"Dere," said
he, picking up a small bit of stone, "Dis is de forest made of
stone. Carry that home." Then we turned round and rode back to
Cairo. My chief observation as to the country was this--that
whichever way we went, the wind blew into our teeth. The day's work
cost me five-and-twenty shillings, and since that I had not as yet
made any other expedition. I was therefore glad of an opportunity
of going to Suez, and of making the journey in company with an
acquaintance.
At that time the railway was open, as far as I remember, nearly half
the way from Cairo to Suez. It did not run four or five times a
day, as railways do in other countries, but four or five times a
month. In fact, it only carried passengers on the arrival of these
flocks passing between England and her Eastern possessions. There
were trains passing backwards and forwards constantly, as I
perceived in walking to and from the station; but, as I learned,
they carried nothing but the labourers working on the line, and the
water sent into the Desert for their use. It struck me forcibly at
the time that I should not have liked to have money in that
investment.
Well; I went with Robinson to Suez. The journey, like everything
else in Egypt, was sandy, hot, and unpleasant. The railway
carriages were pretty fair, and we had room enough; but even in them
the dust was a great nuisance. We travelled about ten miles an
hour, and stopped about an hour at every ten miles.
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