grounded ghaseb, besides ripping open the bags of the blacks. This
appears to be the amount of the robbery and devastation; very fortunate
are we it was not worse. We had watched many nights, and had often
loaded our guns; but this night, when the thieves came, we were
miserably unprepared to receive them. The Germans had been cleaning
their guns, and all were unloaded. Overweg had his fowling-piece charged
with small shot. At length we got two or three guns in trim, and our
servants followed the robbers, but nothing of them was to be seen. The
cowards had fled at the first show of resistance. In the morning, on
searching through the small valley up which they had come, we were
surprised to find marks of no less than thirteen camels--enough to carry
away all our goods. So that it is probable there were some thirteen
robbers, a part of whom remained with the camels whilst the others
attacked us. Amankee, on being knocked down with a shield, got up again,
and ran off to the town, giving the alarm everywhere.

En-Noor, as soon as the news of this aggression reached him, sent off a
_posse_ of people, and then called in the inhabitants of a neighbouring
village; so that, when all was over, our encampment was surrounded by a
disorderly multitude of protectors till day-light.

To my tent came the confidential servant of En-Noor, and everybody was
talking, drinking coffee, and making merry. After all, it was well to
have these people, for if the thirteen robbers had shown ordinary
courage, in our unprepared state we should have had a good deal of work
to do, and might some of us have got bad sword-cuts or spear-thrusts.

En-Noor, they say, is exceedingly angry about this attack, and has sent
eleven mounted men after the robbers to seize their camels, which if he
gets hold of he intends to confiscate. On Amankee calling on him he
observed, "You, Amankee, being a native of Soudan, and not a Muslim of
Tripoli, are like the Kailouees. You can fire on these Kailouee robbers.
Get your gun loaded, ready for any other occasion."

At daylight, after lecturing my servants for not giving the alarm
(for, with the exception of Said's wife, they were all so
terror-stricken--literally struck dumb with terror--that they could not
speak, much-less cry out), I sent Amankee off at the heels of the
robbers. In all such emergencies I have found no one like Amankee; he is
a complete bloodhound, and can scent his way through all the desert, and
fo