ELEPHANT AND HIPPOPOTAMUS 



my pipe. At length a grey light stole over the heavens, 

 day was coming at last ! I could have clapped my 

 hands at the welcome sight. Another hour and every 

 one was astir, what pictures some of the boys looked ! 

 Monica had worn his red fez cap all through the night, 

 evidently it had not before faced the furies of a heavy 

 storm, for the dye had come out and there were long red 

 streaks down his face and all over his cheap cotton shirt ! 

 I really could not suppress a hearty laugh as I gazed on 

 this miserable shivering specimen of dusky humanity ! 

 Many of the boys had suffered heavy losses, inasmuch as 

 more than half of their " posho " was destroyed, and 

 most of the salt, having been exposed to the downpour 

 of rain, was lost. 



One boy came to me holding in his hand the sodden 

 remains of a paper package in which he had kept his 

 salt : alas, it was all that he had managed to save from the 

 wreck, and he was on the point of bursting into tears ! As 

 for myself, I was soaked to the skin and feeling none the 

 better for the experiences of the night. Not long after 

 the sun had shown itself over the rugged hills to the east, 

 I was enveloped in steam from my wet clothing; but in a 

 short time Monica managed to dry a change of clothes on 

 a line strung between two trees, so I was soon feeling 

 myself again. 



There is one thing I would particularly impress on 

 all who are contemplating a trip in East, Central, or West 

 Africa, that is to take a pair of mosquito boots either of 

 canvas or soft leather reaching to just below the knee : 

 they are positively invaluable when in camp. 



That day we set out again, following the Nile across 

 flat stretches of grassy country that were literally teeming 

 with game. The ground underfoot was a perfect mire, 

 in places the water reached up to one's knees, and was 

 full of insect life. Mbuga, a burly native from Toro, 

 who carried a fifty-two pound box of salt and a parcel 



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