Soldiering and Sport in Uganda 



could wish to see, feeding the fire at intervals with 

 fresh fuel, always keeping it exactly the same size. 



After a hot bath — cold ones give you a chill in 

 Uganda — I put on my dressing-gown and had an 

 excellent repast outside my tent, sharing it with 

 countless insects of every known species that ever 

 came out of the ark, and interrupted at intervals by 

 the dismal wail of a hungry jackal. So to bed. 



On the next day I arose and breakfasted under 

 the full moon, and set off bent on doing a long day's 

 march. I saw a great many reed-buck and harte- 

 beeste just as I was starting, but not wishing to 

 delay, and thinking I should be sure to see them in 

 even greater numbers, as I was striking out away 

 from the main road, I did not shoot. But I antici- 

 pated wrongly, for I saw no more of them. My 

 native boy had to carry my bicycle the whole of 

 that march, as the path was so bad. As a matter 

 of fact, it was not a very great hardship, as he 

 would otherwise have had to run behind and wheel 

 it up every hill for me. Cycling on "safari" is thus 

 rendered very pleasant, though I fear, once these 

 boys become civilized, they will soon jib at the 

 running business, though at present they seem 

 rather to enjoy it. He was a Luganda, and I did 

 not know much of his language. Whenever I put 

 a question to him, he invariably replied with a most 

 exasperating groan, something like "Ah-h-h!" as if 

 scoffingly implying, "Wouldn't you like to know?" 

 At which the first impulse was carefully to remove 

 one's boots and hurl them at the fellow's woolly head. 



48 



