200 THE EMPTY QUARTER

kind in similar rock exposures in the great Northern
Nafud.

Our visit to Adraj, delightful as it was in all other respects,
was unfortunately marred by a minor domestic tragedy.
I had gone up to the summit of the dune with Salim, who had
then wandered into the desert in search of meat. He had
returned to camp with a hare which seemed to me of an
unusually light brown colouring. I passed it to Sa'dan for
skinning, as we all sat chatting round the camp-fire, with a
warning to exercise great care as I attached special impor-
tance to the specimen. The wretch, however, seemed to be in
frivolous holiday mood and I had had to repeat my warning.
After that I thought no more of the matter and we sat round
our usual dish of rice after my companions had devoured the
ash-grilled meat of the hare as a hors d'ceuvre. Later on, as
we still sat round the fire enjoying the pleasantness of the
evening, Farraj, drawing something from the embers of the
fire, asked casually where it had come from. It was the hare's
skull ruined beyond repair and I could not refrain from
giving expression to my wrath. Sa'dan, apparently undis-
turbed and quite unrepentant, allowed his silly tongue to
wag impertinently and I suggested in momentary anger that
the others did not do well to let such things happen with
impunity. Seeing that I was genuinely aggrieved by the
disaster Ibn Ma'addi suggested that the culprit should be
bound and beaten, to which, perhaps stupidly but still in
anger more at his continued impertinence than his error, I
gave my consent. Thereupon they all fell upon him with the
hearty roughness of their kind and belaboured him quite
gently, as I thought, but at any rate enough to hurt his
amour propre if not his body. He relapsed into rebellious
sulks and had to be forced to assist me as usual at the theo-
dolite. This work we accomplished successfully enough in
spite of the tension between us, but the matter rankled in
his cockney heart and he declared that he would work for
me no more. Next day, having evidently thought things out
to his satisfaction, he announced his formal resignation from
my service, which I promptly accepted with the suggestion
that I should pay him up to date. I then made enquiries for