THE SHAKI 199 



arrangement, and so save the fatigue of riding, for 

 that night Mrs Talbot was stung by a scorpion, which 

 caused her such anguish that she fainted away. The 

 wound was in her arm, which swelled up ; it con- 

 tinued to pain her for several days, and for the first 

 few hours it seemed unendurable. One of our French 

 friends, who had previously described to us a similar 

 accident to himself, said it was the worst pain he had 

 ever known, and that if he had not been a man he 

 should have cried. 



After leaving Gulfei we spent two nights upon the 

 way to Mani, getting exercise and dinner alike by 

 short hunts for gazelle and boar, while the boys pitched 

 camp. On one occasion we attempted to walk during 

 the business hours of the day, those devoted to solid 

 progress, and we got out on to the bank and told the 

 canoes to proceed, for we would rejoin them lower 

 down. For the first hundred yards we congratulated 

 ourselves on our enterprise, for sitting cooped up in a 

 canoe was tedious, and a walk was pleasant, but soon 

 we were confronted by a tangle of bush that looked 

 more penetrable than it was. We tried skirting it, but 

 after a short while our progress was again barred, and 

 we were forced to retrace our steps as best we might to 

 the shore. By the time we got back the canoes were 

 almost out of sight. We pulled oif our shoes and 

 stockings and waded out beyond the bushes, but 

 presently the bank shelved steeply, and we did not 

 care to take any risks amongst the huge Shari 

 crocodiles ; so we retreated once more, and fired the 

 rifle to summon succour. It was very ignominious, 

 and we felt crestfallen indeed when the polers reached 

 us and we re-embarked. 



