the latter clothed in white, with the distinctive thong of camel's hair
wound about the head covering, arms folded and face passively serene,
looking as though they had stepped right out of the Old Testament on to
the fly-ridden, sunbaked station of Ismailiah; whilst vendors of cakes,
sticky, melting sweets, and small oranges, wandered in and out of the
crowd screaming their wares. Shouts of laughter drew Jill's attention
to the other side of the station, where, with terms of endearment mixed
with blood-curdling threats, a detachment of British soldiers getting
ready to start en route for Suez were urging, coaxing, striving to make
that most obstinate of animals, the camel, get to its feet some time
before midnight.

From them she looked at a group of native dwellings made of sunbaked
clay. Small square buildings, looking in the distance like out-houses,
with scarcely perceptible windows, and flat roofs given over to
poultry. Near them the patient bullock did its monotonous round,
drawing the precious water from the well with which to moisten the arid
little patch of earth from which the fellah extracts the so very little
necessary to him in his life.

A clump of slender palms, like forgotten scaffolding, stood out clear
against the intense blue of the sky; the desert, that wonderful
magnetic plain, stretched away in mile upon mile of yellow nothingness,
until as minute as flies on a yellow floor, growing more distinct at
every step, with solemn and exceeding great dignity stalked a string of
camels, each animal fastened by a rope to the saddle of the one in
front, each apparently unconscious of its seemingly overwhelming
burden, as with heads swaying slightly from side to side with that air
of disdain which the dame of Belgravia unsuccessfully tries to imitate
when essaying to crush the inhabitant of Suburbia by means of