226 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
news he brought that Lesiat’s party had killed one or two 
elephants in the mountain forest ; however, he seemed confident 
there would still be some about. The weather was much drier 
and consequently more favourable for visiting the high 
“ subugo ” than when I had been here the year before, for now 
it seldom rained even on the range. Another Ndorobo friend 
of mine, the head of the community who had been to El Gereh 
with me and feasted on my elephants there, also came to see 
me, and said he had a small tusk he wished to give me. Of 
course such gifts entail return presents, and are really often 
more costly in this way than if bought; so that my general 
motto with most natives is “ timeo Danaos et dona ferentes ” ; 
but these people are not nearly so grasping and insatiable as 
the average African, and I do not grudge treating them 
liberally. 
On ist October Abdulla left for Mthara once more. I was 
still waiting for news about elephants, and thought it best not to 
go to the “ subugo ” till I had got some. My old friend 
Lesiat came to see me. He tried to conceal his success at the 
elephants this time, and declared that he, at all events, had only 
killed a very little one himself. He had brought me some most 
beautiful honeycomb, as white as snow almost, and the honey 
as clear as crystal. As usual he stayed all night in my camp, 
where he knew he always got a hearty welcome and a hearty 
feed. But when in the evening, after I had done my dinner, 
he came to sit by the log fire in front of my tent to have our 
customary chat, with Squareface as interpreter, I noticed that 
there was a certain unwonted constraint in his manner. He 
seemed to think he had not treated me quite well in scaring 
the elephants while I was away, for he knew I had taken 
particular pains to let him know when I killed mine : and I, 
on my part, pretended to be angry with him. But the fact 
was, he had been too lazy to go as far as El Gereh, which was 
beyond his beat, and yet he did not like my going without 
him. He declared he had no news of elephants anywhere 
