420 



ACROSS LEIKIPIA 



the eye could reach. A dreary scene, in which we sought in 

 vain for any trace of the river, which must, it seemed, flow 

 eastward after all. Annoyed with myself for having listened 

 to Juma Mussa, I now decided to take a northerly direction, 

 thinking that perhaps we should find the river again at the 

 base of the plateau. So off we hurried over the sandy steppe, 

 I much troubled in my mind as to whether we should find any 

 water in this dreary wilderness. Presently, however, a well- 

 trodden animal track cut across our path leading in an easterly 

 direction. Guessing that it would take us to water we turned into 

 it, passing a quite fresh lion-spoor, which stopped at a thicket 

 through which we had to pass. Much to Juma Mussa's relief 

 I led the way now, hoping to get a shot at the lion, but I did 

 not see it after all. We came to the skeleton of a young male 

 elephant with the tusks still in the head, but Juma was so upset 

 by his terror of the unseen lion that he would have passed the 

 tusks if I had not called to him to take them out. 'What 

 tusks ? ' was his only answer when I spoke to him. 



The path got worse and worse, bending very soon in an 

 easterly, then in a south-easterly direction, maintaining the 

 latter till, to our great delight, after we had struggled over 

 ground torn up by big herds of buffaloes and elephants, it led 

 to the much longed-for river. 



We were all very tired and out of heart at having made so 

 little progress after such strenuous efforts. We had nearly 

 exhausted our food, having only brought enough with us for 

 seven days, and as we could not rely on getting game in the 

 unknown districts between us and Lake Lorian, we were obliged 

 after all to give up hope of finding that sheet of water on this 

 trip. So I made up my mind to camp here, give the men a 

 well-earned day's rest, and then go back. I thought I could 

 go alone to some point of vantage and get a notion of the 

 further course of the stream. 



