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diff --git a/old/54501-0.txt b/old/54501-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9bde026..0000000 --- a/old/54501-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8345 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Dianas in Somaliland, by Agnes Herbert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Two Dianas in Somaliland - The Record of a Shooting Trip with Twenty-Five Illustrations - Reproduced from Photographs - -Author: Agnes Herbert - -Release Date: April 7, 2017 [EBook #54501] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND - -By Agnes Herbert - -The Record of a Shooting Trip - -With Twenty-Five Illustrations Reproduced from Photographs - -London: John Lane - -MCMVIII - - -[Illustration: 0001] - - -[Illustration: 0010] - - -[Illustration: 0011] - - - -TO - -THE LEADER OF - -THE OPPOSITION SHOOT - -SOLDIER, SHIKARI, AND SOMETIME - -MISOGYNIST - - - - - -TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND - - - - -CHAPTER I--WE SET OUT FOR SOMALILAND - - -```_This weaves itself perforce into my business_ - -`````King Lear= - - -|It is not that I imagine the world is panting for another tale about a -shoot. I am aware that of the making of sporting books there is no end. -Simply--I want to write. And in this unassuming record of a big shoot, -engineered and successfully carried through by two women, there may be -something of interest; it is surely worth more than a slight -endeavour to engage the even passing interest of one person of average -intelligence in these days of universal boredom. - -I don’t know whether the idea of our big shoot first emanated from my -cousin or myself. I was not exactly a tenderfoot, neither was she. We -had both been an expedition to the Rockies at a time when big game there -was not so hard to find, but yet less easy to get at. We did not go to -the Rockies with the idea of shooting, our sole _raison d’être_ being to -show the heathen Chinee how not to cook; but incidentally the charm of -the chase captured us, and we exchanged the gridiron for the gun. So -at the end of March 190-we planned a sporting trip to Somaliland--very -secretly and to ourselves, for women hate being laughed at quite as much -as men do, and that is very much indeed. - -My cousin is a wonderful shot, and I am by no means a duffer with a -rifle. As to our courage--well, we could only trust we had sufficient -to carry us through. We felt we had, and with a woman intuition is -everything. If she feels she is not going to fail, you may take it from -me she won’t. Certainly it is one thing to look a lion in the face -from England to gazing at him in Somaliland. But we meant to meet him -somehow. - -Gradually and very carefully we amassed our stores, and arranged for -their meeting us in due course. We collected our kit, medicines, and -a thousand and one needful things, and at last felt we had almost -everything, and yet as little as possible. Even the little seemed too -much as we reflected on the transport difficulty. We sorted our things -most carefully--I longed for the floor-space of a cathedral to use as -a spreading-out ground--and glued a list of the contents of each -packing-case into each lid. - -To real sportsmen I shall seem to be leaving the most important point -to the last--the rifles, guns, and ammunition. But, you see, I am only a -sportswoman by chance, not habit. I know it is the custom with your born -sportsman to place his weapons first, minor details last. “Nice customs -curtsey to great kings,” they say, and so it must be here. For King -Circumstance has made us the possessors of such wondrous modern rifles, -&c., as to leave us no reason to think of endeavouring to supply -ourselves with better. We, fortunately, have an uncle who is one of the -greatest shikaris of his day, and his day has only just passed, his sun -but newly set. A terribly bad mauling from a lion set up troubles in -his thigh, and blood poisoning finally ended his active career. He will -never hunt again, but he placed at our disposal every beautiful and -costly weapon he owned, together with his boundless knowledge. He -insisted on our taking many things that would otherwise have been left -behind, and his great trust in our powers inspired us with confidence. -It is to his help we owe the entire success of our expedition. - -It would be an impertinence for a tyro like myself to offer any remarks -on the merits or demerits of any rifle. Not only do the fashions change -almost as quickly as in millinery, not only do great shikaris advise, -advertise, and adventure with any weapon that could possibly be of -service to anyone, but my knowledge, even after the experience gained -in our long shoot, is confined to the very few firearms we had with us. -They might not have met with unqualified approval from all men; they -certainly served us well. After all, that is the main point. - -Our battery consisted of: - -Three 12-bore rifles. - -Two double-barrelled hammerless ejecting .500 Expresses. - -One .35 Winchester. - -Two small .22 Winchesters. - -One single-barrel .350. - -One 410 bore collector’s gun. - -A regular _olla podrida_ in rifles. - -My uncle selected these from his armoury as being the ones of all others -he would feel safest in sending us out with. There may, in the opinion -of many, be much more suitable ones for women to use, but, speaking as -one who had the using of them, I must say I think the old shikari did -the right thing, and if I went again the same rifles would accompany me. - -My uncle is a small man, with a shortish arm, and therefore his reach -about equalled ours, and his rifles might have been made for us. - -We also towed about with us two immensely heavy shot guns. They were a -great nuisance, merely adding to the baggage, and we never used them as -far as I remember. - -As we meant frequently to go about unescorted, a revolver or pistol -seemed indispensable in the belt, and under any conditions such a -weapon would be handy and give one a sense of security. On the advice of -another great sportsman we equipped ourselves with a good shikar pistol -apiece, 12-bore; and I used mine on one occasion very effectively at -close quarters with an ard-wolf, so can speak to the usefulness and -efficiency of the weapon. - -It was the “cutting the ivy” season in Suburbia when we drove through it -early one afternoon, and in front of every pill-box villa the suburban -husband stood on a swaying ladder as he snipped away, all ora ora -unmindful of the rampant domesticity of the sparrows. The fourteenth of -February had long passed, and the fourteenth is to the birds what Easter -Monday is to the lower orders, a general day for getting married. - -A few days in town amid the guilty splendour of one of the caravan-serais -in Northumberland Avenue were mostly spent in imbibing knowledge. My -uncle never wearied of his subject, and it was to our interest to listen -carefully. Occasionally he would wax pessimist, and express his doubts -of our ability to see the trip through; but he was kind enough to say -he knows no safer shot than myself. “Praise from Cæsar.” Though I draw -attention to it that shouldn’t! The fragility of my physique bothered -him no end. I assured him over and over that my appearance is nothing to -go by, and that I am, as a matter of fact, a most wiry person. - -This shoot of ours was no hurried affair. We had been meditating it for -months, and had, to some extent, arranged all the difficult parts a long -time before we got to the actual purchases of stores, and simple things -of the kind. We had to obtain special permits to penetrate the Ogaden -country and beyond to the Marehan and the Haweea, if we desired to go so -far. Since the Treaty with King Menelik in 1897 the Ogaden and onwards -is out of the British sphere of influence. - -How our permits were obtained I am not at liberty to say; but without -them we should have been forced to prance about on the outskirts of -every part where game is abundant. By the fairy aid of these open -sesames we were enabled to traverse the country in almost any part, and -would have been passed from Mullah to Sheik, from Sheik to Mullah, had -we not taken excellent care to avoid, as far as we could, the settled -districts where these gentry reside. At one time all the parts we shot -over were free areas, and open to any sportsman who cared to take on the -possible dangers of penetrating the far interior of Somaliland, but -now the hunting is very limited and prescribed. We were singularly -fortunate, and owe our surprising good luck to that much maligned, -useful, impossible to do without passport to everything worth having -known as “influence.” - -The tents we meant to use on the shoot were made for us to a pattern -supplied. They were fitted with poles of bamboo, of which we had one to -spare in case of emergencies. The ropes, by particular request, were of -cotton, in contradistinction to hemp, which stretches so abominably. - -Two skinning knives were provided, and some little whet-stones, an axe, -a bill-hook, two hammers, a screwdriver--my _vade mecum_--nails, and -many other needful articles. We trusted to getting a good many things at -Berbera, but did not like to leave everything to the last. Our “canned -goods” and all necessaries in the food line we got at the Army and Navy -Stores. Field-glasses, compasses, and a good telescope our generous -relative contributed. - -They say that the best leather never leaves London, that there only can -the best boots be had. This is as may be. Anyway the shooting boots made -for us did us well, and withstood prodigious wear and tear. - -The night before our departure we had a “Goodbye” dinner and, as a great -treat, were taken to a music-hall. Of course it was not my first visit, -but really, if I have any say in the matter again, it will be the last. -Some genius--a man, of course--says, somewhere or other, women have -no sense of humour--I wonder if he ever saw a crowd of holiday-making -trippers exchanging hats--and I am willing to concede he must be right. -I watched that show unmoved the while the vast audience rocked with -laughter. - -The _pièce-de-résistance_ of the evening was provided by a “comic” - singer, got up like a very-much-the-worse-for-wear curate, who sang to -us about a girl with whom he had once been in love. Matters apparently -went smoothly enough until one fateful day he discovered his inamorata’s -nose was false, and, what seemed to trouble him more than all, was stuck -on with cement. It came off at some awkward moment. This was meant to be -funny. If such an uncommon thing happened that a woman had no nose, and -more uncommon still, got so good an imitation as to deceive him as to -its genuineness in the first place, it would not be affixed with -cement. But allowing such improbabilities to pass in the sacred cause -of providing amusement, surely the woman’s point of view would give us -pause. It would be so awful for her in every way that it would quite -swamp any discomfort the man would have to undergo. I felt far more -inclined to cry than laugh, and the transcendent vulgarity of it all -made one ashamed of being there. - -The next item on the programme was a Human Snake, who promised us -faithfully that he would dislocate his neck. He marched on to a gaudy -dais, and after tying himself in sundry knots and things, suddenly -jerked, and his neck elongated, swinging loosely from his body. It was -a very horrid sight. An attendant stepped forward and told us the Human -Snake had kept his promise. The neck was dislocated. My only feeling in -the matter was a regret he had not gone a step farther and broken it. -All this was because I have no sense of humour. I don’t like music-hall -entertainments. I would put up with being smoked into a kipper if the -performance rewarded one at all. It is so automatic, so sad. There is -no joy, or freshness, or life about it. ’Tis a squalid way of earning -money. - -At last every arrangement was arranged, our clothes for the trip duly -packed. Being women, we had naturally given much thought to this part of -the affair. We said “Adieu” to our wondering and amazed relatives, who, -with many injunctions to us to “write every day,” and requests that we -should at all times abjure damp beds, saw us off _en route_ for Berbera, -_via_ Aden, by a P. and O. liner. - -I think steamer-travelling is most enjoyable--that is, unless one -happens to be married, in which case there is no pleasure in it, or -in much else for the matter of that. I have always noticed that the -selfishness which dominates every man more or less, usually more, -develops on board ship to an abnormal extent. They invariably contrive -to get toothache or lumbago just as they cross the gangway to go aboard. -This is all preliminary to securing the lower berth with some appearance -of equity. What does it matter that the wife detests top berths, not -to speak of the loss of dignity she must endure at the idea even of -clambering up? Of course the husband does not ask her to take the -top berth. No husband can _ask_ his wife to make herself genuinely -uncomfortable to oblige him. He has to hint. He hints in all kinds of -ways--throws things about the cabin, and ejaculates parenthetically, -“How am I to climb up there with a tooth aching like mine?” or “I shall -be lamed for life with my lumbago if I have to get up to that height.” - -Having placed the wife in the position of being an unfeeling brute if -she insists on taking the lower berth for herself, there is nothing for -it but to go on as though the top berth were the be-all of the voyage -and her existence. - -“Let me have the top berth, Percy,” she pleads; “you know how I love -mountaineering.” - -“Oh, very well. You may have it. Don’t take it if you don’t want it, or -if you’d rather not. I should hate to seem selfish.” - -And so it goes on. Then in the morning, in spite of comic papers to the -contrary, the husband has to have first go-in at the looking-glass -and the washing apparatus, which makes the wife late for breakfast and -everything is cold. - -Cecily and I shared a most comfortable cabin amidships, together with a -Christian Science lady who lay in her berth most days crooning hymns -to herself in between violent paroxysms of _mal-de-mer_. I always -understood that in Christian Science you do not have to be ill if you do -not want to. This follower of the faith was very bad indeed, and -didn’t seem to like the condition of things much. We rather thought -of questioning her on the apparent discrepancy, but judged it wiser to -leave the matter alone. It is as well to keep on good terms with one’s -cabin mate. - -Nothing really exciting occurred on the voyage, but one of the -passengers provided a little amusement by her management, or rather -mismanagement, of an awkward affair. Almost as soon as we started -I noticed we had an unusually pretty stewardess, and that a warrior -returning to India appeared to agree with me. He waylaid her at every -opportunity, and I often came on them whispering in corners of passages -o’ nights. Of course it had nothing to do with me what the stewardess -did, for I am thankful to say I did not require her tender ministrations -on the voyage at all. Well, in the next cabin to ours was a silly little -woman--I had known her for years--going out to join her husband, a -colonel of Indian Lancers. She made the most never-ending fuss about the -noise made by a small baby in the adjoining cabin. One night, very late, -Mrs. R. could not, or would not, endure the din any longer, so decided -to oust the stewardess from her berth in the ladies’ cabin, the -stewardess to come to the vacated one next the wailing baby. All this -was duly carried into effect, and the whole ship was in complete silence -when the most awful shrieks rent the air. Most of the inhabitants of my -corridor turned out, and all made their way to the ladies’ cabin, which -seemed the centre of the noise. There we found the ridiculous Mrs. R. -alone, and in hysterics. After a little, we could see for ourselves -there was nothing much the matter. She gasped out that she had evicted -the stewardess, and was just falling off to sleep when a tall figure -appeared by the berth, clad in pale blue pyjamas--it seemed to vex her -so that it was pale blue, and for the life of me I could not see why -they were any worse than dark red--and calling her “Mabel, darling!” - embraced her rapturously. - -“And you know,” said Mrs. R. plaintively, “my name is _not_ Mabel! It is -Maud.” - -In the uproar the intruder had of course escaped, but Mrs. R. -unhesitatingly proclaimed him to be Captain H., the officer whom I had -noticed at first. We discovered the stewardess sleeping peacefully, or -making a very good imitation of it, and she was wakened up and again -dislodged, whilst Mrs. R. prepared to put up with the wailing baby for -the remains of the night. - -Next morning the captain of the ship interviewed the warrior, who -absolutely denied having been anywhere near the ladies’ cabin at the -time mentioned, and aided by a youthful subaltern, who perjured himself -like a man, proved a most convincing _alibi_. Matters went on until -one day on deck Captain H. walked up to Mrs. R. and reproached her for -saying he was the man who rudely disturbed her slumbers in the wee sma’ -hours. She, like the inane creature she is, went straight to the skipper -and reported that Captain H. was terrorising her. I heard that evening, -as a great secret, that the warrior had been requested to leave the ship -at Aden. Where the secret came in I don’t quite know, for the whole lot -of us knew of it soon after.= - -````Secret de deux, - -````Secret des dieux; - -````Secret de trois, - -````Secret de tous.= - -Do you know that? - -I was not surprised to hear Captain H. casually remark at breakfast next -morning that he thought of stopping off at Aden, as he had never been -ashore there, and had ideas of exploring the Hinterland some time, and -besides it was really almost foolish to pass a place so often and yet -know it not at all. I went to his rescue, and said it was a most sound -idea. I had always understood it was the proper thing to see Aden once -and never again. He looked at me most gratefully, and afterwards showed -us much kindness in many small ways. - -Mrs. R. preened herself mightily on having unmasked a villain. She -assured me the warrior’s reputation was damaged for all time. The silly -little woman did not seem to grasp the fact that a man’s reputation is -like a lobster’s claw: a new one can be grown every time the old one is -smashed. In fact we had a lobster at home in the aquarium, and it hadn’t -even gone to the trouble of dropping _one_ reputation--I mean claw--but -had three at once! - -It was one of the quaintest things imaginable to watch the attitude of -the various passengers towards the cause of all the trouble. A community -of people shut up together on board ship become quite like a small -town, of the variety where every one knows everyone else, _and_ their -business. Previous to the semi-subdued scandal Captain H. had been in -great request. He was a fine-looking man, and a long way more versatile -than most. Now many of the people who had painstakingly scraped -acquaintance with him felt it necessary to look the other way as he -passed. Others again--women, of course--tried to secure an introduction -from sheer inquisitiveness. - -The sole arbiter of what is what, a _multum in parvo_ of the correct -thing to do, we discovered in a young bride, a perfect tome of -learning. I think--I thought so before I met this walking ethic of -propriety--there is no doubt Mrs. Grundy is not the old woman she is -represented to be, with cap and spectacles, though for years we have -pictured her thus. It is all erroneous. Mrs. Grundy is a newly married -youthful British matron of the middle class. There is no greater -stickler for the proprieties living. Having possessed herself of a -certificate that certifies respectability, she likes to know everyone -else is hall-marked and not pinchbeck. She proposed to bring the romance -of the stewardess and the officer before the notice of the directors -of the company, and had every confidence in getting one or two people -dismissed over it. All hail for the proprieties! This good lady markedly -and ostentatiously cut the disgraced warrior, who was her _vis-à-vis_ at -table, and when I asked her why she considered a man guilty of anything -until he had been proved beyond doubt to merit cutting, she looked at me -with a supercilious eyebrow raised, and a world of pity for my ignorance -in her tone as she answered firmly: “I must have the moral courage -necessary to cut an acquaintance lacking principle.” - -“Wouldn’t it be infinitely more courageous to stick to one?” I said, and -left her. - -We had a very narrow little padre on board too, going out to take on -some church billet Mussoorie way. He was bent on collecting, from all of -us who were powerless to evade him, enough money to set up a screen -of sorts in his new tabernacle. Although he did not approve of the -sweepstakes on the day’s run, he sacrificed his feeling sufficiently to -accept a free share, and would ask us for subscriptions besides, as we -lounged about the deck individually or in small groups, always opening -the ball by asking our valueless opinions as to the most suitable -subject--biblical, of course--for illustration. He came to me one day -and asked me what I thought about the matter. Did I think Moses with his -mother would make a good picture for a screen? I had no views at all, -so had to speedily manufacture some. I gave it as my opinion that if -a screen picture were a necessity Moses would certainly do as well as -anybody else--in fact better. For, after all, Moses was the greatest -leader of men the world has ever known. He engineered an expedition to -freedom, and no man can do more than that. - -But I begged the padre to give Moses his rightful mother at last. For -the mother of Moses was not she who took all the credit for it. The -mother of Moses was undoubtedly the Princess, his father some handsome -Israelite, and that is why Moses was for ever in heart hankering after -his own people, the Israelites. The Princess arranged the little drama -of the bullrushes, most sweetly pathetic and tender of stories, arranged -too that the baby should be found at the crucial moment, and then gave -the little poem to the world to sing through the centuries. - -I shocked the parson profoundly, and he never asked me to subscribe -again. He was a narrow, bigoted little creature, and I should think has -the church and the screen very much to himself by now. I went to hear -him take service in the saloon on Sunday. He was quite the sort of padre -that makes one feel farther off from heaven than when one was a boy. - -I often wonder why so clever a man as Omar asked: “Why nods the drowsy -worshipper outside?” He must have known the inevitable result had the -drowsy worshipper gone in. - -I fell asleep during the sermon, and only wakened up as it was about -ending, just as the padre closed an impassioned harangue with “May we -all have new hearts, may we all have pure hearts, may we all have good -hearts, may we all have sweet hearts,” and the graceless Cecily says -that my “Amen” shook the ship, which was, I need hardly tell you, “a -most unmitigated misstatement.” - -Aden was reached at last--“The coal hole of the East.” As a -health resort, I cannot conscientiously recommend it. The heat was -overwhelming, and the local Hotel Ritz sadly wanting in some things and -overdone in others. We found it necessary to spend some days there and -many sleepless nights, pursuing during the latter the big game in our -bedrooms. “Keatings” was of no use. I believe the local insects were -case-hardened veterans, and rather liked the powder than otherwise. What -nights we had! But every one was in like case, for from all over the -house came the sound of slippers banging and much scuffling, and from -the room opposite to mine language consigning all insects, the Aden -variety in particular, to some even warmer place. - -In some ways the hotel was more than up to date. Nothing so ordinary -as a mere common or garden bell in one’s room. Instead, a sort of dial, -like the face of a clock, with every conceivable want written round it, -from a great desire to meet the manager to a wish to call out the -local Fire Brigade. You turned on a small steel finger to point at your -particular requirement, rang a bell--_et voilà!_ It seems mere carping -to state that the matter ended with _voilà_. The dials were there, you -might ring if you liked--what more do you want? Some day some one will -answer. Meanwhile, one can always shout. - -We met two other shooting parties at our _auberge_. The first comprised -a man and his elderly wife who were not immediately starting, some of -their kit having gone astray. He was a noted shot, and Madam had been -some minor trip with him and meant to accompany another. She was an -intensely cross-grained person, quite the last woman I should yearn to -be cooped up in a tent with for long at a time. Cecily’s idea of it was -that the shikari husband meant, sooner or later, to put into practice -the words of that beautiful song, “Why don’t you take her out and lose -her?” and stuck to it that we should one day come on head-lines in the -_Somaliland Daily Wail_ reading something like this:= - -````GREAT SHIKARI IN TEARS. - -````LOOKING FOR THE LOST ONE. - -````SOME LIONS BOLT THEIR FOOD.= - -The good lady regarded us with manifest disapproval. She considered us -as two lunatics, bound to meet with disaster and misfortune. Being women -alone, we were foredoomed to failure and the most awful things. Our -caravan would murder or abandon us. That much was certain. But she would -not care to say which. Anyway we should not accomplish anything. -She pointed out that a trip of the kind could not by any chance be -manoeuvred to a successful issue without the guidance of a husband. A -husband is an absolute necessity. - -I had to confess, shamefacedly enough, that we had not got a husband, -not even one husband, to say nothing of one each, and husbands being so -scarce these days, and so hard to come by, we should really have to try -and manage without. Having by some means or other contrived to annex a -husband for herself, she evinced a true British matron-like contempt for -every other woman not so supremely fortunate. - -She talked a great deal about “the haven of a good man’s love.” One -might sail the seas a long time, I think, before one made such a port. -Meanwhile the good lady’s _own_ haven, the elderly shikari, was flirting -with the big drum of the celebrated ladies’ orchestra at the Aden -tea-house. - -“All human beans,” for this is what our friend got the word to, as she -was right in the forefront of the g-dropping craze, “should marry. It is -too lonely to live by oneself.” - -Until one has been married long enough to appreciate the delight -and blessedness of solitude this may be true, but wise people don’t -dogmatise on so big a subject. Even Socrates told us that whether a -man marries or whether he doesn’t he regrets it. And so it would almost -follow that if one never jumped the precipice matrimonial one would -always have the lurking haunting fear of having been done out of -something good. It may be as well, therefore, to take the header in -quite youthful days and--get it over. But as the wise Cecily pertinently -remarks, you must first catch your hare! - -The other shooting party was that of two officers from India, one of -them a distant cousin of mine, who was as much surprised to see me as -I was to see him. They were setting off to Berbera as soon as humanly -possible, like ourselves. - -The younger man, my kinsman, took a great fancy to Cecily. At least I -suppose he did, in spite of her assertions to the contrary, for he stuck -to us like a burr. He was really by way of being a nuisance, as we had -a great deal to do in the way of satisfying the excise people, procuring -permits and myriad other things. - -One evening I heard the two warriors talking and the elder said, not -dreaming that his voice would carry so clearly: “Look here, if you are -not careful, we shall have those two girls trying to tack on to our -show. And I won’t have it, for they’ll be duffers, of course.” - -I laughed to myself, even though I was annoyed. Men are conceited ever, -but this was too much! To imagine we had gone to all the initial expense -and trouble only to join two sportsmen who, true to their masculine -nature, would on all occasions take the best of everything and leave us -to be contented with any small game we could find! - -It is true that being called a girl softened my wrath somewhat. One -can’t be called a girl at thirty without feeling a glow of pleasure. I -am thirty. So is Cecily. - -I expect you are smiling? I know a woman never passes thirty. It is her -Rubicon, and she cannot cross it. - -My uncle had written ahead for us to Berbera to engage, if possible, -his old shikari and head-man, and in addition had sent on copious -instructions as to our needs generally. Our trip was supposed to be a -secret in Aden, but we were inundated with applications from would-be -servants of all kinds. I afterwards discovered that a Somali knows -your business almost before you know it yourself, and in this -second-sight-like faculty is only exceeded in cleverness by the -inhabitants of a little island set in the Irish Sea and sacred to Hall -Caine. - - - - -CHAPTER II--IN BERBERA - - -`````All is uneven, - -```And everything left at six and seven - -`````Richard II= - - -|By this time the weekly steamer had sailed to Berbera, across the -Gulf, but we arranged to paddle our own canoes, so to speak, and the -two sportsmen, still, I suppose, in fear and trembling lest we should -clamour to form a part of their caravan, went shares with us in hiring -at an altogether ridiculous sum, almost enough to have purchased a ship -of our own, a small steamer to transport us and our numerous belongings -across the Gulf. - -Here I may as well say that it is possible for two women to successfully -carry out a big shoot, for we proved it ourselves, but I do not believe -it possible for them to do it _cheaply_. I never felt the entire truth -of the well-known axiom, “The woman pays,” so completely as on this -trip. The women paid with a vengeance--twice as much as a man would have -done. - -The getting of our things aboard was a scene of panic I shall never -forget. It was, of anything I have ever had to do with, the quaintest -and most amusing of sights. Each distinct package seemed to fall to the -ground at least twice before it was considered to have earned the right -to a passage at all. The men engaged by us to do the transporting of our -goods were twins to the porters engaged by our friends, the opposition -shoot. They did not appear to reason out that as the mountain of -packages had to be got aboard before we could sail, it did not matter -whose porter carried which box or kit. No, each porter must stick to -the belongings of the individual who hired him to do the job. Naturally, -this caused the wildest confusion, and I sat down on a packing case that -nobody seemed to care much about and laughed and laughed at the idiocy -of it. To see the leader of the opposition shoot gravely detach from my -porter a bale of goods to which their label was attached, substituting -for it a parcel from our special heap, was to see man at the zenith in -the way of management. - -It was very early, indeed, when we began operations, but not so early -by the time we sailed, accompanied by a rabble of Somalis bent on -negotiating the voyage at our expense. It was useless to say they could -not come aboard, because come they would, and the villainous-looking -skipper seemed to think the more the merrier. Our warrior friends were -all for turning off the unpaying guests, but I begged that there should -be no more delay, and so, when we were loaded up, like a cheap tripping -steamer to Hampton Court, we sailed. It was a truly odious voyage. The -wretched little craft rolled and tossed to such an extent I thought she -really must founder. I remember devoutly wishing she would. - -The leader brought out sketching materials, and proceeded to make a -water-colour sketch of the sea. - -It was just the same as any other sea, only nastier and more bumpy. We -imagined--Cecily and myself--that the boat would do the trip in about -sixteen hours. She floundered during twenty-four, and I spent most of -the time on a deck-chair, “the world forgetting.” At intervals Somalis -would come up from the depths somewhere, cross their hands and pray. I -joined them every time in spirit. Cecily told me that the little cabin -was too smelly for words, but in an evil minute I consented to be -escorted thither for a meal. - -“She’s not exactly a Cunarder,” sang out the younger officer, my -kinsman, from the bottom of the companion, “but anyway they’ve got us -something to eat.” - -They had. Half-a-dozen different smells pervaded the horrid little -cabin, green cabbage in the ascendant. The place was full of our kit, -which seemed to have been fired in anyhow from the fo’castle end. With -a silly desire to suppress the evidence of my obvious discomfort, I -attacked an overloaded plate of underdone mutton and cabbage. I tried to -keep my eyes off it as far as possible; sometimes it seemed multiplied -by two, but the greasy gravy had a fatal fascination for me, and at last -proved my undoing. The elder warrior supplied a so-called comfort, in -the shape of a preventative against sea-sickness, concocted, he said, by -his mother, which accelerated matters; and they all kindly dragged me on -deck again and left me to myself in my misery. All through the night I -stayed on my seat on deck, not daring to face the cabin and that awful -smell, which Cecily told me was bilge water. - -It was intensely cold, but, fortunately, I had a lot of wraps. The -others lent me theirs too, telling me I should come below, as it was -going to be “a dirty night,” whatever that might mean. It seemed a -never-ending one, and my thankfulness cannot be described when, as -the dawn broke, I saw land--Somaliland. We made the coast miles below -Berbera, which is really what one might have expected. However, it was -a matter of such moment to me that we made it at last that I was not -disposed to quibble we had not arrived somewhere else. - -I managed to pull myself together sufficiently to see the Golis Range. -The others negotiated breakfast. They brought me some tea, made of some -of the bilge water I think, and I did not fancy it. Then came Berbera -Harbour, with a lighthouse to mark the entrance; next Berbera itself, -which was a place I was as intensely glad to be in as I afterwards was -to leave it. I should never have believed there were so many flies in -the whole world had I not seen them with mine own eyes. In fact, my -first impression of Berbera may be summed up in the word “flies.” The -town seemed to be in two sections, native and European, the former -composed of typical Arab houses and numerous huts of primitive and -poverty-stricken appearance. The European quarter has large well-built -one-storied houses, flat-roofed; and the harbour looked imposing, and -accommodates quite large ships. - -Submerged in the shimmering ether we could discern, through the -parting of the ways of the Maritime Range, the magnificent Golis, about -thirty-five miles inland from Berbera as the crow flies. - -The same pandemonium attended our disembarking. All our fellow voyagers -seemed to have accompanied the trip for no other reason than to act -as porters. There were now more porters than packages, and so the men -fought for the mastery to the imminent danger of our goods and chattels. -Order was restored by our soldier friends, who at last displayed a -little talent for administration; and sorting out the porters into some -sort of system, soon had them running away, like loaded-up ants, with -our packages and kit to the travellers’ bungalow in the European square, -whither we speedily followed them, and established ourselves. It -was quite a comfortable _auberge_, and seemed like heaven after that -abominable toy steamer, and we christened it the “Cecil” at once. - -Cecily began to sort our things into some degree of sequence. I could -not help her. I was all at sea still, and felt every toss of the voyage -over. These sort of battles fought o’er again are, to say the least, not -pleasant. - -We had not arrived so very long before our master of the ceremonies -came to discover us, with my uncle’s letter clasped in his brown hand. -I shall never forget the amazement on the man’s face as we introduced -ourselves. I could not at first make out what on earth could be the -matter, but at last the truth dawned on me. He had not expected to find -us of the feminine persuasion. - -Our would-be henchman’s name was unpronounceable, and sounded more like -“Clarence” than anything, so Clarence he remained to the end--a really -fine, handsome fellow, not very dark, about the Arab colour, with a mop -of dark hair turning slightly grey. His features were of the Arab type, -and I should say a strong Arab strain ran in his family, stronger even -than in most Somali tribes. I think the Arab tinge exists more or less -in every one of them. Anyhow, they are not of negritic descent. - -[Illustration: 0043] - -Our man used the Somali “Nabad” as a salutation, instead of the “Salaam -aleikum” of the Arabs. The last is the most generally used. We heard -it almost invariably in the Ogaden and Marehan countries. Clarence had -donned resplendent garb in which to give us greeting, and discarding the -ordinary everyday white tobe had dressed himself in the khaili, a tobe -dyed in shades of the tricolour, fringed with orange. We never saw -him again tricked out like this; evidently the get-up must have been -borrowed for the occasion. He wore a _tusba_, or prayer chaplet, round -his neck, and the beads were made from some wood that had a pleasant -aroma. A business-like dagger was at the waist; Peace and War were -united. - -I noticed what long tapering fingers the Somali had, and quite -aristocratic hands, though so brown. He had a very graceful way of -standing too. In fact all his movements were lithe and lissome, telling -us he was a jungle man. I liked him the instant I set eyes on him, and -we were friends from the day we met to the day we parted. Had we been -unable to secure his services I do not know where we should have ended, -or what the trip might have cost. Everyone in Berbera seemed bent -on making us pay for things twice over, and three times if possible. -Clarence’s demands were reasonable enough, and he fell in with our -wishes most graciously. - -I gave instructions for the purchase of camels, fifty at least, for the -caravan was a large one. There were not so many animals in the place for -sale at once, and of course our soldier friends were on the look out for -likely animals also. - -During the next few days we busied ourselves in engaging the necessary -servants. My uncle had impressed on me the necessity of seeing that the -caravan was peopled with men from many tribes, as friction is better -than a sort of trust among themselves. Clarence appeared to have no wish -to take his own relatives along, as is so often the case, and we had no -bother in the matter. But we were dreadfully ‘had’ over six rough ponies -we bought. We gave one hundred and fifty rupees each for them and they -were dear at forty. However, much wiser people than Cecily and myself -go wrong in buying horses! Later in the trip we acquired a better pony -apiece and so pulled through all right. - -My cousin has a very excellent appetite, and is rather fond of the -flesh-pots generally, and gave as much attention to the engaging of -a suitable cook as I did to the purchase of the camels. No lady ever -emerged more triumphantly from the local Servants’ Registry Office after -securing the latest thing in cooks than did Cecily on rushing out of the -bungalow at express speed to tell me she had engaged a regular Monsieur -Escoffier to accompany us. - -What he could not cook was not worth cooking. Altogether we seemed in -for a good time as far as meals were concerned. - -Meanwhile Clarence had produced from somewhere about forty-five camels, -and I judged it about time to launch a little of the knowledge I was -supposed to have gathered from my shikâri uncle. I told Clarence I would -personally see and pass every camel we bought for the trip, and -prepared for an inspection in the Square. I suffered the most frightful -discomfort, in the most appalling heat, but I did not regret it, as I -really do think my action prevented our having any amount of useless -camels being thrust upon us. - -Assume a virtue if you have it not. The pretence at knowledge took in -the Somalis, and I went up some miles in their estimation. - -As I say, some of the camels offered were palpably useless, and were -very antediluvian indeed. I refused any camel with a sore back, or with -any tendency that way, and I watched with what looked like the most -critical and knowing interest the manner of kneeling. The animal must -kneel with fore and hind legs together, or there is something wrong. -I can’t tell you what. My uncle merely said, darkly, “something.” Of -course I found out age by the teeth, an operation attended with much -snapping and Somali cuss-words. The directions about teeth had grown -very confused in my mind, and all I stuck to was the pith of the -narrative, namely, that a camel at eight years old has molars and -canines. I forget the earlier ages with attendant incisors. Then another -condition plain to be seen was the hump. Even a tyro like myself could -see the immense difference between the round, full hump of a camel in -fine condition and that of the poor over-worked creature. As I knew we -were paying far too much for the beasts anyway I saw no reason why we -should be content to take the lowest for the highest. - -Finally I stood possessed of forty-nine camels, try as I would I could -not find a fiftieth. I was told this number was amply sufficient to -carry our entire outfit, but how they were to do so I really could not -conceive. Viewed casually, our possessions now assumed the dimensions -of a mountain, and we had to pitch tents in the Square in order to store -the goods safely. This necessitated a constant guard. - -Everything we brought with us was in apple-pie order owing to the lists -so carefully placed in the lid of each box, and gave us no trouble in -the dividing up into the usual camel loads. It was our myriad purchases -in Berbera that caused the chaos. They were here, there and everywhere, -and all concerning them was at six and seven. I detailed some camels to -carry our personal kit, food supplies, &c., exclusively; the same men -to be always responsible for their safety, and that there should be -no mistake about it I took down the branding marks on apiece of paper. -Camels seem to be branded on the neck, and most of the marks are -different, for I suppose every tribe has its own hallmark. - -Some of the camels brought into Berbera for sale are not intended to be -draught animals, being merely for food, and with so much care and extra -attention get very fine and well-developed generally. Camel-meat is to -the Somali what we are given to understand turtle soup is to the London -alderman. Next in favour comes mutton, but no flesh comes up to camel. -The Somali camel-man is exceedingly attentive to his charges, giving -them names, and rarely, if ever, ill treating them. As a result the -animals are fairly even tempered, for camels, and one may go amongst -them with more or less assurance of emerging unbitten. When loading up -the man sings away, and the camel must get familiar with the song. It -seems to be interminably the same, and goes on and on in dreary monotone -until the job is over. I would I knew what it was all about. - -Of course it is a fact that a camel can take in a month’s supply of -water, but it very much depends on the nature of the month how the -animal gets on. If he is on pasture, green and succulent, he can go on -much longer than a month, but if working hard, continuously, and much -loaded, once a week is none too often to water him. They are not -strong animals; far from it, and they have a great many complaints and -annoyances to contend with in a strenuous life. The most awful, to my -mind, is sore back and its consequences. This trouble comes from bad -and uneven lading, damp mats, &c., and more often than not the sore is -scratched until it gets into a shocking condition. Flies come next, and -maggots follow, and then a ghastly Nemesis in the form of the rhinoceros -bird which comes for a meal, and with its sharp pointed beak picks up -maggots and flesh together. When out at pasture these birds never leave -the browsing camels alone, clinging on to shoulders, haunch, and side, -in threes and fours. - -We had now in our caravan, not counting Clarence and the cook, two boys -(men of at least forty, who always referred to themselves as “boys”) -to assist the cook, one “makadam,” or head camel-man, twenty-four camel -men, four syces, and six hunters, to say nothing of a couple of men of -all work, who appeared to be going with us for reasons only known to -themselves. - -In most caravans the head-man and head shikari are separate individuals, -but in our show Clarence was to double the parts. It seemed to us the -wisest arrangement. He was so excellent a manager, and we knew him to be -a mighty hunter. - -The chaos of purchases included rice, _harns_ or native water-casks, -ordinary water barrels calculated to hold about twelve gallons apiece, -blankets for the men, _herios_, or camel mats, potatoes, _ghee_, leather -loading ropes, numerous native axes, onions, many white tobes for gifts -up country, and some _Merikani_ tobes (American made cloth) also for -presents, or exchange. Tent-pegs, cooking utensils, and crowds of little -things which added to the confusion. A big day’s work, however, set -things right, and meanwhile Cecily had discovered a treasure in the way -of a butler. He had lived in the service of a white family at Aden, and -so would know our ways. - -We had taken out a saddle apiece, as the double-peaked affair used by the -Somalis is a very uncomfortable thing indeed. - -[Illustration: 0051] - -Rice for the men’s rations we bought in sacks of some 160 pounds, and -two bags could be carried by one camel. Dates, also an indispensable -article of diet, are put up in native baskets of sorts, and bought by -the _gosra_, about 130 pounds, and two _gosra_ can be apportioned to a -camel. _Ghee_, the native butter, is a compound of cow’s milk, largely -used by the Somalis to mix with the rice portion, a large quantity of -fat being needful ere the wheels go round smoothly. It is bought in a -bag made of a whole goat skin, with an ingenious cork of wood and clay. -Each bag, if my memory serves me rightly, holds somewhere about 20 -pounds, and every man expects two ounces daily unless he is on a meat -diet, when it is possible to economise the rice and dates and _ghee_. - -The camel mats, or _herios_, are plaited by the women of Somaliland, and -are made from the chewed bark of a tree called Galol. The _harns_ for -water are also made from plaited bark, in different sizes, and when -near a _karia_, it is quite usual to see old women and small children -carrying on their backs the heaviest filled _harns_, whilst the men sit -about and watch operations. The _harns_, which hold about six gallons -of water, are--from the camels’ point of view anyway--the best for -transport purposes. Six can be carried at once, but a tremendous amount -of leakage goes on, and this is very irritating, upsetting calculations -so. The water-casks were really better, because they were padlocked, and -could also be cleaned out at intervals. But of these only two can go on -a camel at one time. - -Our own kit was mostly in tin uniform cases, these being better than -wooden boxes on account of damp and rainy weather. Leather, besides -being heavy, is so attractive to ants. Our rifles, in flat cases, -specially made, were compact and not cumbersome, at least not untowardly -cumbersome. Our food stores were in the usual cases, padlocked, and a -little of everything was in each box, so that we did not need to raid -another before the last opened was half emptied. The ammunition was -carried in specially made haversacks, each haversack being marked for -its particular rifle, and more spare ammunition was packed away in a -convenient box, along with cleaning materials, &c. We made our coats -into small pantechnicons, and the pockets held no end of useful small -articles and useful contraptions. My two coats, one warm khaki serge, -one thin drill, were both made with recoil pads as fixtures, and this -was an excellent idea, as they saved my shoulder many hard knocks. - -We heard of a man who was anxious to go out as skinner, but the -Opposition, for we had by now christened the rival camp so, snapped -him up before we had an opportunity to engage him. On learning of our -disappointment they nobly volunteered to waive their claim, but when I -saw the trophy in discussion I would not take him into our little lot at -any price. A more crafty, murderous-looking individual it would be hard -to find. - -The Opposition watched us do some of the packing, and were green with -envy as they handled our rifles. The elder tried to induce me to sell -him my double-barrelled hammerless ejecting .500 Express. I don’t know -how I was meant to be able to get along without it, but I suppose he -didn’t think that mattered. - -It was then that Clarence, who had, I believe, been yearning to ask -all along, wanted to know if I was any good with a rifle, and the other -Mem-sahib could she shoot, and if so how had we learned, for the -Somalis are nothing if not direct. They rather remind me of English -North-country people with their outspoken inquisitiveness, which is at -home always regarded as such charming straightforwardness of character. - -I was as modest as I could be under the circumstances, but I had to -allay any fears the man might be harbouring. Besides, it is not well to -under-estimate oneself, especially to a Somali. Nowadays everywhere it -is the thing to remove the bushel from one’s light and to make it -glare in all men’s eyes. My advice to any one who wants to be heard -of is--Advertise, advertise, advertise. If you begin by having a great -opinion of yourself and talk about it long enough, you generally end by -being great in the opinion of everyone else. I told our shikari I had -the use of my uncle’s fine range at home, and the advantage of what -sport there was to be had in England and Scotland. Also that this was -not our first expedition. The knowledge of all this and my unbounded -confidence, not to say cheek, set all doubts at rest. - -Every night I was rendered desperate by the scratching in my room of -some little rodent which thundered about the floor as though his feet -were shod with iron. - -Hurrah! At last I had him! He stole my biscuits set for my “chota -hazari,” and sometimes left me stranded. They resided in a tin by my -bedside. Kismet overtook him, and his nose was in the jaws of a gin. He -was killed _instanter_, and the cat dropped in to breakfast. - -I helped her to him. - -She commenced on his head, and finished with his tail, a sort of cheese -straw. This is curious, because a lion, which is also a cat, begins at -the other end. Domesticity reverses the order of a good many things. - -He left no trace behind him. Unknown (except to me) he lived, and -uncoffined (unless a cat may be called a coffin) he died. By the way, -_he_ was a rat. - -One afternoon Cecily and I walked along the sea coast at Berbera, and -came on the most remarkable fish, jumping into the sea from the sandy -shore. I asked a resident about this, and he said the fish is called -“mud-skipper”--a name that seems to have more point about it than most. - -So, at last, we reached the day fixed for the starting of the great -trek. - - - - -CHAPTER III--THE STARTING OF THE GREAT TREK - - -````My necessaries are embark’d - -`````Hamlet= - - -```Occasion smiles upon a second leave - -`````Hamlet= - - -|At three o’clock in the morning we joined our caravan, all in -readiness, in the Square. It was still dark, but we could see the -outline of the waiting camels loaded up like pantechnicon vans, and our -ponies saddled in expectation of our coming. The Opposition, who had -mapped out a different route, beginning by skirting the borders of the -now barred reserve for game in the Hargaisa, got up to see us start and -wish us “Good hunting.” What our men thought of us and the expedition -generally I cannot conjecture. Outwardly at least they gave no sign of -astonishment. Clarence gave the word to march, and we set out, leaving -Berbera behind us, and very glad we were to see the suburbs a thing of -the past. The flies and the sand storms there are most hard to bear, and -a little longer sojourn would have seen both of us in bad tempers. - -We made up our minds from the first to have tents pitched every night -under any circumstances, and never do any of that sleeping on the ground -business which seems to be an indispensable part of the fun of big game -shooting. We also resolved to share a tent for safety’s sake, but after -a little, when we had begun to understand there was nothing on earth to -be afraid of, we “chucked” this uncomfortable plan and sported a tent -apiece. - -On clear nights I always left the flap of the tent open. - -I loved to see the wonderful blue of the sky, so reminiscent of the -chromo-lithograph pictures admired so greatly in childhood’s days. And -I would try and count the myriad stars, and trace a path down the Milky -Way. How glorious it was, that first waking in the early, early morning -with dark shadows lurking around, the embers of the fires glowing dully, -and--just here--a faint breeze blowing in with messages from the distant -sea. - -The long string of grunting camels ahead looked like some pantomime -snake of colossal proportions as it wriggled its way through the low -thorn bushes which, here and there, grew stunted and forlorn; camels -move with such an undulating gait, and the loads I had trembled about -seemed to be a mere bagatelle. - -All too soon came the day, and, with the day, the sun in fiery -splendour, which speedily reduced us both to the condition of Mr. -Mantalini’s expressive description of “demn’d, damp, unpleasant bodies.” - The glitter from the sand made us blink at first, but, like everything -else, we got perfectly inured to it, and dark days or wet seemed the -darker for its loss. - -Jerk! And all the camels stopped and bumped into each other, like a -train of loaded trucks after a push from an engine. The front camel -decided he would rest and meditate awhile, so sat down. He had to be -taught the error of such ways, and in a volley of furious undertones -from his driver be persuaded to rise. - -We passed numerous camels grazing, or trying to, in charge of poor -looking, half-fed Somali youths. There is no grazing very near into -Berbera, very little outside either unless the animals are taken far -afield. Here they were simply spending their energy on trying to pick -a bit from an attenuated burnt-up patch of grass that would have been -starvation to the average rabbit. - -The camel men in charge came over to exchange salaams with ours, and -proffer camels’ milk, in the filthiest of _harns_, to the “sahibs.” We -couldn’t help laughing. But for our hair we looked undersized sahibs -all right, I suppose, but we couldn’t face the milk. It would have been -almost as disagreeable as that bilge water tea. - -We each rode one of our expensive steeds, and I had certainly never -ridden worse. I called mine “Sceptre,” and “Sceptre” would not answer to -the rein at all. I think his jaw was paralysed. He would play follow the -leader, so I rode behind Cecily. - -The cook of cooks made us some tea, but I don’t think the kettle had -boiled. Cecily said perhaps it wasn’t meant to in Somaliland. I asked -her to see that we set the fashion. - -We rested during the hottest hours, and then trekked again for a little -in the evening. There was no need to form a thorn zareba the first night -out, as we were practically still in Berbera--at least I felt so when I -knew we had covered but some fifteen miles since dawn. Perhaps it will -be as well here to describe our clothes for the trip. We wore useful -khaki jackets, with many capacious pockets, knickerbockers, gaiters, -and good shooting boots. At first we elected to don a silly little skirt -that came to the knee, rather like the ones you see on bathing suits, -but we soon left the things off, or rather they left us, torn to pieces -by the thorns. - -Mosquitoes do not like me at all in any country, but we had curtains -of course, and they served, very badly, to keep out the insects that -swarmed all over one. - -Next day as we progressed, we saw numerous dik-dik, popping up as -suddenly as the gophers do in Canada. They are the tiniest little -things, weighing only about four pounds, and are the smallest variety -of buck known. The back is much arched, grey brown in colour, with much -rufous