CH. XVIII.] Hdnna falls Homesick. 53 



most important bit of news, however, is that a man 

 ]\Iohammed sent some time ago to gather truffles in 

 the Hamad, has come back with the news of the 

 Sebaa being within three days' march, sixty or 

 seventy miles, of Tudmur, coming slowly north. 

 Tlie man states that he saw young Meshur ibn 

 Mershid, the Gomussa Sheykb, the same who is 

 said to have killed Ibn Shaalan, and who sent us 

 the message of invitation when we were at Aleppo. 

 It seems he is a friend of Mohammed's, who now is 

 quite as eager as w^e are to be off, for Mohammed 

 piques himself on his Bedouin connection, and his 

 friendship with the Anazeh sheykhs, though I Ije- 

 lieve he does not know Jedaan. We have only the 

 ]\Iudir now to settle with ; and, now that w^e have 

 the support of Mohammed's family, we need no 

 longer hesitate to speak plainly of our intentions. 

 This Wilfrid intends doino; to-morrow. 



It is tremendously hot, and the desert to the 

 south looks like a simmering furnace ; but the truffle 

 hunter, who came from it with the news and who 

 was here just now, has pointed us out a little tell 

 on the far horizon, from which he says that you 

 can see another, and that from that one you can see 

 Ibn Mershid's camp, so that it no longer looks to us 

 the absolutely trackless waste it did this morning. 



Ajyril 1. — This morning Hanna came to me in 

 tears, and announced his intention of leaving us. 

 He has been ailing for some days with home-sickness, 

 eats nothing, and I think feels the heat of the sun. 



