Symbian OS Communications Programming 2nd ed Edition Iain Campbell
Symbian OS Communications Programming 2nd ed Edition Iain Campbell
Symbian OS Communications Programming 2nd ed Edition Iain Campbell
Symbian OS Communications Programming 2nd ed Edition Iain Campbell
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10. Symbian OS
Communications
Programming
2nd Edition
By
Iain Campbell
With
Dale Self, Emlyn Howell, Ian Bunning, Ibrahim Rahman, Lucy
Caffery, Malcolm Box, Matthew Elliott, Natasha Ho, Pierre
Cochart, Tim Howes, Twm Davies
Reviewed by
Chris Notton, Dan Handley, David Harper, David Singleton,
Donald Page, Graeme Duncan, Ian Bunning, John Roe, Malcolm
Box, Tim Howes
Head of Symbian Press
Freddie Gjertsen
Managing Editor
Satu McNabb
11. Copyright ¤ 2007 Symbian Software Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England
Telephone (+44) 1243 779777
Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): cs-books@wiley.co.uk
Visit our Home Page on www.wileyeurope.com or www.wiley.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or
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the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West
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brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product or
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject
matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering
professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a
competent professional should be sought.
The Bluetooth£ word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any
use of such marks by Symbian Software Ltd is under license. Other trademarks and trade names are
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Campbell, Iain.
Symbian OS communications programming / Iain Campbell, with Dale Self . . .
[et al.]. – 2nd Edition.
p. cm.
Previously published: Symbian OS communications programming / Michael J.
Jipping, 2002.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-51228-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Symbian OS (Computer file) 2. Operating systems (Computers) 3. Data
transmission systems. I. Jipping, Michael J. Symbian OS communications
programming. II. Title.
QA76.76.063J56 2997
055.4
482 – dc22
2007011028
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-470-51228-9
Typeset in 10/12pt Optima by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell Bain, Glasgow
This book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable
forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production.
12. Contents
Contributors ix
About the Authors xi
Acknowledgments xv
Symbian Press Acknowledgements xvii
Section I: Introduction and Overview
1 Introduction 3
1.1 What is in this Book 3
1.2 What isn’t in this Book 4
1.3 Expected Level of Knowledge 6
1.4 Structure of this Book 7
1.5 To which Versions of Symbian OS does the
Information in this Book Apply? 8
1.6 Example Applications 9
1.7 Reading Guide 9
1.8 Other Sources of Information 9
1.9 The History of Symbian OS Communications 10
1.10 Summary 12
2 Overview 13
2.1 Low-level Functionality 14
2.2 High-level Functionality 19
2.3 Summary 23
13. vi CONTENTS
Section II: Low-level Technology
and Frameworks
3 An Introduction to ESOCK 27
3.1 Overview of ESOCK 27
3.2 Into Practice 52
3.3 Summary 62
4 Bluetooth 63
4.1 Bluetooth Technology Overview 63
4.2 Bluetooth in Symbian OS 82
4.3 Example Symbian OS Bluetooth Application 112
4.4 AV Protocols and Profiles 118
4.5 Summary 124
5 Infrared 125
5.1 Introduction 125
5.2 Infrared Overview 125
5.3 IrDA in Symbian OS 129
5.4 Summary 153
6 IP and Related Technologies 155
6.1 IP Networks Overview 156
6.2 IP Networks and Symbian OS 160
6.3 Network Bearer Technologies in Symbian OS 163
6.4 Using the Network Connection 175
6.5 Information Gathering and Connection Management 193
6.6 Quality of Service 197
6.7 Summary 203
7 Telephony in Symbian OS 205
7.1 Overview 206
7.2 Using the ETel ISV API 207
7.3 Restrictions and Considerations 211
7.4 Summary 214
Section III: High-level Technology
and Frameworks
8 Receiving Messages 217
8.1 Example Application – Summary Screen 218
8.2 The Message Server 220
8.3 The Message Store 223
8.4 Messaging Application Design and Implementation 233
14. CONTENTS vii
8.5 Receiving Application-specific SMS Messages 235
8.6 Summary 240
9 Sending Messages 241
9.1 Examples Provided in this Chapter 242
9.2 SendAs Overview 242
9.3 Services/Accounts 246
9.4 Technical Description 246
9.5 Using the UI Platform Send Dialogs 250
9.6 A Brief Background to MTMs 255
9.7 The Flickr MTM 257
9.8 The Flickr Data MTM 260
9.9 The Flickr UI MTM 262
9.10 Flickr Client MTM 263
9.11 The Flickr Server MTM 265
9.12 MTM DLLs and Platsec 268
9.13 FlickrMTM Shared Settings 269
9.14 Installation of an MTM 269
9.15 Summary 271
10 OBEX 273
10.1 OBEX Overview 273
10.2 OBEX in Symbian OS 289
10.3 Summary 341
11 HTTP 343
11.1 HTTP Overview 343
11.2 Getting Started: Creating a Session 344
11.3 Creating and Submitting a Transaction 347
11.4 Supplying Body Data 349
11.5 Monitoring a Transaction 350
11.6 Cancelling a Transaction 353
