362 EXTRACTS FROM 
charge, but before it could reach our hero it was lying on the 
ground; for, recognizing the great danger that the man was in, 
I gave the powerful beast a ball which rolled it over stone dead 
just at the moment when it was trying to rip up Achmed’s 
trousers. The pig and the Egyptian were now peacefully 
stretched beside each other, the latter green with fear and 
trembling in every limb, nor was he able to speak for some 
minutes. The Bedouins soon appeared upon the scene, their 
eyes sparkling with delight. 
The Wild Boar of this region is quite unlike the much 
smaller and more slightly built pitch-black variety of Northern 
Africa, and very much resembles that of our own country, 
especially the large race inhabiting the Hungarian forests. 
The animal having been artistically gralloched by my jiger, 
was laid on the sticks which the Arabs had tied together, and 
the heavy burden was borne off to the camp by four men. 
During the long tramp which we had now to make, Cho- 
rinsky missed among the bushes one of the small yellow Desert 
Hares which we had met with in Africa. This walk across 
the steppe in the burning heat was not over-pleasant, and by 
the time that the sun had sunk in orange vapours behind the 
border mountains we had only reached the woods and bushes, 
and there still remained another hour of it to do. Quails flew 
up at every step, but we were too tired to shoot, and thought 
of nothing but getting to the camp. A merry prattling little 
brook of fairly clear water afforded us temporary refreshment, 
and then on we went, yet not before it had got quite dark 
did we come to some fires which were gleaming among 
the bushes. This was the camp of our Bedouins, whose tall 
figures, clad in long white burnouses, had a ghostly look in 
the dull glow of the dying embers. Their lances were ranged 
upright, and their hoarse gutturals and melancholy songs 
resounded through the night, while their horses were roll- 
ing on the ground and their dogs ran out at us barking. 
