opportunity of getting a lift on the spare camels. We could, therefore,
go on until morning without fear of losing any of our party in the
night. The position of a person who falls behind a caravan in the desert
very much resembles that of a man overboard. This khafilah preceded us
to Shaty.

After the third night I found the weather so cool and temperate, that I
continued on the whole of the day; and the Germans joining me in the
evening, we did not again separate. It was towards the close of the
third night that we were assailed by an awful tempest of wind, rain, and
lightning, which flashed upon us occasionally through the thick
darkness. The Germans, who were encamped, had their tents carried away,
whilst we who were in motion found ourselves compelled to stop and
crouch under the bellies of our camels until the morning broke, and the
hurricane had spent its force. The cold was intense, and our people
complained bitterly. More than once, indeed, the thermometer was down to
freezing-point whilst we were traversing the plateau; and one morning
the desert was covered with a shining frost.

Although we became accustomed to the desolate appearance of this
district by degrees, we counted eagerly the days and hours that brought
us nearer the confines of Fezzan. Every night's incidents were the same.
On we went, nodding drowsily on our camels, sometimes dropping off into
a sound sleep, variegated by a snatch of pleasant dreams. But these
indulgences are dangerous. I was more than once on the point of falling
off. By day, few objects of interest presented themselves: linnets and
finches fluttered here and there upon the rare bushes, whilst swallows
joined the caravan, and skimmed round and round for hours among the
camels, almost brushing the faces of the drivers. Lizards glanced and
snakes writhed across the path. We started three wadan or mouflon,