11.7 Closing a Transaction 353
11.8 Stringpool 353
11.9 Proxy Support 355
11.10 Cookie Handling 356
11.11 HTTP Connection Configuration 356
11.12 Platform Security 361
11.13 Filters 361
11.14 Summary 364
12 OMA Device Management 365
12.1 Introduction 365
12.2 Device Management In Symbian OS 366
12.3 OMA Device Management Essentials 367
15. viii CONTENTS
12.4 The Example DM Adapter 372
12.5 Summary 387
Section IV: Development Tips
13 Setting Up for Development 391
13.1 Bluetooth 391
13.2 IrDA 394
13.3 Network Connections for IP 396
13.4 Telephony 403
13.5 ‘Help, help, my serial port’s been stolen’ 404
13.6 Summary 406
14 The Future 407
14.1 Better Networks 407
14.2 Better Interaction 409
14.3 Better Services 410
14.4 The End 411
Appendix A: Web Resources 413
Appendix B: Authorizing FlickrMTM to Use Your
Flickr Account 415
Appendix C: SendWorkBench.app Guide 419
Index 421
16. Contributors
Head of Symbian Press
Freddie Gjertsen
Authors
Iain Campbell
Dale Self
Emlyn Howell
Ian Bunning
Ibrahim Rahman
Lucy Caffery
Malcolm Box
Matthew Elliott
Natasha Ho
Pierre Cochart
Tim Howes
Twm Davies
Symbian Press Editorial
Managing Editor
Satu McNabb
17. x CONTRIBUTORS
Reviewers and additional contributors
Chris Notton
Dan Handley
David Harper
David Singleton
Donald Page
Graeme Duncan
Ian Bunning
John Roe
Malcolm Box
Tim Howes
18. About the Authors
Iain Campbell, lead author
Iain joined the comms team (as it then was) in Symbian in 2001, working
on Symbian OS v6.1, v7.0 and v7.0s for the Nokia 7650, Sony Ericsson
P800 and Nokia 6600, respectively. After spending a year working in the
Bluetooth team creating the Symbian OS PAN profile implementation, he
moved to Symbian’s Technical Consulting group where he has spent the
last three years helping Symbian’s licensees and partners build Symbian
OS-based phones. As part of this Iain has been involved in many aspects
of Symbian OS – from debugging components at all levels of the system,
through advising on adaptation to particular hardware platforms, to
high-level system design. Iain received an MEng in Information Systems
Engineering from Imperial College, London, and enjoys spending his
spare time finding out how things work.
Malcolm Box
Malcolm first joined Psion Software in 1998, shortly before it became
Symbian. His first job was writing the kernel for the Ericsson R380 phone,
following which he led the design and implementation of the Symbian
OS Bluetooth stack. Subsequently he’s worked in the System Architecture
group, Symbian’s reference design team and with licensees as a senior
consultant. He has previously co-authored Symbian C++ for Mobile
Phones and contributes to various open-source projects. He would like
to thank his wife, Judith, and children Franz and Abigail for their support
and patience during the writing of this book.
19. xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ian Bunning
Ian attended Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge, where he gained
an MA in Computer Science. On graduating in 2001 he joined the
Shortlink team at Symbian, and soon became the expert on the IrDA
subsystem. Since then he has also worked on a number of OBEX projects,
as well as a smaller number of Bluetooth projects – the main one being
part of the initial implementation of Bluetooth PAN profile. He is currently
focusing on USB, but frequently supports maintenance work on IrDA and
OBEX. Out of work hours, Ian is a keen photographer, and also makes
items of jewellery.
Lucy Caffery
Lucy has been at Symbian since 2000, where she has worked for the
Licensee Product Development team helping UIQ licensees to create
Symbian products. Starting out as a Bluetooth specialist, she became
Head of the Comms Porting group in LPD, a team which specializes in
consultancy in all areas of the Symbian OS Comms subsystem. More
recently Lucy has become the Deputy Head of LPD. Lucy has been
involved in comms on all the UIQ devices that have shipped to date:
Sony Ericsson P8xx, P9xx, M600i, W950i and P990, Motorola A92x,
A1000 and M1000.
Pierre Cochart
Pierre Cochart graduated from King’s College London in 2000. He then
joined Symbian as a graduate in the telephony team to help with the
development of the 7.0 OS release. In 2003 he joined Licensee Product
Development group to work in the Comms Porting group where he
assisted customers with software development in various areas of comms.
Pierre is now responsible for handling the communications area for the
Japanese licensees.
Twm Davies
Twm joined Symbian as a graduate in 1999. Twm has had a varied career
within Symbian, initially working as a developer of the ’crystal’ messaging
application which provided the UI to the Nokia communicator range,
then as a technical consultant for Motorola, Nokia and significantly the
technical lead on the first non-Nokia S60 handset, the Siemens SX1. Twm
currently works as Product Manager for performance. Twm graduated
20. ABOUT THE AUTHORS xiii
from Cardiff University with a First Honours Computer Science BSc.
Interests outside of work include collecting mispronunciations of his
name, scuba diving, Vespas and he runs a web site selling his art works.