red on the side. The muzzle is singularly pointed. The little -horns measure usually about two and a half inches, but the females are -hornless. - -The ground we went over was very barren and sandy, rather ugly than -otherwise, and there was no cover of any kind. Any thought of stalking -the small numbers of gazelle we saw was out of the question. Besides, -our main object was to push on as fast as possible to the back of -beyond. - -In the evenings we always did a few miles, and camped where any wells -were to be found. The water was full of leeches, but we carefully boiled -all the drinking water for our personal use. The Somalis seem to thrive -on the filthiest liquid. - -The cook got a leech of the most tenacious principles on to his wrist, -and made the most consummate fuss. A bite from a venomous snake -could hardly have occasioned more commotion. I can’t imagine what the -condition of the man would have been had the leech stayed as long as it -intended. I put a little salt on its tail, and settled the matter. By -the end of the next short trek we reached the Golis Range, taking them -at their narrowest part. The whole place had changed for the better. -Clear pools of water glistened bright among a riot of aloes and thorns, -and there was also a very feathery looking plant, of which I do not know -the name. - -For the first time we said to each other, “Let us go out and kill -something, or try to.” There was always the dread of returning to camp -unblooded, so to speak, when Clarence might, or would, or should, or -could regard us as two amiable lunatics not fit to be trusted with -firearms. This is a woman all over. Try as she will she cannot rise -superior to Public Opinion--even the opinion of a crowd of ignorant -Somalis! After all, what is it? “The views of the incapable Many as -opposed to the discerning Few.” - -We agreed to separate, tossing up for the privilege of taking Clarence. -To my infinite regret I drew him. As a rule when we tossed up we did it -again and again until the one who had a preference got what she wanted. -Women always toss up like that. Why bother to toss at all? Ah, now -you’ve asked a poser. - -But I couldn’t get Cecily to try our luck again. She said she was suited -all right. The fact being that neither of us yearned to make a possible -exhibition before our shikari. There was nothing for it. I took my .500 -Express, and with Clarence behind me flung myself into the wilderness in -as nonchalant a manner as I could assume. I was really very excited in -a quiet sort of way, “for now sits Expectation in the air.” It got a -trifle dashed after an hour of creeping about with no sort of reward -save the frightened rush of the ubiquitous dik-dik. - -“Mem-sahib! Mem-sahib!” from the shikari, in excited undertone. - -He gripped my arm in silent indication. - -“Mem-sahib!” in tones of anguished reproach. “Gerenük!” - -We were always Mems to Clarence, who perhaps felt, like the lady at -Aden, that if we weren’t we ought to be. - -I looked straight ahead, and from my crouching position could make out -nothing alive. I gazed intently again. And, yes, of course, all that I -looked at was gerenük, two, three, four of them. In that moment of huge -surprise I couldn’t even count properly. The intervening bushes screened -them more or less, but what a comical appearance they had! how quaintly -set their heads! how long their necks! how like giraffes! They moved on, -slowly tearing down the thorns as they fed. I commenced to stalk. There -was a fine buck with a good head. It was not difficult to distinguish -him, as his harem carried no horns. - -For twenty minutes or more I crawled along, hoping on, hoping ever, that -some chance bit of luck would bring me in fairly clear range, or that -the antelope would pause again. Clearly they had not winded me; clearly -I was not doing so very badly to be still in their vicinity at all. Now -came a bare patch of country to be got over, and I signed to Clarence to -remain behind. I was flat on my face, wriggling along the sand. If -the antelope were only in the open, and I in the spot where they were -screened! The smallest movement now, and... I got to within 120 yards -of them when something snapped. The herd gathered together and silently -trotted off, making a way through the density with surprising ease -considering its thick nature. I got up and ran some way to try and cut -them off, dropping again instantly as I saw a gap ahead through which -it seemed likely their rush would carry them. It was an uncertain and -somewhat long shot, but the chances were I should never see the animals -again if I did not take even the small opportunity that seemed about -to present itself. I had long ago forgotten the very existence of -my shikari. The world might have been empty save for myself and four -gerenük. Nervousness had left me, doubts of all kinds; nothing remained -save the wonder and the interest and the scheming. - -It really was more good luck than good management. I afterwards -discovered that the gerenük, or Waller’s gazelle, is the most difficult -antelope to shoot in all Somaliland, mostly from their habit of -frequenting the thickest country. - -This is where the ignoramus scores. It is well known that the tyro at -first is often more successful in his stalks, and kills too, for the -matter of that, than your experienced shikari with years of practice -and a mine of knowledge to draw on. Fools rush in where angels fear to -tread--and win too sometimes. - -The herd passed the gap, and, as they did so, slowed up a bit to crush -through. The buck presented more than a sporting shot, his lighter side -showing up clear against his dark red back. I fired. I heard the “phut” - of the bullet, and knew I had not missed. I began to tremble with the -after excitements, and rated myself soundly for it. I dashed to the gap. -The buck--oh, where was he? Gone on, following his companions, and all -were out of sight. He was seriously wounded, there was no doubt, for the -blood trail was plain to be seen. Clarence joined me, and off we went -hot on the track. After a long chase we came on a thickish bunch of -thorns, and my quarry, obviously hard hit, bounded out, and was off -again like the wind before I had an opportunity to bring up my rifle. It -was a long time before he gave me another, when, catching him in fairly -open ground, I dropped him with a successful shot at some 140 yards, and -the buck fell as my first prize of the trip. - -Clarence’s pleasure in my success was really genuine, and I gave him -directions to reserve the head and skin, royally presenting him with all -the meat. I could not at first make out why he so vigorously refused it. -I made up my mind he had some prejudice against this particular variety -of antelope. I afterwards found that no Jew is more particular how -his meat is killed than is the Somali. The system of “hallal” is very -strictly respected, and it was only occasionally, when I meant the men -to have meat, that I was able to stock their larder. - -I tasted some of this gerenük, and cooked it myself, Our cook was, -indeed, a failure. He was one of the talk-about-himself variety, and -from constant assertions that he could cook anything passing well, had -come to believe himself a culinary artist. - -I roasted a part of the leg of my gerenük, and did it in a way we used -to adopt in the wilds of Vancouver Island. A hole is made in the ground -and filled with small timber and pieces of wood. This is fired, and -then, when the embers are glowing, the meat being ready in a deep tin -with a tight-fitting lid, you place it on the hot red ashes, and cover -the whole with more burning faggots, which are piled on until the meat -is considered to be ready. If the Somalis have a quantity of meat -to cook, they make a large trench, fill it with firewood, and make a -network of stout faggots, on which the meat is placed. It is a sort of -grilling process, and very effective. If kept constantly turned, the -result is usually quite appetising. - -Cecily came into camp with a Speke buck. I examined it with the greatest -interest. The coat feels very soft to the touch, and has almost the -appearance of having been oiled. Speke’s Gazelle are very numerous in -the Golis, and are dark in colour, with a tiny black tail. They have -a very strange protuberance of skin on the nose, of which I have never -discovered the use. Every extraordinary feature of wild life seems to -me to be there for some reason of protection, or escape, or well being. -Dear Nature arranges things so to balance accounts a little ’twixt all -the jungle folk. In the Speke fraternity there is more equality of the -sexes. The does as well as the bucks carry horns. At first I pretended -to Cecily that my expedition had been an humiliating and embarrassing -failure, that I had signally missed a shot at a gerenük that would have -delighted the heart of a baby in arms. But she caught sight of my trophy -impaled on a thorn bush, and dashed over to see it _instanter_. - -About this time we were very much amused to discover we had among our -shikaris a veritable Baron Munchausen. Of whatever he told us, the -contrary was the fact. If he brought news of splendid “khubbah,” there -was no game for miles. If we went spooring, he spoored to the extent of -romancing about beasts that could not possibly frequent the region we -were in at all. I do not mind a few fibs; in fact, I rather like them.= - -````“A taste exact for faultless fact - -````Amounts to a disease,”= - -and argues such a hopeless want of imagination. But this man was too -much altogether. Of course he may have had a somewhat perverted sense of -humour. - -My uncle had warned me I should find all Somalis frightful liars, and to -be prepared for it. Personally, I always like to assume that every man -is a Washington until I have proved him to be an Ananias. - -We saw--in the distance--numerous aoul, Soemmering’s Gazelle, and the -exquisitely graceful koodoo, the most beautiful animal, to my thinking, -that lives in Somaliland. The horns are magnificent, with the most -artistic of curves. The females are hornless in this species also. When -come upon suddenly, or when frightened, this animal “barks” exactly as -our own red deer are wont to do. In colour they are of a greyish hue, -and their sides are striped in lines of white. - -It was not our intention to stay and stalk the quantities of game about -us. Our desire was all to push on to the kingdom of His Majesty King -Leo. So for days we went on, halting o’ nights now in glorious scenery, -and everywhere the game tracks were plentiful. The other side of the -Golis we thought really lovely, the trees were so lofty and the jungle -so thick. The atmosphere was much damper, and it was not long before we -felt the difference in our tents. However, there was one consolation, -water was plentiful, and we were so soon to leave that most necessary of -all things. - -The birds were beautiful, and as tame as the sparrows in Kensington -Gardens. One afternoon I walked into a small nullah, where, to my joy, -I found some ferns, on which some of the most lovely weaver-finches had -built their nests. The small birds are, to my mind, the sweetest in the -world. Some were crimson, some were golden, and the metallic lustre of -their plumage made them glitter in the sun. There was also a variety -of the long-tailed whydah bird, some honey-suckers, and a number of -exquisite purple martins. Two of the last flew just behind me, snapping -up the insects I stirred up with my feet. I watched one with a fly in -its beak, which it released again and again, always swooping after it -and recapturing it, just like a cruel otter with its fish. - -I tried to find some of the nests of the little sun-birds. I believe -they dome them, but no one quite knows why. It was once thought that it -was done to hide the brilliant colours of some feminines from birds -of prey, but it is done by some plain ones as well. Some birds lock up -their wives in the nests; they must be a frivolous species! - -Many of the honey-suckers are quite gorgeous when looked at -closely--especially the green malachite ones, which have a bright -metallic appearance. I also watched some little russet finches -performing those evolutions associated with the nesting season only. -They rose clapping their wings together above them, producing a noise -somewhat similar to our own hands being clapped, and when at the top -of their ascent they uttered a single note and then shut up as if shot, -descending rapidly until close to the ground, when they open their wings -again and alight most gently. The single note is the love song, and -the other extraordinary performance is the love dance. It must be -attractive, as it is done by the male only, and only in the breeding -season. - -Farther on I got into a perfect little covey of sun-birds flying about -and enjoying themselves. Every now and again one would settle on a -flowering shrub with crimson blossoms, and dip its curved long beak into -the cup and suck out the honey. The male of this species is ornamented -with a long tail, the female being much plainer. In the brute creation -it is always so; the male tries to captivate by ornaments and -brilliant colours. We human beings have grown out of that and try other -blandishments. But it is curious that the male has still to ask and the -female to accept. We haven’t changed that. We fight just as bucks and -tigers do, and the winner isn’t always chosen; there may be reasons -against it. There is just that little uncertainty, that little -hardness to please which gives such joy to the pursuit. Well, there are -exceptions, for the ladies of the bustard persuasion fight for their -lords. - -On my way back to camp I saw a buck and Mrs. Buck of the Speke genus. -The former stood broadside on, and almost stared me out of countenance -at fifty paces. He evidently knew I was unarmed. Why do they always -stand broadside on? I’ve never seen it explained. I suppose it is partly -because he is in a better position for flight. - -At this camp we were caught in a continuous downpour which lasted -twenty-four hours, intermixed with furious thunderstorms. Cecily’s tent -(fortunately she was in mine at the time) was struck, producing some -curious results. The lightning split the bamboo tent-pole into shreds -and threw splinters about that, when collected, made quite a big bundle. -The hats and clothes which were hanging on to the pole were found flung -in all directions, but nothing was burnt. The lightning disappeared into -the loose soil, without appreciably disturbing it. - -Then we had a glorious day sandwiched in, but returned again to the -winter of our discontent and Atlantic thunderstorms. It was rather -unfortunate to emerge from one rain to enter another. We took the -precaution this time to entrench ourselves so that the tents were not -flooded, but the poor camels must have had a bad time. - -The sun reappeared at last, after a long seclusion, and all our clothes, -beds, and chattels had to be dried. Never has old Sol had a warmer -welcome. All nature aired itself. - -We moved on and now found it needful to form a zareba at night. Into -this citadel of thorns and cut bushes the camels were driven and our -tents set up. At intervals of a few yards fires blazed, and a steady -watch was kept. - -We camped in one place for two days in order to fill up every water -cask, and here Cecily and I, going out together one morning quite early, -had the luck to come on a whole sounder of wart hog. I shall never -forget the weird and extraordinary spectacle they presented. A big boar, -rather to the front, with gleaming tushes, stepping so proudly and -ever and again shaking his weighty head. They all appeared to move with -clockwork precision and to move slowly, whereas, as a matter of fact, -they were going at a good pace. We dropped, and I took a shot at the -coveted prize, and missed! The whole sounder fled in panic, with tails -held erect, a very comical sight. We doubled after them through the -bush, and bang! I had another try. They were gone, and the whole jungle -astir. - -I bagged a very fine Speke’s Gazelle here, but am ashamed to say it was -a doe. It is very hard sometimes to differentiate between the sexes in -this species. - -[Illustration: 0071] - -I was very much looking forward to the opportunity of bagging an oryx, I -admire the horns of this antelope so greatly, though I suppose they are -not really to be compared in the same breath with those of the koodoo. -The oryx is very powerfully made, about the size of a pony, and the -horns are long and tapering. They remind me of a vast pair of screws, -the “thread” starting from the base and winding round to a few inches -off the top when the horn is plain. They are the greatest fighters of -all the genus buck, and the bulls are provided by nature, who orders all -things well, with almost impenetrable protective horn-proof shields of -immensely thick skin which covers the withers. These are much valued by -the Somalis for many purposes, notably for the shields carried by them -when in full dress. Set up as trophies they take a high polish and come -up like tortoise-shell. One or two of mine I had mounted as trays, with -protective glass, others as tables. All were exceedingly effective. - -By this time we had got to and set out upon, not without some qualms, -the waterless Haud, starting for the first march at cock-crow. In -some parts it attains a width of over two hundred miles across. It all -depends on where you strike it. We did the crossing in ten marches, -taking five days over it. All that time we had to rely solely on the -supply of water we carried with us, which was an anxious piece of work. -I do not think we ever did so little washing in our lives before; water -was too precious to juggle with then. - -Haud is a Somali word signifying the kind of country so named, and -may mean jungly ground or prairie-like plains. We crossed a part which -reminded us both of the Canadian prairies, dried-up grass as far as -the eye could reach. The waterless tract most crossed by travellers and -trading caravans is arid and barren, and the paths are not discernible -owing to the springy nature of the ground. Parts of the Haud are quite -luxuriant, and provide grazing for countless thousands of camels, sheep, -and goats. Our route lay over a flat, ugly, and uninteresting expanse. -It was no use looking for signs of game. The new grass had not as yet -appeared. Even the easily contented camels had to make believe a lot at -meal-times. - -We were marvellously lucky in our getting over this daunting place. At -no time were we overwhelmed with the heat. A quite refreshing breeze -blew over us most days, and at night we found it too cold to be -pleasant. I called it luck, but Clarence attributed it to the will of -Allah. - -I got a fine bustard for the pot. A beautiful bird with a dark brown -crest, and a coat, like Joseph’s, of many colours. I saved some of the -feathers, they were so iridescent and beautiful. The bustard tribe in -Somaliland appears to be a large one. I noticed three or four distinctly -different species, with dissimilar markings. The Ogaden bustard had the -prize, I think, in glory of plumage. Even his beak was painted green, -his legs yellow, and all else of him shone resplendent. The cook made a -bustard stew, and very good it tasted. We did not need to feel selfish, -feasting so royally, for birds are not looked on with any favour by -Somalis, though they do not refuse to eat them. I think it is because no -bird, even an ostrich, can grow big enough to make the meal seem really -worth while to a people who, though willing enough to go on short -commons if occasion forces, enjoy nothing less than a leg of mutton per -man. - -Cecily, lucky person, shot a wart-hog, coming on him just as he was -backing in to the little _pied-à-terre_ they make for themselves. She -did deserve her luck, for as I was out, and not able to help her, she -had to dissect her prize alone. Pig is unclean to the Somali. Even the -cook, who claimed to be “all same English,” was not English enough -for this. We kept the tushes, and ate the rest. The meat was the most -palatable of any we had tasted so far. - -I bagged a wandering aoul, not at all a sporting shot. I got the buck -in the near fore, and but for its terrible lameness I should never have -come up with it at all. His wound, like Mercutio’s, sufficed. One might -as well try to win the Derby on a cab-horse as come up with even a -wounded buck on any of the steeds we possessed. I ambled along, and so -slowly that the buck was outstripping the pony. I slipped off then, and -running speedily, came within excellent range and put the poor thing out -of his pain. His head was the finest of his kind we obtained. - -The horns differ considerably, and I have in my collection backward and -outward turning ones. Aoul is a very common gazelle in all parts of open -country, barring South-East Somaliland, and travels about in vast herds. -Its extraordinary inquisitiveness makes it fall a very easy victim. - -Clarence went out with us in turn. His alternative was a fine upstanding -fellow, but after three or four expeditions with him as guide I deposed -him from the position of second hunter. He was slow, and lost his -presence of mind on the smallest provocation, both of them fatal defects -in a big game hunter, where quickness of brain and readiness of resource -is a _sine qua non._ - - - - -CHAPTER IV--WE MEET KING LEO - - -````My hour is almost come - -`````Hamlet= - - -``A lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing, for there is not - -``a more fearful wild fowl than your lion living - -`````Midsummer Night’s Dream= - - -|Very shortly after this we came to a Somali _karia_, or encampment. Its -inhabitants were a nomadic crowd, and very friendly, rather too much so, -and I had to order Clarence to set a guard over all our things. - -Their own tents were poor, made of camel mats that had seen better days. -The Somali women were immensely taken with our fair hair, and still more -with our hair-pins. Contrary to the accepted custom of lady travellers, -we did not suffer the discomfort of wearing our hair in a plait down our -backs. We “did” our hair--mysterious rite--as usual. By the time I had -finished my call at the camp my golden hair was hanging down my back. I -had given every single hair-pin to the Somali ladies, who received them -with as much delight as we should a diamond tiara. - -Married women in Somaliland wear their hair encased in a bag -arrangement. Girls plait theirs. The little ones’ heads are shaven, and -so, apparently, were the scalps of the very old men. Clarence’s hair was -about two inches long when we started, and he had a way of cleaning it -reminiscent of a bird taking a sand bath. He rubbed his head with wet -ashes, which speedily dried in the sun, and allowed him to shake the -dust out--a _nettoyage à sec_ process, and very effective. As a rule he -wore no head-covering in the hottest sun. - -Even the heads of the Somali babies are exposed in all their baldness. I -suppose God tempers the rays to the shorn lambs. - -The huts are made of a frame of bent poles, over which camel mats and -odds and ends in the way of blankets are thrown. The nomadic tribes in -their treks follow the grass, and occupy the same zarebas year after -year. These they make of thick thorn brushwood, immensely high, two -circles, one inside the other. Between the two fences the cattle are -penned sometimes, but at night the middle encampment receives most -of them, and fires are lighted. All the work of erecting the huts and -tending the animals is done by women, and very often the oldest women -and the smallest of the children have this office thrust upon them. - -You can imagine that a Somali _baria_ is rather of the nature of -Barnum’s, minus the auctioneering and the shouting and bustle--countless -people, ground all ploughed with the _sturm und drang_ of the restless -feet, and smell---! - -It is a wonderful thing that human beings can thrive in the condition -of dirt and squalor in which these wandering Somalis live. They do, and -some of them are very fine-looking men indeed. - -The majority of the tribes are nomadic. There are some settled, some -traders pure and simple, and some outcaste people, of whom the Midgans -seem the most romantic--probably because he still uses bow and arrow, -lives a hand to mouth existence, calls no _karia_ home, and makes his -bed in the open. - -Most Somalis wear the long tobe in various degrees of cleanliness. The -real dandy affects a garment of dazzling whiteness. Less particular -people carry on until the tobe is filthy. I imagine the cloth hails from -Manchester. It is cotton sheeting, several feet in length, and put on -according to the taste and fancy, artistic, original, or otherwise, of -the wearer. It is a graceful costume, Cæsar-like and imposing. At night -it is not removed, and seen by the light of the fire each sleeping -Somali looks like nothing so much as some great cocoon. - -A praying carpet is considered an indispensable part of the Somali -equipment. It isn’t really a carpet at all, being nothing in the wide -world but a piece of tanned hide or skin. Some of our men spent a good -deal of time on the mat, prostrating themselves at the most untoward -moments. Others again did not seem to have got religion, and never -called the thing into use at all. But to every one of them Allah was a -something impossible to get along without entirely. If there had been no -Allah or Kismet to put all the blame on to when everything went wrong, -we should have been in an awkward place indeed. - -It was at this encampment I purchased two more ponies, not beautiful to -look at but beggars to go. - -We tried them first, fearing to be done again, and they seemed willing -little fellows, and full of life. Most of the tribes breed ponies on a -small or large scale, and as they are never groomed or tidied up at all -they cannot help a somewhat unkempt appearance. We bought a few sheep -for food, and were presented with a dirty harn full of camels’ milk, -horrid tasting stuff, which we handed over to the men, and so didn’t -desert our “Nestlé” for it. Going among the squalid tents in the _karia_ -we found a woman in a sad state of collapse, although nobody seemed to -mind it save ourselves. More of the Kismet business. She had a wee baby, -a few hours old, lying on the _herio_ beside her. The whole scene was -primitive and pathetic to a degree. I am glad to say we improved matters -considerably. - -Although water was very scarce, we spared enough from our store to tub -the quaint little baby, going first back to our tents to procure soap -and a few other things. We dressed the mite in a white vest, in which -it was completely lost, to the interest and astonishment of a jury of -matrons who stood around us, ever and again feeling some part of our -clothing, tying and untying our boot laces, and even going the length -of putting inquisitive hands into our pockets. For the mother of His -Majesty the Baby we opened our first bottle of emergency champagne. A -right thinking Somali is dead against strong drink of any kind, spirits -being entirely taboo, so we thought it safer and more diplomatic to -refer to the champagne as medicine. The bang it opened with astonished -the listless crowds, and the effect as the good wine did its work -astonished them still more. - -We presented the headman with a tobe, and then took ourselves back to -camp, accompanied by a rabble of Somalis who infested our zareba until -we struck tents that evening. I had as much of a bath as it was possible -to get in a tea-cupful of water. But a visit to a Somali encampment -makes you feel a trifle dirty. - -Our water supply was on the verge of becoming a worry, so we had to make -a detour towards a place where rain was reported to have fallen and the -pools could be counted on. Clarence knew all this part of the country -well, and was a most reliable guide as well as everything else. -His duties were multitudinous, and it was marvellous how deftly he -discharged them. He always saw to the lading and unloading, chose the -spot for camp, placed the watch o’ nights, gave out the stores, and kept -his temper through it all. He was a born leader of men, amiable, quick -and never sulked; an admirable thing. Sulkiness is rather a big trait in -the Somali character; it usually springs from wounded vanity. - -At the water holes we fell in with some more Somalis, who gave the Baron -Munchausen news of lions in the vicinity. By the time our henchman had -elaborated the story the lions were practically in our zareba, and we -were much discouraged, feeling that, in all human probability, judging -by previous results, we were as far off lions as ever. - -That night, after a somewhat longer, more tiring trek than usual, for -the first time in my life I heard a lion roar. I say for the first time, -because in my superiority I tell you that the grunting, short, peevish -crying heard in the great cat house at the Zoo at feeding-time cannot be -called roaring, after one has heard the wonderful sound of His Majesty -hunting. My heart seemed to stand still with awe as I listened to that -never-to-be-forgotten sound. Terrific and majestic, it reverberated -through the silence of the night, and seemed to repeat itself in echoes -when all was really still. - -The dawn is the time when lions roar most. They occasionally give tongue -when actually hunting, often after feeding. The sound varies with the -age and lung power of the animal, and has many gradations, sometimes -sounding as though the pain of doing it at all hurt the throat, -sometimes the sound comes in great abrupt coughs, and again one hears -even triumphant roars. - -We rose early. Indeed, I do not think we slept again after hearing the -longed-for serenade, and arranging for all the hunters to accompany us, -set off on our new steeds to spoor for lion. After about six miles of -roughish going we struck the tracks. We examined them with the greatest -interest, and Clarence demonstrated to us the evidence that the spoor -was very new indeed, that the lions were two in number and going at -a walking pace. I soon learnt when a lion was walking and when he -commenced to run. The lion, being a cat, has retractile claws, and -therefore when he walks the pugs are even and rounded. The instant he -alters the pace and runs, the nail-marks are plain, and the sand is -usually slightly furred up by the pad. - -High above us, sailing round and round majestically, were many vultures. -Sometimes one would swoop low, to rise again. It was plain from -the screaming of the birds a kill was at hand. We pushed on, an -indescribable excitement gripping me. I regarded every bush furtively. -What secrets might it not hold? Abreast of it, passed it. Nothing! - -I had a taut feeling of strained relief; I glanced at Cecily, but you -could not guess her feeling from her face. I felt I should like to walk, -to feel _terra firma_ beneath my feet, and grasp my rifle instead of -reins; but Clarence had said nothing, and plodded along by my side. He -was walking, but four hunters were mounted. - -In a slightly open space--the whole of the sandy waste was dotted here -with bushes taller than a man--we came on what had once been a graceful -aoul, mangled and torn. The lions had dined, and that heavily, only the -shoulders of the gazelle being left. The sand was tossed up and ploughed -into furrows in the death struggle, and from the scene of the last -phase wound a lion track going towards a thick bunch of thorn. It seemed -likely the lions were lying up in the immediate vicinity. The lion -feeds in a very businesslike manner, and after a kill gorges himself to -repletion, then, not to put too fine a point on it, goes a little way -off, is violently and disgustingly sick, after which he returns and -gorges some more. Then he sleeps, off and on, for perhaps three days, -when he hunts again. When hunting, immense distances are covered, and -though he hunts alone, his mate comes up with him eventually to share -the spoil. They seem to have some way of communicating their whereabouts -that is quite as effective as our telegraphic system. - -I felt it was quite time to quit my saddle, and be clear of the pony, so -dismounted and prepared for action, taking my rifle and looking to it. -It was only just in time for my peace of mind. In one tense second I -realised I had seen two monstrous moving beasts, yellowish and majestic. -They were very close, and moved at a slow pace from the bush ahead into -a patch of still thicker cover to the left. I remember that though the -great moment for which we had planned and longed and striven was really -at hand, all my excitement left me, and there was nothing but a cold -tingling sensation running about my veins. Clarence in a moment showed -the excellent stage-management for which he was famous, and I heard -as in a dream the word of command that sent our hunters, the Baron -included, dashing after our quarry shouting and yelling and waving -spears. Again I caught a glimpse of the now hurrying beasts. How mighty -they looked! In form as unlike a prisoned lion as can well be imagined. -They hardly seemed related to their cousins at the Zoo. The mane of the -wild lion is very much shorter. No wild lion acquires that wealth of -hair we admire so much. The strenuous life acts as hair-cutter. And yet -the wild beast is much the most beautiful in his virile strength and -suggestion of enormous power. - -The lions being located, we crept on warily towards the bush, a citadel -of khansa and mimosa scrub, a typical bit of jungle cover. The lions -sought it so readily, as they had dined so heavily that they were -feeling overdone. The men went around the lair and shouted and beat at -the back. Whether the cats were driven forward or not with the din, -or whether they had not penetrated far within the retreat at first, -I cannot, of course, tell, but I saw from thirty-five yards off, as I -stood with my finger on the trigger, ferocious gleaming eyes, and heard -ugly short snarls, breaking into throaty suppressed roars every two -or three seconds. The jungle cover parted, and with lithe stretched -shoulders a lioness shook herself half free of the density, then -crouched low again. Down, down, until only the flat of her skull showed, -and her small twitching ears. In one more moment she would be on us. I -heard Cecily say something. I think it may have been “Fire!” Sighting -for as low as I could see on that half arc of yellow I pulled the -trigger, and Cecily’s rifle cracked simultaneously. The head of the -lioness pressed lower, and nothing showed above the ridge of grass and -thorn. The lioness must be dead. And yet, could one kill so great a -foe so simply? We stood transfixed. The sun blared down, a butterfly -flickered across the sand, a cricket chirruped in long-drawn, twisting -notes. These trifles stamped themselves on my memory as belonging for -ever to the scene, and now I cannot see a butterfly or hear a cricket’s -roundelay without going back to that day of days and wonder unsurpassed. - -Then I did an inanely stupid thing. It was my first lion shoot, and my -ignorance and enthusiasm carried me away. I ran forward to investigate, -with my rifle at the trail. I don’t excuse such folly, and I got my -deserts. Worse remains behind. It was my rule to reload the right barrel -immediately after firing, and the left I called my emergency supply. -My rule I say, and yet in this most important shoot of all it was so -in theory only! I had forgotten everything but the dead lioness. I had -forgotten the bush contained another enemy. - -A snarling quick roar, and almost before I could do anything but bring -up my rifle and fire without the sights, a lion broke from the side -of the brake. I heard an exclamation behind me, and my cousin’s rifle -spoke. The bullet grazed the lion’s shoulder only, and lashed him to -fury. All I can recollect is seeing the animal’s muscles contract as -he gathered himself for a springing charge, and instinct told me the -precise minute he would take off. My nerves seemed to relax, and I tried -to hurl myself to one side. There was no power of hurling left in me, -and I simply fell, not backwards nor forwards, but sideways, and that -accident or piece of luck saved me. For the great cat had calculated his -distance, and had to spring straight forward. He had not bargained for a -victim slightly to the right or left. His weight fell on my legs merely, -and his claws struck in. Before he had time to turn and rend me, almost -instantaneously my cousin fired. I did not know until later that she did -so from a distance of some six yards only, having run right up to the -scene in her resolve to succour me. The top of the lion’s head was blown -to smithereens, and the heavy body sank. I felt a greater weight; -the blood poured from his mouth on to the sand, the jaws yet working -convulsively. The whole world seemed to me to be bounded north, south, -east, and west by Lion. The carcase rolled a little and then was still. -Pinned by the massive haunches I lay in the sand. - -Clarence, Cecily, and all the hunters stood around. I noticed how pale -she was. Even the tan of her sunburnt face could not conceal the ravages -of the last five minutes. The men pulled the heavy carcase away, taking -him by the fore-paws, his tail trailing, and exquisite head all so -hideously damaged. Only his skin would be available now, still---- - -I sat up in a minute, feeling indescribably shaky, and measured the lion -with my eye. He could be gloriously mounted, and “He will just do for -that space in the billiard room,” my voice tailed off. I don’t remember -anything else until I found myself in my tent with my cousin rendering -first aid, washing the wounds and dressing them with iodoform. Only one -gash was of any moment. It was in the fleshy part of the thigh. We had -not sufficient medical skill to play any pranks, so kept to such simple -rules as extreme cleanliness, antiseptic treatment, and nourishing food. -Indeed, our cook did well for me those days, and made me at intervals -the most excellent mutton broth, which he insisted on bringing to me -himself, in spite of the obvious annoyance of the butler, who had lived -in the service of an English family and so knew what was what. - -The days and nights were very long just then. - -Clarence came to see me often. His occupation was gone. Cecily did -not leave me at all at first. I believe our good fellow wondered if -we should ever require him to hunt again. He did not know the proverb, -“Once bitten, twice shy,” but you could see he felt it. - -One evening, when I was convalescent, Clarence brought one of the men to -us with inquiries as to the best way to cure him. - -“What is the matter?” was naturally the first question, as we were not -the human Homoceas our men seemed to take us for. - -Our servant had been chewing--must have been--a piece of thorn, and a -particularly spiky insidious bit had stuck itself well in the back of -his throat, near the left tonsil. It would seem an easy enough thing to -pull out, but it was the most difficult of operations. We could not make -any very prolonged attempt at dislodgment because every time we tried to -touch the bit of thorn the man either shut his mouth with a snap and bit -us, or pretended he must be sick forthwith. It was very laughable, but a -little worrying. We tried nippers, a vast pair, that filled the mouth -to overflowing and hid the offending thorn from sight, We tried blunt -scissors, which Cecily said would not cut because they could not, and -might be relied on to act the part of nippers. Of course they did -cut, when they weren’t needed to, the roof of the patient’s mouth, and -matters grew worse than ever. The light was wholly insufficient, and -we could hardly see at all. The candle lamp never shone in the right -direction, and we laughed so--the two Somalis were in such deadly -earnest. I do not think any harm would have resulted if the thorn had -been left where it stuck until the morning. But no! The men said if the -thorn were left the throat would swell, and if the throat swelled -the patient would choke, and if he choked he would be dead. The cook -produced some of the doughy bread he was past-master in concocting, a -sticky mass to act as panacea, and our thorn-stuck henchman swallowed -a lot to the detriment of his digestion. No use. The thorn would not be -levered out. Then--brilliant idea--try a hairpin! Comic papers have -it that a woman can go through the world with a hairpin as a tool for -everything, and come out victorious. I have never seen one put in the -list of a hunter’s requirements--a great oversight. Take my word for it, -a hair-pin does the work of ten ordinary implements. The rounded end -of one hooked round the offending thorn ejected the cause of all the -trouble, and peace reigned in the camp. - -[Illustration: 0089] - - - - -CHAPTER V--MORE LIONS - - -``Much better than I was. I can stand and walk. I will - -``even pace slowly to my kinsman’s - -`````A Winter’s Tale= - - -|My leg, with the extra big gash, was a frightful nuisance. It was not -much, but was just enough to prevent my going out hunting for some time. -I could not run at all; and if you would hunt buck or beast, you must -run like Atalanta. From point to point you scamper on occasion, and it -is all as glorious as it sounds. - -During the period of my rest I prevailed on Cecily to go out as of old, -and try her luck. I occupied myself in caring for the trophies we had -by now acquired. All the skulls were carefully buried near the largest -ant-hill in the vicinity, and were dug up every time we struck camp. The -earlier trophies were by now picked almost clean. The masks and skins -generally were rubbed with alum, taxidermine, and wood ashes. I was very -careful to smooth out any creases, and gave particular attention to the -magnificent coat from mine enemy. Even with occasional drenchings the -trophies suffered no harm, and we generally in rainy times tried to -spare them a covering of waterproof sheeting. In those days of idleness -the bored-looking camels had been two short expeditions for water -supplies. Cecily did wonders, bagging a fine oryx after an exciting -stalk, a lesser koodoo--a most beautiful creature--and a jackal. It was -of the black-backed variety, with silver hairs and flaming yellow sides, -and I admired him immensely. He was a monster too, and measured four -feet as he lay. - -The men were revelling in any amount of meat of my cousin’s providing. I -think we were more generous in this direction than are many hunters. The -caravan is expected to rely on the usual ration of rice and dates--the -latter a gummed together mass of fruit, which is eaten by the Somalis in -handfuls. They were quite good, for I tasted them frequently. - -We bought sheep throughout the trip, either by exchange or for cash; -and, as I say, there was a plentiful supply of venison. - -As soon as I could ride we marched, and very glad we were to leave the -place where circumstances had enforced so long a stay. The camp began -to take on the slovenly, dirty ways of the average Somali _karia_ The -spirit of idleness sits ill on these natives. They like doing nothing, -but doing nothing does not like them, and very speedily they get -slothful. - -The procedure of our camping arrangements varied but little when things -were normal and going smoothly. On selecting the right spot to halt, -every man went to his own work, and our tents were up almost as soon -as they were taken off the kneeling camels, who flopped down, joyfully -obedient at the first sign of a rest, and, being relieved of the loads, -were allowed to graze at once. Our butler put out everything we needed, -set up the beds, placed our goods and chattels to hand, and prepared a -bath each for us if we happened to be in a place where a bath was not -too great a luxury, and a mere sponge if water was absent. - -Meanwhile the cook had a fire going, or theoretically he had, though -very often it was a long time before it got started. The camel men -hacked down thorn bushes, using native axes, and _hangols_, or wooden -crooks, for pulling the wood about with. The chant that accompanies all -Somali occupations was loud and helpful. Sometimes we took a hand at -this zareba building, using an English axe or a bill-hook, and the men -would laugh in surprise, and hold the boughs in readiness for us to -chop. They liked the English axes. “Best axe I see,” the camel-man in -chief said. But we would not lend them permanently, because they would -have been broken at once. Every mortal thing goes to pieces in the hands -of these Somalis; most extraordinary. Only tough native implements could -stand against such treatment. Buck were carried slung on Sniders, and -bent the weapon into graceful curves. The sights and even the triggers -were knocked off. The Somali boys broke all the handles off the pans, -and seemed incapable of taking care of anything. Many of the native -_harns_ gave out at the different wells because of the smashing about -they received, and meant our buying more from passing tribes. - -At night my shikar pistol, loaded, lay to my hand on a box at my -bedside, for what I don’t quite know, as I should have disliked -immensely to use it. But it seemed the correct thing; the butler -expected it. He always asked me to give him the weapon from my belt -about supper time, and I next saw it in readiness for midnight affrays. -“Chota-hazari” was served us by the butler calling loudly outside our -tents, or by delicately tapping two stones together as an intimation -that a cup of tea stood on the ground at the entrance, when it meant -making a long arm to reach it. The teacups were not Dresden; they were -of thick enamel--we only had one each and two over in case of accidents -or visitors--and to appreciate them at their true value we would have -needed the mouths of flukes. - -Sometimes a case of necessaries required for breakfast would be in our -tents doing duty as furniture, and then it was very funny indeed. The -cook would come and chant outside that unless he could have the box -Mem-sahib no breakfast would see, and if Mem-sahib no breakfast saw she -would upbraid the chef because he had not got the box. All this would -be woven into a little tune in a mixture of Somali, Hindostanee, and -so-called English. Mem-sahib would chant back to the effect that the -necessaries would appear all in good time. The cook would retire to stir -up the fire and cuff his assistant, a tow-headed “youth,” whose _raison -d’etre_ appeared to be the cleaning, or making worse dirty, of the pans, -and preparing things for the culinary artist. The tow-headed one was a -mere dauber; at least our cook told us so in effect, with great disdain, -when I suggested the assistant should be allowed to try his ’prentice -hand. That was one day when I got worried about my digestion holding out -against the insidious attacks made on it by the high-class cookery we -were supposed to be having. - -It was a long time before I got used to the hot nauseating smell of the -camels. It was ever present in camp, and when the wind blew into one’s -tent the indescribable aroma transcended all others. Barring the horrid -odour, we had nothing else to complain of in our patient dumb servants. -The camels were good tempered beasts, taking them all round; very -different to Indian camels, among whom it would have been impossible to -wander so nonchalantly o’ nights. All our camels, save one, were of the -white variety usually to be found in Berbera. The one exception was -a trojan creature, dark and swarthy looking, who hailed from distant -Zeila. He was a splendid worker, untiring and ungrumbling, never roaring -at loading-up time. But the Gel Ad, or Berbera, camel is considered by -experts to be the better animal. We preferred “Zeila” to any animal we -had; we christened him after his home. It is very odd, and may be will -be found difficult to understand, as to explain, but in some of the -camels’ faces we traced the most speaking likenesses to friends and -relatives, either through expression, form, or fancy. Anyway, they -were like many of our acquaintances; and so, to Cecily and myself, the -different camels were thoroughly described and known as “Uncle Robert,” - “Aunt Helena,” or “Mrs. Stacy,” and so on and so forth. One haughty -white camel, with a lofty sneer of disdain and arrogance about it, was -so very like a human beauty of our acquaintance that we smiled every -time we looked at the animal. Our caravan on the march straggled like a -flock of geese. Some two or three of the camel-men had to lead the van; -the others lagged behind in a bunch. The hunters took it in turns to -ride the spare ponies, and Cecily and I rode the steeds we had purchased -at the first Somali _karia_ we came upon. - -I often wondered what our followers thought of two women being in the -position to command attention, deference, and work--the Somali feminine -is such a very crushed down creature, and takes a back seat at all -times. Even if a superabundance of meat is on hand she is not spared a -tit-bit, but is presented with fearsome scraps and entrails, the while -the masculine element gorges on the choicest morsels. This is -rather different to our home system. I remember an Englishman of my -acquaintance telling me once, with no acrimony of tone, nothing but calm -acceptance of the inevitable, that he had never tasted the breast of -chicken since his marriage five years before! What a glimpse into a -household! - -My first excursion was after that oryx I had so set my heart upon, and -Clarence, to his joy, accompanied me. - -“Much better than I was,” but still not quite fit even yet. I carefully -stalked a small herd of oryx, four to be precise, crawling about on -hands and knees for upwards of an hour, and when my chance came at last, -and a bull (not anything very wonderful I am glad to remember) passed -broadside on, well within range, I fired--and missed! At the very -instant a violent stab agony in my damaged leg made me cringe -involuntarily. The oryx was gone! - -I sat down, and but for the presence of my shikari I am sure I should -have cried. - -Game was now most plentiful, gerenük, oryx, and aoul being more often -in sight than not. Thunderstorms became more frequent, and rain more -insistent. Since leaving the place where we sojourned so long we had -not known one day in which rain did not fall some time during the -twenty-four hours. We had managed fairly well by going out “between -whiles,” but now there weren’t any, and there came a time of no half -measures. Steady downpours bothered us no end. I am very used to water, -because my habitat in England is in that delectable spot where of all -other places nobody dreams of going out minus an umbrella. And I have -seen rain in many corners of the world, but never rain like the Somali -variety. It is for all the world like holding on to the string of a -shower bath--it pours and pours. Of course whilst the rain is on there -is no use in endeavouring to spoor, for all traces of game are simply -wiped out by the floods of water as a sponge cleans a slate. We could do -nothing save remain in our soaked tents and fume. Things were very bad -and uncomfortable at this time. For a whole week we never knew what -it was to be dry. Every mortal thing we had was drenched, and the -poor tents were no more use than brown paper in face of the continued -avalanches of water. We used to wring our blankets each night, and -but for copious doses of quinine I don’t know how I should have pulled -through. Cecily pinned her faith on weak whisky-and-water, of which -latter commodity there was now no scarcity, and both our schemes worked -admirably, and bar a little rheumatism in my left shoulder I carried on -all right. At last--“a fine day; let us go out and kill something” came -and, the conditions being splendid for spooring, we went off bent on an -execution--of anything. - -Running in and out among some rocks were the quaintest little rabbits, -without tails, Manx rabbits, odd stumpy greyish bodies, and an engaging -air of indifference to passers-by. - -A great yellow-beaked hornbill sat on a tree and made his own peculiar -croaking noise. Most wise he looked as he put his grey head to one side -and investigated us. Yet his looks bewrayed him; for when I threw some -dates at him to see if he knew how to catch them in his beak, he let -them pass him all unheeded. His cousin at the Zoo could teach many -things. - -After a long ride we left our ponies to be led along behind by a syce, -and spoored on foot. Clarence and the two hunters were still riding. We -nearly went off our heads with joy and excitement when we suddenly came -on a neat little path made by lion. The print was perfect. The most -perfect I have ever seen. The soft earth had taken the mould like dough. -There were the fore indents, there the cushions of the pad. We knelt -down in our eagerness to realise how really soaked everything was. The -ground was sodden, and every step oozed water. - -We ran on, Clarence and the hunters keeping pace easily with us. There -were scrubby bushes all about, but the pugs threaded in and out, -and held plainly on, until they ended in a vast pile of stones and -brushwood. An ideal lair. Clearly our quarry was run to earth. With a -“whuff” two mighty animals leapt up, over the stones and away, just for -all the world like a couple of agile common or garden cats. Cecily and -I flew after them. I don’t think I ever ran so hard in my life before. -I might have been the pursued rather than the pursuer. The ground opened -up to great plateau country, and the lion and lioness were cantering -close together, almost touching shoulders. Making a detour Clarence and -the hunters rounded the great cats up. For a moment it almost seemed -that they pulled up dead as the gallant little ponies dashed by them, -but a man is fairly safe on a galloping pony. I laid this flattering -well-known unction to my soul as I saw the lion go for “The Baron,” - whilst the lioness simply broke away, and vanished in that marvellous -manner of disappearing which lions know the secret of. - -With quivering tail extended, and most horrible coughing snarls the lion -seemed about to disprove the idea that he was no match for a mounted -horseman. But away and away dashed the sporting little pony, and -His Majesty turned his terrific attentions to us, and in a whirl of -tossed-up mud came to within forty yards of the place where Cecily and -I stood in the open, rigid and awaiting the onslaught. Then we let him -have it. I saw his tremendous head over my sights as in short bounds he -cleared the distance that separated us. I fired simultaneously with my -cousin. - -I was using the heavy 12-bore, but I kept my fingers on the rear trigger -as we advanced cautiously to the dropped lion. He crumpled up like a toy -with the mainspring broken, and sank as he finished his last spring with -his massive head between his paws--a majestic and magnificent sight. - -[Illustration: 0101] - -I measured him previous to the skinning operation and, stretched out, -from his nose to the end of his tail he touched seven feet ten and a -half inches. Of course this was before _rigor-mortis_ had set in, and -he may have stretched a little. His mane was shorter than our other -damaged lion trophy, and entirely clear from the patches of mange we -found on one or two other lions we bagged. But he was infested with -ticks. I should think life must have been an irritating affair for him. - -We were immensely set up, and only regretted that the lioness had made -good her escape. One of the most extraordinary features about lions -to me is the way so large an animal can obliterate itself; they simply -blend into the landscape. Their brownish-yellow skins, so similar in -colour to the burnt grass, and their agile bodies, which can crouch and -wriggle like any lizard, play parts in the scheme for invisibility. On -one occasion Cecily and I surprised a lion in a small nullah. (We were -a trifle astonished ourselves, too, but that is a detail.) We ran in -pursuit, being out of range, and though we kept our eyes fixed on him, -or thought we did, that lion seemed to disappear as suddenly as though -the earth had swallowed him up. Then Clarence pointed out to us a patch -of brown grass, taller than the rest--any amateur like myself would have -sworn it was grass. “Libbah,” our man said impressively. And “libbah” it -was. We approached and the “grass” with a bound was off! We bagged him -in the end, and he was a very old creature indeed. Alone, and almost -toothless, his day was almost spent, and he died more royally at our -hands than ending as the ignominious prey of some hyæna. He put me -in mind of a wonderful lion picture I saw once at the Academy, which -portrayed an old, old lion, at twilight, in his own beloved haunts, weak -and doddering, yet still a king--too strong even yet to be pulled down -by the lurking forms, which with lurid eyes watched the dying lion from -the dark thorn background. I think the picture was called “Old Age.” - -The strange inborn dread all wild creatures have of man, unknown man, -makes even the mightiest lion try for safety. There is, of course, no -sort of cowardice in him. In open country he knows the man has all the -advantage, but even then he faces the music grandly when cornered. -In cover, instinct tells him most of the game lies with himself. The -Somalis have a way--I am afraid this is a bit of a chestnut--of riding -down lion that is really a clever performance If some venturesome beast -makes a habit of helping himself to a baby camel or two from the _karia_ -at night, he is a marked beast, and a small army of Somalis prepare to -give battle. Riding their quick little tats, and all armed with spears, -they drive the lion, with prodigious shouting and yelling, into the -open. Here they close around him and harry him hither and thither, -dazing the mazed creature with their cries and hurry. In the end the -monarch always abdicates, and some Somali, quicker than his fellows, -finishes the business with a drive of his spear. It is not unlike the -principle of bull-fighting, except that in the case of the Somalis -self-preservation originates the necessity for the battle. - -In the lion-world I noticed that the rule of _Place aux dames_ did not -apply. The male invariably tried to take the shortest route to safety, -and madam had to look after herself. - -Buck of every variety forms the staple food of lions. I have heard that -they have been known to kill wart-hog, but never myself came on any -proof of this. - -A large trading caravan passed us here _en route_ to Berbera. They were -taking a heterogeneous collection for sale at the coast town, ostrich -feathers, _ghee_, gum-arabic, prayer-mats and skins of all varieties. -They sold us some _ghee_, which we were glad to get, as our supply was -running low. Their huts were standing when we came on the caravan, and -on the march were carried on camels as our tents were. Like turtles, -we carried our houses with us wherever we went. We wrote two or three -letters, enclosing them in an outer envelope asking that they should be -posted. Then we gave them to the head-man of the trading party with a -request that he should hand them to the first sahib he saw in Berbera. -The letters eventually turned up at their destinations, so some good -Samaritan posted them. - -That same evening, as Cecily was riding alongside me, a group of some -twenty Somali horsemen rode up to us, and every one of them closed tight -around us until all the ponies were wedged like sardines. The whole -crowd wished to shake hands and welcome us. The Somali handshake is -not a shake strictly speaking. It is a mere pressing of hands and is -prefaced usually by the salutation “Aleikum salaam,” which you reply -to by reversing the order of it, “Salaam aleikum.” Then generally the -interview, if lagging a little, is materially assisted by “Mot! Mot! -io Mot!” (Hail! Hail! Again Hail!) This is a great feature of the -conversation, and, shouted as only a Somali can shout it, is a rousing -welcome indeed. - -These friends of ours were the outposts of a vast horde of Somalis, for -at some wells we saw multitudes of camels standing in a sort of lake, -quite a good-sized piece of water, in a grilling sun. The water was -turgid and foul, or I should have schemed for a bath out of it. Every -one came to call, and to inquire what we were doing. They crowded round -the trophies drying, putting their fingers on the skins and then tasting -the fingers to see what the result was like. They were a great nuisance, -and we had to trek on again to get away from their unwelcome attentions. -One of our camels fought another as we loaded up. Never did I see such -viciousness. The fur flew, and bites were many, and at last the victor -drove the vanquished roaring before it. The camel-man who valeted the -conquering hero seemed quite charmed, but as the beaten animal had -some nasty bites in the neck, the performance did not seem to us so -meritorious. In a day or two the bites had developed into really open -wounds and the men treated them in cruel-to-be-kind fashion by applying -red-hot stones, tying this drastic treatment firmly over the sore. -Burning seemed to be an all-curing cure, and during most of the weeks a -spear was heated with which to raise blisters on one camel or another. