14 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



lean cheroots, and talk spasmodically in short 

 sentences. 



Of quite a different type are those going out- 

 young fellows full of northern health and energy, 

 full of the eagerness of anticipation, full of ro- 

 mance skilfully concealed, self-certain, authorita- 

 tive, clear voiced. Their exit from the bus is 

 followed by a rain of hold-alls, bags, new tin boxes, 

 new gun cases, all lettered freshly an enormous 

 kit doomed to diminution. They overflow the 

 place, ebb towards their respective rooms ; return 

 scrubbed and ruddy, correctly clad, correctly un- 

 conscious of everybody else ; sink into more 

 wicker chairs. The quiet brown and yellow men 

 continue to puff at their cheroots, quite eclipsed. 

 After a time one of them picks up his battered old 

 sun helmet and goes out into the street. The eyes 

 of the newcomers follow him. They fall silent ; 

 and their eyes, under cover of pulled moustache, 

 furtively glance towards the lean man's com- 

 panions. Then on that office falls a great silence, 

 broken only by the occasional rare remarks of the 

 quiet men with the cheroots. The youngsters 

 are listening with all their ears, though from their 

 appearance no one would suspect that fact. Not 

 a syllable escapes them. These quiet men have 

 been there ; they have seen with their own eyes ; 



