On the Cotton Plains. 79 



a broken foreleg swinging crimson splashes against the 

 brown stalks. And thus we separated. This episode afford- 

 ed me a fresh insight into our enemies' wiles. 



Some time after this I annexed a herd of does in a 

 curiously accidental manner. 



One morning, having become separated from our little 

 coterie of bucklets, I had to canter from a village dog, and, 

 further on, emerged, from a palm- fringed nala to find myself 

 almost among a herd of eight does, owned by a buck not 

 much bigger than myself. Halting suddenly, I gazed at 

 them ; then, noticing a cousin among the does, took a few 

 steps forward to greet her when the master of the herd 

 pushed his way up to me in a most offensive way. 



Although his mien was threatening, and the pose of his 

 thick neck extremely choleric, I put a stiff upper lip and 

 firmly curled-up tail on the situation ; and awaited his 

 attack. When a couple of paces off he halted, and we stared 

 at each other, legs braced well up and eyepits distended : 

 then he quivered with rage ; and, licking his lips, fixed me 

 with a glare, advanced a step or two with studied delibera- 

 tion, suddenly lowered his horns, and rushed fiercely at me. 



I met his charge with firm resistance, and our heads came 

 together with a crack ! It was now a question of sheer 

 weight and strength ; and, bracing my muscular hams, I 

 yielded not an inch. After some prolonged but ineffectual 

 efforts on the part of my antagonist, he suddenly bounded 

 back in surprise and annoyance ; and we again stood facing 

 each other, nostrils dilated, and flanks heaving. Again and 

 again he attacked me, with the same result, to his increasing 

 chagrin. Round and round he fenced, and shoved, and 

 slipped ; at length, being extremely short of wind, he 

 halted to think, and, having pondered, was moving back 

 to the herd with what dignity he could manage. 



