way westwards
for scores of miles. Here our journey was slow, as every now and again
we stopped to inspect the permanent works in progress; but eventually,
towards dusk, we arrived at our destination, Tsavo. I slept that night
in a little palm hut which had been built by some previous traveller,
and which was fortunately unoccupied for the time being. It was rather
broken-down and dilapidated, not even possessing a door, and as I lay
on my narrow camp bed I could see the stars twinkling through the roof.
I little knew then what adventures awaited me in this neighbourhood;
and if I had realised that at that very time two savage brutes were
prowling round, seeking whom they might devour, I hardly think I should
have slept so peacefully in my rickety shelter.

Next morning I was up betimes, eager to make acquaintance with my new
surroundings. My first impression on coming out of my hut was that I
was hemmed in on all sides by a dense growth of impenetrable jungle:
and on scrambling to the top of a little hill close at hand, I found
that the whole country as far as I could see was covered with low,
stunted trees, thick undergrowth and "wait-a-bit" thorns. The only
clearing, indeed, appeared to be where the narrow track for the railway
had been cut. This interminable nyika, or wilderness of whitish and
leafless dwarf trees, presented a ghastly and sun-stricken appearance;
and here and there a ridge of dark-red heat-blistered rock jutted out
above the jungle, and added by its rugged barrenness to the dreariness
of the picture. Away to the north-east stretched the unbroken line of
the N'dungu Escarpment, while far off to the south I could just catch a
glimpse of the snow-capped top of towering Kilima N'jaro. The one
redeeming feature of the neighbourhood was the river from which Tsavo
takes its name. This is a swiftly-flowing stream, always cool and
always running, the latter being an exceptional attribute in this part
of East Africa; and the fringe of lofty green trees along its banks
formed a welcome relief to the general monotony of the landscape.

When I had thus obtained a rough idea of the neighbourhood, I returned
to my hut, and began in earnest to make preparations for my stay in
this out-of-the-way place. The stores were unpacked, and my "boys"
pitched my tent in a little clearing close to where I had slept the
night before and not far from the main camp of the workmen. Railhead
had at this time just reached the west