108 BIRD-HUNTING 



Black pretended to be unable to keep up, and I was 

 alternately dropping astern and making spurts to 

 catch up. All this was very annoying, so one day I 

 unpacked an old pair of spurs that have seen service 

 in many parts of the world and put them on, and 

 the next time he tried his usual tricks I let him know 

 they were for use and not for ornament. After that 

 I always wore them, and I found he was perfectly 

 well able to keep up with the other horse ; and when 

 he tried to carry on his games in the narrow streets 

 of the town, as he generally did, he was soon brought 

 to see the error of his ways. He was so full of 

 tricks that I always called him the ' Little Black 

 Devil,' until one day I thought of asking if he had a 

 name, and if so, what it was. I was told ' Shaitan,' 

 which means Satan, so that unconsciously I had 

 given him his rightful name. 



But he was an excellent horse, as sure-footed as a 

 cat and as strong as a bullock. I have ridden him 

 ten hours a day over terrible country, and he has 

 been perfectly fresh and as full of mischief at the end 

 of the day as he was at the beginning. I have often 

 had to give a lead over a nasty ditch or bad crossing 

 where the horses of native guides had refused to go, 

 and have ridden up and down steep slopes where the 

 guides have been obliged to dismount and walk. 



The grey which B always rode was not so 



strong as Shaitan but equally game, and equally 



