Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates Vol 2 - The Search For Mecca

2 Bedouin Ti'ibes of the Euphrates, [ch. xvi.
The MoUah, it appeared, had been at De}^: at the
time of our arrival, had seen ns and known of our
wish to visit his chief and, on one occasion, had
actually been waiting in the courtyard of the Serai
to speak to us, when Huseyn, happening to pass
by, had sent him about his business, with the threat
of extreme displeasure if
he ventured to show himself
there again during our stay. We knew then
that our successful visit to Faris w^ould not be a
very agreeable piece of news to our old host ; and
the Serai, Avithout the Consul to suj)port us there,
seemed suddenly changed in our eyes from the
harbour of refuge it had been, to something not
unlike a prison. We had counted throughout on
his presence to set us right with the authorities
and now he was not there.
It was necessary however to put a bold face on
it ; so, when shortly after our arrival Huseyn
appeared, Wilfrid in a cheerful voice appealed to
him for congratulations on the success of our enterprise.
We had seen everything and everybody in
Mesopotamia ;
and everybody and everything had
been delightful. Ferhan's sons, Smeyr and Faris,
were the most agreeable people in the world, the
desert had been a Garden of Eden, the ghazu stories
all nonsense, and the country as safe for travellers
as any part of the empire, or of Europe itself, for
that matter. It was only to be regretted that his
Excellency had not been able to make the journey
with us, he would have enjoyed it so immensely.