THE MEN ATTACKED BY BEES 



45 



it was not until Count Teleki had been gone some time that I 

 was able to follow him with my troop of men. I hastened on 

 as fast as the increasing density of the vegetation on the route 

 would allow, and we had been scarcely an hour on the road 

 when we came up with the rest of the caravan. We were 

 astonished at this speedy reunion, but had scarcely had time 

 to express our surprise before we were overwhelmed with 

 dismay at the condition in which we found the whole party. 

 Bearers and loads lay about the ground in hopeless confusion, 

 the men quite motionless, with faces buried in the grass, whilst 

 here and there a donkey, trembling convulsively in every limb 

 and panting for breath, stamped about, every now and then 

 kicking out wildly. Perfect silence reigned in the woods 

 around till Maktubu and Chuma, both completely covered 

 with bees, and with a swarm of the same insects closely pursuing 

 them, rushed toward us. The mystery was solved, and we 

 lost not an instant in flying to the rescue of the poor fellows, 

 beating off the insects with clothes and cloths. It took a long 

 time to drive off the ever-fresh swarms, which settled again 

 on the victims without, strange to say, attacking us ; but we 

 succeeded at last. It was more difficult to deal with the other 

 poor fellows who had been stung, and whose heads and faces 

 were so fearfully swollen that their eyes could scarcely be seen 

 at all. We rubbed the sores with ammonia liniment to the 

 accompaniment of cries of pain, and although at first the 

 adventure had rather amused us, we soon changed our minds 

 when we saw what fearful suffering had been inflicted, deciding 

 to remain as quiet as possible in the wood till the bees were 

 dispersed. Then I tried to persuade the men to resume the 

 march ; but I spoke to deaf ears, they were all still in too much 

 pain and terror, and it was not until the news arrived that 

 Count Teleki was encamped only ten minutes' march farther 

 on, in the village of Leva, that they began to move forwards. 



