ACROSS THE DESERT WITH SHE-IB 75 



He took the dough from me and, after much pommeUing 

 and baking, produced a charred and blackened plate-like 

 substance; but it was thinner than mine and crisper, so 

 we ate it thankfully with dates and nuts. Then we rolled 

 ourselves in jerds and slept till wakened by the postman 

 from Kufara, who had heard at the well of our connexion 

 with Sayed Rida. He was an old, old man with beard 

 as white as his jerd, but he could accomplish the astound- 

 ing feat of going several days without water, so about 

 twice a year he travels on the Senussi's government 

 business across the Libyan desert with one fast camel and 

 a couple of sacks of dates and grain! 



Hassanein and Mohanmied went back to the wells, 

 after the camels had been watered and the fanatis filled, 

 to see if they could get milk and while there they were 

 severely cross-questioned by two stern-faced Beduins as 

 to whether we were going on Sayed Idris's business. 

 Was it in his interests? Was it by his actual orders? 

 Had we letters? And so on. Hassanein asked them 

 if they were sheikhs of tribes and when they replied in 

 the negative he said he could not show them the sacred 

 documents. Meanwhile, the Mojabra chief was being 

 solemnly shaved by Ahmed under the shadow of a palm. 

 Half-way through the proceeding he asked me for my 

 small mirror and, evidently dissatisfied with his enthu- 

 siastic but inexperienced barber, finished his toilet himself 

 with a pair of scissors as large as shears. After that they 

 all came and talked to me, and I unconsciously did good 

 work by teasing Yusuf about his laziness and saying he 

 was only fit for a town life. "I have left everything 

 with the caravan," he said. "So have we — seven big 

 sacks full! See, I have but one tobh and one barracan, 

 and both are dirty." This seemed to be a new point of 

 view for Yusuf, especially as the Mojabras backed me 

 up. "We have seen that they share ever}i;hing they 



