44 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 



use. Every extraordinary feature of wild life seems to 

 me to be there for some reason of protection, or 

 escape, or well being. Dear Nature arranges things so 

 to balance accounts a little 'twixt all the jungle folk. 

 In the Speke fraternity there is more equality of the 

 sexes. The does as well as the bucks carry horns. At 

 first I pretended to Cecily that my expedition had been 

 an humiliatingi and embarrassing failure, that I had 

 signally missed a shot at a gereniik that would have 

 delighted the heart of a baby in arms. But she caught 

 sight of my trophy impaled on a thorn bush, and 

 dashed over to see it instanter. 



About this time we were very much amused to dis- 

 cover we had among our shikaris a veritable Baron 

 Munchausen. Of whatever he told us, the contrary 

 was the fact. If he brought news of splendid 

 " khubbah," there was no game for miles. If we went 

 spooring, he spoored to the extent of romancing about 

 beasts that could not possibly frequent the region we 

 were in at all. I do not mind a few fibs ; in fact, I 

 rather like them. 



" A taste exact for faultless fact 

 Amounts to a disease," 



and argues such a hopeless want of imagination. 

 But this man was too much altogether. Of course he 

 may have had a somewhat perverted sense of humour. 



My uncle had warned me I should find all Somalis 

 frightful liars, and to be prepared for it. Personally, 

 I always like to assume that every man is a Washing- 

 ton until I have proved him to be an Ananias. 



We saw — in the distance — numerous aoul, Scemmer- 



