A Turkish Officer, With
His Wife And Son, And Eight Peasants From The Sherkieh, Formed The Whole
Garrison, And They Trembled At The Name And Sight Of The Bedouins As
Much As The Monks Of The Sinai Convent.
June 9th.—This morning I proposed to the officer that we should go out
in force and drive the
Robbers from the well, which was only half an
hour distant; but this he refused to do, saying that he had no orders to
leave the castle; he found it more convenient to seize my skins, which I
had filled at Suez, and to make use of their contents for his family.
Towards noon we saw several of the Bedouins hovering round the castle,
no doubt expecting us to issue from it. In this difficulty, the Turkish
officer having refused to lend his horse, I mounted Hamd in the evening
upon the strongest of the camels, and told him to gallop to Suez, and
acquaint the commander there with our situation, or else to hire some of
his
[p.628] countrymen, who were there waiting for the departure of the
caravan, and in their company to return to our relief, bringing with him
a supply of water. He set out, but had not proceeded a mile before he
saw the robbers running upon him from different quarters, and
endeavouring to cut him off from the road. They fired at him, upon which
he returned their fire, and gallopped back to the castle. The officer
and his valiant garrison were now thrown into the greatest
consternation, and could not devise any means of relief.
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