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--BENIGHTED IN THE JUNGLE - - -``Mercy o’ me, what a multitude are here! They grow still, - -``too; from all sides they are coming - -`````King Henry VIII= - - -```O, I have passed a miserable night, - -```So full of ugly sights, of ghostly dreams - -`````King Richard III= - - -|One of our hunters, a melancholy visaged individual, was a very amusing -personage to go out with alone. He always acted like the guide of a -Cook’s personally conducted tour. Not a tree, or twig, or water-hole was -left to be seen or not seen by us. All must be brought to the notice of -the Mem-sahibs. It reduced the tracking of game to a delicious farce. If -we sighted an antelope he would first point it out to me most carefully, -telling me about the distance the creature was from us, perhaps saying -commandingly, “You shoot um,” handing me my own rifle as though he were -giving me a valuable present. - -Sometimes he even went the length of putting it to my shoulder and -cocking it for me, and was a grandmotherly hunter indeed! He spoiled a -glorious chance for me one day with his chaperoning me through tactics, -actually telling me the precise moment to fire, and when I did, at my -own moment, and--through his rattling me so--missed ignominiously, he -whispered to himself, with a whole world of resignation in his tone, -“Mem-sahib no shoot, Mem-sahib no shoot!” - -Mem-sahib turned round and gave the idiot a bit of her mind. I had had -enough of being hurried and flurried by his ways. I learned early on to -take no notice of my shikari. Clarence never made the egregious mistake -of obtruding himself. Some of the others were not so cautious, and were -very quick with their ideas and remarks. It is very easy to rattle a -person after a tiring crawl, and throw the whole scheme out of gear to -fall about your ears like an evanescent card-house. One asks time to -recover breath and balance, taking one’s own way. Then on occasion it is -necessary to shoot from all sorts of positions, and it is disconcerting -to have any one commenting. I prefer to be able to sit down fair and -square so that both knees may be elbow rests; but, alas, not often the -opportunity is given in big game shooting to choose your position. You -seize the moment, and the moment may find you placed very awkwardly. - -We were now again in the most wonderful region for game that the heart -of the most grasping sportsman could desire. Herds of buck were met -with on every march we made, and galloping forms were outlined on every -horizon. If there were more aoul to be seen in the early days of the -discovery of Somaliland as a Land of Promise for the hunter, I do not -know how the ground supported them. If the larger and more dangerous -fauna has been thinned almost to extinction, it would seem that the -lesser has thriven. Fewer lions to find food means more buck to live. - -You never find aoul in jungle country, and consequently they are of -gazelle the most easily seen. Frequenting the grass plateaus and flat -sandy wastes, as they do, whereon a few straggling bushes try to grow, -the white hindquarters stand out clear and distinct as a target. When -going off, startled, they stretch out, seeming to gain many inches in -length, and when wounded an aoul never creeps off to die in impenetrable -bush where the hunter has a difficulty in locating the hiding creature. -Sensibly he selects the open “bun,” and there is despatched the quicker. - -On coming to one open space of country I rubbed my eyes to see if I were -awake or dreaming. The place swarmed with aoul. It was like some field -at home, full of cows before milking time, except that these were very -animated creatures, fighting battles together, and making the history -for buckland. I lay down in a tuft of grass for an hour or more, -watching the pantomime. The aoul were in two great herds, separate and -distinct. Each was in the charge of a war-like old buck who had drilled -his does into fine order, and vigilantly saw that they kept a fair -distance from the rival herd. Sometimes a doe of frivolous propensities -would essay to seek fresh fields and pastures new, edging away in the -direction of the other harem. Nemesis was after her on the instant, in -the person of her outraged lord, who gave chase, and cuffing her about -most vigorously, soon showed her the error of such ways, restoring -her to his charmed circle again. On the outskirts of both well guarded -harems there were many likely looking young bucks, who were kept at a -respectful distance from the does they admired so much by the flying -charges and battering onslaughts of each boss buck. To say their lives -were strenuous is to convey nothing. They had no time to eat, or rest, -or sleep. - -Then, by a hideous mischance the two parties of aoul converged, and -the strain was at breaking-point. For the system of all things was -disturbed, and worse than all, the two old bucks met face to face. Now -fight they must for the mastery, or be shamed for ever in the soft eyes -of all their feminine kind. At it they went, hammer and tongs, clawing -with razor hoofs, circling round each other, clashing, crashing. -Meanwhile--but we all know what the mice do when the cat’s away! And -this golden moment was the young bucks’ opportunity. Every Jack found -a Jill, and some fortunate ones many Jills, and ran off promptly with -their loot. Then when the old bucks had fought till they were dripping -with foam and blood-flecked muzzles, the one slightly the stronger -would end the fray with a terrific drive, and send his vanquished foe -bellowing back to--nothing. The harem had all eloped. - -One might lie and watch a herd of aoul for hours, really in full view, -and not cause them any great anxiety. We never talked save in whispers, -and it was really amazing to see how very indifferent the creatures grew -to our presence. If they did take it into their heads to feign alarm, -remaining quite still seemed to restore confidence in us. The old bucks -and does were the most suspicious; the young were far more trusting. -Just as it is with we human things. Illusions are smashed in buck land -as in England. - -The ridiculous inquisitiveness of the aoul makes him easy to stalk. The -glinting of a rifle barrel seems to charm him rather than frighten him, -as it would one of our Scotch deer. Sense of smell in the buck of the -wild is even more marvellously marked than in the case of our home deer, -and it must be so when we consider the added dangers. Death lurks -on every side, but for one gerunük that falls a victim to King Leo’s -appetite, I should imagine five aoul run into his very jaws in mistaken -endeavour to see how many teeth in working order the fearsome enemy has. -Never did I see such an inquisitive genus! - -I found one or two newly born kids by watching the mother’s movements. I -would mark the place in my mind to which she kept trotting away, then go -later. It needed so careful a hunt before one would come on the little -kid, covered up so ingeniously, in its cradle in a thorn brake. In a -very short time though the babies get their jungle legs and can follow -the mother at her own pace. I don’t know of any very much prettier sight -than an aoul nursery full of kids playing. They are such sportive little -creatures, just like lambs at home--jumping imaginary obstacles, running -races, mimicking their elders in childish battle. Any little alarm, -crack of twig, or fearsome rustle sends them all, on the instant, -dashing back to the realm of safety by the side of the watchful parent. - -As I have said elsewhere, the horns of the aoul differ considerably, and -some otherwise well fitted out bucks have no horns at all. These -bucks are often as well able to hold their own as their more perfectly -equipped (so-called) betters, frequently bossing a herd. Others again -have but one horn, and that deformed. - -It was near this place of the aoul that a most amusing thing happened. -Clarence and I got benighted in the jungle, and didn’t get home until -morning. I know that this sounds just like the plot for a fashionable -problem novel, but there wasn’t much problem about it really; it all -came about as a very natural consequence, and happened mostly through my -enthusiasm over another splendid oryx. I stalked this one for hours and -hours, and the mosquitoes and heat seemed but to sting him into keener -alertness. I _could_ not get within range. I tried on foot, I tried -squirming along the ground flat, and then, when there was nothing else -for it, I’d mount my little pony once again and furiously dash off in -pursuit. When within range I only got the oryx in the leg, a slight -wound merely, and I had to try and ride the wounded buck down. A -desperate business in this case, for he was not hard hit. I did not like -the idea of leaving a hurt creature to die miserably after prolonged -torture, so we let him lead us on and on, and it was very nearly dark -before I gave that animal the _coup-de-grâce_. By the time we had -secured his head, a fine one indeed, his shield and skin, it _was_ -dark. Night had descended upon the jungle. We fired three times in quick -succession, a signal agreed on in case we ever got bushed, but we knew -the wind was blowing away from the very distant camp. - -I told Clarence we would get away as far as possible from the dead oryx, -or we should find ourselves in for a livelier night than we bargained -for, and have a regular at-home day of most unwelcome callers. We led -our ponies and pushed and scrubbed our way through dense undergrowth, -ominous rents in my poor coat greeting me as the vicious wait-a-bit -thorn held me back. We found the darkness impenetrable in parts, and -then in kind of drifts it would lighten a little. At last we made out a -small patch of clearing, and decided on camping. The first thing to do -was to collect wood for a fire, and as this was a difficult job on so -dark an evening, Clarence just grabbed what sticks he could, lighted -them, and the welcome glare enabled us to amass a great supply of -firewood. I worked hard at this, for I had no mind to be among the -jungle folk in darkness. We tethered the ponies as near the fire as -possible, where we could see them, and I took the precaution to move the -oryx head, &c., from my steed, and place them where I could carefully -guard them. I did not want to run the risk of losing the trophies. -Besides, it was rather rough on the pony to leave him all baited as it -were to attract some hungry beast. - -I should, I think, have preferred to lose the pony rather than the oryx, -but wanted, if possible, to keep both. - -Next came our little supper, and this was quite excellently managed. -I always carried an enamel cup and many of Lazenby’s soup squares, -together with a supply of biscuits. We had water too in a bottle on -Clarence’s saddle, so, filling the cup carefully, I stuck it into the -glowing embers. When it boiled in went my compressed tablet of ox-tail, -and, after stirring it all with a stick, I had a supper fit for a queen. -I made Clarence a brew of mock-turtle next. He said it was very good, -and finished off all the biscuit. He then suggested he should keep guard -and I might try to sleep. I said we would divide the night, he playing -guardian angel the first half and I taking duty for the rest. I showed -him my Waterbury, and explained that when the hands stood both together -at twelve he was to call me. He seemed to understand. Then I laid me -down, but not to rest. I could not help the fear haunting me that my -shikari might nod, and in that moment of unconsciousness what awful -thing might not happen! Such strange imaginings trouble a semisleeping -mind at night that with daylight would cause us no concern at all. I -lay and gazed at the stars. Sirius was shining away, and Venus was as -beautiful a fraud as ever. I dozed awhile, I suppose, but the strange -sounds around me kept my senses more or less awake. The jungle at night! -The most eerie thing in the world, with strange short rustlings in the -undergrowth, the furtive pad, pad, pad of some soft-footed creature, -and ever and again a sound as though some man passed by, laggingly, and -dwelling on his steps. - -The jungle at night is a world unknown to most shikaris. Even Clarence -was not familiar here. - -At twelve he called me, furtively pulling my coat sleeve, and saying, -“Wake! wake! wake!” I “awakened,” and took the watch. My rifle lay -beside me on my right, the oryx trophies on my left. The fire was piled -up, shedding shafts of light into the fearsome darkness. The ponies -stood dejectedly. This tense silent watching is more of a trial than -playacting sleep. I fixed my eyes on the inky blackness ahead, and it -was not long before my fancy peopled the shadows with lurking forms. I -chid myself. Suddenly I could make out two blazing lights, gleaming -like little lamps. The eyes of some preying animal. I sidled over to the -sleeping Clarence, and pushed him. He wakened instantly. I told him of -the eyes. “Shebel,” he said. A leopard! This was nice, but why bother -us when the remains of a whole oryx was so close to hand. We sat and -waited. The eyes again--sometimes at a lower level than others, as -though the beast crouched as he gazed. “Let us fire together,” I said. - -At my soft “One, two, three,” we blazed away at the twin specks of -light. A scuffle, then a hideous screaming cry, that echoed again in -the stillness. Worse remains behind. The ponies thoroughly upset by the -unusual sounds of the jungle at night, and not expecting the enormous -report, simply stampeded before we had time to get to them. They made -off in mad terror, and there we were in a worse hole than ever. Sleep -was out of the question. We made some more soup to pass the hours, -julienne and mulligatawny this time, and after that I fell to talking to -Clarence about England. He asked many questions that he evidently -badly wanted answered. One was to know if these trophies had some great -intrinsic value there that so many people come at such trouble and -danger to themselves to get them? He evidently was much puzzled. - -At last the dawn came, and at the first hint of it we prepared to move. -The scene was of rare beauty. In the dense undergrowth that hid the -trees to the height of several feet was a wonder world of mystery. Webs -of Arachne’s weaving made bars of silver gossamer from bush to bough. -’Twas like a scene from Shakespeare’s woodlands. The same thrill and -marvel, joy, happiness and pain. For life is not all a song. Fierce -burning strife comes oft to mar the stillness, death, too, in crudest -form. In the jungle all is one long struggle for survival; no excuses -are made, none wanted, they kill to live, just as we human things kill -each other every day; only in civilisation it is done more delicately. - -First we investigated the place of the eyes, and there, sure enough, -was a blood trail. We followed but a few yards to find a large striped -hyæna--a magnificent beast, yellow gray, with black stripes on his -shoulders, and beautiful mane and bushy gray tail. He measured from nose -to tail four feet eight inches. We skinned and decapitated him, a long -and horrid business, and then took up our none too pleasant loads and -departed. We passed the remains of the dead oryx, but there was little -left of him. The hyænas had been feasting all the night, and now the -vultures were picking his bones. It was still darkish as we took our -way campwards, the mad rush of the ponies being clearly visible to us. -Through bushes, anyhow, helter skelter they had pelted. - -I had to stop and rest frequently, as my load was more than a little -heavy, though Clarence carried as much, and more, than he ought. The -rifles alone were no light weight, and when it came to the slain animals -as well we found them all a bit of a trial. - -In some thick grass a great wart-hog rose up before me, and after giving -me a look from his tiny fierce eyes, lost himself again. I flung my load -down, all but the very necessary rifle, and went after him. He made some -ugly rushes in the long grass, but I dodged and chased him to clearer -country, until I could get in a shot which, raking him, ended his career -as a perfect king of his kind. I did not want to take his tusks merely, -as I desired his head to be a complete trophy. But when Clarence -strenuously refused to touch the creature I knew I could not then, tired -as I was, play butcher myself. So I had to be contented with digging out -his huge tushes. And a very messy job it was too. - -We took up our loads again, and went back over the ground over which we -had chased the oryx the evening before. I was progressing wearily enough -when I almost stepped on a yellow snake, with a dark head, lying near -a thorn bush. It was only about eighteen inches long, but quite long -enough to make me jump some feet, all encumbered as I was. Clarence -looked genuinely surprised. - -“You not afraid of aliphint,” he said, a thing we had about as much -chance of meeting as the man in the moon; “what for you ’fraid now?” - -I told him women have a long-standing quarrel with serpents: that a -serpent once spoiled the happiness of a woman and turned her out of a -garden where she fain would be. - -“She cousin of yours?” he asked, with true Somali inquisitiveness. - -“Very distant,” I answered. - -Cecily and a couple of hunters met us quarter way. She told us the -ponies rushed into camp in the early morning, as I had thought they -would. She had not been unduly anxious about me, knowing I was with -Clarence, and guessing we were bushed. They never heard the shots at -all. - -I did enjoy my breakfast, and never had a cup of tea that tasted half so -good. - -The thought of all that pork wasting in the near vicinity bothered us -no end. Very greedy, I know. But, you see, dainties were not often to be -had. We ordered out a couple of ponies, and rode back to the scene of -my early morning encounter with the wart-hog to find him, marvel of -marvels, intact. Though a thwarted looking vulture of business-like -appearance flapped off and sat down in stone’s throw. They have a mighty -contempt for man, these birds, or else it is they recognise they aren’t -worth powder and shot. - -Cecily evolved the idea of converting half the wart-hog into bacon, -putting it into pickle, and promising it would equal the finest home -cured. The ham was to be a treat to which we should look forward for -weeks. - -We pickled it all right, or what seemed like all right to us, rubbing it -daily with handfuls of salt as we had seen ham cured at home. And then -one day, when a meal was badly wanted, and the larder was empty of all -else, we essayed to cut the treasured ham and fry it in slices. Cecily -inserted a knife. The resultant odour was appalling. So were the awful -little maggots that rose in hundreds. Clearly we didn’t know how to -pickle ham, or else the ham of wart-hog would not take salt as our pig -at home does. We could see the line to where the pickle had penetrated. -Below chaos! Ruefully we had a funeral of our looked-for supper, and -fell back on the never-failing “Elizabeth Lazenby.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII--ANOTHER UNCOMFORTABLE NIGHT - - -``I see a man’s life is a tedious one. I have tired myself; and - -``for two nights together have made the ground my bed - -`````Cymbeline= - - -|You can imagine with what joy I looked forward to a good night’s rest -after the previous twelve hours’ vigil, and therefore it is the more -amusing to remember that, as Fate would have it, I had an even more -occupied time during the midnight hours than ever. We had started to -march, after returning to camp with the wart-hog, as we had news of -splendid “khubbah” some miles off, given to us by a Somali who came in -riding his unkempt pony. The Somali ponies, by the way, are never shod. - -The ground was very bad going, and over one bit of sandy waste I thought -we never should get. The camels sank in up to their knees at every -forward move, then deeper, and at last so deep--it was almost like an -American mud-hole--I began to fear consequences. The absurd creatures -made no attempt to extricate themselves, but simply, when they found the -place a perfect quagmire, settled down like squashed jellies. - -It was too ridiculous for words, and I laughed and laughed. Everybody -talked at once, and nobody did anything. At last we all, even the Somali -who brought us the news of the distant game, and who seemed to like us -very much, for we never got rid of him again lent a hand, and began to -unload the laden camels, carrying the goods to _terra-firma_. some sixty -yards away. - -The moment the camels considered their loads lightened they condescended -to heave themselves up a little. After loading up again we proceeded -but a little way, indeed but a few hundred yards, when the whole thing -repeated itself. The camels were embedded once more. Cecily and I -decided to go on and leave them all to it, and try and get any sport -that might be had, ordering the men to release the camels from this new -quagmire of theirs, and to afterwards form zareba close to the place, -I was really glad to ride away from the whole thing, confusion and -everything. The disorganised, unsettled feeling I got reminded me of -that which comes to one at home during the annual upheaval known as the -spring-cleaning. The green grass was springing up with the recent rains, -and our little ponies made light of the muddy going. The spoor of all -sorts of game was everywhere apparent, and we were most interested to -see traces of ostrich, although we did not that day come across any, -indeed they are rather difficult creatures to see. - -We separated, as was our wont, Cecily taking Clarence, and I the Baron, -whom we had now, in spite of his romancing propensities, promoted to -second in command. He had great acumen when he chose to display it, and -was no sort of a coward. But then, in spite of what some travellers say, -the average Somali rarely is. They are frightful “buck-sticks,” but I -never saw any cowardice to disprove their boasting stories. - -After leaving the ponies with two syces we went off at right angles, and -after a long and heavy walk I came on a bunch of aoul, who winded me and -darted away like lightning. Their flight started a great prize, whom I -had not noticed before, so much the colour of the reddish-brown earth -was he. A dibatag buck. He fled too a little way, but then halted, -appearing to think the sudden fright of the aoul unnecessary. I was -crouching low behind a small bush, and took most careful aim. Off went -the long-necked creature again, its quite lengthy tail held erect. He -stood and faced me. He apparently mistrusted the bush, but had some -weakness for the spot. It was a very long shot, but I tried it. The -bullet found a billet, for I heard it tell, but the buck sprang feet -into the air and was off in a moment. I took to my heels and ran like -mad. I don’t know how I ever imagined I was to overtake the antelope. -The Baron tore along behind me. I ran until I was completely winded, but -I could see a strong blood-trail, so knew the antelope was hard hit. I -ran on again, and we were now in very boggy ground, or rather surrounded -by many oozy-looking water holes. It was a very shaky shot I got in next -time. The dibatag dashed on for a few paces, and then took a crashing -header into--of course--the largest pool in the vicinity. The Baron and -I danced about on the edge in great vexation, but I did not mean to lose -my splendid prize even if I had to go in after him myself. Satisfying -myself that the water was not deep, I bribed the avaricious Somali to go -in and help lift the animal whilst I rendered active assistance on dry -land, and this was done. The Baron went in with a very bad grace, at -which one cannot be surprised, and after prodigious splashing and any -amount of exertion, for the buck was an immense weight, I held the -dibatag out of the water whilst the Baron extricated himself, together -with many leeches, from the pool. Then we both heaved together, and the -buck was mine. The Baron now began to make such a fuss about his loss of -blood caused by the leeches who would not let go I told him to go home -to camp and put salt on them and then recover, and ordered him meanwhile -to send the syce back to me with my pony. - -I sat down and admired my dibatag, and was mightily pleased with my -luck. For this antelope is very shy and difficult to stalk as a rule. -Dibatag is, of course, the native name, but somehow the one most -commonly used everywhere. The correct name is Clark’s Gazelle. The -tail is really quite lengthy, and the one sported by my prize -measured twelve-and-a-half inches. His horns were good and touched -nine-and-three-quarter inches. Only the bucks carry horns. - -The dibatag was so large we had the greatest difficulty in packing him -on to the pony as I wanted to do, so we finally skinned him, keeping his -head and the feet, which I afterwards had mounted as bell-pulls. - -Going back to camp I came on Cecily, who recounted her adventures--not -a quarter so interesting as mine, though, for she had drawn blank. It -would be boring for any one to have to wade through stories of stalks -that came to nothing. - -“What’s hit is history, but what’s missed is mystery,” though, of -course, each several excursion teemed with myriad interests for us on -the spot. - -[Illustration: 0125] - -Sometimes I spoored for hours without getting a shot, involving a great -knowledge of the habits of animals, keen eyes and judgment, all of which -Clarence possessed in a high degree. Then his ability to speak English, -even imperfectly, was such an advantage, and we beguiled many an hour in -conversation. - -I wonder if we human beings will ever be able to hunt for its own sake, -without the desire for its cruel consummation. Much though I love the -old primitive instinct of pursuing, I am not able to forgo the shot, and -particularly when I want a lovely pair of horns. I suppose we keep the -balance, and if we did not kill the lions and leopards would get the -upper hand. But often I wished when I was flushed with success, and I -saw my beast lying dead, that I had not done it. It seemed so cruel, and -all antelope are so very beautiful. Of course, we had to kill for food -as well as sport, and I think we spared generously on the whole, for we -could have trebled the bag. - -I began to feel tired of the actual killing as soon as I had perfect -specimens of each sort, and always preferred the nobler sport of more -dangerous game. I think if I went again I could in most instances deny -myself the shot, and content myself with watching and photographing. -As it was, I often lay for an hour and watched game, after crawling to -within fifty yards. On one occasion an aoul and I eyed each other at -twenty paces, and so motionless was I he could neither make head nor -tail of me. - -The camp was in a turmoil and every camel-man shouting at the top of -his voice--the one thing I do object to in Somalis. Their very whispers -almost break your ear-drum, and I suppose a loud voice is the result of -many centuries of calling over vast spaces. - -Three of the camels, heavily laden, had turned aggressive, bitten -several men, and shaken the dust of the place off their feet. Of course, -the levanting camels proved to be the ones loaded up with our tents -and bedding. They had a very excellent start before anyone thought it -necessary to go in pursuit. It was all gross carelessness, as a loaded -camel is easy enough to stop if the stopping is done by its own driver. - -There was nothing for us to do in the matter, and supper seemed the main -object just then. The cook served us up some soup and broiled chops, and -we topped up with some delicious jam out of the useful little pots -from the A. and N. Stores, holding enough for a not very greedy person. -Cecily voted for blackberry, and I sampled the raspberry. - -Night fell, and still no returning camels. I rode out a little way, but -the going was too impossible in the dark. My pony was a gallant little -beast, a bit of a stargazer, but I prefer a horse with his heart in the -right place, wherever his looks may be. - -I was by this time aching all over, and there was nothing to do but -make provision for as comfortable a night as might be. We collected what -spare blankets we could, and lay down near one of the fires. Though so -weary I could not sleep, and the camp was never silent for a moment. -The fires were kept high, and shots fired at intervals to guide the -wandering camel-men. - -[Illustration: 0129] - -The men lay about or sat about the watch-fires, and in the middle of -the night two of them began to fight. In the lurid light the scene was -sufficiently realistic to be unpleasant. They began with loud words, -progressed to blows, and then advanced to spears. Thinking that rifles -would probably be the next resource, I got up and called on the men to -desist. They took no more notice of me, naturally, than if I had never -spoken. And as the now thoroughly awakened camp appeared to be going to -take sides in the business, I got my “express” and shrieked out loudly -that I then and there meant to make an end of both the combatants. -Although they were not supposed to understand English, they translated -enough from my resolute manner and threatening gestures to know that -I would put up with no nonsense. They ceased the combat as suddenly as -they began it, but not before camel-man No. 1 had jabbed camel-man No. 2 -in the fleshy part of his thigh. - -I told Clarence to hold No. 1 in durance vile whilst No. 2 had to be -attended to with as much care as if we really sympathised with him. All -my desire was to be able to shoot both of them on sight. I was so tired -I could hardly see, and too aching to do more than drag myself around. -We had to dress the man’s wound for fear of consequences, and went on -messing away with him until the first signs of dawn saw the return of -the prodigals, travel-stained and weary. The camels promptly sank down -and began chewing the cud composedly. Really the camel is the most -philosophical of all living things! - -Next morning I held a court-martial of sorts on the offenders, and -threatened them both with the loss of the promised bonus to be given at -the end of the trip provided all things pleased us. I also docked them -of some pay. This had the desired effect, and battles, except wordy -ones, were “off” henceforward. - -The wound by rights ought to have been stitched, but we rather shied -off doing it. The dressing was pantomime enough; I nearly lost my -temper many times. An expedition like ours is a grand field on which -to practise repression, and I was for ever trying conclusions with my -capabilities in that direction. - -Out early near here one morning we came on an astonishing sight--an oryx -lying down in a thorn patch, and all around him, like familiars of a -witch, crouched jackals, the length of one of their kind apart, watching -with never flinching stare the centre of attraction. We cantered up, and -the jackals reluctantly made off. One big fellow struck me as unlike his -brethren, and a bit of a prize. So, reining in the pony, I jumped to -the ground, losing a lot of time in the process, and fired with rather -a shaky hand. The result was I hit the loping animal in the leg only, -laming it, causing it to howl terribly, and causing me much shame for my -unskilled aim. - -I pursued my quarry, because I could not leave it out wounded, -and overtook it just as it fled into a lair of thick adad bushes. -Dismounting, I let the pony stand, and going to the bushes I stooped -down to peer in, laying my rifle on the sand. A flare of green eyes and -snarling teeth, a flat yellow head shot out as a snake strikes. My coat -sleeve was gripped in a gin of white fangs, but only the incisors cut -into my flesh--caught by the left arm in a flash. Before worse could -happen I pulled my shikar pistol from my belt, and in the tussle--for -we neither of us took things lying down--the weapon went off anyhow. -My enemy sank inert, still gripping my sleeve. He was hit mortally, and -died in a moment or two. My arm began to smart a trifle, and I had some -difficulty in dragging the wolf-creature from its deep-in lair. It was a -wolf, not large--no bigger than a jackal, and much smaller than a hyæna. -Its coat was marked with brown, and right down the middle of the back -was a fine upstanding length of hair that formed a black-tipped mane -or ridge. The tail was long and thick, very black on the lower part and -very yellow at the upper. The fore feet were five-toed; I counted them -carefully. - -It was a bit of a struggle to lift the carcase across the pony, and I -had to walk, holding it on, to the place where I left Cecily. She was -watching over the departed oryx, and vultures sat around her wistfully -regarding the feast that might have been. In the side of the dead -antelope an arrow still stabbed, and marks of a whole flight were in -evidence all over the glossy coat. Some Midgans hunting without dogs -had missed their quarry somehow. Cecily had put the big bull out of his -pain, and there we were with an _embarras de richesse_ miles from camp -and alone. The oryx had very finely turned horns, and it seemed a sin to -waste them. We set off to decapitate him with the only implement we had, -a very small shikar knife. It took a long time in the doing, and we were -so hot and tired and sick by the end of the performance, I thought we -must be struck with the sun. The water in our bottles was quite hot. - -The instant we left the carcase of the oryx the vultures came from all -sides, hanging over it with legs poised to alight, screaming as they -flapped along the ground and settled on the bushes around. We took it -in turns to ride the spare pony; the other was a beast of burden for our -spoils. A flock of quail ran ahead and disappeared beneath the khansa. -The walking one walked, and the riding one rode, and at last we had to -take our coats off. The heat grew insufferable, the sun blazed a-shimmer -through the purple-blue coverlet of the sky. Even the sun loving -sun-birds kept in the shade of the bushes. My rifle--best of -playthings--took on a pound or two in weight. - -Cecily wears perpetually a single-stone diamond ring, given her by a -friend now in Purgatory, if everyone gets their deserts, as we are told -is the invariable rule. The sun danced on the exquisite stone, and as -she moved her hand a glinting light flickered from it on the sand here -and there, like a will-o’-the wisp. - -Our pony shied--actually pretending to possess nerves--at a porcupine, -who suddenly rustled his quills like the upsetting of a box of pens. The -oryx head fell off, and the mettlesome steed backed on to it, damaging -the horn near the tip against a sharp stone. A small kink, but a pity. -Cecily made the pony walk up to our friend of the quills, but as it -seemed likely to result in the wolf being chucked off also, we abandoned -horse-training notions for the present. - -Getting back to camp, we found the men lining up for their devotions, so -waited patiently until they were over. Everybody’s creed, or form of -it, should be respected, because each separate religion, multitudinous -though they are, is but one religion, and a part of the vast whole. The -seeming difference in all sects are merely the individual temperamental -superstitions. It does not matter, therefore, if we worship Allah or -Joss, Buddha or Mrs. Eddy. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose -by any other name would smell as sweet.” To certain people certain names -for religion are necessary--to others the “Religion Universal” serves. -Now, our chef belonged to--I am sure--the Peculiar People, and didn’t -know it, and called himself a Mussulman of the Shafai sect. He must have -been peculiar to think he deceived us into believing he was a cook, ever -had been, or ever would be. Some people are born cooks, some achieve -cooking, and some have cooking thrust upon them. Our satellite was of -the latter kind. - -We bought a couple of sheep that night from a passing caravan, but told -the men they would be the last we should provide if the animals could -not be despatched in a quicker, more humane manner. The “hallal” slash -across the throat seems only to be really efficacious if the animal -to be killed is in full possession of its senses. They might easily -be stunned first. When we killed antelope for meat the shikari always -satisfied himself first that the animal was alive before he bothered to -give the “hallal.” This seems rather an Irishism, but you understand how -I mean. - -Somali sheep are never shorn, for their wool attains no length. This is -another of dear Nature’s wise arrangements. I do not like to imagine the -condition of any poor sheep in the Somali sun with a coat on like unto -the ones grown by our animals at home. The number of sheep in Somaliland -is as the sands of the sea. Such vast flocks would be large even in an -avowedly sheep-producing country where the rearing of them is reduced -to a fine art. The Somali animals thrive and multiply with hardly any -attention. They never grow horns, and have the most extraordinary tails, -huge lumps of fat, which wax all very fine and large if the pasturage is -good, and dwindle at once if the herbage is scanty. Carefully fostered, -the sheep raising industry could support the country. The export at -present is as nothing to what it might be engineered into. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--A BATTLE ROYAL - - -````Take that to end thy agony - -`````Henry V= - - -````Our happiness is at the height - -`````Richard III= - - -|The Somalis, as I have explained before, are almost entirely a nation -of nomads, and the only settled villages or townships are those run by -Sheiks or Mullahs, or whatever name they elect to be known by. These men -are Mahomedans with an eye to business, religious, influential, knowing -the value of education, and are often quite learned. We marched into the -vicinity of some hundreds of huts, and sent Clarence on ahead to present -our compliments to the Mullah and express our desire to call on him. -We also sent along a consignment of gifts likely to appeal to a learned -man--a Koran, a _tusba_, and a couple of tobes, for even a Mullah has -to have clothes, anyway, in Somaliland. I don’t know whether our sending -presents first was correct, or whether we should have waited for the -Mullah to weigh in. We debated the point, and decided any one with an -extra sensible mind would think a bird in the hand worth two in the bush -any day of the week. This village, if our men’s talk was to be believed, -was full of Mullahs, not one Mullah. We concluded that all the wise and -religious-minded men must have banded together to live as monks do, save -that celibacy was not the fashion. - -The Mullah lost no time in sending us return offerings in the shape of -three sheep, and _harns_ and _harns_ of milk. He also asked us to go and -see him in his _karta_, as owing to some infirmity he could not wait on -us. All this was very correct and nice. I should think this Mullah had -been trained in the way he should go. - -We put in an appearance that same afternoon, hardly able to push -through the crowds that lined up in readiness for our advent. The Mullah -received us at the door of his hut, a smiling, urbane personage. I saw -no sign of infirmity, but of course I couldn’t ask what it was. The -Mullah would be about fifty years old, so far as I can judge, and he had -the tiniest hands and feet. His face was full of intelligence, his eyes -deep set and alert. In colour he was of the Arab shade, and some -Somalis are almost black. He was exceedingly gracious, and received our -credentials, or passport so to speak, with serene smiles. He barely read -them. I suppose he could. All the Mullahs can read Arabic. - -Myriads of children--our hosts we concluded--sat and squatted and lay -about the earth-floor, two circles of them. Cecily says they went three -times round, but no, _two_ large circles. - -The Mullah asked a great many questions about England--who we were when -we were at home? how it was two women could come so far to shoot -lion, and why we wanted to?--to all of which we replied as clearly -and comprehensively as we could through Clarence. Then more personal -questions were asked. Were we married? “Say no, Clarence.” - -“No,” said the stolid shikâri. - -The Mullah reflected a little. Didn’t we think we ought to be? A -dreadful flick on the raw this. If we married how many husbands are we -allowed? I instructed Clarence to say that is not so much how many you -are allowed as how many you can get. Cecily broke in and said that it -was enough to puzzle any Mullah, and that Clarence must explain that one -husband at a time is what English women are permitted, but it is very -difficult in the present overcrowded state of the marriage market -to obtain even one’s rightful allowance, hence our lonely forlorn -condition. The Mullah looked really sorry for us. He said he would like -to give us another sheep, and that he did not think he would care to -live in England, but he approved of the English he had seen. “Best -people I see.” We thanked him, salaamed, and left. We were then followed -by a pattering crowd who dodged in front of us, peering into our faces, -and when we smiled, smiled back crying “Mot! Mot! io Mot!” over and -over. It was quite a triumphal progress. - -At our own camp we found the place invaded by every invalid of the -Mullah settlement waiting in serried rows for us to cure them. Why -every English person, or European rather, is supposed to possess -this marvellous in-born skill in medicine I cannot tell. Some of the -complaints presented I had never heard of, much less seen, and even -our learned tome of a medical work failed to identify many. It was very -pathetic, as we were so helpless. The poor things regarded the book as -some saviour come to succour them. - -There was enough occupation before us to keep a doctor busy for -weeks, that much we could see. We only dared venture on the simplest -plain-sailing cases, and even if we had used up our entire stock of -medicine and remedies required for our own use it would have been a -drop in the ocean of trouble here. We gave presents as a consoler to the -worst of the invalids, and then, lest they should all return again on -the morrow, we folded our tents like the Arabs and silently stole away. - -One of our own men required our attention after this. He showed all the -symptoms of ptomaine poisoning, and ferreting into the matter I found -that--well fed as he was--he had gone after the contents of a tin of -beef I had my doubts of, and which I threw away over the zareba fence, -and had consumed the stuff. I was exceedingly vexed, because I had told -all the men standing about at the time that the tin was bad and would -poison any one. Is it not odd that people--especially men--always want -and like that which is denied them? If we could only get at the truth -of it, I expect we should find that in taking the forbidden fruit in -the Garden of Eden Eve did it at the express wish of Adam who wanted it -badly, and had not the moral courage to take it for himself. By the way, -it may not be generally known that quite a lot of learned people claim -that Eden existed in Somaliland. - -To return to the subject in hand again. Just imagine a well-looked-after -camel-man deliberately going and making a meal of doubtful meat just -because it was forbidden him. Ah, well! is it not said that “the dearest -pleasure of the delicately nurtured is a furtive meal of tripe and -onions”? Perhaps our follower took the beef as a surreptitious dish of -that kind. The analogy may seem a little “out,” but it is there if you -look for it. - -One day, somewhere about this time, I was fortunate enough to witness a -great and splendid sight, a battle to the death between two bull oryx. -I had been lunching on sandwiches of their kind--alas! their poor -brother!--and was resting awhile on the verge of a thick bit of country, -a natural clearing with thick thorn cover around. I kept very silent--I -was in fact very sleepy--when I heard the war challenge of some genus -buck, imperious and ringing, and not far away. It was replied to -instantly. Again it sounded louder and nearer. I raised myself and -looked about. From out the dense brushwood, but a few hundred yards -away, and from opposite sides, sprang a fine up-standing oryx. Crash! -And the great bulls were at each other. Clawing with hoofs and teeth and -rapier horns. Then backwards they would sidle, and each taking a flying -start would come together with a sickening crash, and all the while each -tried every possible tactic to drive the merciless horns home. I held my -breath with excitement, as in theirs I was permitted to creep almost up -to the panting, foam-flecked warriors. I could have shot both, but as I -was strong so was I merciful. It was a great and glorious struggle, -and the laurels should be to the victor. For quite a long time it was -impossible to tell which was the stronger, but at last the right-hand -buck--for, oddly enough, though they circled round each other -each always charged from the side from which he commenced to give -battle--began to show signs of tremendous stress, and the telling blows -of his opponent wore him down more and more. No longer was he able -to parry the lunges of his infuriated foe, who, like lightning, took -instant advantage of the on-coming weakness of the stricken buck, and -rushing in on a flying charge like a whirlwind, inserted his rapier-like -horns into his enemy’s side and gored him unmercifully. - -This is where I came in. I would not shoot the victor, for he had won -his battle in fair fight. It was the survival of the fittest. As he -shook his dripping horns and looked at me with blood-shot eyes and -frothing muzzle, I saw he was a youngster in the height of his prime, -and that the stricken buck was old. The victor and I looked at one -another, and I threw my rifle up. A charge from a maddened oryx would be -no simple thing. But I did not want to take his life unless compelled. A -soft, low whinnying noise in the bush: he was off, and I was forgotten. -_Cherchez la femme_, even in oryx land! I walked up to the dying buck, -and Clarence, who had seen the whole thing also, hurried up and asked me -if he might “hallal” quickly and save the meat. A Somali could not -be expected to appreciate sentimental reasons, so I did not urge mercy -towards the utterly vanquished, mostly because the kindest course was to -put the beast out of pain. His horns were the horns of a mighty fighter, -and his shield bore the cuts and indents of many battles. But his day -was over, and his harem passed to a new lord. - -The ground was all ploughed up with the scuffle. - -The head of the dead oryx was poor. It looked old, and was moreover the -worse for strenuous living, being in parts hairless. As I now had better -heads, I took his shield merely, as a souvenir of the great fight. It is -now a little tea-tray from which I peacefully drink tea. - -[Illustration: 0143] - -We struck camp next day, and trekked along the borders of the Ogaden -country. That night we had a camel looted. A camel seems a bit of an -undertaking to run off with, as more often than not he won’t move when -you want him to. I suspect there was some collusion on the part of the -camel-man in charge, but I never could bring it home to one of them. - -Our clothes were now in a shocking state of repair, or disrepair. What -with wait-a-bit thorns, drenching rain, torrid sun, wriggling on the -ground, kneeling and grovelling about, we were the most awful scarecrows -you ever saw. But we were intensely happy. That is the wonder of -the wild. One forgets clothes--and that is much for a woman to -say--newspapers and letters. What was going on in the world we knew not, -nor did we care. I cannot conceive the heart of man desiring more than -was ours just then. The glories of the jungle were all for us; every -dawn brought something new, and everywhere we could trace the wonders of -the world in which we lived: each morning come on romance in footprints, -tragedy in massed spoor, “sermons in stones, and good in everything.” - -It is not to be thought that all things went smoothly. In a big caravan -of the kind such an idyllic condition of things would be well-nigh -impossible. There were the most awkward disagreeablenesses and -unpleasantnesses of all sorts to bother us. I hate sporting books full -of grumbling and tales of discomforts. Nobody asked the sportsman to -undertake the job, and nobody cares if he “chucks” it. Therefore why -write reams about miseries when there are so many things to make up for -them? No life is all _couleur de rose_; but we can make light of the -darkness, “walk in its gardens, and forget the rain.” - -Ostrich spoor was now all about, but they are the most difficult of all -things to come on at close quarters. I stalked odd birds, birds in twos, -birds in trios for hours, but never came within any sort of range. - -All the natural history as told to me in childish days about the ostrich -burying its head in the sand and imagining itself hidden I found very -much of a nursery romance. The ostrich takes no chances, and, so far -from burying its head, has to thank the length of its neck for much of -its safety. - -After days of wriggling about on the flanks of ostrich, in the front and -in the rear, I confided my chagrin to Clarence. He said he had _a Plan_. -I told him I was delighted to know that, and would he unfold it at once? -It seems very ridiculous, but just because I could not bag an ostrich -the bird seemed to me the be-all and end-all of the trip. I am a woman -all over, it seems. - -Well, Clarence’s idea was this: Ostrich never eat at night; therefore, -if you persistently chase the _same_ ostrich for two or three days -consecutively it follows, of course, that the bird must give in sooner -or later--sooner, Clarence hoped--from want of food and exhaustion. -Or, if a hen ostrich could only be procured--just as though I was not -prepared to welcome her--it would not be long before I should have a -near view of a cock bird, who would come along with a view to a possible -introduction to Miss Ostrich. She was to be tied to a thorn bush behind -which I should be ensconced. It did not seem at all a sporting thing to -do. Love’s young dream should not be made a potent factor in a deadly -business of the kind. Love spells life, not death. - -The other idea did not commend itself to me either with any gusto. I -had no mind myself to go riding after ostrich as though it were a trophy -beyond price. Neither did I want to detail any of the men for the job. -It was just as well we did not trouble for--such are the chances of -hunting, when the position of things may change from success to failure, -from failure to success in the blinking of an eyelid--I suddenly came -on two birds--two grey hens--one afternoon as I was returning from a -fruitless expedition after a lion that must have left the neighbourhood -a week before. One hen was picking the new grass that was everywhere -springing up, the other was playing sentry. And very well she did it -too, marching up and down with head erect and alert eyes. They had -not winded us. We were covered by fairly dense wait-a-bit. The birds, -however, were entirely out of range. I was now on foot, and flung myself -down, as had Clarence. We then raised ourselves sufficiently to cut as -silently as we could a bunch of the awful prickly grass, all mixed with -thorn spikes, and though it scratched me like fun, and I heard my poor -garments ripping away, I took the screen from Clarence and holding it -well in front of me wriggled to the edge of the open country in front -of me. I did feel absurd, and how was I to get within range of those -knowing birds, all encumbered as I was too, with my weapon and my -wait-a-bit? It _was_ wait-a-bit! I took half an hour to crawl a few -yards. But the birds still went on picking the grass in the peculiar way -they have, taking turns at sentry-go. They had great doubts about this -small tuft that had grown up in a day, mushroom-like, and it was only -when sentry turned and paced the other way I could progress at all. The -bird who was doing the eating did not trouble itself so much. At last, -wonderful to relate, I really got within range, and then it was a -toss up which bird to choose. I really considered it an _embarras de -richesse_, and told myself that both belonged to me! Sentry presented -the best mark, and as she turned and came towards me I drew a bead on -her breast and fired. She fell--plop! But her companion simply took a -sort of flying run, very quaint to watch, and vanished in the instant -on the horizon. This is, I know, a prodigious fuss about shooting an -ostrich; but I found them harder to come on and account for than -the king of beasts himself. Some of my ostrich found its way to the -stock-pot, and a portion was roasted. We were quite unable to get -our teeth through it. Cecily said I had undoubtedly shot the oldest -inhabitant. The stewed ostrich, after being done to rags, was eatable, -but no great treat. - -The next day I was taking a breathing space in between moments of -stalking an aoul with peculiarly turned horns, a regular freak amongst -aoul, when I suddenly heard that weirdest of sounds, the hunting call -of a hyæna when the sun is high. I got up and gazed about, and at some -distance there flashed into my vision a disabled buck, I could not then -tell of what variety, haltingly cantering and lurching along. The hyæna -was on his track, running low, but covering the distance between them -magically quickly. In shorter time than I can write it the hyæna sprang -on to the haunches of the spent buck, and down, down it sank, with head -thrown back, into a pitiful heap, the fierce wolf-like creature worrying -it at once. I threw up my rifle, in the excitement I had been allowed to -approach very near, and the hyæna paid toll. He was a mangy brute of the -spotted variety, but the strength of his teeth was amazing. He hung on -to a piece of the aoul long after death. I kept his head, but the skin -was useless. The buck was an old aoul, evidently in shocking condition -and run down generally. He was dead, or I would have put him out of his -misery. I took the head for the sake of the horns. These measured on the -curves seventeen and a half inches. - -Just here Clarence when out spooring, came on an ostrich nest just about -to hatch out, and nothing would do but we must go then and there to see -it. We penetrated some wait-a-bit and then came on the nest with seven -eggs therein. Next we hid ourselves, waited awhile, and had the pleasure -of seeing the father ostrich return to the domicile. I don’t know where -the mother could be. We never sighted her. Perhaps she was an ostrich -suffragette and had to attend a meeting. We did not want to go too -near the nest, or go too often, but we could not help being very much -interested. Our consideration was quite unnecessary. The eggs hatched -out, the broken eggs told the tale, but some prowling jackal or hungry -hyæna had called when the parents were away and annexed the entire -seven. Housekeeping in the jungle has its drawbacks. It must be really -difficult to raise a family. - -It was quite strange that Clarence, who was a born shikari, versed in -the ways of the wild, and master of the jungle folk, was not at all what -I call a safe shot. I never felt that I could depend on his rifle if -we got into a tight hole. My uncle says times must have changed, for in -their days together Clarence was very reliable with a rifle. But I -don’t see why a man, so often out in the jungle, should go off as a -shot--rather, one would think, would he improve, like grouse, with -keeping. - -We did a most amusing stalk one day here. On a Sunday--I know it was a -Sunday, because ever since we lost the only almanac we had with us we -notched a stick, Crusoe fashion--Cecily and I decided to part company -and go our ways alone, and taking our ponies rode off in opposite -directions. After some time I tethered my steed and left him for the -syce to attend to, and then I mooned along slowly until I must have -traversed a mile or so. I lay down awhile, and then a bunch of aoul -crossed my front, a Speke’s Gazelle with them but not of them, for he -held himself well aloof, and seemed by his very bearing to say he was -only with them by accident. The aoul moved on, but the Speke began to -feed, and I realised then he carried a head worth having, and I must -take it an’ I could. I was out of range, and it meant a careful stalk. -I hoped he would not notice me if I wriggled to the next clump of -wait-a-bit, which showed the crassness of my ignorance! Of course, he -knew something was afoot, and I had to lie still for ages ere I deceived -him into passivity again. The ground was like a razor’s edge; small -stones and sharp-edged flints cut into my poor knees, but I crept nearer -by twenty paces. The sunlight danced again on his shining coat, and all -his thoughts were hemmed in now by a little patch of green grass he had -come on. He consumed this while I squirmed from point to point, and then -with a whisk of his tail he was off again. A brisk run brought him in -view once more, and all this time my presence had never really irked -him. Aha! I pretty well had him. A few paces more when, wonder of -wonders, he saw some danger signal in quite another quarter and dashed -away, this time with no halting. He was gone for ever. I rose and -stretched myself, when a distant bush of wait-a-bit yielded up another -figure, doing the same thing. It was Cecily. And we had both been -stalking the self-same buck for hours--spoiling the other’s chances -every time. We laughed and laughed, for who could help it? - -On our walk back to camp we found the vacated hole of a wart-hog. They -dig these entrenchments for themselves, and back into them so that they -face any danger that may come--a most wise and sound policy. The hole -only just admits piggy; there is not one inch to spare. Living as they -do on roots, it can well be understood that the flesh is really much -more appetising than that of the home-grown porker. Their only drawback -as a welcome addition to our larder was this refusal of the Somalis to -have anything to do with pig. I am quite sure they ran this phase of -Mahomedanism for all it was worth, thereby saving themselves labour, for -I never could see any very strong leanings towards any other teachings -of their religion. