goats were to be watered, in order to bring us back a kid.
Our tent soon was full of people. The old man, the brother of the youth’s mother, cautiously enquired where we were going, why we had entered their territory, and what we intended to do afterwards. I replied that we were going direct to Tebûk, that we would visit Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje, the head chief of all the Beni ʻAṭijje, and that we would return under his protection to the upland of Ḥesma. With a sneer the old man remarked that the Beni ʻAṭijje had no head chief.
“Every chief is his own head chief, and without his permission no stranger may enter his territory, unless he is accompanied by Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje himself.”
“What thou hast said is true. Every chief of the Beni ʻAṭijje is independent, none is ruled by Ḥarb, but each of them would consider carefully before rebelling against him.”
Ismaʻîn asked the old man whether he could not provide us with a guide to Tebûk. The old man described the dangers threatening the guide on the way there and back and said that we should have to be accompanied by at least ten armed men.
I said: “If Allâh allows us to be attacked by a strong band of enemies, your ten armed men will run away or surrender just like a single guide. Therefore I will go from here to Tebûk either with one guide or with none.”
The old man beckoned to Ismaʻîn and went out with him from the tent into the bushes. After a long time, when the youth had already returned with the kid, Ismaʻîn came up to me and announced that our host, the chief’s son, with his cousin would accompany us to Tebûk for a fee of ten English pounds. This amount I could not pay, and I declared that even ten meǧîdijjât ($9.00) would be a great deal for this journey. Ismaʻîn pointed out the dangers by which we were threatened, as hitherto we had no protector among the Beni ʻAṭijje, who were accustomed to cheat and rob the pilgrims and traders who passed through their territory. He therefore persuaded me to summon the youth and the old man and to discuss the matter with them. Sitting down about a hundred paces from the tent, we negotiated for a long time and finally agreed that the youth should accompany us for fifteen meǧîdijjât ($13.50), but only to within sight of Tebûk; as soon as Tebûk came into view, he was to return. He was afraid that on his way back he might be attacked and robbed on the road through the bare plain between Tebûk and the western moun-
