THE LONG TRAIL 



pairs it would be as well to wait until you 

 see the army shoes here, which are light 

 and somehow Took as if they were more the 

 kind you ordinarily use ? How many pairs 

 have you now for the African trip, and 

 how many more do you think you want?" 

 Father was fifty years old in the Octo- 

 ber before we left for Africa, and the 

 varied experiences of his vigorous life had, 

 as he used to say, battered and chipped 

 him. One eye was to all intents useless 

 from the effects of a boxing match, and 

 from birth he had been so astigmatic as to 

 be absolutely unable to use a rifle and 

 almost unable to find his way in the woods 

 without his glasses. He never went off 

 without eight or ten pairs so distributed 

 throughout his kit as to minimize the pos- 

 sibility of being crippled through any or- 

 dinary accident. Even so, anyone who 

 has worn glasses in the tropics knows how 

 36 



