284 A MEDLEY OF SPOET 



twenty yards of my blind, and so closely bunched were 

 they that no fewer than five fell to my first barrel, while 

 another, hard hit, after carrying on some twenty yards 

 across the veldt, took refuge in a disused ant-bear earth, 

 from the depths of which I was unable to extract him. 

 For the next fifteen minutes or so the sport was fast and 

 furious; and although personally I shot but very in- 

 differently, my companions acquitted themselves in 

 first-rate style ; more especially the lawyer, who was 

 indeed one of the finest game shots I had ever met with. 



The beaters enter the last belt of reeds that lie between 

 the guns and themselves, and in couples, and dozens, and 

 small bunches, the wary old coots begin to leave their final 

 haven of refuge. Quickly getting up speed, the dusky 

 birds afiord us some really sporting shots as they pass high 

 overhead, or to right or left, at a pace that would not dis- 

 grace driven partridges. The drive is now over, and the 

 yelling, slime-soiled natives are set to work to gather the 

 spoil. Doubtless a number of both dead and wounded 

 birds escaped the not too vigilant eyes of our human 

 retrievers, to provide a feast later to the aasvogds 

 (vultures), and other feathered scavengers of the veldt. 

 Nevertheless, the bag proved a very respectable one. 



The marshy land bordering the dam was next visited, 

 when several couple of snipe and a beautifully plumaged 

 avocet were shot. Then we rode back to the golden city, 

 well satisfied with the morning's sport, and with appetites 

 that must have astonished the waiters of the hotel at 

 which we breakfasted. 



