Sunday Dec 21. [21 December 1913] Finished my work and set off at
9.15. We presently sighted smoke and flocks. I went up onto a stone
heap and looked at them through my glass. No doubt Arabs of the
Jebel. Half an hour later a horseman came riding furiously towards
us; he shot as he came. Shouted at Hamad who went out to meet him
aimed his rifle at him and prepared to ride away. M. al M [Muhammad
al Ma'rawi] called to him Ya {walad} Ibn al Halal, stay! we are
Shawam and Agail and Qanasil[?], Tawakkil Allah! God guide you."
He circled round us like a madman, shouting that we were gom,
Anazeh. He turned out to be a daif, a man of the Sherify not one of the
Masa'id. He demanded of 'Ali his rifle wa ludumak. 'Ali threw down
his fur. Then came up the Masa'id shepherds riding, running and
firing. "Ingil, Ingil!" A man drew M's sword and flourished about with it,
hitting at him and me. My camel knelt, he siezing it, and two boys
stole some things out of my khurj. But the others, mostly without
keffiyyehs and one stark naked except for a handkerchief began
stripping my men of their pistols and cartridge belts, shouting and
raging the while. My camel got up and I sat watching. Then Fellah
wept and called out to them that he knew them and they knew him; he
had been in their tents camel buying a year ago. With that my things
were returned and presently 2 shaikhs rode up, welcomed us and all
turned to smiles and amity. There was really no risk since they were
camping Arabs afraid of their enemies - and they have no friends
apparently. They asked us anxiously whether we had seen Arabs
anywhere. But we have to take a man from them with us and for this
end we camped near them at 1 o'clock. The shaikhs sat with us till I
tipped them 5 mej. At night they came back singing and brought a
man with them 'Awaiseh Abu 'Ali. We sat long over the coffee fire.
They say there is an old road from Burqu [Qasr el Burqu] to Azraq
[Qasr el Azraq]. The frost has gone. Awwad asked me why I
travelled here. I said I liked the desert better than cities. "True" said
he "I was in Damascus [Dimashq (Esh Sham, Damas)] 14 days; it
was like a prison and the 14 days seemed 14 months."