he proper place and the
blood allowed to flow. This custom has often caused me great annoyance,
for Mohammedan followers rush in so quickly when an animal is shot and
cut the head off so short that it is afterwards quite useless as a
trophy.

By the time the zebra was skinned, darkness was fast approaching, so we
selected a suitable tree in which to pass the night. Under it we built
a goodly fire, made some tea, and roasted a couple of quails which I
had shot early in the day and which proved simply delicious. We then
betook ourselves to the branches--at least, Mahina and I did; Moota was
afraid of nothing, and said he would sleep on the ground. He was not so
full of courage later on, however, for about midnight a great rhino
passed our way, winded us and snorted so loudly that Moota scrambled in
abject terror up our tree. He was as nimble as a monkey for all his
stoutness, and never ceased climbing until he was far above us. We both
laughed heartily at his extraordinary haste to get out of danger, and
Mahina chaffed him unmercifully.

The rest of the night passed without incident, and in the early
morning, while the boys were preparing breakfast, I strolled off
towards the rocky hills which I had seen from Tsavo, and which were now
only about half a mile distant. I kept a sharp look-out for game, but
came across nothing save here and there a paa and a few guinea-fowl,
until, just as I was about half-way round the hill, I saw a fine
leopard lying on a rocky ledge basking in the morning sun. But he was
too quick for me, and made off before I could get a shot; I had not
approached noiselessly enough, and a leopard is too wary a beast to be
caught napping. Unfortunately I had no more time at my disposal in
which to explore these hills, as I was anxious to resume work at Tsavo
as soon as possible; so after breakfast we packed up the zebra skin and
began to retrace our steps through the jungle. It was an intensely hot
day, and we were all very glad when at length we reached the home camp.

Most of my little trips of this sort, however, were made in a northerly
direction, towards the ever-interesting Athi or Sabaki rivers. After a
long and tiring walk through the jungle what a pleasure it was to lie
up in the friendly shelter of the rushes which line the banks, and
watch the animals come down to drink, all unconscious of my presence. I
took several photographs of scenes of this kind, but unfortunately many
of the negatives