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He swore solemnly he would cut the merchant's throat on the road if he did not give him five or ten dollars. I laughed at this petulant sally, and said, "Yes, cut his throat; you will do better than Ouweek."
He also added, "I have been reprimanding Ouweek for his bad conduct to you; I told him I would not give him my usual backsheesh on account of his ill-treating you." I am much bothered with Said. Like his master he is continually wavering, whether he shall return to Ghadames with the return caravan, or proceed with me.
My visitors now took leave of me, Jabour shaking hands with me, and saying, Mā-tăhāfsh, "don't fear." And amongst the rest, the son of Ouweek! who is a young harmless fellow, and said his father would never hurt a great Christian like me. He begged hard for a piece of sugar, which I gave him. He asked me if his father was coming to Ghat.
I insisted upon his unloading the camel, and took out some dates and biscuits, and lay myself down to eat them. The scuffle and uproar was now going on about a hundred yards from me, and I saw the sword of Ouweek flourishing and flashing about. This was succeeded by a calm, and a whole circle of people squatted down around Ouweek.
Ouweek was very complimentary, and shook me cordially by the hands. He observed, "There is no fear in this country; go on in advance: this country is like Fezzan." I then brought him out some tobacco, and a handkerchief to wrap it in. As usual, he did not seem satisfied with this; so I added a loaf of white sugar. He then noticed Yusuf, and thus addressed him: "Yusuf!
Zaleâ now tells me that Atkee wished to lay on two more dollars for the things given to Ouweek. But the Arabs, like the Cretans of old, are "all liars," and I don't wish to make Atkee worse than he was. I am sufficiently disappointed with him. The Medina Shereef called, who is the most learned person in Ghat.
The absence of these grasping chiefs has interfered, it is true, with the treaty of commerce; but it is possible, that even had Khanouhen been present some other shift would have been discovered. There are now present in Ghât only the Sheikh Jabour, Waled Shafou, Sheikh Hateetah, Sheikh Ouweek, and Haj Ahmed, the governor of the town.
Suspicion falls upon a Fezzanee, whom I have employed, and to whom I gave this very morning a quarter of a dollar. These small loaves of French beet-root sugar sell for two-thirds of a dollar in Ghat. Ouweek arrived to-day from his district, after stopping for the rest of the caravan to get what he could in the way of begging by force. This is the cunning of the old fox bandit.
Zaleâ, and his Arabs, certainly behaved the best. Zaleâ, in fact, was now the only man of the caravan. He told me afterwards, the Ghadamsee people had proposed to him, that I should run away on to Ghat, but he would not sanction such pusillanimity. I confess, however, when the people described to me the character of Ouweek, I myself felt considerable alarm.
The inhabitants are Saharan Moors, and some five or six hundred in number. Had a very friendly visit from Salah, eldest son of Haj Mansour, of Ghadames. He says justly, Kandarka and other camel-drivers exaggerate the dangers of the routes for their own private ends, to get more money out of me. Of the Touaricks and Ouweek, he says, "They have no knowledge, they are bullocks."
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