268 
TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 
tears — how nearly I had been lost to her, and how, at 
the very worst of things, all unexpectedly, the leader 
of the Opposition and Ralph had ridden into camp ; 
that without their help and common sense she could 
never have pulled me through. 
The wells were now practically in our possession, 
the old gentleman having waived his claims, but we 
were, of course, still out on the Hand. Camels had 
been sent off to Berbera to meet us a little farther on, 
to return with stores, mainly for the men. The 
Opposition had provided us with many necessaries, 
and I was so glad because I did not want to leave the 
wild any the sooner because of all this wasted time. 
Next afternoon I held quite a Durbar. I sat outside 
the tent, and most of the men came to make their 
salaams. Clarence — the good fellow — even got so far as 
to say, shyly, “ Me glad you olri.” They all seemed 
glad to have me all right, and it was nice of them. 
The leader of the Opposition and Ralph came to tea, 
and we made very merry. The latter pretended to 
be not on speaking terms with Cecily, because at their 
last interview she had called him “ horrid pig,” but 
I explained that it must be a wild pig, and then it 
would be a compliment ; he is so much nobler than 
a tame one, is fleet of foot, and courageous of heart, 
and sometimes resembles a lion. Where comes the 
sting of being called after such an animal ? It was 
delightful to feel we had friends so near, at least just 
now, when self-reliance was at such a low ebb with 
me. Old William puts “ Honour, love, obedience, 
troops of friends ” as making up the joys of life. I did 
