k. Shouldn't wonder if he
surprised us a heap later on."

The next day everything was packed up that could be got ready. The skins
were still staked out to dry thoroughly, but the Indians could attend to
them, and Schoverling was impatient to be off. Fifty Kikuyu men were
hired to take the stuff back, under the lead of the Arab and the two
Somalis, who were intelligent and thoroughly reliable. The spare Gurkha
was to accompany them.

So far the oxen had got along in fine shape, and when it came to loading
the wagons, Charlie in charge of this duty, found that their equipment
was light indeed.

"Look here, Gen'ral," he complained late that afternoon, "the doctor has
used up ten cases of his stuff. That leaves only five, with his little
brass trunk. Then there's that case of tomatoes we haven't opened yet,
another of baked beans, the ammunition and guns, tents and Gholab
Singh's little stove, and the traps. The whole business won't make a
quarter-load for one wagon."

"So much the better for the oxen," returned the explorer. "We'll load up
as we go along, Chuck. Jack, I'll appoint you commissary-major, to bring
in the supplies of green stuff and vegetables. You can take Gholab as
interpreter. It'll be up to you to load, Charlie. We won't have to do
much hunting till after we pass the commissioner's place, except for the
Masai."

"I'll give you all the work you can handle," prophesied Jack, to his
chum. "You just wait!"

The next morning the safari filed out from the camp, the Masai greeting
the inspanning with huge delight. Bakari and his men promised that they
would accompany Schoverling as far as he wished to go, and the boys were
struck more than once by the utter fearlessness of these Masai, who had
absolutely no dread of advancing into a strange country.

The march, however, was by no means fast. Von Hofe remained to see his
skins safely off, promising to catch up to them later. As before, they
made forced marches, for the oxen were fresh and the work was light for
them now. Now, as Schoverling had foretold, Jack got all the work he
wanted. With three three-hour halts a day, Jack and Gholab rode on ahead
and got everything ready for each halt--bartered for goats and sheep and
chickens, obtained what vegetables and fruit the natives could spare,
and when the wagons arrived Charlie pitched in and loaded up.

So tired were the boys that at night they wrapped up in their blankets
and dozed as they rode. Once th