268 THROUGH MAS AIL AND TO THE BORDERS OF KIKUYU 



halt. As usual I was with, the rear-guard, and was wondering 

 what could be the matter when three men came running up, 

 shouting that two rhinoceroses barred the way, and though the 

 Koma or caravan flag had been unfurled in their faces they 

 would not budge. I hastened to the front, and came upon a 

 most interesting spectacle. There, directly in the path, stood 

 the two huge beasts perfectly motionless, gazing at the caravan 

 with their meek little eyes, looking like two Cerberi forbidding 

 the passage. Opposite to them, at a distance of some three 

 hundred paces, were all the men, one of them wildly waving 

 the flag. This was no new situation to me, and fearing that 

 one of the rhinoceroses might charge, I got into the right 

 position without delay and fired at the shoulder of the nearest 

 to me. The animal gave one groan only and fell to the ground, 

 whilst his companion, taking absolutely no notice of the shot, 

 remained stock still. I fired again almost immediately, and to 

 my astonishment the second rhinoceros fell at once, a result I 

 did not expect, as I used the small light 500 Express rifle. 

 The delight of the men, who had watched the whole thing, 

 knew no bounds, and some Masai who had joined the caravan 

 were beyond measure astonished. They seized my hand again 

 and again, spitting lavishly upon it, and murmuring their Ngai 

 (God), which is their way of expressing wonder at anything 

 unusual or incomprehensible. 



Soon after this we camped. It is never possible to do much 

 trading directly after arrival at a new camp, the natives being 

 too much occupied in satisfying their curiosity and arranging 

 about their hongo to care to fetch the cattle from their distant 

 kraals, and as our donkeys needed rest and good fodder, which 

 had been scarce the day before, we decided to halt another 

 day. 



The Besil stream by which we were camped rose a few 

 hundred paces higher up at the foot of the Mellevo, flowed a 



