I 



TREKKING THROUGH THE THIRST 165 



and aimed with the little Springfield, keeping the Holland 

 by me to be ready for events. I never left camp, on foot or 

 on horseback, for any distance, no matter how short, with- 

 out carrying one of the repeating rifles; and when on a 

 hunt my two gun-bearers carried, one the other magazine 

 rifle, and one the double-barrelled Holland. 



Tarlton, whose eye for distance was good, told me the 

 hyena was over three hundred yards off; it was walking 

 slowly to the left. I put up the three-hundred-yard sight, 

 and drew a rather coarse bead; and down went the hyena 

 with its throat cut; the little sharp-pointed, full-jacketed 

 bullet makes a slashing wound. The distance was just 

 three hundred and fifty long paces. As soon as I had 

 pulled trigger I wheeled to watch the rhino. It started 

 round at the shot and gazed toward us with its ears cocked 

 forward, but made no movement to advance. While a 

 couple of porters were dressing the hyena, I could not 

 help laughing at finding that we were the centre of a 

 thoroughly African circle of deeply interested spectators. 

 We were in the middle of a vast plain, covered with sun- 

 scorched grass and here and there a stunted thorn; in the 

 background were isolated barren hills, and the mirage wa- 

 vered in the distance. Vultures wheeled overhead. The 

 rhino, less than half a mile away, stared steadily at us. 

 Wildebeest their heavy forequarters and the carriage of 

 their heads making them look like bison and hartebeest 

 were somewhat nearer, in a ring all round us, intent upon 

 our proceedings. Four topi became so much interested that 

 they approached within two hundred and fifty yards and 

 stood motionless. A buck tommy came even closer, and a 

 zebra trotted by at about the same distance, uttering its 



