ugh a piece of the skull had been removed. If a conscientious
enemy had leisure and an icepick he would do just about that sort of a
job. How its recipient had escaped instant death is a mystery.

At length, about three o'clock, despairing of the camels, we turned in.

After three hours' sleep we were again on deck. Aden by daylight seemed
to be several sections of a town tucked into pockets in bold, raw, lava
mountains that came down fairly to the water's edge. Between these
pockets ran a narrow shore road; and along the road paced haughty camels
hitched to diminutive carts. On contracted round bluffs towards the sea
were various low bungalow buildings which, we were informed, comprised
the military and civil officers' quarters. The real Aden has been built
inland a short distance at the bottom of a cup in the mountains.
Elaborate stone reservoirs have been constructed to catch rain water, as
there is no other natural water supply whatever. The only difficulty is
that it practically never rains; so the reservoirs stand empty, the
water is distilled from the sea, and the haughty camels and the little
carts do the distributing.

The lava mountains occupy one side of the spacious bay or gulf. The
foot of the bay and the other side are flat, with one or two very
distant white villages, and many heaps of glittering salt as big as
houses.

We waited patiently at the rail for an hour more to see the camels slung
aboard by the crane. It was worth the wait. They lost their impassive
and immemorial dignity completely, sprawling, groaning, positively
shrieking in dismay. When the solid deck rose to them, and the sling had
been loosened, however, they regained their poise instantaneously. Their
noses went up in the air, and they looked about them with a challenging,
unsmiling superiority, as though to dare any one of us to laugh. Their
native attendants immediately squatted down in front of them, and began
to feed them with convenient lengths of what looked like our common
marsh cat-tails. The camels did not even then manifest the slightest
interest in the proceedings. Indeed, they would not condescend to reach
out three inches for the most luscious tit-bit held that far from their
aristocratic noses. The attendants had actually to thrust the fodder
between their jaws. I am glad to say they condescended to chew.

VII.

THE INDIAN OCEAN.

Leaving Aden, and rounding the great promontory of Cape Guardafui, we
turned s