WE DIG IN 41 



Finally they came so close to the shore under us 

 that we could have pitched pebbles on their backs. 

 Then suddenly they either caught our scent or 

 smelt the fire, for they made a charge up the trail 

 leading towards us and we began to shift in our 

 chairs. The three black shapes in those chairs must 

 have puzzled them, for they stopped midway in their 

 charge and turned back, disappearing without caus- 

 ing us further concern. 



To the reader's natural query as to how we kept our 

 peace of mind at nights with so many wild animals 

 around I can say that we made it routine for the boys 

 to bring in dry wood at the end of each day for our 

 night fires against our wild neighbors. 



Osa was responsible for starting this routine. 

 During one of our first nights, when we were still in 

 tents, a rhino came right alongside the one in which 

 Osa and I were asleep. Probably he got very close 

 before he saw the white ghostly mass in the darkness. 

 He snorted loudly, whirled, pawed up the groimd, ran 

 away a short distance ; whirled again and snorted and 

 then ran off into the forest. Osa was frankly scared 

 stiff, and I didn't blame her. She dislikes rhino 

 more than any other animal, and she said she had 

 been dreaming about one of them when she was 

 awakened by the first snort. She gave me a good 

 scolding for letting the fire go out. Then she took 

 the law temporarily into her own hands to call Biik- 



