treated besides with an enormous quantity of _mohamsa_.

They now hoped to proceed without further molestation; and the Merabet
chief, who had accompanied and sanctioned the expedition against them,
was allowed to join their party, as it was thought to be the best means
of preventing any further molestation. Boro, who passed the evening
with Mr Richardson's interpreter, in reading the Koran, treated him
hospitably.

They were expecting to reach Selufiet, where they hoped to be in safety.
When about eight miles from it, the chiefs insisted on encamping, and a
number of Merabetin, a fanatical tribe, insisted that they should turn
Mohammedans. Their friends and servants urged them to do so, as the
only means of saving their lives. They were kept seated in their tent
while the fanatics discussed the subject. The travellers sat in
silence. At last Mr Richardson exclaimed: "Let us talk a little. We
must die. What is the use of sitting so mute?" For some minutes death
seemed really to hover over their heads. Mr Richardson proposed trying
to escape for their lives, when the kind-hearted Sliman rushed into the
tent, exclaiming in a tone of sincere sympathy: "You are not to die."
The Merabetin were content instead to receive a heavy tribute.
Unfortunately, the merchandise they carried, instead of consisting of a
_few_ valuable things, was composed of worthless, bulky objects; and, as
they had also ten iron cases filled with dry biscuits, the ignorant
people supposed that they carried enormous wealth. In consequence, when
all the claims had been settled, the rebels threatened to fall upon the
rest of the baggage. Their friendly chief on this declared that some of
it was his own, and also dashed to pieces one of the iron cases, when,
to the astonishment of the simple people, instead of beholding heaps of
dollars, they saw a dry and tasteless sort of bread!

Meanwhile, the persecuted Christians made off under the escort of the
Kel-owi, and the whole caravan was once more collected together.

On the 4th of September they encamped on the summit of a sand-hill, in a
broad valley, near the village of Tintellust, the residence of the chief
Amur, under whose protection they were now to proceed. The chief
received them in a friendly way, and assured them that, even though
Christians, the dangers and difficulties they had gone through would
suffice to wash off their sins, and that they had nothing to fear but
the climate an