A CHANGE OF BASE 139 



the hammering the other bulls had given him, 

 which they would deal out to him when he 

 had tried one of his characteristic rushes at 

 them because of getting too near some of his 

 wives. On the right shoulder a small stream 

 of puss was running down, showing that his 

 injuries had been inflicted several days pre- 

 viously. There was not a particle of fat or 

 suet on the back of his shoulders and he was 

 as lean as the proverbial crow. 



When the head and antlers had been se- 

 curely strapped on Charley and some of the 

 other portions on Billie, we looked around to 

 see where the balance of the herd had gone. 

 Not over four hundred yards away were the 

 three bulls, and two of the three were already 

 fighting to see which would be the new king, 

 while the third presumably would wait to try 

 it out with the victor. 



But what of the twenty-seven wives of the 

 "master of the harem"? They were in plain 

 sight, calmly feeding as if nothing whatever 

 had happened. There was not the slightest 

 sign of nervousness or worry or fright. The 

 old cry, "The King is dead; long live the 

 King!" is true of animal life as well as of hu- 

 man life. The wives, that but an hour be- 

 fore had been so watchful in their care over 



