The
colours were yellow sand and blue sky, blue sky and yellow sand, yellow
and blue for ever.
We arrived at dusk at the spot where we had told our advance guard to
pitch the tents. We found everything ready, and after our horses were
cared for we dined. That night for the first time we slept in our
clothes, with revolvers and guns by our sides. The men took turns to
keep watch, so that we might not be surprised by a Ghazu, a tribe
of six or seven hundred Bedawin, who go out for marauding purposes. The
Ghazis charge furiously, with their lances couched. If you have the
pluck to stand still until they are within an inch of your nose, and ask
what they want, they drop their lances; for they respect courage, but
there is no mercy if you show the white feather. We meant to say to
them, "We are the English and Russian Consuls travelling on business.
If you touch us, there will be consequences; if you want a present you
shall have it; but you are not to shame us by taking our horses and arms,
and if you insist we well fight." There was a driving wind that night,
and I feared the exposure and hardship if the tents were blown down and
the fire blown out, as it threatened. We could scarcely keep a lamp or
candle alight. No Ghazis came.
We rose next morning in the cold, dark, misty, and freezing dawn. We had
some difficulty in starting our camp; the horses were shivering, and the
muleteers and camel-men objected.
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