IN THE BAN OF THE DESERT 
529 
thus afforded relatively easy passages from one depression 
to another. But when Islam stopped, and stepped aside 
up a pyramidal peak, and putting his hand to his brow, to 
shade his eyes, gazed fixedly eastwards, I confess 1 did not 
feel very comfortable. The action would bear only one 
interpretation : the road was growing still more difficult. 
Sometimes he came back quite discouraged, crying, 
Hctch yoll yock" (Perfectly impassable), ‘'Her taraf 
yaman kum" (Hateful sand everywhere), or simply "Kum- 
tagh (Mountains of sand). When that happened, we 
were forced to make a wide detour to the north or south, 
so as to get past the hindrances which blocked the direct 
line of advance. 
All the men walked, barefooted, the perspiration rolling 
off them, all alike silent, weary, and downcast at finding 
their hopes of easier sand so bitterly and so constantly 
deceived. Time after time they stopped to drink ; but 
the water itself was hot, its temperature being 86 ° Fahr. 
(30° C.) ; for it was incessantly washed backwards and 
forwards against the heated sides of the iron tanks, which 
we were no longer able to shade with bundles of reeds, for 
the camels had eaten them all up to the last stalk. Any- 
way we all drank excessive quantities of water, in order to 
increase the transpiration, for the wind struck cool upon 
our skin. 
The caravan crept slowly on at a snail’s-pace. We 
always took a general look-round from the top of each 
outstanding eminence ; but towards every point of the 
compass it was always the same monotonous, discouraging 
outlook — one sand -ridge peeping up behind another — a 
billowy ocean without a shore, actual mountain-chains of 
nothing but fine, yellow sand. The camels still continued 
to climb up and slide down the slopes with the same 
marvellous surety of foot ; nevertheless we were often 
obliged to make a path for them. These difficult places, 
which the men called davan-kum (.sand -pass), generally 
discouraged us all a little ; but whenever we were favoured 
with a good piece of level ground {darak) between the 
dunes, we quickly recovered our spirits, and pushed on 
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