THE "WONDER-TREE" OF KHANDAK 239 



about ten to fifteen miles away. The priests attached 

 to it will, for a consideration, communicate with the 

 god. The ceremony is as follows. Having arranged 

 matters with the priest, the votary brings a small bit 

 of copper, ivory, or skin, &c., and assumes a crouch- 

 ing position near the tree. The priest does likewise, 

 burying one's offering in a small hole in the ground. 

 He then grunts, and the quantity of grunts and quality 

 of answer depends, I should think, on the preliminaries 

 to the ceremony. 



I found it difficult to get anything out of my visitors 

 at first, but at last it was agreed that I should tell one 

 tale and be told one. Soon I often missed my turn. 



At Kabalosu I had, of course, communicated with 

 Boulnois' successor, and on arrival at Kafiakingi sent 

 him a reassuring message. I now got orders to come 

 in to do the chief inspector's work at Wau as soon as 

 mine here would allow. 



From the man whom I was to relieve I got a letter 

 asking me to come in soon. This was followed by 

 another, carried by a special runner, which said, " For 

 God's sake, come in at once." I at once concluded 

 that something very urgent was in question, and 

 replied that I would be in in a fortnight, the distance 

 being about four hundred miles. I left myself a good 

 margin, as the rains had now started in earnest. As a 

 matter of fact, I got a letter at Dem Zubeir telling me 

 that there was no hurry, otherwise I would have done 

 the distance easily in twelve days. I beg to impress 

 on the reader that / rode a donkey a third of the way 

 at least every day. 



