294 WITH THE CAMEL CORPS UP THE NILE.

and plunging straight into the Nile it was beautiful.

In the more unfrequented parts there were a good many water birds, and many was the stalk I had after them, always without result. It was very pleasant wading after storks and cranes, up to one's neck in water and with nothing on but a helmet AFTER WATER-BIRDS.

and an eye-glass, but somehow the birds were shy.

They always chose the moment to flap away just when the water was so deep that you couldn't use your rifle, and though they settled again a hundred yards further on, I, for one, never succeeded in getting a comfortable shot. D was so keen to get another big bird, as a pendant to his pelican, that he'd wander after birds in a hopeless sort of way