Matt Elliott
Matt joined Symbian in 2004 as a software engineer, and has spent his
time at Symbian in the Device Provisioning team. He graduated with a
BEng in Digital Electronics from the University of Kent, and coming from
a hardware background still misses his soldering iron (but not the burnt
fingers). Matt would like to thank all the past and present members of the
Device Provisioning team for their carefully worded criticism/help, and
his long suffering girlfriend Elaine.
Natasha Ho
Natasha joined Symbian in 1998, where she worked on the development
of the Ericsson R380. Since then, she has contributed to almost every UIQ
smartphone including the Motorola A920 and A1000, the Arima U300
and more recently the Sony Ericsson P800, P900, M600i, W950i and
P990i. She has worked on various parts of the Symbian OS but now likes
to concentrate solely on networking. Prior to Symbian, Natasha worked at
Motorola designing and writing software for the GSM and GPRS cellular
infrastructures. Natasha graduated from University College London with
a BSc in Computer Science.
Emlyn Howell
Emlyn Howell has worked on various technologies within Symbian over
the past seven years including messaging and telephony. He is currently
the Comms Architect for the Reference Designs team. He lives and works
in Cambridge.
Tim Howes
After studying for a PhD in the effects of indirect lightning strikes on
power lines, Tim joined Symbian Software, where for seven years he has
worked primarily within the Bluetooth area. Within the Bluetooth SIG,
Tim represents Symbian on the Bluetooth Architecture Review Board, and
contributes to the Core Specification, Audio Video and Medical Devices
Working groups. Despite the high technology area Tim works in, he has
a strong interest in mechanical timepieces.
21. xiv ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ibrahim Rahman
Ibrahim has been at Symbian for eight years. Working as a software
developer in areas including email and HTTP.
Dale Self
Dale started work for Psion Software in mid-1998, which transformed to
Symbian about a week later. Initially working in the messaging team on
an IMAP4 mail client, he later moved to the PAN team where he has
worked with Bluetooth, OBEX and USB technologies ever since. During
this time he has seen a great deal of growth; both in Symbian, and, sadly,
in his waist measurement.
22. Acknowledgements
Firstly we’d like to thank the Symbian Press team who helped put this
book together, especially Satu, who kept us working on it until it was
finished – without her it would probably be sitting half-written on various
hard disks around Symbian.
Secondly we’d like to thank all of our wives, husbands, partners and
significant others for putting up with us whilst we hid away in the evenings
and weekends writing the material for this book.
I’d like to thank Apple for creating a computer that’s a pleasure to
use – it made the whole editing process so much less painful.
And finally I’d like to extend an additional thank you to my wife Chris,
who put up with me not moving from in front of the computer for a month
whilst I pulled the book into shape.
Iain Campbell
24. Symbian Press Acknowledgements
Symbian Press would like to thank Iain for his patience during this project
and for the countless hours he spent polishing the text into perfection.
We’d also like to thank the authors Dale, Emlyn, Ian, Ibrahim, Lucy,
Malcolm, Matt, Natasha, Pierre, Tim and Twm for their dedication and
hard work, and all the reviewers for their time and willingness to share
their technical knowledge.
28. 1
Introduction
Welcome to the updated edition of Symbian OS Communications
Programming! In this book we’ll introduce you to much of the major
communications functionality in Symbian OS and demonstrate how to
perform common tasks in each area.
For this new edition we’ve started from scratch to produce chapters
that are relevant to you as developers. Each chapter gives background
information on the technology where necessary, an overview of the
functionality provided in Symbian OS, and descriptions or examples of
how to use the Symbian OS APIs. In cases where APIs or implementation
differ between Symbian OS-based devices this is noted, and when the
user interface platforms work differently then we’ll show you what
those differences are, or at least point you in the direction of some
documentation that does.
1.1 What is in this Book
In this book we focus on using and extending Symbian OS functionality
using the native C++ APIs. Whilst it is also possible to use Java to
develop applications for Symbian OS devices, we do not cover that in
this book. We also focus on APIs available in standard UIQ3 and S60 3rd
edition SDKs – thus engineers at Symbian’s licensees and partners will
want to look elsewhere for details on the internals of the Symbian OS
subsystems that we describe. However, the material in this book is suited
to all developers – at third parties, Symbian’s licensees and Symbian’s
partners – who wish to use the functionality described.
This book should also prove useful to newcomers to Symbian OS
in the device creation community, providing a high-level overview of
the communications side of Symbian OS, and an idea of how it all fits
together. However, this is not likely to be sufficient for creating a device,
for that you will need to look elsewhere.
29. 4 INTRODUCTION
There are three main user interfaces supported on Symbian OS –
MOAP, S60 and UIQ. At present, only S60 and UIQ allow developers
to extend functionality natively in the aftermarket, so we concentrate on
those platforms in this book.
S60 and UIQ have, in some places, differences in the way they choose
to use and expose certain Symbian OS functionality. As a result, some
details given in this book differ between the different UI platforms. Where
this is the case we will highlight this, along with tips on how to use the
functionality on each platform. In some cases functionality might have
an alternate implementation on a given platform, in which case we will
point you to the appropriate developer documentation. In other cases,
it might be missing entirely, which might mean you need to reconsider
your development plans. In cases where functionality is missing or not
yet exposed, it is possible that it will be available in a later release of
that UI platform – check with the appropriate developer website for more
information in these cases.
