Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III TRELAWNEY LEARNS BOUT two years after the government occupation of a certain part of Africa it was,,considered desirable to extend the sphere of influence to include a remotely outlying district that hadfyetflfpre been let severely alone. This district was eefged by the mountain forests, faced by the foothills, and remote from the high veldt—a pleasant land full of waters and green grass. Also full of savages. The latter were said to be related to the Samburu and to be badly disposed. Since it was impossible to keep ivory hunters and Somali caravans from the north from passing through on the most obvious route, the next best thing was to attempt some sort of administration. The higher powers were at their wits' ends. The tribe, and their affiliated brethren, numbered, at a guess, something like a million and a half . people; and they had any amount of accustomed cover in which to hide. "Military occupation!" groaned the D. C., quoting his instructions from Downing Street, "I wish our respected Chief knew the first thing about this country! It would take a solid regiment to occupy that district! And I have two battalions of native troops for the whole blessed country!" "They are native troops—but they are the K. A. R.," the Governor reminded him. " Oh, the fuzzy-wuzzies are all right," admitted the Commissioner, "but they are too few. I can't go to war with what I can spare from two battalions, and that's flat." "Well?" queried the Governor placidly. He knew his commissioner. "And the Civil Officers! Fresh from Downing Street! Know the native as a friend and brother only! Full of theory! Conscientious scruples against corporal punishment, by gad! Or throat-full with twaddle about the white man's prestige! Self-opinionated, narrow, ins...