xii A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO 137 



After an early dinner, which Mabruki soon got 

 ready, I left my followers encamped in a safe 

 boma a mile away from the river, and started 

 out with Mahina to find a suitable tree, near a 

 hippo " run ", in which to spend the night. 

 Having some difficulty in finding a likely spot, 

 we crossed to the other side of the river 

 rather a risky thing to do on account of the 

 number of crocodiles in it : we found a fairly 

 shallow ford, however, and managed to get safely 

 over. Here, on what was evidently an island 

 during flood time, we found innumerable traces of 

 both hippo and rhino in fact the difficulty was 

 to decide which track was the best and freshest. 

 At length I picked out a tree close to the river 

 and commanding a stretch of sand which was all 

 flattened down and looked as if at least one hippo 

 rolled there regularly every night. 



As there was still about an hour before sundown, 

 we did not take up our station at once, but pro- 

 ceeded along the bank to see if any other game was 

 about. We had not gone very far when Mahina, 

 who was a little way ahead, signalled to me, and 

 on joining him I saw a splendid-looking water- 

 buck standing in a shallow pool of the river. It 

 was the first time I had seen one of these fine 

 antelope, and I was delighted with the sight. I 

 might have got twenty yards or so nearer, but 



