THE NATIVE EGG COLLECTORS 



" No, it was a woman right enough. Don't I know 

 a woman when I see one ? " 



" But mermaids which are half woman and half 

 fish are caught off the South African coast," I 

 persisted. " I saw one once in a New York Museum." 



He nodded slowly and seemed satisfied with that 

 explanation. We returned to his house for dinner, 

 where we discussed, among other things, the war in 

 German East Africa. 



" I have a boy here," he said, " who used to live in 

 German East Africa." 



" I should hke to see that boy," I said, so the boy 

 was brought to us. I greeted him in SwahiH, when he 

 nearly fell down. 



" Weren't you fighting for the Germans in East 

 Africa, and weren't you at Voy ? " I asked. 



" N deo, bwana (Yes, master)," he replied. 



" You were a prisoner at Voy, and sentenced to be 

 shot for spying ; and you escaped through a windov/ by 

 making a gap in the barbed wire, which tore your flesh." 



He grinned and repHed, " N deo." 



I remembered him among a batch of spies that had 

 been caught, some of whom I was ordered to shoot. 



After supper we walked down to the beach, 

 attracted by some fine singing in English. The native 

 egg collectors were rendering a number of popular 

 English songs by way of showing their happiness 

 over the fact that they were going back to Capetown. 



245 



