226 LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



soldier has a hope that by a visit to-morrow he may 

 extract something from them as to his fate. These 

 Arabs have come to our neighbourhood in consequence 

 of their belief that the reports of our rifles have driven 

 the Base into the interior of their own country, and we 

 hear other parties are coming here from the villages to 

 hunt under our protection in this neutral territory. 



March 18. An an early hour one of our old friends, 

 the ostrich hunters, came to tell us that he knew where 

 there was an ostrich-nest, and that if we would give him 

 good backsheesh he would take us to it. After a certain 

 amount of squabbling we came to reasonable terms, 

 dependent on success or otherwise, and started off with- 

 out delay on this novel expedition ; and owing to the dis- 

 tance, and the consequent possibility of our being away 

 all night, we provided ourselves with a limited supply of 

 food and water, and with the friend of our dinner-table 

 the little whisky-barrel. A long ride over the high 

 table-land in the direction of the Royan brought us evi- 

 dently near our destination ; but here arose a difficulty, 

 for owing to the similarity of the ground, consisting of 

 thinly-scattered mimosas and high grass, with here and 

 there small spaces where it had been burnt up, our guide 

 wandered about for a long time before he could find the 

 trees that were his landmark. When he succeeded in 

 doing so we tied up our horses, and tried to creep 

 quietly along in line, but with the crackling of the grass 



