DEFEATED BY DROUGHT 



sick list, and could barely sit their horses. All the 

 animals were tired out as a result of the long, waterless 

 treks, and, moreover, it was a matter of urgent necessity 

 for me to get the films I had already taken developed. 

 So most reluctantly I gave up the idea for the present, 

 and, leaving the safari to recruit its strength at Kijabe, 

 I went down the line to Nairobi to do my developing 

 and see about procuring fresh supplies. 



Five days later I was back, to find that the dreaded 

 rains had not come, and that the rest, short though 

 it had been, had done all hands a great deal of good. 

 That same night we loaded up the wagons, one with 

 general stores, the other with the water tanks. At 

 the first streak of dawn, as soon as it was possible to 

 see the ground, we trekked out. There was no road 

 of any sort, not even a cart-spoor going out in the 

 direction we wanted to take ; but still, as the veldt 

 was more or less open, there was not a great amount 

 of chasing to be done. A lightly-laden bullock- wagon 

 can go almost anywhere, and what we were carrying 

 was very different from the one-thousand-pound weight 

 which is the transport-rider's " full load." 



The spot for which we were making was not exactly 

 an inspiring one. Locally it is known as the Black 

 Reef. It consists really of a ridge, some two hundred 

 feet high in places, formed by a stream of lava which 

 in long bygone days had run down from the crater of 

 Longonot Mountain. If the lion prefers a dreary home 



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