Red Sea. The weather is
very hot. All over the ship electric fans are hard at work. In spite of
them I cannot keep cool.

2. Away on the left, or port, side of the ship I see high hills. They
are red in colour, and seem to be baked by the hot sun. Even through my
spy-glass I cannot see a speck of green on them. All is red and bare.

3. Beyond the hills lies the land of Arabia. It is a hot, dry land, in
which years sometimes pass without a shower of rain. There is hardly
ever a cloud in the sky, and there is no dew at night.

4. Much of the land is covered with sand. Little or nothing will grow.
You know that we call a sandy waste of this kind a _desert_.

[Illustration: {Desert oasis}]

5. Here and there in the desert a few springs are found. The water of
these springs causes grass and trees to grow well. Around each spring is
what looks like an island of green in the midst of a red sea of sand. A
green spot in a desert is called an _oasis_.

6. The Arabs live upon these green spots. Some of them dwell in
villages, and some wander from oasis to oasis. Those who live in
villages build their houses of sun-dried bricks; those who wander from
place to place live in tents.

[Illustration: Arabs of the Desert.]

7. The Arabs are fine, fierce-looking men. They own flocks of sheep,
herds of goats, camels and horses.

8. An Arab's tent is woven out of camel's hair. So are the ropes of the
tent. The poles are made of palm wood.

9. Inside the tent there are leather buckets for drawing water. There
are also skin bags for carrying it across the desert. There are no
chairs or tables or beds in the tents. The Arabs squat upon the ground
and sleep on rugs.

[Illustration: {Arab tent}]

10. In front of an Arab tent you are almost sure to see a woman grinding
corn between two large stones. There is a hole in the top stone, and
into this she pours the grain.

11. She turns the top stone round and round, and the grain is ground
into flour, which oozes out at the edges. With this flour she makes
cakes.

* * * * *

9. AMONGST THE ARABS.--II.

1. Date palms grow on every oasis. The date palm is a beautiful tree. It
is very tall, and has a crown of leaves at the top.

2. The fruit grows in great golden clusters. Sometimes a cluster of
dates weighs twenty-five pounds.

3. The date palm is beloved by the Arabs, because it is so useful to
them. They eat or sell the dates, and they use the