ON A WATERLESS WAY 127 



Taiserbo in a south-westerly direction we might go too 

 far west and lose ourselves altogether. He therefore 

 proposed to go south for the first five days, within sight 

 of the faint landmarks on the Kufara route, and then 

 turn west. All day long we rode across a burning, 

 desolate waste, flatter than it is possible to imagine or 

 describe. One could see but a few miles on either side. 

 The whole of our world had become a flat, yellow disk, 

 reflecting the scorching sun-rays in quivering mirage. 

 The only break in the monotony was an occasional camel 

 skeleton. Once a great brown hillock appeared on the 

 edge of the disk and we thought it might be brushwood 

 or even a caravan, till the distorting waves of mirage 

 danced away and revealed it but a few huddled bones to 

 which some dry, brown matter still clung. We ate a 

 hard-boiled egg and a few dates for lunch, but clung to 

 our rule of drinking only morning and evening. As we 

 plodded onwards, for we had agreed that no one should 

 ride the camels unless they were ill or dead beat. Mora j a 

 assured me that our journey could not possibly be lucky, 

 for we had failed to fulfil a time-honoured Arab custom 

 and slaughter a sheep at Buttafal. It appears that when 

 any member of a caravan visits an oasis for the first time 

 a feast is made in his honour. As none of our retinue 

 had seen all the oases we proposed to visit, we gathered 

 it would be an expensive journey! 



To our surprise the blacks walked all day without 

 grumbling, even stopping occasionally to dance and sing. 

 The camel who had nearly died the previous day carried 

 her load gaity. "She was ridden by Shaitan," said 

 Mohammed gravely, "but the spirit of Sidi Idris has 

 cured her." At 5 p.m. Yusuf pointed out the Kalb el 

 Metemma, which he said was on the left, but I could see 

 absolutely nothing which looked like a hillock. 



We saw the sun die in the flaming splendour which 



