GLOOMY PROSPECTS —SALAN MOHAMMED. 99 
to, telling me it was Emperor Menelek’s private stamp, 
and then, rising, proceeded to read the letter. As I had 
feared, the Emperor refused to allow us to proceed, and 
ordered us to return the way we had come. I had to 
accept the situation, bad as it was. 
As it commenced to rain hard, the old general had his 
tent pitched, and determined to wait till morning. In the 
afternoon my head man Haji Idris came to me, saying 
he was disgusted with the expedition, and wished to be 
allowed to return home by way of Abyssinia. This was a 
splendid thing for a head man to do, — just at the critical 
point to desert his master, when everything seemed going 
against him! I told him that if he left me it would only 
be as a deserter, and he would certainly have to suffer 
for it when the news reached Aden. I also gave him to 
understand that even if we should be obliged to go all the 
way back to the Shebeli River, I should never return to 
the coast before I had accomplished my object, and that I 
should hold him to his work to the last. 
He returned to his duty in a sullen fashion, but I could 
never trust him after this, and had to keep a sharp lookout 
for everything that was done in camp. Fortunately for 
me, my two head men Salan Mohammed and Ahamed 
Aden were most loyal towards me. This Salan was by far 
the best man I had in the caravan. Strange to say, not 
once, during the whole time he was with me, was I obliged 
to find fault with him. He was always respectful, and a 
conscientious, hard worker, and exerted a great influence 
among the boys, which prevented Haji Idris from having 
his way too much. 
Idris hated Salan on account of the latter’s loyalty to me; 
but he was too cunning to attempt to interfere with him, as 
he knew that if it came to an issue between us I should have 
Salan anda large number of boys to support me. I do 