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--DEATH OF “THE BARON” - - -```My very friend has got his mortal hurt - -```In my behalf, my reputation stain’d - -`````Romeo and Juliet= - - -```A piteous corse, a bloody piteous corse, - -```Pale, pale as ashes, all bedaubed in blood, - -```All in gore blood - -`````Romeo and Juliet= - - -|Very often we made detours from the main caravan, rejoining it at -a given spot, and this spirit of “wanderlust” brought us into a nice -quandary one fine day. Going by the map and guided by the compass, -Clarence was to arrive with the whole outfit at a precise place by -nightfall, and we two, tired of the two-and-a-half miles an hour -pace, did an excursion on sport intent, taking our own way to meet the -caravan. We, with three hunters on the ever-willing ponies, left camp -early, and going easily soon put a good distance between ourselves and -the slow-coach camels. Dik-dik popped up everywhere, but ’twas no -use disturbing the jungle for such small game. Water-holes next loomed -ahead, and into the mud the Somalis precipitated themselves to drink and -dabble. It was really not fit to swallow, and sudden death would seem to -be the probable result. Not at all! It gave a sudden impetus to our men, -who grew quite lively, game for anything, as they chanted invitations to -imaginary animals to come and be shot. All the song was of the “Dilly, -Dilly, come and get killed” pattern, and was for the most part addressed -to a rhinoceros who lived in fancy. “Wiyil, Wiyil, Mem-sahib calls -you,” was the bed-rock of the anthem, and like our home-made variety one -sentence had to go a long way. - -We found a track made by tortoises innumerable who evidently marched in -solid phalanx to the water-holes. We followed the trail for a long -way, but it seemed to be taking us to a Never-never land, so we turned, -giving up the idea of discovering the source of the path. But in a -tiny lake, as big as a bath and as shallow, we came on three tortoises -swimming. They drew in their ugly snake-like heads with a sideway motion -beneath their armour-plate residence, and there was nothing left to see -but a flat, dirty, yellow carapace. They were quite small, and we pulled -one out with a deft noose thrown by the second hunter. Each man took off -his turned-up sandals and rested one bare foot at a time on the shelly -back, “to make strong the feet.” They did this very solemnly, and, of -course, in turns, mounting their ponies when the superstitious rite was -well over. - -We saw a very immature gerenük standing on his hind legs to feed on the -young tops of a thorn bush. It went off at a crouching trot, stopping -after a short run to turn and stare. It even returned a few paces, with -unparalleled impudence, to gaze. It was a youngster of last season. -The gerenük mother is not the highest type of jungle matron, frequently -abandoning a little one to fend for itself weeks before it has been -taught the ways of the jungle. And so it is that gerenük fawns are a -great mainstay in the lion dietary. - -We let our youthful friend investigate us to his liking, after which he -trotted off. Gerenük seldom or never gallop, and get up nothing like the -speed of an oryx for instance. - -[Illustration: 0155] - -We paused for lunch, and some surprised Midgans were located beneath a -guda tree. Round about them were many fierce and vengeful-looking dogs. -They had a fire over which they were roasting bits of flesh. A few dogs -fought and wrangled over mangled remnants of bone, skin, and entrails. -The horns and shield of an oryx hung on a khansa bush. The horns -were not large, and were those of a cow oryx, killed to make a Midgan -holiday, by the aid of the trained dogs, and with a _coup-de-grâce_ -of arrows. I have never seen the actual hunting, but I understand that -these pariah dogs are bred by the Midgans to hunt the oryx, and going -out in a pack make straight for the prey on being shown the antelope. - -The music of the chase is noteless. The dogs hunt in silence, until they -bring the antelope to his last stand, when they give tongue, guiding the -tracking Midgans, who steal up, as concealed as may be, and let fly a -flight of arrows which either settles the oryx there and then, or paves -the way for an easy pull down later. Very often the antelope makes such -a glorious stand that a couple of dogs are left on the field of battle -for the hyænas. Though the dogs fasten on to their prey and are fierce -beyond relief an oryx at bay is something to be afraid of. His swift -forward rush, head down, with horns just fixed at the right angle for -impaling an enemy, and sideway strike render him a formidable foe at -close quarters. - -The Midgans were very friendly. They were very ragged, and the quivers -full of poisoned arrows hung on quite bare shoulders. They kindly showed -us a track to our betterment, for the going now was stony and difficult. -In and out among rocky nullahs were week-old pugs of lion, and farther, -where rain had fallen, well defined spoor of more lion, together with -massed tracks of oryx and aoul. The spoor of the former is broad in the -forefoot, somewhat resembling two pears set together, and the hind foot -makes a much longer, narrower impress. We followed the rough track for -a mile or more being led to an open “bun,” not extensive, where some few -bunches of aoul grazed and an odd bull oryx also. We got off our ponies, -and making the hunters into _syces pro tem._ did a stalk on all fours. -Cover there was not, and the centre of the “bun” was the centre of -attraction to all the buck, the best grass probably growing there. It -was completely out of reasonable range. A crackle, a rustle, or possibly -a vision gave the alarm, and away went the oryx, out of sight instantly. -The aoul fled affrightedly for a hundred yards or so, then brought up in -a thick bunch to stare. One, inquisitive beyond belief, trotted towards -us, advancing in short bounds in his anxiety to solve the mystery of -these new squirming creatures. Head on, the aoul presented the position -for the most reliable shot possible. A child would have brought it off. -Cecily dropped the inquirer dead in his tracks. - -We were very glad of the meat, and the horns were not amiss. The men -would not be able to look forward to a resulting feast, as the “hallal” - was left out. However, they had any amount of sun-dried meat to go -on with. One pony had to carry the buck, which, after being cleaned, -probably weighed less than the Somali who had occupied the saddle -previously. Then we made tracks for the rendezvous. Looking behind us we -saw a large jackal making off with the left-behind bits of aoul. Another -and another came up, and then a set-to fight began as to who should eat -the spoils. Whilst the battle raged with fang and claw a tiny jackal -stealing up made off at best pace with most of the bone of contention. - -At the arranged place of meeting we found no hospitably waiting tents, -no cook trying to cook, no camels, no anything, but an arid waste of -sand, sparsely dotted with adad bushes and a couple of very stunted guda -trees. From the adad comes the gum arabic of Somali trading, a useless -commodity to us. But we could see it for ourselves in amber lumps, in -the crannies of the thorn. - -Half an hour passed. The ponies nibbled the occasional brown spears -that masqueraded as grass, and we sat down, and said things. One of -the hunters got up a guda tree to help investigations, and we played: -“Sister Ann, Sister Ann, do you see anybody coming?” until we were tired -of it, and the man not being particularly agile missed his footing and -fell with a plop to the ground. After he realised he still lived we had -to listen to his complaints, which embraced everything from petitions to -Allah, allusions to Kismet, to ordinary swear words consigning the tree -and the bruises to altogether impossible places. It grew bitterly cold. -A breeze sprang up and dashed the sand in little sprays about us. Then -it got colder still, and darker; presently night would fall and find us -unprepared. We guarded the ponies, and the men with nothing but a couple -of shikar knives, cut thorn hurriedly, and we could not cry, “Hold, -enough!” until a goodly pile had been collected. We started a fire then -and sat about it holding the ponies by us. A comical group. The fire -warmed us in front, but oh, the cold where the fire was not. I kept -turning round and round like a meat-jack. We sat on like this in great -discomfort until twelve o’clock. We had on drill jackets, so were very -coldly clad. Then--a shot on the silence, cracking suddenly like ice -splitting on a frozen lake. Crack again. We replied; and after a waste -of cartridges on either side a dark mass loomed on our limited horizon, -and the camel-men called words of endearment to the lost hunters. We -were huffy enough to have dismissed the whole caravan and left ourselves -stranded, but feigned to be propitiated by stories of how they lost -their way and the compass, for a Somali will lose, as he can break, -anything. The sight of our tents being erected and the prospect of bed -and warmth mollified us as nothing else could have done, and we turned -in as soon as the cook produced some soup. The men had to collect -wood in the dark--a thing they hate. It was all a gross piece of bad -management on the part of Clarence. Even Homer nods. - -As a result of the exposure Cecily contracted rheumatism of some -inflammatory description. We called it rheumatism for want of a better -name, but her illness most coincided with something discussed in our -medical work--our _vade mecum_--and most unfortunately the page was lost -and the name of the complaint, as luck would have it, was on it. - -We decided it must be rheumatism and treated it accordingly. The right -arm was rendered quite useless, and it was agony for the poor girl to do -more than crawl about. It was a most irritating affair for her and ever -so disappointing. The best sport of the trip was now at hand. We were -in the rhino country, and at breakfast next morning a Somali hunter rode -in--it is marvellous the way in which these people track caravans and -then seem to drop in from nowhere--and he brought news, great news for -us. Clarence introduced the man, a fine upstanding Berserk, who gazed in -bewilderment at the new type of sporting sahib. A rhinoceros was in the -vicinity, that much we elicited, that much, and enough too. A flowing -tobe was the reward for these tidings of great joy. - -Leaving Clarence to glean all particulars, I rushed to Cecily’s tent to -see if she would require me to remain in camp with her. She said, nobly, -“Of course not.” Truth to tell, I don’t think I could have done it had -she asked me to. - -I was so overjoyed and excited that I saw to the condition of my rifle -ten times over. - -The only animal a Somali really fears is the rhinoceros. His charge, -though so blundering, is so terrific; and though he has not the cunning -of the elephant, in fact hardly any finesse at all, the native mind -knows it is safer to take no chances. I learnt by after experience that -a rhinoceros is, indeed, a very big thing to tackle; that his immense -bulk is no deterrent to nimbleness, that his lumbering, bull-like charge -is not the most he can do, for if needs be he can turn and double with -agility. - -As soon as possible after hearing the great news we prepared to try our -luck. The country here was of the densest description, and Clarence’s -idea was to make a detour south, by way of some water-holes, where we -might come on tracks of more rhino. He said the one we had heard of -would probably by now be far away, and, as we were right in the Ogaden, -there was every possibility of our picking up fresh rhino spoor for -ourselves almost immediately. We got ready quite a little expedition, -and I detailed a camel to carry my requirements in case we thought it -better to stay out all night, and with Clarence, the Baron, a syce, -and two camel men my retinue was sufficiently imposing. Danger from the -Ogaden Somalis never presented itself to me as a very real thing, -in spite of certain lurid tales we had heard and read. Although we -penetrated the country from end to end, the few tribes we met gave us -no anxiety save that of the off-chance that we might catch some disease -from them. They are very prone to small-pox, and go on walking about -with it, giving it to all and sundry, when most people would be -isolated. - -But to return to that joint of mutton we sat down to. I took a whole -armoury along with me, but had quite selected my 12-bore as the rifle -for the job. I said good-bye to poor disappointed Cecily, thinking -how lucky I was to be well and able to set off on this the greatest -adventure of all my life. I little thought I was nearing one of its -tragedies. As I rode along I felt light-hearted enough to sing. Even -the woeful going and the consequent delays did not seriously vex me. The -sandy plateaus presently changed to the most impossible thorn, and -it became apparent we could get the encumbered camel no farther. The -creature could not struggle on through such dense jungle, neither could -the ponies. I would hear of no going back, and there was no going round, -so I instructed the small caravan to await my reappearance under pain of -all sorts of penalties whilst “the Baron,” myself, and Clarence pushed -and crawled our way in a direction where we confidently hoped to come on -rhino. - -I simply held my breath, took a header into the sea of bush before us, -and with the ubiquitous Clarence ever and anon carving out a rough path -for me with his hunting knife, held on the way. - -The heat was appalling. I can truthfully say I never was so hot in -all my life. After about an hour of this, we all suddenly came upon a -distinct passage through the jungle, running at right angles, a passage -that could hardly be called one, still the way was easier, and it was -apparent that, though the brushwood had closed together again more or -less, some mighty creatures had passed along. But which way? Spooring -was impossible, the broken thorns could not solve the puzzle. We must -chance it. Clarence was for the left. I advocated the right. Something -made me choose so; but oh, how devoutly afterwards I wished I had taken -the man’s way and not mine own. It was not easy going now, but child’s -play to what we endured at first. On and on, very, very slowly; and -at last the heavy country broke up somewhat and we could see the -sandy ground in patches once more. A space and then--rhino spoor! New, -never-to-be-forgotten, I stooped down and examined it carefully. It was -very distinct considering the dry nature of the ground. I ascribed this -to his immense weight. I measured the imprint, and found it came out at -nine and three-quarters long by eight and three-quarter inches broad. A -rhino causes no havoc to the thorn bushes as he travels bar the injury -of his passage. Unlike the elephant, he does not stop and eat all along -the way. He waits until settled in some cherished feeding ground. - -By the time we had done another hour, the spoor still holding on, the -country was comparatively clear. I was so fatigued and winded I lay down -and hardly knew what to do with myself. I sent Clarence and the Baron -on a bit to prospect, and had really nearly forgotten their existence -in exhausted sleep when they appeared again all tingling with excitement -and eagerness, and with many signs and mysterious facial contortions -explained the rhino was not far off. A wave of the hand to a far away -fastness of thicket showed me its lair, and as we crept closer a pensive -munching sound betrayed the occupation of our prey. - -Aching all over, I silently crept on. In the stillness I could more -plainly hear the crunching of the thorns as they made a meal for the -great pachyderm. But I _saw_ nothing, and how I was to penetrate the -wait-a-bit with any degree of safety I could not see. Few people would -care to meet a rhinoceros at such disadvantage, and I had to add to -other drawbacks the fact that I had for safety’s sake to let the hammers -of my rifle down ere negotiating such dense undergrowth. It would be -highly dangerous to proceed with the rifle cocked, but I wanted it very -much cocked indeed on my first introduction to so vast and important an -animal. The thing was to circumvent the wood--if I may call the place -by so home-like a word--and on reaching one spot where the thorn grew -sparser, I decided to penetrate here. I could not bear to leave it -longer, and could not wait all day; besides, I prefer to meet a rhino -in some place where there is a pretence at cover anyway to trying -conclusions with him in a patch of conspicuously open ground. - -My men showed no sign of fear, and following me came on as carefully and -steadily as ever. Both were armed, inadequately it is to be feared, but -the onus of the business was to fall, presumably, on me. At last! In one -dazzling minute of surprise I saw the huge lumbering bulk we know as -the rhinoceros. I have a bowing acquaintance with his relatives in -many zoos, yet he seemed to me a stranger. Surely they never were so -colossal, so mighty, so altogether awe-inspiring. - -My hands trembled violently. I was for the moment unsteady. It all -seemed so impossible I could kill the wondrous brute. - -The cocking of the hammers seemed to echo through the jungle. To let -him hear us now would present difficulties unthinkable. Beads of -perspiration rolled down my forehead, and my heart beat so loudly that I -wondered if Clarence heard it. This would never do, so rating myself -to myself--a method that never fails to pull me together--I took long, -steady, and careful aim at the pachyderm’s shoulder. The frontal shot is -never of the slightest use, and I could not get in a heart one. I know -now I had no business to fire at all, but my keenness was great, my -ignorance greater, and Clarence had not protested once. - -I fired! Instantly a noise like the letting off steam of a C.P.R. -engine, twice as noisy as any other. The rhino sniffed the air with -his huge muzzle, and I could clearly see his prehensile upper lip. In a -moment he seemed on us--through us; we scattered as he came. Then I saw -what a truly awful business we were in for, and, recognising there -must be no delay in getting the sights on him again, I dashed after the -animal, who was now about to double on his tracks, and I crawled into -the insignificant shelter of a thorn bush to await developments. - -The rhino had not as yet realised what was the matter, or quite gathered -who his foes were. I fired again, another shoulder shot. This bullet -“told” heavily, and the maddened creature, smarting and furious, passed -me like the wind and charged like a Juggernaut right over the Baron, -who, in meaning to evade the rush, fell into it through the unexpected -agility of the brute. A most awful stifled shriek arose as my poor -fellow went down. Frightened as I was, I felt I should be everlastingly -branded to myself as a coward if I made no attempt to save the man, -although I understood how altogether impossible salvation was just then. -The pachyderm was giving the prostrate body a number of vicious rams -with his horn. I advanced quite close, and the rhino, seeing me, -blunderingly charged, passing so near I got the very breath from his -nostrils. I luckily managed to get in a heart shot, and yet another. The -animal lurched on, and then fell, as a loaded furniture van might, with -a terrific crash. But it was not entirely accounted for even yet, and -continued to emit little squeals and plough the ground up all about it. -Still, I knew it would rise no more, and I gave my rifle to Clarence -with a sign to him to do the happy despatch. I went to the fallen Baron, -and even now cannot write of the dreadful nature of his wounds without -a shudder at the manner of so hideous a death. I was overwhelmed, but -Clarence was still imperturbable as he looked back from the great mass -that now lay as inert as my poor follower. - -There was no use trying anything; the Baron was dead. I did my best to -hide my stress of mind from the calm shikari, and endeavoured to think -what it was best to do. I wanted to have the body taken back to camp and -bury it decently, but, after all, it was a silly idea enough, and a mere -relic of home associations. The man had to _be_ buried, so why not do it -where he fell? Then the rhinoceros, with all its value in hide and horn, -lay there to be dealt with. The only way seemed to be to return to the -spot where we left the camel, let Clarence lead two men to the scene of -the _débâcle_, and then I would proceed to camp and order out further -assistance. - -We covered the poor Baron with cut thorns, which seemed a slight barrier -of protection for his body; and the thought of the inroads of some -beasts of prey made me hurry and almost run back through the awful -way we had come so short a time ago. Our passage had cleared it a very -little, and my mind was so much occupied with the catastrophe that it -did not seem very long before we reached the philosophic camel and the -help of which we stood in need. - -One camel-man I instructed to return to camp with his charge; the other -and my syce I detailed to go back with Clarence to attend to the Baron -and the rhino. I got on my own pony, leading the others, and going as -hard as I could under such harassing conditions, I returned an hour or -so after with a few men, whom I led to the edge of the thick jungle into -which I heartily wished I had never penetrated, and explained to the -leader the exact location of the scene of the disaster. I arranged that -a rifle should be fired three times to acquaint me of his meeting with -Clarence at the awful spot. For myself, I was too utterly done to take -on the journey down that path again. I sat and waited for the signal, -and felt a little easier in my mind as I heard the welcome one, two, -three. - -I wearily returned to camp, and having fully explained to Cecily the -extent of the disaster, lay on my bed, face down, for ages. The death of -the poor hunter could not, strictly speaking, be ascribed to me. I might -so easily have been the victim myself, but the horror of it all and -the pity of it bothered me as I suppose it would not have done a real -sportsman. For, in retailing it now to my uncle, he pooh-poohs my -trouble and says it is the fortune of big game hunting. “You hunt big -game, big game hunt you,” as the case may be. - -Cecily tried in her loving way to comfort me, and the cook made me a -soporific in the shape of tea, and the kettle had really boiled. I was -very glad to see Clarence back before the light gave out, and hear that -the Baron had been buried deeply and far out of the reach of hungry -jackals and hyænas. - -I spent a fearful night of regrets and recriminations. When pain is -acute it is as well to let it bite deep, because the reaction is greater -in proportion to the pain. I’m not sure that the old adage about crying -over spilt milk isn’t a fraud. It does a woman good to cry, so I wept -and wept. - -Next morning I thoroughly overhauled my prize so dearly bought. The -spoil must have taken some carrying. The head, which I kept entire--I -mean without despoiling it of horns--was not so large as I somehow -expected from an animal of his bulk. Still, it was big enough in all -conscience. The skin appeared like some freshly-peeled fruit, and was of -great thickness, though it afterwards shrank in the drying a little. - -After the epidermis is removed, the hide, when polished, comes up like -clouded amber, and makes the most exquisite top for a table, of which -the four feet form the base. In my worry at the time I neglected to -measure the rhinoceros as he lay, but in any case we were quite unable -to move him. I afterwards took the dimensions of the horns, and the -length of the anterior was sixteen inches, the posterior being at seven. -I could not settle in that camp again, nor hunt with any happiness. As -soon as Cecily was well enough to trek we struck camp, and held on in -the direction of Galadi, wherever that might be. - - - - -CHAPTER X--WE MEET “THE OPPOSITION” - - -```Therefore be merry, coz; since sudden sorrow - -```Serves to say thus--some good thing comes to-morrow - -`````King Henry VI= - - -|It was impossible to feel down-hearted for long, and my spirits began -to rise again. Even the heat did not affect us as much as one might have -thought. Of course we were burnt as mahogany brown as it is possible -for a white woman to be, and I think very little marked us out from -our Somalis in point of colour. Our very fair hair looked quite odd in -contrast. - -Our hunters reported one morning that in spooring for leopard they had -come on the tracks of a large caravan, and overtaking some part of it -gathered that the outfit belonged to some English officer on sport -bent. Every Englishman is an officer to the Somalis. It is really rather -funny. It is quite like the way every American is--to the Englishman--a -martial colonel. I was intensely sorry to know we were so near to other -hunters. It was very selfish too, for the country was big enough, in all -conscience, to hold us all. But I _was_ sorry, and there’s an end of it. -Cecily said perhaps it was all a mistake, because how could anyone -be hunting in the forbidden ground of the Ogaden unless they were as -signally favoured as ourselves? I suggested that they might be, because -we did not surely suppose we were the only people with relatives able to -pull the strings. We were both a bit “shirty” because we were vexed to -know we had not got the Ogaden to ourselves. A nice sporting spirit, -wasn’t it? - -We were at lunch, battling with an altogether impossible curry Cecily -had perpetrated, for she always said you can curry anything, even old -boots, at a push, and they would be rendered appetising. Oryx beat her -efforts culinary, and she had to admit at last that curry powder and -oryx meat should be strangers. - -As she had had all the trouble of stirring the concoction over a -grilling fire on a grilling day I struggled on as long as I possibly -could in order that the amateur chefs feelings should not be hurt, -but confessed myself beaten in the end and very hungry, so we fell to -opening a tin of meat. - -“I fear no beef that’s canned by Armour,” sang Cecily, coming events not -having cast any shadows before. - -“Salaam, ladies!” said an English voice close at hand. - -It was the leader of the opposition shoot. The younger, my kinsman, was -quarrelling with a syce about the proper way to hold a pony. I don’t -know if we were glad to see them or not. Anyway we had to pretend to be, -besides making the usual ridiculous remarks about the smallness of the -world, and how odd it was we should have come across each other again. - -[Illustration: 0173] - -It would have been inhospitable to offer any of the curry, so we begged -them to sample the tinned beef. Our butler waited on us, and drenched -the four of us in a successful attempt to open a champagne bottle. Oh -yes, we gave them champagne, to make up for other deficiencies. I told -them if they would wait for dinner they should have a Carlton-like meal. -After lunch they would see our skins and heads, so we excavated the -skulls, and displayed all we had for admiration. We tried not to feel -superior, but it was rather difficult when we heard they had not as yet -got a shot even at a rhino. I lay low about the price we paid for ours! -We evidently went up a little in their estimation, because they invited -us to take part in a big shoot next day, and seemed really anxious we -should accept. We said we were about to trek in an opposite direction, -but I was rather taken aback when the elder warrior asked me how I knew -which direction the proposed shoot was to take? They invited us to go -over and see their trophies, but we did not mean to give them one single -chance to crow, and instantly on their departure struck camp and moved -on towards a large Somali encampment which had recently suffered many -grievous losses from the depredations of leopards. - -We were anxious to see the spoor for ourselves. A great many of the -leopards reported are nothing in the wide world but hyæna in spite of -the fact that the leopard, being a cat, does not, in quiescence, show -his claws in the pug marks, and the hyæna, being a dog, does; besides, -the _shape_ of the pad is entirely different. The hyaena has a -triangle-shaped back pad, with two large side toes and two smaller -centre ones, whilst the pug of the leopard is similar to that of lion -but proportionately smaller. In spite of these mistakes on the part of -some unlettered Somali, almost every black man spoors in a way no white -man ever can hope to do. The former can follow tracks of game over -ground that tells us nothing. Stony ground, wet ground, loose ground, -dry ground, all alike give up secrets to him whereof we cannot hear -the faintest whispers. The whole jungle is an open book to the black -shikari, and compared to him the cleverest chiel among us is but a tyro. - -We camped some two miles from the _karia_, and barely arrived when the -head-man arrived to say “Salaam,” He brought with him all his sisters -and his cousins and his aunts. A very plain lot they looked too, -although Clarence whispered to me that in Somaliland one of the women -was rated as a great beauty. I don’t know how he knew, unless the local -M. A. P. said so. After a closer inspection of the lady I came to the -conclusion that, for a beauty, she really was not bad looking. - -They were very prying though, and really dangerous to have round, as one -could not be everywhere at once. They all had advanced kleptomania. My -tent was overflowing with them, though I had given orders to keep the -place clear, and somebody annexed my sponge, hair-brush, and even a -tooth-brush vanished from Cecily’s tent, though we never saw any one -penetrate it. I don’t know what use the tooth-brush would be. The -Somalis do not neglect their teeth, far from it, but they use for -cleaning purposes a soft stick, rubbing and polishing away at all sorts -of odd moments. The result is of dazzling whiteness. - -It was unnecessary also for them to help themselves as we were more than -generous, and in response to their unblushing demands for presents we -gave them at least four tobes, a turban or two, and an umbrella without -a handle, which the proud proprietor unfurled and at once subsided -beneath. - -When Cecily in the warmth of her heart began to bestow things we really -had need of ourselves I begged her to curb her Santa Claus-like ideas, -and let us try and get to the leopard subject. But they were not to be -switched off so easily. The head-man yearned for a rifle, and seemed to -think we were the very people to satisfy him, and I don’t wonder, when -we had been playing universal provider to them for half an hour. There -is nothing on earth a black man longs for so earnestly as a rifle of his -own. It does not matter if it is a mere piece of gas piping with sights -set on it, so that he may call it rifle. A vast amount of rubbish is -palmed off by rascally traders, who get the arms through in spite of -regulations and precautions. The maker is nothing, the skill of the user -nothing, the mere name rifle is everything; and the fact that a native -was not--it may still be so, I don’t know--allowed to own such a -treasure made the prospect more enchanting than ever. I refused the -head-man’s request, so trifling as it was too, as firmly and politely -as possible, and offered him a pen-knife instead. He took one somewhat -superciliously, and went off with it with both blades open. We had not -once got to the main point, the leopard, whose existence was supposed to -be a daily menace to their _karia_. I bade Clarence go after our guest, -and extract particulars. - -After a little time a convoy appeared with return gifts, a couple of -goats, and dirty _harns_ without number full of camels’ milk. I thought -at one time the extreme uncleanliness of the _harns_ accounted for the -unpleasant taste of the milk, but I liked it no better when I sampled it -from a can of my own providing. - -The leopard, for this time rumour had not lied, had made serious -depredations, and carried off nightly goats, sheep, and even a baby -camel. It jumped the zareba wall with ease apparently. We decided to -have “machan,” or rather a small enclosure, built, and sit up for the -thief. I never see much fun in this sitting up business. It is so often -all waiting and no coming. We set some of the men to construct the -shelters, and arranged them some six hundred yards away from the Somali -encampment on the side where the leopard had most often made an entry. -We decided to have a small zareba each, two hundred yards apart, and -took up our residence for the night about 6 p.m. Cecily had Clarence -with her; I had mine to myself. I was most uncomfortably crowded as it -was, but Cecily had a little more space in her prison. - -We tied up a goat between us, and settled down to dreary hours of silent -watching. Though we kept quiet, the Somalis never gave over singing and -shouting for a moment. I wondered at a leopard going near the place at -all. But it may have used the din to its own advantage. - -The night grew very dark, and for a wonder, as the midnight hours drew -near, it got intensely cold. The mosquitoes did not bother me in the -least, though they were present in hundreds. I was completely fastened -in, and only had a peep hole for my rifle which covered the goat. - -I heard a lion roar once, and after a little came a strange lowing -sound, most weird and eldritch. I had never known it before, but I -judged a leopard was hunting. My senses being completely awake, I -peered through the darkness at the goat. It was most ridiculous. It -was impossible even to see it. The whole place was in inky darkness. I -waited, shivering, and next moment I distinctly heard the crunching of -bones and the tearing of flesh. The leopard, or hyæna, had come without -a sound. I could not fire when I could see absolutely nothing to fire -at. Bang! came from Cecily’s zareba, and was followed by a choking -gurgle. - -“I’ve got him, don’t you think?” called out Cicely from her enclosure. - -We dared not venture out, and remained there until in the early hours -some of our men arrived to let us free. But as it grew light I could -see the shadowy form of a great leopard lying prone on his victim. We -investigated as soon as possible, and found that Cecily had got him -through the head. This was, of course, a mere fluke, for she says she -only fired after she and Clarence had sighted and just as the darkness -seemed to lift in the very slightest. She did not see the arrival of -the beast either, though she says from her zareba his form was at times -dimly apparent. For myself, I never saw our prize in life at all. - -He was a glorious trophy, and with perfectly undamaged skin measured, -before skinning, seven feet, and after, seven feet six inches. Then from -out of the Somali _karia_ strolled the head-man, not obliged at all, -still clamouring for some further souvenir! I bade Clarence endeavour -to explain that the boot was on the other leg now, which the shikari -literally and faithfully did, as I heard boots and legs, inextricably -muddled with Somali cuss words, being heatedly discussed. Then back to -camp and breakfast. - -Sometimes at night, before turning in we would go and sit around the -blazing fires and try to talk to the men. We really wanted to find out -more about them, where they came from, what they had done, and what -they would like to do, but on our approach the chanting and the chatter -ceased almost invariably and all the naturalness would vanish. I do not -think they had any sense of humour. They laughed and were happy enough, -but situations that would have taxed the risible faculties of a white -man left them solemn and unmoved. - -Almost every one of our men, if you could extract his real name instead -of his nick-name, had been christened Mahomed. What a lot of Mahomeds -there must be! I suppose it is like the glut of Jameses and Johns with -us. They are tremendous aristocrats, these Somalis; immensely proud of -their descent and origin, and even the most unlettered, though he -cannot read or write, can give you the names of his grandfathers, -great-grandfathers, and all the other greats, until you know you must be -going back to grope in the mists of centuries. - -[Illustration: 0181] - -When we were tracking one morning about this time, on the spoor of a -very small-footed lion, we came on a bit of ridge country, and for -some hundred yards or so a small thorn fence had been erected, -_chevaux-de-frise_ like, the thorn having been cut and brought there. -At intervals tiny gaps were left, and inset, right on the sand of the -ridge, stood the most primitive gins to catch--Clarence said--dik-dik. -The Midgans set them. It would need to be a very unsophisticated little -antelope indeed to run its head into so palpable a noose. They were like -the ones you set at home for rabbits, but made of string instead of wire -held up in an apology for a circle by plainly-to-be-seen props of thorn -twigs. On the sides of the thorn walls forming the passages, bits of -uninviting scraps of dik-dik heads and tails were impaled--to attract -and allure their kind our shikari said. I should have thought the -evidence of what awaited them would have had a deterring effect on any -roaming dik-dik, and serve merely to attract jackals and foxes. But -Clarence said the small antelope are often caught in this way for the -pot. - -That night a vast bat visited our tent, flying round the candle lamp and -dashing himself against it. We called to Clarence to come and evict it, -not meaning him to kill it, but he flew at the creature forthwith, a -_hangol_ in his hand, smashing the winged thing in a heap to the ground. -The wings hung limply around the mouse body, and myriads of fleas -scattered from it. It was larger than our English bats, and the top of -the head was raised in a sort of crown-like lump. - -As we sat breakfasting, the camel-man in charge of the grazing camels -ran into the zareba and did a lot of excited jabbering. Then most of -the men made off outside. I called to know what was the matter, and the -butler said one of the camels had fallen into a pit and could not -get out. Presently we went off to see how affairs stood, and were -exceedingly put about to find Zeila, our big brown camel, had somehow -or other fallen into a long disused elephant trap which are still to be -found in parts of the Ogaden. They were quite deep, and the intention -was that an elephant would tumble in at night and find itself unable to -get out like our Zeila, whose hump was about level with the top of the -hole. - -Every order the camel-man gave he countermanded as soon as it was about -to be put into execution, and all they had as a means of retrieving our -camel was one leather lading rope. We sent back to camp for more, and -sat on the edge of the trap and waited. The other camels grazed about -us, and Zeila was very quiet indeed, only occasionally breaking into -groans. The poor beast was ominously down in the forequarters, and we -thought must be kneeling. When the ropes arrived the difficulty was -how to pass them around the camel, and if we did get them round how -to prevent the leather thongs from cutting into the flesh. A rather -sporting hunter volunteered to join Zeila in the trap, a tight fit -already, and endeavour to place the ropes. First we wound grass around -the rope up to a certain distance making a pad, and then the hunter -climbed down. Had the camel done any lashing about or moving the man -would have been awkwardly placed. The ropes were successfully passed -around the body, made into nooses, the intrepid hunter, wreathed in -smiles at our congratulations, emerged sandy but successful, and we all -did a tug of war, heaving poor Zeila to the surface, a struggling mass. -Once on _terra firma_ at the top it sank groaning pitifully. The camel -man examined it, “Bruk I bruk!” he said, ruefully regarding the right -fore-leg. - -He evidently was right. The poor creature had broken the leg in the -fall. Here was a calamity! The head camel man said it could not be -mended, and Zeila was no more use to us. I asked Clarence if he thought -so fine a camel would be given a home at the _karia_ of the leopard -adventure if I offered to hand it over. He laughed and said a -broken-legged camel is no use anywhere, and if I offered the animal the -Somalis would accept it gladly and then eat it, and didn’t I think -it better our own men should get the benefit of the meat? I had never -thought of our turning cannibal and eating each other this wise, but -I believe all the men were looking forward to a Zeila chop. With great -reluctance I said I supposed the poor camel must be killed, that it must -be shot first through the head, and then that “hallal” business could -follow immediately. Clarence swore by Allah he would do the killing -humanely, a word the Somali does not understand at all. The rest of the -day the men spent in gorging. - -When we went out late in the afternoon by the place of the catastrophe, -where the vultures were feasting on dragged-away bits of camel bones, -we caught some exquisite butterflies who sat on the now putrid carcase, -gorged into quiescence. It seems an odd juxtaposition, butterflies -and bad flesh, but there they were in unison. Cecily is an ardent -entomologist, and collected. I let her do the securing the specimens -because she understands how to kill them neatly, pressing the thorax -without damaging the glory of the wings. I never could gain the -knowledge. My fingers seemed all thumbs at it. - -We purchased two new camels from the neighbouring _karia_, needing a -full complement on account of the water-carrying nuisance. I gave the -head-man an order on our banker at Berbera with which he was as pleased -as though it were cash, but the next trading trip would take him to the -coast-town. These jungle Somalis have some delightfully pre-historic -traits. Belief is one of them. An Englishman’s bond is as good as his -word, and that is something; it isn’t always in civilisation. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--AN OASIS IN THE DESERT - - -```Since mine own doors refuse to entertain me - -`````Comedy of Errors= - - -```Things without all remedy - -```Should be without regard, what’s done is done - -`````Macbeth= - - -```What’s gone and what’s past help - -```Should be past grief. - -`````Winter’s Tale= - - -|We were now having a great time trying to cure the skin of the rhino. -I was so afraid something would go wrong with it that I was for ever -messing away. Clarence would have it that the wrong thing had been done -from the first. He was rather pessimistic these days, mainly, I think, -because he had a gathered hand and it pained very considerably. - -The skins generally were menaced by the deadly beetle grub, and we had -to resort to all sorts of drastic measures. Saltpetre I found of great -use here, and we used it freely. The heads of rhino are very difficult -to dry, as can well be imagined, and our trophy looked a hopeless mess. -It was difficult to believe it would ever rise in glory, Phoenix-like, -from the ashes, to be a thing of joy to anyone. Such great heads swarm -with maggots in no time unless carefully watched. The monster we were -tackling was no exception to the rule, and manufactured the enemy on the -“whilst you wait” principle. - -It now became a matter for our deep consideration as to how far our trip -should extend. - -We had known before we started that Somaliland is no longer the old -time sportsman’s paradise. The shikar obtainable is not what it was, and -every year lessens the chances. The truth is the country is fairly shot -out. - -Fifteen years ago the most excellent shooting was to be had all over; -now, unless one penetrates right into the interior where a certain -amount of danger from warlike tribes must be looked for, there is not -much hope of a truly great and representative bag. The reserving of the -Hargeisa and Mirso as entirely protected regions has also necessarily -restricted the game area. The day of the sportsman in all Africa was -in that Golden Age when he, all untrammelled, might stalk the more -important fauna, to say nothing of the lesser, as he listed. Now he pays -heavy toll, varying with the scarcity of the quarry, and the licences -are not the least part of the expenses. Of course the needful -preservation of big game should, and inevitably must, lead to good -results, since to husband the resources of anything is to accumulate in -the long run. But the idea of artificial preservation and legislation -seems to knock some of the elemental romance out of hunting. Anything -cut and dried seems out of place in sport of big game variety, and -brings it down to the nearer level of shooting pheasants that know -you by sight, and which have been on terms of friendship with their -slaughterers. The Ogaden country, in parts, like the curate’s egg, still -possesses potentialities not to be sneered at, and if one is willing to -penetrate the interior, getting clear away from the beaten track, the -possibilities become certainties. - -To go onwards through the Mijertain meant striking into, or crossing the -“Mary Ann Desert,” as Cecily persisted in styling the Marehan. This was -a somewhat daunting enterprise, but to put against any drawbacks there -was the attraction and magnet of unlimited sport at the other side. We -consulted our maps, and understood them sufficiently to plan a route -and leave the rest to Providence, which useful commodity or personage we -confidently hoped would be good enough to see us through. - -We told Clarence and the caravan generally in an off-hand manner, very -confidently, that we proposed trekking eventually to Joh in the Haweea -country, but I cannot say they received the news in the same spirit -of easy confidence. Clarence was and looked taken aback. He murmured -something about its being a great journey, days and days, that he had -never penetrated so far before. Even our shikari uncle had stopped at -the Bun Arnwein. This rather settled the matter. Oh, to go one better -than our relative! - -We mapped our homeward route so that it permitted of a day or more on -the Bun Toyo with the new grass all a-blowing and a-growing to tempt -out buck in dozens, even though it all meant going over much of our old -shooting ground. We had not yet got a “sig,” Swayne’s hartebeest, among -our trophies. We also intended to pass through a new--to us--part of the -Golis, and try our luck there. - -This Ogaden country is a God-forsaken spot, and the eye aches at last -with the dull brown of everything. Even the haze of the early morning is -khaki-tinted. As for ourselves, we matched the landscape. Our hands were -sienna-coloured, and our complexions------, but maybe the very word is -out of place in connection with our sun-dried faces. - -Cecily was very bent on shooting a rhino on her own,’ saying she would -not count the one that fell to my rifle as anything to do with her. I -offered half share in it enthusiastically, for I had no desire to meet -another. - -I had killed one, to say nothing of the Baron, and was more than sated. -Cecily, however, would not be put off with any sophistry on my part, so -we had the order on hand. - -At last we came on the oasis called Galadi, a very remarkable place, set -like a jewel in a rim of iron. We could hardly believe our eyes. It was -such a faceted gem. No more dingy brown landscape, but a peaceful sylvan -scene of great trees, real turf, and a wealth of green vegetation. This -patch of emerald extended for a mile or more and seemed like a little -Heaven. I was very interested in the wells we came on here and there. -They were of immense antiquity, very deep, cut in the solid rock. We -could not but be impressed with the industry of the long dead hewers. -Naturally in some places, though the wells are deep, the work of -excavation is rendered less difficult by the nature of the ground cut -through, which is in most parts of red earth. There are always steps -cut all the way down, on which the Somalis balance themselves with the -greatest _sang-froid_, doing the necessary conjuring trick with-the -buckets from hand to hand the while. They are made from the ubiquitous -leather--in no country, I imagine, can leather be more pressed into -service--and a number of Somalis often descend a deep well at one time, -passing up the full buckets in continuous chain, receiving back the -returning empty ones as the other leaves the hand. All the time the ever -helpful songs are sung. - -When a large number of camels have to be watered it means spending the -best part of a day down the wells, which are often very foul, and full -of noxious gases. Troughs for the cattle are made by the wells as a -rule, again of the ever helpful leather, or hollowed by hand, and -lined with some sort of clay. We used the ordinary English method, -much simpler, of procuring water, and a bucket and rope seemed to be as -effectual and as expeditious, with certainly less waste than the Somali -system. - -We had hoped to have a splendid bath at Galadi, and a real good drink, -but on trying well after well we found the water absolutely poisonous, -and highly dangerous. The liquid was putrid. The birds of the air -in their thousands made the place their own, and the smell when we -disturbed the surface of the wells was simply abominable. Our men drank -freely, but Cecily and I worried along on the short commons of our last -water barrel. All the animals were watered, and it did not surprise me -in the least when one of the camels shortly afterwards without a word of -warning, sat down, and promptly died. Clarence said it died because its -time to die had come, but I averred, and held to it, that even a -camel cannot always swallow drainage with impunity, even if it can -philosophically. Such big words baffled the shikari, and I left him -pondering. - -We were camped in a beautiful glade, the armo creeper, bright green, -with large leaves, grew festooned on lofty guda trees, and the fairy -web of the Hangeyu spider hung in golden threads from leaf to leaf. The -camels were rejoicing in splendid grazing, and would be all the better -for the change. It is always very rough on camels, I think, having to -provide for themselves, after bringing them in so late at night, after -a march, as one is so often compelled to do. If reasonable care is not -taken of them they will cave in, and there’s the end. Grazing through -the hot hours, as is the inevitable custom, does not permit of enough -food being taken in, especially when the grass is more often than -not conspicuous merely by its absence. They fed now in charge of the -camel-men, wandering whithersoever, in reason, they listed. On trek -camels are tied together in good going. In bad I always ordered them to -go separately, because I observed how cruelly jerked the tail often was. - -Here we had an apiary of wild bees. They are expected to live on flowers -in Somaliland as elsewhere, I presume, but the flowers were not. And the -insects, naturally, were a bit peckish and invaded my tent after a pot -of marmalade. They ate away to their hearts content, for no human being -thought of going in and interfering; but the brainy Clarence put some -sugar in their official residence and the counter attraction caused them -to return. - -There was a strong moon now, so magical that it set all the jackals -for miles around a-baying and a-barking, and nearly distracted us whose -vocal chords were not so susceptible. What this mysterious influence on -the canine genus is no man can tell, but it had the effect of making me -rouse some of the men to eject rocks at the offenders. The worship -of Astarte was all very well in olden days, but the manner of it in -Somaliland was intolerable. - -A quaint insect made a loud tapping noise in the roof of my -tent--probably his love signal. I tried to see him, but he hid from the -light. Altogether I had a wakeful time. - -I watched some weavers building next morning as I strolled about, the -while the parody of a cook struggled with the kettle which seemed unable -to boil. It really was very wonderful and astonishing. They snip off the -threads of grass with their beaks, and actually tie knots, half-hitches. -It was rather late for building, but the cock birds of this species, -sensible little things, sometimes make nests for roosting purposes. - -Whydah birds were flying about in large numbers. They have crimson -bodies, black wings and tails about two feet long, which hamper them -so in flight they can only lollop along. I pursued one, and could have -caught it had I wished. They are finches, and so always to be found in -damp green places. I saw a merry little sand-piper in grey, with no tail -at all, but wagging as though he had one. He had rather a long beak and -was very tame, eating the crumbs I threw him within a yard of my feet. -Two birds that looked like sand-grouse crossed to the wells. The whole -oasis was a paradise for birds. - -Dik-dik was now our staple food, and very palatable we found it. We had -it cooked up every imaginable way. The cook was a sombre individual, but -in moments of roasting he could joke with ease. We had but little fat to -cook with, as antelope have none on them to speak of. We put our meat on -stones in the pot with a little water, and we grilled on a gridiron, -or we boiled it. We made bread easily, but as a long course of baking -powder is bad for one we made our yeast from hops, of which we had some -packets with us. It was much nicer than dough bread, all sour. - -The butler who had lived with the English family had an insinuating -smile, and a vocabulary of English words, a moiety of which he had -grasped the meaning of. He had no fairy footsteps nor airy nothingness, -so valued in an attendant of his variety at home. On the contrary, he -hit the ground with heavy beats in plantigrade fashion. - -We felt quite regretful to leave this fairy place and turn back to the -blistering hot red sand. But time was flying, and we were rather out of -the way of big game here. - -We struck camp and marched, seeing dibitag and oryx, which we vainly -stalked, and as we progressed we passed through extraordinary changes. -Every two or three miles or so we came on similar oases to Galadi and -then, in between, burnt up patches of familiar country. In one of these -green gardens Cecily bagged a lesser koodoo, somewhat rare in these -parts, and an exceedingly beautiful trophy. - -Nearing another oasis, some two miles in extent, Clarence manifested the -greatest desire for me to penetrate the place with him and see something -that was bound to interest me. He was like a woman with a secret, -longing to tell, telling a little, then feeling if he showed his hand -entirely I might not trouble to go at all. Whatever could the mystery -be? Animal, vegetable, or mineral? “Curiouser and curiouser.” - -None of these things! So, following the shikari, his face all alight -with eager interest and desire to surprise me, we pushed our way through -the density of the foliage until we reached about the centre of the -place. It was a Titania’s bower, carpeted with green and shaded by lofty -trees. I sat down and gazed upon the wonders of it, though it would -have taken me hours to take in the many beauties in detail. They were so -infinite in variety, the etchings, the colour and the rainbow effects -as the sun glinted through the lustrous fresh verdure. I sat on and -marvelled. To think that outside of this there existed only a waste of -red sand, ugly and monotonous, and here--but it is ridiculous on my part -to try and describe it. I should like some Shakespeare to see it and try -his art. - -This did not please Clarence at all, who has no love for the beauties of -nature. We must push on. Then, of a sudden, he turned and running to a -tree, proudly patted its trunk. I looked and there I saw in indistinct -letters--my uncle’s initials. Clarence had evidently seen the deed of -vandalism committed. I could not have believed my relative would do such -a thing had I not seen the result with my own eyes. Not that I mean -to say my uncle is anything but truly British to the backbone, but -I thought he would have been the man to rise above the habits of his -countrymen. I never looked on the stern old shikari as a man likely to -give the lighter side of life the upper hand. _Ex pede Herculem!