In half an hour, when it was quite dark, the guide halted, and said that we had better camp, as the Somalis’ camp was “quite far.” I was very annoyed at this turn of affairs, and expressed my intention of going on whether it was dark or not. We started once more, but I could see that the guide was very unwilling and sulky. Presently I heard the bleating of sheep and goats in the darkness to the left, and ascertained from the guide that the sound came from a Rendili village. I resolved to camp there; but he objected. I insisted, however, and finally he reluctantly led the way. I pitched the camp just outside the village, so that I might be sure of obtaining a guide in the morning. The Rendili in the village then came out to us, and offered fresh goat’s milk for sale. We bought about a gallon for a few red beads, and in exchange for five yards of merikani I also procured two sheep, which were immediately slaughtered for the men, who raised a hearty cheer thereat, as, with the exception of the tiny portion of Waller’s gazelle the night before, it was their first regular meal for four days. The milk we boiled, and George and I partook freely of it, too freely perhaps, considering the state of our stomachs, as, after drinking about a quart each, we both felt very queer. Our heads swam, and we were very dizzy and weak, the effect being similar to that produced by alcohol. At daybreak we secured a couple of Rendili youths as guides, and proceeded through a belt of bush on our way to the Somalis’ camp, near which I felt convinced we should find El Hakim. This bush belt was quite a mile wide, and owed its existence to the large proportion of earth that the desert sand had not yet thoroughly covered, coupled with the close proximity of the Waso Nyiro. The bushes grew in clumps, with smooth patches of ground between. They were a beautiful vivid green, thickly covered with longish narrow leaves and blue-black berries, and averaged eight feet to ten feet in height. These berries greatly resembled black currants in appearance. They contained a large, smooth spherical seed, covered with a layer of glutinous pulp, which was hot to the palate, and something similar to nasturtium seeds in flavour. The guinea-fowl were particularly fond of these berries, and were in consequence to be found in large numbers in the bush. Every few yards little ground squirrels, like the American chipmunks, darted across our path; while the tiny duiker—smallest of the antelopes—now and again scurried hurriedly away to the shelter of a more distant bush. Little naked sand-rats were very numerous, the tiny conical heaps of excavated sand outside their burrows being scattered everywhere. At intervals, clumps of acacias of large size afforded a certain amount of shade from the vertical rays of the sun, a fact fully taken advantage of by the Rendili, as we noticed that where such a clump existed we were certain to find a village.