ANTELOPES > 275 



tion they wanted to take. 1 let them finally have their own 

 choice. We walked for fully an hour. Then we steered 

 for a large tree, where a crowd of similarly armed savages 

 awaited us. 



Here my first set of savages threw down their burdens of 

 meat, squatted down, and entered into a noisy palaver with 

 their comrades. I waited patiently for a while. Then, as no 

 one seemed willing to make a move to accompany me a step 

 farther, I decided to take the initiative by renewing our pan- 

 tomime gesture-dialogue, which had proved successful so far. 

 I confess I was not at all sure but that the savages had already 

 taken me miles and miles away from the caravan route. They 

 might, for all I knew, be waiting to take me to one of their 

 distant villages, and to disarm me whenever I fell asleep. 

 How I blamed my stupidity in permitting my servant to leave 

 me ! What solemn resolutions I formed, as we probably all 

 do when we realise the feebleness of our unaided intellect, if 

 it should please Providence to help me safely out of this scrape ! 

 I felt convinced, that any sign of fear might end in my ruin. I 

 approached the savage who was evidently the leader. 



He remained sitting. Silent and sullen he only stared at me. 

 I slapped him patronisingly on the shoulder. I professed to be 

 most anxious to explain to him the mysteries of the deadly rifle. 

 I even showed him how I took aim. This manoeuvre led to the 

 younger savages making a precipitate movement to the side to 

 get out of the line of aim. But the old sullen rascal remained 

 unmoved. When I had done enough of this dumb-crambo 

 business, slapping his shoulder and occasionally shaking him 

 up, I assumed an authoritative tone, and hoisted one of the 

 loads of meat on to his shoulders. This made him budge ; 

 and as he pointed out a younger man sitting near to him, 

 1 soon had all the meat shouldered again. Then we moved 

 off in single file, leaving the other savages squatting under 

 the tree. 



In about two hours we came upon my hartebeest's head. 

 I heard afterwards that my boy, having lost his way, be- 

 came tired and nervous, and then chucked away the trophy. 

 My friendlies, for at last I felt convinced that my savages 

 were dealing honestly with me, lifted up the hartebeest head 

 and carried it along. The sun was getting low, when we 

 entered the caravan road. Then my boy met us. He was 



