46 HUNTING CAMPS. 



the rocks. At a hurried glance I imagined it must be 

 the first of the two bulls I was stalking, as the colour was 

 brindled. He was quite unaware of my presence, and 

 remained so while I crawled forward with great care to 

 the next point I had selected. When I reached it I found 

 I was within eighty yards of him, as he lay sleepily only 

 a few feet from the game-track. I was beautifully placed 

 for a shot, but a second look told me that this was not 

 the great brindled beast I had first seen, but the third 

 animal, which was nothing like as large and with far 

 inferior horns. I was quite contented, nevertheless, as I 

 believed it to be only a matter of time, for I knew his 

 companions could not be far away, but were probably 

 approaching up the game-track behind him and just out 

 of sight over the edge of the ridge. I waited for several 

 minutes in expectation, but as they failed to appear I 

 began to fear that they had turned off the main track. 

 There was nothing for me to do but to remain where I 

 was, as I could not advance without being discovered 

 by the young bull in front, and to return on my tracks 

 did not seem to promise any better chance of success. 



I could have shot the small bull easily, but I had set 

 my heart on the two patriarchs, whose mighty horns I 

 resolved to have or none. For more than an hour the 

 troublesome four-year-old kept his position and forced 

 me to keep mine, and when he did at last rise he left 

 the game-path and made straight towards me. Every 

 moment as he moved I expected to see the horns of the 

 other bulls rise over the ridge, but he lumbered on 

 slowly till he was within forty yards of me, when 

 suddenly his whole aspect changed he broke into an 

 unwieldy trot which almost immediately became a 

 gallop. At the same time there was a crashing above 



