270 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



guinea fowl that F. had decapitated earlier in the 

 day. We ate ; and passed the pot over to 

 Memba Sasa. 



So far, so good ; but we were still very wet, 

 and the uncomfortable thought would obtrude 

 itself that the safari might not get in that day. 

 It behoved us at least to dry what we had on. 

 I hunted up Memba Sasa, whom I found in a 

 native hut. A fire blazed in the middle of the 

 floor. I stooped low to enter, and squatted on 

 my heels with the natives. Slowly I steamed 

 off the surface moisture. We had rather a good 

 time chatting and laughing. After a while I 

 looked out. It had stopped raining. Therefore 

 I emerged and set some of the men collecting 

 firewood. Shortly I had a fine little blaze going 

 under the veranda roof of the station. F. and I 

 hung out our breeches to dry, and spread the 

 tails of our shirts over the heat. F. was actually 

 the human chimney, for the smoke was pouring 

 in clouds from the breast and collar of his shirt. 

 We were fine figures for the public platform of a 

 railway station ! 



We had just about dried off and had reassumed 

 our thin and scanty garments, when the babu 

 emerged. We stared in drop-jawed astonishment. 

 He had muffled his head and mouth in a most 



