GAUUA AND THE NORTH KAMERUN 29 



to my nails than to the knife, which counsel I dis- 

 obeyed as much as I dared. He was kind, and did 

 the difficult parts for me, but somehow the impression 

 left was that the prospect of my becoming any good 

 was very remote. However, he accepted the sug- 

 gestion that I should practise daily on the fowls we 

 were to eat for dinner — a rash offer that I lacked 

 the energy to carry out. Only once more did I offer 

 to help him — that was later on when we were on 

 the march, and he had not got time to do them all 

 himself. He accepted, and gave me a hideous grey 

 bird, which at once repelled me. As it was dark 

 and we had to work by lamp-light, millions of insects 

 were attracted, and our hands were too filthy to 

 brush them away, so they literally preyed upon us. 

 In my misery I failed to find the shoulder-bone, 

 which I had been told to sever, and it still eluded 

 me in a wealth of flesh when Mr Talbot finished his 

 birds, which were pretty, and came to relieve me. 

 He never asked me to help him again, nor did I 

 volunteer to do so ; and since Mastaba learnt how 

 to do it I felt less self-reproachful, though still 

 ashamed. 



Not many days passed before the tiny silver cresc- 

 ent of the new moon gave us the signal for 

 departure, for with her advent ended the fast of 

 Ramadan. In the morning files of men, boys, and 

 girls passed by our camp on their way to " pray 

 God " at a spot appointed in the neighbourhood for 

 all to meet, while we eagerly awaited the polers, 

 who were to fetch us back to Garua in time to par- 

 ticipate in the larger rejoicings there. Alas ! they 

 consulted their own convenience rather than ours. 



