XX IN QUEST OF THE BOUNDARY 261 



band of about twenty oryx came to witliiii ihiily 

 yards or so of the water, and there liahed and stood 

 gazing at it. Then, evidently at the commaiul of a 

 leader, all rushed impetuously down into th(; rixcr- 

 bed, drank greedily, and galloped back lo their 

 former position. After a pause there, they again 

 charged down together, drank their fill and galloped 

 off into the night, this time returning no more. 

 Undoubtedly they adopted these tactics owing to 

 their fear of lions lurking in ambush about the 

 waterhole. It is probable that no beast of prey 

 would attack a herd of this size if they meant to 

 stand by one another, as the oryx, with its long, 

 sharp, and strong horns, set on a powerful head, is 

 by no means to be despised as an antagonist, even 

 by a lion. It would be very interesting to know if 

 they would have made common cause against one 

 had he appeared. 



An hour or so after this scores of zebra came to 

 drink, and then, to add to the interest, a lion at last 

 arrived on the scene, and began to prowl stealthily 

 round. I thought he was coming straight up to my 

 boma, so much so that I reached out for m)- rille 

 and went to the loophole which he seemed to 

 be approaching. I watched carefully for him, but 

 for some reason he must have doubled back 

 and crouched under a clump of bushes which grew 

 on the bank by the water. I did not actually sec 



