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again : when the buck rolled over everything else 

 was forgotten ! I knew the rule perfectly well 

 Reload at once and never part with your gun. It 

 was one of Rocky's lessons, and only a few weeks before 

 this, when out for an afternoon's shooting with an 

 old hunter, the lesson had been repeated. The old 

 man shot a rietbuck ram, and as it had been facing 

 and dropped without a kick we both thought that 

 it was shot through the brain. There was no mark 

 on the head, however, and although we examined 

 it carefully, we failed to find the bullet-mark or a 

 trace of blood ; so we put our rifles down to settle 

 the question by skinning the buck. After sawing at 

 the neck for half a minute, however, the old man 

 found his knife too blunt to make an opening, and we 

 both hunted about for a stone to sharpen it on, and 

 while we were fossicking about in the grass there was 

 a noise behind, and looking sharply round we saw the 

 buck scramble to its feet and scamper off before we 

 had time to move. The bullet must have touched 

 one of its horns and stunned it. My companion was 

 too old a hunter to get excited, and while I ran for 

 the rifles and wanted to chase the buck on foot he 

 stood quite still, gently rubbing the knife on the stone 

 he had picked up. Looking at me under bushy eye- 

 brows and smiling philosophically, he said : 



" That's something for you to remember, Boy. 

 It's my belief if you lived for ever there'd always be 

 something to learn at this game." 



Unfortunately I did not remember when it would 

 have been useful. As I ran forward the duiker 



no 



