66 Three Months' Leave in Somali Land. 



low hills and thin bush with open places. At 

 8.30 one of the men came running up (I was well 

 in advance of the camels) to say that I had taken 

 the wrong road. I could hardly believe it, as I 

 was evidently, from the camel droppings, on a 

 gafila track and my direction was about right for 

 Luckhu. However, he said Abdilleh had sent 

 him on ; I concluded it was Abdilleh the guide 

 and not Abdilleh the head man, who knew no 

 more of the country than I did. I would not 

 leave the track until he said he had actually seen 

 my camels take another road to the right. I 

 struck off to the right then, across the hills, and 

 went on without finding another road till I came 

 to the foot of a higher range, over which I was 

 sure the road did not go, so back I went till I 

 heard a shot, and at 11.55 arrived at the place 

 my camels reached at about 10 o'clock on the 

 very track I had left, and but a short half-hour's 

 walk from where I had left it. My camels had 

 gone wrong and come back into the right road. 

 Abdilleh the head man had let Abdilleh the guide 

 fall behind the camels and had taken on himself 

 the guiding of them. I had three hours' needless 

 hard walking in consequence. Shot a gerenoak^ 



