THE RED SEA. 49 



Also in this group was a small wiry German 

 doctor, who had lived for many years in the far 

 interior of Africa, and was now returning after 

 his vacation. He was a little man, bright-eyed 

 and keen, with a clear complexion and hard flesh, 

 in striking and agreeable contrast to most of his 

 compatriots. The latter were trying to drink all 

 the beer on the ship ; but as she had been stocked 

 for an eighty- day voyage, of which this was but 

 the second week, they were not making notice- 

 able headway. However, they did not seem to 

 be easily discouraged. The Herr Doktor was 

 most polite and attentive, but as we did not 

 talk German nor much Swahili, and he had 

 neither English nor much French, we had our 

 difficulties. I have heard Billy in talking to 

 him scatter fragments of these four languages 

 through a single sentence ! 



For several days we drifted down a warm flat 

 sea. Then one morning we came on deck to find 

 ourselves close aboard a number of volcanic 

 islands. They were composed entirely of red 

 and dark purple lava blocks, rugged, quite 

 without vegetation save for occasional patches 

 of stringy green in a gully ; and uninhabited 

 except for a lighthouse on one, and a fishing 

 shanty near the shores of another. The high 



