THE GUASO NYERO 331 



always amused and interested me; and this was especially 

 true on the afternoon in question. Soon after we had 

 started campward with the skin and meat of the oryx, 

 we encountered a succession of thunder-storms. The rain 

 came down in a deluge, so that the water stood ankle deep 

 on the flats, the lightning flashed continuously on every 

 side, and the terrific peals of thunder made one continuous 

 roll. At first it maddened my horse; but the uninter- 

 rupted blaze and roar, just because uninterrupted, ended by 

 making him feel that there was nothing to be done, and he 

 plodded stolidly forward through the driving storm. My 

 regular attendants accepted it with an entire philosophy, 

 which was finally copied by the Kikuyus, who at first felt 

 frightened. One of them had an old umbrella which he 

 shared with a crony. He himself was carrying the mara- 

 bou stork; his crony had long strips of raw oryx meat 

 wound in a swollen girdle about his waist; neither had 

 a stitch on save the blankets which were wrapped round 

 their throats; and they clasped each other in a tight 

 embrace as they walked along under the battered old 

 umbrella. 



In this desolate and lonely land the majesty of the 

 storms impressed on the beholder a sense of awe and 

 solemn exaltation. Tossing their crests, and riven by 

 lightning, they gathered in their wrath from every quarter 

 of the heavens, and darkness was before and under them; 

 then, in the lull of a moment, they might break apart, 

 while the sun turned the rain to silver and the rainbows 

 were set in the sky; but always they gathered again, men- 

 acing and mighty, for the promise of the bow was never 

 kept, and ever the clouds returned after the rain. Once 

 as I rode facing Kenia the clouds tore asunder, to right and 

 left, and the mountain towered between, while across its 

 base was flung a radiant arch. But almost at once the 

 many-colored glory was dimmed; for in splendor and 

 terror the storm strode in front, and shrouded all things 

 from sight in thunder-shattered sheets of rain. 



