Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/194

 Muṭalleḳ to drive the animals from our encampment to a place where the arṭa grew most abundantly and to guard them carefully, because the proximity of water is always dangerous. Though shaken by an ague I had to climb with Tûmân and the guide to a knoll and from there draw a sketch map of the region. We were just setting about our work when we saw the keeper of our camels driving them back to the fire. I shouted and beckoned to him, Sbejḥ and Tûmân did the same, but Muṭalleḳ did not want to see and, when he saw, did not want to understand. There was nothing for it but for me to climb down and drive Muṭalleḳ and the camels with him back to the pasturage.

Having eaten our supper, we set out again at 7.10 (temperature: 30.8° C). The smoke from our fire was visible a long way off and might have attracted the attention of robbers, who would attack us in the night. Accordingly we had to seek another place in which to camp. Moreover, to the north of the hills of al-Mkejmen we perceived some herds of camels, and Sbejḥ declared that they belonged to the kindred of Rawâẓîn who formed part of the Sbût clan, the chief of which was Daʻsân eben Rbejjeʻ. He had threatened that he would not allow me to cross his territory without his permission, and therefore I wanted to get out of his territory as quickly as possible, or at least to obtain some Arab to protect us. Sbejḥ praised Daʻsân and declared that among all the Beni ʻAṭijje there was nobody so noble, rich, and bountiful as he. He owned two large herds of camels and was called the father of the poor, abu-ẓ-ẓuʻafa’.

We rode through the sandy plain of Ab-al-Ḳeṭîn, covered with an abundant growth of grass and perennials, and at 8.45 halted not far from the šeʻîb of as-Sejjer. To the southwest of us some shepherds with large herds of camels were spending the night. As the night was quite clear and the region safe, our camels could graze freely, and not until after midnight did we drive them up to our encampment and make them kneel down. Sbejḥ’s camel still went on grazing.

On Friday, June 24, 1910, immediately after midnight, I sent the guide Sbejḥ to the shepherds to find out whether Daʻsân had already returned or not. At the same time he