thorns opposite, raise his gun very deliberately, and 

 fire into the top of the trees. 



" Green pigeons," said Jimmy firmly ; and we all 

 agreed that Buggins was after specimens for stuffing ; 

 but either our guess was wrong or his aim was bad, 

 for after standing dead still for a minute he resumed his 

 vigorous walk. By this time Buggins fairly fascinated 

 us ; even the kaffirs had roused each other and were 

 watching him. Away he went at once off to our 

 left, and there he repeated the performance, but, 

 again made no attempt to pick up anything and showed 

 no further interest in whatever it was he had fired at, 

 but turned right about face and walked across the 

 open ground in our direction until he was only a couple 

 of hundred yards away. There he stopped and began 

 to look about him and making off some few yards in 

 another direction climbed on to a fair-sized ant-heap 

 five or six feet high, and balancing himself cautiously 

 on this he deliberately fired off both barrels in quick 

 succession. Then the same idea struck us all together, 

 and " Buggins is lost " came from several all choking 

 with laughter. 



Jimmy got up and, stepping out into the open beside 

 the waggon, called, " Say, Buggins, what in thunder 

 are you doing ? " 



To see Buggins slide off the ant-heap and shufHe 

 shamefacedly back to the waggon before a gallery of 

 four white men and a lot of kaffirs, all cracking] and 

 crying with laughter, was a sight never to be for- n iVil 

 gotten. 



I did not want to get lost and be eaten 

 129 i 



