160 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



the lock of an old rifle, until I made up my mind 

 that he would either shoot me or some of the half- 

 a-dozen people whom, in spite of my remonstrance, 

 he would have sitting near us, to my intense dis- 

 gust ; for my olfactory organs received a shock they 

 did not get over for some time, from the offensive 

 smell that was emitted by the exhalation from their 

 bodies, the cocoa-nut oil in their hair, and the garlic 

 and sour rice they had been eating. 



At last the bison broke, and a fine bull came 

 tearing down right in front of us, and, when about 



twenty paces distant, D put up his piece ; but 



being an old and unserviceable piece of goods, it 

 snicked, and away went the quarry in the thick 

 jungle on the other side the watercourse. 



I caught a glimpse of his hinder quarters as he 

 was tearing along the rising ground on the opposite 

 side of the ravine, and I let drive with my rifle, 

 hoping to stop him by a chance shot. I heard the 

 " thud " of the ball as it struck him, and doubled 

 liim up for the moment, but he was not hit in a 

 vital place, and I heard him bellowing as he tore 

 through the dense jungle that covers the sides of 

 the hills. 



Both D and I tracked him for some dis- 

 tance, and in some places large gouts of blood were 

 visible ; but on coming to a watercourse, which bore 

 the marks of his having cleared at a bound, I gave 



over the pursuit, and went in search of B , 



whom we heard fire a double shot. We found him 



