TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 69 



always asked me to give him the weapon from my belt 

 about supper time, and I next saw it in readiness for 

 midnight affrays. " Chota-hazari " was served us by 

 the butler calling loudly outside our tents, or by deli- 

 cately tapping two stones together as an intimation 

 that a cup of tea stood on the ground at the entrance, 

 when it meant making a long arm to reach it. The 

 teacups were not Dresden ; they were of thick enamel 

 — we only had one each and two over in 5 case of 

 accidents or visitors — and to appreciate them at their 

 true value we would have needed the mouths of 

 flukes. 



Sometimes a case of necessaries required for break- 

 fast would be in our tents doing duty as furniture, and 

 then it was very funny indeed. The cook would come 

 and chant outside that unless he could have the box 

 Mem-sahib no breakfast would see, and if Mem-sahib 

 no breakfast saw she would upbraid the chef because 

 he had not got the box. All this would be woven into 

 a little tune in a mixture of Somali, Hindostanee, and 

 so-called English. Mem-sahib would chant back to 

 the effect that the necessaries would appear all in good 

 time. The cook would retire to stir up the fire and 

 cuff his assistant, a tow-headed " youth," whose raison 

 d'etre appeared to be the cleaning, or making worse 

 dirty, of the pans, and preparing things for the culi- 

 nary artist. The tow-headed one was a mere dauber ; 

 at least our cook told us so in effect, with great dis- 

 dain, when I suggested the assistant should be allowed 

 to try his 'prentice hand. That was one day when I 

 got worried about my digestion holding out against 



