A Sportsman at Large 229 



would return and take coffee with him. At the same time, he 

 sent with us a posse of his body-guards armed with long 

 rifles to act as an escort. Now this struck me as being a 

 rather quaint move ! The warning which. I had received 

 recurred to my mind, and I wondered why " His Duskiness " 

 had taken this precaution. 



We were soon to learn ! 



The " rocks " quickly put in an appearance, so we were 

 kept busy ; but we had not been engaged in our fusillade more 

 than a quarter of an hour, when we became aware that ex- 

 cursions and alarums were toward. First of all, the women 

 and children began to encroach on our positions, and every 

 time a pigeon fell they would raise loud wails and lamenta- 

 tions, snatching up the sand from the ground, casting it in 

 the air, and letting it fall on their dusky heads. Then the 

 male portion of the community surged out, and so sur- 

 rounded us that we could not continue our shooting. They 

 pressed closer and closer, and it soon became evident, from 

 their menacing cries and gesticulations, that they had the 

 wind well up, and meant mischief. 



" What's all this rumpus ? " I asked Hassanein. " What 

 are they talking about ? " 



" Someping," was our Shikari's terse reply. 



' Yes, you fool ! I know it's something, but what ? " 



' They say tings ! " 



" I know, I know ; but what are they saying ? " 



' They not want you shoot bigeon." 



" Well, why on earth wasn't I told ? " 



' The Sheikh say shoot bigeon, never mind beople ! " 



" But I do mind. We'll chuck it up ? Go and tell Basha 

 Jaquet to come here at once ! " 



Easier said than done ! The lusty Ted was so densely 

 surrounded by howling natives that he was difficult of 

 approach. 



Now a diversion occuired. The Sheikh's body-guard went 

 bald-headed for the crowd using their rifles to force back 

 the surging masses. One of them hit a particularly aggressive 

 native under the chin with his rifle, sending the man senseless 

 to the ground ! 



