VOYAGE UP WHITE NILE 73 



A MISADVENTURE. 



During one of those delightful days in the forests of 

 Kordofan, a disagreeable misadventure befell. After a 

 six-hours' ramble among wild beasts and birds, I had 

 returned to the ship about noon, and while having a bath, 

 observed through the open scuttle a curious spectacle. A 

 big tree on the east bank was crowded with monkeys, 

 obviously in a state of great excitement, and performing 

 extraordinary acrobatic evolutions. Many kept leaping 

 from branch to branch ; others scampered and climbed 

 to the outermost boughs, from whence they jumped into 

 the scrub far beneath. On bringing the glass to bear, 

 I perceived two other monkeys, much larger, sitting 

 together, huddled up against the main trunk. At once I 

 sent word to the rats to close with the bank, in order to 

 investigate this phenomenon, meanwhile taking careful 

 marks and bearings. By the time I was ready, the Isis 

 was berthed alongshore, but a full mile beyond the spot. 

 That mile I proceeded to walk back. The sun-heat at 

 high noon was something unspeakable, though the wild- 

 life around made some amend. When close up to my 

 marks, suddenly a few bees seemed to become aggressive, 

 buzzing angrily under my helmet. At first I thought 

 nothing about this but, a second later, felt myself stung 

 stung badly again and again, on face and ears, then on 

 wrist and arms, soon all over. Clearly the attack was 

 serious ; so I cleared the trees and plunged into the jungle 

 of deep cane-grass that lay inland, thinking therein to 

 escape the enemy. In vain! By now, many thousands 

 of bees had joined in the assault and the swarms increased 

 momentarily, stinging hundreds to the minute, and 

 particularly at the more tender points such as eyelids 

 and brows, nostrils, in and behind ears, as well as on arms 

 and chest (my shirt being, as usual, open). Through 

 unyielding cane-jungle I rushed away in a sort of frenzy, 



