THE TRACK OF THE ELEPHANT 45 The journey onwards to Abu Hashim provided a lesson in the utihty of a common language.

Ibrahim had failed to learn Esperanto ; my Arabic was yet of the most limited scope. All had heard at Singa of the number of elephants beyond Abu Hashim, that had been causing consternation to the villagers.

The path was suddenly broken by a deep gorge, with sides so crumbling and precipitous that the passage of camels seemed a sheer impossibility. The mule found little difficulty though dislodging much soil, and the first camel, relieved of its load, plunged, still disdainfully, into the abyss, clambering on its knees up the friable ledges, and gaining the top after much groaning and fuss. Under circumstances such as these one learns to appreciate the virtue of patience, for it was long before the passage of the Khor Agaliin was effected, and the camels once more loaded.

In the meantime my eye rested on a large, irregular oval impression on the dusty ground ; the surface was smooth, yet traversed by veinlike markings. Other and yet other ovals surrounded it, and the memories of a chase in a distant country, far up on the Mountain Nile, came back to me. Fil (elephant), smiled Ibrahim, breaking in on my thoughts ; and onward as we travelled more numerous and fresh became the great tracks, while broken branches and heaps of fresh dung showed how recent was the presence of the mighty herd.