94 



IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. 



horse in his Hfe, and the moment he mounted, 

 Aladdin seemed to be quite aware of his inexperi- 

 ence, for he took the bit in his teeth and galloped 

 after the safari at his top speed. 



It was a most comical sight to watch the un- 

 fortunate gun-bearer hanging on to the saddle like 

 grim death, without paying the very slightest atten- 

 tion to the reins, which dangled freely on the horse's 

 neck ! All went well until the tail end of the safari 

 was reached, when Aladdin unluckily put his foot 

 into a hole, and horse and rider turned a complete 

 somersault. 



From my rocky perch I witnessed the whole 

 thing plainly, and fully expected that either the 

 horse's lee or the man's neck had been broken. 



My feelings were greatly relieved, however, when 

 I saw both horse and man get up, apparently none 

 the worse for the mishap. All this commotion had, 

 of course, attracted the attention of the safari, and I 

 saw Mrs. S. ride back to see what was the matter. 

 When the gun-bearer had delivered my message she 

 came galloping as fast as possible in my direction. 



Meanwhile, however, the eland had taken to his 

 heels, and by the time Mrs. S. got up to me, he was 

 but a speck on the horizon. We reluctantly decided 

 not to give chase, as he was going in the opposite 

 direction to our line of march, so, wishing 

 someone else better luck, we left him and fol- 



