TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 275 



Cecily smartly detached one of them, which immediately 

 charged away back into the fastnesses of the waving 

 grass of the " bun." A grand hiding-place, and I 

 feared we had lost the treasure. The leader and 

 Ralph dashed like lightning after the pig, and rounded 

 it up in style. Back it came like a whirlwind, and 

 made for the open again. I rode at him, thinking 

 I was doing quite the right thing, and wild to draw 

 first blood, when Ralph signalled " Sow." I was 

 going far too quickly to draw up, my stirrup leather 

 broke, and the consequence was the pig and my steed 

 cannoned violently, and bang over I went. I called 

 to the others not on any account to stop, but to pursue 

 the vanished sounder before it was too late. This 

 they did, and disappeared in a moment. 



After I had sorted myself from out the pony, and 

 with Clarence's help picked sundry bits of the land- 

 scape off my clothes, I mounted again, and following the 

 trail of the others, and led by their shouts, I arrived 

 on the scene of action just as one spear — Ralph's — 

 was taken. I tried to join the exciting chase that 

 ensued, but my pony would not see the thing through, 

 and disgraced me and itself every " jink." The 

 leader's spear now flashed about so very quickly I 

 could hardly follow each phase of the game, intent as 

 I was on forcing my pony to take a hand in it. The 

 boar charged several times most ferociously, but the 

 nimble warrior parried each onslaught successfully. 

 The boar was indeed a game one, and nothing could 

 hold him. Ralph and his pony went down like nine- 

 pins before him, but the effort was the gallant hog's 



