steaming down coast.

Our day of rest ended, at seven p.m., with a heavy storm of wind
and rain from the north: the sun had been unusually hot for some
days, and the sky looked ugly in the evening. As usual, all
assured us that the clouds contained wind, not rain. Despite
which, when the mess-tent had been nearly blown down, owing to
our men being unwilling to leave their warm retreats, a heavy
drenching downfall set in, and continued till eleven p.m. After a
short lull, wind and rain again raged at midnight; and then the
gale gradually blew itself out. The next two mornings were
delightfully brisk and bracing; and deep puddles dotted the
rocks.

On March 7th the caravan marched straight northwards, by the
Hajj-road, along the shore to its camping-ground, an affair of
two hours, while M. Marie and I set off for the turquoise mine.
Furayj, who had never passed that way, engaged as guide one
Sulaym el-Makrafi; and this old dromedary-rider's son had been
sent on to bring into camp all the Fayruz he could find. Crossing
at six a.m. the broad pilgrim-track, we struck eastward at a
place where the Secondary gypsum subtends the old coralline
cliff. After three-quarters of an hour, we traversed the Wady
Zahakan, the southernmost Pass over the Sharr (proper); and
presently we ascended a branch that falls into the right bank. As
we advanced, it became a rock-walled, stonesoled tunnel; winding,
contracting and widening, rising and flattening, and generally
interesting, compared with the dull flat breadth of such features
as the Wady Salma. The overfalls of rock and the unfriendly
thorn-trees, selfishly taking up all the room, necessitate