THE ELUSIVE DUNES 285 



rarer, so that we climbed up and down ridges most of 

 the time. The camels began to show signs of wear. 

 One of the nagas trailed her head most of the time. 

 The big blond beast had to be relieved of his load. 

 They were all very smelly, which is the first sign 

 of thirst. Luckily, we found patches of green hattab, 

 the prickly, juiceless bush of the Mehemsa, scattered 

 under the dunes and the animals raced to it, fighting 

 for the freshest tufts. Amar got fever and had to 

 be allowed to ride, while I was so tired that I found 

 a way of festooning myself over the pegs of the baggage 

 saddles, my knees wound round one and my neck round 

 another. In this extraordinarily uncomfortable position 

 I actually dozed, while Yusuf wandered beside me doubt- 

 fully. "You are very long," he said politely. "I think 

 j'ou will fall." And he tried to double up a dangling 

 foot much as if it was a piece of baggage slipping. 



I could not understand the presence of green bushes 

 till I found my pillow that night wet with a heavy dew. 

 Then I reahsed that we had left the southern lands 

 behind us and next day, February 8, there were a few 

 little clouds in the sky, just specks of fluffy white, but 

 we had become used to the molten blue that roofs the 

 red country of Kufara and her encircling wastes. That 

 was for me the worst day. The little camels persistently 

 threw their loads, ill-balanced because the fodder had 

 become so much lighter. There was a cold east wind, 

 which blistered one's skin on one side, while the sun 

 scorched it on the other. The camels would not keep 

 together, but strayed oif to each patch of green. The 

 dunes seemed steeper than ever and the sand softer and 

 heavier. No one was sure of the way. Even Suleiman 

 was a little depressed at not picking up any of the land- 

 marks he had known on previous journeys. He insisted 

 on keeping his course due north, though we knew 



