THE MAN HUNTERS 



and all I could clearly see were his nose and the tips of 

 his horns which indicated that they were enormous. For 

 the rest, all that was visible was the merest outline of his 

 huge body. 



The instinct of self-preservation caused me involun- 

 tarily to look around for a tree behind which to shelter, 

 but a glance showed that there was nothing of the kind 

 in the immediate vicinity. It was indeed a tight cover. 

 In my endeavour to get a shoulder shot a twig snapped 

 and our lives hung in the balance for the next few mo- 

 ments. There was a terrific snort and for a terrible two 

 seconds it seemed as though the whole herd were charg- 

 ing down upon us, but what actually happened was that 

 they most unexpectedly cleared off in the opposite di- 

 rection. 



I got up from my crouching position and measured 

 ten paces from where I had been to the foot marks of 

 the front feet of the buffalo. Apparently his cow had 

 been lying in front of him and the remainder of the herd 

 on the other two points of their triangle. It is a well 

 known fact that in these forests buffalo, when they lie 

 up for the day, always make this formation, one of them 

 taking turn to stand and be on guard at his point of the 

 triangle until relieved by another, so that from whichever 

 way an enemy may approach he will be observed by one 

 of the three standing animals and the alarm will be given. 



I was unwilHng to return to camp after having been 

 so close to the quarry without having fired a shot. How- 

 ever, the brother of the dead boy protested that it would 



63 



