SECOND EXPEDITION TO EAST AFRICA 193 



The ground sloped from us to them, which gave 

 me the advantage of position in the event of a 

 charge, and the rhinos had poor horns, so I did 

 not shoot. They stood and looked at us for some 

 time, and my men threw stones and bits of stick 

 at them, while I held the rifle ready in case any 

 one of them might assume the offensive ; and 

 eventually they became tired of looking at us, 

 and turned round and walked away. They 

 showed no fear and no desire to attack, and, so 

 far as I could judge, were merely curious. 



In a place where rhinos were so numerous 

 I thought that I might be able to obtain some 

 exceptionally fine horns, and I accordingly passed 

 rhino after rhino without shooting. By the 

 conditions of my licence I was permitted to shoot 

 two rhinos, and I only fired at one throughout 

 the whole of the expedition. 



I was returning on one evening with my two 

 gun-bearers to our camp on the Guaso Nyiro, 

 having seen nothing to shoot in the course of the 

 afternoon, and we passed on our way a very 

 thick leafy bush among the trees on the river- 

 bank. The bush was moving in three different 

 places, and we thought that some buffaloes must 

 be browsing upon it. I had not at this time 

 shot a buffalo, and was very anxious to do so, and, 

 accordingly, took up my stand behind a small 

 shrub, about breast high, which was about 25 

 yards from the cover, and waited in eager 

 expectation. Presently through the leafy screen 

 appeared the head of a water-buck. " Shoot/' 

 whispered Tagarru ; " good horn." The buck 

 had not as good horns as those which I had shot 

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