Its great propelling screw churned the narrow stream into waves that wore
away the sandy banks on either side, and the cries of the flamingoes,
storks, and pelicans, inhabiting the marshes, were constantly in the ears
of the deck loungers.
Dwight, perhaps, was the one who wrested the most fun from the situation,
for while the rest soon grew weary of the monotony, and lethargic with
the heat, groaning aloud every time they had to seek the siding in order
to let some great train of laden boats go by, he found fresh enjoyment in
every stop, and in blouse and knickerbockers, with bare feet, paddled
about on the moist banks, making friends with the half-clothed
camel-drivers, whose patient beasts knelt so obediently to be loaded with
the silt deposits taken from the bed of the canal, and collecting items
of interest in regard to this artery of commerce which might have made
even its founder open his eyes. The girls profited by his researches,
and it was, indeed, a common thing for any passenger, when asking
questions about "De Lessep's Ditch," to hear, "Oh, ask Dwight! He knows
it all."
Both here, and on the Red Sea, into which they entered on the third
morning, the staterooms and cabins, in spite of waving punkahs, were
almost intolerable, and nobody could get up life enough to do more than
lounge feebly on the upper decks in their lightest clothing, reading the
lightest literature. At night, mattresses were laid on deck, and most of
the men slept there, while our twin sisters gladly took to their father's
cabin floor and a folded comforter, with the great windows wide to catch
every breath of air.
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