WABAR 171

and the intervening pastures had been very dry; so they
drank gratefully and greedily before being marched off to the
downs to feed to their heart's content on the comparatively
excellent pastures of this locality.

We ourselves settled down for a pleasant picnic without
tents or other paraphernalia ; and Salih, foraging among the
pastures, brought in some green sprigs of the Abal which,
cooked with rice to make a dish called Makika1 by the
Manasir, made a tolerable substitute for fresh vegetables—
rather tasteless but in no way disagreeable. It is curious that
the Murra do not ordinarily know this use of the Abal.

The well we used had water at 10 fathoms, the stuff being
compared by 'Ali with that of Birkan, accounted good for
drinking. I did not taste it for I was still on my waterless
regime, but I used the water for a good wash and it seemed
to be richly flavoured with the urine of camels.

I had brought my theodolite and disposed of the requisite
star observations before dinner. But otherwise I had treated
this excursion as a holiday jaunt and was able to get in a
long night's sleep for the first time since leaving Hufuf. A
hawk-moth (of the Striped Hawk type) flashed round the
camp-fire and my lamp but I failed to annex it to my collec-
tion, though I secured a few other moths while reading the
London newspapers I had received at Hufuf and left unread
till now on account of the pressure of other work. The latest
paper bore the date of November 29th and I wondered, as I
extinguished my lamp and lay down to sleep, how I should
find the world when I again returned to its news. At the
moment it seemed very far away—very far—and I was
really tired from the strain of nearly a month's wanderings
without any respite from the necessity of constant attention
to the business in hand—especially during the night hours,
which alone during Bamdhan were available for the writing
up of notes and the packing and labelling of collected stuff.

However, I now made up for such arrears of sleep, slum-
bering under the stars from 9.30 p.m. till 4.30 a.in., when I
was woken for supper. The night had been dewless and the
morning broke mild and still. I felt wonderfully refreshed

1 Pronounced Machicha.