AN UNSOLICITED RIDER, 



249 



curiosity by gazing at the intruders. To the aston- 

 ishment of the hunters, the family party in an instant 

 broke up, and, with no apparent reason, took to most 

 precipitate flight. The brush had become thinner, 

 the ground more even on the surface, so an imme- 

 diate pursuit was instituted. The pace was very 

 severe, but the horsemen had the best of it, so that 

 the distance between pursuers and pursued became 

 much lessened. One thing struck both the sports- 

 men as strange ; instead of the rear being brought 

 up, as is usual, by the old bull, that post of honour 

 was occupied by a cow, who apparently laboured 

 considerably in her efforts to retain her place. No 

 suspicion had so far occurred to the hunters of what 

 was the matter with the poor beast. Possibly they 

 had enough to do to keep their horses in hand, and 

 look out for the omnipresent ant-bear holes, to take 

 particular notice of the game so as to note that the cow 

 in question carried a rider ; but the similarity in the 

 colour of both animals might well prevent this being 

 observed. However, the pace was good and the 

 distance covered upwards of four miles, when, to the 

 surprise of the horsemen, without a shot being fired, 

 the rear giraffe came down all of a heap. Here was 

 a mystery, but it was soon solved on reaching the 

 prostrate beast, for beside it was a leopard, appa- 

 rently ignorant of the vicinity of enemies, still 

 gnawing further and further into its victim's neck. I 

 am happy to add that that was the last ride Master 

 Spots ever had an opportunity of enjoying. 



The late lamented George Wisbeach, who spent 

 upwards of twenty-five years in trading between the 

 frontiers of civilization and the Zambesi, met me on 

 one occasion at Tchakani vley. He was bound for 

 the station of Bamanwato, which I had just left. 

 He had had a most successful trip, I anticipated 

 the same, although our ( bjerts were quite different. 

 One thing, however, I possessed, which he had not, 



:,% 



