ADEN. 53 



poised in proud and graceful attitudes on the 

 extreme prows of their bobbing craft. Espe- 

 cially decorative were two, clad only in immense 

 white turbans and white cloths about the waist. 

 An old Arab with a white beard stood midships 

 in one boat, quite motionless, except for the slight 

 swaying necessary to preserve his equilibrium, 

 his voluminous white draperies fluttering in the 

 wind, his dark face just distinguishable under 

 his burnouse. Most of the men were Somalis, 

 however. Their keen small faces, slender but 

 graceful necks, slim, well-formed torsos bending 

 to every movement of the boat, and the white or 

 gaudy draped nether garments were as decora- 

 tive as the figures on an Egyptian tomb. One 

 or two of the more barbaric had made neat head- 

 dresses of white clay plastered in the form of a 

 skull-cap. 



After an interval a small and fussy tugboat 

 steamed around our stern and drew alongside 

 the gangway. Three passengers disembarked 

 from her and made their way aboard. The main 

 deck of the craft under an awning was heavily 

 encumbered with trunks, tin boxes, hand bag- 

 gage, tin bath-tubs, gun cases, and all sorts of 

 impedimenta. The tugboat moored itself to us 

 fore and aft, and proceeded to think about dis- 



