18 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



the rest, seemingly as well as ever. " A splendid 

 shot, by Jupiter ! " exclaimed "Walter, " for he was 

 a good three hundred yards when you fired, but 

 you were not quick enough, and as it has failed to 

 stop him, we will first 'pay the last ofiices to the 

 fallen,' and then send Ponto on his track, for I feel 

 sure he is hard hit, and if we do not urge him 

 whilst the wound is fresh, but give it time to 

 stifien, he will be obliged to slacken his pace and 

 fall out from the rest of the herd." 



Walter had shot his stag through the small of 

 the back, and although completely disabled, so as 

 not to be able to drag itself along, it was not dead, 

 and it was with some difficulty that he managed, 

 with Ponto's assistance, to plunge his long knife 

 in his chest and finish him. After we had bled, 

 opened, and " gralloched " both, we covered the 

 carcasses over with thorny bushes and stones, to 

 preserve them from the vultures, without which 

 precaution we should only have found the bones 

 when we returned with the coolies to carry away 

 the game ; and having refreshed the inner man 

 with a nip of " brandy panee," we reloaded our 

 rifles and tracked up the hart Walter had wounded, 

 which, from the size of the slots, appeared to be 

 larger than either of those we had kUled. 



Here and there we found the ground dyed with 

 drops of blood, and where he rolled over when my 

 l)ullet struck his horn there was a bright crimson 

 pool, which showed that he was hard hit. "He 



