138 WAR: A SCOUTS' PATROL 



with the prisoners. W.-S. drove the little wagon 

 (originally Kajimbo's), and the Major, wisely, 

 took a dozen spare oxen out of the mob we had 

 captured on the Okavango, to kill for beef on the 

 way, thus saving any delay to hunt game. The 

 balance of the captured cattle were left in Sic- 

 cumberro's charge. 



Owing to the scarceness of water it was necessary 

 to cut straight across on to the Lumuno, a branch 

 of the Luiyanna, and then run the latter down 

 again to the Quandoo. We had easy but un- 

 exciting times. Our commanding officer was 

 more a big brother to the party than anything 

 else, and literally shared his last biscuit amongst 

 his men. 



Being the interpreter, I often had a quiet chat 

 with the prisoners. They told me that their first 

 idea had been to break straight across Rhodesia 

 to German East, but on finding themselves watched 

 by British Scouts directly they hit the Okavango, 

 they became disheartened, and a good many of 

 them had returned to surrender to the Union 

 forces farther south. Of course, the Scouts were 

 pleased that these odd rebels and little parties of 

 Germans had tried to come through, because 

 we felt that it justified our existence out there. 

 Personally, too, I felt gratified that the warning 

 I had written in the previous December had 

 proved well grounded. 



For two months we were travelling before we 

 reached Livingstone, and handed over our nine 