The scope of this book is quite broad – not only will we discuss the
core communications functionality in Symbian OS – Bluetooth“, IrDA,
TCP/IP and telephony, but we also look at some of the main areas
where those technologies are employed – the messaging framework and
plug-ins, the HTTP stack, the OBject EXchange (OBEX) stack and the
OMA Device Management system. Therefore whether you need access
to communications functionality at a high or a low level, there should be
something in this book for you.
1.2 What isn’t in this Book
Symbian’s licensees have a lot of flexibility when creating a device – as
is necessary in a market where there is plenty of differentiation between
products. As such, the supported feature set in any given device depends
greatly on the market segment at which that device is aimed. You
can expect to find that some features are not supported in given
devices – either where they are not suitable, or cost-effective enough
to be included.
Equally, some devices have leading-edge features that have been
developed for differentiation – in these cases, the generic implementa-
tion developed when the feature becomes widely available may differ
from the original one, which is normally highly tailored for the lead
device. Throughout this book we describe the generic implementa-
tions – the ones you can rely upon to remain compatible beyond the
initial implementation. Therefore it is best to use these implementations
wherever possible to minimize, or eliminate, the amount of rework your
application requires when deploying it to a new device.
35. This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Zoraida: A Romance of the Harem and the Great Sahara
Author: William Le Queux
Illustrator: Harold Piffard
Release date: October 9, 2012 [eBook #40994]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZORAIDA: A
ROMANCE OF THE HAREM AND THE GREAT SAHARA ***
40. Chapter One.
Ali Ben Hafiz.
The adventure was strange, the mystery inexplicable.
A blazing noontide in the month of Moharram. Away across
the barren desert to the distant horizon nothing met the
aching eye but a dreary waste of burning red-brown sand
under a cloudless sky shining like burnished copper. Not an
object relieved the wearying monotony of the waterless
region forsaken by nature, not a palm, not a rock, not a
knoll, not a vestige of herbage; nothing but the boundless
silent expanse of that wild and wonderful wilderness, the
Great Sahara, across which the sand-laden wind swept ever
and anon in short stifling gusts hot as the breath from an
oven.
Far beyond the Atlas mountains, under the fiery rays of the
African sun, I was riding with all speed in order to overtake
a caravan which I had been informed by the cadi at Wargla
had started for Noum-en-Nas, the small town in the Touat
Oasis, two days before my arrival. The caravan, I learned,
was composed of camels, therefore, mounted as I was on a
fleet Arab stallion, and guiding myself by my pocket
compass and the very inadequate map of the Dépôt de la
Guerre, I expected to come upon them ere two suns had
set.
Four long breathless days had now passed, yet I could
detect no living thing.
In the far south of Algeria the intense dry heat of summer
always affects Europeans, and although clad lightly in haick
and burnouse, with my feet thrust into rough slippers, I was
41. no exception. Alone in that trackless, arid desert, with my
food and water nearly consumed and my brain aflame with
fever, I was bound to admit my position decidedly
unenviable. I was afflicted by a hundred miseries. Into my
face the glaring noonday heat was reflected by the sand; I
was hungry, my throat was parched, the racking pain of
fatigue cramped my bones, and my horse, weary and jaded,
stumbled now and then as he plodded slowly onward under
the fierce, pitiless rays.
The two Chasseurs d’Afrique who had been sent with me for
protection by my friend the General of Division, had
foolishly partaken of melons soon after leaving Tuggurt, and
had been stricken down with illness in consequence;
therefore I had been compelled to set out upon my journey
into the Areg alone.
Suddenly, about an hour after noon, my eager eyes were
rewarded by a sight in the far distance of a cloud of dust.
Spurring my horse, I galloped onward, and in half an hour
the bells of the camels and the jingle of the horses’
trappings fell upon my ears. The dense whirling cloud of
sand preceded the cavalcade, and whenever a gust of wind
parted it, slow-plodding camels heavily laden with
merchandise, glittering arms, and flowing scarlet and white
burnouses could be seen. In this way the caravan presented
itself as I pressed on towards its flank.
Within fifty paces of the vanguard I dug my heels into the
horse’s sides and bounded across to the head of the convoy
of a dozen Spahis. A solitary rider journeying across the
desert is such an unusual spectacle that the ferocious-
looking advance guard, fearing attack, shouted and lowered
their rifles.
42. “Phtaris! Peace be upon thee!” I cried in Arabic, seeing
myself received in such a hostile manner. “Cowards! Thou
seemest afraid that a single Englishman will attack thy
caravan!”
The guards, thus reproached, muttering that they were
pressing through the turbulent country of the Beni Zougs,
raised their weapons with a look of shame upon their dark-
bearded faces, while their chief reined his horse to
interrogate me.
“Whose is this caravan?” I asked, disregarding his string of
rapidly-uttered inquiries.
“It belongeth to Ali Ben Hafiz, the merchant of Biskra,” he
replied.
“And thou art on thy way to Noum-en-Nas?”
“True,” he answered, with a puzzled look. “But how dost
thou know? What dost thou want with us?”
“Conduct me to thy master,” I said. “It is imperative that I
should speak with him.”
