276 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 



last. The leader pinned him down, and that spear 

 was the couft-de-grdce. 



They said Cecily and I did very well for complete 

 novices at the sport, but I can't see that we did any- 

 thing but get in the way. It was all very exciting, 

 and we were no end done up by the time we made 

 camp again. Cecily's pony had a nasty gash as a 

 reminder of the fray. Ralph stitched it up most 

 scientifically. We were promised the tushes of the 

 boar, set up in some way, as a souvenir of the great 

 adventure. 



One late afternoon Cecily went off with Ralph and 

 Clarence for a final attempt on the life of a hartebeest, 

 while the leader and I peacefully collected butterflies, 

 or tried to, and paid a visit to the opposition camp to 

 see their trophies. All the skulls and skins were 

 inspected. They had a couple of Grevy's zebra, 

 having been to the Bun Feroli (Zebra Plain), after we 

 left them in the Ogaden, and a magnificent hippo 

 from near the Webbi. I felt very envious, but one 

 can't go everywhere. The zebra skins were most 

 exquisite, shining and silky, marked in great lines of 

 white and brown. The stripes varied very much in 

 the two skins, one having much narrower lines than 

 the other. Birds of many varieties the leader had 

 collected, snakes too, and all the lizards. Being full 

 of infinite variety he loved the coleoptera as much as 

 the flaunting glories of the lepidoptera, and it took us 

 a long time to go through it, for each treasure was 

 safely put away in its own box. We made for my 

 camp to find Ralph in the seventh heaven of delight 



