Page 273 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (2)

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NEGLECTED A KAMA 7
: feeling of loneliness comes over one. All the afternoon we traveled,
making only short stops for meals. Soon the world became dark. The
muon was fast sinking, and the stars became brighter as the world grew
darker. Nothing was seen but our light ahead, nothing heard but the
sound of the machine. At nine o'clock we had our supper. A tin of
kerosene on a small pile of wood gave us a blazing tire, on which we
warmed our bully beef and chicken. The fire felt good for the desert
is cold at night no matter how hot it is in the day. Soon the cars were
sjjeeding again, some of the children falling asleep, others trying hard
to sleep but unsuccessfully.
At ten o’clock those of us in the first car looked back to see whether
the other car was coming. No light, however, was seen anywhere. Our
car was stopped and we waited a few minutes thinking the car would
make an appearance. When it did not appear, the only thing to do was
to go in search of it. We went back on our course for fifteen minutes
when we stopped to listen and look from the tup of the cur fur u light.
Still nothing was visible. We speculated us to where the others might fr
he. Were we really going west? Did they perhaps take another track
ind so get ahead of us? We decided to go west for another ten
minutes, all the time casting our search light in every direction. At last
die car was spotted in the distance, a black motionless object. The
lights had gone out and the car would not even start. Hut it was quite
a relief to have found them. We were delayed here three hours. Now
die second car was placed ahead and all the night long both cars kept
up a speed of 50 miles per hour. One feels drowsy and sleepy but
cannot sleep, for the minute he settles down, he is thrown up against the
lop and all sleep is gone. The very expectation of such an exaltation
ii enough to drive all sleep away.
The cars have nothing to go by except the stars overhead and a poor
pack in the sandy soil. At first we saw small lights in the distance
which we thought Arabs might have lit in their little tents. But wo
were driven to the conclusion that these were stars, some rising, others
Kiting- The desert has no life for it has no water. We watched Orion
in his march; The Plough making his circle around the North Stu;.
An hour before dawn a bright red light was seen in the Eastern
horizon. All said that it was another car coming. What else could it he?
Hut our cars did not meet, and the light grew whiter and seemed lifted
into the sky. Slowly it dawned upon us that the driver had told us
lliat Venus was the morning star. One aptly remarked that she was
Announcing the coming of dawn. It was a brilliant beautiful light. Ami
then the rosy dawn and later the great sun himself—how warm ami
cheery it all felt. Cold after the night’s ride we soon warmed tip
opecially when we ate our breakfast of sardines and sausages fried
o\cr a sagebrush fire. All this day our cars kept up their speed, till we
Arrived at the Euphrates in a town called Kamadi. The river was oui-
liilc its banks due to rains in the up country. The rivers Euphrates ami
Tigris easily overflow their banks for the land around is very low. Due
id this we were forced to delay in Ramadi two nights. Seeing that thus*-
likes.of overflow water would not soon dry up, the drivers concluded to
detour around them, a distance of over 60 miles to the right into the