48 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



there they were, feeding, dispersed amon^^ the bushes 

 some seventy yards away. Quietly I took my second 

 rifle from the shikari^ cocked it, and laid it beside 

 me. About in the centre of the herd were two bulls, 

 conspicuous by their light colour. I aimed behind 

 the shoulder of the nearer one, and, seeing him fall 

 to the shot, I dropped the other with my left barrel. 

 Then I caught up my second rifle. 



" Shoot, sahib, shoot," cried the shikari, as a large 

 nylghau crossed an opening in some bushes nearly 

 a hundred yards ofl*. I need hardly say that by 

 this time the herd were in confused flight, not 

 knowing whence the danger threatened. 



" But it's not a bull," I answered, for I could see 

 no horns. 



'^ Atcha, sahih, byle'' (yes, sir, it is a bull). 



This statement, and the large size of the beast, 

 convinced me I was mistaken ; so I fired, and though 

 I struck it, it continued to move ofl*. The left barrel 

 dropped it, but it got up and moved slowly on. 

 Reloading as I went, I ran swiftly after it. As I 

 reached the top of a low hillock, I saw it descending 

 just in front of me. Aiming over the root of the 

 tail, I sent it rolling to the bottom of the slope, and 

 following it up I found — as I had now realised — a 

 remarkably large, fine cow. She made an abortive 

 eflbrt to charge me, but I soon put her out of her 

 misery, and returned to look after the bulls. To 

 my intense disgust I could find neither, and my 

 assistants seemed not to have taken the least trouble 

 to ascertain what had become of them. 



I was greatly provoked, as I have the strongest 

 objection both to killing the female of any harmless 

 game, and to wounding any animal and failing to 



