So we abandoned our shopping tour and returned to camp. By
the time one of the sheep had been made into mutton it was too late to
start. The Masai showed symptoms of desiring to go back to the village
for the night. This did not please us. We called them up, and began
extravagantly to admire their weapons, begging to examine them. Once we
had them in our hands we craftily discoursed as follows:--
"These are beautiful weapons, the most beautiful we have ever seen.
Since you are going so spend the night in our camp, and since we greatly
fear that some of our men might steal these beautiful weapons, we will
ourselves guard them for you carefully from theft until morning."
So saying, we deposited them inside the tent. Then we knew we had our
Masai safe. They would never dream of leaving while the most cherished
of their possessions were in hostage.
XLII.
SCOUTING IN THE ELEPHANT FOREST.
Here we were finally off at dawn. It was a very chilly, wet dawn, with
the fog so thick that we could see not over ten feet ahead. We had four
porters, carrying about twenty-five pounds apiece of the bare
necessities, Kongoni, and Leyeye. The Masai struck confidently enough
through the mist. We crossed neck-deep grass flats--where we were
thoroughly soaked--climbed hills through a forest, skirted apparently
for miles an immense reed swamp. As usual when travelling strange
country in a fog, we experienced that queer feeling of remaining in the
same spot while fragments of near-by things are slowly paraded by.
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