32 MY SOMALI BOOK 



Back in camp at 2 p.m., tired and disappointed. 

 I put in the latter part of the afternoon in more restful 

 fashion, sitting in a tree at the edge of the thick bush, 

 where the leopard of which we had heard was supposed 

 to dwell ; a goat being tethered to a stump twenty 

 yards away. 



Nothing happened for an hour or so ; then about 

 half an hour before sunset some fifteen or twenty crows 

 suddenly appeared from nowhere, and began flying 

 round my tree and the goat, cawing uproarious^ and 

 making a great to-do. I fancy my thoughts had been 

 elsewhere, as with something of a start I turned my 

 attention to the business in hand, realising that the 

 corbies' behaviour might mean that the enemy was 

 on the move. 



Presently the cause (presumabl}^) of all the com- 

 motion appeared in the shape of a black-backed jackal, 

 who sat down on his haunches about thirty yards away 

 from the goat, looking at her. At least he sat in the 

 open facing the goat, but you would have thought 

 that she was the last subject to have any interest for 

 him. First he looked to one side and then to another, 

 and perhaps gave his moustache a twirl as he cast a 

 glance, a very casual glance, across the way. Then 

 one of the crows made a swoop at him, to which he 

 replied with just a shadow of a snarl, as who should 

 flick his handkerchief and say, " Bother those flies ! " 

 One knew all the time that he wanted to come out 

 with a big swear-word, but was not sure whether bad 

 language was quite the thing just now in really good 

 society. For it was clear that he desired to make a 

 good impression, and he was certainly smartly dressed 



