THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



Every step hurt me so that it seemed as if it would 

 have been a rehef to scream, and the progress we made 

 was rather slow. We had just descended a small ridge 

 of hills, and were making for the stream of which the 

 station master had spoken, when the sun rose. First, then, 

 it became possible for me to scan the lovely parklike coun- 

 try all around with the powerful field glasses. After hav- 

 ing searched for a few minutes, I soon discovered, to 

 my indescribable joy, a big roan antelope all by himself, 

 proudly walking along with slow strides and erect head, 

 making for the source of the stream up among the moun- 

 tains, some three miles farther away to our right. The 

 roan was about eight hundred to nine hundred yards away 

 from where we stood, and as there was absolutely no cover 

 in a straight line between the antelope and us, we remained 

 motionless, until a few minutes later the beautiful animal 

 became partly hidden by trees and bushes. I saw that it 

 was impossible for me in my condition to run down toward 

 the river in time to get a shot at the animal before he 

 would be too far away. I, therefore, sent two of my swift- 

 est Kikuju men to run as carefully and fast as they could 

 up along our side of the stream, crouching down in the 

 high grass in open places, so that the roan should not be 

 able to see them before they had reached the place where 

 the river emerges from the mountains. 



From there I told them to cross the stream and walk 

 slowly down along the little river, one at fifty yards dis- 

 tance and the other about two hundred yards from the 

 water, so that they would head the animal off and possibly 

 make it return the same way it had come. In an instant 

 the two light-footed savages ran off and soon disappeared 



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