238 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. 



devoted too much attention to the buck I was intent 

 on — a very common fault of mine — and conse- 

 quently I did not notice that a little way to the 

 right his wife and family were gazing at me intently 

 and suspiciously. When they thought I had got 

 quite near enough, off they started at a gallop, 

 taking my intended trophy away with them ! 



Thus in one way or another I was foiled for a 

 time in my attempts to obtain a specimen of these 

 quaint-looking animals, but at last luck favoured 

 me. 



One morning, when we had set out soon after 

 daylight, I was riding by myself a little to the right 

 of the others and spied what I first of all took to be 

 a Grant's gazelle, standing among the bushes. Had 

 I only known what it was, I might have easily dis- 

 mounted and shot him without more ado, as he 

 stood motionless not more than forty yards away, 

 looking in amazement at the wholly unusual sight 

 of a man mounted on a horse. The moment he 

 moved I saw by his long, slender neck and peculiar 

 undulating motion that he was not a Grant, but 

 a gerenuk with a very fine head indeed, so I 

 immediately made up my mind to use every 

 endeavour to bag him. I had a couple of un- 

 successful snap-shots at him as he moved through 

 the bushes, Aladdin spoiling my aim by pulling 

 back on the reins just as I was about to fire. The 



