On this long journey Sherif Nasir and Auda’s sour-smiling cousin, Mohammed el Dheilan, took pains with my Arabic, giving me by turn lessons in the classical Medina tongue, and in the vivid desert language. At the beginning my Arabic had been a halting command of the tribal3 dialects of the Middle Euphrates (a not impure4 form), but now it became a fluent mingling5 of Hejaz slang and north-tribal poetry with household words and phrases from the limpid6 Nejdi, and book forms from Syria. The fluency7 had a lack of grammar, which made my talk a perpetual adventure for my hearers. Newcomers imagined I must be the native of some unknown illiterate8 district; a shot-rubbish ground of disjected Arabic parts of speech.
However, as yet I understood not three words of Auda’s, and after half an hour his chant tired me, while the old moon climbed slowly up the sky, sailed over the topmost hills and threw a deceitful light, less sure than darkness, into our valley. We marched until the early sun, very trying to those who had ridden all night, opposed us.
Breakfast was off our own flour, thus lightening at last, after days of hospitality, our poor camels’ food-load. Sharraf being not yet in Abu Raga, we made no more of haste than water-difficulties compelled; and, after food, again put up our blanket roofs and lay till afternoon, fretfully dodging9 after their unstable10 shadow, getting moist with heat and the constant pricking11 of flies.
At last Nasir gave the marching signal, and we went on up the defile12, with slightly pompous13 hills each side, for four hours; when we agreed to camp again in the valley bed. There was abundant brushwood for fuel; and up the cliff on our right were rock-pools of fresh water, which gave us a delicious drink. Nasir was wrought14 up; he commanded rice for supper, and the friends to feed with us.
Our rule of march was odd and elaborate. Nasir, Auda, and Nesib were so many separate, punctilious15 houses, admitting the supremacy16 of Nasir only because I lived with him as a guest and furnished them with the example of respect. Each required to be consulted on the details of our going, and where and when we should halt. This was inevitable17 with Auda, a child of battle who had never known a master, since, as a tiny boy, he had first ridden his own camel. It was advisable with Nesib, a Syrian of the queasy18 Syrian race; jealous; hostile to merit, or to its acknowledgement.
Such people demanded a war-cry and banner from outside to combine them, and a stranger to lead them, one whose supremacy should be based on an idea: illogical, undeniable, discriminant: which instinct might accept and reason find no rational basis to reject or approve. For this army of Feisal’s the conceit19 was that an Emir of Mecca, a descendant of the prophet, a Sherif, was an otherworldly dignitary whom sons of Adam might reverence20 without shame. This was the binding21 assumption of the Arab movement; it was this which gave it an effective, if imbecile unanimity22.
In the morning we rode at five. Our valley pinched together, and we went round a sharp spur, ascending23 steeply. The track became a bad goat-path, zigzagging24 up a hill-side too precipitous to climb except on all fours. We dropped off our camels and led them by the head-stalls. Soon we had to help each other, a man urging the camels from behind, another pulling them from the front, encouraging them over the worst places, adjusting their loads to ease them.
Parts of the track were dangerous, where rocks bulged25 out and narrowed it, so that the near half of the load grazed and forced the animal to the cliff-edge. We had to re-pack the food and explosives; and, in spite of all our care, lost two of our feeble camels in the pass. The Howeitat killed them where they lay broken, stabbing a keen dagger26 into the throat-artery near the chest, while the neck was strained tight by pulling the head round to the saddle. They were at once cut up and shared out as meat.
The head of the pass we were glad to find not a range but a spacious27 plateau which sloped slowly before us to the east. The first yards were rough and rocky, overgrown with low mats of thorns like ling; but afterwards we came to a valley of white shingle28, in whose bed a Beduin woman was filling her water-skin with a copper29 cup, ladling milky30 water, quite pure and sweet, from a little hole a foot wide, scraped elbow deep in the pebbles31. This was Abu Saad, and for its name’s sake and for its water, and the joints32 of red meat bumping on our saddles, we settled we would stay here one night, filling up yet more of the time which must be filled before Sharraf came back from his expedition against the railway.
So we rode on four more miles, to camp under spreading trees, in close-grown thickets33 of thorn-scrub, hollow underneath35 like booths. By day these made tent-ribs for our blankets stretched against the masterful sun. At night they were bowers36 for our sleeping-places. We had learned to sleep with nothing overhead but moon and stars, and nothing either side to keep distant the winds and noises of the night; and by contrast it was strange, but quieting, to rest within walls, with a roof above; even though walls and roof were only interlacing twigs37 making a darker mesh38 against the star-scattered sky.
For myself, I was ill again; a fever increasing upon me, and my body very sore with boils and the rubbing of my sweaty saddle. When Nasir, without my prompting, had halted at the half-stage, I turned and thanked him warmly, to his astonishment39. We were now on the limestone40 of the Shefa crest41. Before us lay a great dark lava-field, and short of it a range of red and black banded sandstone cliffs with conical tops. The air on the high tableland was not so warm; and morning and evening there blew across us a free current which was refreshing42 after the suspended stillness of the valleys.
