THE FRINGE-EARED ORYX 



tains in all parts of the world, but none as fan- 

 tastically insubstantial, as wonderfully lofty, as 

 gracefully able to yield before clouds and storms 

 and sunrise glows all the space in infinity they, could 

 possibly use, and yet to tower above them all serene 

 in an upper space of its own. Nearly every morning 

 of our journey to come we enjoyed this wonderful 

 vision for an hour or so. Then the mists closed in. 

 The rest of the day showed us a grayish sky along 

 the western horizon, with apparently nothing behind 

 it. 



In the meantime we were tramping steadily ahead 

 over the desert, threading the thorn scrub, crossing 

 the wide shallow grass-grown swales, spying about 

 us for signs of game. At the end of three or four 

 miles we came across some ostrich and four harte- 

 beeste. This encouraged us to think we might find 

 other game soon; for the hartebeeste is a gregarious 

 animal. 



Suddenly we saw a medium-sized squat beast that 

 none of us recognized, trundling along like a badger, 

 sixty yards ahead. Any creature not easily identi- 

 fied is a scientific possibility in Africa. Therefore 

 we fired at once. One of the bullets hit his fore- 

 paw. Immediately this astonishing small creature 

 turned and charged us! If his size had equalled his 

 ferocity, he would have been a formidable opponent. 



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