xnr A DAY ON THE N’?DUNGU ESCARPMENT 149 
easy matter to say in which direction the Sabaki lay. 
First I consulted my Wa Kamba followers as to the 
route back; they simply shook their heads. Then 
I asked Mahina, who pointed out a direction exactly 
opposite to that which I felt confident was the right 
one. Mabruki, of course, knew nothing, but volun- 
teered the helpful and cheering information that 
we were lost and would all be killed by lions. 
In these circumstances, I confirmed my own idea 
as to our way by comparing my watch and the 
can, and gave the order to starti-at-once, For 
two solid hours, however, we trudged along in 
the fearful heat without striking a single familiar 
object or landmark. Mabruki murmured loudly ; 
even Mahina expressed grave doubts as to whether 
the “Sahib” had taken the right direction ; only 
the Wa Kamba stalked along in re-assuring silence. 
For some time we had been following a broad 
white rhino path, and the great footmarks of one 
of these beasts were fresh and plainly visible in 
the dust. He had been travelling in the opposite 
direction to us, and I felt sure that he must have 
been returning from drinking in the river. | 
accordingly insisted on our keeping to this path, 
and very soon, to my great relief, we found that we 
were at the edge of the escarpment, a couple of 
miles away from the place where we had made the 
ascent. Here a halt was called; a sheet was spread 
