We sought the next house in
which there was a light, but neither would the people of that home
open to us.
We tried several other places, but at all of them we
were refused admission. They seemed to look with suspicion upon
our visit to the village. But, finally, a good old Mohammedan
consented to let us spend the night in his rock hut, and gave us
the privilege of putting our horses in his little walled space by
the house. Haleel must spend the night in this yard - he always
slept with the horses. When my dragoman helps me over the stone
door-sill, and we enter the hut, we find that the part allotted to
men consists of but one small room, having a floor of earth on
which are spread a couple of mats. In this room there is no
furniture. Two persons are already asleep on the floor. We do not
disturb them.
Not having eaten anything since noon, my dragoman begins at once
to prepare a light lunch for us. On a brazier that he finds here
he makes a little charcoal fire and quickly brews some of the tea
brought from Damascus; into this he squeezes lemon juice; then
finding some bread that he had stowed away in his saddle-bags, our
lunch is ready. I sit on the floor as comfortable as I can make
myself while he is getting supper. The flickering light, the
shifting shadows, the strange ones lying asleep, the almost as
strange dusky helpers, the sense of dangers just escaped, the
whining, wailing, barking dogs, my physical pain - all these things
beget within me a strange feeling of loneliness and a longing for
home. Again and again I ask myself the question, "Why did you
undertake this; why were you not content to go down from Damascus
to Galilee and all of West Palestine by the easy way?" But, again
and again I say to myself: "You would never have been satisfied
had you done so; this is part of the price to be paid for what you
wanted; consider what you get in exchange, value received."
But my reverie is cut short by a groan from my dragoman; he sank
back trembling and said, "Call Haleel!" Together we worked with
him for a half-hour or more until a chill, the result of drinking
too much water on reaching the village, had been overcome. I was
much alarmed at the possible outcome of his sudden illness, for
had he left me thus the situation for me would have been one of
extreme perplexity. In my anxiety for him I forgot for the moment
my own condition. But now I am again a conscious sufferer. So
tired am I that I can scarcely wait until I have sipped a little
tea and eaten a little bread before I have removed hat and shoes
and am stretched out upon the floor to sleep. The horses seem
restless in their stamping; the dogs keep up their barking; the
room is dark; I hear the heavy breathing of those about me; a lone
star peeps in through the small window; and I try to compose
myself for the rest that I so much need. "Is there no balm in
Gilead?" Yes. I thought that I was lying down to a night of
restlessness and fever, but never on couch of down has my rest
been sweeter.
I am awakened at dawn by some one moving about in the room, and I
see a man pick up a gun and pass quickly out. The dogs are barking
savagely throughout the village. Then I look about me. Imagine my
surprise when I discover that I have had five bed-fellows, or
rather FLOOR-FELLOWS! There we lay stretched out in all sorts of
angles and curves - American, Syrian, Circassian; Christian and
Mohammedan - forming a kind of crazy patch-work on the earthen
floor. And imagine my supreme disgust when I discover a big,
dirty, odorous, unshod human foot, erect on the heel and with toes
spread out like a fan, within a few inches of my face! Bah! How
was it that I slept! I turn my face to the wall and soon lose
thought of the disturbing vision in slumber.
It is quite late when again I wake. The host is sitting on his mat
near me fumbling beads and chanting prayers. Without moving I
watch him for a while and note that he is also interested in me,
and that he now knows that I am awake. I begin an investigation of
myself, and find, to my glad surprise, that while I am stiff and
sore I feel quite refreshed. I dress myself - a simple matter this
morning, simply putting on my shoes - and while my dragoman
prepares our breakfast I exercise myself somewhat by walking down
to an old Roman bridge spanning the small stream flowing through
the village. In this half-hour I get a good general knowledge of
the location of the town, its outline, its magnificent ruins, etc.
But I am not ready yet for sight-seeing. I prefer to listen to the
brook singing its happy way almost hidden among the pink oleanders
that grow in such profusion along its sides. The running water,
the perfume of the flowers, the flood of sunlight - these are like
balm to me after my awful yesterday. Certainly I shall be ready
early to study the ruins of this wonderful, mysterious, ancient
city.
Breakfast is ready. It consists of boiled eggs, bread, cheese, and
tea. Our table is the floor on which we slept. The male members of
the house-hold join us as we sit on mats around the simple meal.
Our host sends one of the men (a visitor to a Mohammedan home
never meets, and frequently never sees a woman) to bring a little
of his own bread. It does not look at all tempting to me, but I am
told that if I wish to secure my host's friendship I must eat of
it.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 6 of 15
Words from 5079 to 6104
of 14974
