1 3 6 SFOR T IN ABYSSINIA. 



which runs every three weeks. As we were now at 

 loggerheads with the chief, it would have been difficult 

 to get him to give us a messenger for so long a 

 journey ; but Brou helped me out of this difficulty. 

 He had a friend among some Mahomedans who lived 

 not far off, and he told me that if I gave him the 

 letters they would be given to the head-man of the 

 Mahomedan village, and that he would insure their 

 being sent to the coast. Brou made all the arrange- 

 ments, and I did not, as usual, see the messenger 

 myself and make him swear that he would carry the 

 letters safely. It eventually transpired that they 

 reached their destination all right ; and in fact we 

 found, all through our journey, that the Mahomedans 

 were a great deal easier to deal with in business, 

 bargaining, and arrangements, than the Abyssinians. 



I went down into our camp to get the letters and 

 send them off by Brou, and when I came back I 

 found K. and H. were rather bored with sitting 

 there and waiting. K. had been inclined to take the 

 Abyssinians' part ; he said it was one of the usual 

 events of travelling in such a country, and we should 

 not make a great fuss ; this annoyed us still more. 

 At last the donkeys were brought and all was 

 made right. I returned the jar of honey that I had 

 taken from the house, and I was going to return 

 the pumpkin, but K. said, " I think we had better 



