Safari is an Adventure Book by Wilfrid Robertson.
Frank Henson is a man who has come to Africa in search of a job. He soon finds it in the form of one Mr. Mansfield from England. Seems Mansfield is on the hunt for a man named Oglethorpe, whose presumed to have been dead for two years after a plane crash. Mansfield suspects Oglethorpe is very much alive, and wants to find him because of some poor wording in a will about an inheritance.
So, the two pack their bags, hire some carriers for their things, and begin their trek through the African wilderness on the Rhodesia-Mozambique border.
The book was published on January 1st, 1961.
Safari contains examples of:
- The Great Fire: When Frank and Mansfield's group are walking through a tall grassland, they end up running afoul of a huge brushfire. They get into an open area and build another fire to keep it away from them.
- Great White Hunter: Frank. At the first native village he comes across, he decides to hunt some antelope for them to get them to tell him where Oglethorpe went.
- Have a Gay Old Time: Sometimes, when characters shout something, it's stated that they ejaculated (as in, they shouted).
- One-Word Title: Safari, naturally.
- The Reveal: James Oglthorpe had been impersonating a jungle merchant he'd spent time with, taking his identity after he died. He's also been supplying the natives with guns.
- Rhino Rampage: At one point, the group comes upon one dozing in some shrubbery. They try to sneak past it, but the wind blows their scent in its direction, waking it up and sending it charging at them.
- Searching for the Lost Relative: The plot of the book is Mansfield hiring Frank to help him find a lost cousin of his named James Oglethorpe somewhere on the Rhodesia-Mozambique border. Oglethorpe is believed to have been dead for two years after a plane he was on crashed in the area, and Mansfield want to find him so he can confirm he's alive and keep both of their inheritances from going to a charity. They ultimately find him in a supply store, having taken over from the original owner after he died. He's also been selling guns to the natives in the area. When Mansfield finds him, Oglethorpe is wary of the story and is certain he actually came to turn him over to the authorities regarding him pushing someone out of a window and killing them. Thus, he has Frank and Mansfield thrown into an old mine shaft.
- Trail of Blood: If Frank shoots an animal, and it manages to get away, he tracks it by the droplets of blood it leaves behind.
