42 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



markably thick horns. Our next camp was at a place 

 called Mullu, among fine trees and at 3750 feet eleva- 

 tion. It was a bright moonlight night, during the early 

 hours of which we put out some meat as bait and bagged 

 several of the jackals which were skulking round. 



Noon next day saw us camped at Duncaga, on the 

 edge of a waterless plain stretching away to the H awash 

 valley. After tiffin, Ali being seedy, I started out with 

 my second shikari and soon found a herd of oryx. I 

 brought off a successful stalk, and was just picking out 

 the largest bull of the herd, when a loud whistle from 

 the shikari, whom I had left a couple of hundred yards 

 behind, made me put down my rifle to see what was 

 the matter. He was gesticulating wildly — why I could 

 not tell, until I espied W. behind an ant-hill. I then 

 found that he had stalked the same herd from another 

 direction, but had not got so close as myself. As he 

 had not bagged an oryx, and I had killed eighteen on 

 a previous trip, I decided to let him take the shot. 

 This, however, did not suit my shikari, and although 

 I signed to him to keep quiet, he kept whistling and 

 gesticulating till he attracted the attention of the oryx. 

 The animals, which had been slowly moving towards me, 

 on being disturbed threw their heads up, and turned 

 to bolt. W. who was some way off, at once opened fire ; 

 but they circled round him, and he knocked one over. 

 He had seen me and could not "make out why I did 

 not take my shot. H., who meanwhile had gone out 

 into the plain, had seen some hartebeest and also a few 

 zebra-tracks. 



W., B., and I were very anxious to camp half-way 



