stically caparisoned of the
lot, fine big black men, their eyes rolling with excitement. They had
captured our flag from its place before the big tent, and were rallied
close about this, dancing fantastically. Before us they leaped and
stamped and shook their spears and shouted out their full-voiced song,
while the other three tribes danced each its specialty dimly in the
background.

The dance thus begun lasted for fully two hours. Each tribe took a
turn before us, only to give way to the next. We had leisure to notice
minutiae, such as the ingenious tail one of the "lions" had constructed
from a sweater. As time went on, the men worked themselves to a frenzy.
From the serried ranks every once in a while one would break forth with
a shriek to rush headlong into the fire, to beat the earth about him
with his club, to rush over to shake one of us violently by the hand,
or even to seize one of our feet between his two palms. Then with equal
abruptness back he darted to regain his place among the dancers. Wilder
and wilder became the movements, higher rose the voices. The mock lion
hunt grew more realistic, and the slaughter on both sides something
tremendous. Lower and lower crouched the Monumwezi, drawing apart with
their deep "goom"; drawing suddenly to a common centre with the sharp
"zoop!" Only the Kikuyus held their lofty bearing as they rolled forth
their chant, but the mounting excitement showed in their tense muscles
and the rolling of their eyes. The sweat glistened on naked black and
bronze bodies. Among the Monumwezi to my astonishment I saw Memba Sasa,
stripped like the rest, and dancing with all abandon. The firelight
leaped high among the logs that eager hands cast on it; and the shadows
it threw from the swirling, leaping figures wavered out into a great,
calm darkness.

The night guard understood a little of the native languages, so he stood
behind our chairs and told us in Swahili the meaning of some of the
repeated phrases.

"This has been a glorious day; few safaris have had so glorious a day."

"The masters looked upon the fierce lions and did not run away."

"Brave men without other weapons will nevertheless kill with a knife."

"The masters' mothers must be brave women, the masters are so brave."

"The white woman went hunting, and so were many lions killed."

The last one pleased Billy. She felt that at last she was appreciated.

We sat there spellbound by the weird savagery of the spectacl