ALL ABOUT ANTELOPE. 13 



band with that old blunderbuss, but in order to get 

 fresh meat and to put a stop to certain jokes which 

 would be my portion if I returned to camp empty- 

 handed, I resolved to do my best and kill an antelope. 

 I took a long breath and trained the weapon on the 

 nearest full-grown animal, remembering the advice 

 which my father always gave me to 'be sure that the 

 sights are on the gun before you pull trigger. ' 



" I fired, and in less than a second, apparently be- 

 fore the bullet had time to get there, that whole band 

 was in motion. It was a grand sight. In their ex- 

 citement they ran within fifty yards of me, and had 

 it not been for an accumulation of rust, I might have 

 extracted the empty shell and got another shot at 

 them at close range. The spotless fawns had no 

 trouble in keeping up with the band; in fact, they 

 seemed to be playing as they ran along, for they 

 leaped and bounded in the air as if they enjoyed the 

 sport. 



" In less than a minute they seemed a mile away, 

 and in a half -minute more they were out of sight. 

 They impressed me with the fact that they were the 

 proudest, swiftest, and most graceful animals I had 

 ever seen. 



" By this time I remembered that I had shot at one 

 of them, and with a feeling of anxiety I walked over 

 the hill to where the band had been standing. To 

 my great surprise I saw a big old antelope lying there 

 dead. It almost took my breath away. I looked at 

 the dead antelope and then at the old carbine, and 

 decided that the old gun was the best shooter on 

 earth. I got my shoes, and lightening the load as 



