326 Wanderings in Eastern Africa. 
knew Krafo and Rebmani, he having visited those 
gentlemen at the Church Mission station at Rabai. 
The old man was still alive, though too old and feeble 
to venture down the rock. He had sent me his re- 
spects. Ngamira himself was an old man, so I 
could readily believe that his father was ^^well stricken 
in years.'' Wishful to ascend the mount, I asked 
Ngamira if he would conduct me to his father. He 
readily consented to do so, but warned me that climb- 
ing the rock was no child's play. However, I bade 
him lead the way. Beram, Kiringe, and Mvaya 
accompanied me. Notwithstanding Ngamira's warn- 
ing, I had no idea of the task which was before us. We 
commenced climbing — literally climbing — at once. 
After several times stopping to take breath, we met 
Mauya's son on his way down to visit me. I sug- 
gested his returning with me, but he shook his head. 
"Too far," he replied. ''I will go down and wait for 
you below.'' It was wonderful with what comparative 
ease Ngamira, though grey and wrinkled with age, 
made his way up the almost perpendicular path. 
A girl of fourteen, who was with him, leapt from 
rock to rock on her toes, with the light, springy 
bounding of a young roe. I did as I could. My 
attendants got on with an immense deal of puffing 
and blowing. Excelsior! up! up! up! 
" See the bold youth strain up the threatening steep ! 
This is poetry, but the straining up ^' was hard 
prose to us. In an hour and a half we stood upon 
the south-west shoulder of the mountain, its central 
woody heights seeming as high above us as ever. A 
little way down on the other side we found the hut 
of Katumu. Several villages had been passed on our 
