272 THE EMPTY QUARTER

attract attention but the occasional patches of rock exposed by
the wind. A light southerly breeze blew most of the morning,
obliterating the tracks of the advance-party, whose halting
place for the dawn prayer we had observed earlier in our
progress. They had apparently taken four hours or more to
cover a distance we had negotiated in less than two. It was
clear that they were labouring under the loads. We went
by a tract in which the ridges were ranged one behind
another in sweeping semi-circular ribs, like the seats of a
theatre, grouped about the end of the valley.

On resuming after our morning refreshments in a gently
undulating upland with a fair amount of Abal, on which
the camels browsed the while, we passed from the Hadh
tract into the Qasba with its characteristic stubble of dry
grass and lofty dunes dotted with Abal. It was a long
weary pull up to its tumbled plateau of bare but shapely
knolls, to the right of which lay the trough of a valley
whose numerous bare patches, spread over a length of two
miles, gave one the impression of a continuous river-bed. The
south wind gathered strength and the marching conditions
were pleasant enough. A short halt was called as we de-
scended into the valley, skirting one of its bare patches, for
my companions to have a drink of water, for the scarcity had
made the whole available supply communal property to be
shared out, like and like, with solemn formality. The
thirsting camels craned round their long necks to nose the
bowls of the precious liquid, but there was none for them.

We passed by an ancient raven's nest in an Abal thicket.
Sheets of sand swept over the desert's face under the strength-
ening wind, which had become a little tiresome, and smoke-
like streamers blew from every dune-top. We had by now
lost all trace of the route followed by the baggage-party
though we knew that they could not be far ahead. Yet we
saw no sign of them. The explanation was soon forthcoming.
Afar off in the rear we saw a man running apparently in pur-
suit of us and, as he drew near, we recognised ?Ali Jahman.
He had seen us passing and the baggage-train was away to
our left and behind. So we halted to let it come up and I was
weaoy enough, both physically and spiritually, to be glad of