216 THE SECRET OF SAHARA: KUFARA 



plicity of the room was striking. There was nothing to 

 impress the pilgrim except his own passionate reverence. 

 His worship must of necessity be a thing of the spirit 

 and not of the senses. Yet that low dim chamber in the 

 middle of the Sahara is in its way as impressive as 

 St. Peter's at Rome, or the Temple of Heaven in Pekin! 

 Cardinals and mandarins may bring mixed motives to 

 their worship, but the fierce-eyed Beduin in rough white 

 burnus, worn wooden rosary hanging from sun-dried 

 fingers, prays with a strenuous simplicity and earnestness 

 that must impress the very atmosphere with the sincerity 

 of his devotion. Thus I felt as, hands raised to Heaven, 

 I murmured the "Bismallah Arahman Arahim" under 

 keen watching eyes; but when we passed out into the 

 sunlight the impression faded and one's guard was up 

 again ! 



First there was a fight with the blacks who had become 

 hopelessly unruly. Having been only remarkable for 

 their absence when there was any real danger, they now 

 dev^oted their time to eating, sleeping and talking of 

 their prowess. We, therefore, decided to send them 

 back to Jalo by the main caravan route and go on our- 

 selves to Jaghabub. This time the retinue protested in 

 vain. We had suffered too much from their fears coming 

 in to wish to return through the continual minor panics 

 of the Zouia country. The Jaghabub route is consider- 

 ably shorter, for it cuts off the angle of Jalo and, above 

 all, it is utterly unknown to Europeans. As it necessi- 

 tates at least twelve days without water, some 600 

 kilometres, it is rarely attempted except by very large 

 well-equipped caravans, who can afford to lose a few 

 camels by the way, or by the Senussi family, who can 

 send camels laden with water on ahead to fill some 

 reservoirs especially placed for the purpose. 



We had seen the dangers of travelling with a 



