easons form an important consideration. We are going to
India, and the season is advancing. The southern end of the Red Sea is
in latitude 12 deg. north, where you are likely to see some hot weather;
and the longer we delay, the hotter it will be. We shall sail from here
Tuesday morning; and if we do not make a run up into the Persian Gulf,
we shall probably be at Bombay by the first of next month. That city is
in latitude 19 deg., or about that of the south side of Cuba, of which you
know something. We shall see plenty of extremely hot weather, but we
wish to avoid it as much as possible.

"There are several routes to Mount Sinai, three from Suez, and two from
ports south of it. It will take from two weeks by the shortest route to
four by the others. It is a very fatiguing journey if made with due
diligence, and it would require a full month for us to see the country
properly. My first objection is the time it would require.

"In the next place, the expense is from forty to fifty francs a day,
eight to ten dollars, for each person, over a hundred dollars a day. If
the result justified it, I should not object to the expense, and I don't
think Uncle Moses would. There are no hotels in this region, and you
would have to camp out, live in hovels, or at best in the monastery; and
the trip would involve a great deal of discomfort to persons not
accustomed to roughing it. The 'Big Four' might make a pleasant affair
of it, but most of the others would not.

"All the preparations for the excursion have to be made at Cairo, where
dragomans who contract to supply tents, camels, food, and everything
required are to be found, and I was approached by three of them at
Shepheard's Hotel."

"Then the trip seems to be impossible now, and it is useless to talk
about it," suggested Mr. Woolridge; and the captain thought he could
perceive an expression of relief on his face.

"It is not impossible," added the commander with a smile. "We can go to
Tur, 140 miles south of Suez, and there we shall find camels and a
contractor, though perhaps not for so large a company. I do not think
our party would enjoy the trip whichever way we might go. It is a rough
country, a group of mountains. The Monastery is 5,014 feet high, and it
must be cold weather up there in January. The Jebel Musa, which is
usually regarded as the Holy Mountain, is 7,363 feet high; but even
Mount Sinai itself is disputed ground, and the question 'Is Mount Serbal
the Sina