its fore-feet, but could not raise itself enough, and at 

 each pause Jock, with his watchful little eyes ever 

 on the alert, dodged his body round to avoid the 

 chopping feet without letting go his hold. Then 

 with a snort of fury the koodoo, half rising, gave its 

 head a wild upward sweep, and shook. As a springing 

 rod flings a fish the koodoo flung Jock over its head 

 and on to a low flat-topped thorn-tree behind. The 

 dog somersaulted slowly as he circled in the air, dropped 

 on his back in the thorns some twelve feet from the 

 ground, and came tumbling down through the branches. 

 Surely the tree saved him, for it seemed as if such a 

 throw must break his back. As it was he dropped 

 with a sickening thump ; yet even as he fell I saw 

 again the scrambling tearing movement, as if he was 

 trying to race back to the fight even before he 

 reached ground. Without a pause to breathe or 

 even to look, he was in again and trying once 

 more for the nose. 



The koodoo lying partly on its side, with both 

 hind-legs hampered by the mass of dead wood, 

 could not rise, but it swept the clear space in front with 

 the terrible horns, and for some time kept Jock at bay. 

 I tried stick after stick for a ram-rod, but without 

 at last, in desperation at seeing Jock once 

 more hanging to the koodoo's nose, I hooked 

 the lever on to a branch and setting my 

 foot against the tree wrenched until the 

 empty cartridge flew out and I went 

 staggering backwards. 



In the last struggle, while I was busy with 



190 



success 



