186 



MY SOMALI BOOK 



part in true professional style — until the bid reached 

 E;s.27, but not a rupee more. So I upset their calcula- 

 tions by stopping the auction, and let the lot go to 

 the gentleman of the morning at Rs.30 a head, at 

 which price P. said I had done well under the circum- 

 stances. The mule fetched E;s.62 and the pony, 

 which had never been of much use, and was now quite 

 a crock, Rs.25. 



The following morning I paid off, the liberal bakshish 



1/ * 



ti^^ji^_ J 





which I gave all round, in addition to arrears of pay 

 due, being received with the air of the taxi-cab driver 

 who is given his exact legal fare. That was only what 

 I had learned to expect of the Somali character, but 

 we had all been good friends for two months, and I 

 had treated them well, so that I could not help being 

 somewhat disgusted. 



However, when the camel-men had departed I gave 

 expression to my feelings, with the result that when 

 it came to the shikaris' turn, they did try to make 

 a show of being more or less satisfied. Besides a 



