186 ON THE FEONTIEE. 



myself to the ardour of pursuit, was irresistibly compelled 

 to follow on until success or darkness terminated the 

 chase. 



Naturally we are all beasts of prey. The old latent 

 tiger instinct, once thoroughly aroused in a man, will 

 prove the strongest passion of his breast ; and, unless he 

 be also naturally a duffer or a coward, be it a head of 

 game, a fellow man, or only some special object of social 

 ambition let anything once become the object of that 

 instinct, and the savage nature long civilisation has 

 smothered not extinguished will blaze up again, and, 

 coute que coide, he will follow like a bloodhound to the 

 end. 



The next morning, after breakfasting on venison "straight" 

 not an elaborate meal, but far ahead of boiled corn 

 I tied Nip and Tug to the end of my redta, caught up 

 and saddled the best riding-mule we had, and taking the 

 heel of my last night's trail, started for where I had left 

 off the chase. In my heart I was glad of the distrac- 

 tion afforded by this hunt. I had tried hard not to allow 

 myself to become uneasy at my old comrades not having 

 returned in fact, it was hardly time for them to be ex- 

 pected ; but I could not keep my mind from continually 

 dwelling upon and thinking of the dangers and uncer- 

 tainties of their path, and feeling depressed in spirit by so 

 doing. 



As I rode along I consoled myself for my last night's 

 failure by the reflection that I should now have an oppor- 

 tunity of giving the dogs a chance of having their first 

 combat with so formidable an antagonist as a gray moun- 



