Our object is to ascertain the movements of the Senussi, capture small patrols or flee if we are outnumbered (for we cannot afford to risk an action whilst our scanty water diminishes, or to have casualties in mid-desert). Meantime we are off-saddling. The camels have been. "barracked" and their head ropes tied around their doubled foreleg so that they cannot rise. Guard is mounted and pickets posted. Then each man rolls himself in his blanket and goes to sleep; patrols are fatigue ing. At three o'clock the sleepers are roused and, quietly grumbling, they swiftly saddle the still complaining camels and in 15 minutes the column is moving. Then only does the camel cease from grumbling and carry on with his work. Fantasses and mess-tins are strapped tight in their place. The footpads of our mounts make no sound, and our little trailing procession, two abreast or single file as the ground permits, moves in_ dead silence across the vast desert, (Men and probably mounts are still half asleep, but as' the first faint peacock tinge appears behind us conversation—stirs; gradually at first then with increasing swiftness the light swells and bursts, and one of the thrills of a life—sunrise in the desert— is presented.
Far away: to "our right the "scarp'' or cliff, marking two distant levees in the desert differing about 200 feet, trails away into blue line to the west. At intervals are small abrupt hills of obviously volcanic origin fs they consist of what looks like burnt rock or furnace clinker, and on the south horizon are bigger hills, or "Jebels," probably 1,500 to 2,000 feet high. Behind us lies a broad sand belt of beautiful, clean, golden sand wrought by the wind into fantastic little hills, and in front stretches w plain probably five miles across, abso-lately -flat but still only a small area of the vast stretch around us. This plain appears to be fine, soil, but is burnt brick hard and fissured with innumerable cracks. Probably no green thing ever sprouted here, as water is nonexistent and local tradition has it that no rain has fallen for 30 years. We are now following the' old Roman track and many' paths are worn into the ground by the camel pads of long ages. When we finally cross the plain and traverse a low ridge~ of hills through a natural pass the same tracks may be seen worn into solid stone.
AS THE HEAT RISES, We cross the hills and proceed into rougher country. Halting at 7 win., the camels are fed,. one of their five daily meals. Gradually the heat increases until one's whole body saturated with fierce, pulsing warmth, and living for the time being is a burden. To the south mirages appear. Seeming stretches of water appear through which the hills or rocks seem to pro-! trade like islands, and, curiously, these seeming islands cast reflexions on the non-existent water.
At 10 o'clock we barrack for the midday halt, further progress being well-nigh impossible on account of the overpowering heat. A handful of men go forward to the highest adjacent hill as "look out,'? and with them go a couple of signallers with heliograph to attempt communication with our station on a hill many miles behind us. But the mirage or shimmering heat over the sand hills makes the distant helio signals twinkle and flutter and the signallers give it up and come back perspiring heavily but happy in their escape from the sum. We have fixed bayonets and driven them into the sand. Two men put their rifles so, tie the corners of a blanket to the: rifle butts and so stretch ouf a sun shelter. beneath which they lie until-three o'clock, when tea will be prepared, and thereafter the jog, jog,~ jog, jog, of camel mardbing is commenced again,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.