( H. vij A CRITICAL MOMENT 139 



fired. She plunged forward at the shot and turned 

 toward tlie swamp, going slowly and dead lame, for my 

 bullet had struck the shoulder and had gone into the 

 cavity of the chest. I5ut at this moment our attention 

 was distracted from the wounded cow by the conduct 

 of the herd, which, headed by the wounded bulls, turned 

 in a quarter-circle toward us, and drew up in a phalanx 

 facing us with outstretched heads. It was not a nice 

 country in which to be charged by the herd, and for a 

 moment things trembled in the balance. There was a 

 perceptible motion of uneasiness among some of our 

 followers. " Stand steady ! Don't run !" I called out. 

 " And don't shoot !" called out Cuninghame, for to do 

 either would invite a charge. A few seconds passed, 

 and then the unwounded mass of the herd resumed 

 their flight, and after a little hesitation the wounded 

 bulls followed. We now turned our attention to the 

 wounded cow, which was close to the papyrus. She 

 went down to our shots, but the reeds and marsh-grass 

 were above our heads when we drew close to the swamp. 

 Once again Heatley went in with his white horse, as 

 close as it was even reasonably safe, with the hope 

 either of seeing the cow, or of getting her to charge 

 him and so give us a fair chance at her. But nothing 

 happened, and we loosed the two dogs. They took up 

 the trail and went some little distance into the papyrus, 

 where we heard them give tongue, and immediately 

 afterward there came the angry grunt of the wounded 

 buffalo. It had risen and gone ofl thirty yards into the 

 papyrus, although mortally wounded — the frothy blood 

 from the lungs was actually coming out of my first 

 bullet-hole. Its anger now made it foolish, and it 

 followed the dogs to the edge of the papyrus. Here 

 we caught a glimpse of it. Down it went to our shots. 



