132 



A MISCALCULATION. 



Before the assailant could make use of his claws, the oryx, by a dexterous flirt, 

 shook him off his crimsoned horns, and, leaping back a few feet, lowered his head, 

 and, with one bound, drove the fearful weapons again into his side. 



The hyena was dying before the second stroke was delivered, though he struck 

 venomously at the oryx, which easily avoided him, and, standing back, lowered his 

 head once more. But he did not advance again, seeing there was no call to do so. 



Bob Marshall's admiration deepened. It seemed to him, when the oryx was in 

 full flight, that he was the most harmless of animals. So, indeed, he was, but he 



THB STRIPED HYENA. 



had proven what he could do when forced to defend himself. Standing erect, with 

 the blood dripping from his graceful horns, towering so far above his head, he 

 became an object of respect. 



Bob could now appreciate Mr. Godkin's remark about the skill of the gemsbok 

 in using the weapons with which nature provides him. Gifted with such extraor- 

 dinary speed, in addition to his means of defense, the exploit of bringing down or 

 capturing his kind is one worthy of a veteran sportsman. 



It is a fact that an oryx and lion have been found dead together, mutually slain, 

 the king of beasts by his impalement on those sharp-pointed horns, and the gemsboir 



