IN THE JUNGLE 



sounding crash, they preceded our slow advance for 

 a half mile or so. Then at some signal unperceived 

 by us they vanished abruptly into the jungle. 

 Once more we rode forward in silence and in soli- 

 tude. Why they did it I could not say. 



Of this tissue were our days made. At noon our 

 boys plucked us each two or three banana leaves 

 which they spread down for us to lie on. Then we 

 dozed through the hot hours in great comfort, oc- 

 casionally waking to blue sky through green trees, 

 or to peer idly into the tangled jungle. At two 

 o'clock or a little later we would arouse ourselves 

 reluctantly and move on. The safari we had dimly 

 heard passing us an hour before. In this country of 

 the direct track we did not attempt to accompany 

 our men. 



The end of the day's march found us in a little 

 clearing where we could pitch camp. Generally this 

 was atop a ridge, so that the boys had some dis- 

 tance to carry water; but that disadvantage was out- 

 weighed by the cleared space. Sometimes we 

 found ourselves hemmed in by a wall of jungle. 

 Again we enjoyed a broad outlook. One such in 

 especial took in the magnificent, splintered, snow- 

 capped peak of Kenia on the right, a tremendous 

 gorge and rolling forested mountains straight ahead, 

 and a great drop to a plain with other and distant 



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