TREACHERY AT HAWARI 173 



and sensitive man in the party and therefore he alone 

 had conjured up visions of what dying of thirst really 

 meant. Also his reserved pride had been violently 

 wounded by the attitude of Buseima, though he would 

 never acknowledge it. Unfortunately, that morning he 

 had seen the skeletons and drew on his vivid imagination 

 for details and comparisons. This completed his demoral- 

 isation. He joined with the guide and the soldiers m 

 imploring us to go past Hawari by night and arrive at 

 Kufara proper before dawn, so that by the time anyone 

 woke up in Taj we should be established in one of the 

 Sayed's houses, presumably in a state of armed defence. 

 In vain we argued and protested. They all foresaw a 

 well-organised attack the moment the inhabitants of 

 Hawari perceived us. To do Yusuf justice, he was the 

 only one who declared this was nonsense. "There may 

 be robbers," he said, "but how could they openly attack 

 the Sayed's slaves?" We found an unexpected ally in 

 him when, sitting round the camp fire, we tried to instil 

 a little courage into the retinue while at the same time 

 insisting on staying in Hawari. 



It had been an exceedingly hot day and feet had 

 blistered anew, which perhaps accounted for the mental 

 depression. Yusuf was our most reliable barometer. 

 When he discarded the fleece-lined waterproof and strode 

 along in his fluttering white shirt and a skull cap, as he 

 had done that afternoon, we knew it must be almost 

 torrid. I never saw ^lohammed walk ^vithout my 

 plaid rug wound over the top of the torn woolly water- 

 proof ! 



January 11 I saw the sun rise from the top of the 

 immense dime that had guarded our slumbers. The 

 dull sand turned slowly pink as the purple cliffs of the 

 Gebel Neri came into view in low, irregular masses to 

 the south, while a little to the east of them appeared 



