28 THE IMAGE OF WAE 



so as not to be seen, and in this position I could see 

 nothing, while the sun, which soon gets strength in 

 May, was fairly roasting me. At last, when I was 

 just beginning to think my cart man had made a 

 mess of the thing, I saw two pair of horns above 

 the thorns within a hundred yards. A few minutes 

 after an opening in the bushes showed me a shoulder. 

 As to get up would mean to move them, I didn't see 

 how I should get a better chance ; so I fired, and to 

 my delight heard the bullet tell. Jumping to my 

 feet, I saw one gazelle bounding off while the other 

 lay kicking. Unfortunately, it was a doe, who had 

 paid the penalty of bearing horns. She w^as soon 

 bundled into the cart, and we proceeded. The next 

 thing we saw|was a splendid black buck attended by 

 a couple of does. Unfortunately, they were terribly 

 wild, galloping off before we had got within a quarter 

 of a mile of them. However, he was worth bagging, 

 so I persevered. The second attempt was still more 

 disastrous, for they galloped clean out of sight. 



Proceeding across the dusty plain, I shortly after- 

 wards perceived the other bullock-cart and made 



towards it. H had a nice buck chikara, and 



explained the mystery of the black buck by telling 

 me he had had a long shot and missed it. No 

 wonder it was so wild. After a drink of cold tea 

 we once more parted company. Half an hour after- 

 wards I missed a young antelope buck (not black), 

 and then made towards a clump of trees we had 



fixed on for lunch. Here H joined me a little 



later, he also not having increased his bag. 



My experience points to the fact that sport at a 

 temperature of a hundred degrees in the shade or 

 thereabout does not conduce to appetite. Though 



