< THE VERITABLE DESERT '	261
outburst. We toil for you in vain ; we strain the camels till
they break—all in vain. You are ever displeased and
critical. Would you have them march on in the fire of this
noontide sun ? They are perchance resting for an hour or
two. Yet he knew, as I felt instinctively, that the tent fore-
boded more than ill—perhaps disaster. Could one be any-
thing but critical and on one's guard with companions who
would readily have sacrificed the whole object of our en-
deavour to their own miserable comfort ? In such circum-
stances the Arab does not show up to advantage. He clings
frantically, desperately, to life, however miserable, and,
when that is at risk, loses heart and head. Greed of filthy
lucre alone makes him pause from flight, and gradually he
may be brought round to a more reasonable attitude if he
can be made to feel that all the troubles of the past may have
been in vain if he shrinks from those of the future. At
Shanna it had been fear of human foes that had produced
rebellion, and I had submitted with a good enough grace
though not without a struggle. On the way I had frankly,
though vainly, tried to bribe 'Ali Jahman to turn south
while it was still not too late, but he had shrunk from the
prospect of incurring the hostility of his companions. And
now it was the waterless desert, the fear of thirst and death,
that made women of these men. I could not, would not
yield. We had come 140 miles. A third of the journey was
behind us and a steady effort would carry us through if only
they would play the man. They were, of course, weak and
disheartened with hunger for we had had nothing but dates
since Shanna. I was famished myself and could sympathise
with their condition. I felt like Moses in the wilderness when
the multitude clamoured against him, but I could produce
neither water nor manna.
So we marched on wrangling towards the distant tent. In
half an hour we reached camp to near that five or six baggage-
animals had collapsed from thirst, hunger and exhaustion.
One of them was actually sheltering against the sun tinder
cover of the tent at the time, while two or three others were
similarly indulged when in due course they were brought in
from the desert with the loads of which they had beeo