202 Wanderings in Eastern Africa. 
fire, and peering into the darkness beyond. I made out 
the dark forms of several men. They seemed excited 
and were speaking. " Hirebaya ! I heard one of them 
say in an anxious undertone : " is Hirebaya here } " 
" Hirebaya is not here," was the reply, but Dado is." 
The men strode over the thorn bushes in their way, 
and went towards the hut in which the Gallas were. 
I lay down and again dosed, but awaking almost im- 
mediately, I heard my companion say, " I say. New, 
what shall we do 1 Some Gallas have just arrived 
* with the intelligence that the Masai are at Kurawa 
and will soon be here. Aba Rufat says we must 
fly." 
"Well," I returned, "this is awkward. But the 
Masai won't touch us, so why should we run ? Let's 
wait until the morning." 
''Aye," v/as his response, "why not? we have no- 
thing to fear," 
Then came second thoughts, Buiya had gene ; 
Boiji had gone ; Abajila, our interpreter, had gone; 
Aba Rufat, of all our Gallas, alone remained. The 
strange Gallas who were with us would of course 
fly. Wuledi, our best man, and who alone of our own 
men could speak a little Masai, was also away. Our 
porters were for the most part young and inexperi- 
enced, and were not to be depended upon in the 
least. What could we do with such a staff as we had 
in a strange country, and no one able even to speak 
with the enemy who was at our heels. No ; all things 
considered, we thought it better that we should retreat 
with the rest. 
While we were yet undecided Aba Rufat came 
shouting, ''Dunga ! Dunga ! Ibida bobes ! Ibida 
