reddish-brown at
the end; but both these finds were absolutely valueless, and, though
there was talk of having the teeth set as brooches, etc., connoisseurs,
such as The Wild Man, knew well that the "finds" would be dissolved to
dust long before they could reach the civilisation of a jeweller's shop.

The tiny banks which slope down from the camp to meet the wide
stretching sands of the lake are covered with scrub and low trees of the
acacia type, and, on one of these low trees, eked out with camp stools,
the party, wearied with their search for curios, settled down to await
their mid-day meal. It was gently broken to us that the sheep had at
last been sacrificed, and would shortly appear before us in a different
guise. The slaughter must have been most humane, for no one of us had
heard the slightest cry or sound of distress, and now the flesh was
being cooked. The peons would always prefer to cook all meat in the
hide, if they were allowed to do so, and it is only with constant
watching that they are prevented from thus wasting the valuable skins of
animals. They are enormous meat eaters, which is scarcely to be wondered
at, considering how scarce green food is. They live on meat, mate, and
hard biscuits.

The bright idea occurred to someone that a _hors-d'oeuvre_ would be
acceptable, considering how long ago we had had our meagre early morning
meal, so the only available article, a tinned Dutch cheese, was
attacked; and none but those who have tried, under similar
circumstances, one of the soft Dutch cheeses which one obtains in the
Argentine, would be able to understand how very good it can be. As it
was handed round (to everyone on the same knife), hunger, open-air, and
the exercise of the ant-hills caused it to be appreciated more than
usual, even beyond its deserts, if possible.

As the party were thus collected (mostly with their legs tucked away to
prevent the climbing operations of the black ants with which the ground
was swarming), The Instigator took this opportunity to try to rid
himself of some of the responsibility of the trip by calling a meeting
(the whole nine were already there), and putting it to the vote as to
whether The Kid, now that she had lost her companions the sheep, should
be turned adrift to find her way back again as best she could, drowned
in the lake, or allowed to accompany the party for the rest of the
journey. A wild gleam of joy lit the eyes of everyone who knew anything
of her a