1 28
2 perceive none of them till we came to land, where we met eight
3 naked fellows armed with sticks, whose first business was to
4 moor our boat, jump in, and plunder our luggage. Whilst
5 this gang of robbers were busy plundering the bow of our boat,
6 and searching the pockets of my companion, the servant of the
7 owner of the boat, who was sitting on the poop, whispered
8 me in a low voice, “ I am a native of Quoise (a village before
9 mentioned, near Hit), and have nothing to fear from the Agelis,
10 I may save your purse, if you trust it to me.” I did so ; but a
11 small bunch of keys, belonging to the luggage, which we had
12 sent by the caravan, being attached to the purse, and rattling
13 when I handed it to the man, betrayed us, and they seized the
14 servant, laid hold of the purse, and struggled to get it. The
15 obstinate resistance of the poor man was in vain, for the rascals
16 kicked him into the river, and succeeded in getting possession
17 of the purse. But the owner of the boat, when all the robbers
18 were out of it, profited by the circumstance, cut the ropes by
19 which it was fastened, left his man behind, and made an effort
20 to gain the opposite bank of the river.
21 Scarcely were we in the middle, when we heard them vocife-
22 rating, and calling us back, with a promise to return all they
23 had taken, swearing, even by the name of their prophet, that
24 they had a patient among them whom they wished to be cured
25 by us. But we could not rely on their oaths, as we believed
26 them to be Agelis, and so we rowed towards the opposite bank.
27 Scarcely, however, had we arrived there, when one of them
28 came swimming upon an inflated goat-skin, in order to persuade
29 us to come back to the patient, who was his brother, and we
30 were so embarrassed, and driven to such extremes, that we felt
31 ourselves obliged to soothe him with the promise that we would
32 come to them early in the morning. As he remained with us,
33 we passed another sleepless night. At break of day, we perceived
34 a few black tents, not far from the place where we were, which
35 gave us some consolation. Accompanied by the soldier, whom
36 the Agha of Hit had sent with us, my companion went into
37 one of these Arab tents, to convince himself of the truth of
38 the man’s statement. He soon came back, and told me that the