^ The Spell of tlie TJelescho 



W'h.it ill the worltl is he after ? 



As we draw closer, I am extremely surprised at seein</ 

 that the man does not allow himself to 1)e in the least 

 disturhed in his i)roceedin''s. Now his l)iillets hefrin to 

 whistk' unpleasantly near me. I fire in the air, once, 

 twice. . . . Now his attention is attracted, and simul- 

 taneously I perceive a nimiber of dark objects near th(! 

 marksman. 1 hey seem to be his companions, black men, 

 and scjuatting on the ground. 



From the l)ackground there emerge now great numbers 

 of such objects — it must be a large caravan. 



The distance between us is diminished so that one can 

 see plainly. . . . Now we can shout to each other. . . . 

 At last I learn that the hunter is marching with his long 

 caravan of bearers to the great lake. He has been putting- 

 out all his exertions to shoot some wild animals. P)Ut 

 although he has many surprisingly interesting hunting- 

 adventures to tell of as the result of his three months' 

 march from the coast to this point, that task seems to have 

 been beyond his powers ! With a well-aimed shot he has 

 stretched on the ground just one single dwarf gazelle ! ! 



After shaking hands, he bewails the fact that he has 

 a rifle that shoots so badly. He says its system is 

 absolutely worthless, especially against wild animals. 



Our fleeting acquaintance is broken off in a few- 

 minutes. He is the first newly arrived European that I 

 have met for a long time, but I have not too much 

 sympathy for this class of sportsmen. So my new- 

 acquaintance goes off still blazing away freely. He has 

 been urged on by my information that his camping and 



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