"We styled ourselves Rechabites because we lived in open air, drank no wine and mingled with no other tribes. We descended from Adam through the Kenites. Our rendezvous at the time of David was at Jabes, but in the days of Jeremiah we came to Tadmor, where we assembled yearly to pay tithes for over a thousand years.

"Now we are dispersed throughout the Orient, and pay no tithes, yet we hold sacred our peaceful attitude toward strangers, our education as scribes, our nomad life and our abhorrence to strong drink. The family tree is disappearing, for we are intermarrying; even my mother was an Indian from Karachi.

"My object in this journey is, if possible, to collect the Aramaic manuscripts of the tribe, that they may be handed down in an unbroken line, thus completing our family tree. I can tell you more particulars about our people, and many incidents about Mary Magdalene, even if we do not find the manuscripts. For we will journey together."

"Please let me ask you one question, Mr. Jona, and then you can proceed. Do you intend me to understand that you expect to find the original report or document at Tadmor, or is it a legend of a later author of your tribe who was familiar with traditional accounts of Jesus and Mary Magdalene?"

"I do not want you to understand anything only that I hope to find manuscripts which will satisfy all that Jesus of Nazareth was a spiritual representative of God, and that after His death He appeared to Mary Magdalene."

"I understand you now, go on about your rendezvous."

"As I said concerning our people, the Hebrews, who thought God had chosen them to disseminate His love and care over this world, became bigoted through priesthood and set up a cry that they were retainers instead of disseminators. This caused a breach between us and the Gentiles, who made war with us; but our tribe, the Rechabites, held aloof, enjoying our nomad life until Babylonia, spurred on by Syria, began preparations for that world-wide foraging tour toward Canaan. Then our tribe, fearful of an onslaught, held council and decided to take shelter within the walls of Jerusalem, and did so until Jehoiakim, through Jeremiah, attempted to get us drunk, when we again held council and decided to throw ourselves upon the mercy of the Babylonian King, who in turn permitted us to assemble at Tadmor, exempt from army service.

"Tadmor now became our home, and upon the brow of the mountain which overlooks the city we excavated a broad and deep channel in the rock, around a center on which we built a wonderful castle, the crown to the gem of the desert, Tadmor. In its sacred archives were kept all the manuscripts of our tribe. Since we abandoned it I have heard they still call it by our family name, 'The Castle of the Rechabs.'

"Recently we have heard that some kind of documents or manuscripts are still in keeping by a descendant of our clan, so my people have deputized me to go on this journey."

"If it would be agreeable to you, Mr. Jona, I would like that we group our sub-caravans for the journey."

"Thanks for your hospitality, but for reasons previously expressed we will tent separately. You and I will ride side by side, that I may enjoy the influence of your inspiring thoughts; but, really, you would not enjoy the company of the woman, who you could neither see or understand."

"Why in the d——l, Jona, do you not let them throw off those masks, just for this journey, and allow the sweet sunshine, which the flowers on the desert are permitted to enjoy, be experienced by your wives, whom, by your barbarous custom, you place in dark coffins before they die?"

"Oh, Mr. Richardson, I understand you all right, but my people would not. Please do not mention that subject again. Now please attend to the details of your wants for our journey with the Persian caravan, which is now arriving, for we must be ready for the forward movement, which will take place in about four days."

Not willing to let up on the subject, I continued: "Do your women ever find fault with the way you treat them?"

"Yes, all women are dissatisfied."

"They are not. Our women at home are the sunshine of our lives."

"Please do not talk any more on that subject," he said as he wiped the sweat from his neck with his flowing sleeve.

Many were the peculiar incidents in our caravan of over fifteen hundred souls on our long journey of twenty-nine days up the Euphrates and over the desert, all of which I must pass over, noticing only Jona and his group as they appeared on the desert.

Jona, astride of his beautiful, fleet Arabian, was followed by a mammoth black camel loaded down with about eight hundred pounds of luggage. Following next was a tall, gaunt, mouse-colored camel on which was a platform fastened to the saddle; of which, on either side over the camel's sides, were attached covered seats which looked like dog houses. In each of these dog houses was a wife, his favorite and her assistant, Fatima. Each wore a veil over her head, jewels on her fingers, ankles, wrists, ears and neck, attired in a loose wrapper. Oriental nabobs usually travel with two wives, their favorite and her assistant. The elder, in this case, was his favorite; she bossed him around just like American wives do their husbands, not by force but through influence; as Abraham obeyed Sarah, and sent the guileless Hagar into the wilderness, regardless of his feelings.

A sort of Jacob's ladder, on which the women descended to and from their roost, was among the luggage on the pack camel, and notwithstanding the charge of my Rechabite friend that I was not to disquiet his wives, I continually placed the ladder and assisted Fatima and his favorite to ascend as soon as we struck camp; for if I had not, Jona was liable to leave his wives and other luggage on the camel until we had been on the sand for an hour. Fatima and I were usually side by side evenings, when her aptness in catching the English words and returning them to me in Arabic surprised me.