THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. iSi- 



delivered a menage from Sidi HafTan, that my people had 

 killed a man; they defired that the murderer might be deliver- 

 ed to them, and that I fhould come to his tent, and fee juftice 

 done. " I told them, that none of my people, however pro- 

 u voked, would put a man to death in my abfence, unlefs 

 * in defence of their own lives ; that, if I had been there, 1 1 

 " fhould certainly have ordered them to fire upon a thief 

 " catched in the act of Healing within my tent ; but, fince 

 " he was dead, I was fatisfied as to him, only expected that 

 " Sidi HafTan would give me up his companion, who had 

 *' fled ; that, as it was near morning, I fhould meet him 

 " when the caravan decamped, and hear what he had to fay 

 " in his defence. In the mean time I forbade any perfon 

 " to come near my tent, or quarters, on any pretence what- 

 ever, till-day light." Away they went murmuring, but 

 what they faid I did not underfland. We heard no more 

 of them, and none of us flept. All of us, however, repeated: 

 our vows of Handing by each other ; and we fince found, 

 that we had flood in the way of a common practice, of ftrip- 

 ping thefe poor flrangers, the Turks, who come every year, 

 this road to Mecca. 



At dawn of day, the caravan was all in motion, They 

 had got intelligence, that two days before, about 300 Atouni- 

 had watered at Terfowey; and, indeed, there were marks,- 

 of great refort at the well, where we filled the water. We 

 had agreed not toToad one of our camels, but let the. cara- 

 van go on before us, and meet the Atouni firfl ; that I only 

 fliould go on horfeback,. about two hundred yards into the 

 plain from the tent,., and all the reft follow me on foot with- 

 arms in their, hands,.. 



Wassau, 



