eason was late, even they might
well be dry. "T'samma," therefore, the wild melon that serves for food
and water for both man and beast in these desert stretches, would be
our only resource; but even in this respect the lateness of the season
was a source of anxiety, for, as you doubtless know, when once it is
over-ripe the t'samma is useless.

Two riding and two pack horses were all therefore that we dare take; on
the latter we loaded food, ammunition, spare arms and trade goods; and
with our skin water-bags filled, one evening when the moon was nearly
at its full, we bade goodbye to our little band, and struck due east
across the desert.

Our plan was to hold in that direction as long as t'samma was abundant;
and should it fail, to attempt to reach one of the "pans" Inyati had
discovered in his flight across the desert years before, and which the
strange instinct of locality common to all natives of these wastes
would probably enable him to find again.

All night long we rode slowly and steadily through the dunes which were
here favorable to our course; for their long parallel lines ran like
the waves of the sea, almost due east and west, as far as the eye could
reach, and we were able to ride in the "aars" or narrow valleys between
them and make good progress.

So far vegetation of a sort was still abundant, tufted "toa" grass,
sorrel, and other succulent plants offered juicy fodder for the horses,
and I began to think that this much-dreaded desert was a desert but in
name, and that our task was to be a light one. With dawn we off-
saddled. From the summit of a high dune I looked round in all
directions, and as far as the eye could reach could see nothing but the
endless monotony of wave after wave of dunes, treeless, and apparently
almost devoid of vegetation, for the little there was, was confined to
the deep hollows between. A short distance away a fair-sized bush
offered a modicum of shade, and here we rested for the day for we had
planned to travel only in the cool of the night as long as the moon
served. And here Inyati showed me how to make water from the young
green t'samma, taking those the size of an orange only, and roasting
them in the ashes, and thus turning their pulp into a clear liquid like
water. Seldom though did we trouble to do this, eating the insipid
cucumber-like fruit as we found it, but though refreshing and capable
of supporting life, the longing for water is always present in the
deser