2 2 Bedouin Tribes of the Btipkrates. [ch. xvh. 



to make a meal. They can be eaten raw, but are 

 much better boiled. It has been suggested that this 

 is the manna which was eaten in the wilderness. 



March 25. — Fortune has favoured us in our plan 

 «of gettinix rid of the soldiers. A wolf came last 

 night and prowled about our camp, paying such a 

 disagreeable amount of attention to a mare and 

 foal belonging to one of them, that this morning he 

 begged to be allowed to go back to Deyr. His 

 -companion, too, followed suit, explaining that he 

 had only the day before come back from the war in 

 Armenia, and that it was very hard on him to be 

 sent out on such an expedition, without even a 

 single night at home. We sympathised most 

 heartily with both of them, of course, and readily 

 agreed to let them go. It was necessary, however^ 

 to give them a paper of dismissal, so Wilfrid wrote 

 a line in French to Zakki Beg, who understands a 

 few words of that language, explaining that we 

 really did not want an escort, and had nothing to 

 feed the men with, while we had full confidence in 

 Mohammed as a protector. With this document 

 and a shilling a-piece for bakshish, they departed 

 homewards in high delio;ht. 



Still Ali the Melied did not make his appearance, 

 as we quite expected he would as soon as the soldiers 

 were gone, and the only thing to be done has been 

 to make friends with JMohammed the Tudmuri, 

 really a very excellent fellow. This AVilfrid pro- 

 ceeded to do, engaging him in conversation and 



