84 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



a minute, that seemed a century, before I succeeded 

 in pulling it over the first pin. After that, all went 

 easily. With the cover loosened for a space of four 

 feet, I thrust my head through the opening. Before 

 my shoulders were inside my feet no longer reached the 

 ship's rail. I squirmed in, inch by inch, after the 

 fashion of a swimmer, fearful of making the slightest 

 noise. Only my feet remained outside when my hand 

 struck an oar inside the boat. Its rattle could have 

 been heard in Cairo. Drenched with perspiration, I 

 listened for my discoverer. The festive music, evidently, 

 engrossed the attention of the entire ship's company. 

 I drew in my feet by doubling up like a pocket-knife, 

 and, thrusting a hand through the opening, fastened 

 the cord over all but one pin. 



The space inside was more than limited. Seats, 

 casks, oars, and boat-hooks left me barely room to 

 stretch out on my back without touching the canvas 

 above me. Two officers brushed by, and mounting to the 

 bridge, called out their orders within six feet of me. 

 The rattle of the anchor chain announced that the long 

 passage of the canal had begun. When I could breathe 

 without opening my mouth at every gasp, I was 

 reminded that the shop where spitted mutton sold 

 cheaply had been closed. Within an hour, that misfor- 

 tune was forgotten. The sharp edge of the water-cask 

 under my back, the oars that supported my hips, the seat 

 that my shoulders barely reached, began to cut into 

 my flesh, sending sharp pains through every limb. The 

 slightest movement might send some unseen articlt 

 clattering. Worst of all, there was just space sufficiei 

 for my head while I kept my neck strained to 

 utmost. The tip of my nose touched the canvas. T( 



