THE FLIGHT FROM TAJ 235 



layer of palm leaf disclosed enough cold lamb, cooked in 

 red pepper and onions, to feed all the party liberally, 

 while the whole was balanced upon a bowl of delicious 

 thick soup full of vermicelh, carrots and other unknown 

 vegetables. All was hot with scarlet strips of fil-fil. 

 Greed and fear struggled in my mind, but the former 

 won and all the cold north wind could not cool my 

 fevered tongue after I had partaken of that highly 

 spiced dish. 



When a row of little tin tea-pots were heating on 

 separate piles of ashes, I joined the party under the 

 larger mound and we drank hot sweet tea, which tasted 

 strongly of the inside of the girba which had been hidden 

 underneath the saddle-bags. Afterwards there was half 

 an hour's amiable silence, punctuated by rare remarks 

 chiefly concerning the flora and fauna of the wadi, this 

 being the least suspicious subject of conversation we 

 could think of and Mohammed being visibly eager to 

 distrust. It could not be lengthened out interminably 

 because there are no wild animals in Kufara and I never 

 saw a bird, though I was told that several species, chief 

 among them the wagtail-like "abu fasada," make their 

 appearance in March at the harvest time — the grain is 

 a winter crop. Of insects there is a large variety, chiefly 

 distinguished by their voracious appetites! Cleo^Datra's 

 asp, a small, fawn-coloured snake, lurks among the sand 

 and in the oasis there are several kinds of serpents, large 

 and small, most of them poisonous. We were assured 

 that one large dark snake measures at least 6 feet and is 

 particularly feared by the natives. Perhaps this is the 

 legendary beast of Hawaish! 



After our excellent meal Tolab appeared much nearer 

 and the wind much less strong. We rode on for another 

 couple of hours and verified our suspicions that the wadi 

 had no definite end; we had a bitter argument as to 



