CHAP. VI. 
RETURN TO GATRONE. 
247 
from his horse in consequence of excessive weakness and dizziness. 
The camel man saw the animal without its rider, and was still more 
fortunate in observing Belford as he lay extended and helpless on 
the desert ; where, but for this providential discovery, he must have 
remained all night, at the risk of his Hfe ; exposed to severe cold, 
and in danger of being devoured by the immense herds of jackals 
and hyaenas which were prowling about the plain, and whose bowl- 
ings we heard all round the village. The poor fellow was so deaf, 
that our voices could not have reached him, even at the highest 
pitch ; and the night being very dark, every attempt to find him 
would have been fruitless. Much as he required food and restora- 
tives, we had, unhappily, none to give him, the people of the village 
refusing to supply us. A little coffee was all we could prepare for 
him, and that his stomach rejected. In this dilemma, all that 
remained was to cover him up as comfortably as we could, and 
to place him on the sandy floor, where we left him, in the hope 
that his total exhaustion would at least produce quiet and undis- 
turbed sleep. 
January 8th. Thermometer 2° 40'; wind northerly. — Belford 
was this day a little better. At eight the camel started. We ob- 
served a Fakeer, or schoolmaster, sitting with his scholars on the 
sand ; one roaring, the others squeaking sentences of the Koran. 
This man hearing me reproach the natives for their want of hos- 
pitality on the previous evening, in refusing assistance to a sick 
stranger, went into his house, and brought out five eggs, all the 
food he possessed, which he hoped Belford would eat. This kind 
action redeemed the character of the village ; for had it not been 
on this good man's account, I should certainly have complained to 
the Sultan, and he would, in consequence, have imposed on the 
offenders a fine of a certain number of dollars, slaves, or cattle, a 
plan he is very expert in. Indeed, he never loses sight of any 
