With Flashlight and Rifle -* 



stationed. So it does not seem at all unlikely that my 

 little incident was the beginning of this hostile move- 

 ment a movement as to which nobody can tell what 

 clay it may break out, or to what extent it may spread ! 



On the next day several Masai were perceived at a 

 good distance from the marching caravan ; they were 

 watching us, but after some shots from us they took 

 to flight. 



It is a proof of the cunning of the Masai Ol Morani 

 that precisely that night was chosen for the attack when 

 neither I nor my people could have expected any such 

 thing, since that part of the velt, being waterless, 

 could not be supposed to contain human beings. At 

 any rate we had the most narrow escape from suffering 

 the same fate that the massacred caravan had suffered 

 the year before. And our luck in escaping was the 

 more extraordinary in that it was a pitch-dark night, 

 which gave the spear-armed Ol Morani a great advantage 

 at close quarters with our scanty firearms. 



In some cases known to me the Masai had always 

 tried to drive off the cattle quite noiselessly, and in this 

 they showed astonishing cleverness. It was on the first 

 hint of resistance that they had made use of their spears, 

 and had struck down all living creatures instantly. Only 

 my quite extraordinarily quick and successful alarm could 

 have saved us ; and so I stick to my system of always 

 sleeping surrounded by repeating rifles and Mauser pistols, 

 ready for use at a moment's notice. From that time 

 forward I was, of course, even more cautious than before, 

 and a greater number of Mauser rifles begged for from 



694 



