As it fell Jock was round and fastened on the nose ; 

 but it was no duiker, impala or rietbuck that he had 

 to deal with this time. The koodoo gave a snort of 

 indignation and shook its head : as a terrier shakes a 

 rat, so it shook Jock, whipping the ground with his 

 swinging body, and with -another indignant snort 

 and toss of the head flung him off, sending him 

 skidding along the ground on his back. The koodoo 

 had fallen on the wounded leg and failed to rise with 

 the first effort ; Jock while still slithering along the 

 ground on his back was tearing at the air with his 

 feet in his mad haste to get back to the attack, and 

 as he scrambled up, he raced in again with head down 

 and the little eyes black with fury. He was too mad 

 to be wary, and my heart stood still as the long horns 

 went round with a swish ; one black point seemed 

 to pierce him through and through, showing a foot 

 out the other side, and a jerky twist of the great head 

 sent him twirling like a tip-cat eight or ten feet up 

 in the air. It had just missed him, passing under 

 his stomach next to the hind-legs ; but, until he 

 dropped with a thud and, tearing and scrambling to 

 his feet, he raced in again, I felt certain he had been 

 gored through. 



The koodoo was up again then. I had rushed 

 in with rifle clubbed, with the wild idea of stunning 

 it before it could rise, but was met by the lowered 

 horns and unmistakable signs of charging, and beat 

 a retreat quite as speedy as my charge. 



It was a running fight from that on : the instant 



the koodoo turned to go Jock was on to the leg again, 



1 88 



