THE LESSER KUDU 



soon as he saw me, and made a spiral gesture in 

 imitation of the male's beautiful corkscrew horns. 



While the men prepared the trophy, F. and I 

 followed on after the other four to see what they 

 would do, and speedily came to the conclusion that 

 we were lucky to land two of the wily beasts. The 

 four ran compactly together and in a wide curve 

 for several hundred yards. Then two faced directly 

 back, while the other two, one on either side, made 

 a short detour out and back to guard the flanks. 



We did not get back to camp until after dark. 

 A tremendous pair of electric storms were volleying 

 and roaring at each other across the space of night; 

 leopards were crying; a pack of wild dogs were 

 barking vociferously. The camp, as we approached 

 it, was a globe of light in a bower of darkness. The 

 fire, shining and flickering on the under sides of the 

 leaves, lent them a strangely unreal stagelike ap- 

 pearance; the porters, their half-naked bodies and 

 red blankets catching the blaze, roasted huge chunks 

 of meat over little fires. 



We ate a belated supper in comfort, peace, and 

 satisfaction. Then the storms joined forces and fell 

 upon us. 



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