CHAPTER XLVII. 
ARAB GUARD TO THE DEAD SEA. 
A messenger from the Sheik of Jericho called upon us this 
morning to let us know that the Arab guard was ready to 
conduct us to the Dead Sea and the Jordan. He assured us 
we would have no trouble with the Bedouins with such a 
guard ; they were all terrible fellows, whom the Bedouins 
knew too well to attack; for, praised be Allah, they had killed 
some hundreds of the rascals already, and would kill some 
hundreds more before long. It was a great source of consola¬ 
tion to be protected in this efficient manner; for I must con¬ 
fess it was rather startling to hear the strange stories that 
were told of the way in which travelers were attacked and 
murdered, or carried off into the deserts and never heard of 
again. I expected to see twenty able-bodied men, well-drill¬ 
ed, and armed to the teeth, because it seemed as if it would 
require that number of men, and men of that kind, to slay so 
many Bedouins. They were down at Job’s well, he said, 
waiting for us; and meantime he would receive the two 
hundred piasters for the Sheik, and forty piasters for the men. 
The latter sum was to be devoted to the purchase of a sheep, 
and the sheep was to be roasted on the banks of the Jordan, 
and the men were to eat it. This was my understanding of 
the case when I paid my share of the forty piasters; and I 
did it the more willingly because I was fond of sheep roasted 
in this way, and anticipated taking some part in the feast. 
But here let me record a notable fact: the sheep is a hum¬ 
bug. To the best of my belief, there never was such a sheep 
killed or roasted by the Arab guard. If such a sheep be in 
existence at all, it is just as likely to die a natural death as 
the Bedouins when shot at by these same Arabs. 
Bidding good-by to our worthy comrade, the English Cap¬ 
tain, who had made up his mind to return to Beirut, we passed 
