I e x p l a i n e d myfelf to this purpofe, briefly to the people
on which a great cry fo llowed ,“ God is great! let them
° n r jrm s were perfecftly in order, and our old
urk Ifmael feemed to move about and diredt with the vi
gour o f a young man. As w e had no doubt they would
be mounted on camels, fo we placed ourfelves a little with-
m the edge o f the trees. The embers o f our two fires were
on our front; our tents, baggage, and boxes, on each fide o f
us, between the opening o f the trees ; our camels and water
behind us, the camels being chained together behind
die water, and ropes at their heads, which were tied to trees.
A Ikin o f water, and two wooden bowls befide it, was left
open fo r thofe that ihould need to drink. We had finiflied
our breakfaft before day-break, and I had given all the
men direcftions to fire feparately, not together, at the fame
fet o f people; and thofe who had the blunderbuffes to fire
where they faw a number o f camels and men together
and especially at any camels they faw with girbas upon them’
or where there was the greateft confufion.
T he day b roke; no Arabs appeared; all was ftill. The dange
r which occurred to our minds then was, left, i f they were
few, by tarrying we ihould give them time to fend o ff mef-
fengers to bring afiiftance. I then took Ifmael and tW
Barbanns along with me, to fee who thefe neighbours o f ours
could be. We foon traced in the fand the footfteps o f the man
who had been at our camels; and, following them behind
the point o f a rock, w hich feemed calculated for concealing
thieves, we faw two ra gg ed , old, dirty tents, pitched with
grals cords..
T he:
T he two Barbarins entered one o f them, and found a
naked woman there. Ifmael knd I ran brilklyinto the large!!,
where we faw a man and a woman both perfectly naked,
frightful, emaciated figures, not like the inhabitants
o f this world. The man was partly fitting on his hams ; a
child, feemingly o f the age to fuck, was on a rag at the corner,
and the woman looked as i f flie wifhed to hide her-
felf. I fprung forward upon the man, and, taking him by
the hair o f the head, pulled him upon his back on the
floor, fetting my foot upon his breaft, and pointing my
knife to his throat; I faid to him fternly, “ I f you mean to
pray, pray quickly, for you have but this moment to live.”
The fellow was fo frightened, he fearce could beg us to
fpare his life ; but the woman, as it afterwards appeared,
the mother o f the fucking child, did not feem to copy the
paflive difpofitiOn o f her huiband ; flie ran to the corner o f
the tent, where was an old lance, with which, I doubt
not, fhe would have diffidently diftinguiihed herfelf, but
it happened to be entangled with the cloth o f the tent, and
Ifmael felled her to the ground with the butt-end o f his
blunderbufs, and wrefted the lance from her. A violent
howl was fet up by the remaining woman like the cries o f
thofe in torment. “ Tie them, faid I, Ifmael; keep them
feparate, and carry them to the baggage till I fettle accounts
with this camel-ftealer, and then you ihall ftrike their
three heads off, where they intended to leave us miferably
io periflh with h u n g e r ; but keep them feparate.” While
the Barbarins were tying the woman, the one that was the
nurfe o f the child turned to her huiband, and faid, in a
moft mournful, defpairing tone o f voice, “ Did I not tell
you, you would never thrive i f you hurt that good man ?
3 C 2 did