couple of slaves emerged from behind one of the
tents and joined him. These we discovered were
the only men which the camp contained.
We had been expected the day before, but, as
we had not turned up, the Tawareks had concluded
that we did not intend to come again, and accordingly,
hearing that an Arab of Edemeetha had died,
had gone off some time before our arrival, for want
of something better to do, to attend his funeral. It
was not known how long they would be away.
It was, in one way, rather annoying to find the
camp so deserted, as I had been counting upon
being able to buy from the men some arms and
curios, and their absence, of course, made this impossible.
But at the same time their very absence
opened up a possibility of acquiring some photographs
of their womenkind and of the interior of
their tents, which I had reason to suppose would be
unique. I entered at once into negotiations with a
view to doing this.
After some difficulty I succeeded in carrying my
point and gaining access to the interior of the tent
which contained the women. I took Aissa with me
to interpret, and placed one of the slaves outside to
keep a look-out for the return of the funeral party.
As I had little doubt that the slave would be
severely punished if it were discovered that he had
betrayed his trust by allowing us to enter the tent
and make the women unveil, I felt I could rely
upon his proving a vigilant sentry, and on our not
being caught on forbidden ground by any irate
husband or brother,
The open semi-circular enclosure outside the tent
into which we first passed extended for some eighteen
or twenty feet beyond the body of the tent itself.
It was surrounded by walls about eight feet in
height, thus ensuring complete privacy for the
inmates of the dwelling.
The main body of the tent measured, perhaps,
twenty feet square at the ground level. The sides
rose perpendicularly for about four feet, and then
sloped up until they met to form the roof at a ridgepole
some ten feet above the floor.
The part of the enclosure nearest to the tent was
shaded by a broad piece of striped cotton, which
during the daytime served as an awning and at night
was let down, if necessary, to act as a curtain to
close the open end.
All round the interior of both tent and enclosure
ran, so as to form a dado, a long strip of yard-wide
matting, neatly woven of drinn, halfa, or some
other coarse desert grass. This for a great part of
its length was trimmed along the top by a fringe of
very narrow strips of red and black leather.
The furniture of the tent, though simple, was of
rich appearance, and quite sufficient for the primitive
wants of its inhabitants. Compared with the
diminutive erection in which I had spent my nights
while on the Wargla road, the Tawarek tent presented
an appearance of homeliness, comfort, and
even luxury which made me envy this desert chief
his home.
At the far end, spread on the soft white sand
which formed the floor, were two or three thin