Syrian
army flying before him; all this is recorded on the walls. Of course in
the case of kings these doings are apt to be magnified, still, there is
no doubt that this was one of the most memorable occasions of his life,
and he has certainly caused it to be remembered by building this
enduring monument.

[Illustration: A CHILD HOLDS OUT A STRANGE LITTLE BEAST.]

We hear voices, and are joined by half a dozen of our fellow-travellers
from the steamer. As we all walk back together a child sidles up and
holds out a strange little beast with a head like a skull and a long
tail like a rat. It is about as big as your hand. One of the army men
takes it and puts it in the sleeve of his green tweed coat, and as he
walks along carrying it the quaint little beast turns a greenish colour.
It is a chameleon and has the faculty of changing to the colour of its
background whatever that may be; this forms a protection against its
enemies, who cannot easily see it.

"I'll keep it," says the soldier, laughing and giving the child a coin.
"He is a useful little beggar. You should see that tongue of his flick
out and catch an unwary fly half a foot away."

The steamer hoots a warning note and we all scramble on board hastily.
Yes, I _told_ you it was my shirt!

An hour or so later we pass the boundary into the Soudan.

"Now we are out of Egypt," says another of our friends, a Government
official with years of experience behind him. "The Soudan is a greatly
superior place; no one is allowed to bother you here--we don't let them.
The children don't even know the meaning of the word _bakshish_; they
are not allowed to learn it."

This sounds comforting and gives a good prospect for the day we shall
have to spend at our stopping-place, Wady Haifa, before going back on
the steamer to Assouan.

There is no railway between Assouan and Wady Haifa, and so Government
steamers run all the year round to bridge the gap between the two ends
of the railway. In the season Cook runs steamers too, and they give much
more time for passengers to see Abu Simbel and other temples on the way;
unfortunately, as we are too early in the year, we could not take
advantage of them and had to go on a Government boat.

The men we have been with are all passing on by rail from Wady Haifa,
and when we land there we go in the afternoon to see them off at the
station. They are a keen, hard-bitten crew, and make us feel proud of
our countrymen; they are reticent