TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 161 



off the fearful ticks also. Our ponies were much 

 affected by them, and the camels, poor things, lived in 

 a chronic state of providing nourishment for the hate- 

 ful little insects, which grew and fattened by what 

 they fed on. Some of the antelopes we shot had these 

 ticks very badly too, and in one or two cases the skin 

 was marred thereby, being pitted with small pin-head 

 spots all over the even surface. 



There was now such an abundance of water we 

 decided to camp for a day and have a washing of our- 

 selves and our clothes. It was not clear water as we 

 use the word, but limpidly translucent compared to 

 most of the water holes we had struck lately. Game 

 was plentiful again, but very, very shy. 



We went out at dawn and saw spoor of many varie- 

 ties of game and rhino ; of the last a perfect maze of 

 tracks. I had privately no intention, however I may 

 have play-acted to Cecily with a view of keeping up 

 appearances, of being in at another battue ; but Fate, 

 that tricksy dame, ordained otherwise. As we were 

 spooring for leopard, and hard on him, we suddenly 

 came on a vast rhino calmly lying down by a patch of 

 guda thorn. The idea of another fracas with an in- 

 furiated animal of the genus was too much for me, 

 and I shamelessly turned on my heel, taking the 

 precaution, however, to grab my rifle from my hunter 

 as I passed him. 



I put myself behind a little adad tree, and turned to 

 see what was going on. The great lumbering bulk 

 stood up, winded us, saw us too, I should think, and 

 sniffed the air. There was very poor cover imme- 



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