CHAPTER IX 



The Sahib a universal healer — Milch-camels lost — Baby gerem'ik — Tameness 

 of antelope in the dusk — -Leopard's " kill " up a tree — -Why it came there : 

 the tale writ m the sandy soil : leopard and waraba — Horace m the wilds : 

 sentiment and a criminal — A fractious camel — A Somali zariba — Sitting 

 up for a leopard : scored off ! — Water and mud — A move southward. 



For a day or two nothing much happened. A depu- 

 tation of Aidagalla Somalis came in with a man whose 

 leg they wanted me to mend. It was a size too large 

 and had been so since his pony fell on it a couple of 

 years before. I had to tell them that the case was 

 beyond me, the only person who could do anything 

 was a surgeon and that was very doubtful. But it was 

 difficult to convince them ; every Sahib is credited 

 with powers of healing. 



Exploring the bush south of the " ban " (plain) I 

 came across an oryx which I took to be a bull as I 

 could not see another, and solitary oryx are invariably 

 bulls. It dropped to my shot but three more dashed 

 away, and I found I had bagged a cow : she had 

 30-inch horns. 



Two days later I wounded a bull crossing my front, 

 but he turned just as I fired and I was not sure where 

 T had hit him. We followed a blood trail a short 

 distance when unfortunately a thunder-storm came 

 on and put an end to our tracking. This was the 

 first animal hit with the -318 that I had lost. We 



