HARD TIMES 213 



prisoner, one of the 17th Company askaris, and a 

 very useful capture he proved from an Intelligence 

 point of view. This affair is a good example of 

 the u ups and downs " of a scout's life. At 7 a.m., 

 monarch of all one surveys in one's own little 

 camp ; at 7.15 a.m. tearing through the bush like 

 a fugitive from justice, and wondering if one will 

 be lucky enough to get some ugare (native porridge) 

 by evening. 



The principal native against us was a certain 

 Jumbe Nabom, who, from his village about twenty 

 miles away, had personally led the enemy into 

 our camp. We " reorganised " back in the bush 

 for a few days, i.e. got together some loads of rice 

 and other native food, and I started housekeeping 

 afresh with an earthenware pot, two native grass 

 mats, and a calabash of honey. Then, after 

 sending half a dozen sick or sorry askaris back to 

 Muiriti with the prisoner, we set off south again 

 through the bush, with an unwilling but well- 

 watched Shensi guide, to see if we could not 

 return our friend Nabom's visit, and with the 

 full inclination of hanging him in his own village if 

 he was at home. Finding signs of a German 

 picket there, however, and my men being still a 

 bit scared over the last business, I thought it 

 better to postpone the visit for a more suitable 

 occasion. 



We then worked round the enemy's district, 

 and found the natives decidedly unfriendly. It 

 rained heavily, and in nine days' time, not far from 



