SEASKA 237

even probable, that while no substantial part of the waterless
desert has actually remained untrodden by human feet, we
were the first party to venture into it with the intention of
emerging on the other side. We were certainly the first to
embark on such an enterprise with tents and heavy baggage,
and it seemed to me before we set out that my companions
were guilty of bad desert-craft in deciding to make the at-
tempt under so great a handicap. We were to suffer dearly
for such folly. We were in due course to find ourselves on the
brink of a disastrous failure. But we were to learn from our
experiences a lesson that perhaps pointed the way to ultimate
success. For the moment the apparent light-heartedness and
cheerfulness of my companions led me to suspect that our
enterprise might not prove as alarming as I had imagined,
but I was at a loss to guess their motives which in the light of
our subsequent experiences seem clear enough. In the first
place there was a reasonable prospect of good Oryx-hunting
and the Arab is a born hunter as well as a lover of meat and
an optimist. The lure of the chase and its savoury results
appealed strongly to my companions, while on the other hand
they doubtless held in reserve the thought that, if hunting
failed and the march proved unpleasant, they could always
break away from the venture before it was too late and re-
treat to the more northerly wells which would be within
reasonable reach during the first few days of the journey.
And it was this factor doubtless that decided them against
parting with the more bulky of our stores (the great bags of
rice that we carried) in order that they might at least have
plenty of food on the easy return journey by the water-route
on which perhaps many, if not all of them, were still counting.
All day long their preparations went on apace. The 32
waterskins, some of which had got torn and cracked during
the journey up to date, were overhauled and botched and
greased before being filled from the well and laid out in rows
for loading on the morrow. Our stores were similarly divided
up into suitable packs, and everything made ship-shape for a«n
early start. The camels were, of course, out at the pastures
and a desultory watch for enemies or visitors was kept up all
day from the scattered dune-tops, though our decision to