He Then Asked For All My Blue Cloth And My Arab 'Camblee' (Blanket).

My portmanteau being rather the worse for wear--its upper leather was torn--he thrust in his fingers, and said,

With a most avaricious grin, 'What have you here?' I immediately arose and exclaimed, 'You are not my father; the Wallasena told me you would treat me kindly; this is not doing so.' He begged pardon and said, 'Do not be frightened, my son; I will take nothing from you but what you give me freely. You think I am a bad man; people have been telling you ill things about me. I am now an old man, and have given up such child's work as plundering people.' It became, however, necessary to inquire of Datah Mahomed what were his intentions with regard to myself. I found that I had been deceived at Shoa; there it was asserted that he lived at Errur and was brother to Bedar, one of the most powerful chiefs of the Adel, instead of which it proved that he was not so highly connected, and that he visited Errur only occasionally. Datah told me that his marriage feast would last seven days, after which he would forward me to Doomi, where we should find Bedar, who would send me either to Tajoorah or to Hurrur, as he saw fit.

"I now perceived that all hope of reaching Hurrur was at an end. Vexed and disappointed at having suffered so much in vain, I was obliged to resign the idea of going there for the following reasons: The Mission treasury was at so low an ebb that I had left Shoa with only three German crowns, and the prospect of meeting on the road Mahomed Ali in charge of the second division of the Embassy and the presents, who could have supplied me with money. The constant demands of Datah Mahomed for tobacco, for cloth, in fact for everything he saw, would become ten times more annoying were I left with him without an interpreter. The Tajoorians, also, one all, begged me not to remain, saying, 'Think not of your property, but only of your and your servants' lives. Come with us to Tajoorah; we will travel quick, and you shall share our provisions.' At last I consented to this new arrangement, and Datah Mahomed made no objection. This individual, however, did not leave me till he had extorted from me my best mule, all my Tobes (eight in number), and three others, which I borrowed from the caravan people. He departed about midnight, saying that he would take away his mule in the morning.

"At 4 A.M. on the 26th I was disturbed by Datah Mahomed, who took away his mule, and then asked for more cloth, which was resolutely refused. He then begged for my 'Camblee,' which, as it was my only covering, I would not part with, and checked him by desiring him to strip me if he wished it.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 243 of 249
Words from 125196 to 125701 of 128411