UNCANNY COOKERY 



It was necessary for me to return to Koba in order 

 to replenish my stores before setting out for the Belgian 

 Congo. Leaving Salem with three other boys and the 

 mule at Wadelai, I set off with the rest of the safari for 

 Koba and covered the distance of about forty miles in 

 less than twenty-four hours. As we had started in the 

 afternoon of the previous day from Wadelai, it was late 

 in the evening when we arrived in the camp at Koba. 

 The first thing I did on arriving was to despatch Monica 

 to the Post-office with a note for my mails ; but I was to 

 be bitterly disappointed, for during my absence not a 

 thing had been received for me. The next thing was 

 to uncover all the loads that had been piled up at the 

 camp, and left in charge of Wanaka and Juma I. Wanaka 

 had in my absence from Koba become quite a dandy, 

 and now strutted around in a pair of most extraordinary 

 Hindoo-shaped pants, fancy socks, and an old pair of 

 tennis shoes. I had to rate both boys severely for the 

 disgraceful state of the camp, grass now grew wild all 

 over what had formerly been a nice well-trodden square 

 piece of ground. They had apparently been doing 

 nothing but sleeping and eating the whole time ; what 

 an ideal rest-cure it had been for them. Both of them 

 had accumulated a large quantity of old clothing, and 

 evidently thought that my return for a few days was 

 the signal for a holiday for them, but I set them to work 

 at once on the weeds and grass in the camp. The 

 kitchen had been blown down in a gale and they had 

 not made the slightest attempt to re-erect it. 



It was a treat to have milk and biscuits again. I 

 had had no milk for some weeks and tea without 

 it is not very palatable. Biscuits are exceedingly 

 handy when one is travelling on safari, and it is always 

 as well to take a good supply in airtight tins. For 

 my part, however, I much prefer bread. A great many 

 people — I have done it myself often enough — mix a 



129 K 