_ - -We turned to get back to the caravan, taking a different route and found -it stiffish going. In a little shady dingle I came on the remains of a -jungle king dead and turned to dust. The oasis had been his sepulchre -these many years, and there was little of him left to tell us of long -passed monarchy. His skull, which I looked at, was practically eaten -away, and was not worth taking. - -A venomous snake struck at me here, but was turned by the top of my -shooting boot. It was a near shave, and I was off and out of the place -in quick time after that. - -I missed a fine lion in this thick forest that evening, and followed -him in fear and trembling without getting him. On the way back to camp -however, disconsolate, I bagged a small oryx for the pot, which turned a -somersault like a hare does when shot in the head. I thought I had lost -him when I saw him leap about seven feet into the air, and then again -and again until I despatched him. - -On another early morning here, having only a collector’s gun with me, I -put a charge into an old wart-hog, but failed to do more than prick -him into a great annoyance and send him off into the wilderness without -getting him. I was vexed with myself for hurting him. - -Just here, too, we came on a kill which had been a jungle tragedy -indeed: the spoor of two oryx all about the outskirts of a green oasis, -where succulent bushes flourished, and confused pugs of a large lion. -The pugs had no beginning, only an ending, and a return path. Therefore -the devastator leaped from out his lair and struck down his prey all -suddenly. We measured the spring from where it is certain the great cat -must have taken off to the spot where lay the half-consumed oryx, lying -as he fell, and it came out at nineteen feet. - -Somalis are exceedingly fond of giving nicknames to one another, more -or less personal, and the European does not escape his satire in this -direction. All the men in our caravan answered to names of the most -irritatingly personal variety, though they all took the for the -most part rude attention to some unfortunate peculiarity quite good -humouredly. I asked Clarence one day, as we were sitting under a shady -guda tree waiting for what might chance to cross our line of fire, what -the men had been pleased to christen me. He assented diffidently to the -assumption that I had a nickname, but gave me to understand he would -rather not mention it, if indeed he had not forgotten it, and a lapse of -memory seemed imminent. This piqued my curiosity naturally, and I gave -him no peace until I extracted what I wanted to know more than anything -else just then. Prepared for any mortal thing, for the Somali nicknames -are nothing if not deadly descriptive, I learned I was called by the -men “Daga-yera,” small ears. This was not so bad, and at least not -uncomplimentary. Clarence looked at me keenly to see if he noted any -signs of offence but I was smiling broadly, so he smiled too. I told him -that with us small ears are not considered a drawback, whatever they may -be in Somaliland. - -Almost on every march we came on graves, some together, here and there -one alone, marking the spot where some traveller had fallen by the way. -An important head-man, or chief, has a perfect stockade of thorn bushes -and stones piled atop of him to keep off the jackals and hyænas. The -women, however, less important in death as in life, have merely thorn -piled casually on their tombs with some such relic as a bit of an old -shield or worse for wear ham strung aloft to act as a deterrent to the -scratchings of wild beasts. When we passed by graves the men would cross -their hands and say a prayer, whether for themselves or for the dead I -do not know. They would be solemn for a moment, brooding, and then set -off a-chanting again. They are a strange romantic people, whose sun ever -follows on the silver mist of rain. - -A perfect avalanche of water fell after this for two whole days and kept -us in our drenched tents. And again everything was wet through. Rain is -a very real terror to the poor camper out. Fires are off and many little -comforts, that passed unnoticed before, go with them. We had our spirit -lamp, and had economised with it all along, only using it on hopeless -occasions like the present. Cecily again fled to her warm whisky and -water cure, and I drank ammoniated quinine until my brain reeled. My -tent, after a night of deluge which more resembles the bursting of a -reservoir than anything else I can think of, collapsed altogether, and -was a perfect wreck. Since mine own doors refused to entertain me I -migrated to Cecily’s, after digging out my belongings from the _débris_, -and, packed like sardines, we had to go on until I got my flattened home -set to rights, which I did after a lot of trouble. - -Two black-backed jackals came close around the tents several times -during the torrential rains. I think they winded the rhino, who was by -now exceedingly “niffy.” About six one evening, when the rain ceased for -a short five minutes, I had a shot at one venturesome jackal and caught -him in the shoulder. I had to rush after him and follow quite a long -way before I got within range again, when I finished the job with a long -shot. Clarence and one of the hunters brought his skin and head to camp. -I admire the black-backed jackal, next to the koodoo, more than any -other trophy to be found in Somaliland. It is quite unique in colouring. -A veritable admixture of the _beaux arts_ and the bizarre. - -A fine day again, and with everything steaming like boiling water we -trekked on. Two or three of the camels were suffering terribly from -sore backs, and had to be placed _hors de combat_ and unloaded, thus -disorganising everything. We can take the average load at 250 pounds, -though it frequently exceeds this, because naturally loads vary with the -nature of the things to be carried, bulky or compact, easy or difficult. -On being required to walk, one sick animal refused to budge another -inch. It is very hard to judge the extent of the illness of a camel. -They do not act any differently, ill or well, as far as my small -experience goes. Clarence and the head camel-man made certain that the -creature was sick unto death, and finally it had to be shot. It would -not walk, we could not tow it, and humanity forbade our leaving it to -fend for itself. All the camels were bothered no end by a small fly, a -species of gad-fly, I think, not very large, but most mischievous. - -One or two of the animals were so overcome with the attentions of these -pests of insects they took to rolling, which, all encumbered as the -camels were, could not but be exceedingly detrimental to the load. These -troubles continued for some days, and the camel we lost may have been -too badly bitten to go on. This fly is a cause of great loss to the -Somali herds. Another joined the attack, a fearsome creature too--much -larger again--and he seemed to prefer people to camels. We, Cecily -and myself, kept him off by bathing the exposed parts of our skin in -solution of carbolic, and this seemed to him an anathema-maranatha and -was to us a god-send. We only wished we had sufficient to tub all the -camels. I think our precautions against these annoying flies helped to -keep off the fearful ticks also. Our ponies were much affected by them, -and the camels, poor things, lived in a chronic state of providing -nourishment for the hateful little insects, which grew and fattened by -what they fed on. Some of the antelopes we shot had these ticks very -badly too, and in one or two cases the skin was marred thereby, being -pitted with small pin-head spots all over the even surface. - -There was now such an abundance of water we decided to camp for a day -and have a washing of ourselves and our clothes. It was not clear water -as we use the word, but limpidly translucent compared to most of the -water holes we had struck lately. Game was plentiful again, but very, -very shy. - -We went out at dawn and saw spoor of many varieties of game and rhino; -of the last a perfect maze of tracks. I had privately no intention, -however I may have play-acted to Cecily with a view of keeping up -appearances, of being in at another battue; but Fate, that tricksy dame, -ordained otherwise. As we were spooring for leopard, and hard on him, -we suddenly came on a vast rhino calmly lying down by a patch of guda -thorn. The idea of another fracas with an infuriated animal of the genus -was too much for me, and I shamelessly turned on my heel, taking the -precaution, however, to grab my rifle from my hunter as I passed him. - -I put myself behind a little adad tree, and turned to see what was going -on. The great lumbering bulk stood up, winded us, saw us too, I should -think, and sniffed the air. There was very poor cover immediately around -the pachyderm, but a thick belt of khansa and mimosa jungle lay to our -left and the country behind us was fairly thick. - -All this unexpected treat was joy untold to Cecily, I suppose; it was -absolute horror to me. If she could have had the affair all to herself -it wouldn’t have mattered, but how are you to know which hunter the -rhino may select to chase? His sight is so poor, his charge goes this -way or that, and has, in my experience, next to nothing to do with the -way of the wind; and all this makes it quite impossible to reduce the -possibilities of his onslaught to a mathematical calculation beforehand. -Another moment and the huge animal was rushing straight at my poor bit -of thorn bush, a mere broken reed of a shelter. What was I to do? Anger -the brute with a useless frontal shot, or fly on the wings of terror? -The wings of terror had it. I abandoned my untenable position, and -gained another very little better. I let the rhino have the right barrel -just as I installed myself, and looked for Cecily to finish the affair. -She was doing a scientific stalk on the flank. - -The rhino was now spinning about and knocking up the dust in clouds. -I played Brer Rabbit and “lay low.” I saw Cecily expose herself to the -full view of the wounded animal, and her 12-bore spoke. We were spared -another charge, thank goodness; and as the dust subsided I saw the -rhino ambling quickly towards the thick cover, blood pouring from -its shoulder. We followed, discreetly, I assure you, as far as I’m -concerned, on the blood trail until we reached the fringe of jungle. -The men volunteered to beat, but I was set against this; so we wandered -about on the edge of this natural zareba awaiting developments, my heart -in my mouth the whole time. Intrepid Cecily was all for penetrating the -thorn, and at last came on a place she could at least peer into. There -was not a sound nor rustle, nor crackle of twig. Then Clarence, in evil -minute, suggested firing the place, and under Cecily’s directions at -once set about the business with his fire stick. I had often tried to -acquire the knack of summoning the spirit of flame thus, but had long -since given it up as an accomplishment impossible for me to learn. - -The thorn was damp and took some time to ignite, but in half an hour the -blaze got a fair start and simply ate up all before it. We had to back -farther and farther away each moment. Volumes of smoke rolled away to -the northward, and the heat grew insufferable. It had been about as much -as we could stand before we began operations. The flames roared away, -licking up every trace of vegetation. I was so surprised no small -affrighted animals broke cover, but this was explained to my wondering -mind a moment later, when, to my amazement, a tawny lioness sprang from -the burning bush and, terror-stricken, passed close to me--so close -almost I could have touched her. I ran straight to my waiting pony held -by my syce at some distance, mounted, and calling to a couple of men -to follow, galloped on the track of the lioness. Occasionally I caught -glimpses of her as she cantered between the low-lying bushes. Then -she disappeared suddenly and precipitately. There was a small nullah -hereabouts, and I made certain the great cat had brought up there; so I -rode on and then settled down on the verge to wait for the shikaris to -come up. When they arrived, they surrounded the place in most daring -fashion, and began to prod with their spears into the thickest grass and -thorn, keeping up a hideous yelling the while. - -A choking, gurgling roar, and the lioness was out and off. I hastily -brought up my rifle and fired. It was a shaky shot enough, and I only -got her in the hind quarter. Things looked a bit nasty as she turned on -us, ears laid back, mouth curled up in a furious snarl, and tail working -up and down like a clockwork toy. She sprang, as a set off, several feet -into the air. Such mighty bounds with a sideway twist about them, and I -did not delay longer. - -Seeing the great head over my sights, I pulled the trigger. Still she -came on a few yards, worrying the ground with her mouth. Then the game -and magnificent creature crashed forward and never moved again-She was -a young lioness, in the heyday of beauty, and I sat down quivering all -over at the sight of so wondrous a prize. After directing the three men -who had followed to skin and decapitate my lioness, I worked back to -the retreat of the rhino. On my way I sighted a dibatag and a couple of -graceful oryx, but saw them disappear on the horizon without an attempt -to annex one of them. It was not only late, but the men had all they -could manage. - -I imagined the rhino would be by now accounted for. It was--thoroughly! -Cicely met me as I neared the blackened waste, and explained they had -waited and waited for the rhino to break cover, expecting the rush every -second, and the flames and heat drove them almost out of range. Nothing -happened, and it was not until the whole brake of thorn was a heap of -ashes that they came on the pachyderm at last. His charred bulk lay in -the smouldering embers, and until the place cooled it was impossible -to retrieve his horns. What a pity and what a waste! We both cursed the -fire stick and our haste. One bullet, Cecily’s, I surmise, must have -penetrated the rhino’s heart, and after careering on for a short way the -stricken animal settled down silently to die. We were intensely put out. -Not even the beautiful lioness allayed our disappointment and chagrin. - -[Illustration: 0205] - -After a rest and a meal in camp we returned to the scene of the still -smoking barbecue. The vultures rose in a slothful lazy mass, and perched -again around us. The hide of the rhino was too roasted to be of any use, -and the men commenced sawing off the horns, a slow, weary job which we -left them to finish. Bed was what I prayed for just then. I was wearied -out. It had been our biggest, hottest day yet, and next morning, Sunday -too, I deliberately and carefully detained Morpheus--what a loop-hole -for a Somali scandal--until 9 a.m. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--OUR BUTLER LEVANTS - - -```O, I am out of breath in this fond chase - -`````Midsummer Night’s Dream= - - -``Good morrow to you both; what counterfeit did I give you? - -```The slip, sir, the slip - -`````Romeo and Juliet= - - -|Whenever practicable, usually when we remained a day or two in the one -place, I made the men build me a little hut of bushes, so that if there -was any breeze it blew through the branches. At such times I made -my canvas residence a cache-tent, and gladly took up my abode in my -jerry-built shelter, esteeming myself lucky in having it. I should never -have done for a Bedouin or Baluchi. I hate and detest tents, even the -most sumptuous. They are the hottest and coldest residences I know. Give -me four walls and a roof of any sort! Be they never so humble they are -better than the best tent that ever was made. Really, if it hadn’t been -for the flies that unceasingly did worry, my _pied-a-terre_ was luxury, -and I could sing with unmixed pleasure as I looked across at my, for the -nonce, discarded tent, “I wouldn’t leave my little wooden hut for you.” - -My furniture was of the “art” variety that you see so frequently -advertised in that useful little journal indispensable to housewives, -_Home Snips_. Two wooden boxes up-ended, with a box lid for top, formed -the table. It was simple and effective, and only lacked the necessary -Aspinall, hedge-sparrow blue for choice, to convert it into a joy for -ever. The remainder of “the suite” matched. A _herio_ made me a carpet, -a biscuit-box a foot-stool. Cecily went in for Spartan simplicity, and -her tent was quite like you read of famous generals who wilfully make -themselves unnecessarily uncomfortable. - -Late one evening we had a fracas with the butler. That henchman entered -the precincts of our tent where we were hungrily awaiting supper, and -instead of depositing my cup of soup on to another “art” table presented -me with it in the form of an avalanche down my back. The soup was not -only hot, burning hot, but exceedingly messy, being of the variety known -to our cook as “thick”--_Anglice_, not sieved--and with more bits in it -than usual. Our appearance was not so enticing that it could bear being -played any pranks with, or putting to any additional strain. Moreover, -the cook had no more soup prepared. I had it all, he said. I had indeed! - -I gave our butler a sound talking to for his carelessness in this matter -and in others, and incidentally cast doubts on the _savoir faire_ of -that English family who know what’s what. This was the last straw, and I -was answered in a furious jabber of talk. I could not make head nor tail -of it, or even get a word in edgeways. Clarence came to the rescue as -usual. He translated, and tried to stem the torrent of language. - -Finally, the whole thing resolved itself into this. Our butler refused -to “buttle” any more. He gave notice, and desired to leave our service. -When I understood, I could not help laughing. I said of course I -accepted the notice, but how he proposed it to take effect was beyond -my understanding, as we were miles from Berbera, at the very back of -beyond, and there could be no means of leaving the caravan with -any degree of safety or sense. If the butler remained, as remain he -obviously must, I insisted on his buttling as usual, but better. He -withdrew at last, angry looking and discontented, and we went to bed. - -I remember what a lively night it was. A lion roared for two hours -or more at intervals of ten minutes, very close to camp--such fine -majestic, rolling roars, ending each time in three rumbling “grumphs.” - I hoped the watch watched, and looking forward to meeting my serenader -next day, I turned over and tried to sleep. What a glorious country to -be in! I might anticipate presenting myself on the morrow to a king, and -no mere ordinary mortal, without the “open sesame” of “let me introduce” - being necessary. What a glorious country! Convention spelt with a little -c, and originality--that most excellent of things--everywhere rife. No -running of jungle affairs on the deadly tram-lines of tradition, and -everything new looked on askance. Mrs. Grundy does not live in the wild; -an’ she did conventionality would be taught to the jungle people, -and she would rob them of all their naturalness. Doesn’t she regard -originality very much in the light of a magazine of combustibles, and -take care to lose all the matchboxes? But I--superior I--in Somaliland -might strike, and strike, and strike. - -Having once returned to Nature, one has eaten of the tree of life -and knowledge, and can never again be content with what we call -“civilisation.” Fortunately Nature can be discovered everywhere -quite close at hand if we hunt very carefully, but unless God is very -particularly kind with His storms and clouds, imagination has often to -do so much. Then, as if to remind me of my own smallness and impotence -and limitations, came that earthquake roar again. - -In the morning breakfast was served by one of the hunters who told us -that Clarence--good man--was out betimes spooring for the lion of -the night, and we hurried our meal that we might not lose any time in -getting started out ourselves. The butler did not appear, and I did not -ask for him, because I judged he was trying to recover his lost temper -and sense of dignity. Breakfast over, Clarence rode into camp, and we -heard raised voices and much discussion. We went on cleaning rifles. -Presently a very perturbed Clarence hurried to us, and told us that -the butler had taken notice, yet without it had annexed one of our best -camels, its driver, a supply of food, and levanted! Heaven only knows -where! How did he propose to reach safety, all unarmed as he was too. -But--was he unarmed? As the thought struck us both instantaneously, we -rushed--Cecily and I--pell-mell to our armoury, and delved into it. In -an agony of fury we realised that our _ci-devant_ butler had taken with -him our ‘35 Winchester. I doubt if he ever fired a rifle in his life, -but I swore he shouldn’t learn on ours. I would go after him, and catch -up with him, if I had to pursue him all the way to Berbera itself. -My chance of meeting that lion--which Clarence had practically -located--were knocked out at 1000 to 1. - -A few speedy directions and questions produced a couple of our best -camels, lightly laden, and the knowledge that the fugitive had about an -hour’s start of us, having indeed, waited to go until he saw Clarence -clear of the camp. I reproached the caravan that they had not prevented -the running away, but no sense could be driven into their stupid heads. -Every man feigned complete ignorance. The stolid “me no savey” of -the Chinaman is not a whit more obtuse or provoking than the Somali -equivalent. They can be as beautifully dense as the most wilfully -non-understanding Chinee. Hammers won’t drive a subject in if that -subject is, in their opinion, better kept out. They are diplomatic, but -maddening. - -Our two camels for the pursuit were loaded up with a small amount of -food in case we were out all night, and taking my .500 Express as the -best all round rifle, I mounted, not without trepidation, an evil-looking -beast, whose driver greeted me with a tolerant and broad smile. -Clarence, as to the manner born, put himself on the other animal, and -with a waved “Good-bye” to Cecily, who, lucky person, was going after -King Leo, we set out. My irritation and annoyance at being so signally -done kept me up for a short time, but it was not really long before the -unaccustomed method of travel began to tell. I had never before been -for a long excursion on board a ship of the desert, certainly I had -previously no idea of what it could do going “full steam ahead.” It -is difficult to explain the matter delicately. To put it as nicely as -possible, I suffered horribly from “mal-de-camel.” - -We never stopped, we rushed on at top speed. The way the camel-men -picked up the trail of the runaway was very clever, sorting it out -from other trails, and must, I think, have been born of centuries of -following. Sometimes the great splayed track lay ahead for all to see, -but ofttimes it was lost--to me--in a maze of stones and scrub and thick -country. We went on until, as far as I was concerned, the world was -revolving around me, the sun a gimlet to bore my brain, the dust a dense -curtain to my mind. I did not now look ahead. Vengeance and the desire -for it had left me. Let the man go, and the rifle with him. Probably it -would prove Nemesis enough without my taking on the function! - -Suddenly Clarence shouted, and pointed enthusiastically to the horizon. -Yes, there was a twirling column of dust. The fugitive of course. We had -come up with him sooner than I thought. The driver urged along our camel -until we fairly shot over the ground, and presently we could hear the -pad, pad, pad of our stolen animal, and see plainly the recreant butler, -apparently in two minds whether to alter his course or not. His party -swerved suddenly, away to the left, towards a tangle of thorn country. -This was absolute nonsense, and I was provoked into firing anyhow, very -wide, I need hardly say _how_ wide, as a sort of warning to pull up. -The runaways slackened speed at once, and the chase ended like a pricked -bubble. We ranged alongside, and without speaking, bar a few curt -directions, turned campwards, and slowly--oh, how slowly--retraced our -way. We did not make home until 5.30, and during the whole of the hours -since morning we had been going solid, and of course had no opportunity -to get a meal. I personally did not require one, but the men must have -been hungry. - -Terribly jolted and worn out I made for my little hut, and lay down -for an hour or so. Cecily was still out, and I resolved to wait for her -assistance to tell off our shameless henchman. She arrived at last from -a fruitless expedition. She came on the kill and followed the lion up, -saw him, then lost all trace of him in thick khansa cover. So we hoped -for better luck next day. - -Clarence conducted the crest-fallen butler to the presence, and we -intimated to him that we were astonished, not to say disgusted; that the -promised bonus at the end of the trip was now non-existent as far as -he was concerned; and further, on returning to Berbera, he would be -indicted for the attempted stealing of the rifle and camel. These words -had tremendous effect. He begged us to forgive him. With sophistry -unequalled he explained that our ways were strange to him, that the -Mem-sahib in whose household he was such an ornament was not like unto -these Mem-sahibs. - -She stayed at home, and we--“We scour the plain,” put in Cecily. - -It was all very absurd, and as we were for the time being perfectly -impotent, however much we might bluster, we provisionally pardoned him -on condition that he returned to butler’s duty, and henceforth spelt it -with a capital D. - -“Oh, frabjous day! Calloo! Callay!” - -Our men reported that the lion--presumably the same lion--had returned -to his kill, and was now lying up in the bushes watching the meat. Our -tempers had recovered their balance, and we happily set out, Clarence -promising that we should “paint um day red.” His vocabulary was varied -enough to amuse us, and what little English he was absolute master of -was interspersed with the quaintest idioms of Hindostanee and American, -which he would bring out in whole representative sentences. His last -big “shikar” was with an American magnate who wanted, said Clarence, to -“shoot um libbah before um died.” Whether it was to be before the lion -died or the sportsman seemed a bit involved, though as it was obvious -that the sportsman could not very well go shooting after crossing the -“Great Divide,” the demise of the lion must have been referred to. It -certainly was more sporting to wish to shoot at the animal before it -expired than after. - -It was the oddest thing in the world to hear that Americanism of -“Painting the town red” on the lips of the solemn Somali. Did he wonder -at its origin as I did? I remember hearing it for the first time in a -little Western mining camp, when its familiarity struck my ear. But it -eluded me, until at last I placed it. You remember where Dante, guided -by Virgil, comes on the suffering spirits of Paolo and Francesca: - -“_Noi che tingemmo il mondo di sanguino_.” - -There in a nutshell lies the origin of the “painting the town red” - phrase. One cannot but admire the literary points of American slang, -though we know there is so little originality in the mind of man, even -of the American. There is no time to create. It is simpler to take the -ready-made, so that all our speech and writing is unconsciously but a -series of quotations from the great human poets, who expressed simple -human thoughts in the most perfect and yet the simplest words. Every -thought we have can be expressed in quotations from Horace, Dante, and -Shakespeare. - -The strength of our party on that memorable morning comprised six of -us--Cecily, myself, Clarence and three hunters. The men led us first to -the kill, from which two sleuth-like forms glided away--jackals, young -ones, with youthful rough coats. Vultures poised motionless in the blue, -or nearer flew sluggishly, with legs hanging loosely, screaming. - -The dead aoul poisoned the air with odoriferous whiffs, and I found it -difficult to believe that a lion had returned to a carcase in such an -advanced stage of decomposition, but apparently it was so. Among the -devious trails of hyæna and jackal were the indents of lion spoor. -Massed often, and there in the sand was the plainly seen mark of the -crouched beast as he gnawed his food. We found, too, at a short distance -a piece of dropped flesh, and either side of it the pugs holding on and -quiescent. - -Our men, as a rule, wore tremendously heavy sandals, which turned up -at the front like the prow of a ship, but when stalking the hunters -discarded these and were barefooted. For stalking some game the lightest -of foot wear is essential, and though, as a rule, I wore nothing but -boots, I found a pair of moccasins very handy on occasions; they are -too hot, though, for wear in such a country, and the knowing and learned -shikari provides himself with cotton shoes. The thorns are too insistent -to make any light footwear pleasurable to me, but I have gone the length -of taking off my boots and running in stocking feet when a particularly -alert koodoo needed an exceptionally careful stalk, but it was a painful -business, even if necessary, and I don’t advocate it. - -Two exquisite lesser koodoo does crossed our front going like the wind, -and we heard a distant bark. Otherwise the jungle slept in the heat of -the sun. Our ponies drooped their heads as the fierce rays smote them -between the eyes. Waves of heat seemed to come rising and rising as the -hoofs churned up the sand. - -We dismounted presently, and two of the hunters bestrode the ponies and -fell behind. Fresh lion spoor was now crossing the old trail, and we -decided to follow it up. We came on some very dense mimosa and khansa, -and in this zareba the pugs vanished. We encircled the whole place. -There were no other prints. Our quarry was run to earth. Cecily fired -into the mimosa once, twice, and instantly, like a toy, the machinery -was set in motion, and great snarling growls breaking into stifled -roars broke on the quiet air. This was a most business-like lion, and -evidently was for putting up with none of our monkey tricks. The bushes -parted, and quicker than I can set it down a lion charged out straight, -like a whirlwind, past one of our men who stood next to me. The beast -would have gone on had not the hunter made the greatest possible -mistake. He bolted, thereby drawing attention to himself. The lion -turned on the man, catching him, it seemed to me, by the leg, and they -fell in an inextricable heap. We dared not fire because of the danger, -but not a moment was lost. - -All the four hunters rallied to the aid of their comrade. One threw a -spear, which might have done some good had it been pitched accurately. -It fell wide. One smart little fellow actually ran up and whacked -the lion a resounding slap with a rifle--poor rifle! A most brave and -familiar way of acting. It was effectual though. The lion turned from -his purpose and made a bid for safety in the bushes again. I let fly my -right barrel at him as he crashed in, but know I missed, for all I -heard was metallic singing in my ears and no answering thud of a bullet -striking flesh. I went towards the place where the cat vanished. The -humane Cecily was attending to the injured man. - -The lion betrayed his exact location by low growls, and I did all I -knew to induce him to charge out again. I shouted, the men shouted, -we whistled, we fired. Then the enraged animal took to roaring, -real resounding roars, in which his personal animus railed at us. I -instructed the men to remain as they were, talking and endeavouring to -weary the lion into breaking cover, whilst I did a stalk. - -[Illustration: 0219] - -When investigated from the other side, the citadel chosen for the great -stand was of less dense khansa, and the umbrella tops made great dark -shelters for the tunnels between the stems. It was most exciting and -dangerous, and I had so many things to plan and think out. I crawled -in, and commenced to work my way towards the place occupied by my enemy, -whose exact position could be located to a nicety by his growls and -snarls, and the noise he kept up was of the greatest help to me. Even -the lightest, deftest tracker could hardly go through bush like that in -silence. - -It was very dark at first in my covert, but at intervals it lightened -up. I crawled for the best part of half an hour, and then, when my -aching hands almost refused to drag me farther, I found myself in dense -undergrowth, in the actual vicinity of the lion, who halfstanding, -half-crouching, was facing, in sparser cover the direction of my hunters -and the scene of the catastrophe. There was nothing to fire at but -swishing tail. The grass and aloes hid any vital part, and I dared not -miss, whatever came about. A heart shot, or a head shot it must be, or -the sportswoman! Oh, where was she! The thought struck through my brain -of the imminence of my danger should Clarence or one of the others take -to some flank movement whereby the present position of things might be -altered by a hair’s breadth. As it was, time was what I needed, and -I should get that. It was foolish of me to doubt my shikari’s common -sense. I had never known him fail, and he knew I was carefully stalking. -I heard their voices at intervals in the distance, buzzing, and it all -seemed some chimera of my brain. Myself in that hot jungle tangle, and -but twenty yards away a lion of mettle and business-like habits! I was -on my knees in half-raised position, and had he turned even in a half -circle, he must, I verily believe, have seen me, and sorted me out as -something untoward. - -The air was stifling, and oh! how heavily I weighed on my knees! My -fighting weight seemed enormous as I supported it. It was eight stone -really and seemed like eighteen, but of course it was because, in my -excitement, Antæus-like, I pressed down heavily to something solid until -I drew my strength from earth, and thus took heart of grace. I carefully -got up my rifle. It seemed a long business. Did I really make no noise? -Strange crackling rustlings sounded in my ears, as at each growl I -seized the opportunity, and in the semi-obscurity of the reverberations -placed myself better. The lion came more into focus. I saw his side -where it sank in, then--farther. A heart-shaking second. My bullet was -too low. The vast body lashed round and round. I seemed to see what my -fate would be in another instant. My breath was coming in great sobs, -and I wondered whether the lion was choking or I. All this was in the -fraction of a moment. Then came my opportunity. His chest presented -itself fair and square like a target. I pressed my second trigger, and -then threw myself backwards and went anyhow as though the devil himself -was after me; like a streak of greased lightning. “You kill um libbah?” - asked Clarence, who remained pretty much as I had last seen him. - -“I don’t know,” I gasped, stupidly enough. - -And neither did I. - -Loading up carefully again, I carefully retraced my steps, Clarence -crawling after me. There was no sound. All was still as death. We -crept on until we reached my coign of vantage, and there ahead, prone, -motionless, lay a great yellow mass, some ten yards nearer than at my -first shot. He was dead indeed, and a very fine specimen of his kind. -Strangely enough, he had one eye missing, the hall-mark of some early -battle, and to this fact I possibly owed much of the credit I had been -taking to myself for my stalk. Then began the usual _modus operandi_ for -the animal’s dismemberment, and I cleared out of the place to find that -Cecily had taken the injured man back to camp, propping him up on her -pony with the help of the second hunter. My pony was amusing itself at -some distance, having dragged its moorings, and I caught him after a bit -of a tussle. - -The invalid was given my tent, which smelt like concentrated essence of -High Churchism. Keating’s incense smouldered in one corner and burning -carbolic powder fought it for the mastery. Puzzled mosquitoes buzzed -in and out, but more out than in, thanks be. The man’s leg was torn in -strips which hung in two or three inch lengths, fleshy and horrible. -We arranged the torn shreds back, like patching an ornament minus the -seccotine. We covered the wounds with iodoform--very amateurishly of -course--and then bandaged it. Altogether I think the invalid was -rather pleased with himself, as he lay up in the cache-tent, feeling, -doubtless, the importance of having been in the jaws of a lion and come -out alive from such a gin. - -As we could not move him for several days, we arranged to form quite a -good zareba, strong and comfortable, round our follower, and make flying -excursions of which it should be the base. The wounded hunter proved -a very unwilling dawdler, being an active-souled creature, and did not -take at all kindly to a life of enforced idleness. He acted like an -irritated vegetable, and only slept and drowsed the hours away, and kept -his leg up, because I solemnly told him he would die if he did not. I -think the active spirits in nations not yet civilised are always the -better. Laziness is demoralising anywhere, and with it one soon harks -back to the animal. Energetic souls are never idle from choice. The -power to idle successfully and with comfort must be inborn. During his -days of illness our charge grew really attached to us, and looked for -our coming with an expansive smile of welcome. We kept the fever down -with quinine, and before many weeks were over his scars were healed into -cicatrices, which, of course, he could never lose. They would, however, -be a glorious asset and advertisement, showing such undoubted zeal, and -should commend the proprietor to any one on the look-out for a truly -sporting hunter. - -While I was examining the skull and wet skin of the lion as Clarence -pegged it out, our cook volunteered the information that the butler had -gone again on a still better camel, with the same driver, but minus a -rifle. I had thought he would settle down to a dreary acceptance of -the position. It really was uncomfortable to harbour two such unwilling -people in our otherwise contented caravan, so we decided they were -better gone even at the cost of a camel, and this time we wasted no -energy on trying to retrieve them. Whether they ever made safety again -we never could find out. Their movements from that hour were wrapped in -mystery, and the butler, the driver, and the camel disappeared for -ever from our ken. They must have wanted to go very badly. It was not -complimentary, but we put as good a face on the crusher as we could. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--WE CROSS THE MAREHAN - - -```They are as sick that surfeit with too much, - -```As they that starve with nothing - -`````Merchant of Venice= - - -|And now for a few days we struck a period of bad luck. Our larder -was empty save for tins of food kept for dire emergencies, and the men -affected to be weak from scant rations. In any other caravan they would -never, or hardly ever, have had them supplemented by flesh food; but -we had thoroughly spoiled them. Game grew scarce, even the ubiquitous -dik-dik was absent, and any shot we got on these flying excursions of -ours away from the base camp we bungled. The more we failed the more -disconcerted we became. How true it is nothing succeeds like success! At -last matters got so bad we both of us always politely offered the other -the chance of a miss. I would first decline to take it, and then Cecily. -Meanwhile the buck made good its escape. We both got backward in coming -forward, and, in American parlance, were thoroughly rattled. - -At last I volunteered to go out early one morning with Clarence, and we -put up a bunch of aoul some five hundred yards away. They winded us, and -went off at their best pace. In desperation I spurred on the pony, and -called to Clarence to try and round up the flying creatures from behind -a clump of mimosa and shoot one himself if he could. Of course they -passed the place sailing ere ever he reached it. As we galloped along -our rush disturbed another band of aoul at close quarters, and in sheer -desperation I checked my pony so suddenly that he sat down. I flung -myself into a semblance of a position, and fired at the vanishing -quarters of a fine-looking buck. He staggered and kicked out, but caught -up again with his fellows, and they all disappeared in a cloud of dust. -Mounting again, we dashed after them, and after a hard gallop came on -the wounded animal going slower and far separated from the others. I -dared not try a shot from the saddle, as the going was so bad; and if -there is one thing I object to it is a cocked rifle at a gallop over -ant-bear holes. - -The aoul put on a spurt and my pony began to show signs of stress, and -blundering terribly let me down suddenly over a large-sized hole. Much -shaken, I gathered up my scattered wits and called to Clarence to ride -the buck down. It was certainly wounded, and, I judged, badly so. To -return to the famishing, reproachful camp without meat was unthinkable, -as we had done it so often lately. I sat where I was tossed and -meditated until I felt a burning sensation on my finger, sharp and -stinging, and found it to be a scorpion of sorts. He paid toll for such -a liberty, and the butt of my rifle finished him. I immediately sucked -the stung finger perseveringly. What an odd thing it is--or seems odd to -me, being unlearned--that no mischief ever comes from the poison being -sucked into the system _via_ the mouth. Not even the virulent poison of -the rattler harms this way. When I got into camp I soaked my finger in -ammonia, and so got off excellently well. - -I bestrode my weary steed again, asking no more of it than a slow walk, -and followed on the traces of Clarence and the aoul. I shouted after a -while, and he replied. I came on him shortly, sitting by the dead aoul, -resting between moments of butchery. I hadn’t heard a shot, but I must -have been too dazed. We were a long way from camp, and the difficulty -confronted us of packing so large a buck back. We could only do it -conveniently, as I did not want to walk, minus the head and feet. The -horns were good, but the head as a trophy was ruined by the way its -neck was cut. The system of “hallal” doesn’t seem to allow of ordinary -throat-cutting, far down, where the gash does not show. The gash must -run from ear to ear, consequently it ruins a trophy for setting up -purposes. Laden, we hied us back to what Nathaniel Gubbins would call -“the home-sweet,” and were welcomed with glowing fires, on which the -aoul, in parts, was immediately frizzling. The men gorged incontinently, -as Cecily came in shortly after us with an oryx. These two beasts broke -the run of bad luck, and afterwards, for a few days, we could not miss a -shot. Our bullets seemed charmed. So did the men. They ate semiraw meat -in such large quantities I wondered they didn’t get mange and lose -their hair. There is no satisfying a Somali with meat. He cannot have -sufficient. If a man would give all the substance of a buck to him it -would utterly be condemned. - -After what seemed like a very long period of doing very little, we -judged our follower was well enough to be moved, and very glad we were -to strike camp, as the men were none the better for so much idleness. -It takes about an hour to strike camp, load up, and set out. The camels -kneel for the process of lading, with an anchor in the shape of the -head rope tied behind the knees. Unloading is a much more expeditious -business. Everything comes off in a quarter the time taken up in putting -it on. Our rifles travelled in cases made to take two at full length. -They were not very cumbersome, and we felt that the terrific amount of -banging about they would receive during loading and unloading made it a -necessity to give them entire protection. - -This, I feel sure, is the very moment your hardened, seasoned shikari -would seize to make a few pertinent remarks on the merits of various -sporting rifles. Anything I could say on the subject, either of rifles, -or the shooting on our expedition, I am diffident of setting down. The -time is not yet when masculinity will accept from a mere woman hints or -views on a question so essentially man’s own. In the days of my youth -I troubled myself to read all sorts of books on shooting: Hints to -beginners on how to shoot, hints to beginners on how not to shoot; how -to open your eyes; how to hold your rifle that you feel no recoil, how -the rifle must be fitted to your shoulder or you cannot do any good at -all with it; and (gem of all) how to be a good sportsman--as though one -could learn that from books! - -All these tomes of wisdom were written for man by man. I tried to follow -out their often entirely opposite advice, but after a while, being a -woman and therefore contrary, I “chucked” all systems and manufactured -rules for myself. I don’t close either eye when I shoot. I shoot with -both open. In Cecily’s case her left is the most reliable, and she -makes provision accordingly. Our present rifles were not fitted to our -shoulders. So far as I know, they would have done nicely for any one’s -shoulder. Either we were making the best of things, putting up with -inconveniences unknown to us, or else there is a frightful lot of -rubbish written around a sportsman’s battery. In spite of any “advice” - and “remarks” to the contrary, I consider my 12-bore, with soft lead -spherical bullets, driven by drams of powder, ideal for lion and all -more important, because dangerous, game. When one did get a bullet in it -stayed in, and there was no wasting of its dreadness on the desert air. -In reply to remarks as to the undoubted superiority of this, that, and -the other rifle, &c., &c., &c., I merely answer oracularly: “May be.” - -“This, General,” an American hostess once remarked to General Sheridan, -who was busily manipulating an ordinary fork at the commencement of a -banquet, “_this_ is the oyster fork.” - -“D----n it, madam,” answered the General, “I know it!” - -In rifles, as in forks, and in many other things, _Chacun à son goût_. - -Not even marksmanship can make a good sportsman, if there is any temper -or jealousy or smallness about one. A good sportsman is as happy on the -chance as on the certainty, and is not to be numbered as of the elect -because he has slaughtered so many head. It is not the quantity but the -quality that counts. Any one, short of an absolute lunatic, can hit a -large mark, say a buck, but not all men can hit it in a vital place. -Wounded animals, left in the jungle, are one of the most awful evidences -of unskilled shots, bad judgment, flurry, and an hundred other proofs -of things not learned or discovered for oneself. Of course, often it is -that the chances are entirely against one, and the quarry escapes; but -the careful, thoughtful, business-like shikari does not take on foolish -impossibilities. He knows that word without the “im,” and the result is -unerring success. Cecily and I never went in for anything but legitimate -rivalry, and unlike the majority of women who go in for games of chance -together never had the slightest desire to pull each other’s hair out, -or indulge in sarcastic badinage disguised as humour. - -Wandering about the Mijertain we came on one or two wealthy tribes. -Their wealth consists of camels, and so many in a batch I had never -before seen. When grazing in their hundreds like this each mob of camels -is led by one of the most domineering character, who wears a bell, just -as the leader of cattle does in Canada. The camel-bell is made of wood, -carved by the natives, and, ringing in dull, toneless fashion, localises -the band. - -We now began to be afraid of our reception. We were out of the beaten -track, and Clarence was getting a bit out of his depth. Nothing untoward -happened We did not allow any stranger into our zareba, and met every -caller outside. We felt that if we played the Englishman’s home is his -castle idea for all it was worth we should be on the safe side. The -Somali children seem to begin to work and carry heavy weights when ours -at home are just about beginning to think it is time to sit up, and I -never saw such out-sized heads! They were all head and “Little Mary.” - With age equipoise asserts itself and the whole structure seems to -revert to humdrumidity. For three years at least every Somali could -qualify for Barnum’s as a freak. After that he begins to look like -every other of his countrymen. But not all are alike. For instance, the -head-man of this particular tribe was the most atrabilarious creature -possible to meet. I don’t think he could smile. We thought he must -be crossed in love, but Clarence said the Lothario had already worked -through a little matter of four wives, so I suppose his excursions into -the realms of Cupid had been fortunate rather than the reverse. - -A Somali is entitled to four wives at once, and the number of his -children, as a rule, would rejoice the heart of President Roosevelt. The -more children the better for him, because they make for the strength -of the tribe. Even girls are not altogether despised assets, because in -their youth they are valuable to tend the camels and goats, and some day -can be bartered for sheep or ponies. Some Somali women go to their lords -with dowries, and, as with us at home, are the more important for their -wealth. Consideration is shown them that is lacking towards their poorer -sisters who toil and moil at heavy work the whole day long, and when on -trek load all the camels, and do all the heavy camp work. - -We tried our best to propitiate this Mijertain savage--he really was an -ordinary savage--but he only glowered and received all overtures in the -worst possible taste and rudeness. One could have told he was rich even -if we hadn’t seen his banking account feeding in their thousands. - -This tribe looked on the sporting spirit with distrust, evidently -suspecting ulterior motives. It would be hard to convey to an utterly -savage mind that we took on all this _storm und drang_ of a big -expedition merely because we loved it. Trophies here descended to being -meat, and meat of all else topped the scale. Still, one could only eat -a certain amount before being very ill, so why such energy to procure -an unlimited quantity? I don’t think our sex was ever discovered here at -all. Englishwomen were not exactly thick on the ground, and I think -it possible the melancholy Mijertain had never previously seen one. -Probably his intelligence, of a very low order indeed, did not take him -farther than thinking what particularly undersized, emasculated English -sahibs these two were. - -After a consultation we decided it would be really nice to do a long -forced march and put some miles between our two encampments. Somehow, -we couldn’t fraternise. And that beautiful sentence, without which no -suburban friendship is ever cemented--“Now you’ve found your way here, -you must be sure to come again”--was quite useless to be spoken. -In Suburbia that formula is a solemn rite, never disregarded in the -formation of a friendship. You might as well forget to ask “Is your tea -agreeable?” at an “At-Home” day. But in Somaliland you had friendship -offered so differently, if indeed it was offered at all. It came in the -guise of a dirty _harn_ of camel’s milk, microbial and miasmatic, or in -the person of a warlike goat, who with no _mauvaise-honte_ is willing -to take the whole caravan to his horns, or in cases of overwhelming -friendliness a sheep may be presented, with no thought of return. We -were rarely privileged to reach this giddy height--too stand-offish, I -conclude. - -We did a stalk about this time that amused us very much. We went out -alone on our ponies, and came on a couple of oryx in a plot of country -interspersed with light cover of mimosa and thorn bushes, who winded us -and were off immediately. They did not run very far, but inquisitively -turned to stare back, standing close together. They were considerably -out of range. We separated, and Cecily rode off, so that finally we -two and the oryx formed the points of a triangle. A nomadic Somali came -riding up, the wind blowing away from him screened his approach, but -presently the oryx caught sight of this new apparition and back my way -they raced. As they came level with my pony I blazed at the nearest -buck, but as I am no good at all at shooting from the saddle I missed -gloriously, and the confused and startled animal fled helter skelter, -and dashed headlong into Cecily, who, not ready for the unexpected -joust, went flying with the impact. Fortunately oryx carry their heads -high when at the gallop, so she wasn’t really hurt, only winded. It does -take one’s breath a bit to be cannonaded into by a flying buck of the -size of an oryx. I think this one was the last we saw for some time, as -this variety is very scarce in the Mijertain and Haweea country. - -[Illustration: 0235] - -The Somali looked very much astonished, and after remarking a few not -understood sentences, took to a course of signalling of which we hadn’t -the code. We agreed between ourselves that the man meant his _karia_ -was “over there,” so we windmilled back with our arms to demonstrate we -lived “over here,” which thoroughly mystified and fogged him. He made -things a trifle clearer by pointing to his mouth, and pretending to -eat, which could not mean anything but “an invitation to lunch would be -acceptable.” We nodded benignly and signed to him to follow us, and rode -back to camp. He gorged on oryx, like all the rest, and seemed to be -about to put himself on the strength of the caravan, dawdling round -until later on in the evening. We seemed to act on these wandering -spirits like a flypaper does on flies, but not wanting any more stickers -I bade Clarence ask our friend if they wouldn’t be missing him at home. -And the last I saw of our visitor was his outlined figure, in tattered -tobe, riding away, gnawing a lump of meat, a “speed the parting guest” - present. - -This particular part of the world was overdone with snakes, of a deadly -variety, black and horrible looking. I went warily now, I can tell you, -and there was no more tracking for a few days in anything but my stout -boots. - -We next filled up every available thing that held water, and launched -ourselves fairly on to the Marehan Desert. Never was the word more apt. -The place was deserted by man and beast. There was no life nor thing -stirring. We marched the first day from dawn to about 10 a.m., when the -fierce sun forced us to take shelter in hastily erected tents. Even the -men, accustomed to the glare, made shift to primitive shelters from the -_herios_. The ponies stood up well, and the camels were calm as ever. -Oh, the heat of that frightful noon-day! We did not wish to eat, and put -off meals until the evening. The men were now on dates and rice, as we -had no dried meat, and fresh meat, even if we had been able to get it, -would not have kept an hour. - -In the evening we doled out the water, and the ponies got their -insufficient share. Afterwards we marched on, travelling until very -late, or rather early. It was nearly full moon again, and the hideous -parched-up desert looked quite pretty, and was busy trying to pass -itself off as a delectable country. After too little of bed we rose and -toiled on until 9.30, when we caved in, this time very thoroughly, -as Cecily had a bad touch of the sun and was in rather a bad way. But -progress we must, as time was of the utmost consequence. I had a sort -of hammock rigged up, made from a camel mat, with a shelter over it; -and she was carried along in it that evening for some miles. During the -night hours the bigness of the job we had taken on began to appal me. I -wished myself back in the woodlands of Galadi. But it is not of much use -in purgatory to sigh for heaven! - -Next dawn we could do no marching at all, and I was forced to use an -unlimited amount of the precious water to keep wet the handkerchief on -Cecily’s burning head, occasionally pouring some over her lavishly and -in regardless-of-consequence fashion. The heat in the tent, as out, was -unspeakable; and I spent most of the hours of that dreadful day fanning -my cousin, who was really in parlous state. Clarence told me late on in -the afternoon we must push on, whatever happened, as the water was very -low indeed. I gave the word, and we marched, Cecily carried as before. -We heard a lion roaring, but did not see anything, and it was not very -likely we should. Night was the only bearable time, and I would it had -perpetually remained night. - -Not until the next night did we come on some water-holes, and they were -dry! I could not persuade the men to camp; they said the place was not -good, and mysterious things of that kind. I found out that the place -was supposed to be haunted by spirits of some sort, and it was no use -ordering or commanding, for the men would not stay to spend a night in -the vicinity. We had to go on. Matters were now really serious. - -Cecily was much better, though still travelling luxuriously, but there -was not much more than a gallon of water left. We opened a bottle of -lukewarm champagne and drank a little at intervals, but this silly idea -made us nearly frantic with thirst, and we wished we hadn’t thought of -it. The ponies, poor creatures, had been without water for hours, and -their lolling tongues and straining eyes went to our hearts. Cecily was -the more concerned, because she said but for her the water would have -lasted. I assured her it was my prodigality, but in any case it was -water well wasted, as she was almost herself again. - -I consulted with Clarence, and we found that by going on, never -stopping, for another twenty miles we should make wells. Twenty miles -was a big thing to us then with horses and men in the state ours were. -I asked them, through Clarence, to “make an effort,” and promised them -water by the morning. We struck camp on a grilling afternoon at 4.30. -Cecily in her hammock, I alternately walking to ease my pony, and then -mounting for a little to ease myself. I will not describe the tramp -through the night, or how very childish the men got. I prefer the -English way of bearing small troubles--in silence. I think it is -embarrassing to be let in on the ground floor of anyone’s emotion. - -Let it pass! - -A few camel men raced on ahead, and got to the wells before the main -caravan, who were able to quicken the pace pathetically little, and we -made safety, which this time spelt water, about an hour after dawn. I -saw the ponies watered myself before turning in, and I slept eight hours -straight on end. - -Going out late in the evening with the object of securing something for -the pot, I came on a regular aviary of birds. Sand grouse and pigeons, -guinea-fowl and wild geese, and small birds too in thousands. I lay down -for a little and watched the small ones preparing for the night. I love -the tiny birds of Somaliland, and never wearied of studying their pretty -ways. It seems to me that they are most beautiful in proportion to their -size of any bird life. The protections, the pleadings, the dances, the -love-making, the little furies, the make-believes, cannot be excelled in -charm. - -I was too wearied out to bother much, even though food in plenty was -there to my hand, and I don’t like killing anything so tame, even when I -ought to. When I got back to camp I sent Clarence out with instructions -to shoot some guinea-fowl and geese. - -A vast caravan of some hundreds arrived at the wells in the middle of -that night, and things hummed for an hour or so. I was not disturbed, -except by the wrangling that went on all the hours until dawn. It was -very cold, and my “carpet” ended on the top of me! