Page 182 - The Pirate Coast (By Sir Charles Belgrave)

to me, saying that the horse was brought out on purpose, to know
if I admired it, so that he might have the satisfaction of presenting
it to me, in return for the handsome telescope and fowling piece
which I had sent him on my first visit.’ Senior officers of the
Navy arc often given horses by friendly Arab Shaikhs, but they
usually find that a horse is a difficult gift to deal with. Perhaps
it was easier to accommodate a horse on board a sailing ship, than
in a modern sloop or cruiser. Gift horses have usually been
passed on to someone in Bahrain, which docs not offend the
donor, as Arabs when they receive presents, frequently give them
away at once.
It was late before Bruce and Loch bade farewell to the Shaikhs,
and set off‘in great state’ on their horses to Manama, accompanied
by the Shaikh’s son and a mounted escort. Where the palm
groves begin, they arrived at what Loch calls ‘a canal’ which was
the stream which passes under the little bridge called ‘Radm al
Kawari’, known to Europeans by the name ‘Wiggly Bridge’.
There is a ford known as ‘Al Muktah’ across the water, closer to
the sea, where there is a short cut from Manama to Rafaa, this
ford is still used by riders on horses and donkeys. It was at this
place that they crossed. Bruce, who was leading the cortege,
attempted to-ride through the water. He reached the middle of
the stream, when his horse suddenly lay down in the water, and
began to roll, in spite of kicking and beating and abuse from
f Bruce. ‘All state and ceremony were now at an end, and there
was a roar of laughter.’ The horse was a gray, but when Bruce
finally succeeded in making it get up, it looked like a black horse,
being covered with mud. Bruce, too, had mud clinging to his
clothes. It was late in the evening when the party reached
Manama, Bruce in a very bedraggled condition. When they got
on board, they found Captain Walpole, of the Nautilus, very
worried at their non-appearance, having made up his mind that
they had been kidnapped by the Shaikhs. He had sent several
people on shore to make enquiries, but all he could learn was that
Bruce and Loch had ‘proceeded on horseback into the interior .
Apparently, they had not told him that they were going to visit
the Shaikhs at Rafaa.
Although it was late, and nearly dark when Loch came on
board he decided that the pirates must be dealt with at once,
otherwise they might escape. Boats from the two ships were
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