CHAPTER I 



REACHING OUR RENDEZVOUS 



One day in the early part of June, 1910, the express 

 train from Johannesburg landed me at the pretty little 

 station of Delagoa Bay or Lourenco Marques, in Portu- 

 guese East Africa, a place in which I found nothing worthy 

 of special remark, with the possible exception of the 

 pavements, Polana beach, and the Portuguese policemen. 



The first-named are decorated with small coloured 

 pebbles, laid out in designs as striking as various. 



The beautiful Polana beach is well worth visiting. 



I cannot say that I admired the police, but neverthe- 

 less they certainly impressed me, for a more Gilbertian 

 body of men I have never seen, undersized, slovenly and 

 strongly addicted to holding up street corners, lounging 

 against shop fronts, constantly smoking cigarettes, and 

 toying with the huge swords that dangle by their sides. 



I spent two days here waiting for the boat to take me 

 northward to Mombasa, and on the third morning stood 

 on the promenade deck of the Adolph Woermann of the 

 Deutsche Ost-Africa Linie, a fine twin-screw boat of some 

 seven thousand tons. 



The journey up to Mombasa merits brief description. 



Beira was our first port of call, and there is no doubt 

 this will be the port for Rhodesia in the near future. 



Chinde, at one of the many mouths of the Zambesi 

 River, came next, and here the little bar steamer Kadett 

 came bobbing out to us as we lay at anchor a few miles 

 from the shore, to bring us a few bronzed-faced passengers. 



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