THE ARAB GUARD TO THE DEAD SEA. 369 
unarmed. Besides, Yusef had a courageous and blood-thirsty 
disposition, as he repeatedly avowed, and delighted in nothing 
so much as in killing people, which I was not naturally fond 
of, apart from the risk of killing myself by carrying deadly 
weapons. I had always felt a presentiment that, if I carried 
a revolver or pistol of any kind in my pocket, it would go off 
and disable me for life ; hence I never carried any thing more 
deadly than a penknife, and that I was resolved not to use in 
the way of violence unless driven to the last extremity. 
Instead of rushing upon these fellows, however, brandishing 
his guns, pistols, and swords, as was his habit when nothing 
was in sight, Yusef greeted them with a kindly salaam, say¬ 
ing, “ Good-morning, friends; how do you do ?” to which 
they answered in the same friendly strain ; and a great many 
compliments passed, as I supposed from the flowery style of 
the conversation that ensued. Yusef passed his chibouck 
around, and they all sat down and began to talk with great 
animation and a rapidity of utterance that would have aston¬ 
ished me had I not become rather used to it. Even as it 
was, I thought some of them would certainly choke in getting 
out so many raking gutturals at once. The talk did not seem 
at all likely to come to an end short of two or three hours. 
At last I made bold to come down from the top of the wall 
and ask what they wanted. “ Nothing, 0 prince of Generals,” 
said Yusef; “ only to take you to the Dead Sea.” “ Do you 
mean to say, thou vilest of dragomans, that this is the Arab 
guard sent here by the Sheik of Jericho to protect us against 
the Bedouins?” “I do, 0 General! It is verily the Arab 
guard.” “For which we paid two hundred piasters, and 
forty piasters for the roast sheep ?” “ Yea, the same ; verily 
the same, on my sacred honor as a dragoman; only there 
will he another man before we reach Mar Saba.” 
I looked at their guns, which were pointed in various di¬ 
rections ; said nothing, but secretly hoped the other man 
would not be a corpse. For you perceive the expected guard 
of twenty that were to insure our lives had been reduced to 
eleven imaginary men before we arrived at Job’s well. It 
now consisted of four actual beggarly varlets. Each carried 