As I uttered these words, an elderly grave-faced man, with
a long white beard flowing over his spotless burnouse, rode
up, and, judging him to be the merchant for whom I had
been searching, I greeted him and gave him peace.
“Aish ism arrajol di?” (“What is the name of this man?”) he
asked suspiciously of the chief of the convoy.
“My name,” I exclaimed, “is Cecil Holcombe, an Englishman
who desireth to travel to the Touat Oasis. The Director of
Fate turned the bridle of my horse towards thee and allowed
me to hear the bells of thy camels from afar; the Guide of
43. the Reins of Destiny moved my intention so that I came
hither to meet thee. Behold! I bear unto thee a letter from
our mutual friend, General Malezieux, Chief of Division.”
The name of that high official caused him to open his keen
dark eyes wider, and, taking the letter from me, he quickly
read it. In Arabic my friend the General greeted his brother
Ali Ben Hafiz with strings of salutations and references to
the Prophet, and implored him to take under his protection
the adventurous Englishman.
When the old merchant had read it through twice, he slowly
stroked his patriarchal beard. Then, looking up, he said in
his own language—
“M’sieur Holcombe, be welcome to our shade. Allah, the
One Merciful, is mighty: Allah, Lord of the Three Worlds, is
wise. He ordaineth that although thou art an unbeliever, we
should nevertheless be companions. It giveth me pleasure
to succour thee—but before all take salt with us.”
The order was given to halt, a tent was quickly pitched, and
we took salt and ate our kousskouss together, afterwards
smoking our long haschish pipes until the noon was far
spent. About five o’clock we resumed our journey again
over the barren plain, the venerable-looking old Arab, in
whom I found a most prayerful, pious, and entertaining
host, riding by my side. The convoy of dark-faced Spahis,
who, picturesque in their scarlet burnouses, had viewed me
with such distrust, now regarded me as a distinguished
guest, and were ready at every moment to do my bidding.
To those who, like myself, have learned in the desert to
regard life steadily, nothing temporal seems of moment
when travelling by caravan, and our civilisation, of which we
in Western Europe pride ourselves, seems but a frivolous
thing of yesterday. Desert life to-day is the same as it was
44. ten centuries ago; the same as it will ever be. Free and
charming in its simplicity, yet with certain terrors ever-
present, it offers many attractions to those in search of
change and excitement. Thus, with the fiery sunset flooding
the boundless wilderness, we wended our way due
westward in the blood-red track of the departing day.
When the last rays were fading, another halt was made, the
mats were spread, and Ali Ben Hafiz with his convoy and
camel-drivers knelt, and, turning their faces towards Mecca,
repeated their evening prayer, afterwards reciting with
fervent devotion the Fâtiha: “Praise be to Allah, Lord of all
creatures; the most merciful, King of the day of Judgment,
Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we beg assistance.
Direct us in the Right Way, in the way of those to whom
Thou hast been gracious; not of those against whom Thou
art incensed, nor of those who go astray.”
45. Then in the falling gloom we again moved on. Slowly our
camels plodded, the rhythmic movement of their heads
causing their bells to jingle, and now and then an Arab
would chant a weird Bedouin song, or goad on his animals,
administering heavy blows emphasised by sundry forcible
imprecations with frequent references to Eblis.
Old Ali—who was a native of Morocco and still acknowledged
Mulai Hassan as his ruler, although he lived under the
French flag—asked me to relate my history, and tell him of
England and the Great White Queen; therefore, as we rode
together, I entertained him with descriptions of my distant
home, explaining to him our insular manners and customs,
until the bright moon rose and the stars twinkled like
diamonds in the cloudless vault of blue. At last, having
entered a wild ravine, where some prickly acacias, dusty
aloes, and patches of coarse hulfa grass grew, under the
shadow of the rocks we encamped for the night. Our
kousskouss was cooked and eaten, our horses fed and
watered at the well, and while the Spahis were posted as
sentinels to raise the alarm in the event of a raid by any of
the fierce marauding bands that constantly prowl about that
region, we wrapped ourselves in the ample folds of our
burnouses and rested our weary heads upon our saddles.
46. Chapter Two.
The Omen of the Camel’s Hoof.
On over the barren sand-hills, always in the track of the
setting sun, each day passed much as its predecessor. I was
no stranger to Northern Africa, for the wild, free life,
unshackled by conventionalities, had a fascination for me,
and consequently I had accompanied caravans through
Tunis and Tripoli, and had wandered a good deal in Morocco.
In the course of these journeys I had learned to love the
Arabs, and had formed the acquaintance of many powerful
Sheikhs, several of whom I now counted among my most
faithful and devoted friends. Indeed, it was to join one of
them, the head of the Tédjéhé-N’ou-Sidi, that I was now on
my way south to Zamlen, in the Afelèle region.
After three years among the True Believers, I had at last
overcome most of the difficulties of language, and could
converse with them in their own tongue. It may have been
this which commended itself to pious old Ali Ben Hafiz, for
throughout our journey he was particularly gracious, though
he bored me sometimes with his constant objurgatory
remarks regarding Infidels in general and myself in
particular. Once in exuberance of spirits I so far forgot
myself as to whistle a popular English air, and although we
were excellent friends, he reprimanded me so severely that
I am not likely to forget that among the followers of the
Prophet whistling is forbidden.
