206 STALKS ABROAD 



goods scrapes together enough to stand himself a 

 couple of months after big game. It will probably 

 cost him, at any rate in Africa, the best part of 300. 

 On his licence he is allowed to kill one buffalo bull, 

 an animal which he has never seen in the flesh but 

 worshipped from afar. 



Well, off he goes in the early dawn to seek his 

 quarry in thick bush. Everything is against him. 

 He is forced to seek the animal in surroundings of 

 its own choosing, an animal, too, gifted with wonder- 

 ful hearing, excellent powers of scent, and good sight ; 

 one, moreover, which in spite of its size is extremely 

 difficult to see. Our friend being a novice has 

 crawled through dense undergrowth for some con- 

 siderable distance, is perspiring freely, and a little 

 over-keen. All his nerves are on the stretch. Sud- 

 denly there is a sniff, a snort, and a crash. They 

 have "got" him. The gun-bearer, also over-keen, 

 quite as much if not more so than his master, seizes 

 his arm and points out a dark mass half hidden in the 

 shadows. Interlacing stems and creepers cover the 

 greater part of it. 



"Is it a good head ? " queries the quivering 

 sportsman. 



" Shoot ! Shoot ! " mutters the gun-bearer. 



The wish is father to the thought " Hang it ! he 

 ought to know ; I will have a shot. I'm sick of this 

 eternal crawling day after day and never a chance ! " 



Thoughts like these flash through his brain ; 

 possible future regrets are dismissed ; he has his shot, 



