On Departing, Ayd, Who Was Barefooted, And Whose Feet Had
Become Sore With Walking, Took From Under The Date-Bush
Round which we
had passed the night, a pair of leathern sandals, which he knew belonged
to his Heywat friend,
The fisherman, and which the latter had hidden
here till his return. In order to inform the owner that it was he who
had taken the sandals, he impressed his footstep in the sand just by,
which he knew the other would immediately recognise, and he turned the
toes towards the south, to indicate that he had proceeded with the
sandals in that direction.
We now returned across the plain to the before mentioned basalt cliffs,
passed the different small bays, and turned up into Wady Mezeiryk. We
had descended from our camels, which Szaleh was driving before him,
about fifty paces in advance; I followed, and about the same distance
behind me walked Hamd and Ayd. As we had seen nobody during the whole
journey, and were now returning into the friendly districts of the
Towara, we had ceased to entertain any fears from enemies, and were
laughing at Ayd for recommending us to cross the valleys as quickly as
possible. My gun was upon my camel, and I had just turned leisurely
round an angle of the valley, when I heard Ayd cry out with all his
might, “Get your arms! Here they are!” I immediately ran up to the
camels, to take my gun, but the cowardly Szaleh, instead of stopping to
assist his companions, made the camels gallop off at full speed up the
valley. I, however, overtook them, and seized my gun, but before I could
return to Hamd, I heard two shots fired, and Ayd’s war-hoop, “Have at
him! are we not Towara?” Immediately afterwards I saw Hamd spring
DJEBEL SHERAFE
[p.514] round the angle, his eyes flashing with rage, his shirt
sprinkled with blood, his gun in one hand, and in the other his knife
covered with blood; his foot was bleeding, he had lost his turban, and
his long black hair hung down over his shoulders. “I have done for him!”
he exclaimed, as he wiped his knife; “but let us fly.” “Not without
Ayd,” said I: “No indeed,” he replied; “without him we should all be
lost.” We returned round the corner, and saw Ayd exerting his utmost
agility to come up with us. At forty paces distance an Arab lay on the
ground, and three others were standing over him. We took hold of Ayd’s
arm and hastened to our camels, though we knew not where to find them.
Szaleh had frightened them so greatly by striking them with his gun,
that they went off at full-gallop, and it was half an hour before we
reached them; one of them had burst its girths, and thrown off its
saddle and load. We replaced the load, mounted Ayd, and hastened to pass
the rocks of Djebel Sherafe.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 340 of 453
Words from 177065 to 177565
of 236498
