noon. It had passed round by the Wady Rabigh, into and up the
"Father of Glass;" in fact, it had described an easy semicircle;
while we had ridden in a series of zigzags, over rough and
difficult short cuts. A delay was also necessary for our mappers
to connect this march with their itinerary of the central region.
Already the Wady Mulaybij had shown us the familiar peak and
dorsum of Jebel Raydan; and we had "chaffed" Furayj about his
sudden return home. From our camp in the Aba'l-Gezaz, the Ziglab
block of Shaghab bore nearly north (350 mag.); and the adjoining
Jebel el-Aslah, also a blue cone on the horizon, rose about two
degrees further north.

After the big mess-tent had been duly blown down, and the usual
discipline had been administered for washing in the
drinking-pool; we crossed to the left of the Wady by way of an
evening stroll, and at once came upon an atelier of some
importance. The guides seemed to ignore its existence, so we
christened it Mashghal Ala'l-Gezaz. On the slope of a trap-hill
facing the Wady el-Ghami's, the southern valley which we had last
crossed, stood a square of masonry scattered round with fragments
of pottery, glass, and basalt. Below it, on the "mesopotamian"
plain, lay the foundations of houses still showing their cemented
floors. The lowlands and highlands around the settlement looked
white-patched with mounds, veins, and scatters of quartz. The
evening was stillness itself, broken only by the cries of the
Katas, which are now nesting, as they flocked to drink; and the
night was cool--a promise, and a false promise, that the Khamsin
had ended on its usual third day.

The next morning (April 3rd) showed us El-Bada', the whole march