216 A Sportsman at Large 



thrown them away. On asking Farag the reason of this 

 wasteful demonstration, he informed us that it was against 

 the Mohammedan tenets to eat of the flesh of any bird or 

 animal that had not had its blood drained ere life is extinct. 



It was about this time that I suddenly found that my gold 

 repeater watch, which had been a present to me from my 

 dear departed mother, on the occasion of my twenty-first 

 birthday, was missing. At first I suspected that one of the 

 units of our picturesque bunch of natives was an expert -pick- 

 pocket, though cunningly camouflaged as an innocent fellah ; 

 but after thinking out every place and position where I might 

 have dropped the timepiece, my thoughts suddenly recurred 

 to my snake adventure ; so a dusky member of the party 

 was dispatched to the tuft, which was now over a mile away. 

 Sure enough, on the very spot where that obscene reptile had 

 lain sunning itself, lay the derelict watch, all safe and sound, 

 and correctly indicating the hour (5 p.m.), a hint which 

 caused us huiriedly to seek the station, en route for Cairo, 

 home and beauty. 



Farag did not seem to have many further suggestions for 

 sporting days within easy reach of the capital, but proposed 

 that we should fit out a camping expedition near the lakes 

 of Fayoum. I cannot say that I was particularly keen on 

 carrying out such exalted ideas, because our Shikari's descrip- 

 tion of the game did not appeal to me very convincingly. 

 For when I asked him what varieties of game might be 

 expected in those parts, his reply was : 



" Ba-sha shoot jackal, berhaps ! " 



" Anything else ? " I asked. 



" Maybe someting." 



" Yes, but what ? " I insisted. 



" Bigeons, berhaps." And that was all I could get out of 

 him. 



However, Ted thought it would be a novelty. But on 

 reconsidering the question, my cousin came to the conclusion 

 that such a wild adventure would not be suitable to the 

 delicate Ida. And since he was averse from leaving her and 

 Phyllis to the perils of Cairo I did not press him, being my- 

 self far from enthusiastic though hankering after a new 



