CHAPTER X 



THE LAST PHASE 



The German force had now broken south-west 

 towards Malema, crossing the Luiyanna and the 

 bigger Luli, and at first travelling fairly well 

 together. It was followed by Colonel Gifford's 

 column (K.A.R. 2nd Col.). My little party crossed 

 some miles lower than the enemy, and we could 

 get neither guides nor information from the ill- 

 conditioned inhabitants. 



Four days after crossing the river Luli we were 

 in wild and broken country apparently unpopu- 

 lated. There must have been a fair amount of 

 game in certain parts, though on account of the 

 long grass we seldom saw it. One morning, about 

 an hour before dawn, two or more lions came down 

 to drink at the little creek by the side of which 

 we had camped, perhaps eighty yards away. An 

 uneasy stirring and rustling in the camp, made by 

 the sleepers half-waking and turning in their 

 blankets preparatory for a final snooze, generally 

 betokens the approach of daybreak. 



Suddenly, with the roar of the lions, I could 

 feel the whole camp instinctively stiffen silently, 

 and I remembered the remark of an old Dutch 



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