260 WITH THE CAMEL CORPS UP THE NILE.

was more than four weeks before the men were under cover, and we (the officers) began building our own.

Up to that time we were living in those capital little double Indian mountain tents, which let in plenty of air at night, and also plenty of sun in the day-time.

Nothing but straw or mud kept that sun out it got stifling hot even in these tents, open at both ends, and right glad were we to get into our straw huts at last. We were not stinted in the way of room only three officers to a hut, and with the interior divided by straw partitions every one had a cool room to himself.

Great was the ingenuity expended in architecting our huts, so as to get the maximum of shade and the minimum of heat. The chief drawback was that if you left any place open to the wind, which always blew (when it did blow) from the north or east, you were sure to be smothered in dust ; if you didn't, you were stifled by the heat. Some of us rigged up doors of double matting ; some put their doors on the wrong side. One started a three-foot mud wall to keep the dust out ; somebody else made