MY SOMALI BOOK 177 



Could anything be more exasperating ? He was gone 

 for good and with him my last chance of a lesser kudu. 

 It was the greatest disappointment I had had. It was 

 now 4 p.m., I had been out since daybreak ; hot, tired, 

 and down on my luck I turned slowly back. The 

 only thing I wanted, a bath, the bigger the better. 

 In ten minutes the bath came — a shower bath, and we 

 tramped the two miles into camp in as heavy a down- 

 pour as I ever want to be out in. But it cleared the 

 air, mental and otherwise. 



After shooting an oryx next morning early, I spent 

 the rest of the day with Abdilleh exploring a succession 

 of hills and wooded valleys, looking for kudu, but 

 finding nothing beyond occasional tracks of both 

 species. Crossing the river - bed near home again, 

 I saw to my surprise a duck of sorts, an early arrival, 

 in a pool. Slipping a couple of No. 5 cartridges into 

 the Paradox, I proceeded to stalk him. Just as I got 

 within range I began to go down, a regular quicksand ! 

 At the same moment the duck rose, and with a struggle 

 I got the gun pointing somewhere in its direction, and 

 fired. Down it came, a great fluke, 

 and then I had to wait for Abdilleh 

 to come and pull me out. The bird 

 proved to be a garganey, a very 

 acceptable addition to my dinner that 

 night. 



Moving eastward again we tried 

 any spot which might hold a lesser 

 kudu, but only saw a single doe. 

 Even at Hed Godir (the " kudu forest ") a single stale 

 track alone was in evidence ; though two or three 



