198 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 



pleased. So I will just state that this one sang. I 

 need not say how. It is rude to look a gift horse in 

 the mouth, and this was a free entertainment. The 

 warbler continued his romance and paean in various 

 tones for a long time when, suddenly, at a more screech- 

 ing note than usual, every man left the line and galloped 

 frantically about the sand, never knocking into each 

 other, throwing spears with all their force here, there, 

 and everywhere, to catch them up again as the ponies 

 dashed past. The pace grew hotter, and presently 

 each rider was enveloped in a cloud of dust, and we 

 could only see the energetic frantic forms through a 

 maze of sand. It reached us and set us coughing. 

 The riders seemed almost to lift the ponies by the grip 

 of the knees and the balance seemed perfect, and the 

 greatest surprise was that something other than the 

 ground was not jabbed by the flying spears. Some 

 good throwers could attain a distance of about seventy 

 to eighty yards. 



They all careered about like possessed creatures in 

 a turmoil of tossed up sand and wild excitement, 

 when, at a signal may be, but I saw none, back the 

 whole lot raced, straight like an arrow from a bow, 

 so swiftly, I thought we should be ridden over. But 

 of course we had to sit tight, and pretend we were not 

 in fear and trembling about the issue of so furious a 

 charge. The poor ponies were reined in at our very 

 feet so jerkily and cruelly that the blood started 

 from the overstrained corners of their mouths. Then 

 crowding around us, jostling and pushing each other, 

 the animals gasped and panted their hearts out. I 



