at random, down the long grassy interminable incline that dipped slowly
down and slowly up again over great distance to form the Athi Plains.
Along the road, with its endless swarm of humanity, we had seen no game,
but after a half mile it began to appear. We encountered herds of zebra,
kongoni, wildebeeste, and "Tommies" standing about or grazing, sometimes
almost within range from the moving buckboard. After a time we made out
the trees and water tower of Juja ahead; and by four o'clock had turned
into the avenue of trees. Our approach had been seen. Tea was ready, and
a great and hospitable table of bottles, ice, and siphons.

The next morning we inspected the stables, built of stone in a hollow
square, like a fort, with box stalls opening directly into the courtyard
and screened carefully against the deadly flies. The horses, beautiful
creatures, were led forth each by his proud and anxious syce. We tried
them all, and selected our mounts for the time of our stay. The syces
were small black men, lean and well formed, accustomed to running afoot
wherever their charges went, at walk, lope or gallop. Thus in a day they
covered incredible distances over all sorts of country; but were always
at hand to seize the bridle reins when the master wished to dismount.
Like the rickshaw runners in Nairobi, they wore their hair clipped close
around their bullet heads and seemed to have developed into a small
compact hard type of their own. They ate and slept with their horses.

Just outside the courtyard of the stables a little barred window had
been cut through. Near this were congregated a number of Kikuyu savages
wrapped in their blankets, receiving each in turn a portion of cracked
corn from a dusty white man behind the bars. They were a solemn,
unsmiling, strange type of savage, and they performed all the manual
work within the enclosure, squatting on their heels and pulling
methodically but slowly at the weeds, digging with their pangas,
carrying loads: to and fro, or solemnly pushing a lawn mower, blankets
wrapped shamelessly about their necks. They were harried about by a
red-faced beefy English gardener with a marvellous vocabulary of
several native languages and a short hippo-hide whip. He talked himself
absolutely purple in the face without, as far as my observation went,
penetrating an inch below the surface. The Kikuyus went right on doing
what they were already doing in exactly the same manner. Probably the
purple En