JACKAL AND OSTRICH 67 



only by constant and cunning doubling and 

 twisting that he was able to escape the sledge- 

 hammer kicks, — any one of which, had it got 

 home, would have broken his back or ripped 

 out his entrails. The chase trended in my 

 direction; as the pursued and the pursuer ap- 

 proached I had an excellent view of it. At 

 length the prowler reached his burrow and 

 hurled himself incontinently in, his brush de- 

 scribing a frantic arc as he disappeared. The 

 ostrich, fuming with disappointed wrath and 

 flicking his wings alternately over his back, to 

 work off his indignation, stalked with stately 

 gait back to his wives. 



Evidently this was a breeding trio, and the 

 nest was not far from where the hens were stand- 

 ing. No doubt what happened was this : the 

 birds arose from the nest for the purpose of 

 allowing the eggs to cool. Then the jackal, 

 who had made his burrow in the vicinity as 

 soon as the nest had been established, attempted 

 to play off his old, well known, but often 

 effective trick. This consists in stealing up to 

 the nest in an unguarded moment, pawing out 

 one of the eggs to the top of the circular mound 

 by which they are surrounded, and then butting 

 it with his nose hard down on the others. If 

 the contents of an egg thus broken were fresh, 



