98 THE SECRET OF SAHARA: KUFARA 



night, exchanging congratulations and good wishes. The 

 She-ibs and our Beduins were feasting in one and the 

 soldiers in a second. Several little fires burned merrily. 

 We went from one to another, making coffee from our 

 newly arrived stores in true Arab fashion, tasting it and 

 pom-ing it back into the pot if it were not sweet enough. 

 Then we went up on to the rise above the sleeping town, 

 and talked about all that we had done, which was so little 

 in comparison with what remained to be done. Yet we 

 had won the first trick in the game and we felt we now 

 had a fighting chance of success! But even while peace 

 enveloped us and the calm of the desert might impregnate 

 our souls, the first seed of a strife that was very nearly to 

 wreck all our plans was being sown in the camp below. 

 The blacks had got the idea firmly fixed in their heads 

 that they were to guard us. They posted a sentinel. 

 Musa She-ib, returning late, was challenged as he stood 

 beside his bales. "I am the owner of the tent," he 

 replied. "Then go inside or go away altogether!" came 

 the order. Both ruffled plumages had to be smoothed 

 dowTi in the morning. The soldier was only doing his 

 duty, but the She-ib's caravan had rescued us from defeat 

 or starvation! 



We started at 9.30 a.m. on December 19 for the six 

 hours' ride to Jalo over a flat countiy of fine gravel, 

 brownish-yellow, without a speck of vegetation, but it was 

 a divided party. The blacks, always lazy when there was 

 no necessity for a spurt, rode the camels, perching pre- 

 cariously above sacks and bales. Yusuf was furious, 

 chiefly because he wanted to ride himself. "The camels 

 will never reach Kufara if they are ridden," he said. "We 

 shall all die on the way. There will be a fight and we 

 will kill these black slaves." He went away to join 

 Mohammed, and the two kept away from the caravan 

 the whole dav. Abdullah, the most famous tracker in 



