92 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



At length the white bull put one of his hind 

 feet in a hole. Giving way for a second, he 

 was forced backwards almost to the water's 

 edge. With a furious effort, however, he 

 recovered himself, and even, by some special 

 good fortune or momentary slackness of his 

 adversary, regained his lost ground. Both 

 paused for breath. The fight hung exactly 

 in the balance. 



To judge from his antlers, the white bull 

 was the older and therefore, one may suppose, 

 the craftier duellist. It occurred to him, now, 

 perhaps, that against a foe so nearly his equal 

 in strength he must seek some advantage in 

 strategy. He made a sudden movement to 

 disengage his antlers and jump aside. To the 

 trained eyes of the hunter, watching from the 

 thicket, the intention was obvious. But it 

 failed curiously. At the very instant of the 

 effort to disengage, the dark bull had surged 

 forward with violence. Not meeting the 

 resistance expected, he was taken by sur- 

 prise and stumbled to his knees. The white 

 bull, quick to feel his advantage, instantly 

 changed his purpose and surged forward with 

 all his force. For a moment the dark bull 

 seemed to crumple up as his rival's heaving 

 shoulders towered above him. 



Now, this was the white bull's chance. It 