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--WE REACH A REAL LAKE - - -```So fair a troop - -```Call it a travel that thou tak’st for pleasure - -`````King Richard II= - - -|In the morning we found ourselves the centre of an admiring throng. -Every mouthful of my breakfast was criticised and commented on, every -square yard of camp was congested with Somalis, and when one, more -daring than the rest, embraced a rifle box, tight round its waist, as -though to feel the weight, and then let it drop, bump, my amazement and -horror knew no bounds. Even had he known the contents I don’t suppose -the treatment meted out would have been any kinder. The most experienced -native hunter has an idea that rifles are non-breakable, and a small -kink or bulge here and there can make no possible difference! But -this--_this_ was too much. I could not order the zareba to be cleared, -for the good reason we had no zareba, having been too tired the previous -day to form one. I could, and did, however, order the tents to be -struck, and meanwhile Cecily watched like a detective at a fashionable -wedding over the treasures. It would have been fairly easy to have lost -bits of our kit in such crowds. - -Marching until about eleven, we settled down once more, only to be -immediately disturbed by a messenger from the head-man of the tribe just -so gladly parted from, who was followed hard on his tracks by a number -of horsemen, streaming across the plain, threading in and out between -the clumps of durr grass, the sun glinting on their shining spears. - -They very kindly wished to entertain us with a species of circus -performance, known as the _dibâltig,_ a great equestrian feat, carried -out in this case by some fifty Somalis on typical native ponies got up -for the occasion--a veritable attempt to make silk purses out of sow’s -ears--in trappings of red, and many tassels. Their riders were dressed -in brilliantly dyed tobes of green and scarlet and blue, and each man -carried a complete warrior’s kit of shield, spear, and short sword. -It was nice that the performance did not wait for us to go to it, but -placed itself right in our way like this--a great improvement on the -system of amusements at home. Our men gave up all idea of doing any -camp work for the time, and stood in an admiring throng in a half-circle -behind Cecily and myself, who were allowed a box each to sit on. - -On a prairie-like waste of sand the Somalis formed in an even line, and -with the usual “Salaam aleikum,” the show began. One of the horsemen -advanced slightly, and still sitting in his peaked saddle, began to sing -a long chant. I do not know if he was chosen as chorister because of -some hereditary right in his family, or by favour, or because of the -fancied excellence of his voice. With every singer not all are pleased. -So I will just state that this one sang. I need not say _how_. It -is rude to look a gift horse in the mouth, and this was a free -entertainment. The warbler continued his romance and pæan in various -tones for a long time when, suddenly, at a more screeching note than -usual, every man left the line and galloped frantically about the sand, -never knocking into each other, throwing spears with all their force -here, there, and everywhere, to catch them up again as the ponies dashed -past. The pace grew hotter, and presently each rider was enveloped in a -cloud of dust, and we could only see the energetic frantic forms through -a maze of sand. It reached us and set us coughing. The riders seemed -almost to lift the ponies by the grip of the knees and the balance -seemed perfect, and the greatest surprise was that something other than -the ground was not jabbed by the flying spears. Some good throwers could -attain a distance of about seventy to eighty yards. - -They all careered about like possessed creatures in a turmoil of tossed -up sand and wild excitement, when, at a signal may be, but I saw none, -back the whole lot raced, straight like an arrow from a bow, so swiftly, -I thought we should be ridden over. But of course we had to sit tight, -and pretend we were not in fear and trembling about the issue of so -furious a charge. The poor ponies were reined in at our very feet so -jerkily and cruelly that the blood started from the overstrained corners -of their mouths. Then crowding around us, jostling and pushing each -other, the animals gasped and panted their hearts out. I longed to take -the whole lot to the wells to drink but of course we had to go through -the ceremonial properly. The dibaltig is a Somali way of doing honour or -paying allegiance, and is only performed at the election of a Sultan, or -for the offering of deference due to an English traveller. - -With spears held aloft the Somalis united in the strident familiar “Mot! -Mot! Mot! io Mot!” (Hail! Hail! Hail! again Hail!)--to which, as a safe -remark, I replied “Mot!” The wrong thing, of course, and Clarence, who -stood just behind, whispered I was to say “Thank you,” which I did in -Somali, very badly. - -Then we invited our circus party to a meal, and I said if they could -produce a couple of sheep from somewhere I would pay for the banquet. -We got through all right, but the whole of the day was taken up with -the princely entertainment. The sheep duly arrived, and the entire camp -helped to roast them, when with bowls of rice and _ghee_ as a top up, -every one made merry at our expense. We bestowed a few presents also, of -which the most successful was a _tusba_, wooden beads to be counted in -prayer saying. I was sorry we had not provided ourselves with more of -these to give away, as they seemed so intensely popular. Cecily gave one -Berserk a piece of gay red ribbon, and he seemed very much delighted. -They do not care for things of which no use can be made, as they are not -a silly nation. Red scarves and ribbon can always be used up effectively -for the ponies’ trappings on dibaltig and other great occasions. - -We managed to effect an exchange here. I wanted a couple of the native -dyed blue and red _khaili_ tobes to take home as souvenirs, so Clarence -managed it for us by handing over two new white ones, a turban, and a -couple of iron tent pegs. These last were great treasures, as they can -be fashioned into spear heads. The throwing spear is a cruel barbed -affair, but some are plain. Accurately pitched it is a deadly weapon, -and the Somali as he throws gives the spear a smart knock on the palm of -his hand, which conveys an odd trembling that keeps the shaft straight -as it flies through the air. The spear blades take different shapes -in the different tribes, but shields seem to be of uniform pattern--of -oryx, rhino, or other leather, made with a handle at the back. - -We did a short march in the evening and were spared the trouble of -building a zareba, and like cuckoos, took up a place in a nest of some -one’s making. It had been evacuated long enough to be fairly clean, and -did us well with a little patching. Ant-hills around us were so numerous -we seemed in the centre of some human settlement. That night a leopard -entered our zareba and, regardless of the fires and the watch, clawed -one of the ponies badly, being only driven off by having a rifle fired -at him. Even at such close quarters the bullet found no billet, as there -was no sign of the blood trail. We could clearly see the spot where our -visitor entered; the thorn was lower and weaker there. We decided to -remain over the next night and try and catch him. I gave orders for -somebody to ride back towards the camp of our dibaltig friends and, if -possible, buy a goat for tying up. Meanwhile, Cecily and I went out on a -sort of prospecting excursion. We actually came on some water oozing up -through a rock, not standing or sluggish. So we sent a man back to camp -to tell the head camel man to have out all his animals and water them -whether they wanted it or not. - -We struck a well-defined caravan route, probably the road to Wardare -over the Marehan. We arrived by a more direct line from Galadi. Game is -always scarcer on frequented ways, so we turned off into the wilderness. - -A rocky nullah lay to our left, and we caught a glimpse of a fine hyæna -looking over the country. He stood on the summit of a pile of whitish -rock, clearly outlined, and as he winded us, or caught a glimpse of the -leading figures, he was off his pinnacle with a mighty bound and away -into the adad bushes behind him. A little farther we came on fresh lion -spoor, and followed it up only to overrun it. The ground here was for -the most part so stony and baked up it was impossible to track at all. -We held on, searching in circles and then pursuing the line we thought -most likely. We were more than rewarded. Under a shady guda tree lay a -vast lioness with year-old cub. Our men ran in different directions to -cut off the retreat, but we called to them to come back. We had quite -enough skins without trying to deplete the country of a lioness at this -stage of the expedition, especially as the cub was small, and not yet -thoroughly able to fight his own battles. She would have to wage war -for herself and him. I dislike all wholesale slaughter; it ruins any -sporting ground. - -Interested, we watched the two cats cantering off, shoulder to shoulder, -far out into the open country beyond our ken. Our men whispered among -themselves. We were out with the second hunter, as Clarence was occupied -in camp. They were puzzled evidently. As a result of a long course of -noticing that to many white shikaris a lion is a lion, and has no sex or -age, it seemed to the native mind a remarkably odd circumstance that we -made no effort at all to bag two specimens at one fell swoop. I never -had any scruples about killing hyenas. They are not to be classed as -among the more valuable fauna, being so numerous and productive, and -such low-down sneaking creatures, doing such harm among the herds -and _karias_, carrying off the children so frequently, and always -maltreating the face, as if with some evil design, voraciously tearing -it before it commences on any other part. - -We entered a little forest of khansa and adad, sombre and dark. But in -the great tunnellings it was possible to see ahead for a fair distance. -We were just examining a bit of gum-arabic with faint tracery on it when -a hunter pulled my sleeve. There, a great way off, going with the wind, -moving with a rolling gait, was a lion; head carried low as is their -wont, and going along at a smart pace. Signing to the syce to stand -there with the ponies, Cecily and I rushed down the path the lion had -taken. But we never sighted him again. The jungle grew thicker, and it -was getting late, so we were forced to abandon the stalk, returning to -our distant camp after a blank day. - -The goat had been procured, and after supper we had it tied in between -the fences of the zareba. Our stolen homestead being of native make, -I had a great loop-hole made for me in the inner circle and remained -inside our main camp, You have to do this miserable form of sport to -bag leopards, because they are too cunning as a rule to appear in the -day-time, and rarely walk about in the open way lions will. There is -nothing magnificent about the character of a leopard. He is a mere -cunning thief. - -A rush, and the leopard was on his prey, his side towards me, his tail -slowly lashing from left to right with pleasure as he drank the warm -blood. I carefully sighted. It was not a dark night, and I simply -couldn’t miss. Bang! Then the second barrel. The whole caravan turned -out, and buzzed like disturbed bees, one or two wakeful spirits singing -the chant they keep for the occasion of the killing of some dangerous -beast. I had the leopard kept as he was until morning, when I examined -him to find he was of the Marehan variety, or hunting leopard, quite -different to his first cousin _Felis pardus_. His head was smaller, and -much more cunning looking, and he was distinguished from the panther by -non-retractile claws. He was fawn in colour, and his teeth were old and -much worn. - -It took two men now pretty well all their time to see after the -trophies, and bar the way they went on with anything to do with -wart-hog, they really were most assiduous and careful. At first the men -actually routed us out every time the loading-up commenced in order that -we should put bits of pig on to the pack camels! We struck. It was going -a little too far. We made a huge fuss, and some one, probably the cook, -who seemed a more casual person than most, attended to this little -matter from that time onwards, and things went quite smoothly. I am sure -these scruples about pigs are very largely labour-saving dodges. - -Next morning as we marched we came on a half-eaten lesser koodoo, -surrounded by a lot of kites, vultures, and white carrion storks, tall, -imposing-looking birds. We shot one to cure as a specimen, damaging it -rather. It had a horrid smell, but was very handsome. One of the hunters -skinned it at our next camp. - -The American who was out with Clarence on his last big shikar seemed to -have been outrageously free and easy in his dealings with the men. In -fact, in one or two trifling ways such habits as we heard of had rather -been to Clarence’s detriment. A very little encouragement breeds too -great familiarity in any native of narrow mind. I do not mean to infer -that Clarence presumed, or that his judgment was ever at fault in his -dealings with us, merely that I was annoyed to hear some of his stories -relating to the terms on which the men of the camp were on with the -free and open-hearted Yankee. One would think that an American, with -the nigger problem ever before him, would be more stand-offish than -most people. May be he considered himself on a real holiday, and let his -national socialistic tendencies run riot. This is not “writ sarcastic,” - for I’m a Socialist myself, and if I were a professional politician I -should be a Socialist of a kind that very soon, in our time, will be the -usual type all over the world. At present, the Socialists, by going -too far, by plucking the fruit ere it is ripe, have brought ridicule -on themselves and their cause, and by associating themselves with -nihilists, anarchists, and destructionists generally, have alienated the -sympathy of all moderate, gradual, and practical reformers. The days for -revolutions have gone by, and the reforms urgently required by almost -every European nation can take place without the painting red of the -great cities. - -[Illustration: 0251] - -Gracious! I am digressing! And talking like a suffragette! This is -supposed to be a book on sport--mostly. Other things will creep in, and -come crowding to my pen, crying, “Put me down! Put me down!” But--a big -But: did you ever know a woman stick to the point? - -Everywhere we came on ancient elephant tracks, but I think it would have -been difficult to find any sort of a specimen. We heard of none having -been seen for years, yet it has always been understood that at no -distant time this part of the Haweea was a resort for herds of the great -pachyderms. - -We were now not more than a week’s trek of the east coast line. -Wonderful! Or we thought it so who had marched from Berbera. At our -next halt we came on a lake, a real lake, a delightful spot, quite a -good-sized sheet of water, 125 yards or so across, and formed in a basin -of gypsum-like rock. We had not seen so much water _en masse_ since -leaving the sea, and were so overjoyed and charmed with it that we -ordered the tents to be placed on the verge, so that the ripples lapped -up to our very feet. It was quite sea-side, or perhaps, more than -anything, reminiscent of a park at home, for all varieties of birds -floated on the surface and waded on the edge. When I threw broken -biscuit to them they paddled to me in their dozens, flying over each -other in the hurry to be first. - -Of course, a swim was what appealed most to us. To be wet all over at -one time instead of furtive dabs with a damp sponge seemed the acme of -desirability. It seemed difficult of accomplishment. I don’t care for -mixed bathing at home--if the usual percentage of some twenty women -to three men can be called “mixed”--and then there was the awkwardness -about kit. Cecily suggested, in evil moment, cutting up the _khaili_ -tobes. And we did, fashioning them into bathing-suits during the hot -hours of the afternoon, when we should have been using them. The -result might not have passed at Ostend; they were a _succès fou_ at -Sinna-dogho. On giving orders that the lake was to be reserved for us -at five o’clock--the men, who were good swimmers, having been dashing in -and out all day--the whole camp lined up to see the Mem-sahibs in a new -phase. It _was_ funny. We had made the tunics sleeveless, and from the -wrist up our skin was as white as white could be, but from the wrist -down we were Somali colour to our fingertips. - -We ran in out of our tents, and words cannot tell how glorious that swim -was. We dived, we raced, we floated, we dabbled, until at last we knew -we must get out, for the water was quite cold. It was altogether -a rarity in Somaliland. The result will seem absurd, I know. Those -wretched _khaili_ tobes! The dye came straight out of them when wet, and -on to us-We found ourselves converted into woaded Britons! It was quite -a catastrophe, if ridiculous, and bothered us considerably, and at -night, very late, when it was quite dark, we went across to the other -side of’ the lake and had a real good scrub with any amount of water -to draw on. Coming back, something started up so close to me, I felt it -brush my hand--something furry. A wild dog, I imagine, for we saw many -next day. - -It was an absolute joy to breakfast by the cool rippling waters, and we -could hardly bear to leave it to strike on to Joh, so remained all day, -and then, in the late afternoon, regretfully said “good-bye.” After a -short march we came on another small lake, not a patch on Sinnadogho, -but we liked it because it was wet. The country now was of the most -rolling description, intensely stony, with small rounded hills like -Atlantic billows, and in between good grass and grazing for many camels. -On the top of each rise there was thorn jungle, thick or sparse, and -stunted-looking guda trees. It was a most peculiar tract, holding on -like this for some way. We came on herds of camels and goats grazing, -this time in charge of men, and no _karia_ seemed visible for miles. We -procured some camel’s milk for the men, as it is such a treat to them. -We ourselves, however, liked it no better than before. - -A Somali shepherd wished to tack on to us here, deserting his charge, -and as he seemed so very keen about it, and Clarence said he could do -with another man, we assented. It is the dream with some of these jungle -people to taste the sweets of civilisation, make money, and then return -to his tribe, acquiring many camels and wealth of goats and sheep, and -it is very strange that in no time he becomes a jungly person again, -casting off the trammels of civilisation with ease after having lived -perhaps for two or three years in the service of a white man. A very -good thing it is so too. For the savage who lives in the wild is far -more to be admired, and is altogether a more estimable creature than the -savage who drives you about Aden, or hauls your boxes about at Berbera. -Like many other wanderers, he learns the white man’s follies and faults -and none of his better attributes. - -And so it comes about, once in a while, you enter a _karia_, with every -evidence of native domesticity about it, and are greeted by the village -head-man without the usual “Nabad,” or “Salaam aleikum,” and in great -amaze, you hear an English salutation. - -We camped for the night at a place of deep stone wells. If game seemed -scarce, water was plentiful. Next day we came on a Somali encampment -where lions were provided against and so must occasionally come to -call. All manner of scare-lions were set about the zareba, torn herios -arranged flag-like on broken spears, and an ingenious scheme for making -a scratching noise in a wind amused us very much. It was a rough piece -of iron, strung on a bit of leather rope, and its duty was to scrape -against a flint set in a contrivance of wood. Poor protections against -so fierce a foe as a lion! This tribe seemed none too friendly, and we -put a couple of miles between us ere we camped. - -We sighted a dibatag buck, shy as a hawk. This was a part of the country -destitute of game apparently. Only the useful dik-dik abode with us to -fill the pot. - -To Joh next day. There was nothing to tell us it was Joh, any more than -Bob or Tom. The only reason it had for being specified as a place at all -was that it had a very superior well with running water. Even that did -not please half the caravan, for we saw them, in preference, choose a -dirty mud-hole and drink from it. We did a big day’s excursion into the -jungle, trying to come on spoor of any animal where spoor was not. As a -resort for game this part of Somaliland seems unpopular. I cannot think -why. Were I a lion, far rather would I haunt the shores of the lake at -Sinna-dogho than grill on the sands of the Ogaden. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--ANOTHER GAP IN OUR RANKS - - -```Give thy thoughts no tongue - -`````Hamlet= - - -```Ay, but to die, and go we know not where - -`````Measure for Measure= - - -|The poor pony which the leopard had pounced upon was now in grievous -plight, hardly able to drag itself along, and the condition of his -wounds, though we had done all we could, can better be imagined than -described. I judged it kindest to read the death warrant, and the -unfortunate creature was led away from camp, going very painfully, to -be shot. His knell rang out as we were dressing, and rather spoilt our -breakfast. We had grown by this time to be quite fond of all the ponies; -even “Sceptre” counted as a friend of standing. - -Leaving Joh about 8.30, we passed the spot where the men had buried our -steed, not deeply, I fear, and as the caravan came up a great horde of -yellowish animals ceased their depredations and made off. Cecily, who -was walking, dropped one, I am glad to say, and the others loped away -at break-neck speed. It was a fine vicious-looking animal, the sort of -creature you would not care to meet if it happened to be hungry, and we -afterwards knew it to be a Cape hunting-dog. - -There were dabs of black and white here and there on its thick -khaki-coloured coat, and the tail was immense, and white tipped. Each -foot had but four toes, with much-worn claws. We delayed progress for a -little while for the skin to be secured. Meanwhile, we rode off a short -distance and sighted some gerenük, far out of range, and dik-dik in -multitudes popped up. - -We got into some thick thorn cover, too dense for the ponies’ comfort, -after a short ten minutes, and turning, on another path, we startled -some large animal which crashed off in front of us. We separated, -dashing different ways, to try and cut whatever it was off, and saw a -reddish antelope careering away across a small open expanse. It was -a gerenük, hornless; a doe, of course--I say “of course,” because our -luck, or rather the lack of it, in this part of the world, was most -depressing. To have endured that Marehan Desert for such “sport” as -this! We kicked ourselves, figuratively speaking, every day. - -Our next halt at a place garnished with a name was El Dara. “El” in -Somali parlance means “well,” so anything “El” signifies water ought to -be in the vicinity. Very often it isn’t. But it ought to be--like a good -many other things. - -I don’t see how any one could master the Somali language thoroughly--any -foreigner, I mean. There are no books to be got about it, because the -language has not as yet been reduced or elevated by pen and ink. Reading -anything seems an intense puzzle to the native mind, and to be able to -do it raises one miles in their estimation! Only the scholars can read -the Koran in Arabic. It would not be to the advantage of the mullahs -if any one and every one could accomplish this feat. Not one of our men -could even write, much less read. - -I had taken a couple of favourite books along with me, as every -traveller must who will be away from libraries and would yet change -literary diet. In my moments of leisure for reading I accompanied -Elizabeth in Rugen, or wandered with her through that solitary summer. -She was very good to me, but she bored Clarence almost to tears. I read -him a little one afternoon in response to his demands to know what the -book was all about, and after a short while, thinking he was very quiet, -I looked up; the vandal slept! - -Sunday again. - -After the great heat of the early hours of the afternoon we made another -start, heading straight now for the return journey over the Marehan. -Cecily bagged a couple of dik-dik out of a bunch of three. All those -hereabouts did not find the two-is-company axiom worth considering, and -ran about everywhere in threes. We secured two guinea fowl, too, for -future meals. They were decidedly gamey by night; the heat was so -against keeping any sort of meat. I very often thought this unceasing -pondering on what could be provided for the next feast made for dreadful -greediness. When we pitched tents Clarence reported that one of the -camel men very sick. “Him die all right.” I was not very much put about, -because by this I had learned the Somali ways, and knew that every -one of them considers himself at the portals of death’s door if he has -merely a pain somewhere. They cannot be called cowards by any means, and -will bear pain well enough when it comes, but in minor illnesses they -cave in sooner than any other nation I have come across, and get so -terribly alarmed about themselves. Theirs is not the stoicism of the -American Indian, in matters large and small, the delightful _sangfroid_ -of the Chinaman is absent, and the calm of the Englishman unknown. We -had really, up to now, been singularly fortunate in the health of the -caravan, and most of the minor ills from which the men had suffered -could fairly have been ascribed to gorging. This gluttony over meat -occasionally landed them into double-distilled bilious attacks. - -I was in a frightful tantrum with some one--of course nobody would own -to being the delinquent--who had dropped, or somehow made away with, -the very best oryx shield we had. Going over the trophies, which we knew -individually, I missed the treasure. The immortal one counselled “Give -thy thoughts no tongue.” But, after all, he was giving directions to a -young man just about to go out into the world, and had not dreamed of -the conditions that would govern the loss of an oryx shield most hardly -come by. I gave all the thoughts I had by me vehement voice, and, more -than that, I borrowed a few from Cecily. - -We had camped where there had once been a lake as large as at -Sinnadogho. It was now a mere hole, and all the one-time springs were -dry. Some Midgan hunters here gave us news of having seen a lion an hour -or so ago. No wonder they reported such a find. - -Lions and all other game seemed about to follow the dodo in these parts. -We were so thoroughly disgusted now that all our object was to push back -to our old haunts in the Ogaden, and enjoy ourselves for the short time -left to us in the country. I am not wilfully rubbing it in about this -Marehan and Haweea locality, because I myself hate bewailing as much as -any one. But, to let you in on the ground floor, all this part of the -expedition was hateful, and our one desire was to get it over. No wonder -our shikari uncle, wise in his generation, had never passed the Bun -Arnwein. We intended to lie low about our having done so also. - -After our temper had dwindled a little; we went to see the sick man, -armed with a few medicines, and our vexation merged into forgetfulness, -and then to pity. The poor fellow lay on a camel mat, his dirty tobe -tangled about him, in acute pain, and often in delirium. It could not -be a touch of the sun very well, for Somalis and the sun are well -acquainted. Cecily suggested that dirty water of a short time ago as the -root of the evil, but here again, had we not seen the men drinking quite -as filthy water, and thriving the better for it. We really were stuck to -know what to do, and fled to our everlasting remedy, champagne. It was -difficult to get any down, and the little we managed to dispose of -made no earthly difference to the writhing man. Cecily tried catapultic -questions in a Somali accent that came from her inner consciousness. - -“Wurrer anoncsha” (head-ache)? - -“Aloche anonesha” (stomach-ache)? - -There was no reply, and Cecily had expended all the lingo she knew. - -The man went on suffering all night, and we did all we could, putting -mustard leaves on his side and keeping him warm, for the nights here -were bitterly cold. Ever and again we tried to force champagne between -his set teeth. Of no avail. He died about five o’clock in the morning. -Clarence said it was Kismet, but I think, and always shall, it was a -newt. Anyway, it was something swallowed in that filthy water, too much -even for the inner mechanism of a Somali. - -[Illustration: 0263] - -Cecily and I retired to get some sleep if possible, and the men buried -their unfortunate comrade. We did not attend, as it is always so -intensely piteous a ceremony--a burial without a coffin--at least to -me it seems far worse than seeing a coffin put into the earth. I gave -Clarence a blanket to wrap our follower in. He seemed amused, and -certainly did not use it, for I saw him lapped in it a night or so -later. I rebuked him, but he said it was a different blanket. All -men are liars, and though an estimable servant, our head-man was no -exception to the rule. - -We investigated to see that the funeral had been conducted properly, -and ordered more stones and brushwood to be piled on top, such a rampart -indeed that Clarence said we were giving our dead friend the grave of a -chief. Then, in the late afternoon we marched away, leaving the lonely -stockade behind us. Every man of the caravan threw some grass upon the -grave and, touching their ears, prayed to Allah. - -Cecily and I could not help feeling very sorry, but in half an hour the -men had all forgotten, and marched chanting a droning song. The camels -that had been the charge of the dead man now were controlled by a lively -little fellow, and the whole incident seemed of no moment. - -Any amount of wild geese abode here. It was rather like keeping a vast -poultry farm. The birds were so ridiculously tame and easily caught. At -our next trek we should have to consider the return journey across the -Marehan as begun, and we should not be likely to make any water for five -or six days. Everything was carefully filled up, and the march commenced -at 3.30 a.m. The net result of this Marehan excursion was one leopard -and one wild dog, which we would just as soon have been without as with. -They may be hard to shoot, and come on--I have heard so--but take it how -you like, with everything said that can be to belaud them into valuable -treasures, dogs aren’t very grand trophies when all is done. Who values -a coyote in Canada? - -We passed thousands of grazing camels. The men in charge weren’t -bothering about water at all, but drank milk only. I arranged with -Clarence that our men were to go on to rations of dates, and do without -rice for the trip over the waterless desert. Rice in such quantities -sucks up such an amount of water, and it was safer to keep it for -drinking purposes merely. The dates are very nutritious, and natives -often live on nothing else for days. - -We camped about eleven o’clock, when the sun grew too fierce to let us -proceed. We did a few more miles in the evening. Every hour we were not -on trek we spent in exhausted sleep. Even as we marched I was often in a -condition of somnolence that prevented my guiding the pony in the least. - -We passed a fine range of mountains, said to be alive with leopards. We -saw the tracks of several, but time did not permit of a stalk. However, -one came to stalk us, very thoughtfully, and saved us a lot of trouble. -We made the round of the camp that night very late before turning in to -see that all was extra safe. The camels were lying in rows, some with -heads outstretched flat, snake-like, on the sand, asleep, others chewing -the cud, watching us lazily with keen bright eyes threading our way -among the _débris_ of the stores. Our candle lamps were hardly needed -here, the bright fires lighted us to bed, and we had but just settled -down when the most prodigious shouting and banging of tin pans together -roused us up again. Then two shots reverberated on the night. By the -time I was sufficiently clad to emerge with propriety the camp was more -or less calm again, save for a few men jabbering in excited groups. -The ponies stood in a bunch, and one or two of the camels had risen. A -leopard had jumped the zareba, but was immediately turned by having a -piece of lighted brushwood thrust in his face. One of the hunters had -fired after the retreating animal, and claimed to have hit it. As no -man of the black persuasion cares to go outside a zareba at night, all -investigations had to be put off until day-break, when, without waiting -for breakfast, we hurried out to see what we should see. - -The hunter was right. The blood trail was plain, and held on at -intervals for a mile or more, when it led us to a flimsy bit of thorn -growing in some rocky cover. Stones and shouts did not serve to eject -our visitor of the night before, but we heard his singing snarls. -Posting ourselves some hundred yards away, for a wounded leopard is not -likely to prove an amiable customer, Clarence made some fire alongside -us with another hunter by twirling the fire stick. And as soon as the -flame burst from the timber he fostered it with a little durr grass, -then using it to ignite a larger torch, ran towards the citadel and -threw the blazing thing into the midst. Speedily the flames took hold, -burning all before it. - -“Shebel! Shebel!” - -The leopard stole out from the side of the underbrush, with low crouched -shoulders, and made for the open. It limped badly, and lurched as it -ran. I wanted to clear the hunters who were dancing about right in -the very zone of fire--a lot of good shots are spoiled in this way--so -dashed after our prey. Cecily ran round the back of the burning bush, -and as she was nearer, the leopard hearing the quick pad-pad after him -turned, as a cat does when cornered. With ears flattened against the -head and a look of most vicious rage on the snarling face the leopard -shot, all wounded as he was, straight at us like an arrow from a bow. -He was a most courageous animal, but my cousin dropped him with a -well-planted bullet, catching him in the chest. The creature doubled -up like a caterpillar, undid itself, gave one or two twists, doubled up -again, and finally dropped very near to us. - -We were anxious to get the trophy back to camp for the better -convenience of skinning it, as we were already late in starting -the morning’s march, but our pony would have none of it, and at the -suggestion of burdening his usually willing little back with the catlike -carcase, gave us to understand that whatever else he might carry at any -time it would never be leopard. We had to give up the attempt at last, -and two hunters stayed behind to skin and decapitate the prize, coming -in to camp about two hours after us. This particular leopard differed -slightly from the one obtained in the Haweea, but, like all of the -leopard tribe, it doubtless differed in skin and colouring by reason -of the part of the world where it lived and had its being. The chin was -almost white, and it was lighter in colouring all over. We neglected to -measure it when pegged out for drying, but, dressed, it touched just six -feet from tip to tail. The bullet of the night before had passed through -the forearm, and I think it would have got over its effects in time -nicely. - -Nothing more of any moment occurred on the great hurried march. We -walked, and slept, and rode and ate, and ate, and rode, and slept, and -walked. The history of those strenuous six days is summed up in these -words. We managed very well this time about the water, though we ran -things very fine at the last, landing at wells with but a quart in hand. - -The last afternoon was rendered hideous by a plague of locusts, and -their millions darkened all the sky, like the big black crow in Alice’s -Adventures through the Looking-glass, taking an hour or more to pass. -Some didn’t pass at all, but settled in countless thousands on an area -of red sand, that they changed to rainbow colours. Closely looked at, -they are the ordinary familiar locust of many countries, in shades -of green, yellow, with red spots. Cecily, who would, I believe, curry -anything, said they ought to taste like prawns. The insects quite forgot -their plain duty--and didn’t. They tasted like--well, like themselves! -The shell of the back was as hard as nails, and I’m sure they were meant -to be anything but curried. - -At last, towards 6.30, as the light was not so good, we found ourselves -on a plain again covered with splendid trees, and we knew we had left -the dreary waste of forsaken desert behind us. Turning joyfully in my -saddle I waved my hand, crying _Au revoir_. - -“It’s good-bye as far as I’m concerned,” said Cecily stolidly. - -We came to a place of many deep wells, and the men went down forthwith -and began watering the animals. A few busied themselves cutting the -thorn for the zareba, whilst two more erected our tents. The camels -commenced to graze as each one was satisfied by a drink. - -We rested under a thorn tree until, in awful moment, we realised it was -already in the possession of a most horrible-looking creature, a hateful -monster who eyed us from his branch above us. We vacated our seats -_instanter_, but returned carefully to investigate. ’Twas a hideous -monstrosity indeed, alligator-like, with yellow claws. In length about -a foot, with tail of twice as much, yellow gray, with whitish markings, -and appeared to have no interest in us or animosity towards us. We knew -it was of the lizard fraternity, and afterwards natural history revealed -it to us as a Monitor. He disturbed my slumbers all that night. I could -not get the hideous thing out of my dreams, and my fancy peopled the -tent with creatures of his kind, and every place on which I would set my -foot was covered with monitors. Next morning our friend was still on his -perch, and we saw a smaller brother on another tree. Common chameleons -frequented this part also. They lay thickly on the branches of the guda -trees, brown-green, and almost unnoticeable. - -That evening, as the light was fading, I shot a marabou stork, not often -to be met with in these parts. It was indeed a prize, and we spent hours -of semidarkness, in a dim religious light, skinning our treasure. It -sounds so easy--it seems nothing--but try your hand on a common or -garden hen, and see if the business is as simple as you think? We -poked and pushed, and, I’m afraid, tore a little, but in the end were -successful, and stretched the result to dry. The splendid colour of -the pouch of this marabou, which was so much admired by us, faded after -skinning, and was gone. The feathers, so reminiscent of civilisation, -and beloved of suburban fan proprietors, were very fine and fluffy. We -measured the beak of our trophy, and it came out at a shade over eleven -inches, and the extended wings topped eight and a half feet. - -We were now on the march through a waterless tract again, but game was -once more plentiful, and the men dined royally every day. We not so -magnificently, as a whole boxful of our provisions had mysteriously -disappeared; the camel man in charge said lost, but looted or sold -really. I kicked up a frightful fuss, but of course that did not bring -back the missing necessaries. The loss of the box meant much carefulness -to us, as it would certainly be five weeks or more before we touched -Berbera, a consummation not wished for at all, and even the idea was a -vast regret to us. To think that in a short space of time we should be -in touch with the world again, that the wild would call, and we, all an -ache of desperate longing, could not reply! There would be nothing to -compensate us for the loss of the joys of the jungle, no music like unto -the lion’s roar. We should listen in vain for the whining bark of the -koodoo, and the weird calls of the wrangling hyænas prowling around our -zareba o’ nights would echo only in memory. To us these things were the -heart of happiness, and to dream of leaving them was pain. - -Ah me! Well, “fill the cup.” - -Cecily bagged an oryx near Well-Wall, a fine female, ever the best -fitted out in the horn line among this species. It is strange this -should be so, when the bulls are so pugnacious. The horns of this trophy -were in perfect condition, and measured thirty-two inches. The bird life -around us charmed us exceedingly. I think our admiration for the small -birds puzzled Clarence very much. He made nothing of them. All the -hunters were singularly ignorant on the subject, and could tell us -nothing, not even the names of quite well-known finches. All the -exquisite little things were tame as tame could be, willingly picking up -crumbs as we scattered them in the very tent. The most wondrously coated -starlings wandered about in their inquisitive habit, and made many -moments of amusement for us with their quarrels and peacocking ways. - -At Well-Wall we got some water, and camped for the night. There were -many stray nomadic Somalis, hunters mostly, at the water, some Midgans, -almost in “the altogether.” They were a scraggy, miserable-looking -lot, with whom our men got to loggerheads in “the wee sma’ hours,” and, -quarrelling most of the night, made the place hideous with their din, -all carried on, as it was, on a top note. I went out once to try and -silence them all, and Cecily had a go at it also, but nothing would stop -the incessant jangle of their voices. We simply lay down, said things, -and wished for day. - -When the dawn broke in gray shadows we insisted on striking camp at -once, breakfasting after a short trek. The outcaste Somalis followed us -for a long way, begging for tobes. It seemed cruel to refuse them, but -we hadn’t enough to go round even if we handed over our remaining stock, -and really to give one tobe, or even two or three, to such a needy -band would be about as much use as to present one brace of grouse to -a hospital. At last we outdistanced our following, and were able to -negotiate breakfast. How I loved the breakfasts “out there” in the open, -a permanent, everlasting picnic. Many insects came to breakfast too, but -then, what would you? Were they not all part and parcel of this world of -happiness? - -We went on, and everywhere was beautiful now in green splendour; the -jungle had dressed itself anew in robes of emerald. How exquisite the -colours, how drowsy all the air! Great golden cobwebs hung from thorn -to thorn, the early sun scintillating on the myriad dewdrops clinging to -the fragile web. Ants here lived in larger palaces than ever. - -The only available track lay through jungle as dense as could be -negotiated by any caravan. Progress was very slow, and sometimes very -annoying. Camels refused to move through gaps, necessitating unloading -and reloading, all the time bothered by the grabbing wait-a-bit thorn. -My pony put his foot into a hole of sorts unexpectedly, and I came a -terrific purler bang into a bunch of thorn. I daresay it was a blessing -in disguise and saved me a bad shaking, but I was grievously pricked -and scratched. Besides, it really is a very humiliating feeling to be -retrieved from a thorn bush by a mere camel man. I felt disgraced for -ever as an _equestrienne_. It was a “come off” so disgracefully simple. - -At intervals, when the bush lightened a little, we came on spoor of lion -and rhino. The latter again whetted Cecily’s desire to come on another -of these creatures and give battle. I agreed we would track the spoor if -she really wished it, but after a hard five miles of really impossible -going at right angles from our main camp we quitted the chase for that -day arranging to get up with the sun and make a real day of it after -rhino. I admit I did all I knew to stifle these sporting longings. It -seemed cowardly of me to say “Go alone, if go you must.” But I longed to -say it. I could never forget the apparition of that rhino going for the -Baron, and--I’ll whisper it if you’ll come nearer--where a rhinoceros is -concerned I am a contemptible coward. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--CECILY SHOOTS A RHINOCEROS - - -```The day shall not be up so soon as I, - -```To try the fair adventure of the morn - -`````King John= - - -```We are blessed in this man, as I may say, even blessed - -`````Winter’s Tale= - - -|The sun shall not be up so soon as I. Indeed, I had a whole half-hour’s -start of him, while I put my house in order. I prepared in my own way -for the fair adventure of the morn, and told Cecily where to look for -my will. She was in wild spirits, and chaffed me no end. She saw to -her armoury, and asked me over and over to eat more. But I said I felt -exactly like a man about to be hanged, of whom you read in the next -day’s papers: “The prisoner made a most excellent breakfast.” - -Out we started, Clarence, the Somali who joined our forces at the spot -where the camels tried a course of mud baths, four hunters, and two -syces. We followed the old spoor for miles, but it was at last apparent -that the pachyderm we were after had by this time travelled far out of -our ken. We sat down to cogitate, and the hunters went off spooring on a -detour of their own. - -In the thick jungle we disturbed a few baby ostriches. I could not count -how many, because they scattered right and left, thrown into panic by -the shameless desertion of the little brood by their father, who making -a direct bid for his own safety, took a beeline out of our radius. I -cornered one little fluffy yellow and black bird, and could have caught -him had I wished. He was about twelve inches high, very important -looking, and his bright black boot-button eyes gazed at me unblinkingly. -Stout little yellow legs supported the tubby quaint body, and then I let -him pass to gain solitude and his brothers. We did not war with ostrich -babies. I had rather a contempt for that cock bird. Imagine leaving his -children like that! And yet, considered in the abstract, an ostrich -of all other denizens of the wild world stands for respectability and -staunchness of purpose. He pairs for life. None of your gad-about ideas -for him. One life, one love, is the ostrich motto, and if he finds -the “Ever and ever, Amen” variety of domesticity spells satiety almost -invariably, well, he is no different from other two-footed creatures we -know. Nature is the same wherever or however we find it. - -The ostrich does not _look_ a happy bird. His sad pathetic face makes -one think something in this “sorry scheme of things entire” does not -altogether satisfy. What the ostrich really needs is a matrimonial -system whereby these birds might take each other on the lease principle, -as we do houses, with the option of renewal. Things would brighten up -for them, I am sure, considerably. I don’t know how we can arrange -it, or even put the suggestion to them. Perhaps some intensely knowing -person could arrange this, the editor of the halfpenny patron of -patriotism, for instance. He understands everything. The suggested lease -system would add considerable zest to life in the ostrich world, as -indeed it would in many others. Just before the lease fell in Madame -Ostrich would assure her husband that the very last idea she had would -be its renewal. For all masculinity wants is that, and that only, which -is denied him. Mr. Ostrich would feel that the renewal of the lease was -the be-all of everything, and the fattest slugs, the best bit of ground -for finding tit-bits upon, and the least prickly walks in the jungle -would all be offered as persuasive arguments. The general pleasantness -would last them both for weeks. - -A hunter reported he had come on a maze of rhino tracks. Allowing for -the usual exaggeration, we judged one rhinoceros might be get-at-able. -On investigation, we found that one had passed through the thickish -country, and that very recently. Joy!