Both the youths recalled the brief account which the Doctor had given them of the perils of a journey to Mecca, and the names of those who had succeeded in reaching there. The mention of Mecca drew from Abdul an anecdote which illustrated the danger of attempting to travel among fanatical Moslems under the pretence of being of their religion. "Several years ago," said he, "I was at Jeddah, the port of Mecca, at the time of the pilgrimage to the birthplace of Mohammed. A steamer from Suez brought a crowd of pilgrims, and I happened to be at the landing-place when they came on shore. "There was a tall man among them whom I took for a Syrian Moslem, and my belief was confirmed when he spoke to me in Arabic, with just the accent I had heard at Jerusalem and Damascus. We talked a few minutes, and he then walked away, and I never suspected him to be anything but a pious Moslem, on his way to Mecca. "As soon as he left me another pilgrim spoke to me, and said the tall man was an impostor. "'How do you know?' I asked. "'Because,' said the other, 'I have watched him saying his prayers on the way from Suez, and he has twice missed the proper motions of his hands when he bows toward Mecca. Once he placed his prayer-rug at least a quarter of the way round from where it should have been, and once he put his left foot down first when kneeling.' "It was very certain the man was not a Moslem, as he would not make these mistakes if he had been brought up in the religion of the Prophet. I hastened after him, told what I had heard, and warned him of his danger. His character was already known; he would be sure to be pointed out, his deception known, and he would never return from Mecca, if, indeed, he succeeded in getting there. "He looked astonished for a moment, and acknowledged that he was neither a Syrian nor a Moslem. He was a German traveller, who had spent several years in Moslem countries, spoke Arabic fluently, and had conceived the design of going to Mecca. With this object in view he had learned the Moslem forms of prayer, so as to pass himself off for one of 'the faithful,' but it seems he had not been sufficiently careful as to the details. He thanked me for my caution, abandoned his trip to Mecca, and concluded to go to Central Africa instead. What befell him subsequently I never knew." From this point the conversation wandered to various subjects, until one of the party dropped asleep and another followed his example. This occurrence led to a postponement of the story of Abdul's adventures with Sir Samuel Baker, as it was advisable for all the members of the party to get all the sleep they could when the opportunity offered. They followed the native custom of travelling in the morning and afternoon, and resting during the hottest part of the day. [Illustration: PILGRIMS ON THE ROAD TO MECCA.] CHAPTER III. FROM KOROSKO TO ABOO HAMED.--THE NILE AGAIN.--ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE. [Illustration: THE GUIDE IN THE DESERT.]