A GRAVE QUESTION TO DECIDE. 325 



CHAPTER XIX. 



May 5. Ranfurly has passed a very bad night, and 

 spent a great portion of it sitting on a camel-saddle with 

 his head resting on pillows placed against the hut wall. 

 Towards morning the breathing improved, and he was 

 able to lie down and have a short sleep, which so re- 

 freshed him that he wanted to lose no time before 

 being in the saddle again. A necessary delay, however, 

 occurred to get our water-skins filled, and in the mean- 

 time I trusted that our party Avould arrive. At 8.30 A.M. 

 they were not even in sight, and if it was difficult for me 

 to decide how to act for the best yesterday, it became 

 doubly so now, for further delay would mean the loss of 

 a day and of our steamer, whilst going on implied say- 

 ing good-bye to our baggage and depending upon the 

 few stores we have with us for three or four days. On 

 examination of these stores I found we had the follow- 

 ing : One and a half half-pint tins of Anglo-Swiss con- 

 densed milk, two tins of cocoa milk, two small pots of 

 ' Liebig,' one small tin of arrowroot, one box of sardines, 

 one pound of rice, eight ' hard-bake' biscuits, a few dates 



