CH. XXVI. UNSUCCESSFUL SHOT. 103 



on. At that very moment the sentry hind, a long- 

 legged, ragged, donkey-like beast, came back to the 

 mound where she had been before, and her sharp 

 eyes instantly detected me. Never did unlucky 

 wight, caught in the very act of doing what he least 

 wished should be known, feel, or, I dare say, look so 

 taken aback as I was. I stood motionless for a 

 moment, hoping that even her eyesight might be 

 deceived by my grey dress, but it was too late ; 

 giving a snort of alarm, she was instantly out of 

 sight. I ran forwards, trusting to be in time for a 

 running shot at some straggler, and came in view of 

 the whole troop galloping away, a tolerably long shot 

 off, but still within range, and affording a fair broad- 

 side mark as they went along in single file to gain 

 the more level ground. I of course pulled up, and 

 took a deliberate aim at one of the fat hinds. She 

 afforded me a fair enough chance, but I saw, the 

 moment I pulled the trigger, that I had missed her. 

 The ball struck and splintered a rock, and must 

 have passed within a very few inches of the top of 

 her shoulder. I saw my error, which was that, mis- 

 calculating the distance, 1 had fired a little too high. 

 However, it was too late to remedy it ; so I stood 

 quietly watching with a kind of vague hope that 

 my ball might have passed through her shoulder, 

 though in reality I was sure this was not the case. 



