MEN OF THE TREES 



be impossible to get another chance of coming close to 

 the herd again that day, so I decided to return to camp. 

 The bereaved mother came to welcome me as a victor 

 and it was hard to have to confess myself defeated. Some- 

 how I felt I had failed her, and I determined then and 

 there that I would not return a second time without hav- 

 ing made the buffalo pay the penalty for the killing of 

 her son. 



That night I could not sleep, and the next morning the 

 hunt started even earlier than before. It was an easy 

 matter to reach the water-hole and pick up the new spoor 

 from there and follow up the buffalo into the forest. This 

 time I had made up my mind that I would shoot if only 

 I saw so much as a square inch of him at which to aim. 



After a wonderful exhibition of tracking on the part 

 of my guide we eventually came upon the herd, and this 

 time good fortune was on my side, for my bullet found 

 its mark. As we followed up, after a few minutes' pause, 

 we came upon the blood spoor which proved that al- 

 though the herd had vanished the buffalo had been 

 wounded. I continued in hot pursuit for about an hour, 

 though fully conscious that I was taking big risks, for 

 a wounded buffalo is prone to circle round and hunt the 

 hunter. 



By this time the sun was high in the heavens and soon 

 we were tracking in great discomfort owing to the in- 

 tensity of the heat. It was now several hours' journey from 

 water, and in a part of the forest which was quite un- 

 known to me. 



64 



