BIKANEER AND THE GEEAT DESERT. 267 



antics or manoeuvring of the forces was required ; the 

 ground offered every facility for a stalk. No difficulty 

 was experienced in getting within shot of a fine speci- 

 men and planting a bullet just behind the shoulder 

 blade from a distance of about one hundred yards. 

 Seeing the animal bound away as though unhurt, I 

 blew the whistle, which was the signal to let loose 

 the deerhound, strong enough to pull down single- 

 handed a wounded buck. There was no need of the 

 dog, for after running to a considerable distance, the 

 animal fell dead. The next opportunity was offered 

 by two bucks which had been observed remaining in 

 the same place fighting obstinately for upwards of an 

 hour. On leaving the horse and camels out of sight, 

 and attempting a stalk, one of them was suddenly en- 

 countered unexpectedly as we came to the top of a 

 hillock. It is hard to say which of us felt most 

 surprise, the antelope or myself. This shot also was 

 successful. On my now riding southwards, as though 

 I wished to continue the chase, the camel-drivers pro- 

 tested that we were far from home, and that it would 

 be wiser to return, as the load of meat was heavy. 

 One more trophy, however, I desired, and, not sup- 

 posing that the Moslems would eat the meat of 

 these animals whose throats had not been cut before 

 death, in the orthodox manner, I set them all to work 

 with knives, decapitating, skinning, and removing the 

 choicer portions of the venison for myself, leaving, as 

 I thought, for the vultures, who were already dis- 

 cernible in the blue vault above us, nothing but the 



