and after half a dozen of the dogs had been badly 

 handled there was something so comical in the way 

 they sheered off and eyed Jock that I could only laugh. 

 They sneaked behind bushes and tried to circumvent 

 him in all sorts of ways, but fled precipitately as soon 

 as he moved a step or lowered his head and humped 

 his shoulders threateningly. Even the kaffir owners, 

 who had begun to look glum, broke into appreciative 

 laughter and shouts of admiration for the white man's 

 dog. 



Jock kept up an unbroken string of growls, not loud, 

 of course, but I could feel them going all the while 

 like a volcano's rumbling as my restraining hand rested 

 on him, and when the boys came up to skin the koodoo 

 I had to hold him down and shake him sharply. The 

 dog was mad with fight ; he bristled all over ; and 

 no patting or talking produced more than a flicker 

 of his ears. The growling went on ; the hair stood 

 up; the tail was quite unresponsive; his jaws were set 

 like a vice; and his eyes shone like two black diamonds. 

 He had actually struggled to get free of my hand when 

 the boys began to skin, and they were so scared by his 

 resolute attempt that they would not start until I put 

 him down between my knees and held him. 



I was sitting against a tree only three or four yards 

 from the koodoo, and the boys, who had lighted a fire 

 in anticipation of early tit-bits which would grill 

 while they worked, were getting along well with the 

 skinning, when one of them saw fit to pause in order 

 to hold forth in the native fashion on the glories of 

 the chase and the might of the white man. Jock's 



330 



