216 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



line, and the fly to our tent was never seen 

 again. 



The train disappeared. Our boys, shivering, 

 crept into corners. We took possession of the 

 dak-bungalow maintained by the railroad for 

 just such travellers as ourselves. It was simply 

 a high stone room, with three iron beds, and a 

 corner so cemented that one could pour pails 

 of water over one's self without wetting the 

 whole place. The beds were supplied with mos- 

 quito canopies and strong wire springs. Over 

 these we spread our own bedding, and thankfully 

 resumed our slumbers. 



The morning discovered to us Voi as the sta- 

 tion, the district commissioner's house on a dis- 

 tant side hill, and a fairly extensive East Indian 

 bazaar. The keepers of the latter traded with 

 the natives. Immediately about the station grew 

 some flat shady trees. All else was dense thorn 

 scrub pressing close about the town. Opposite 

 were the tall, rounded mountains. 



Nevertheless, in spite of its appearance, Voi 

 has its importance in the scheme of things. 

 From it, crossing the great Serengetti desert, runs 

 the track to Kilimanjaro and that part of Ger- 

 man East Africa. The Germans have as yet no 

 railroad ; so they must perforce patronize the 



