A TROPICAL JUNGLE 



through the defences; and perched in the top whence 

 he dropped to us a dozen big green nuts. Our men 

 may not have been much of a success at climbing 

 for nuts; but they were passed masters at the art of 

 opening them. Three or four clips from their 

 awkward swordlike pangas, and we were each pre- 

 sented with a clean, beautiful, natural goblet brim- 

 ming full of a refreshing drink. 



About this time a fine figure of a man drifted into 

 camp. He was very smooth-skinned, very dignified, 

 very venerable. He was pure Swahili, though of 

 the savage branch of that race, and had none of the 

 negro type of countenance. In fact so like was he 

 in face, hair, short square beard and genial dignity 

 to a certain great-uncle of mine that it was very hard 

 to remember that he had on only a small strip of 

 cloth, that he was cherishing as a great treasure 

 a piece of soap box he had salvaged from the shore, 

 and that his skin was red chocolate. I felt inclined 

 to talk to him as to an intellectual equal, especially 

 as he had a fine resonant bass voice that in itself 

 lent his remarks some importance. However, I gave 

 him two ordinary wood screws, showed him how they 

 screwed in and out, and left him happy. 



After supper the moon rose, casting shadows of 

 new and unknown shapes through this strangely new 

 and unknown forest. A thin white mist ascending 



83 



