TO THE KEDONG. 297 



of the Kedong River. Beyond that, fairly against 

 the mountain, we made out a settler's house. 



Leaving Billy and the safari, C. and I set out 

 for this house. The distance was long, and we had 

 not made half of it before thunder clouds began 

 to gather. They came up thick and black behind 

 the escarpment, and rapidly spread over the 

 entire heavens. We found the wagon shortly, 

 still mending its dusselboom, or whatever the 

 thing was. Leaving instructions for it to pro- 

 ceed to a certain point on the Kedong River, we 

 started back for our safari. 



It rained. In ten minutes the dusty plains, as 

 far as the eye could reach, were covered with 

 water two or three inches deep, from which the 

 sparse bunches of grasses grew like reeds in a 

 great marshy lake. We splashed along with the 

 water over our ankles. The channels made by 

 the game trails offered natural conduits, and 

 wherever there was the least grade they had be- 

 come rushing brooks. We found the safari very 

 bedraggled. Billy had made a mound of valu- 

 ables, atop which she perched, her waterproof cape 

 spread as wide as possible, a good deal like a 

 brooding hen. We set out for the meeting-point 

 on the Kedong. In half an hour we had there 



found a bit of higher ground and had made camp. 



10 a 



