About three in the afternoon
They must be empty now , for the young men were already out on some mission . So nervous I got that I took my pocket-book and wrote down certain messages to my mother , which I implored whoever should find my body to transmit . Then , a little ashamed of my childishness , I pulled myself together , and remounted . About three in the afternoon I came over a low ridge of bush and saw the corrugated iron roof of the store and the gleam of water from the Labongo . The sight encouraged me , for at any rate it meant the end of this disquieting ride . Here the bush changed to trees of some size , and after leaving the ridge the road plunged for a little into a thick shade . I had forgotten for a moment the folk in the bush , and when a man stepped out of the thicket I pulled up my horse with a start .