Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/188

 asleep. We made our way towards the southwest, because Sâlem and Daʻsân had recommended to me the road leading around the gardens of ar-Râjes to the šeʻîb of al-Ḳena’ as the best, and Sbejḥ had sent a message by one of the guards, whom he knew at Tebûk, that we should spend the night either at ar-Râjes or at Ǧerṯûma. I had expected for a certainty that both the mudîr and Sâlem would send gendarmes after us to hinder our journey, so we had to outwit them. At 2.52 therefore, we turned off directly to the west into a rocky area where our tracks could not be discovered. Towards the south we saw the gardens of ar-Râjes, which belong to the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje, and to the south of them the well of Ǧerṯûma. Both ar-Râjes and Ǧerṯûma are situated by the šeʻîb of ʻArejḳên, which is connected with Ẓabʻân and Abu Nšejfe; the latter is known in its upper part as Abu ʻAǧejǧât and terminates by the salt marsh of al-Mamlaḥ. To the west of ar-Râjes extends the šeʻîb of al-Muʻejṣi, which runs from the southern slope of the black rock of al-Ṛmejjem, winding along the western foot of the elevation of Tebûk and likewise coming to an end at al-Mamlaḥ.

We rode cautiously, continually watching for hiding places behind the dark sandstone rocks of Ammu ʻWejḳîle, and at four o’clock we crossed the broad šeʻîb of al-Baḳḳâr.

From 4.30 to 7.03 P. M. the camels grazed on the arṭa and ṛaẓa in a small, deep hollow (temperature: 38° C). The gendarme Ḫalîl collected fuel, boiled coffee, and promised that he would help us in everything, if only I would declare before witnesses that he was not responsible either for me or my property and that I would protect him against the mudîr in