CHRISTMAS IN THE DESERT 125 



two minutes later the source of all our woe walked calmly 

 back into camp. Its reception must have surprised it 

 considerably, for everyone rushed out to meet it, firing 

 revolvers and rifles into the still, starlit air, after which 

 the blacks performed a wild fantasia to the music of a 

 tin pan beaten by Abdullah's sinewy fingers. So ended 

 the most unpleasant Christmas I have ever known! 



