322 LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



most of them are budding, and in sheltered nooks are 

 quite green, affording a very pleasant contrast to the 

 general desolation surrounding them. The rain must 

 have been heavy, and must have rendered the ground 

 very slippery for camels, judging by the sliding marks 

 made by their hoofs at the time. 



May 4. Another dilemma has arisen, for Vivian's 

 party did not arrive during the night, and as they must 

 have had time to do so by sunrise, it is supposed that 

 they missed the station in the darkness and waited 

 in the neighbourhood for daylight. Ranfurly passed a 

 very restless night, owing to his difficulty of breathing 

 making it necessary for him to sit up very often, but he 

 was so anxious not to lose the morning that I decided 

 at 8 A.M. to comply with his wishes and continue on our 

 way. Before doing so I gave an order to Ibrahim to put 

 sundry requisites into the donkey's saddle-bags for our 

 luncheon, dinner, and breakfast to-morrow, and told 

 Mohamed, whom I left in charge of our stores, that he 

 was to wait till midday at the station, and then, whether 

 or not the others had arrived, he was to follow us to 

 the next station, a ten hours' journey for the baggage- 

 camels. 



For two or three hours our course lay in a valley, and 

 we were thus protected from the strong and rapidly 

 rising wind, but after this time we entered upon a vast 

 stony plain, over which it blew in such hot blasts in our 



