With some difficulty Ali learned that a boy of eight or ten years was meant, and with this explanation the answer was considered satisfactory.
KAMBARI FISH.
The captain of the boat opened a parcel and drew from it a dried fish, which formed part of their provisions. He said it was known as "samaki kambari," and lived in the mud at the bottom of the shallow bays and in the small creeks flowing into the lake. It was caught in great numbers, and dried over a fire and in the sun, very much as herrings are dried in other countries.
Another lake fish that was described is the "sama-moa," which grows to a length of twenty inches, and belongs to the shad family. It is covered with scales, and its body is more slender than that of the American shad. The dorsal fin extends from the centre of the back almost to the tail, and the body is full of bones. At the place where they spent the night one of these fish was served up for supper, and proved a toothsome morsel.
Frank thought he could make a "planked shad" out of the new fish. The next morning he tried his hand at amateur cooking, and his effort was fairly successful. The fish was split and nailed to one side of a short plank taken from an old boat on the shore. In this position it was exposed to the fire, and properly seasoned while the cooking process went on. When it was served up both the Doctor and Fred were unanimous in declaring it delicious, and proposed that Frank should be installed as cook for the remainder of the excursion. The young gentleman declined the proffered honor, and said he could not have the heart to throw their Arab cuisinier out of employment. The fact was he had been baked nearly as much as the fish he had prepared, and was in no mood for repeating the experiment.
"Well," said Fred, "if you won't accept the office of cook I'll tell you what I'll do. We'll 'turn and turn about,' as they say at home, and I'll cook the fish at the next camp."
"All right," Frank responded. "I'll agree to take turns with you until you are tired of the business."
With this understanding the topic of conversation was changed. During the day more fish were obtained, and when they halted at night Fred proceeded to try his hand at cooking.