bush. I felt that he was bristling all over, but there 

 was neither time nor light to watch him. I stepped 

 slowly sideways after him gripping the rifle and looking 

 hard at the bush. 



Our line was much the same as Mungo's and would 

 take us some seven or eight paces off the road more 

 than that was not possible owing to the barrier of 

 thorns on that side. When we got abreast of the bush 

 two large spots of pale light appeared in the middle 

 of it, apparently waist high from the ground. 



It is impossible to forget the tense creepy feeling 

 caused by the dead stillness, the soft light, and the pale 

 expressionless glow of those eyes the haunting mystery 

 of eyes and nothing more ! 



It is not unusual to see eyes in the night ; but this 

 was a * nervy ' occasion, and there is no other that 

 comes back with all the vividness and reality of the 

 experience itself, as this one does. And I was not the 

 only nervous one. Mungo incontinently bolted 

 probably what he saw warranted it ; Jock, as ever, 

 faced it ; but when my foot touched his hind leg as 

 we sidled away he flew round with a convulsive jump. 

 He too was strung to concert pitch. 



As we moved on and passed the reflecting angle of 

 the moon, the light of the eyes went out as suddenly 

 and silently as it had appeared. There was nothing 

 then to show me where danger lay ; but Jock knew, 

 and I kept a watch on him. He jogged beside me, 

 lagging slightly as if to cover our retreat, always 

 looking back. A couple of times he stopped entirely 

 and stood in the road, facing straight back and 



372 



