340 Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
he looked so scared when I determined to remain at 
Matate. 
I gave orders for a strict watch to be kept during 
the night ; for at best we were in a savage land, and 
were liable to be attacked any moment by parties not 
so civil as our visitors of the afternoon. 
We left Matate on the morning of the 27th, soon 
after the sun had risen, and Muachania and his com- 
panion took their leave of us. They had been paid 
their dues over-night, and were perfectly satisfied. 
They pointed out the path to our guide with great 
care, then snatching up a little grass, and retaining 
hold of it, they gave us their hands, and wished us 
" Good-bye." 
We had not gone far before we were brought up by 
the chattering of birds. The guide stood and listened. 
He did not tell us what he heard from the feathered 
tribe, but he at once altered his course. What ! were 
we to be controlled by birds 1 Had Sadi received a 
good or evil omen } In the fictitious account Ulysses 
gave of his departure from Alybas, the birds hovered 
on the right, and the sign filled him with hope ; but 
these birds of ours fluttered on the left ! I warned the 
guide to take no notice of the " niuni ^' (birds), but he 
looked scared, and went more than ever astray. The 
upshot was that we got into difficulties. From the 
first we had not only had " no wheels' smooth beaten 
road,'' but absolutely no path, and had had to push our 
way as best we could through the rank grass, which, 
as may well be supposed, was most wearisome work. 
The pitfalls, with their accompanying thorn hedges, 
which encircled the mountain ; broad, deep trenches, 
stretching down the mountain side at every few 
