26 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 
and three times if possible. Clarence’s demands were 
reasonable enough, and he fell in with our wishes most 
graciously. 
I gave instructions for the purchase of camels, fifty 
at least, for the caravan was a large one. There were 
not so many animals in the place for sale at once, and 
of course our soldier friends were on the look out for 
likely animals also. 
During the next few days we busied ourselves in en- 
gaging the necessary servants. My uncle had impressed 
on me the necessity of seeing that the caravan was 
peopled with men from many tribes, as friction is better 
than a sort of trust among themselves. Clarence 
appeared to have no wish to take his own relatives 
along, as is so often the case, and we had no bother in 
the matter. But we were dreadfully 6 had ’ over six 
rough ponies we bought. We gave one hundred and 
fifty rupees each for them and they were dear at forty. 
However, much wiser people than Cecily and myself 
go wrong in buying horses ! Later in the trip we 
acquired a better pony apiece and so pulled through 
all right. 
My cousin has a very excellent appetite, and is rather 
fond of the flesh-pots generally, and gave as much 
attention to the engaging of a suitable cook as I did 
to the purchase of the camels. No lady ever emerged 
more triumphantly from the local Servants’ Registry 
Office after securing the latest thing in cooks than did 
Cecily on rushing out of the bungalow at express speed 
to tell me she had engaged a regular Monsieur Escofher 
to accompany us. 
