Big Game Shooting 



long enough for him to appear — the oldest will 

 always come out of the grass last — we started 

 forward again. 



I thought it was not quite the right place, but 

 we wanted no mistake, so with our hearts in our 

 mouths still we went on. "We must get behind 

 that big clump in front so as to be able to stand 

 up under cover and have a good look beyond." 

 " Right oh ! " said he. Once there, we breathed 

 again, straightened our backs, mopped our faces, 

 brushed off the mosquitoes, took out our glasses, 

 wiped them, and put them to our eyes. " By 

 Jove! you're right, old chap! There he is!' 

 And all by himself, daintily cropping the young 

 grass shoots, every now and then raising his head 

 in the air and sniffing round, stood "our" water- 

 buck, or so we fondly imagined him to be. We 

 stared at him in admiration, standing with his 

 lordly head raised erect, the personification of 

 antelope life and strength, his shape and body 

 like a Scotch red-deer, the old water-buck we 

 knew so well, conspicuous in the fact that his 

 horns were nearly straight. 



" Cry ! " said he. " Heads, says I. " Yours," 

 moaned he. " Lucky devil ! ' Bang ! went the 

 rifle. "You fool," he shouted as the water-buck 

 up with his head and bolted through the grass. 

 Bang ! went the second barrel ; and there was an 

 answering plunge on the part of our quarry 

 " You've hit him ! " 



214 



