BRITISH EAST AFRICA 217 



a wonderful history in the geological pages of 

 Nature; and though Longonot and the other 

 eminences in the trough have ceased to spit forth 

 fire and ashes, even to-day the valley sometimes 

 exhibits phenomena such as local shrinkage and 

 upheaval, which have perplexed such men of 

 learning as have had occasion to visit there. 



That afternoon I strolled a few yards away 

 from the camp with Elmi. Espying a herd of 

 " Tommies " feeding on the plain, we made a 

 wide detour, and, creeping up behind some rocks, 

 I saw the stately little gazelles feeding peacefully 

 in front of me. I singled out a doe that carried 

 quite a remarkable pair of horns for a female. 

 It was an easy shot, and the antelope fell over 

 stone dead. 



It was cold and barely light the next morning 

 when we left our blankets and trudged to beyond 

 the water-hole, where a kill had been laid below 

 the rugged rocks. As we neared the brow of 

 the rise we crept down, for the morning light 

 was beginning to flood the plain, and it was 

 necessary to approach with extreme caution. 

 Cabara, one of the Somali gun-bearers, with his 

 usual excitability, suddenly jumped up, and in 

 a hoarse whisper that could have been heard 

 a mile away, said something about " lions." 

 The two other Somalis shouted " Shoot ! Shoot ! " 

 and thrust my rifle into my hands. Yes, there 

 was certainly something at the zebra, but already 

 the animal was toddling away as fast as his 

 night's gorge would allow. And then just as 

 Cabara and Elmi together muttered " Fire ! " 

 in a tone of colossal disgust, I perceived that the 

 marauder was nothing more than a scavenging 

 hyaena. Many and many a time have I been 

 disappointed in this way. In the early morning 



