TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 107 
and why we wanted to ? — to all of which we replied as 
clearly and comprehensively as we could through 
Clarence. Then more personal questions were asked. 
Were we married ? “ Say no, Clarence.” “ No,” 
said the stolid shikari. 
The Mullah reflected a little. Didn’t we think we 
ought to be ? A dreadful flick on the raw this. If we 
married how many husbands are we allowed ? I in- 
structed Clarence to say that it is not so much how 
many you are allowed as how many you can get. 
Cecily broke in and said that it was enough to puzzle 
any Mullah, and that Clarence must explain that one 
husband at a time is what English women are per- 
mitted, but it is very difficult in the present over- 
crowded state of the marriage market to obtain even 
one’s rightful allowance, hence our lonely forlorn con- 
dition. The Mullah looked really sorry for us. He 
said he would like to give us another sheep, and that 
he did not think he would care to live in England, 
but he approved of the English he had seen. “ Best 
people I see.” We thanked him, salaamed, and left. 
We were then followed by a pattering crowd who 
dodged in front of us, peering into our faces, and when 
we smiled, smiled back crying “ Mot ! Mot ! io Mot ! ” 
over and over. It was quite a triumphal progress. 
At our own camp we found the place invaded by 
every invalid of the Mullah settlement waiting in 
serried rows for us to cure them. Why every English 
person, or European rather, is supposed to possess 
this marvellous inborn skill in medicine I cannot tell. 
Some of the complaints presented I had never heard 
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