WE ENTER ABYSSINIA. 169 



me for some distance. Fortunately the larder was well 

 stocked, or its confidence would have been poorly repaid. 

 Essafi's report of having heard the Abyssinians firing 

 has so frightened our camel-men that they refuse to 

 accompany us higher up the Royan than our present 

 encampment, declaring by way of excuse that they have 

 strict orders from Sheik Aghill not to do so ; but as 

 Essafi and Mohamed are willing to come with us, we 

 have decided upon making a two days' excursion without 

 the camel-men. Albert says they would not be afraid 

 if they were always with us ; but when we are out all 

 day, they will be left in camp without anyone with fire- 

 arms to protect them, whilst too few in number to protect 

 one another ; and in this line of argument there is some 

 reason. They have escaped from the neighbourhood of 

 one terrible enemy, the Base (or Barea), to fall, they 

 would have us believe, into the hands of our present 

 neighbours, the Abyssinians, whom they call El Makada, 

 and dread even more than the Base. Probably a good 

 deal of all this is assumed, so that they may not be far 

 removed from their villages ; but there must be some 

 truth in it, for late to-night Albert called us out to look 

 at them, and we found them all crouching behind a 

 sand-bank watching for El Makada robbers, whose ap- 

 proach they suspected by a sudden fright, amongst the 

 horses. 



Feb. 23. The great march has been effected, and, 



