386 



OUR STAY AT NDORO 



we were startled by the cry of some bird, which we took for 

 the sound of a gun, or the croak of a frog, making us think the 

 charge would be from the direction of the swamp. But we 

 waited in vain ; nothing happened, and we began to think it 

 had been a false alarm after all ; that the warriors were Masai 

 about to make a raid on the Wakikuyu. Again, however, 

 something convinced us that we were ourselves in peril ; we 

 hugged our weapons yet more closely, and peered yet more 

 earnestly into the darkness. Heaven too, on which we had 

 relied as our best helper, seemed about to fail us, for the 

 full moon was hidden by clouds, and a heavy rain began 

 to fall. 



The time dragged slowly on, and I felt it was no use 

 spending the whole night staring into the gloom, so I returned 

 to my tent to finish up the cold remains of my interrupted 

 repast. Then I paced slowly round the silent and deserted 

 camp, mentally reviewing all that had occurred, now laughing 

 at myself for being so easily alarmed, telling myself that most 

 likely I had taken a herd of buffaloes for an armed force, now 

 thinking that I had underrated the danger which threatened 

 us. At midnight I decided to let half the men go to rest, 

 whilst the other half kept watch. Tired out, I then flung my- 

 self upon my bed, and lulled by the monotonous cries of the 

 guards and the perpetual drip, drip of the rain, I was soon 

 sound asleep. The night had passed over quietly, and the only 

 token of the past alarms was the reiterated cry of 6 Heheu ' 

 from the sentinels. Qualla came to greet me with 6 All right, 

 not an enemy in sight,' and I, feeling sure that we had been 

 victims of an illusion, merely replied by asking him to go out 

 and look at the tracks left by the disturbers of our rest. Qualla, 

 Kharscho, and Ali Mahommed shouldered their guns and went 

 off for Kenia through the early morning fog. 



November 2 passed over quietly but without the promised 