One morning, while riding together soon after dawn, he
surprised me by suddenly observing in a grave tone—
47. “Thou art young and of good stature. It surpriseth me that
thou dost not return to thine own people and take a wife
from among them.”
“Why should I marry?” I asked, laughing. “While I am
alone, I wander at my own inclination; if I married, my
actions would be ruled by another.”
“Because ere the sun had risen this morning a camel had
placed its hoof upon thy spittle,” he answered, looking at
me with his keen serious eyes that age had not dimmed. “It
is an omen. ’Ty-ib bi’chire Allah yosallimak!”
“An omen! Of what?” I asked.
“Of impending evil.”
“But we English believe not in superstition; neither have we
witches nor sorcerers,” I replied, smiling.
“Infidels have no need of them,” he retorted, angrily. “Only
True Believers will behold the great lote tree, or quench
their thirst at Salsabil, Allah be thanked!”
“But this strange omen—what particular misfortune is it
supposed to presage?” I inquired eagerly, astonished at the
vehemence of his denunciation.
“Hearken, and take heed,” he said, earnestly. “Thou art
young, and as yet no woman hath captivated thee. Do I
give utterance to the truth?”
“Yes,” I answered. “As yet I have never been enmeshed.”
“Then beware! There will be a day when thy life will be
lightened by the rays of a woman’s face, rivalled only by the
sun. Her eyes will be brilliant as the gazelle’s, her cheeks
48. will bear the bloom of the peach, and her lips will be sweet
as the fresh-blown rose. In those eyes the love-light will
flash, those cheeks will blush at thine approach, and those
lips will meet with passion thy caress. Then remember the
words of Ali Ben Hafiz. Remember the Omen of the Camel’s
Hoof!” We rode on together in silence for some minutes. I
was pondering over his strange words.
“On the auspicious day when I meet this paragon of beauty
which you prophesy, how am I to act?” I asked presently.
“Act?” he cried. “Do nothing. Return not her caresses. Cast
her from thee even though she be one of the houris of
Paradise, and—”
“Will she be a Moor, an Arab, or one of mine own people?” I
inquired, interrupting him.
“Ask me not. I am no prophet, though this is not the first
time I have seen similar cases to thine. The Omen of the
Camel’s Hoof hath been revealed—and it is fatal.”
“Fatal?” I cried in alarm. “What dost thou mean? Am I to
die?”
“It resulteth in death—sometimes. It is always fatal to love.”
“Have others succumbed, then?” I asked.
“Yes, alas!” he said, with knit brows and a curiously
thoughtful expression. “One case occurred in mine own
family. My nephew, who was of about the same age as thou
art, had the distinctive mark between the eyes, the same as
thou hast upon thy countenance. After the last Fast of
Ramadân, he took the caravan of his father and journeyed
for one moon west to Duera, in Morocco. Before the sun had
risen on the last day of Doul Hadja, the camel he was
49. riding, alas! stepped upon his spittle. His tent-man, a Biskri
well versed in anthroposcopy, told him of the ominous
warning, but he ridiculed it, saying that Kamra Fathma, the
daughter of the cadi at Bona, was already betrothed unto
him, and that he could never look with admiration upon
another woman’s face. The Omen had been revealed; its
warning was, alas! disregarded.”
“What was the result?” I inquired, rather alarmed at my
friend’s extraordinary prophetic demeanour.
“Ah, the result? It was fatal! A week later he who scoffed at
the humble tent-man’s words crossed the Figuig into the
land of our lord the Sultan. There, at Sidi Mumen, he
chanced to pass the daughter of the Basha on foot. An ill
wind blew aside her veil, and he gazed for a second upon
her uncovered face. The lines of her fatal beauty were in
that instant graven deeply upon his heart, and he loved her
violently, casting aside the pretty Kamra, his betrothed at
Bona. Tarrying long near the woman who had fascinated
him, he succeeded in earning the good graces of the Basha,
and at length married her.”
He paused, and, drawing a long breath, pulled his burnouse
more tightly around his shoulders.
“Well, if he succeeded in marrying her, the Omen of the
Camel’s Hoof could not have been fatal to love,” I argued.
“But it was!” he replied quickly. “After his marriage, he
remained in Sidi Mumen, and set up a large house, and his
wife had many slaves.”
“Was he not happy?”
“For three moons, and then—”
50. “And then?”
“The prophecy was fulfilled. He took a cup of tea too much.
(An expression used by the Moors, poison being invariably
administered in tea.) The woman who had entranced him
and obtained his money was verily a daughter of Eblis. She
poisoned him!”
“Horrible!” I said. “I hope mine will not be a similar fate.”
The old man, who, before setting out on his journey, had
without doubt promised a feast to his favourite marabout in
return for the latter’s all-powerful prayers for his safety,
shrugged his shoulders, but answered nothing.
51. Chapter Three.
Entrapped.
The curiously prophetic utterances of Ali Ben Hafiz caused
me to reflect. I knew much of Moslem superstition,—in fact,
I had collected many of the strange beliefs of the Arabs,
Moors, and Koulouglis, with the intention of including them
in a book I was writing,—but this extraordinary avant-
coureur of evil was new to me. During the blazing day, as
we toiled on over the sun-baked plain, again and again I
recalled his ominous words. The prophecy made me feel
uncomfortable. Somehow, try how I would, I could not rid
myself of the thought that some untoward event would ere
long occur.