--for Cecily! Hastily we left our -ponies in charge of the syces, detailed two other hunters to remain -also, and with the remaining followers prepared to stalk. Often the -spoor was lost for a hundred yards or so, but our very able shikaris -never failed to pick it up again, and though the going was exceedingly -heavy, we made fair progress. We saw numerous oryx and dibitag, one -of the latter passing so near me that I exchanged glances with her at -twenty-five yards. But, of course, “the likes of them” were safe from us -now. - -We sped across an open bit, and then into another belt of jungle. -The whole aspect of the spot looked to me as the very place to see a -repetition of the Baron disaster. We plunged into the ubiquitous thorn, -starting a frightened dik-dik as I took my header. Crawling, pushing, -scratching, we won our way to comparatively clear ground. Clarence -raised his hand for utter silence. We heard a scrunching and breaking of -thorns. A great beast was a-travelling. Maybe he had winded us or -been disturbed. And then “a strange thing happened.” I, who had been -absolutely impassive up to now, was drawn into the mesh of desire. The -effects of rhino shooting on me is like unto the results of champagne -drinking on Brillat-Savarin, at first (_ab initio_) most exciting, -afterward (_in rccessu_) stupefying. I was now thoroughly game for -anything. But kept my reason in sufficient bounds to remember that thick -thorn cover is not an ideal place to meet a rhino in. - -We did a most careful stalk, creeping towards the place of the sounds, -under Clarence’s complete directions. At last, he alone pressed on with -us, the others willingly remaining where he signalled. We were not now -in overwhelmingly thick thorn, but it was too dense to be pleasant, and -necessitated our handling our rifles with the greatest care. After -a hard few minutes we sank down to rest. Our rifles covered a small -clearing. - -The game of all sizes had made tunnels through the jungly place, high -enough in some parts for us to stand upright, and all seemed to lead to -this open glade. Flies in myriads were buzzing about the undergrowth, -a reddish squirrel, with bushy tail, jerked towards me on a fallen -guda tree, then with a chatter made off among the branches. The air was -simply stifling with dry heat, and I was thirsty beyond words. - -Wonder of wonders! A dark ponderous bulk loomed on the left of us, under -a great guda tree, overhung with armo creeper. The great head came well -into view, all unconscious of intruders. The beast was lunching, -eating his favourite bushes, and munching steadily. This was not at all -sporting--it seemed so simple. - -Cecily gently pushed the muzzle of her 12-bore through the sheltering -thorns, and was able to take careful and steady aim at the rhino’s -ear. She was in excellent range. It is no use trying for a rhino at a -distance exceeding eighty, or at the most, ninety yards. Bang! The smoke -hung for a moment, obscuring everything. The animal seemed to stagger to -the shot. And then, on the instant, with snorts and squeals, small -out of all proportion to the size of the emitter, charged across the -intervening space. Then when he made the jungle he as quickly dashed -back again. I was very anxious for Cecily to have this shoot all to -herself, and though I had a glorious chance of a heart shot from my -position, I held my fire. - -I am not very clear what happened next, and when I apply to my cousin -she says, “I’m sure I cannot tell you.” I think Cecily came dangerously -forward. The rhino turned on our inadequate fortress of mimosa, and as -the peril swept upon us we seemed to gather wit and sense to combat the -danger. Separating widely as the beast plunged straight in where we had -been, we turned on him, simultaneously, to fire. Then we branched -off again, at right angles. I fell into a thorn bush, and took the -opportunity of comparative safety to reload. Cecily was now dancing -about in the open, in a most sporting but in no sense a common-sense -fashion. For a dreadful instant I feared the result. The rhino bull took -up a large circle with its careering and struggles, and the dust was so -great that from my post I could not clearly see the finish. I heard the -rifle crack twice again, and then a ringing shout for me came. There lay -the mighty carcase in a kneeling attitude. A mountain of flesh indeed! - -[Illustration: 0281] - -Cecily had a great gash on her wrist, caused, I fancy, by some sharp -flint stone, and the blood was running down her rifle as she held it at -the trail. She was too excited to speak, and there was no calming her -down. She really seemed like a person in a dream. I announced to her -solemnly it was to be our last rhino shoot. The tension relaxed then, -and she laughed at my serious face. - -A series of whistles brought up the hunters, and the last phase began. -Cecily and I set off to find our ponies, and, full of elation, made for -camp and tea. We had tea at all hours of the day, finding it the most -refreshing of anything, and I don’t really think it affected our nerves -one scrap. - -It was rather late when our men reached camp, laden with treasure. They -brought the rhino’s feet, his tail, his head, and some of his skin. -There was no reason why they should not have brought it all. It comes -off quite easily. They said they had not time, as they feared being -bushed, or that lions would be attracted to the spot by the smell of -blood. The skin is very valuable to the Somalis for shields, and many -other purposes, and we rather thought it was a put up business to secure -half the rhino hide for themselves. We thought of going back then and -there and seeing the thing finished, but Clarence said it was such a -long way off, the result would be we would all assuredly be caught out -in the bush at night. I suppose he was right. They had us fairly. - -The Somalis don’t care for eating rhino, and I cannot say the flesh -looks very inviting, but we got the chef to make us some soup of the -tail, which you hear so well spoken of by all travellers. I do not think -our opinion can be considered a fair one. It would have been a better -soup had we made it ourselves. Our cook could not cook anything -properly, and the tail and taste of it, if there had been either in the -pan at any time, was drowned in a waste of water. - -Before the great pachyderm began to be dismembered we measured him, and -his waist, or where his waist should be if he had one, was by the -tape, seven feet three inches. I don’t know what a fashionable belle -rhinoceros would think of that. In length he was a shade over ten feet, -but this was not a very large animal as they go. We set to work helping -to stretch and clean and saltpetre. The anterior horn was much blunted -at the tip, the result of some accident or wear and tear of some kind, -so that it lost half an inch or so in length. But eleven inches looks -formidable enough, on such a fearsome head. The eyes are ridiculously -small in a rhino. I think to such altogether inadequate optics much of -the bad sight put down to the rhino must be ascribed. One would hardly -think every single animal of this variety starts its career with bad -sight, but that is what every hunter tells you. Go nap every time on the -non-seeing powers of your enemy if he happens to be a rhinoceros if you -like, but see there is a tree to get behind before you begin. This is -advice from myself. - -Next day was a poor one as far as sport was concerned. We were very -stiff with so much crawling, though at the time we had not noticed it. -We sent off a few men to retrieve the rest of the hide from the remains -of the rhino, and when the camp was quiet we investigated the trophies, -and overhauled them carefully. Some of them cried aloud in their agony -for attention. The skin of the last killed lion was beginning to lose -some hair in parts. And this was because, when we undid it and looked -behind, great lumps of flesh still adhered, making it impossible for -the preservatives to do any curing. It took us a long time to set this -right, and we rubbed alum in as hard as we could on the inside. Of -course, if the skinning is not carefully done, the chances are the -trophy will have to be thrown away. I don’t know how we should have -taken a catastrophe of such magnitude. - -The men returned to say the skin of the rhino was not to be found. I -don’t suppose they had even been to the spot. I am confident they had, -in some mysterious way, managed to let their friends know a wealth of -shields were to be had for the taking. There was nothing left of our -huge friend of the day before, so the men said. Wild beasts had eaten -him. - -Later, I heard a great shouting in camp and calls for us, and answering -in person, I saw Clarence seated on a pony, proudly displaying and -offering to me a baby oryx, which he had in front of him. We lifted the -mite down, holding it, all struggling, firmly. It was terror-stricken, -poor wee thing. I tried to stroke its satin coat, but it only started -and looked at me with frightened piteous beseeching eyes. Clarence meant -well, but oh, I would a thousand times he had left the kid with its -mother. And then a thought struck me. How had he come by this fleet -thing? May be killed the doe and then ridden the baby down. Instantly I -put it to him. I know I frowned. But he disarmed me by saying the matter -was not as I thought, and the mother was alive, unharmed; that he had -ridden them down until the little oryx, spent, had to drop, and the -mother fled away in fear before his threatening gestures. - -I consulted with Cecily, and we came to the conclusion that if we wanted -to please Clarence there was nothing for it but to keep the buck, but -after mixing it some condensed milk, which we gave it in a bottle with a -bit of rubber tubing on the neck, we realised that to retain our little -guest meant _our_ going without milk in our tea for weeks. Camel milk -was not available, and the baby could not eat. I was thankful of a -reasonable excuse to offer Clarence, and he saw the sense of it. I -longed to restore the tiny creature to its mother, and Clarence said if -we took it back to the place from whence it came the doe would assuredly -find it. - -We decided to try this, but to secrete ourselves, and cover the baby -buck with our protecting rifles. Otherwise, it was quite on the cards -that a lion or leopard would make off with it ere its mother could -retrieve it. In any case, I should imagine a violent death awaited it. -It was so very youthful and easily stalked. I took the timorous creature -across my saddle, it seemed all struggling legs and arms, and with -Clarence for guide made for the place, some two miles off, where he -first started the oryx. I confess I still had my doubts as to his tale -and its veracity, but in this I wronged our shikari. - -We set the baby down alone, so fragile and small it looked, and then hid -ourselves in a great thorn brake. We were as far off as we dared go, and -the buck did not wander far. Sometimes it bleated in a little treble, -once or twice it lay down, tucking its long legs beneath it, to rise -again and wander, all lonely, among the low thorn bushes. Two hours or -more we waited and then--a gentle whinny, and almost before we realised -it, a perfect oryx doe cantered towards the fawn. She nosed it all over -and her joy expressed itself in every imaginable way. It was a most -beautiful and pathetic sight. We made some movement, and all alert -again, the graceful creature sailed away, the baby trotting beside. My -eyes were full of tears, and I had a lump in my throat. ’Twas pitiful, -’twas wondrous pitiful. To think that in all the jungle a mother could -find her way to the lost best beloved with nothing to guide her, nothing -to tell her. Clarence took it all most naturally, and said all female -things are like that. I do almost believe him! - -***** - -The sun sailed high in a sky of molten brass, the hot sand blistered the -palm set down on it, not a breath of air was stirring. And I, foolish -wight, was stalking, on hands and knees, a hartebeest. A family of ants -had crawled up my sleeve. I went too near their palace, I suppose, and -they mistook the way. A yellow snake, small, wicked-looking, and alert, -lay right in my path. Not for a hundred hartebeest would I disturb him! -I made a great detour, to the wonderment of Clarence, who trailed along -in my wake. When he saw he wondered no longer. He has learned now, and -thinks snakes are a sort of mania of mine, and that I must be humoured. -Great bluebottle flies jumped up in our faces from the red-hot sand, -then--buzz--and down again. Oh, for some shade--some air--some water! -There was my hartebeest again, with well-groomed coat and flicking -tail. The flies were a worry to him too. Now he gets beyond a bunch -of aoul--his sentinels. I shall never get within range. I lay my -rifle down, myself with it. I can’t see the hartebeest, the aoul, the -flies--there is nothing anywhere but a golden maze of light, and a world -of noisy hammers in my ears. - -’Twas nothing, just a mild touch of the sun, and next day Richard was -himself again, and out with the second hunter, like a French falconer, -prepared to fly at anything. Only we chose towards evening for our -hunting. - -Our ponies carried us through most of the dense country, but sometimes -we had to get off and seek an easier way round. We saw tracks of all -varieties of game, but for an hour or more had the jungle apparently to -ourselves. We were leading our steeds, when we crossed a great find, a -place where a lion had been lying, may be after some great banquet. The -thorns had taken his size and shape like a mould, and his hairs were all -about to betray his whilom presence. The hunter spoored about and picked -up the lion trail some little way off. The ground being so loose and -sandy made no good evidence of time. The pugs might have been made -now, or that morning. We went on silently and after not more than five -minutes going, with an electric-like shock, I realised that a lion stood -over a kill to our immediate front. He winded us, and stretching his -great neck and head upwards to sniff in magnificent disregard bounded -into the thicket, the tuft on his tail being the last glimpse I caught -of him. I was too taken aback to even try to get my rifle up. It all -happened so very swiftly. We were a very small party to tackle a lion in -thick cover, but my man was a little Trojan and did not hesitate when -I said I would proceed and he must take a hand at the game. He was -carrying my 12-bore, and I had my .500 Express. - -First we tethered the ponies, thinking they would be quite safe as -we should be in the near vicinity, then we commenced to beat after a -fashion of our own. Walking as straight ahead as we could, pushing and -struggling through where we couldn’t. We fired into the dusky depths -in desperation at last, but nothing happened. It was not until we had -covered a few hundred yards more before we saw, in a lightening of the -undergrowth, a sinuous yellow form streaking along. The hunter in his -excitement brought up his rifle. I held his arm. The danger was too -great. If a wounded lion turned on us here we were done for, hemmed in -as we were. We saw no more of him, he had put some distance between us, -and “on my life, had stol’n him home to bed.” - -It was a great disappointment, but, after all, there isn’t much sport in -courting disaster. The chances should be almost even, a little in favour -of the animal, not entirely so. - -The ponies had untethered themselves, it doesn’t say much for the way we -secured them, I’m afraid, and had betaken their way campwards. We had -to track their hoof marks that we might also cut a long journey short. -Night was closing in, and we wanted the shelter of our zareba. And -supper, oh, supper! most of all! - -We had no special time for meals in camp. A system that would properly -disgust a good housewife. The cook had to produce food whenever we -required some, at any time, early or late. It did not make for good -cooking; but then, neither did the chef. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--TREE CLIMBING - - -```Do not give dalliance too much the rein - -`````The Tempest= - - -|When out early one morning a green oasis tempted me to leave the sandy -waste and ramble in among the depths of the aloes, creep in and out -of the festoons of armo, and hunt for anything that might be astir. -Choosing the part where the bushes seemed most willing to admit us, we -crept in--a hunter and I--he of the Cook’s Guide turn of mind. Parting -the creepers as we went, we found it easier than we had thought to -penetrate the density. - -On almost every branch a chameleon lay basking, dead to all appearances -save for the eternal wakefulness of their eyes. In a glade where the -grass grew high there was a whirr and a rush. Some small animal was -startled. But we saw nothing. The hunter prepared to account for it, but -I would have none of it, and silenced him with a look. I was there to -read the book of the wild for myself, not to have it read aloud. - -A tree snake dropped from his low perch on a thorn bush, and wriggled -away in the thicket. Two distinct lines of brown marked him, and that -was all I saw. He gave me “creeps,” and I turned away in an opposite -direction. Sometimes a bit of thorn would hold me lovingly, and all my -blandishments could not make it let me go. I only obtained freedom with -leaving a piece of my coat as tribute. Vulturine guinea-fowl ran at the -sight of us, raising their naked necks and setting off at great speed to -make safety. They are beautiful birds, and the prismatic colours of the -feathers show up against the green of the armo very distinctly. Doves -cooed above us, but I could not catch a glimpse of one. As we neared the -middle of the oasis we came on a few scattered half-eaten bones--a dead -lesser koodoo. He had furnished a meal for a lion, doubtless, and later -for one of his own people. One or two varieties of antelope are very -fond of nibbling dry white bones. - -We took a turn to the right, and on the instant a beautiful lesser -koodoo took a gigantic leap over an in-the-way bunch of aloe scrub. -He disappeared into a thicket and I stood motionless listening. So I -suspect did my koodoo. All was still, but only for a moment. The amateur -Cook’s Guide got entangled somehow or other with a trailing creeper, and -to my complete horror and amazement let off my .500 Express which he was -carrying. He must have been holding it in very unskilled fashion. The -bullet missed my head by a couple of inches. I felt the whiz of it -and heard it ricochet into the trees. I was so unnerved I sat down and -thought things out. My hunter was quite oblivious to any shock I -might have received, because the stock of the rifle had hit him hard -somewhere--I was too vexed to inquire the exact location--and he -bewailed his misfortune. I ordered him to go home to camp and leave me, -which he did with alacrity. After about half an hour my trembling fit -passed. It was very cowardly to be so upset, but I hate unknown and -quite unforeseen dangers, and an unsuspected bullet at close quarters -demoralises me. - -I sat on quietly, and the bush began to stir and take up its daily round -again, forgetting the demon crash that had disturbed its slumbers. A -little red velveteen spider ran speedily up an armo leaf, tumbled over -the edge and suspended himself on a golden wire. Jerk! jerk! Lower he -went, then up again. Two bars of his house completed, when alas, a great -fly of the species that haunted our trophies, flew right across and -smashed the spider-house to nothing. The velveteen spider sat on -a leaf--fortunately he had made safety ere the Juggernaut passed -along--and meditated, but only for a moment. He was a philosopher and -knew all about the “Try, try, try again” axiom. Over he hurled himself -on another golden thread and laid another criss-cross foundation-stone. -And there I left him because I wanted to penetrate farther. - -How could I manoeuvre a big antelope now if I shot one, seeing that my -hunter had left me? Was it not counting my chickens? Yes, but that is -what one does all the time in big game shooting! - -In one bit of glade I worked my way through the caterpillars had played -devastator; every leaf was eaten. I hurried on. I rested again on a -fallen guda tree, hunting first to see no snake shared my seat with -me. I kept utterly silent for an hour or more, when my patience was -rewarded. Through the bushes I saw a white chin bobbing up and down -as it chose out the most succulent thorns. Lower it went. I hardly -breathed. To see a lesser koodoo in his haunts one sometimes has to wait -for months. Here was I, in the limits of a morning’s patrol, so lucky. -The great broad ear flickered in and out. Because this antelope mostly -lives in thick cover where quick hearing is his only safety, his ear -has grown in accordance with necessities. Somali hunters never seem to -differentiate between the koodoo and the lesser koodoo. They are both -one and the same to them, and are called “Godir” indiscriminately. -And yet the two animals are so different it seems absurd to think of -confusion. - -The koodoo (_strepsiceros koodoo_) is the biggest antelope in -Somaliland, heavy, magnificent and warlike. It inhabits mountainous -parts, and the reason would seem to be plain. Space for such great horns -is required, and though on occasion they frequent jungly parts of -the Golis, their nature and habit is to live in the stony gorges, and -stalking one is not unlike stalking one of our own Scotch deer. The -lesser koodoo (_strepsiceros imberbis_) is the personification of all -the graces. What the koodoo gains in majesty the lesser has in exquisite -symmetry of line and contour. The lesser koodoo never grows much larger -than a small donkey, the horns are replicas in little of the average -three footer of the koodoo, and there is no beard, but a short mane. -Like the koodoo, the lesser is striped down each side like the white -ribs of a skeleton. - -My friend still fed, rustling the bushes as he chose out his favourite -herbage. I had seen nothing to fire at, but, in any case, I did not mean -to try for him, as in my lone condition it would mean a return to camp -for assistance, and meanwhile the beautiful antelope would be food for -any prowling beast. I hated at all times to kill wastefully. The head of -the lesser koodoo looked, as far as I could see, a fair one, the light -of the sun glinting through the shadowy depths occasionally caught the -curving horns. But since he might not be mine, since I could not get him -back to camp, I would not kill wantonly. - -In speaking of the wholesale slaughter of Somaliland fauna by sportsmen -and sportsmen so-called, one ought really to include the Somalis -themselves. They have assisted materially to decimate the country--of -elephants particularly. On lions they have not made much impression, as -these animals are too big a job to tackle unless they are driven to it. -But in the days when the elephant roamed the land, their slaughter for -the sake of the ivory was wholesale, terrific and amazing. Clarence, who -was of the Gadabursi country, well remembers his father and his tribe -hunting the elephant on a colossal scale, killing several a week. The -manner of it was courageous, to say the least. The tribe went out, -mounted on swift ponies, and the marked-down elephant being selected -from the herd, he was ridden down in the open. One agile Somali would -caper in front of the pachyderm to attract his attention, and a rider at -the gallop would pass in swift flying rush behind and cut the ham-string -or tendon of one of the hind legs. The elephant would then be at the -mercy of the hunters. It must have been a dangerously exciting business. -The sword used--I saw one in the hut of a Mullah at the Upper Sheik--is -of native make, apparently, strong, and longer in the blade than the -bilâwa, which is often seen in its scabbard of white leather bound round -the waist of a Somali. It was not unlike the familiar sword known to us -as the “Dervish”--two-edged, with a groove down the centre, and light. -The handle was of horn, and bound about with leather. And yet we think -ourselves brave to venture in the vicinity of my lord the elephant with -the latest thing in rifles in our hands! - -What with the ham-stringing, and all hunters killing cows and bulls -indiscriminately, the result has been that the elephant has left his old -haunts, never to return. The Somalis wasted the entire carcase. They do -not care to eat the flesh, and even the hide is not so beloved as -that of the oryx and rhino. The Somali tusks were never of the vast -proportions attained in other parts of Africa. Ivory still forms part of -the stock of some trading caravans, so the elephants must exist in the -flesh somewhere in Somaliland, unless these traders trade with others -again at the rear of the back of beyond. - -A twig cracked! No twig of mine, I swear, since I sat like a statue -carved in stone. My foot had long since gone to sleep, and pins -and needles pricked it. The bushes trembled, then were still, and -stealthily, with very little movement, the beautiful antelope moved -away. I saw him as he circled round a bend in the jungle, and in a flash -he was gone. Really I had enjoyed my morning as keenly as though I had -added to my bag an hundredfold. - -And so back to camp I went, and as I went I notched the trees that I -might find the right place in my “Hedd-Godir” (koodoo forest) again. -I wanted Cecily to come with me and try and track my friend the lesser -koodoo. When I got home, I found all the men congregated round one whom -they said was grievously hurt through a camel falling on him. I -couldn’t find anything wrong, no broken bones, but the man said the pain -internally was very great, almost unbearable. I got out my hypodermic -syringe and injected some of the morphia we had in case of emergencies -into the arm, to the wonderment of the men, and then I had the invalid -placed down on a camel-mat to sleep, and all the other men were -forbidden to disturb the invalid. And lo! when the effects of the -morphia wore off we heard no more of aches and pains. It was _the_ cure -of the trip. And the “coogeri” medicine was held in high esteem ever -afterwards. I asked what “coogeri” meant, and was told--“inside.” - -Sitting on a camp chair in peace and quietness, with a book and the cup -that cheers, Clarence broke in on us to say that a party of twenty-five -horsemen had arrived prepared to dibaltig before us--Heaven only knows -why, or where the men had dropped from. With as good grace as we could, -and a cup of tea in hand, we went outside the zareba to see a crowd of -Somalis, mounted, in the usual lively get-up, _khaili_ tobes, shields, -spears, and the other necessaries of performers of the dibâltig. The -ponies were so be-tasselled on a bright red band over the eyes, I don’t -know how they were to see the way at all. One stalwart, the head-man of -the party, had decorated his steed with a frill of lions’ mane around -its neck, fastening in front with a large bunch of yellow ribbons. Very -hot and uncomfortable for the pony, but very effective and circus-like. - -“Salaam aleikum,” and “Mot! Mot! io Mot!” Then the chorister-in-chief -(these dibâltig performances are somewhat like the “waits” at Christmas) -began a long song, all--Clarence said--about us, wishing us health, -happiness, and many wives. - -“Wives, Clarence?” - -“So says the song.” - -“Then say we can’t have wives, because we are not sahibs, and some day -we shall be wives ourselves.” - -“With luck!” ejaculated Cecily. - -Clarence translated, and a perfect tremor of excitement shook the whole -team. The horsemen pressed closer, and gazed at us until their eyes -nearly dropped out of their heads. Laughing at the intensity of the -inspection, we took our hats off and bowed. Our hair might be considered -adequate proof of Mem-sahibdom. Goodness knows what the team considered -it. They drew back and talked and jabbered and discussed. - -To dibâltig or not to dibâltig, that is the question. And how we _hoped_ -they would answer it in the negative, and let us get back to tea. - -With a wild war-whoop the matter was decided, and girding up their -loins, away and away, hither and thither dashed the performers, throwing -spears, catching them, jumping off the pony, then vaulting the saddle, -then back again, finally gaining a seat face to tail. A real circus show -this. Going at a mad gallop the riders would suddenly jerk the bit--a -perfect devil of cruelty--and back the foaming pony would go, haunches -to the ground. Poor creatures, how lathered they were and beside -themselves with the pace and rush. Dust rose in volumes, and we receded -and receded, but the flying figures only drew the circle closer. The -affair went on for a whole hour, when it had to cease because the ponies -were done, and could not keep up the required speed any longer. All the -Somalis came round us, the ponies’ heads facing us, almost touching us, -and we must have been hidden entirely from our own men, because as our -dibâltig friends sat their panting ponies they raised both arms with -spears held high, and dear me, _how_ they shouted that “Mot” sentence. - -I signed with my hand that we wished to get out of the circle--it -was not pleasant so near the panting, pawing ponies, and one big -black-looking fellow backed his steed out and made a path. I thanked -them through Clarence and then began the usual palaver about the -inadequacy of the presents. - -If every man had to have a tobe it meant twenty-five, and we had to -economise or we should clear out our stock before we finished up at -Berbera. We had started out with several pieces of sheeting, but had -done an immense amount of distributing. A tobe when cut has to be about -twelve times over the length from a man’s elbow to his finger tips. That -is how we measured. We offered half a dozen tobes, and suggested that -the performers should toss up for them. - -A hurricane of stormy words ensued, most annoying, as six tobes at a -whack is very generous indeed. The men could not be invited to a meal -because the rice supplies would not bear any undue strain. The affair -ended with the presentation of five good clasp knives. And then the -dissatisfied warriors rode away. We took the opportunity of telling -Clarence that if any more Somalis came bent on doing this dibâltig -performance they must do it on their own. We had seen enough of it. And -run on the present lines it is more expensive than a box at the opera. -We went back to a second tea, and a bath to get rid of the dust that -covered us like flour. - -In the evening, Cecily and I again penetrated my koodoo forest by -ourselves, more for the pleasure of wandering in the beautiful oasis -than anything, and our search went farther than my stroll of the -morning. We pushed and crawled our way through the densest thickets that -we might find the reason for such flapping and screaming of dozens and -dozens of vultures, kites and hawks. In a thicket of thorn where the -durr grass grew high, and in patches left off altogether, and exposed -the sand, lay the remains of a lesser koodoo. It had been partially -eaten, but not by vultures, a lion evidently, because it had begun on -the hind quarters and eaten about half the animal. The antelope’s head -was thrown back, and the fore legs were tucked beneath him. The lion -had sprung from the grass straight on to his prey. The horns swept -the hunched shoulders, and I think it must have been my friend of the -morning. - -Judging by the way in which the birds were acting, coming near, and -then retiring, and taking into consideration the fact that they had not -ventured to the kill, it was likely that the lion was now lying close -to the meat, watching it, until the internal arrangements permitted of -eating some more. This is a very usual thing with the big cats. Was it -nice to be in this durr grass with a lion, even a fed-up one? - -We decided to hurry back to camp and try and get out some of the men -before the light gave in, to build us a “machan” over the dead antelope, -in which we should keep watch and ward all night in the hope of bagging -the lion as he returned to his kill. Our first idea was that one of -us--to be decided by tossing up--should remain in the jungly place -to see that time was not taken by the forelock by his majesty. But, -debating the point, we thought it was going to be a trifle lonely for -the one left behind, with night, and possibly a lion, coming on. - -We made our way out as quickly as possible, and careering back to camp -as though all the fiends were after us, brought Clarence and four of the -hunters with axes and _hangols_ to the place where the koodoo had been. -Had been! For there it was not when we returned. The dragging of the -bushes and the crushed grass showed us the way. There at some two -hundred yards off was all that now remained of the lesser koodoo. - -[Illustration: 0303] - -A flash of sinuous yellow. A cry of “Libbah! Libbah!” from the left-hand -hunter. The durr grass waved, and a fine lioness bounded high and sank -again. Crack! from Cecily’s rifle. She must have been in better place -than I was for a shot. I should have annihilated one of the men had I -blazed away. Crack! again. And then I saw what the redoubtable Cecily -was firing at. Another animal altogether! A massive lion, with an almost -black mane and more cumbersome in the front than any other of his genus -I had ever seen. All lions fall away very much behind, but I really -think this one must have been malformed. However, we never saw him -again, so the point had, perforce, to remain unsettled. As the lion -streaked off, evidently not inconvenienced by Cecily’s bombardment, -his mate made a successful effort to follow his lead. Flat, and low to -earth, snake-like, she crossed the only bare patch of clearing to the -right of me. Still my line of fire was blocked by a hunter who put -himself in my way every time as if by design, and had not the sense -to drop and give me a chance. Still, there was Clarence on the extreme -right, armed with a 12-bore. The lioness would have to run the gauntlet -of his fire. “Mâro! Mâro!” (Shoot! Shoot!) I cried to him in an agony of -nervous Hindostanee. - -The imperturbable Clarence did nothing, and let the yellow one pass him. -Cecily was not now so placed that she could get in a successful shot. -Two lions, and both gone! No koodoo left to attract anything save -hyaenas and jackals. When I asked our shikari why on earth he had let -slip so wonderful a chance he was quite calm and said: “Mem-sahib -shoot dar lion. I no shoot dar lion.” Evidently he meant to be very -magnanimous and refrain from poaching on our preserves in the laudable -desire to see we got our money’s worth. - -It was now getting dusk, and ominous dark corners told us night had cast -her mantle athwart the trees. I ordered a hunter to cut off the head of -the maltreated lesser koodoo, for the sake of the horns, a very easily -acquired trophy, but one very well worth having. The head was not eaten -at all, for as I have explained it is the habit of lions to begin at the -other end. - -Then we tried to get out of the place. We took some tosses over thorn -and bramble, and disturbed the guinea fowl as they settled to roost -in rows on the branches. I upset the equilibrium of a hornbill and his -wife, who flapped and croaked their annoyance at me. Before we were -clear of the oasis, night had settled down in inky blackness, and then -Clarence led us by the hand. I believe he saw in the dark like a cat. -He brought us safe and sound to the sandy waste that rimmed the green -garden, and once there camp was easily reached. - -All through the night the lions roared, and we could distinguish the -difference in the voice of the lion to that of his mate. One would have -thought they had eaten too much to roar--a whole lesser koodoo between -them! Perhaps they were protesting that we had docked them of the head. -Next day around the wells near where we were camped the pugs of two -lions stood out clear in the sand, going from the oasis and back. The -wells are too deep for wild creatures to negotiate, but water sometimes -is to be had in the clay troughs used by the camels. These troughs were -very dry, and I’m afraid that the lions went away thirsty. As it seemed -an undoubted fact that the great cats were still in the fastness of -green a mile or more in circumference, it did seem absurd for us to -go on until we had made another effort to secure a fine trophy for the -collection. - -At the edge of the oasis, on the north side, before it finally ended in -a yellow waste of sand, stood a few guda trees, difficult to climb, for -no branches hold out kindly assistance for at least sixteen feet from -the roots, when the tree spreads vigorously into fantastic shapes to -the top, which attains a height of some fifty feet. The foliage is -very wide, and beautifully green. Our idea was to climb a guda in the -evening, having tied up a suitable bait below. It had to be a sheep, -because we had no goat. We chose our tree, and when the witching hour -of twilight arrived, armed with climbing-irons we began the ascent -this-wise. First myself, to the astonishment of half our caravan, who -had come to see what they should see. They liked the climbing-irons -immensely. I don’t think they had seen any before. - -When I was perched on the bough selected I flung the irons down to -Cecily, who used them. Next, with cords, we drew up the rifles. Clarence -and a hunter used the climbing irons also, and came up like woodpeckers. -The men below tethered the sheep, and departed to camp and bed. It was -not very long before we wished we had had a platform made. Not being -birds, or bird-like, the perching business hurt frightfully. And it was -only by getting well against the trunk we could put up with the -position at all. Clarence lay extended full length along a bough, on the -look-out--“ship-ahoy!” sort of game. The other hunter imagined himself -a Blondin on an insignificant branch beyond me, slightly above me. A -ridiculous situation we were all in. I longed to laugh out loud. But -we had to be very, very silent and hardly move a muscle. After about -an hour I began to get cramp in my foot, and had to press my boot hard -against the bough to try to bear the agony calmly. - -A roar broke on the stillness. Things were more interesting for a few -moments, and Clarence’s tense figure outlined on the branch seemed to be -an Argus of many eyes. The Blondin gentleman had got on my nerves long -since, and I wished with all my heart he would take a seat. The clouds -grew darker and darker, and presently rain began to fall, real Somali -rain, not in single drops, but water-spouts. The hunter pirouetting on -the adjacent bough missed his footing and fell to the ground--Somalis -are not the slightest use as tree-climbers--and caused as much -consternation to the sheep as the appearance of the lion could -have done. The man had to be followed by the necessary humanitarian -inquiries, and we reflected that no lion with an ounce of caution about -him would have failed to take warning long ere this. The rain had damped -our ardour as well as our clothes. We voted for camp and bed. Cecily -affixed the irons to her boots and descended, and then I pulled them up -again for my use. Clarence got the rifles down, and the fallen hunter -had no need to get any lower. There we all stood in pouring rain. -Clarence had to lead the hunter who claimed to be badly injured, and -Cecily and I led the sheep. - -The caravan was silent, fires out with the rain, but the watch was -alert, for on our approach we heard, “Kuma?” (Who are you?) repeated -twice. Clarence replied “Friends,” and we passed, and all was well--at -least more or less, for the camp was in a dismal state of slop. A big -rain-storm speedily turns the deep sand to mud. The men were sleeping -beneath _herios_, and I think one or two had been making free with our -tents, as they had a very hot native smell about them when we turned in -to rid ourselves of our dripping garments. The canvas residences stood -up well that night and resisted the downpour valiantly. Everything was -damp and fires were impossible. - -All the next day the deluge continued. It was no use to attempt to go -a-hunting, as the rain was washing out spoor as fast as the animals -walked. The day dragged through somehow, and bored us almost to tears. -However, night saw a welcome cessation of the rain, and the sky grew -clear and dotted with stars innumerable. The next morning had to see the -camel-mats dried ere they could go on, and the sun was fortunately like -a furnace. - -In the evening we were able to trek some eight miles, and formed zareba -by starlight. To get the fires lighted was a great difficulty, and the -cook sent many messages by the “boy,” to encourage us in the belief -supper would be forthcoming if we had the patience to wait long enough. - -Chatting over the meal we realised that the hour had come when we might -dawdle no longer. Time and the season bade us make a decided effort -to cross the Haud again now that water was so plentiful. We sent for -Clarence and talked to him, deciding to rise early on the morrow and get -things into trim for the great undertaking. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--A JOUST WITH A BULL ORYX - - -```On a sudden one hath wounded me, - -```That’s by me wounded - -`````Romeo and Juliet= - - -```Truly, pleasure will be paid, one time or another - -`````Twelfth Night= - - -|The following day we made our way to some adjacent wells, and spent the -whole of the hours in filling up everything we could lay hands on with -water. All old bottles were utilised, and I arranged that the precious -fluid should be allowanced, and any man found helping himself would find -the promised bonus at the end of the trip a myth. The camels and ponies -were watered, and we had baths! Then, in the dawn of a day of intense -heat, with the early sun a-shimmer on all the glory of green that -surrounded us again, the air yet heavy with dew, and drowsy with the hum -of myriad insects we marched, heading for the Haud. We might not again -have any opportunity of securing any water before we negotiated the -great tract, which we were to cross in a different part to our previous -journey over. - -The jungle was very dense, and the caravan simply crawled. I rode ahead, -and about eight o’clock walked into, almost over, a lioness sound asleep -with two cubs. She was off almost before I realised the marvel of the -thing. Clarence dashed up, his quick eye had taken in the scene. He -handed me my rifle. I frowned at him. Surely he had learned by this time -that even a woman can be sporting. For it was not only discretion that -made me play the better part, nor the thought of the panic a fracas with -a lioness would cause in the caravan. I would have loved to take a cub -home. But--there was a big but. Nobody short of a sportsman who “browns” - a herd of buck indiscriminately--oh yes, there are such men here and -there!--would destroy such a family. They departed in peace, and not in -pieces. I spoored a little way, and in clear sandy ground came on the -tiny pugs, now quiescent, now running and claw marks showing. - -Next we came on rhino spoor, but in spite of what I had said Cecily -halted the caravan, whilst she, in the very hottest part of the day, did -a stalk. It all came to nothing, thanks be. I fell asleep on a _herio_, -and awakened to find my tent over me. The men had erected it to screen -me from the sun. They were servants in a thousand. - -From this thick jungle we emerged on to a great open plain, or “bun,” - and Clarence told me it was called the Dumberelli. He often told us the -names of places we came to, and sometimes I wondered why they should be -christened at all. The “bun” was a waving sea of bright green grass, and -full of game. Aoul in regiments sought the new grass, an oryx or two, -and “Sig” (Swayne’s gazelle), looking like well kept sea-side donkeys, -stood about in ones and twos. But always out of range. Time was of such -value here we could not make a really big attempt to secure a specimen -of picked hartebeest. But I managed after a wearying effort, in which -I was frustrated time and time again by alert bands of aoul, who -constantly gave the alarm, to bag a smallish sig, a female, and they -carry much lighter heads than the male. I could not afford to pick and -choose. It was my first hartebeest, and I feared the possibility of -going home minus a specimen of the genus. However, Cecily, who did a -rival shoot on her own, secured a male, whose horns topped seventeen -inches, a great improvement on the beggarly twelve of my trophy. We took -the tape measurement on the front curves. - -The sunsets were superb, and heralded the most intense cold. It became -necessary to trek every hour we could, as every one dreaded a water -famine. We seemed in these days not to sleep at all, but march and march -interminably. - -One early morning we found the quaintest of lizards lying in the sun. -It had an outspread tail that seemed to overbalance the horrid little -thing. Clarence prodded it gently with a small stick, and it cried every -time he did it, just like a baby. He told us it is called “asherbody,” - which translated means baby, and I noticed, not for the first time, that -the Somali mind has a nice sense in the christening of things. - -We trekked right into a large Somali zareba, the largest camp we had yet -seen, and after a visit from the head-man, were let in for a “tomasho,” - or native dance, a different thing altogether to the dibaltig, and much -more boring. We arrived at the _karia_ at the time appointed, dressed -in our best clothes, which did not say much, as the best was very bad. -I would we had been fortified by the possession of spotless garments to -steel ourselves against the inquisitive looks of the Somali ladies. It -is so hard for a woman to appear at ease in rags. He was a philosopher -indeed who said, somewhere or other, “It is our clothes-thatch that, -reaching to our heart of hearts, tailorises and demoralises us.” - -We were received by the usual curious crowd, who fingered our coats and -tried to look into our pockets. Clarence explained we were to sit on the -_herios_ prepared, and the show would begin. Men and women took part -in the dance, advancing from either side and then retreating. I have -attended many an Indian “potlatch” of extravagant description, but they -were dignified in the extreme to the Somali equivalent. I won’t describe -the dance in detail, because this is supposed to be a pleasant book; -besides, Mr. Stead may read it. To put the case mildly, the affair was -savage to a degree of ignorance I had not dreamed of in its unvarnished -vulgarity. - -It was the first indication we had that the Somalis are uncivilised -savages. I tried to doze. And being very weary, slept. A violent push -from Cecily aroused me to a sense of politeness again, and realising -that peace reigned around we stood up, and through Clarence, thanked the -gratified “artistes,” and left them wrangling over the gifts which lay -on the ground, looking as though they were trying to apologise for the -fact that there were not enough of them to go round. We had to trench -on the water supply a little after this entertainment, for a wash was an -absolute necessity. - -Next day a somewhat untoward incident occurred. Cecily and I had -detached from a herd of three a fine bull oryx, who by reason of some -infirmity was not so fleet as his fellows, and so made an easier quarry. -Such a glorious chase he gave us, and more than once we almost took a -toss as the ponies groped for a foothold in the maze of ant bear holes. - -At last, to cut what promised to be a never-ending chase, I flung myself -off the pony at the nearest point I judged we should ever get to the -coveted oryx this way, and taking no sort of a sight, I was so out of -breath with the shaking of my steed, brought down the antelope in a -crumpled heap at a distance of some two hundred and ten yards. This -was not so bad, all things considered. We went up close to the fallen -creature. I had my hand through the reins of my prodigiously blowing -pony, and most injudiciously ranged alongside. Cecily was still mounted. -The splendid bull rose from the dead, erect and firm, and I was given -no sort of a chance to protect myself before he made for me with lowered -horns. It all happened in the twinkling of an eye. I jumped as clear -as I could, but the reins entangled me, and the vicious horns caught -my left arm as my foe swept along. I was brought to my knees with the -impact. As he pulled up in a great slide to turn for a return joust -Cecily dropped him, at such close quarters though that the skin was much -damaged. My arm was ripped up most ingeniously for quite three inches, -Another rent in my poor coat to be mended! However, it might all have -been much worse. It might have been my right arm. The wind was tempered -to the shorn lamb. - -I rode back to camp, with a handkerchief twisted tightly round the -wound, and Cecily stayed to guard the oryx from vultures, until I could -send some one to take over, when she returned to me fired with medical -ardour and primed with medical knowledge from our book. She pronounced -the wound as of the variety to be stitched. Could I bear it being -stitched? I said certainly, if she could endure the horror of stitching -it. So we prepared for action. I told my doctor I would not have the -place washed because I was convinced that Somali water, even when -filtered, was not calculated to cleanse, rather the reverse, and I did -dread blood-poisoning. I sat outside the tent on a packing case, and -Cecily put three most workmanlike stitches into my arm. She was a brick, -never flinching until it was done, when she let off bottled-up steam by -crying about four tears, and I think four tears are allowable--I mean -without showing any sort of cowardice or lack of courage--don’t -you? Rome was not built in a day, and Cecily had never even been -hospital-nursing; but then she is the most unfashionable person in the -wide world. - -I carried my arm in a sling as we marched next day. Cecily was very -anxious to halt the caravan on my account, but this I would not allow. -The wells must be reached at the earliest possible moment. Clarence had -reported that the supply was dangerously low. We traversed very ugly -country, sand and sand, with a few low scrub bushes dotted about--a -dispiriting vista enough. We shot a dik-dik for dinner, and so fared -sumptuously. There is about as much meat on the body of this tiny buck -as one gets on an English hare. - -At last we came to the wells. We found a number of Somalis making a spa -out of the place, and selling the water, drop by drop. I don’t know -if the wells were some one’s birthright, or if some speculative Somali -jumped the claim, but a repellent old gentleman, who looked as though he -had not tried the precious liquid on himself for some years, gave us to -understand he owned the place. He asked such wealth for a mere dole of -water we decided to camp and think it out. He knew the value of what he -had to sell, the old sinner, for though we were but a few marches -now from the end of the Haud our caravan was a good size, and its -consumption necessarily great. We had the tents set up right there, and -prepared to improve the shining hour by seeking some sport on the Toyo -Plain. - -I discarded my sling altogether, and we started from camp early, -reaching the great “bun” after a stiffish ride. We left the ponies -in charge of the hunters some way from the fringe of grass, and in a -certain amount of cover. We stood for quite a long while watching -the sea of waving green which was not yet tall enough to conceal the -numerous bands of game that were out betimes to breakfast. A somnolent -hartebeest stood up out of range behind a clump of active aoul. Then we -worked our way very gently to a spot which gave us a clearer view. We -lay down awhile, glad of the rest, and watched the little harems quarrel -and make it up. Sometimes a buck of detective-like propensities would -seem to say “I spy strangers,” and communicated his alarm to the entire -herd. A perfect note of interrogation animated every one for a few -moments, and all would gather together, until a buck skipped towards -us, and then in active graceful bounds dash back to bring a pal to help -investigation. Satisfied, they rejoined the admiring does again. - -But that hartebeest! I longed to get near him, but it seemed a hopeless -task. His sleepiness had passed, and now he was all ears and eyes. The -sun lit up his glossy coat, and caught the odd twist of his horns until -they gleamed again. We stalked in vain for an hour or more. My arm was a -great drawback to me, but I would not allow it to hamper me, and played -the Christian Science dodge on myself, saying, whenever a particularly -acute shoot of agony stabbed me, “You only _think_ you have pain.” At -last we hit on a device for ensnaring the active one. He was taking no -chances, and that the best laid plans gang aft agley we know. Still -my schemes and machinations were rather disorganised for the moment, -because I suddenly realised I was sharing my small portion of the -earth’s surface with a particularly nasty looking snake! It was quite -large enough to rout us both, and we should have fled, I know, had not -the reptile manifested a dislike of its own to our presence, and made -off into the long grass. - -It took us a few minutes to recover from this shock and get back to our -designs for ensnaring the hartebeest. The general idea was that Cecily -was to work her way round opposite to me so that the sig lay between us. -The coveted prize would then, at least we hoped so, break near to one -of us. Of course it might just as easily dash off in quite another -direction, altogether out of range. But it was the only thing we could -think of to dislodge our quarry from the out-of-reach area in which it -fed. I could not do any stalking myself that necessitated going on hands -and knees, so Cecily set off, wriggling along like an eel. Though I -soon lost sight of her, I could in a way judge of her whereabouts. -Aoul started here and there as they winded her, moved away, and then -contented themselves again. They are like sentinels, these creatures, -and must play a most useful part in the drama of the jungle. Not -knowing, though, the actual moment Cecily would start the hartebeest, I -began to feel quite nervous for fear I missed an easy shot. The tension -got quite irritating when up from the sea of grass rose Cecily, like -an Aphrodite in khaki. Her loud shout startled the sig, who stood an -instant in paralysed affright, then, on the wings of the wind he sailed -past me. I threw up my rifle, the pain in my supporting arm forgotten, -and fired. The animal went on at a great pace. I do not think I got him -anywhere, but Cecily, who ran through the grass to join me, says she -heard even from where she was the “phut” of the bullet, and why didn’t -I? This worried me a lot. I hate to think of half-shot creatures -dragging on in agony. We found our ponies and galloped off in the -line of country traversed by the vanished sig. We rode for a long way, -searched thoroughly, but found nothing. We saw ostrich, but at long -range, and we hadn’t the desire to try and bag one. After a lunch of -cold oryx and bread of sorts (the oryx, by the way, who gave me reason -to remember him), we decided to give up the chase, satisfied my bullet -had not found a billet. The whole way home was blank. My shot had -alarmed all the jungle folk, and they were now as shy as hawks. - -Back in camp the parleying with the stingy proprietor of the wells -began. He would not reduce his charges, and we had to have water. I so -hated to be done. After due deliberation we served the old gentleman -with an ultimatum to the effect that we offered him a fair price, and -if he would not accept the amount, we should take the water by force if -necessary. Clarence translated the message, and afterwards we saw -the recipient talking to his friends, some fifteen Somalis, and -gesticulating wildly. The time arrived when the kettle demanded filling -ere tea was forthcoming, so with almost all our men carrying _harns_ and -barrels, we marched right up to the walls. The old man, backed up by his -Somalis, came close to Cecily and myself, and jabbered a great deal -in furious tones. I expect the words were cuss words all right. They -sounded like them. I signed to the men to set to work filling up. The -enraged Somali struck at me with his spear. It would have fallen heavily -upon me had not Clarence seen the danger and parried it on his rifle. -This annoyed me frightfully. I tendered the amount we considered the -water worth, and tapped my rifle significantly. The Somalis fell back, -and congregated at a little distance, one of their number presently -advancing to ask for backsheesh. The battle was over. - -That night my arm was in a parlous state, swollen and inflamed, and the -pain well-nigh overwhelmed me. I was in a high fever, and to proceed -with the journey was impossible. Cecily’s kindness during the awful days -that followed was wonderful, and her patience inexhaustible. In truth, I -cannot tell how much trouble I must have caused her, for things were not -always clear to me, and time seemed nothing. One night I wakened from -this world o’ dreams, and the tent flap being open I saw the scene -around me like a clear-limned etching. A glorious moon lit up the camp. -Cecily stood just outside, and by her side--who was it? I racked my -muddled brains. Why, of course, the leader of the Opposition. I sank -back again, convinced I was dreaming. By my side, on an upturned packing -case, lay a bunch of flowers. In the dim light they looked like English -roses. They were dream flowers, I suspect, but they seemed to me most -sweet. I pondered about them for an age. Was it the marvellous Marconi? -Or did Mercury bring them? I cared not, so they came. - -Next morning I wakened to sense again, and Cecily was beside me and told -me--her dear eyes filled with tears--how nearly I had been lost to her, -and how, at the very worst of things, all unexpectedly, the leader of -the Opposition and Ralph had ridden into camp; that without their help -and common sense she could never have pulled me through. - -The wells were now practically in our possession, the old gentleman -having waived his claims, but we were, of course, still out on the Haud. -Camels had been sent off to Berbera to meet us a little farther on, to -return with stores, mainly for the men. The Opposition had provided us -with many necessaries, and I was so glad because I did not want to leave -the wild any the sooner because of all this wasted time. - -Next afternoon I held quite a Durbar. I sat outside the tent, and most -of the men came to make their salaams. Clarence--the good fellow--even -got so far as to say, shyly, “Me glad you olri.” They _all_ seemed glad -to have me all right, and it was nice of them. - -The leader of the Opposition and Ralph came to tea, and we made very -merry. The latter pretended to be not on speaking terms with Cecily, -because at their last interview she had called him “horrid pig,” but I -explained that it must be a wild pig, and then it would be a compliment; -he is so much nobler than a tame one, is fleet of foot, and courageous -of heart, and sometimes resembles a lion. Where comes the sting of being -called after such an animal? It was delightful to feel we had friends so -near, at least just now, when self-reliance was at such a low ebb with -me. Old William puts “Honour, love, obedience, troops of friends” as -making up the joys of life. I did not want troops, but after the jungle -world, _two_ did make my joy just then. I have to say the jungle first, -because it still stood first, and I longed to be out again, not in it, -and yet not of it. “He who has heard the voice of Nature in her wildest -places, who has felt the mystery of her loveliness, the glamour of her -nameless airs and graces, is one who has eaten of the bread of Faëry, -and drunken of the wine of dreams.” - -And the next day they propounded a scheme to me--these three -arch-plotters--we would all join forces, and wind up the shoots -together. But I had so many objections, one being the remembrance of -the remark at Aden about our wishing to cling on. The leader, with deep -sophistry, said that was more than atoned for, and wiped out by the -humiliating fact--to them--that our trip was much the most successful, -not only in the actual results, but in the peace and quiet of the -caravan. In theirs chaos had reigned from the very outset. The head-man -had levanted early on, taking with him the two best camels and no end -of loot, far worse calamity than a butler! Not a thing had been done -willingly, only under compulsion, and grumbling was the order of every -day. - -I wondered if the extra large sum of money promised to each man of our -caravan at the end of the trip, provided his conduct pleased us--quite -my own idea--had kept things straight. Was it bribery and corruption? If -so, in our case, at least, the end justified the means. - -As for our trophies, we of the rival expedition had much the best of it. -The Opposition had but one rhino, and altogether we had reason to feel -quite conceited. I hope we didn’t. For if there is one thing I hate it -is this same conceit. And sometimes I fear I have it slightly. For I -judge by the fact that I am apt to feel contempt at times, and lose -sight of the motto “Make allowances.” Now, conceit and contempt are hand -in glove, and if one has the one it entails having the other. But I hate -contempt in others, and admire humility as much as any virtue, it -is perhaps the rarest of them all. So I tried to be very humble, and -thanked the warriors for their gracious words. - -Another great reason against the amalgamation was the trouble that would -arise with the men. With us Clarence was all powerful. Perhaps the new -arrivals would not pay allegiance to him, and so large a number together -would surely fight. All things considered, we agreed not to join, but to -meet at Berbera and go home together. We were bound there by way of the -midst of the Golis, and the Opposition did not propose to take them so -far up. They thought the game hardly worth the candle, in more senses -than one. True, the reserved area spreads a long way, but we wanted to -see the country anyhow. - -In these days of convalescence we learned we had such worth having -friends. If Cecily regretted calling Ralph a “pig,” my conscience -pricked me that I once scornfully cavilled at the “leader’s” lack of -inches. Not that he was by any means a midget. How foolish I was! -Why, the greatest men have been little. Nelson and Napoleon, Lee and -Frederick the Great, Gustavus Adolphus and Marlborough, too, were on the -small side. - -How very foolish I was! - -Of a night Ralph would play his violin around the twinkling fires. It -looked so unlikely an instrument in his hands, and yet he made it speak -to us like a living thing. He was the finest amateur I ever heard. Even -the Somalis loved to hear him play, and sat in charmed groups listening -intently. It shows they have receptive souls for beauty. I agree with an -old friend of mine that the man who has no music in his soul is fit for -“treasons, stratagems, and spoils.” If I haven’t mangled the Immortal -One’s words. