ACROSS THE DESERT WITH SHE-IB 65 



sugar and their jerds. But how is it you have come so 

 far? Your people expect you to be waiting just outside 

 Jedabia. They said to us, 'If you meet them, treat 

 them well for our sakes, and the honour that you do them 

 will be as if you had done it to us.' " We told them 

 about the spy. "He is one of our tribe," they said 

 sadly. "It is a shame that he has set one foot outside 

 the belad on this errand. When we return to Jedabia 

 we will surely spit upon him. Send him to us now that 

 vre may take him on to Jalo with us!" We thought, 

 however, that the man would probably be safer 

 with us! 



It is a desert custom that when a caravan arrives at 

 nightfall to find another encamped before it, the first 

 arrivals give dinner to the late-comers. We were unable 

 to do this because we had no food, so we could send only 

 apologies and greetings. Just as we had finished our 

 meagre supper of corned beef and rice, a messenger 

 arrived from the hospitable Mojabras bearing two im- 

 mense basins of barley grain cooked with native butter 

 and pepper, with great cakes of hard sugar and actually 

 a teapot. The joy with which we ate the savoury mess 

 can hardly be described, and our retinue made relays of 

 strong, bittfer tea half-way into the night. There was 

 much visiting between the encampment and a chorus of 

 "Keif halak?" (How are you?) and "Taiyib" (Well) 

 sounded constantly. 



If two caravans meet coming from Jalo and Jedabia 

 respectively, the former exchanges dates for the latter's 

 tea and sugar. If any traveller reaches a camp at night 

 he is freely given food and tea and a rug by the brush- 

 wood fire. Desert hospitality is amazing. Food and 

 drink are always offered. We were never allowed to buy 

 camel's milk. It was always given, for were we not 

 nomads like the desert men themselves? One never 



