THE LAST PHASE 243 



away, we went as far as the usual clearing around 

 the boma, reaching this just at dark. We decided 

 to camp quietly in the bush for the night, and at 

 dawn work round to where the bush came nearest 

 to the buildings, and then it all was clear to go in 

 and see what was to be found. At dawn next 

 morning, full of hope as to what we might find in 

 our ally's abandoned post, we approached the 

 edge of the bush surrounding it, when, to our utter 

 disgust, we suddenly noticed little tongues of flame 

 leaping simultaneously from every corner of the 

 various buildings. The askaris and myself re- 

 garded each other with blank faces, " Madachi I " 

 (Germans). We had been beaten on the post ; 

 four whites and about thirty or forty askaris of 

 the enemy, evidently encamped, like ourselves, 

 somewhere close to the boma, had entered it in 

 the early morning. 



After sending back two of my askaris with a 

 note to the column, which I guessed was only 

 about a day away to the north, and thinking this 

 might prove to be just the advance party of the 

 whole of the enemy's force, there was nothing else 

 to be done but to retire a little way into the bush 

 and await further developments. I quote an 

 entry in my notebook for that day : 



10 a.m : Germans burning my boma. 



Supplies : One tin of bully beef and mohogo ; 

 no fat ; no letters for three months, and shirt 

 as usual under strong suspicions. 



