VOYAGE UP WHITE NILE 75 



fellows! 1 The infuriated swarms followed all the way, 

 actually penetrating right into my bunk aboard ship. 

 Never have I suffered a more agonised hour. 



At once my faithful Arabs set to work with pliers, 

 extracting the thousands of "stings" from my flesh- 

 eyes, ears, hair, everywhere. Even from inside the 

 cavities of ears and nostrils were bees in person hauled 

 out. They seemed smaller than our British honey-bee 

 and had yellowish bodies, but I admit I gave them scant 

 attention. 



The first extraneous effect was an attack of violent 

 nausea, like sea-sickness, followed by colic. These, I 

 imagine, were kindly Nature's own remedies for the 

 expulsion of the terrible dose of blood-poisoning that had 

 filled my system ; but the first relief from actual pain I 

 owed to a bath of ammonia . . . but I leave those 

 sufferings unwritten. 



It was three hours ere Mahomed Maghazi returned, 

 badly stung, poor fellow. He had got his fire to burn 

 and lay behind its smoke in all that blazing, blistering 

 heat ; but he had rescued my rifle and helmet. 



Having faced elephants, lions, and all the dangerous 

 game, it seemed humiliating to be thus routed and put 

 clean out of action by humble honey-bees! 



The primary cause of all the trouble was doubtless 

 that those monkeys had been raiding the honey, and the 

 exasperated bees had wreaked a vicarious vengeance on an 

 innocent passer-by. A dear young friend (Freddy Selous) 

 suggested that the bees may have mistaken me for a 

 monkey! but that was distinctly unkind. 



I quote from my diary of the next day: "Thank 



1 I find the following note in my diary : " Such was the true kindness, 

 sympathy, and almost loving attention of my wild Arabs that I felt truly 

 sorry that I had lectured them somewhat mercilessly for their night's 

 truancy at El Duem a week or so before. They had, however, grossly 

 deceived me on that occasion. There is a strong strain of Ishmaelitish 

 guile in the Arab, and after all it is a duty to keep such tendencies 

 in check." 



