56 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



as though a piece of the skull had been removed. 

 If a conscientious enemy had leisure and an ice- 

 pick he would do just about that sort of a job. 

 How its recipient had escaped instant death is 

 a mystery. 



At length, about three o'clock, despairing of 

 the camels, we turned in. 



After three hours' sleep we were again on 

 deck. Aden by daylight seemed to be several 

 sections of a town tucked into pockets in bold, 

 raw, lava mountains that came down fairly to 

 the water's edge. Between these pockets ran a 

 narrow shore road ; and along the road paced 

 haughty camels hitched to diminutive carts. On 

 contracted round bluffs towards the sea were 

 various low bungalow buildings which, we were 

 informed, comprised the military and civil offi- 

 cers' quarters. The real Aden has been built 

 inland a short distance at the bottom of a cup 

 in the mountains. Elaborate stone reservoirs 

 have been constructed to catch rain water, as 

 there is no other natural water supply whatever. 

 The only difficulty is that it practically never 

 rains ; so the reservoirs stand empty, the water 

 is distilled from the sea, and the haughty camels 

 and the little carts do the distributing. 



The lava mountains occupy one side of the 



