250 ELEPHANT-HUNTING [ch. x 
was clear, the stars shone brightly, and in the west the 
young moon hung just above the line of tall tree-tops. 
Fires were speedily kindled and the men sat around 
them, feasting and singing in a strange minor tone until 
late in the night. The flickering light left them at one 
moment in black obscurity, and the next brought into 
bold relief their sinewy, crouching figures, their dark 
faces, gleaming eyes, and flashing teeth. When they 
did sleep, two of the ’Ndorobo slept so close to the fire 
as to burn themselves—an accident to which they are 
prone, judging from the many scars of old burns on 
their legs. I toasted slices of elephant’s heart on a 
pronged stick before the fire, and found it delicious ; 
for I was hungry, and the night was cold. We talked 
of our success and exulted over it, and made our plans 
for the morrow; and then we turned in under our 
blankets for another night’s sleep. 
Next morning some of the ’Ndorobo went off on the 
trail of Cuninghame’s elephant to see if it had fallen, 
but found that it had travelled steadily, though its 
wounds were probably mortal. There was no object in 
my staying, for Heller and Cuninghame would be busy 
for the next ten days, and would ultimately have to use 
all the porters in taking off and curing the skin, and 
transporting it to Neri; so I made up my mind to go 
down to the plains for a hunt by myself. Taking one 
porter to carry my bedding, and with my gun-bearers, 
and a Dorobo as guide, I struck off through the forest 
for the main camp, reaching it early in the afternoon. 
Thence 1 bundled off a safari to Cuninghame and Heller 
with food for a week, and tents and clothing, and then 
enjoyed the luxury of a shave and a warm bath. Next 
day was spent in writing and making preparations for 
my own trip. A Kikuyu chief, clad in a cloak of hyrax 
