of the Old World. 233 



myself up more closely in my " combley " (a blanket 

 made of goats' hair, impermeable to wet), and set to 

 work at my pile of sandwiches and cold tea, with 

 occasional nips of brandy, when suddenly I thought 

 I caught the sound of a rustling of leaves followed by 

 the snapping of a dry twig. I set down the bottle 

 of tea I was in the act of raising to my mouth, noise- 

 lessly grasped my rifle, which I raised with the 

 muzzle directed towards the spot from whence I 

 thought the noise proceeded, and listened attentively, 

 but I heard nothing save the palpitations of my own 

 heart that seemed to be thumping violently against 

 my side ; and as to seeing anything, it was out of the 

 question, for the night was so dark and gloomy that 

 I could scarcely even recognise the outline of the 

 dead bullock. A long anxious hour passed and I 

 repeatedly heard the tearing of flesh and crunching 

 of bones close in front of me, but the sky was so over- 

 cast that I could not distinguish anything, although 

 now and then I caught sight of a pair of greenish 

 looking eyes, and heard a low purring. At last, 

 finding there was no prospect of getting a fair shot, 

 I resolved to risk a chance one, and having waited 

 until I again caught sight of his eyes, I gave a whistle 

 which immediately attracted his attention, for he 

 raised up his head, uttering a low savage snarl, 

 and I saw his eyeballs glare as if he was peering 

 through the gloom in my direction. This was the 



