It was dark as Erebus. As we noiselessly formed up on the path, a sort of half sense of impending disaster seemed to have fallen on the men. We did our best to dissipate it, and apparently succeeded. The Masai guide and N’Dominuki’s nephew led the way; next came four of the Somalis as advance-guard; then Jamah Mahomet, who was wearing a waterproof coat over his khaki costume; finally George, El Hakim, and myself. A few yards farther on we found a spear in the path, probably dropped by one of the Wa’Embe in their flight, when fired at by the sentries. If possible, the path grew worse as we advanced, and presently we reached a deep ravine with a swift torrent roaring and tumbling at the bottom. It was spanned by a single tree-trunk, which served as a bridge. Beyond the ravine the path sloped upwards with many twists and turns. On each side the jungle prevented anything being seen more than a yard or two away. We advanced slowly and cautiously in the order described, when a shot rang out almost under our feet; another followed; and then a volley from the advance-guard showed that something serious was toward. A terrific howl and the long repeated _U-u-u-i_ (the A’kikuyu war-cry) showed us that we were very skilfully ambushed, and the realization was not pleasant. The firing at once became general all along the line. It was a very fierce fusillade while it lasted; the reports of the rifles and the cheers of our men, mingled with the war-cries of the enemy, sounding weird and ghastly in the dense blackness of the early morning (it was then 4 a.m.). For a few moments pandemonium reigned supreme. Neither El Hakim nor I could see a single native. George, though only a yard or so away, was hidden from us, both by the darkness and by a turn in the path. El Hakim clutched my arm and dragged me into a sitting position on the ground as the whirring, hissing rush and plaintive whine of bullets in unpleasant proximity to our ears warned us that we were in considerable danger of being shot by our own men. Owing to the serpentine winding of the path, they were firing towards every point of the compass, and we were therefore much safer on the ground. In a few moments the war-cries of the enemy died away as suddenly as they came, and the spiteful crackle of the rifles lessened a little. As soon as we were able to make ourselves heard, we gave the order “Cease fire,” and endeavoured to find out what damage had been done. I called to George, and, to my great relief, he answered me.