Partaking of an early breakfast, we next packed up the tent and the numerous loads belonging to El Hakim which had been in Bei-Munithu’s charge, though we had to leave some of them behind. There were about fifteen loads of various beads, a 300-yard Alpine rope, ten or a dozen loads of mardūf (English drill), about six loads of iron, copper, and brass wire, some “bendera” (red cloth) and “kiniki” (blue cloth), and also some loads of camp equipment, medicines, and ammunition; which, together with some signal-rockets and gamekeepers’ flares, totalled up to some forty odd loads. The donkeys gave some trouble at first, as they were very fresh, and strongly objected to being loaded again after twelve days’ idleness. Finally, somewhere about ten o’clock we were ready for our long-delayed return to M’thara. All this time there were no signs of Resarse or the ivory. Half an hour after we had finished packing he was descried approaching the camp, but was still driving the cow; there were no signs of the tusk. Our disgust and annoyance can be imagined when we heard that the fossil had hidden the tusk and run away! Bei-Munithu was peremptorily summoned, and we angrily demanded the reason of this treatment, expressing our displeasure in sufficiently severe terms. Bei-Munithu, much disturbed, departed to find out. We simmered for another two hours till his return. From his account it appeared that there were _two_ tusks, and the owner, seeing Resarse approaching with only one cow, thought we intended to cheat him, and incontinently fled. Bei-Munithu, however, had now persuaded him that we were honest, and he was now on his way to camp with the two tusks. Again we sat down and waited, with as much patience as we could command under the circumstances. We unloaded the donkeys, and tried to rake out something eatable, but failed, as there was nothing cooked. At two o’clock in the afternoon we were still waiting. At that hour one of Bei-Munithu’s men came into camp with the information that the fossil and his friends had _run away again, taking the two tusks with them_. El Hakim exploded at this aggravating news. He sent for Bei-Munithu once more, and fairly made the old reprobate shake with fear, though, as far as we knew, it was no fault of his. “Go at once,” cried El Hakim, “and tell these people that I have waited two days on their account. I will wait no longer. If they do not bring that ivory within two hours, I will come and burn their villages and destroy their plantations to the last muhindi stalk.” Bei-Munithu became greatly agitated, and implored El Hakim to have a little patience while he himself went to see the fossil and his friends, in order that he might try to convince them of the error of their ways.