138 EXCURSIONS FROM NJEMPS part ii 



for the red-painted natives, who were watching us in crowds at 

 a respectful distance, were timid and suspicious. Had we been 

 caught away from camp after nightfall we should probably have 

 seen more of them than we cared about. The sound custom of 

 not walking abroad at night and my hope of a second attempt 

 next day had to yield to more pressing needs, for bad news 

 awaited me on my return to camp. There I learnt that the 

 quarrel regarding which Sokoni had warned me, had led to an 

 outbreak of hostilities between the Wa-njemps and the Wa- 

 kamasia. A party of the latter was said to be already on 

 the march to Njemps, and to have cut off communications 

 with Omari. My reserve supply of goods and ammunition were 

 in the threatened village, and an immediate return was necessary 

 to save them. It had taken us three days to reach our present 

 position, but I resolved, in spite of the men's protests, to do the 

 return in one. I had my dinner and we took down the tent ; 

 we stacked up the fires in such a way that they would keep 

 alight all night, and thus prevent the natives having any 

 suspicion of our flight ; then, an hour before the moon rose, I 

 crept stealthily out of camp to reconnoitre. I could not detect 

 any natives, so I went back for the others and led them out 

 along the ridge at some distance from the path, and then we 

 stole quietly through some fields out on to the uninhabited 

 region of the foot-hills. At first we all kept together, for there 

 were only seven of us, and we had to be very careful ; but when 

 we had left the danger from the villages far behind us, and had 

 only to fear that ahead at Njemps, I took my rifle from the 

 Askari, wished the men " Kwaheri " (Good-bye), and hurried on. 

 Dawn found me alone on a basalt platform near the eastern 

 margin of the foot-hills ; I rested on the edge till it was light 

 enough to take my bearings, and to decide on the easiest way 

 down to the floor of the Rift Valley. The sky was absolutely 

 cloudless, and in that dry, cold air the sun rose over Laikipia 

 with a sudden blaze of light, that flashed upon the cliffs of 

 Kamasia with the glare of a search-light. In two or three 

 minutes its rays had reached the foot-hills, and only the Rift 

 Valley lay black and dark before me. Then ridge after ridge 

 within it suddenly sprang into sight, till the sunlight caught 

 the tracts of sand upon the floor of the valley, and " thrilled 

 her black length burnt to gold." 



