XXI WILD MAN OF THE GOLAMBEPO MOUNTAINS 209 
it had been a man, but now all human intelli¬ 
gence seemed to have departed from the eyes, and 
left behind only the quick, furtive glance of the 
wild animal. His hair and beard were long, grey, 
and unkempt; his face haggard, weather-beaten and 
deeply lined ; his form gaunt and wizened with age 
and privation. Clothes he had completely dis¬ 
pensed with, and there was in his attitude and de¬ 
meanour that timorous shrinking from contact with 
man so characteristic of wild nature. Altogether, he 
was an object of pity, the deeper on account of its 
hopelessness—this creature that had once been like 
others of his kind! 
I questioned my men as to how they had come 
by him and Usufu, my boy, said that they had 
been into the forest in quest of honey and had 
found him sleeping; that he was well known to 
them as the wild man of the Golambepo, and had 
often before been caught by others of my men. 
After some questioning, I managed to elicit from 
them the whole story of the poor fellow’s career. 
Long, long ago, before ever the white man had 
been heard of, this old fellow had been the head of 
a big village on the Msinjie River. His people 
were living contentedly and happy ; there were lots 
of children and plenty of food, when, without any 
warning, came disaster, as disasters often occur in 
this world. One night, when all the village were 
r 
