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 at this prospect of getting rid of the trial.  Both the ladies, and everyone who had known her for longer than the week, voted, hands and feet, for her extinction, but four of the men were foolishly too polite to express their real wishes.  So she herself was left with the casting vote, and chose to go on!  Thus The Instigator’s well-thought plan to remove an incubus was frustrated.  He was so disgusted with his failure in a laudable object that, directly after “lunch” (which meant each one cutting off from the half-sheep, that was handed round, the piece he or she preferred), he went off with his microscope trying to find other interests, and in a few minutes was growing unduly excited over a shrub on which he discovered some most unusual excrescences.  These shapeless masses of earth, apparently growing on the shrub, he was examining from all points with the naked eye before submitting them to microscopic investigation, and it was only when Our Guest came up and removed some of the earth from one of the excrescences that The Instigator, who was watching intently, noted that the mass resolved itself into the shape of one of The Saint’s shoes, which had been hung up on the shrub to dry after her lake-searching expedition.  Foiled again, The Instigator collected The Delineator and My Lady, and started to walk to the northern end of the lake, where The Jehu could pick them up, when the washing, packing and harnessing allowed of an onward move.  We are told that for once The Kid, perhaps stimulated by her recent narrow escape from total extinction, really did do some work here.  It is true we only have her word, an indistinct murmur from The Chaperon, and some clean plates to vouch for the statement, as all the other members of the party remaining were lying in more or less graceful slumberous attitudes in carts, under trees, or anywhere else, enjoying forty winks.  Some excellent photos were obtained of the sleeping beauties as they lay there resting, but their modesty caused them to beg for forbearance in the publication of any of the pictures thus obtained.

Before the actual start was made, The Jehu, Our Guest, The Chaperon, and The Wild Man tried their hands at some revolver-shooting.  Naturally, the drivers, after their long hours with the reins, could not do themselves justice with the more dangerous weapons, but, combined with Our Guest and The Wild Man, they left a fair show of broken bottles in the lake, rather to the surprise of the lookers-on.