SHABADUD TO ABU GUSSL 49 body had to be sent on in time to buy up those useful articles, of which we stood much in need, especially the koorbashes.

Accordingly myself and two men started that afternoon, and shambled ahead along a faintly visible track through the dhurra fields till we lost it altogether in the darkness. Luckily I had a compass, and the fringe of palms, occasionally visible along the river in the distance, showed the general direction.

As it got darker, however, the compass behaved oddly ; we lost sight of the palms, and four times came to a standstill in utter bewilderment as to our whereabouts. The only thing to be done was to inquire the way of some inhabitant, whose fire might be yet glimmering in his shanty amongst the fields.

There was some difficulty in persuading those niggers we weren't going to murder them. The moment they heard our footsteps, out went their lights, and an oppressive silence reigned o'er the land ; no amount of shouting and cursing of their fathers and relations would arouse them, till the magic word " baksheesh " was heard, and then out would come some im-