tourist stunts in Egypt. I rode a donkey when my feet touched the
ground on either side, also mounted a camel that lifted me to a dizzy
height. I gazed into the imperturbable face of the Sphinx and wandered
among the numerous pyramids of Sakkara. I visited the tombs of the
Mamelukes and feasted on the beauty of the mosques (having my feet shod
with the provided sandals so that my infidel dust might not defame the
hallowed floor). I also viewed the citadel; but the place of most
charm was the streets of old Cairo. I was never tired of elbowing my
way through the bazaars and it was worth it to buy something you didn't
want for the sake of being waited on by "Abraham in the flesh." Here
was the Arabian Nights in very reality, and all the romance and lure of
a thousand dreams. The smell was a bit overpowering, but bearable if
you surrounded yourself with the smell of your favorite tobacco.


[1] Australian native weapon.




CHAPTER XI

"NIPPER"

On the sheep and cattle station of Wyaga in southwestern Queensland
there is a shepherd's hut about fifty miles from the homestead.

One night my father was camping in this hut, and before lying down had
piled a lot of dry dung on the fire outside so that the smoke would
drive away the mosquitoes. Somewhere about midnight he woke with the