THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 311 



Enjoyed the walk through the forest very much; for 

 now, for the first time, we could look about us with free 

 minds, unhampered by the necessity of searching for 

 spoor, moving noiselessly, etc. 



Near the outer edge we met a number of savages, 

 very gorgeous savages, sent by Kurioki. They were 

 leading two sheep, presents from his majesty. They 

 had only one petition, namely, that we should kill one of 

 them on the spot and return the entrails to the messen- 

 gers. With some of the internal organs they would 

 then make medicine to keep the elephants away from 

 the crops. To this, of course, we assented; and sat 

 down to await the completion of the ceremony. It 

 began to rain in sheets; but we were used to it by now, 

 and merely humped ourselves over to let the water run 

 off. Then came two shenzis carrying a canvas chair 

 and the message that Kurioki himself was coming to 

 see us. Long pause, while the rain rained. Enter 

 Kurioki — a tall savage beyond middle age, without 

 much ornament, wearing a red blanket, and very lame 

 in the right leg. He hobbled up, seated himself, smiled 

 amiably, and gave us the "double grip" of friendship. 

 Lacking chairs, we were seated on two porters' loads. 

 We thanked him for the sheep. He waved his hand 

 airily. We asked him how long he had been lame. He 

 thought a while, said five days; then corrected it to 

 three years. We expressed ourselves as pleased with 

 the way his men had worked. He again waved an airy 



