72 THE SECRET OF SAHARA: KUFARA 



another quarter with tea, and then pour the water on 

 top. They taste the sweet, strong beverage half a dozen 

 times, pouring it from one tea-pot to another, adding 

 water or re-boiling it till it suits them. Then it is drunk 

 with as much noise as possible to show appreciation. 

 When the host thinks it is time to finish the party, he 

 adds mint to the tea-pot, and the guests take the last 

 sweet-scented cup as a sign of departure. Meanwhile 

 they have exchanged every form of gossip and told 

 long, rambling tales with a flavour of the Arabian 

 Nights. Their courtesy to one another is amazing, and 

 it is an honest courtesy that expresses itself in deeds as 

 well as words. While Yusuf and Mohammed rarely 

 addressed each other without the respectful prefix of 

 *'Sidi" (my lord), they also warmly urged each other 

 to ride the only available camel at midday heat. Once 

 Mohammed was riding it, and he noticed Musa She-ib 

 looked tired. "We share alike," he said. "What is 

 ours is yours," and scrambling down he insisted on the 

 Mojabra mounting. 



It was a very friendly caravan that crawled south by 

 short stages. Our only troubles really were Yusuf's 

 laziness and the grumblings of the blacks, who shirked 

 even the lightest work. On the 13th we started at 9.30 

 and camped at 3.30, while the sun was yet hot, for we 

 happened to have arrived at a patch of coarse, odourless 

 grass for the camels. At noon the men had slipped 

 away from the caravan one by one to prostrate them- 

 selves with a murmured, "Bismillah arahman arahim." 

 Generally two of them marched a couple of hundred 

 yards ahead with their rifles ready, but we saw nothing 

 more exciting than a few distant gazelle. As soon as we 

 had unloaded the camels we all said our evening prayers, 

 the "Fagr" or fourth of the series. It still gave me 

 much pain getting in and out of my yellow shoe, but 



