deadly earnest he seemed to turn in the air to get 

 back again and once more was close up so close that 

 the flying heels of the buck seemed to pass each side 

 of his ears ; then he made his spring from behind, 

 catching the duiker high up on one hind leg, and the 

 two rolled over together, kicking and struggling in 

 a cloud of dust. Time after time the duiker got on 

 its feet, trying to get at him with its horns or to break 

 away again ; but Jock, although swung off his feet 

 and rolled on, did not let go his grip. In grim silence 

 he hung on while the duiker plunged, and, when it 

 fell, tugged and worried as if to shake the life out of 

 it. 



What with the hot sun, the heavy sand, and the pace 

 at which we had gone, I was so pumped that I finished 

 the last hundred yards at a walk, and had plenty of 

 time to see what was going on ; but even when I 

 got up to them the struggle was so fierce and the 

 movements so quick that for some time it was not 

 possible to get hold of the duiker to finish it off. At 

 last came one particularly bad fall, when the buck 

 rolled over on its back, and then Jock let go his grip 

 and made a dash for its throat ; but again the duiker 

 was too quick for him ; with one twist it was up and 

 round facing him on its one knee, and dug, thrust, 

 and swept with its black spiky horns so vigorously 

 that it was impossible to get at its neck. As Jock 

 rushed in the head ducked and the horns flashed round 

 so swiftly that it seemed as if nothing could save him 

 from being stabbed through and through, but his 

 quickness and cleverness were a revelation to me. 



112 



