MEN OF THE TREES 



turned to the old neighborhood of my camp and visited a 

 friendly Settler. 



The first day, Chief Josiah came to me in great distress. 

 After the usual salutation and exchange of greetings, he 

 blurted out "Bwana, shamba ya sanduka na harabika," 

 meaning, "the farm of the boxes is broken." At first I 

 failed to understand him and then it dawned upon me 

 that he was referring to the nursery of The Men of the 

 Trees, where these lads had carried out their voluntary 

 tree-planting. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I do not 

 understand." "Are you telling me that our nursery is 

 destroyed?" "Kwale, Bwana — truly sir," he replied. 

 "Bwana, piga m'pra* — the masters hit the rubber." He 

 was trying to convey that a tennis court had been erected 

 on the site of our nursery. At first I was dumbfounded 

 at this news. I could not believe that any of my brother 

 officers in government service could have been respon- 

 sible for this foolish act, and I said, "Josiah, I cannot be- 

 lieve you." His simple response was, "Master come and 

 see." 



I immediately jumped on a pony and galloped up to 

 the site of the nursery and there I found a perfectly good 

 tennis court on the same ground where I had left a 

 flourishing nursery of eighty thousand young trees. Real- 

 izing what the consequence of this official blunder might 

 mean to the tribesmen I could have wept at the sight 

 which now presented itself. There was no sign of a young 

 tree in view. I sat down and waited for Josiah who ar- 

 rived on foot a little later. 



48 



