RA.\ 7 FURLY'S CONDITION BECOMES CRITICAL. 319 



tain some relief. Whilst the camels were feeding during 

 the midday halt, we now learn that one Arab took 

 advantage of the opportunity to decamp with two of. 

 them. This, however, is not of much consequence, as 

 our camels are very lightly laden, and we hear that we 

 shall arrive to-morrow at a telegraph station where we 

 can replace them by others. According to the state- 

 ment of our Arab chief we are now more than half-way 

 to Souakim, and ought to reach it easily in five days. 



May 3. The gale greatly abated last night, and 

 Ranfurly preferred the shelter of a tree to a hut that 

 the soldiers of the station placed at our disposal, and as 

 the minimum night temperature is now as high as 62 

 there could be no objection to his wish being carried 

 out. During the night he became so much worse that, 

 had not a slight improvement taken place towards 

 morning, it seemed hardly possible that he could reach 

 the coast ; and though a decided change for the better 

 can now again be seen, his condition has become the 

 source of the greatest anxiety. 



Our calculations about the desertion of the Arabs 

 have already proved but too true, for during the night 

 two of them went off with four camels. No one, of 

 course, had seen them depart, not even the soldiers of the 

 station ; but these came forward very readily to assist us 

 to obtain other camels from the local Arabs. At 8.30 

 A.M., however, none had been found, and as the morn- 



