VISIT TO ABU MAHOMED. 361 



easily transferred to the shoulders of others, from 

 whom it was impossible to look for restitution or 

 redress. So convinced was I by his conduct of his 

 intending this robbery, that I left our Kafilah, and 

 walked to that of the Wahama, who were encamped 

 about one hundred yards to the west of us. Having 

 walked about a little, looking into every bush for 

 Abu Mahomed Allee, or for his son Ibrahim, I 

 at length found the former, hard at work, studying 

 the Koran, which lay open upon the ground before 

 him. He was reading away with very evident 

 interest, some of the well-told relations of 

 past, present, and future life contained in that 

 volume. 



I pushed aside the mat that hung from the top 

 of the thick-leaved moomen-bush, under which he 

 had retreated from the sun, and, without any cere- 

 mony, sat down by his side. He closed his book, 

 took off the large, round German spectacles that, 

 compressed across the bridge of his nose, secured 

 themselves, without farther aid, in the required 

 position. My business was soon told. Ohmed 

 Mahomed was a great thief, and something worse ; 

 and I wanted the boxes to be with me, or I with 

 them, and required his assistance, for I was deter- 

 mined not to leave Hiero Murroo without obtaining 

 possession of the property thus left, and which I 

 had no doubt, I told him, that Ohmed Mahomed 

 wanted to steal, and then to lay the blame on the 

 Wahama. The old man replied, that the party 



