Onward we stumbled in the darkness, now up steep hillsides, and anon down deep and gloomy valleys clothed in thick jungle where the deep booming note of a mountain torrent growled hoarsely from somewhere out of the pitchy blackness below. Soon the path became so narrow that we could advance only in Indian file, which weakened us considerably, as our fighting line was thereby stretched out for some two hundred yards, being consequently out of our immediate control, while the jungle, meeting overhead, blotted out what little light the stars provided. It was impossible, on account of the denseness of the vegetation, to place men out on our flanks, and in addition we were counting on taking the Wa’Embe by surprise, and so did not wish to make too much noise. At 10 p.m. we were well within the Embe border, and we then looked for a place to rest awhile and prepare for our rush at dawn. We could not find a suitable spot, however, and eventually decided to halt on the path. A drizzling rain came on, which did not improve matters. One of our men found a place a little distance from and below the path, that did not slope at such an acute angle as the rest of the landscape, and we as noiselessly as possible pitched the tent. El Hakim, George, and I partook of a frugal meal, but we were without water, and naturally we felt ever so much thirstier than we would otherwise have done. We placed sentries, Jamah Mahomet doing the same where he had halted on the path. We three Wasungu then dropped off to sleep. Somewhere about midnight we awoke with a start, reaching for our rifles as the sound of a shot floated down to us from where Jamah Mahomet’s sentries were posted. It was followed by a second, and then a third. Then all was silent again, except for the subdued hum of suddenly wakened men. On sending for explanations, we found that some Wa’Embe, coming down the path, had stumbled right on to the sentries, and were instantly fired upon. All hope of a surprise was thus abolished, but on consultation we decided that if we started an hour or so earlier, possibly 3 a.m., we might take the enemy at a disadvantage. Accordingly, at that time we once more set out.