I was again restless when night came on, and was still awake when the moon was near setting, about three A.M., under tent, at which time suddenly I heard the wife of Said begin to squall, with the sound of the trampling of feet around my tent.  I conjectured immediately what was up, “Another attack!” I repeated mechanically to myself, and getting up, began to dress myself.  At first I thought our assailants were at some distance off, but when the boxes began to be drawn from around my tent I exclaimed, “Oh, oh, they are upon me, and are carrying off the things.”  Still I had become so accustomed to these attacks, or attempted attacks, by night and by day, that I felt quite indifferent, and began to dress myself as if nothing was the matter, or simply as if some one had called me up suddenly to breakfast, or that we were to start off early on our way.

I found my clothes, however, with some difficulty, and tore them a little in putting them on.  At last I went out.  All our people were up, as well as the Germans.  On inquiring the news, I learned that a band of robbers had attacked us; from six to ten had been counted.  My servants had all decamped, with the exception of Said.  Some of them had been struck by the robbers, and others had been threatened, and had ran away.  My servant Said, as soon as he sallied out and saw what was going on, seized his matchlock, and pointed it at the assailants, especially those who were removing the saharees (large square boxes).  Upon this they began to quake, and, parleying with Said, begged for mercy, and said they would go immediately if the powder was not used against them.  Said took them at their word, and they ran off.  They had already, however, carried away about nine pounds of tea, packed in tin boxes.  It is probable they mistook these boxes of tin for silver, or considered their contents to be money, gold and silver, although their lightness should have undeceived them.  As the Arabic Bibles and Testaments were packed up with the tea, they carried off a Bible with them.  But this they afterwards dropped on the road, and it was picked up by a shepherdess, and brought to me.  They also took away a pewter dish and two bags of grounded ghaseb, besides ripping open the bags of the blacks.  This appears to be the amount of the robbery and devastation; very fortunate are we it was not worse.  We had watched many nights, and had often loaded our guns; but this night, when the thieves came, we were miserably unprepared to receive them.  The Germans had been cleaning their guns, and all were unloaded.  Overweg had his fowling-piece charged with small shot.  At length we got two or three guns in trim, and our servants followed the robbers, but nothing of them was to be seen.  The cowards had fled at the first show of resistance.  In the morning, on searching through the small valley up which they had come, we were surprised to find marks of no less than thirteen camels—­enough to carry away all our goods.  So that it is probable there were some thirteen robbers, a part of whom remained with the camels whilst the others attacked us.  Amankee, on being knocked down with a shield, got up again, and ran off to the town, giving the alarm everywhere.