62 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



and would still afford me a shot. Nor was I mistaken, for, 

 on turning a bend of the tortuous nullah, there he stood 

 broadside on, in all his magnificence, not eighty yards from 

 my rifle ; but, alas ! who could shoot after a run, almost on 

 all fours, of some 500 yards or so ? When I attempted to 

 bring the fine sight to bear on his shoulder, my hand trembled 

 like an aspen leaf, and the sight described figures of eight 

 all over his body. There was no help for it, however : he was 

 moving away, and I might never have such another chance. 

 So, almost in despair, I fired. I was not surprised to see the 

 ball raise the dust a hundred yards or so on his further side, 

 and with a tremendous bound of, I fear to say how many 

 yards, straight in the air, away went the buck like an arrow 

 from the bow. In for a penny, in for a pound ! once fired at, 

 I might as well have the other shot ; so stepping from my 

 cramped position, I held my breath as I tried to cover his 

 fleeting figure with the second barrel. He had gained at least 

 150 yards ere I touched the trigger, but the ball sped true, 

 and over rolled the buck in a cloud of dust. Short was my 

 triumph, however, for ere I had well taken the rifle from my 

 shoulder he had regained his feet, and was off with hardly 

 diminished speed. It is very rare that an antelope thus sud- 

 denly rolled over does not succeed in regaining his legs. 

 Their vital power is immense, and nothing but a brain shot 

 or broken spine will tumble them over for good on the spot. 

 When shot in the heart they generally run some fifty yards 

 and then fall dead, and I much prefer to see an antelope go 

 off thus, with the peculiar gait well known to experienced 

 shots as the forerunner of a speedy dissolution, than to see 

 even the prettiest somersault follow the striking of the ball. 



" In the present instance I watched the antelope almost to 

 the verge of the horizon. Now and then he slackened his 