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--IN THE GOLIS - - -``There was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache - -``patiently - -`````Much Ado About Nothing= - - -```To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first. - -`````Henry VIII= - - -|The next matter of interest lay in the return of the camel men. They -came into camp unexpectedly, and Ralph, who was lunching with us, called -out to me in my tent that a civilised looking “oont-wallah” (camel-man) -wanted to speak to me. There indeed stood one of the men who had gone -off to Berbera by the shortest possible route for supplies. He was to -have met us farther on, but we had delayed our departure so much longer -than had been planned; we were not, of course, to be found at the -arranged rendezvous. So, very sensibly, the small caravan came on to -find us. The man gave me particulars of his stewardship, and handed me a -bundle of letters, and some ancient _Daily Wails_ and other newspapers. -The whole lot seemed out of place. Letters and papers are for those -who live in the humming world of men. We considered ourselves dead and -buried to it, We wished we had been in very truth after opening some -of the communications. “Another little bill,” Cecily said, handing me a -quarter yard long sheet. - -There were letters from our old shikari uncle, full of advice, kindly -doubts, and a few sharp digs. But his rapiers always had great big -buttons on, so did not hurt us as he lunged. Sooner, I know, would he -have broken his weapon across his knee. - -[Illustration: 0327] - -All Suburbia was announcing, through the columns of the _Morning -Post_, that marriages had been arranged for them. Who does all this -“arranging”? Nobody ever “arranges” a marriage for me. I often look -hopefully to see. I suppose if you come on it “arranged,” however -unpleasant it may be to you, there is nothing to be done but see the -thing through. A quaint business! Really quite on the lines of the Stone -Age, when a furry suitor would arrange with the furry father to exchange -the furry daughter for a couple of rabbits. - -Cecily says if some one doesn’t arrange a marriage for her soon she’ll -be left on the shelf, but one can see a lot from a shelf, provided it -is high enough. Of course she’d be unpopular. Old maids always are. -And this is just because a man sees in every unmarried woman a walking -statistic against his irresistibility. - -The Opposition kept us going in meat these days, but at last I prevailed -on Cecily to leave me and do a stalk on her own. But Ralph joined her, -and I wonder how much stalking they did. Anyway, they were bound for the -Toyo to look for hartebeest, and all they came back with was the tail, -very much the worse for wear and time, of an aoul. Ralph said he grabbed -it as the animal dashed past him, and it came off in his hand! I told -him he reminded me of the Book of Chronicles--Unveracious Chronicles! -After all, it was no taller story than many one hears, and a good deal -funnier than some. We know Eve told the first lie, but I am confident -that if Adam ever went big game shooting he came in a very good second -at the winning post. - -The leader had a brilliant inspiration just then. We would have a day -at pig-sticking. He was great after pig in India, and of course where we -were was quite the right sort of country. I won’t say we had the right -sort of mounts. They did not understand the chase of a pig, did not -yearn to, and certainly never fathomed the secret. - -First, we were explained to about the rules of the game. Then Clarence -and some hunters were told off to beat, and we saw to the spears, -tipping them, choosing the most likely from the collected ones -belonging to our men. I was allowed to wield a light one, being still -a semi-invalid. We all rode out towards the Toyo Plain, the men walking -behind. I think I have forgotten to mention the fact that Cecily and I -rode astride. That torturing, awkward, and most uncomfortable position -which is at home considered the correct way to sit a horse would have -been impossible in Somaliland, not to say dangerous, living under our -present conditions. - -The men beat every bush and blade of grass most conscientiously, but -at first nothing resulted. On nearing the Toyo, however, we joyfully -discovered that a bit of thick thorn cover concealed a small sounder of -wart-hog. They scattered as we rode into them. - -Cecily smartly detached one of them, which immediately charged away -back into the fastnesses of the waving grass of the “bun.” A grand -hiding-place, and I feared we had lost the treasure. The leader and -Ralph dashed like lightning after the pig, and rounded it up in style. -Back it came like a whirlwind, and made for the open again. I rode at -him, thinking I was doing quite the right thing, and wild to draw first -blood, when Ralph signalled “Sow.” I was going far too quickly to draw -up, my stirrup leather broke, and the consequence was the pig and my -steed cannoned violently, and bang over I went. I called to the others -not on any account to stop, but to pursue the vanished sounder before it -was too late. This they did, and disappeared in a moment. - -After I had sorted myself from out the pony, and with Clarence’s help -picked sundry bits of the landscape off my clothes, I mounted again, and -following the trail of the others, and led by their shouts, I arrived -on the scene of action just as one spear--Ralph’s--was taken. I tried to -join the exciting chase that ensued, but my pony would not see the thing -through, and disgraced me and itself every “jink.” The leader’s spear -now flashed about so very quickly I could hardly follow each phase of -the game, intent as I was on forcing my pony to take a hand in it. The -boar charged several times most ferociously, but the nimble warrior -parried each onslaught successfully. The boar was indeed a game one, -and nothing could hold him. Ralph and his pony went down like ninepins -before him, but the effort was the gallant hog’s last. The leader pinned -him down, and that spear was the _coup-de-grâce._ - -They said Cecily and I did very well for complete novices at the sport, -but I can’t see that we did anything but get in the way. It was all very -exciting, and we were no end done up by the time we made camp again. -Cecily’s pony had a nasty gash as a reminder of the fray. Ralph stitched -it up most scientifically. We were promised the tushes of the boar, set -up in some way, as a souvenir of the great adventure. - -One late afternoon Cecily went off with Ralph and Clarence for a final -attempt on the life of a hartebeest, while the leader and I peacefully -collected butterflies, or tried to, and paid a visit to the opposition -camp to see their trophies. All the skulls and skins were inspected. -They had a couple of Grevy’s zebra, having been to the Bun Feroli (Zebra -Plain), after we left them in the Ogaden, and a magnificent hippo from -near the Webbi. I felt very envious, but one can’t go everywhere. The -zebra skins were most exquisite, shining and silky, marked in great -lines of white and brown. The stripes varied very much in the two skins, -one having much narrower lines than the other. Birds of many varieties -the leader had collected, snakes too, and all the lizards. Being full -of infinite variety he loved the coleoptera as much as the flaunting -glories of the lepidoptera, and it took us a long time to go through -it, for each treasure was safely put away in its own box. We made for -my camp to find Ralph in the seventh heaven of delight because he had -brought down a hartebeest that Cecily had missed--missed on purpose, -she said, to give him the pleasure of bagging it. Anyway, there lay the -trophy, a present, Ralph said, for me. I thanked him profusely, because -our collection was not overdone with this variety. - -I do not really admire this antelope very much, or perhaps I should say -I admire it less than any other, since every antelope has some points -of undoubted beauty. Their faces are what baulk me. They are so silly -looking, like a particularly inane cow--a cow’s face, and yet not a -cow’s face, and though very massive and magnificent in the fore they -pan out to nothing in the hind quarters. The horns, set in sockets, -are hardly ever the same, curving this way and that way,’ as cow’s do. -Hartebeest are the quickest goers in all the antelope world. They are -never spoken of by the natives by any other name than “sig.” And this -is odd, because in other varieties I frequently heard the correct -designation. - -The best of friends must part, and we were no exception to the rule. -However, we buoyed ourselves up with the notion that it was not to -be for long. For the second time the opposition shoot watched our -departure, but this time we all had an interest in the affair--very -different to the almost animosity that actuated us at the start. -_Souvent femme varie_, and man too. - -Our caravan got on the move once more. The _harns_ were not well filled -because we had used up all the water, whoever it belonged to, and this -made it necessary for us to march as swiftly as might be. We took on -three of the most terrific treks, for length and weariness unsurpassed. -The track was fortunately good, but the dust was absolutely blinding, -blowing before the wind in clouds, and once or twice during the march -I had the tent pitched that we might rest awhile in a slightly clearer -atmosphere. Our small quantity of water was used almost at once, and -the last march on the Haud was a forced one indeed. We lumbered on long -after darkness had fallen, and reached some wells, apparently free, -about eleven o’clock. The men formed a rough zareba, but we were all too -tired to trouble much, and after watering the animals by the light of -the watch fires we had supper and turned in. - -The Haud now was safely over, and before us lay the great ascent of the -Golis range. The gradual rise began to be felt after the second day’s -march. We saw numerous Speke’s gazelle, and Cecily bagged a fine male, -after a prolonged chase, that took her some miles from camp. I was -nearly out of my senses with toothache, a grievous pain indeed, and one -so impossible almost, under the circumstances, to cure. Dentistry was -beyond us. - -For two days I trekked in a state of semi-delirium. I got no peace at -night nor by day, until at last I hit on a glorious panacea. We had -finished a huge day, and on turning in for another sleepless night I -decided to drink enough whisky to paralyse me _and_ the tooth. A very -little spirit overcomes me. I mixed half a tumbler full of whisky with -precious little water--drank it--and knew no more till morning! - -The thing worked like a charm. The tooth had given over aching, and bar -a dark brown taste in my mouth I was none the worse for my carouse. - -We saw a couple of oryx out early, and dashed off after them. Ponies -were of no use now, and had to be left behind. I crawled along such -stony ground I wore down to my bare knees in no time, and then only got -within range as the oryx sped away again. They sailed so gracefully over -the rough ground, and no obstacle barred their way. Cecily was posted on -a small rise beneath which the oryx passed, and got in a telling shot, -running down to see the result. We were exceedingly foolish in what we -did, after all the experience we had too. Seeing the oryx was hard hit -we ran towards him, and he who looked at first like dying as suddenly -rose to his feet and ran towards us head down for the charge, his whole -weight set for the blow. Perdition catch our stupidity! Did we not know -the strength and power of those rapier horns? Cecily was taken back with -the onslaught for a moment, and then dashed precipitately behind a clump -of aloes. I dropped on one knee to try and get a surer shot, to rise -next moment to dodge and flee. My very ignominious flight was my -cousin’s opportunity. The buck followed me, she followed him, -and getting in a close raking shot, finished what looked like the -commencement of an ugly affair. This was our last oryx of the trip, and -a very fair specimen. The skin of his neck was quite half an inch in -thickness, a veritable armour-plate. I did not know until later that the -best and most desired shields are got from the neck skin, the shoulder -providing the second quality only. - -Higher and higher we climbed each trek, the going much slower now. -The camels took their time over the so far simple ascent. We sighted -gerenük many times, both when riding alone and with the caravan. Many -times we pursued them, and as many times returned discouraged. Stalking -was a very difficult business here, the bushes all grew aslant, and the -buck had a perfection of balance unknown to us. One try of Cecily’s very -much amused us. She got a chance at a gerenük, after a stiff pursuit -over hill and down dale, fired, and the kick from her rifle overbalanced -her as she clung with uncertain feet to the hillside, and she slid like -an animated toboggan downwards. Goodness knows where the gerenük or the -bullet went to. - -We camped on a beautiful range one night, where a small plateau seemed -to invite us to rest awhile. The sun was just setting, and the mighty -mountains around were bathed in a roseate glow. It was a most perfect -scene. The camp that night was like a biblical picture--the sleeping -camels, the recumbent forms of their drivers, and over all a sky of such -wondrous blue dotted with stars innumerable. - -Next the sublime is always the ridiculous. Another camel man fell sick -here, but his case was not really genuine, I verily believe. Cecily and -I feigned to have found among our things a medicine of most marvellous -properties, warranted to cure in one dose all the ills that flesh is -heir to. Quinine was its name really, and Clarence dosed the Somali with -it, and the curative effect was at once apparent. - -Jackals were here very plentiful, too much so for our peace and quiet. -They came prowling round the camp in ones and twos seeking for what they -might devour. I shot one at night on hearing a crunching sound near -by. I rushed out of the tent in terror lest the half-dry rhino was -furnishing a succulent meal. We had no thorn zareba in these days, and -the watch must have belied his name. The stealthy prowler passed behind -our tent, and I got a clear shot between his gleaming eyes. Far too -near! I blew the jackal’s head to smithereens, and damaged its beautiful -coat considerably also. The whole camp awakened then and buzzed with -excitement, until the men knew the nature of the animal that had come -in on us. When it was discovered that the intruder was a mere jackal -matters quieted down considerably. It was no credit to them that it -wasn’t a leopard. I lectured the parody of a watch severely next day, -and as we were getting to an end of the trip our lightest words had -immediate effect. It was quite odd. - -The thickness of the aloe jungle here was immense, and to penetrate -it was impossible, though constantly we longed to do so, as we heard -mysterious rustles n the density. - -Our mileage was next to nothing these days, and our marches desperate -slow. But a camel won’t be hurried. - -We had a day in the ravines, picking up the caravan at a given place, -taking Clarence and the second hunt with us. We ventured down a perfect -abyss clothed at the bottom in aloe jungle. It was most difficult to -keep upright at all, and we took some glorious tosses. The worst thing -to contend with was the hunter’s habit of carrying Cecily’s rifle -pointing straight at the person who happened to be struggling along -in front. It gave me the creeps to watch him. However improbable an -accident may be, we know they do happen in the best regulated families. -At last, as repeated telling him did no good, we relieved him of his -load. He may have had some method in his madness. - -We heard a crackle of the aloes, and two koodoo passed in view, going -fairly hard. We hadn’t a look in, for they vanished before we realised -they were there. We crossed from ravine to ravine, and came on any -amount of koodoo spoor, and leopard, the latter some two days old. -At last, as we were giving up dispirited, sitting down to recover our -breath, a small koodoo bull passed below us, at a distance of some -two hundred and thirty yards. It was ridiculous to wait for a slightly -improved position, there wouldn’t be one, and as meat was very scarce -with us these days, I had a try for him. I really aimed in front of the -bull, averaging the pace at which he was travelling, and pressed the -trigger. It was written in my Kismet book that I might not do freak -shots of this kind with success. The koodoo saved his venison, and a -sort of groan went up from the greedy hunters. Two hundred yards is -really the limit of a sporting shot or chance, and at that distance you -cannot make out the animal’s ear clearly--my invariable test. A down -hill shot is the one most likely to fail, because it is so difficult to -judge distance horizontally, not vertically. - -We had a huge climb for it back to our camp, which we saw perched high -above us, our tent looking a mere white speck on the sky-line. Once as -we skirted a thick bunch of foliage and undergrowth we heard a leopard -“cough.” We pulled up, and listened awhile, but could hear no more of -him. Firing the place was no use. The smoke might hang about, there was -little air in these ravines, and it might be impossible for us to see -clearly. We were really tired, and very unenthusiastic, so let the -matter go. - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE LAST PHASE - - -```Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirch’d - -```With rainy marching in the painful field, - -```And time has worn us into slovenry, - -```But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim - -`````King Henry V= - - -|At night came that weird lowing sound a leopard often makes when -hunting. Our friend of the afternoon, of course. He wakened us up, and -we turned out to see that the watch happened to be on the alert. It -would be a parlous thing if we lost any of the precious trophies now -when the expedition was almost over--not that taxidermine-covered -skins and heads would be the sort of feast that would appeal to a saucy -leopard. Then silence again. - -Next day one of our hunters heard of a neighbouring _karia_ losing a -sheep the previous night. It was struck down but not removed. I had -heard of such a thing before, and believe it to be an undoubted fact -that a leopard kills on occasion for mere lust. - -Cecily and I went to the _karia_, which was perched on a plateau -surrounded with slopes covered with aloes. Quite a natural fortress, -and one that might be most easily guarded from the incursions of wild -beasts. But the Somalis seem to me to introduce the kismet idea into -every phase of their everyday life. Any easily avoided disaster is -accepted in this fashion. - -The head-man gave us all the particulars. A leopard had indeed entered -the _karia_, killed a sheep, and then left the carcase. We begged for -the remains, and for a consideration got them. Clarence bestowed them -at the foot of the rise in open ground, by a brake of aloes and thick -cover. The men set about constructing a “machan” in the jungly place, -and kept guard till sunset, when Cecily and I took the job on. We -climbed into our refuge; it was intensely rickety, and rocked every -time we made the least movement. I was no more enamoured of this sort of -sport than before, and suppose we were doing it because we felt the trip -being so nearly over it was foolish now to miss any chance whatever. For -once in a way we were both rather uninterested, a fatal frame of mind in -this sort of an affair. We were bitterly cold, and I could hardly hold -my rifle at all. Hours seemed to drag along, minutes really. I had to -strike a light, whatever the consequence, to ascertain the time. It -was 12 a.m. Oh, for bed and this sort of sport at an end! Another weary -silence. I slept, I believe, with one eye open. Then an ominous rustle, -and a lightning whirr and rush, succeeded by a blank silence again. -Whatever had happened now? We listened and gazed attentively, but no -more sounds reached our straining ears. Over all the jungle brooded a -stillness that could almost be felt. Then Cecily, whose sight is better -than mine, said it was plain to be seen even in the blackness that -surrounded us that the carcase of the sheep was no longer there. After -that, what a weary night. We did not care to risk getting out, and there -was no good to be done in staying in. The dawn broke at last, falsely -at first, and dark gray shadows fell again to flee away before the all -conquering sun, who rose in splendour, gilding the lofty ranges with -tips of gold and red. - -We pushed our way out, not waiting for the men to come and let us free, -and the whole show, unable to hold up any longer, fell over with us. It -was very badly put together, and would have been a pantomime protection -in case of stress. We were dishevelled looking before, and worn out for -want of sleep, but we were objects by the time we had fought our way -from out the collapsed “machan.” We followed the pugs of the leopard -till they disappeared in impenetrable bush. He had taken his victim to -a safe stronghold. But we weren’t to be worsted so easily. When Clarence -appeared we asked him the best plan for dislodging the cat, who must be -gorged now, and a little overdone. Our shikari said he would order some -of the men out and try to beat the place. I asked him to take the .35 -Winchester himself, and use it if he could. Then began a lively morning. -The men beat the place with their spears in sort of flying rushes, -dashing forward, then dashing back, and at last, as we really made the -radius of the place smaller, we heard a continuous snarling, like that -a domestic cat makes when it has a mouse in its paws, only this was much -more vicious and sounding louder. - -I stood close to the jungle, and Clarence begged me to stand a little -farther off. This I did not care to do. The men were not armed, bar -their spears, and it seemed unfair to expose them so without giving them -the protection of one’s rifle. Cecily was doing the same thing on her -side of the brake, where the men were spearing bravely and shouting -lustily. We fired into the undergrowth, but it was of no avail; still -the ominous snarling kept up, still the animal would not break cover. I -made up my mind I would try and see if I could not get a shot into him -somehow, so I took on the silly job of crawling very slowly down the -rough trail made through the dense bush by the dragging of the sheep. -I came on its remains almost at once. The leopard, where was he? Then -I saw it in one brief second. What a face of rage and fury! I dare not -fire. I backed hurriedly, getting clear of the place, and then fired -twice into the very place where I judged the leopard lay up. A rush. -Out he came, rather from the side, looking like a fiend let loose. I was -glad we were not bang in his path. I could not get a shot in at all, for -one of the hunters, in the warmth of his earnest efforts, put himself in -my light. There was Cecily, she blazed away; there was Clarence, whose -rifle spoke, but I heard his bullet strike a rock behind. The leopard, -with lithe swinging bounds, was up the clefts of the ravine in a moment. -I threw up my rifle and had a try for him. No result. He was lost to -sight. Four of the men went to the top of the ravine and descended -carefully, reporting the leopard to be in a sort of cave between two -boulders. We must get there too, of course, which would be a prodigious -bit of climbing. Cicely said she was confident her bullet told; I know -mine didn’t. We reached the spot where the animal was ensconced, and -there, sure enough, we could see, if we stooped, his crouched shoulders, -head dropped on paws, eyes gleaming defiance. He was a foe to be afraid -of, and I _was_ afraid for consequences. The men were in such dangerous -positions, and all of us had such insecure foothold. In case of a charge -from the leopard one or more would certainly go over the rocks to the -bottom of the gorge, a very nasty fall indeed. I made up my mind I would -finish it. I walked as carefully as I could towards my enemy, rifle -ready, expecting the very worst every minute. I drew a bead on its -head. Fired! A moment of such intense anxiety. No movement. We advanced -cautiously. The great cat was dead. A passive ending indeed. - -By all the laws of first blood he belonged to Cecily. She had got him -very much indeed, in the base of the spine. He was done for when I shot -him, and it is questionable if he had the power to move at all. Indeed, -his ascent of the place, wounded where he was, seemed to us a wonderful -feat. The men extricated the beautiful thing; he was somewhat aged, with -old teeth, and skin much scarred and seamed with fighting. The head-man -from the _karia_ was very much delighted, for he insisted the leopard -was one for whom they had long looked to make an end of. He had struck -down a Somali, who was only saved by the spears of his friends. The -yellow danger lurked in rocks, and would, from all accounts, probably -have developed into a man-eater. We were glad to have finished his -career. - -All the flies in all the world seemed to join in at the skinning, and we -went back to camp, breakfast, and a bath of sorts. - -We rested that day, seeing to all the trophies, the new acquisition -included, instructing the men where to rub the skins and where not. -Taking them all round, every specimen was in good condition. - -We progressed during the evening hours as long as the light held. The -climbing was now quite a big thing, and for one step forward we seemed -to go two back. A sounder of wart-hog crossed our front, and Cecily -bagged a small sow, quite by mistake, but it was the animal’s own fault -for growing tushes. This freak occurs often, and I don’t think one can -be blamed if accidents happen through this mistaken habit. Accidents -always do happen when femininity adopts the attributes which are the -prerogative of the masculine gender. Anyway, the pig was a great luxury -in the way of a change on the daily menu. Of course we had to dress -it ourselves--a bit of a set back. We fried some chops for supper that -night, and smiled to ourselves as we thought we could almost rival -Chicago for quick despatch. - -The next big undertaking was the negotiating of the Upper Sheik, a big -affair indeed, and we set off with not a few qualms as to our success. -The foremost camel looked as though if he fell he must carry all the -others with him in swift rush downwards. We took care to lead the van. - -“The morning was one of God’s own, done by hand, just to show what -He could do.” We climbed up and up, painstakingly and ploddingly, and -presently saw the rugged way over which we had come far below us. We had -then been marching close on two hours, and must have done less than four -miles. A little lonely _karia_ was perched on a terraced outlook away -to the west, its inhabitants strolling out lazily to watch our progress. -Half a mile or so off was the Sheik Argudub’s tomb, a white dome-shaped -structure, glinting in the sun, and looking for all the world like a -replica of some massive wedding-cake. The whole scene was now grandly -picturesque in the extreme, and gaining the top of the pass a wondrous -panorama lay spread at our feet. Wealth of colour sprang voluptuous -around us: here a mass of green merging to purple, there pale tints -of cream and brown, aesthetic and delicate. Everywhere great ravines -yawned, black and mysterious. Farther off, the vast Marmitime Plain, and -miles on miles away, thirty or more, a tiny dark blue riband, fringing -the whole, told us that the sea was there. Valleys, ravines, mountains, -rivers too, helped out the beauteous scene, and above all, rising -superior, was Mount Wager, mightiest of all the Golis. - -We camped in this delightful place, overlooking a vista I can never -forget. Preying vultures kept watch over infinite space, in widening -circles. A hot wind blew through the camp. Here at last, for the moment, -we could see about us without that smoke-like dust to curtain all -things. The light of the setting sun limned clear the mighty peaks, and -brooding night swept gently down the slopes and wrapped the world in -sombre garb. The wild eerie grandeur of it impressed me greatly, and I -simply could not leave our terraced plateau, but beneath the arch of the -stars sat on and marvelled. Then, as though by some special arrangement -of Providence for our good entertainment, a mighty storm brewed itself -sullenly away over the Marmitime, then crept insidiously to the Golis, -and broke in majesty. The bombardment lasted for an hour or more, -reverberating through every pass and every ravine; the heavens were -alight with wondrous flashes, that rent the air in forked spears, -striking down to the depths of the darkest crevass. - -We were as safe outside the tent as in, I think, but nowhere very safe, -the lightning grew so close. Some of the men got under _herios_, some -even under the standing camels, a nice Juggernaut to run the risk -of bringing down on one’s devoted head. Then, gradually the wildness -passed, and spent itself in deep-tongued mutterings and distant murmurs. -Then came the rain, Somali rain, and we had to shelter. Cecily’s -treasure had made us our inevitable nightcap--tea--before the streams of -water drenched his fire. Thanks be! - -I pictured in my mind the days when herds of elephants roamed the Golis -valleys, and the lion woke the still ravines with resonant sound. Alas! -this place will know them no more. - -The Sheik Pass is, of course, christened after the old gentleman who is -buried in the wedding-cake arrangement, and not very far from our camp -was an immense cemetery where many thousands of people are buried. -Clarence took us also to the ruins of a one-time city, now covered -with grass and aloe growth. How ancient the place is I cannot say with -accuracy, but it looked very ancient indeed. Not far away at the Upper -Sheik is a large Somali village, a Mullah settlement, and the Sheik -there, a very enlightened person indeed, told us that the remains of the -city are not really very antediluvian, and is the site of the homes of -the early settlers from the Yemen. As we neither of us knew anything -about such influx we kept silent, to conceal our ignorance. Quite a lot -of the tracery on the stones which satisfied un-archæological people -like ourselves is nothing but decorative work carved by the shepherds -trying to kill time! - -Being comparatively near Berbera and “civilisation,” the pass being a -kind of high road to Brighton, this Mullah saw a good deal of Europeans, -and spoke a little English. We presented him with a Koran, a _tusba_, -and a couple of tobes--the last of the Mohicans--and so our reception -was exceedingly cordial. The Mullah was an elderly man, but it is -exceedingly hard to guess ages “out there,” and his face was deeply -lined, his eyes were very jaded. When the conversation, engineered by -Clarence as usual, began to flag I cast about in my mind for a suitable -remark, which I placed carefully. He would just wait for me to make -another, and seemed to have no inventive faculty of his own. At last -I said I hoped all his wives were well. The Mullah tersely said he had -none, and relapsed into silence again. This was a set-back that took -some getting over, but I gathered myself together sufficiently to say -I trusted the forlorn condition of things was temporary only, and that -when he had some wives they would keep well. Cecily pulled my sleeve, -and whispered I was getting on very badly. “You try then,” I said -huffily. - -She asked him how many cattle he owned. Oh, hundreds. Would we like some -milk? - -“I hope he didn’t think I was hinting!” murmured Cecily abashed. But we -did look forward to a good drink of cow’s milk. When it came we could -not manage it, for the milk tasted so horribly. I think the milking -vessels must have been dirty. - -In this settlement they made large quantities of _ghee_ for sending -down to Berbera, and the whole atmosphere seemed more business-like -and agricultural than most Somali _karias_. Quite a crop of jowâri -cultivation brightened the plateau ground around, and farming seemed to -be thoroughly understood. Many herds of sheep, watched over by women and -children, whitened the hills. A goat of acumen and intelligence led each -band, and they were not driven from the rear, with the consequent going -in the wrong direction every time that attends the moving of a flock of -sheep with us. The shepherdess walked in front, the tame goat followed, -and the sheep came wandering after. They were exceedingly fat sheep, -and our men revelled in the grease that ensued after the cooking of two -presented to us by our friend the Mullah. - -The hot _karif_ wind here blew hurricanes for a couple of days, and -tents would not stand against it. We tried to keep them up, but the -anxiety of the prospect of one’s house about one’s ears kept us awake, -and the next night we had a sort of circle made of all our boxes and -luggage generally, and slept inside the ring with the gale blowing great -guns over our heads. The _karif_ is part of the Haga season, July and -August, and we had met it, only less furiously inclined, on and off -lately. It springs up at night, and you may go to bed with not a breath -stirring to wake to feel the tents straining at its moorings. The sand -blows before the wind in clouds, and the best way to combat it is to -precipitate oneself face downwards until the swirl of grit has passed -for the time. At the height of the Golis the _karif_ is not usually -prevalent, keeping its attentions for the plains. And we were delighted -that each morning as the day advanced the wind of the night spent itself -into a pleasant refreshing breeze. - -Just where we pitched our camp was a reserved area for game, so we -descended next morning, minus the hunters, to lower country, down the -remains of elephant trails. They are not so amazing to me as the tracks -of the bison--extinct, or practically extinct anyway--one comes on in -some parts of Montana. I remember one in particular that I thought was -the ancient bed of some great river, so wide and deep was it. And yet -thousands of bison passing over it to drink daily at a lake in the -vicinity had made the wondrous track. But I’m digressing, and that -badly. - -A couple of agile wild asses raced along a little pathway cleft in the -side of the ravine above us, the dislodged stones raining about our -ears. Graceful alert creatures, but of course barred to us, and not only -by reason of the red tape that ties them up. I cannot think a wild ass -is an allowable trophy. I should for ever apologise if I had one. So--we -saw them vanish in a cloud of dust. We saw a klipspringer as we turned -a little curving piece of rock. I fired, and missed. Most unfortunately, -as the shot was called through every ravine by every echo. - -As we were silently standing gazing across a lovely valley a couple of -wart-hog sows with immense families ran among the aloes. Cecily -dashed after them, and into them, separating the little band. Laughing -heartily, she pursued one agile mite, and almost cornered it. The sow -turned viciously and charged head down. I shouted to the venturesome -Cecily, but she saw the danger as soon as I, and made for an aloe -stronghold. The baby pig with little grunts and squeals ran to its -mother, who gave up the idea of punishing us for our temerity in -waylaying her, and trotted back to her litter, all scuttling away in the -tangle of jungly places. We laughed at the comical sight they presented, -and then began to lunch off a bit of their relation. - -The air made us drowsy, and I think we slept awhile. The bark of a -koodoo wakened us, and we started up all alert. Two small does crossed -the ravine lower down, but were gone in the fraction of a second. It was -a stiff climb back, and as I made a detour round a jutting peak of rock -I caught a glimpse of a distant klipspringer. Down I went, and oh, how -I prayed Cecily would keep quiet, and not set a dozen stones a-rolling, -for she had not sighted the prize. I threw up my rifle and took careful -aim. The klipspringer was off. It perched again on a spiky summit. Bang! -sounded to the astonishment of Cecily. The little buck took a header -clean off its halting place, and turning somersaults fell a hundred feet -or so. We slid and ran and fell after it. I made certain its horns would -be broken and useless, but, thank goodness, we found them intact. I -had hit the klipspringer fair and square in the heart, and its rough -olive-coloured coat was hardly marked. The little straight horns of -this trophy measured three and three quarter inches. The females are -hornless. - -Then came the difficulty of packing our prize back to camp--our camp -in the skies. First we sought a stout branch, and then tied the hollow -rounded hoofs of the little klipspringer to it. We always went about -with our pockets stuffed with cord and useful things, the sort of things -a woman in peace times would not find useful at all. Then we lifted -together. What a mighty weight for so small a thing! The rests we -had, the slips downhill, the tempers we got into, are they not all -graphically described in my diaries of the day in the following terse -but meaning words: “I shot a klipspringer at the bottom of a ravine. -Cecily and I carried it back to our camp in the Upper Sheik ourselves.” - Simple words, but fragrant with meaning. - -Near camp the waiting Clarence met us, and we gladly turned over the -klipspringer to him. It was indeed a charming trophy, and we were -intensely happy at having procured one of this species. Our excursion -had about put the finishing touch to our garments, which were already -on their last legs. We were literally in rags, and had come down to our -last suit. Time had indeed made us slovenly. - -If the ascent of the Upper Sheik had been a big matter, what shall we -say about the descent? It was a very serious matter, but Cecily and I -laughed and laughed, and hugely enjoyed ourselves. The proceedings of a -barrow load of stones tipped over the edge would have been graceful -to us. I tried the going down for a short way on my pony, but speedily -resolved that if I must die I would at least do it with some degree of -dignity, and not be hurled into space in company with a wretched, if -well meaning, Somali tat. The camels, one by one, went on before us; it -would have been vastly unpleasant to go before. Westinghouse brakes are -what they wanted, Somali camel men are what they got. Clinging on to the -already overbalanced creatures, backing, pushing, shouting, rarely have -I seen a more amusing sight. The ponies practically tobogganed down, and -the accidents were many. One box full of provisions fell off a heaving -camel, burst open, and all the provisions spread themselves as far and -as widely as ever they possibly could. I scooped up all the coffee -I could find, as it was the last we had. We drank it as “Turkish” - afterwards, grits and all, and thus got it down with more liking. - -At the bottom of the pass we called a halt for a much-needed rest, -and looking back one wondered however we had made the journey down -so successfully. The camels seemed none the worse, but one pony, my -erstwhile steed “Sceptre,” had gone very lame. We were now in big timber -country, and for the first time for an age saw water running, and not -stagnant. We took off our boots and stockings, and went in at once, only -sorry that propriety would not allow a total eclipse. We could not leave -that blessed brook; I really cannot dignify it by the name of river. - -Camp was formed here, but a zareba was no longer a necessity. All that -day we drowsed away the hours, wandering about among the trees and -chasing butterflies. It was quite an idyllic day. - -Next morning we left camp, thoroughly fresh and game for a big tramp. -We took our way up a rocky gorge that led us towards the Marmitime. The -scenery everywhere was still of the most exquisite description, vastly -different to the sun-dried plains we had traversed so short a time ago. -Walking was not easy, and we made a great clatter of stones as we passed -along. Our noise startled a small creature we had not noticed before, so -much the colour of the ground was he. He sprang from rock to rock with -surprising agility, and poised for a moment ere he took off again like -some light-winged bird. We excitedly started in pursuit, and I was -almost certain we should lose him. Cecily vowed she must risk it, and -I did not think it mattered very much anyway. The gazelle seemed to me -lost. - -My cousin waited for the creature to rest a second, and then did what I -consider the finest shot of the trip. She brought her quarry down from -a great height, two hundred and ten yards at least, smack, to a little -grassy knoll beneath, stone dead. I patted her on the back. It was a -wonderful and never-to-be-forgotten achievement. We had no end of a -difficulty to reach the place, and arrived, our joy knew no bounds. It -might be said of our trip as of the life of King Charles, that nothing -in all of it so much became it as the ending, for this, our last trophy -of all, proved to be the somewhat rare Pelzeln’s Gazelle. It is not -at all rare in the Marmitime, I believe, but necessitating a special -expedition there to bag one. The gazelle had quite good horns, topping -eight inches. He was fawn in colour, darker on the back, with a black -tail. The females of this species carry horns also. - -[Illustration: 0355] - -I stayed up in the rocks on guard until Cecily brought Clarence and one -of the hunters to do the carrying of our treasure, Cecily and I having -gone out of that business. - -In camp now the greatest activity reigned, the men working so very -willingly, taking no end of pains with the heads and skulls and skins. -And the cook, Cecily’s cook, made us weird hashes and tea till we feared -for our digestions. - - - - -CHAPTER XX--END OF THE GREAT SHIKAR - - -```Approved warriors, and my faithful friends - -`````Titus Andronicus= - - -````Then must I count my gains - -`````Richard III= - - -````And so I take my leave - -`````Midsummer Night’s Dream= - - -|At last Berbera in the distance. At last the one remaining night in -our tent--over. At last the final breakfast in the open--over. Then the -outskirts of the town, and then Berbera itself. - -The leader of the Opposition and Ralph met us almost at once, looking -quite respectable and clean. They said they had been waiting right there -for two days for fear we should come unwelcomed. We put up at the -old familiar rest-house in the European Square, and our camels and -_impedimenta_ generally camped in front of us. Our first dinner in -“civilisation” did not please us half as much as the culinary efforts of -Cecily’s _chef_. Roast chicken with flies is not, after all, so -appetising as badly cooked oryx, served up with hunger sauce, and at -least, in the jungle, we escaped that last resource of the average cook -when she can’t think up a pudding--stewed rhubarb. I wonder if there is -a country where the weed can be avoided? Here it was again, a mass of -flies and fermentation, singing away to itself in a little dish. - -After dinner we sat outside the bungalow fighting battles o’er again, -and regretting, oh, with such an ache of longing, the jungle and the -wild. That night we hardly slept at all. We missed the camp sounds, -the grunting camels, the sound of the fires being piled, we missed the -open--all! We stretched out longing arms and touched a wall! We paced a -floor that was not ground. - -Everything in the world comes to an end. How sad that is sometimes! How -we longed to turn the hands of the clock back, and Time with it! - -Next day we joined our camp again, and began to make arrangements for -its disbandment. We had come in at a bad time--camels being a drug in -the market. The leader and Ralph disposed of theirs by public auction, -but there could not be much of a demand for any more at this time of the -year. Our beasts were in a very fair condition, all things considered, -but we had great difficulty in getting rid of them. At last Clarence -produced a dirty old Arab, whose appearance gave one the idea he had no -means whatever, but of course this is not peculiar to Arabs, for some of -our home millionaires are afflicted in the same way. The old gentleman -bargained and bargained until I almost let the creatures go at 30 Rs. -apiece, but Ralph arrived at the crucial moment and put a different -complexion on the matter. He rushed into the discussion with vigour, and -called the offer piracy, robbery, and things of that sort. I never could -have been so personal myself. The Arab did not seem to think any worse -of my kinsman for it, and the camels changed hands at the much improved -price of 35 Rs. apiece. - -The ponies were practically given away, and I had no end of a difficulty -to unearth a philanthropist willing to board and lodge “Sceptre.” We -only just got rid of our camels in time! That very evening the sportsman -arrived in Berbera whom we had left cogitating at Aden. His wife was -going stronger than ever, and her temper was, if possible, _worse_. He -had not lost her. What a wasted opportunity! Their caravan had taken a -completely different route to ours, having been to the Boorgha country -and round by the Bun Feroli. Their trophies were very fine and numerous, -and the kindly old shikari showed them to us with great pleasure and -pride. He managed to be a sportsman in spite of Madam, not, I am sure, -by her aid. She was a Woman’s-Righter, and like Sally Brass, a regular -one-er. Regardless of the plain fact that we must all be hopelessly -ignorant of home affairs, she worried our lives out of an evening to -discover our trivial, worthless opinions on all sorts of political -questions. It was very amusing to hear Cecily artfully trying to conceal -her dense ignorance; we listened to them one night after dinner, and -Madam, who probably knew as little of the subject as her victim, desired -to know what Cecily thought of Mr. Chamberlain’s fiscal policy. My -cousin did not enlarge, so that her lack of knowledge was overwhelmingly -apparent. She shook her head solemnly, and said darkly, with grave -emphasis, “What indeed!” - -Now, “What, indeed!” can cover a multitude of things if said just as it -should be. Put the accent on both words, and try it next time you are -cornered. - -I know Madam regarded us four as a ribald crew, and kept her fickle -smiles only for “the Leader,” whom she desired to propitiate because his -place at home adjoined hers, and as the old shikari meant to put up for -Parliament at the next election, Madam saw a faint chance of securing -a vote. We got a great deal of amusement out of her wiles and -blandishments. One day in between the camel-selling and general -disbandment we had much difficulty to repress our mirth, as we heard the -warrior being tackled something like this. - -“Of course, Major,” very suavely, “I can count on _your_ vote?” - -“I ought to say ‘Of course’ too. But what precisely are your husband’s -political views?” - -“Oh, he hasn’t any. Except on big game shooting.” - -“Well, that simplifies matters, anyhow,” said the officer, musingly. -“Could you tell me if he holds with an eight hours’ day?” - -“I expect so.” Then added, as an afterthought, “What--er--what kind of a -day is it?” - -“Oh,” answered the no-wiser warrior, “an eight hours’ days is--er--an -eight hours’ day.” - -“To be sure,” in a tone of great relief. “How _silly_ of me! I should -persuade my husband to have any kind of day his constituents most -preferred.” - -“But imagine,” put in Cecily, “if they all wanted different!” - -“There are three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, I believe,” - said the offended lady, frigidly. - -The old husband was much more likeable, and we got on well with him when -we were allowed a look in. He had a pretty wit, and told stories in an -inimitable manner, though not always of come-in-with-the-fish variety. -Indeed, some of his anecdotes could better have made an _entree_ with -the curry. I dare say so much camp life had roughened him a little. -When Madam waxed sarcastic, and scornfully told him a tale was too far -fetched he would say quite good-humouredly he could never fetch his -stories from far enough, as he was for ever seeing the light of auld -lang syne in some eye. He had that best and most useful of gifts, the -power to say things _apropos_ at just the right moment. Most of us think -them up afterwards when it is too late. Such a power is a gift worth -having from the gods, just as malapropisms come from another quarter. - -The traveller’s bungalow affected to put us all up. Ralph said it was -affectation merely, as the place was so crowded out he slept with his -feet through the window! - -Anything that was likely to be of the least use to him we gave to -Clarence, to his great joy, and his choice did fall on some quaint -things. An ordinary English axe was his first selection; he passed over -the native ones in lofty scorn. In addition to these few simple gifts we -decided to bestow on him, as a mark of our immense appreciation of the -good work done, our spare 12-bore, in order that he might go out on his -next shikar with every degree of safety. Such a present overwhelmed our -follower by its magnificence, and he was almost too excited to speak, or -express his thanks. At first he did not realise we meant to give it, -and it was very pleasant indeed to watch his face as the wonderful truth -dawned on his mind. - -The rest of our men filed past us as we stood ready to pay them by the -side of the tent that had been our home for so long. Every man got his -bonus of money, and a little present besides from the stores, and we -shook hands all round. I think we all felt the same regret at parting. -Absurd as it may sound, the saying “Good-bye” to these rough followers -of ours was a sentimentally sad business. - -“What days and nights we’d seen, enjoyed, and passed.” And truly few -travellers had been better served. Clarence was immensely anxious to go -home with us, and become, I don’t quite know what, in our household. He -spoke to me very seriously about it. - -“Yu welly good people,” he said; “me go to Englan’ all same you.” But -England and Clarence could never amalgamate, and we had to explain to -him we would all look forward to meeting again in Berbera some day. - -Cecily gave my Waterbury to the cook--a cheap way of giving a -present, as I told her; but she had to give him a useful mark of her -appreciation, she said, and her own watch was broken. I said farewell to -this personage more in sorrow than in anger, and he went off winding his -Waterbury as hard as he could go. - -Clarence helped us pack the trophies in great cases, a big piece of -work, and one that took us right up to the time of sailing. We -counted our gains, and found that they included rhino, lion, -leopard, harte-beest, dibatag, gerenük, oryx, aoul, Speke’s gazelle, -klipspringer, Pelzeln’s gazelle, wart-hog, hyaena, jackal, wolf, -ostrich, marabou, dik-dik, and one or two other varieties of game and -birds. As for our losses--well, I was assured the Baron was no loss at -all. For on being guided by Clarence to the filthy abode in the native -quarter where the Baron’s family resided, I was given to understand that -his removal was a source of gratification to them all. The amount of -money owing him, and a little over, which I tendered apolegetically -enough, instantly caused the very memory of the ill-fated man to fade -away. Our other follower, who died naturally, with no assistance from -us, directly or indirectly, did not appear to have any belongings. - -And so the great shikar ended, and for nearly four months and a half we -had lived in tents, and played at being nomads. - -Every one of our men came to the quay to see us off, Clarence carrying -his rifle, the cook still winding his watch. We all shook hands over -again. - -“Salaam aleikum, Clarence.” - -“Aleikum salaam, Mem-sahibs.” - -Salaam. - - -THE END - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Two Dianas in Somaliland, by Agnes Herbert - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND *** - -***** This file should be named 54501-0.txt or 54501-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/0/54501/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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