otholds on the rails at the side, leave them the bottom of
the boat to be frightened in. Then, screaming like a flock of sea gulls,
the children of Pharaoh arrive, and their chief, looking wisely across
the river, perceives a barge which he feels sure will be in our way. He
therefore shouts to it, the officer--adding the voice of authority,
shouts too--the men shout, the natives shout, everybody shouts. The
barge crew shout back, but are finally out-shouted and haul clear. The
foreman, seeing that he will now lose the game and have thus prematurely
to take the party over, suddenly perceives the advancing P. & O., now
not much more than a mile away. He draws the distracted officer's
attention to the phenomenon and leads him to understand that to start
now would lead to an inevitable collision and a watery grave. The
polyglot argument waxes furious, the men taking it up in their turn,
when their leader falls out exhausted, and the Arab is still keeping up
his end triumphantly when the great ship reaches us and slowly steams
by, while curious passengers eye us from her decks, their minds
doubtless running enviously on flesh pots. After this, resort is again
had to violence and the ill-assorted load slowly leaves the shore and
commences its perilous journey, the horses still in paroxysms of terror
and the camels supercilious and bored. Long before the other bank is
reached all concerned have handsomely apologised to the headman for
having doubted his statement that they could not have got across before
the liner arrived. But at last they reach ground and so to their
dinners, tired but cheerful still. The only time, by the way, that this
accomplished Egyptian condescended to speak English was when a party of
men returning at night from leave in Port Said, exasperated by his
delays, had taken the matter into their own hands, and were working the
ferry across themselves. He lifted up his voice and wept,--no one heeded
him. Then again and again he cried the mystic words, "he drink water--he
drink water." He was sternly adjured to be silent, until suddenly
another voice was heard--"the ---- thing's sinking." "Aiwa, aiwa," said
the disregarded prophet--"he drink water"--and all hands pulled madly to
get the boat back to the nearest side--of course the side from which it
had started. Those who have studied the diplomatic wiles of our hero,
are convinced that he had himself opened the sea-cocks--or taken what
other steps were necessa