CHAPTER IX 
DEATH OF “ THE BARON ” 
My very friend has got his mortal hurt 
In my behalf, my reputation stain’d 
? Romeo and Juliet 
A piteous corse, a bloody piteous corse. 
Pale, pale as ashes, all bedaubed in blood, 
All in gore blood 
Romeo and Juliet 
Very often we made detours from the main caravan, 
rejoining it at a given spot, and this spirit of “ wander- 
lust ” brought us into a nice quandary one fine day. 
Going by the map and guided by the compass, Clarence 
was to arrive with the whole outfit at a precise place 
by nightfall, and we two, tired of the two-and-a-half 
miles an hour pace, did an excursion on sport intent, 
taking our own way to meet the caravan. We, with 
three hunters on the ever-willing ponies, left camp 
early, and going easily soon put a good distance 
between ourselves and the slow-coach camels. Dik- 
dik popped up everywhere, but ’twas no use disturbing 
the jungle for such small game. Water-holes next 
loomed ahead, and into the mud the Somalis precipi- 
tated themselves to drink and dabble. It was really 
not fit to swallow, and sudden death would seem to be 
the probable result. Not at all ! It gave a sudden 
