190 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



feet high. The bed was narrow and formed of sandy 

 pools, with rocks dividing them, along which the 

 water ran at about i^ miles an hour. How grateful 

 to the ear was the gurgling noise. Trees interlaced 

 their branches over the stream. Forest, glade, and 

 brake covered both banks. The tough grass growing 

 in tufts instead of turf, which one never sees, rather 

 spoilt the sylvan simplicity of the place. 



This had been a very poor day's march. In the 

 middle of the afternoon I wounded a roan antelope. 

 It was a few yards off and rather tail on to me, and I 

 made the unpardonable mistake of not making sure of 

 my shot. I followed it for some distance, and then 

 sent my orderly, my only companion, as I now had 

 no guide, back to show the rest of the party the 

 new direction. I soon, however, lost the tracks of 

 my quarry, and after making a few casts suddenly 

 realised that I had lost myself. 



Naturally the moment I realised this I began to 

 feel thirsty, so plucking an armful of leaves, not 

 unlike those of a chestnut tree, and dropping them 

 every yard or so to show me the way back, I followed 

 the slope of the ground, and in a couple of miles 

 found a muddy patch, and greedily drank the, to 

 me, lovely fluid contained in elephant tracks. 



I retraced my steps, and seeing that I had spoken 

 of a long march, and concluding that Tibsherani 

 Eff. would not think of sending to look for me till 

 nightfall, I determined, with the aid of my compass, 

 to march due north to the Wau-Dem Zubeir road, 

 which I should reach in about three days. My 



