With Mashlight and Rifle -* 



ap])ro;ichinq; dai\u;er. The bull Lj^nu lingers on, however, 

 curious still, rather than nervous. We approach ever 

 closer, but apparently heading off to the right of him ; 

 and I give orders that none of my people glance in his 

 direction. But the plovers will not leave us ; by degrees 

 the gnu takes warning, and moves off. with head stiffly 

 bent, in leaps which look short. l)ut which carry it over 

 the groimd at a good rate. Trom time to time it halts, 

 and turns round with a sudden, violent movement, lashing- 

 its tail furiously and peering in our direction. 



The tiresome plovers have left us at last, and slowly 

 I make another attempt to get up to the bull, this time 

 in a lateral direction. I succeed at last in this, and 

 ani able to get a shot at the great beast — sharply defined 

 against the clear desert background — two hundred yards 

 awav. The gnu shivers through all his body, and turns 

 straight towards me, but then rushes oft on three legs. 

 My bullet has hit too far back. Instantly I follow up 

 its track among the acacia-bushes. 



In this part of Africa, ^Yhere neither horse nor dog 

 can stand the unhealth\' climate, there is only one way 

 of reaching your game, when you have only wounded. 

 You must follow it at oncc% as you do when shooting 

 elk. For with e\en the shortest delay, the heat of the sun 

 dries up the blood-tracks unrecognisaldy ; other animals 

 cross the dry trail, and vultures and jackals will have 

 torn to pieces the decaying carcase before the hunter 

 can be on the spot. 



So I follow the blood-tracks for half an hour. By 

 using the tracks of hippopotamuses and waterbuck, the gnu 



S70 



