THE LESSER KUDU. 251 



waited dumbly for the force of the storm to spend 

 itself. Our faculties were quite as effectually 

 drowned out by the unceasing roar and crash 

 of the waters as our bodily comfort would have 

 been had we lacked the protection of our tent. 



Abruptly the storm passed. It did not die 

 away slowly in the diminuendo of ordinary 

 storms. It ceased as though the reservoir had 

 been tipped back again. The rapid drip, drip, 

 drip of waters now made the whole of sound ; 

 all the rest of the world lay breathless. Then, 

 inside our tent, a cricket struck up bravely. 



This homely, cheerful little sound roused us. 

 We went forth to count damages and to put our 

 house in order. The men hunted out dry wood 

 and made another fire ; the creatures of the 

 jungle and the stars above them ventured forth. 



Next morning we marched into a world swept 

 clean. The ground was as smooth as though a 

 new broom had gone over it. Every track now 

 was fresh, and meant an animal near at hand. 

 The bushes and grasses were hung with jewels. 

 Merry little showers shook down from trees shar- 

 ing a joke with some tiny wind. White steam 

 rose from a moist, fertile-looking soil. The 

 smell of greenhouses was in the air. Looking 

 back, we were stricken motionless by the sight of 



