In her book, Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen tells about her cook, a Kenyan named Kamante. She says that one night, after midnight, Kamante suddenly walked into her bedroom with a hurricane-lamp in his hand. He spoke to her very solemnly, "I think that you had better get up. I think that God is coming."

Isak Dinesen says that when she heard this, she did get up, and asked why he thought so. He gravely led her into the dining room which looked west, toward the hills. Through her windows she saw a strange …