'If you don't stop that I will kill you,' I whispered savagely;
for the idea of having all our lives sacrificed to a tooth-chattering
cook was too much for me. I began to fear that he would betray
us, and heartily wished we had left him behind.
'But, monsieur, I cannot help it,' he answered, 'it is the cold.'
Here was a dilemma, but fortunately I devised a plan. In the
pocket of the coat I had on was a small piece of dirty rag that
I had used some time before to clean a gun with. 'Put this in
your mouth,' I whispered again, giving him the rag; 'and if I
hear another sound you are a dead man.' I knew that that would
stifle the clatter of his teeth. I must have looked as if I
meant what I said, for he instantly obeyed me, and continued
his journey in silence.
Then we crept on again.
At last we were within fifty yards of the kraal. Between us
and it was an open space of sloping grass with only one mimosa
bush and a couple of tussocks of a sort of thistle for cover.
We were still hidden in fairly thick bush. It was beginning
to grow light. The stars had paled and a sickly gleam played
about the east and was reflected on the earth. We could see
the outline of the kraal clearly enough, and could also make
out the faint glimmer of the dying embers of the Masai camp-fires.
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