IN THE KANAKA JUNGLES 67 



up to me once or twice, but took no notice of me. I 

 felt quite sure he was mad. He tore along and got 

 on my bed, a thing he never did, would not come off 

 and lay and rolled about. I asked Sadu and the 

 others about him and they said they could not 

 understand it, he had been like that for an hour or 

 more. 



I wondered if I ought to shoot him. Shoot Mm ! 

 my brown Bumps ! I thought of the gun and a 

 No. 6 cartridge and the wound there would have to 

 be in his velvet head. Yet for the good of every 

 one I supposed I ought to do it. 



I couldn't bring myself to it, so chained him up 

 in my tent and let him lie on the lower shelf of my 

 clothes stand, where he was rather quieter, while I 

 dined and thought about it. 



Sadu was acting cook as well as doing his other 

 duties as boy; he was not a " blue ribbon " chef, 

 and I noted in my diary : " Funny dinner, hoping 

 for better things but he means well." 



I determined to let matters be till the morning, 

 undressed to go to bed, pulled off my stockings and 

 then I knew ! Colonies of little black ants, streets 

 of them, were racing over my feet and up my legs, 

 sticking their horrid sharp little nippers in. Oh, 

 my feet 1 and oh, my Bumps I whom I had so nearly 

 shot! 



Bumps was at once released and sent far away. 

 The servants came and we had the tent down and 

 straw was strewn about and burnt, leaving a large 

 ashy patch which soon cleared off all the ants. 



I changed my camp to Mundgod, a few miles off, 



