CHAPTER XII 
SYCE’S ADVENTURE 
THINK all who have travelled much on sefari will agree 
that one of the least satisfactory individuals in it is the 
syce. To begin with, he is pretty sure to know nothing 
either of horses or mules, and these are of course his one 
cause for being. 
Then he is disposed to act the part of gentleman of leisure. 
He has an easy time of it, for he has no burden to carry, 
except it may be a water bottle or a spare gun, and he may 
kick at carrying even these; and when the sefari is hard 
pressed and trophies have somehow to be brought along, he 
is sure to demur at carrying his own sleeping mat and 
““potio.”’ 
Next because he walks behind you on the march or when 
hunting and generally has to consort with the gunboys, he 
too demands ‘‘boots.”” Now boots are unfortunately 
a time-honoured perquisite of the gunboy, unfortunately, 
because the boots are dear and bad, and since nothing will 
induce the gunboy to keep his feet clean, he often seriously 
injures those members of his just because he insists on 
looking smart after his own idea. ‘The syce, in short, copies 
the gunboy in everything except in the altogether necessary 
virtue of standing by his bwana in a tight place. 
My syce, Amesi, alas, is no exception to the general rule. 
If he has to knee halter his mule he is apt to cut the foreleg 
of the unfortunate animal, so tightly does he fasten the hide 
rope. If he neglects to knee halter him he calmly lets him 
stray or take the back track. 
Yesterday, however, he displayed unexpected qualities of 
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