In this record of facts I am compelled to speak briefly of
myself. Life had indeed been a strange series of ups and
downs. Being left an orphan, I had early in life imbibed the
reckless Bohemianism of the Quartier Latin, and my later
years had been almost equally divided between the
conventionalities of London and Paris and the wild, free life
of the Bedouins of Northern Africa. Truth to tell, civilisation,
with its hollow shams and its décolleté and frock-coated
beau monde, had no charm for me. The leaden skies of
London and the glitter and artificiality of Paris were alike
hateful. I only enjoyed happiness when, attired in haick and
slippers, I sat cross-legged with the people of Al-Islâm,
studying their grave, interesting characteristics, and
perfecting my knowledge of that most wonderful of
languages, Arabic.
Fettered no longer by the shackles of Society, I wandered,
explored, and studied, the reason of this restlessness being
52. most likely due to the fact that I had never gazed upon a
woman with thoughts of love. The Bohemianism of the
Seine-bank had distorted my views of life, so that I
regarded woman as a heartless coquette, and perhaps had
become cynical, even misanthropic. Therefore, on thinking
over old Ali’s warning, I grew at length to regard it as a
mere superstition of the mystic Moslem, and succeeded at
last in dismissing it from my mind.
The blazing day wore on, and was succeeded by a glorious
evening. We were in that wild, inhospitable region known as
the Adjemor, about midway between the little Arab
settlement of El Biodh and the palms of Aïn-el-Redjem.
Away on the misty horizon the rising ground of the great
plateau of Tademait was tinged with orange and gold, but
as my fellow wanderers knelt upon their carpets, cast dust
over their feet, and, salaaming, droned forth passages of
the Saba in a monotone, the deep well of the west was still
ablaze with crimson and silver. It was a bad sign, for the
thin haze which hung upon the ground warned us that ere
long we should be overwhelmed by one of the terrors of the
desert—the sandstorm. Its stifling clouds of whirling sand
might sweep down upon us immediately, or might not reach
us for twelve or fourteen hours; but we were all aware that
assuredly it must come, therefore, before throwing
ourselves down to rest, we took necessary precautions to
ensure our safety.
Alone in my tent, I lay unable to sleep, for before the
sirocco the heat always becomes unbearable. The dead
silence of the wilderness was only broken by the champing
of the camels and the jingle of the single Spahi, who,
mounting guard over us, marched slowly up and down, his
footsteps sounding muffled in the sand. Through the open
door of the tent I could see how clear and bright was the
night, how brilliantly the big moon of the East shone white
53. over the desert, and for a long time I lay thinking of home
and of the strange words of Ali, until sleep at length came
to my aching eyes.
Loud shouting and rifle-shots rapidly exchanged awakened
me. For a moment I was dazed by the weird, exciting
scene. White-robed figures on horseback tearing past my
tent were firing their long-barrelled guns, and our men were
repelling the assault vigorously with their Winchesters.
We were being attacked by a band of marauders; I knew it
would be a fight to the death!
Grasping my revolver, I sprang to my feet and rushed forth.
As I did so, a gigantic Arab barred my passage. The fierce,
dark-faced fellow had just swung himself from his horse,
and in his sinewy hand there gleamed a long curved knife.
In a second we had closed in deadly embrace. Clutching me
by the throat, he forced me backwards, at the same
moment uttering a curse and raising the keen blade above
his head. For a second it was poised in mid air, but quick as
thought I managed to wrench away my right hand, and,
bringing it across my breast, fired my revolver full into his
dark, sinister face.
With a cry he staggered. The knife fell, but I evaded it, and,
gradually loosening his hold upon my throat, he stumbled
backwards, and, tottering, sank heavily to the ground.
Leaving him, I rushed out to assist my companions, for the
rattle of musketry was incessant, and bullets were singing
about us in a manner that was particularly disconcerting.
Dashing forward, I saw our Spahis had apparently been
taken completely by surprise, four of them having fallen
dead, and two were lying near, writhing under the agony of
their wounds.
54. The shouting and firing were deafening, the flashing of guns
shedding a lurid glare, while, to add to the horror of those
moments, the storm had burst upon us, choking clouds of
sand enveloping both enemy and friend.
Once only, amid the whirling cloud of dust and smoke, I
caught sight of the hospitable old merchant. Two of the
robbers had seized him, and were securing his arms and
legs with cords, when suddenly he turned upon them with
the ferocity of a tiger, and, drawing a knife from his crimson
sash, plunged it into the heart of one of his captors.
The man staggered and fell backwards dead, like a stone.
A second later there was a bright flash from a rifle fired by
a man near me, and Ali Ben Hafiz, throwing up his arms
with a cry, fell forward over the corpse of the man he had
killed. Just at that moment I felt myself seized from behind.
