eared to satisfy the requirements of the chief;
and sticking his spear into the ground, he called a halt, when the
various bands as they came up reined in their camels--the animals
kneeling down as before, that their riders might dismount.

I looked out eagerly in the hope of seeing Boxall, but could nowhere
discover him. I inquired of one of the people, who seemed inclined to
be communicative, if a white man had been taken prisoner and brought to
the camp. His answer fully satisfied me that the Arab who had carried
off our friend must have belonged to some other tribe.

On the arrival of the baggage camels we were ordered to assist in
unloading them and erecting the tents, and many a curse and blow we
received for our want of skill in performing the operation. We took
notice, however, of the mode in which everything was done, so that
another time we should know how to proceed. The tents were quickly set
up, much in the fashion of those of the Ouadlims,--though these were
larger, and that of the sheikh had a somewhat better and cleaner carpet
than the dirty cloth which covered the floor of Boo Bucker's tent.
Having performed this duty, we were next ordered to assist in digging
wells. Fortunately, we had retained our wooden swords. At first, the
Arabs looked at them with contempt; but when they saw how we used them
to dig up the sand, they treated them with more respect, and inquired if
we could manufacture some for them. I replied that if we could find a
cask on the sea-shore we could easily do so, but without the proper wood
we could not gratify their wishes.

"Then look out and find a cask speedily," said the Arab who was
superintending the operation.

The wells being dug, we had to bail out the water in wooden bowls, and
carry it to the different animals. Fuel was then collected, and a line
of fires kindled in order to drive away the mosquitoes and other
insects, which appeared to torment the animals even as much as they did
us. We were then ordered to assist the black slaves in cleaning the
oxen and cows; which operation was managed in a curious way. The
animals being seized by the horns, were thrown down on the sand, where
they lay perfectly quiet, while the blacks with great dexterity cleansed
their bodies from the insects. After this, they were washed with water
from the sea. The cows were then milked.

These various processes employed the greater number in the camp till
near midnight. We were t