Shekhs present would let us have their camels for less than eighty dollars; a demand so extremely exorbitant that we did not hesitate a moment in declining it, and offered them at the same time thirty, expecting that they would relax, as is usually the case with them, when they found that we persisted in our refusal. Half the day was, however, spent in sending backwards and forwards and still we could get no camels, Abou-Bukra himself making a thousand professions of his readiness to oblige us on all occasions, but giving us no proofs of it whatever. It required very little penetration to discover that this was evidently a concerted manœuvre; and that Bey Halil was either unable to make any satisfactory arrangement for us, or was himself a party in the plan. Abou Bukra was certainly the principal agent in the affair, and the whole plot was doubtless got up by him. He had mentioned no difficulties of the kind at Ptolemeta, because the camel-drivers of Bengazi would have offered to proceed with us to Cyrene, had he declined supplying us on reasonable terms. The eighty dollars required by all the Bedouin Shekhs was the sum which he wished to extract from us, and the circumstance of the whole assembly being unanimous in the demand was intended to be a proof of its fairness, he himself having made no offer whatever, on the plea of not having camels enough at his disposal. Bey Halil very probably did not wish to interfere in preventing his Arab friend from making what profit he could of us (such an act being considered by Mahometans in general as extremely unbrotherly, and not by any means called for); and with regard to the Arabs, they willingly lend their services to one another on all occasions of a similar nature[2]. Finding the chances against us on this tack, we determined to try another; there being no end to Arab extortion when you have once given them reason to suppose that you will submit to it. We accordingly arranged that two of our party should set out with all speed for Derna, to request Mahommed Bey would furnish us with camels, which we knew he would immediately do. This manœuvre succeeded, as we expected it would, in bringing about a favourable change; but we had determined, in the event of being obliged to put the threat in execution, to transport a tent and some provisions to Ptolemeta, on the horses, where our time would be employed to advantage till the camels from Derna arrived; and, as the distance from Merge to Ptolemeta was only a few hours, and the road could not be mistaken, this plan would have been easily effected.