FLORA AS FOG HORN 221 



I roused up the guides and ordered them out 

 for fatigue duty in the form of collecting- 

 firewood. They attempted to shift the respon- 

 sibility to Flora and Fauna, but I sternly re- 

 pudiated this. The men, one and all, had to 

 turn out. Flora was young; she could accom- 

 pany them, but the venerable Fauna might, if 

 she so desired, stay behind and keep the fad- 

 ing embers alive. I assigned to her a duty — 

 she had to become a fog-horn for the occasion 

 She was ordered to shout at intervals and con- 

 tinuously bang one of our two tin pannikins on 

 our only tin plate. This would prevent any 

 members of the scattered contingent getting 

 lost. So dense was the fog that objects were 

 invisible at the distance of a yard. 



Soon we had a roaring fire. As we would 

 reach Arris that afternoon, I used up all the 

 remaining coffee in a general treat. Hen- 

 drick's pannikin was the only one available for 

 use in the distribution of the precious fluid, so 

 after regaling Fauna first and then Flora, the 

 four men drew lots to determine who was to 

 drink next. The last man claimed the grounds 

 as his perquisite. His claim was disputed, but 

 after carefully weighing the circumstances, I 

 decided in his favour. 



Soon the wind dropped and the mist thinned 



