GAZELLE MISSED 349 



of a couple of miles to try and get to the spur. By 

 the time I arrived there the drive had commenced ; but 

 the combined herd was no easier driven than the two 

 separate groups had been. The herd of three went 

 south along the plain, past the spur I was on, but far 

 out of range, and the other four went up the ridge to 

 the east, altogether out of the plain. I went down, 

 accordingly, and joined the men, and they told me that 

 the three had gone up a small tongue of the plain that led 

 up behind a low hill, and might be found beyond it. I, 

 accordingly, went up this hill as fast as my wind would 

 allow, and on getting towards the top, instead of making 

 at once to the right, where there was a pass leading down 

 to the plain again, and where, if I had known these 

 animals a little better, I should have made certain of their 

 appearing, I went straight up over the crest, rifle in hand, 

 looking in all directions. Suddenly I caught sight of the 

 three standing on the pass, and about 200 yards away. 

 I sat down and had a broadside shot at the last of the 

 three, but made a mess of it and missed to his right. 

 All three bolted straight for the plain, and in less than 

 ten minutes the aggravating little beasts were in the 

 middle of the open ground, grazing as if nothing what- 

 ever was the matter. This was about the most heart- 

 breaking species of sport I had yet tried, and my sensations 

 were the reverse of pleasant, as I sat disconsolate on the 

 hillside and looked at the antelope, now over a mile away. 

 It being quite hopeless to go any more after this herd, 

 we turned our attention to the group of four, and got 

 on the range to the east, up which it had gone. The 

 ground towards the top got broken up into so many small 



