When the camp had settled down for the night, I took my pipe and went for a stroll. This was always one of the pleasures of my life in the desert—that last pipe of peace before turning in—and of peace it always was. If the day had been good, there was contentment; if bad, there was hope for the next day and faith that all would be well. During the whole journey, I never went to sleep with anything really worrying me; worrying, that is, my mind itself, no matter how I might have been tried by occurrences or by conditions.
The next day was spent in final preparations. Bu Helega, the owner of the camels, arrived with his own little caravan of three camels. During the day another man had come from Jalo to catch up with us. We had been in need of rope and twine, but the price asked by the dealers had been too high. So Abdullahi chattered with them and left the actual closing of the bargain to the last minute. Then he had arranged with a man named Senussi Bu Jabir to bring the rope after us to Buttafal.
When this man arrived, he came to my tent to tell me that his brother was in Wadai and to ask me to take him with us. He would work to pay for his passage. I looked him over and quickly decided that he would do. I discovered particularly that he had a sense of humor, almost if not quite the most valuable asset in desert travel. Ability may fail, but a keen sense of humor enables one to get the last ounce out of a man in possession of it. I was ready to take him, but it did not seem possible.
“We are leaving at once,” I said. “There is no time for you to make the day’s journey to Jalo and back for your luggage.”
“I have it,” he said.
“Where is it?” I demanded, looking about in bewilderment.
“Here,” he answered, pointing to the shirt he wore and the stick he carried.
I burst into a hearty laugh at the idea of such an outfit for a hard desert trek, and he joined me cheerfully. I assured him that he might go and never regretted my decision. He proved to be one of the best men I had.
The next morning we watered the camels, a process which must not be hurried. Nothing is more important in trekking than the condition of your camels. Not only must they be fat and well nourished at the start, but they must be allowed to drink their fill with deliberation and permitted to rest after the drinking.
When the camels were ready they were loaded with the greatest care, for good packing and loading at the beginning mean time and trouble saved all through the journey. The rapidity with which the loading and unloading can be accomplished day after day sometimes means a gain of a day or two in time before the trip is over.