A Sportsman at Large 219 



specimen of the piscatorial productions of the Nile. More 

 like a Japanese giant salamander than a self-respecting fish ! 

 Abu told me its native name, and declared that it was 

 " taib " (good), but I left it at that ! 



Next day Ali served up a dish which I regarded with more 

 than suspicion ; but the rest of the party, who had not seen 

 the raw material " in statu natures /' were evidently highly 

 pleased with the gastronomic delicacy, Ted actually indulging 

 in three helpings. I watched him anxiously for the rest of 

 the evening, but as he seemed to retain his normal health and 

 displayed no alarming symptoms, my fears for his corporeal 

 welfare were finally allayed. 



One day, when " Sallie," the Soudanese cabin-boy, was pluck- 

 ing some quail which we had shot during one of our land 

 expeditions, the feathers were gently wafted overboard. As 

 they drifted down-stream, I noticed that some sort of fish 

 were persistently rising at them. This gave me a brain- 

 wave. So I tried my hand at fly-tying, and, after much 

 travail, succeeded in producing a weird lure, with which I 

 captured several fish of a species which Abu informed me were 

 known in the vernacular as " Shelbeh." They were almost 

 transparent, with eyes set high in the head and curiously 

 pedunculated. As regards these fish, I had no qualms in 

 accepting Abu's declaration as to their quality, when Ali 

 had duly dealt with them. In fact, they were excellent 

 food. 



Sallie (goodness only knows what his native patronymic 

 was, but Sallie we dubbed him, and Sallie he remained), 

 a full-blooded Soudanese of about fourteen years of age, with 

 a flat countenance, which shone like polished ebony, was 

 told off as bodyguard to the little Phyllis, and right well did 

 he carry out his duties. 



Our " entourage/' if not a thing of beauty, was a joy for 

 ever. In the first place, there was the artful but majestic 

 Hassanein himself, as priceless a rascal as ever lined his 

 pockets at the expense of his employer ; a perfect specimen 

 of the ancient type of Egypt, which has not materially changed 

 since the earlier dynasties of that land of antiquity and 

 mystery. His smile was as the sun's ray, and his suavity 



