In addition to that the dhow had to be worked backward off the mud far enough to be shoved off easily, and then made fast by a rope to the bushes in such way as not to be noticeable.

Most of the ropes turned out to be rather rotten, and we could only guess at the condition of the sails; the feel of them in the dark gave us small assurance.

But fortunately we had a couple of hundred feet of good half-inch manila in camp with us, and that Fred and Will took out and stowed in the hold the night following.
We bought such things at the D.O.A.G.

as we could without arousing suspicion, as, for instance, a quantity of German dried pea-soup--not that the porters would take to it kindly, but it would go a long way among them at a pinch.

Live stock we did not dare buy, for fear of the noise it would make; but we laid in some eggs and bananas.