138 PINK AND SCARLET 



women had passed this way, coming from a dis- 

 tance of ten miles back, going towards the Matopos, 

 and carrying beer (for they carry beer in pots, 

 on their heads, the mouth of the pot being stop- 

 pered with a bunch of leaves). They had passed 

 this spot at about four o'clock that morning, be- 

 cause at that hour there had been a strong wind 

 blowing, such as would carry the leaf some yards off 

 their track, as we had found it. They would have 

 probably taken another hour to reach the Mato- 

 pos, and the men for whom they were bringing 

 the refreshment would, in all probability, start work 

 on it at once, while the beer was yet fresh. So that 

 if we now went on following this spoor up to the 

 stronghold we should probably find the men in too 

 sleepy a state to take much notice of us, and we 

 could do our reconnaissance with comparative safety. 

 So you see there is a good deal of information to be 

 picked up from merely noticing two small objects, 

 such as crushed blades of grass and a single leaf, 

 and then reasoning out their meaning." 



And then Colonel Baden- Powell added — "And 

 these two habits of mind are what every man can 

 practise in peace-time." 



Exactly, and in what sport, or peace-time occu- 

 pation, will he have more opportunities of doing so 

 than when hunting ? 



We must stop, or may be accused of being too 

 long at the rendezvous — of having, in fact, miscal- 

 culated " time and pace "; besides, the Master is get- 

 ting on to his horse and they are going to move off 



