Now, what was to be done,—stand still and wait? Yes, it was all we were able to do, for we knew not where to go. By this time we noticed the villagers were wild with excitement. Men and women ran up the hill with clubs and pickaxes raised in the air; children came running too, each armed with stones. Every one of them seemed determined to hurt us, if possible. Their voices were pitched high, and such a furious set of people I had never seen before. We were a scared set of tourists. To add to our dismay, stones were hurled in our midst. Many of them hit the poor horses, my own faithful animal being among the number. I shall never forget how suddenly he turned and what a narrow escape I had from going headlong over the side of the hill. I begged to be taken from my horse, but was not allowed to be upon my feet for fear of being in greater danger. That was a very distressing time for us, boys and girls, for we did not expect to escape without injury. The dear Lord was good, for his watchful eye was over us and every one quit the place unharmed. My nervous system received a severe shock, which it has taken all of these years to recover from. The Arabs did not release the dragoman until he paid them a large sum of money, and at the end of our journey each one of the party was requested to pay a certain sum of money extra to help pay for the release of our guide. Ain Fijeh had lost all attractions for us, and as soon as possible we rode away, leaving its disagreeable inhabitants behind, hoping never to be in such an unpleasant situation again. It was the first day of April. Had we been in America, we would have thought the people were having a little fun at our expense; but not so there, for money was what they desired, and money they received before we were allowed to go free. As we proceeded on our way to camp great ledges of rocks were passed over. Sometimes we rode through green fields, when our mind was carried back to the lunching place and the yelling villagers. My memory of the country through which we passed is not vivid, for my mind and feelings then were not in trim to enjoy either the country or a ride through it. The camping place for that night is spoken of as being fine, but I cannot testify as to its beauty. One thing I am sure of,—that our rest during that night was much disturbed by thoughts of the day’s experience. We left camp early next morning, and to our sorrow the rain came down in torrents. Oh, how unpleasant it was! We had no desire to visit the tomb of Abel, which we passed. We rode on, preferring to visit a place of shelter and stay there while the rain continued to fall. It was useless, however, to think of that pleasure; so we made the best of the situation, feeling sure that only a few more days of hard riding and exposure were in store for us, when our journey through the strange land would be ended.