men. At 

 6 P.M. we renewed our journey, but with great difficulty, 

 for our new camels are so weak that some of them could 

 not rise from the ground when laden, and were obliged 

 to have their burdens lessened and rearranged. The 

 deficiency of seven camels compelled us to leave a great 

 portion of our baggage in the desert in charge of one of 

 the soldiers, with the understanding that two of the 

 others should return to Kassala for more camels, and that 



