The first halting-place above Sioot was Girgeh, which may be considered the Arabic for George, as the place was named in honor of the saint whose history is intimately connected with the dragon. St. George is the patron saint of the Christians of Egypt, and there was a Coptic convent at Girgeh, four or five centuries ago, that was named after him. It supported two hundred monks and had a large revenue; but its inhabitants died during a visitation of the plague, and for some time the buildings were without tenants. At present there is a small convent or monastery at Girgeh, and it is said to be the oldest establishment of the kind in Egypt. The superior is a European, but the rest of the members are native Egyptians. Formerly the town was some distance back from the river, but the Nile has so changed its course that Girgeh is now on the very brink of the stream, and some of its houses have been washed away. It was announced that the party would land at Girgeh to visit the ruins of the ancient Abydus, or Thinis, twelve miles away; during their absence the boat would proceed to Bellianeh, where they would find it at the end of their excursion. The start was made immediately after breakfast, not without considerable opposition on the part of the donkeys, and a wrangle with the natives over the question of backsheesh. [Illustration: SCENE DURING THE INUNDATION.] The road lay through fields of sugar-cane, pease, beans, and other products of the Egyptian soil; many of them were in blossom, and the boys thought the scene was the richest they had yet encountered during their visit to the country. Frank remarked the great contrast between the luxuriant fields and the miserable villages of the natives. The villages here, as elsewhere in the valley, are generally built on mounds, so as to keep them out of the reach of the water when the river overflows its banks. During the season of the inundation the whole country is overflowed, and the natives cannot go from their villages except in boats, or unless they choose to swim. Cattle seek the mounds for safety; and sometimes, when the banks give way, and the river rises suddenly, many of them are drowned. The people go out with boats to secure their goats, cows, and oxen, and the scene is a very active one. Until the water subsides the villages are indiscriminately filled with live stock and their owners, and sometimes there is an animated contest between them for the right of occupation. At every village the children came out and begged for backsheesh, and their appearance was quite in keeping with the squalid aspect of the mud huts where they lived. Frank wondered that they managed to reach the age of ten years in such habitations, and the Doctor replied that it was a proof that the human race is capable of living anywhere, if it will only try. [Illustration: A CAMEL ON HIS WAY TO PASTURE.]