16 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 



little palm hut which had been built by some pre- 

 vious traveller, and which was fortunately unoccupied 

 for the time being. It was rather broken-down and 

 dilapidated, not even possessing a door, and as I 

 lay on my narrow camp bed I could see the stars 

 twinkling through the roof. I little knew then 

 what adventures awaited me in this neighbour- 



o 



hood ; and if I had realised that at that very 

 time two savage brutes were prowling round, 

 seeking whom they might devour, I hardly think 

 I should have slept so peacefully in my rickety 

 shelter. 



Next morning I was up betimes, eager to make 

 acquaintance with my new surroundings. My first 

 impression on coming out of my hut was that I was 

 hemmed in on all sides by a dense growth of im- 

 penetrable jungle : and on scrambling to the top of 

 a little hill close at hand, I found that the whole 

 country as far as I could see was covered with low r , 

 stunted trees, thick undergrowth and " wait-a-bit " 

 thorns. The only clearing, indeed, appeared to be 

 where the narrow track for the railway had been cut. 

 This interminable nyika, or wilderness of whitish 

 and leafless dwarf trees, presented a ghastly and sun- 

 stricken appearance ; and here and there a ridge of 

 dark-red heat-blistered rock jutted out above the 

 jungle, and added by its rugged barrenness to the 

 dreariness of the picture. Away to the north-east 



