42 SPORTING AND 



that we had fired in a hurry, and deter- 

 mined to be very cool and aim more care- 

 fully before pulling the triggers next time. 

 We then reformed line, and proceeded, 

 hoping for better luck : it mortified me 

 greatly to see a broad grin on the faces of 

 our military attendants, but I trusted that 

 my next shot would make amends for the 

 last one. 



We had not proceeded far before a 

 noble black buck sprang to his feet, and, 

 unluckily for him, stopped for a second to 

 reconnoitre, when I seized the opportunity 

 and planted a bullet exactly between his 

 eyes, which brought him down with a 

 crash, to the great delight of my brother 

 sportsmen^ and to the surprise of our 

 escort, who begun to see we were not such 

 muffs as they thought us. My successful 

 shot gave us fresh confidence, and from 