We breakfasted on our camel meat, and started more gaily43 the next morning down a gently-falling plateau of red sandstone. Then we came to the first break of surface, a sharp passage to the bottom of a shrub-grown, sandy valley, on each side of which sandstone precipices44 and pinnacles45, gradually growing in height as we went down, detached themselves sharply against the morning sky. It was shadowed in the bottom, and the air tasted wet and decayed, as though sap was drying out into it. The edges of the cliffs about us were clipped strangely, like fantastic parapets. We wound on, ever deeper into the earth until, half an hour later, by a sharp corner we entered Wadi Jizil, the main gutter46 of these sandstone regions, whose end we had seen near Hedia.
Jizil was a deep gorge47 some two hundred yards in width, full of tamarisk sprouting48 from the bed of drifted sand, as well as from the soft twenty-foot banks, heaped up wherever an eddy49 in flood or wind had laid the heavier dust under the returns of cliffs. The walls each side were of regular bands of sandstone, streaked50 red in many shades. The union of dark cliffs, pink floors, and pale green shrubbery was beautiful to eyes sated with months of sunlight and sooty shadow. When evening came, the declining sun crimsoned51 one side of the valley with its glow, leaving the other in purple gloom.
Our camp was on some swelling52 dunes53 of weedy sand in an elbow of the valley, where a narrow cleft54 had set up a back-wash and scooped55 out a basin in which a brackish56 remnant of last winter’s flood was caught. We sent a man for news up the valley to an oleander thicket34 where we saw the white peaks of Sharraf’s tents. They expected him next day; so we passed two nights in this strange-coloured, echoing place. The brackish pool was fit for our camels, and in it we bathed at noon. Then we ate and slept generously, and wandered in the nearer valleys to see the horizontal stripes of pink and brown and cream and red which made up the general redness of the cliffs, delighting in the varied57 patterns of thin pencillings of lighter58 or darker tint59 which were drawn60 over the plain body of rock. One afternoon I spent behind some shepherd’s fold of sandstone blocks in warm soft air and sunlight, with a low burden of the wind plucking at the rough wall-top above my head. The valley was instinct with peace, and the wind’s continuing noise made even it seem patient.
My eyes were shut and I was dreaming, when a youthful voice made me see an anxious Ageyli, a stranger, Daud, squatting61 by me. He appealed for my compassion62. His friend Farraj had burned their tent in a frolic, and Saad, captain of Sharraf’s Ageyl was going to beat him in punishment. At my intercession he would be released. Saad happened, just then, to visit me, and I put it to him, while Daud sat watching us, his mouth slightly, eagerly, open; his eyelids63 narrowed over large, dark eyes, and his straight brows furrowed64 with anxiety. Daud’s pupils, set a little in from the centre of the eyeball, gave him an air of acute readiness.
Saad’s reply was not comforting. The pair were always in trouble, and of late so outrageous65 in their tricks that Sharraf, the severe, had ordered an example to be made of them. All he could do for my sake was to let Daud share the ordained66 sentence. Daud leaped at the chance, kissed my hand and Saad’s and ran off up the valley; while Saad, laughing, told me stories of the famous pair. They were an instance of the eastern boy and boy affection which the segregation67 of women made inevitable. Such friendships often led to manly68 loves of a depth and force beyond our flesh-steeped conceit. When innocent they were hot and unashamed. If sexuality entered, they passed into a give and take, unspiritual relation, like marriage.
Next day Sharraf did not come. Our morning passed with Auda talking of the march in front, while Nasir with forefinger69 and thumb flicked70 sputtering71 matches from the box across his tent at us. In the midst of our merriment two bent72 figures, with pain in their eyes, but crooked73 smiles upon their lips, hobbled up and saluted74. These were Daud the hasty and his love-fellow, Farraj; a beautiful, soft-framed, girlish creature, with innocent, smooth face and swimming eyes. They said they were for my service. I had no need of them; and objected that after their beating they could not ride. They replied they had now come bare-backed. I said I was a simple man who disliked servants about him. Daud turned away, defeated and angry; but Farraj pleaded that we must have men, and they would follow me for company and out of gratitude75. While the harder Daud revolted, he went over to Nasir and knelt in appeal, all the woman of him evident in his longing76. At the end, on Nasir’s advice, I took them both, mainly because they looked so young and clean.
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1
epic
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| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
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bass
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| n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴 | |
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tribal
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| adj.部族的，种族的 | |
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impure
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| adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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limpid
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| adj.清澈的，透明的 | |
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7
fluency
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| n.流畅，雄辩，善辩 | |
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8
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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9
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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13
pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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15
punctilious
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| adj.谨慎的，谨小慎微的 | |
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supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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17
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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18
queasy
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| adj.易呕的 | |
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19
conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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20
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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21
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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23
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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24
zigzagging
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| v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀 | |
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25
bulged
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| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
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26
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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28
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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29
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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30
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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31
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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32
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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33
thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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35
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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36
bowers
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| n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人 | |
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37
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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38
mesh
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| n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络 | |
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39
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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40
limestone
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| n.石灰石 | |
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41
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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42
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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43
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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44
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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45
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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46
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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47
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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48
sprouting
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| v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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49
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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50
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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51
crimsoned
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| 变为深红色（crimson的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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52
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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53
dunes
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| 沙丘( dune的名词复数 ) | |
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54
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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55
scooped
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| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
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56
brackish
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| adj.混有盐的；咸的 | |
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57
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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58
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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59
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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60
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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61
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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62
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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63
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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64
furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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66
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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67
segregation
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| n.隔离，种族隔离 | |
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68
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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69
forefinger
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| n.食指 | |
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70
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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71
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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72
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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73
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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74
saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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75
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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76
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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