Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/179

 and the mudîr. I assured him that I would reward everyone who did me any favor, but only after it had been done and not before. He warned me not to encamp so far from the oasis, saying that it would be better if we were to pitch our tents in the garden near the fortress so that all could protect us. When I remarked that there were enough of us and that we had good firearms to repel any attack by robbers, should the gallant gendarmes not come to our assistance, he offered to remain with us and guard us. Knowing that he would only annoy us with his begging and that he would fleece us, I declined his offer with thanks, pointing out that the mudîr would not be able to fulfil his onerous duties without him and that, far from wishing to cause the mudîr any trouble, it was my desire rather to make things easier for him. The gendarme was not pleased at my attitude. He went away in vexation, remarking that he would at once send a report to Damascus that two disguised foreigners were traveling with me. After his departure we arranged the scientific material which we had collected.

On Sunday, June 19, 1910, very early in the morning, assisted by Mḥammad I drew a sketch map of the territory between the Pilgrim Road, the depression of Sirḥân, and the desert of the Nefûd. At noon I was visited by ʻAbdarraḥmân Effendi, the superintendent of the temporary quarantine station. He invited me to take up my quarters with him in the station, where he had prepared three rooms for me and my companions. I thanked him for his invitation and promised that we would perhaps make the move some day or other. Toward evening I paid Mḥammad and Ismaʻîn their wages and added various gifts, such as cloaks and headcloths, and at midnight they departed by railway for Maʻân.

On Monday, June 20, 1910, Ǧwâd brought to me an old man of the Beni ʻAṭijje tribe, named Sbejḥ, who wished to accompany me. He had brought charcoal to Tebûk on his camel during the night and was to take away a supply of various wares to a peddler who happened to be sojourning among his clan. But the wares had not yet arrived from Damascus and therefore he did not wish to wait several days at Tebûk for nothing and would be glad of the opportunity of earning something extra. Wishing to ascertain the extent of his knowledge and his ability, I went with him to the top of a high sand drift to the west of the gardens of Tebûk