88 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



laborious but most uncertain. At this stage of 

 the plan the hotel manager came forward with 

 the offer of a gasoline launch, which we gladly 

 accepted. 



We embarked about noon, storing our native 

 carriers and effects aboard a dhow hired for the 

 occasion. This we purposed towing. A very 

 neatly uniformed Swahili bearing on his stomach 

 a highly-polished brass label as big as a door 

 plate " Harbour Police " threw duck fists over 

 what he called overloading the boat. He knew 

 very little about boats, but threw very competent 

 duck fists. As we did know something about 

 boats, we braved unknown consequences by 

 disregarding him utterly. No consequences en- 

 sued unless perhaps to his own health. When 

 everything was aboard, that dhow was pretty 

 well down, but still well afloat. Then we white 

 men took our places in the launch. 



This was a long narrow affair with a four- 

 cylinder thirty-horsepower engine. As she pos- 

 sessed no speed gears, she had either to plunge 

 ahead full speed or come to a stop ; there were 

 no compromises. Her steering was managed 

 by a tiller instead of a wheel, so that a mere 

 touch sufficed to swerve her ten feet from her 

 course. As the dhow was in no respects built 