Turning quickly, intending to use my revolver, the weapon
was snatched from my hand, and a cord with a noose
passed quickly over my head. I fought hard; but how long
can one fight against a score? The flash of the guns
illumined for a second the faces of the fierce bandits into
whose power I had unfortunately fallen. All were big,
desperate-looking Bedouins of the tribe of the Ennitra, who
live away south in the Ahaggar region, and whose men,
reputed to be the worst of desperadoes, were the terror of
the caravans.
While they forced my hands behind me and secured them,
my brave companions, the Spahis and camel-drivers, after
making a most desperate resistance, were one after
another shot down before my eyes. The band outnumbered
us by six to one, and already the camels, with Ali’s valuable
packs of textile fabrics, arms and ammunition, had been
captured and driven off.
55. “Devils!” I cried, as I watched the sickening slaughter. “Why
not complete thine hideous work and shoot me also?”
“Behold! he hath a pale face!” cried one of my captors,
peering into my eyes and showing his white teeth as he
grinned viciously. “See! he is not an Arab! He is a dog of an
Infidel!”
“Kill him! kill him!” cried one of the others, excitedly
brandishing a knife. “His touch will contaminate. The Roumi
will bring the curse of Sajin upon us!”
His words and threatening attitude alarmed me, for,
remembering that these men were of the sect of the
Aïssáwà, the wildest of the fanatics of Al-Islâm, I knew they
were not likely to show much mercy to one who had not
embraced their religion or gone through their hideous rites.
Whoever Sidi ben Aïssa, the patron saint of this strange
sect, might have been, he certainly numbers among his
followers some of the worst malefactors of Algeria. Any
Mohammedan may be initiated into the Aïssáwà. He makes
a pilgrimage to Mequinez, in Morocco, calls upon the
representative of Sidi ben Aïssa’s family, to whom he offers
prayers and money. This over, the priest blows upon him,
and the devotee arises and departs, firmly believing that
however many venomous snakes may bite him, no harm
will befall him.
56. Although in a frenzy of excitement over their terrible work
of slaughter, they seemed in no mood to kill me. As the
sandstorm abated, and dawn spread, the scene was awful.
The whole of our men had, I saw, been ruthlessly
massacred, and I alone remained the sole survivor.
Breathlessly I stood, my arms bound so tightly as to cause
me pain, awaiting my fate. How, I wondered, would it end?
Presently, when the contents of our camels’ packs had been
cursorily inspected, I was tied to a mule, and dragged on
57. over the desert in the direction of the rising sun. Through
the long hot day I was forced to trudge wearily onward into
that region of the Ahaggar where no Bedouins dare
penetrate. Jeering, they refused my request for water to
moisten my parched throat, and it was not until long after
noon that they tossed me a handful of dates to satisfy my
hunger.
Just before sundown we came upon an oasis where the
palms grew high, and there came out to meet us a dirty,
ferocious rabble, shouting, gesticulating, and rejoicing that
the raid had been successful. My captors were cheered
again and again, while I, as an unbeliever, was cuffed and
spat upon. Between two tall bronzed ruffians I was led
straightway among the scattered tents to the Sheikh of the
marauders, whom I afterwards learned was Hadj Absalam,
the notorious outlaw upon whose head a price had long
been set by the French Government.
He was a sinister-looking old man, with a pair of black,
gleaming eyes, a long grey beard, and an ugly cicatrix
across his tawny forehead. As his name denoted, he had
made the pilgrimage earlier in life, but the criminal was
stamped in every line of his face, and I could quite believe
him capable of the many barbarous cruelties attributed to
him.
The marauders explained how they had attacked and
captured our caravan, and, finding that I was an
Englishman, they had spared my life and brought me to
him.
The robber Sheikh of the Ennitra heard all without removing
his long pipe from his lips or betraying the least excitement.
Suddenly turning his piercing eyes upon me, he exclaimed—
58. “Thou art an unbeliever that Allah hath delivered into our
hands for punishment. Verily, Allah hath cursed the Infidels,
and hath prepared for them in Al-Hâwiyat a fierce fire
wherein they shall remain for ever. They shall find no patron
or defender. Death by the knife is too merciful an end for
dogs of thy mongrel breed.”
“But, my father,” I exclaimed, “I have not offended against
thee. I am merely journeying here to study thy tongue.”
“Silence, Infidel!” he roared. “Speak not to Allah’s chosen.
Thine accursed body shall be racked by the torture ere thou
goest unto the Kingdom of Shades.”
Then, turning to the men who held me, he said, “Take him
out among the rocks and let the punishment commence.”
Heedless of my vigorous protests, I was hurried along,
followed by the ragged crowd of excited fanatics, who still
jeered and spat upon me, until we reached the edge of the
oasis, which, as I afterwards learned, was named the
Igharghar. It was die game, or die coward. I remembered
the strange Omen of the Camel’s Hoof!
At a spot where great grey rocks cropped out of the sand,
my captors halted, and, forcing me to the ground, lashed
me to the trunk of a date palm. The rope was passed under
my arms and fastened to the base of the trunk, leaving
about four feet of slack rope between my head and the tree.
Then, my feet being bound, they drove a stake into the
ground and tied them to it. Thus I lay stretched upon the
ground, and, struggle as I would, I was unable to move.
The cords sank into my flesh, and the crowd around me
laughed and shouted when they saw my face distorted by
pain.
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