312 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO cu. xxvii 
state of excitement, and who started to explain 
in very bad Swahili how he had come across the 
dead eland. Misunderstanding what he said, I 
told my friend that Sabaki had found the eland 
which he had shot in the morning, and rejoiced 
heartily with him at this piece of good luck. On 
viewing the head, however, we could not under- 
stand it, as it was very much bigger than the 
one he had fired at; and it was not till later 
in the evening when I visited Landaalu, curled 
up at the camp fire, that the mystery was ex- 
plained. He greeted me by saying that after all 
we had not gone to Baringo for nothing the - 
previous day, and on my asking him what he 
meant he told me about the finding of the eland, 
taking it for granted that I knew it was mine. 
I quickly called up Sabaki and after some trouble 
got from him the whole story of how he had found 
the body close to my little hillock and near where 
my men were searching for it. So I broke the 
truth gently to my friend, who at once acknow- 
ledged my claim and congratulated me on my 
good fortune. 
How great this good fortune was [| did not 
know till long after; but even then, when I came 
to examine the head and skin carefully, I found 
that they both differed materially from those of ~ 
any other eland that I had ever seen. For one 
