With Mashlight and Rifle ^ 



there, and had a large nundjer of Askaris under his 

 command. 



1 was interested in examining the skin of the h'oness, 

 and we agreed to set torth on our shoot earlv next 

 morning. ddiis we dith On crossing a small stream, 

 quite an insignihcant one in the dry season, after we had 

 been several hoLirs on our way towards Mount Nairobi, 

 I pitched camp and ordered some ot the men to bring 

 firewood. The getting ot this took about four hours, as 

 none is to be got on the grassy Athi plains. Corporal 

 Ellis was against our halting here, tor, in his opinion, we 

 should be in danger from the lions during the night. 

 1 held firmly to my decision, however, confessedly still 

 sceptical as to so many lions really being forthcoming. 

 Ellis, five men of our following, and I now made a little 

 detour to tolknv the course of the stream, the upper 

 part of which was covered for some miles by scant)' 

 growth. 



On the plain we saw a nund)er of gnus {Coiinoc/icc/cs 

 a//)0///l)a//is). Grant's gazelle {GazcIIa graiili), Cc^kc^'s harte- 

 beest iylhiba/is cokci), Thomson's gazelle {(iaze/Ia thonisoui), 

 zebras, and ostriches ; but they wcM"e all very shy. 



When we turned back towards camp, still lollowing 

 the river — with an imfavourable wind blowing — 1 must 

 say 1 was not sanguine ot our having an\' sport ; but we 

 had been only a (juarter of an hour on the wa\', two of 

 our party on one; side ot the stream, we oursehes on the 

 other, when suddcnl}" a cry, " .Simba ! Sind)al SImba 

 I^wana ! Kubwa Sana!" ("A lion, master! A big 

 lion!") rang in our ears. The men on the other bank. 



360 



