RETURN OF CARAVAN FROM BERBERA 
125 
Being very much put out at losing the oryx, and know- 
ing there were more about, I perhaps rather imprudently 
sallied forth again about 4 p.m. The sun was very trying 
to my eyes, and I was thinking of returning, as I rode 
along with my eyes shut, when the eagle eye of my syce 
spotted a herd of oryx near some bushes, a long way out 
on the plain. Getting him to lead the pony towards them, 
I shut my eyes, to save them for the shot. We were 
obliged to remain behind some bushes several minutes, to 
allow some ‘ owl ’ gazelle to pass. On proceeding, my 
shikari suddenly shouted, ^ Come down from the horse T 
and after crawling through some bushes exclaimed, ‘ There !’ 
I opened my eyes, but could see nothing. I blew my 
nose : still I saw no game. Everything seemed to wobble 
in the hot sun. At last I made out an indistinct form in 
the haze, and, straining my eyes to the utmost, fired at it, 
after which I could hear nothing but, ‘Well done, sare I 
your bullets is good, your bundook is good,’ and a great 
rumbling of hoofs, as the herd galloped off. Thoroughly 
pleased with my blind shot, I went and hid my aching eyes 
in the middle of a thick thorn-bush, out of the hateful glare 
of the merciless sun. On opening them half an hour after- 
wards, I was delighted to find I could see much better, and 
rode home with the oryx horns tied on the back of my saddle, 
and sticking into my back at every step, in the best of spirits. 
During the morning I saw a koodoo, wdth fine horns, in 
the thick bush by the edge of the plain, and stalked an 
ostrich out in the open, without success. 
When we were all in camp in the afternoon, we heard a 
shot fired a long way to the north of us. Fearing it was 
Abyssinians, I sent out a scou ting-party, which soon returned 
with the caravan of four camels I had sent to Berbera a 
month ago for fresh supplies of food. The men came in 
and pressed my hand, saying : ‘ Salaam, sahib.’ They 
brought me a whole budget of letters from Europe, Asia, 
Africa, and America. I got my hair cut by the cook, who 
had improvised a comb of porcupine quills he had picked 
