I 
CHAPTER XXI 
END OF THE GREAT SHIKAR 
Approved warriors, and my faithful friends 
Titus A ndronicus 
Then must I count my gains 
Richard III 
And so I take my leave 
Midsummer Night’s Dream 
At last Berbera in the distance. At last the one 
remaining night in our tent — over. At last the final 
breakfast in the open — over. Then the outskirts of 
the town, and then Berbera itself. 
The leader of the Opposition and Ralph met us 
almost at once, looking quite respectable and clean. 
They said they had been waiting right there for two 
days for fear we should come un welcomed. We put 
up at the old familiar rest-house in the European 
Square, and our camels and impedimenta generally 
camped in front of us. Our first dinner m “ civilisa- 
tion ” did not please us half as much as the culinary 
efforts of Cecily’s chef . Roast chicken with flies is not, 
after all, so appetising as badly cooked oryx, served 
up with hunger sauce, and at least, in the jungle, we 
escaped that last resource of the average cook when 
she can’t think up a pudding — stewed rhubarb. I 
wonder if there is a country where the weed can be 
