136 KLOOF AND KARROO. 



and they were soon far beyond ken. The bok 

 wounded by Igneese must have been very shghtly 

 hit, for after searching and spooring about for 

 another hour, we were obhged to abandon pursuit, 

 and turned homewards, as it was now getting towards 

 three o'clock. Another soupje from my flask, and a 

 well-earned pipe of tobacco, and we were striding up 

 hill and down dale again until we had reached the 

 rhebok shot in the morning. It was too far home 

 to carry the whole carcass, so Igneese quickly 

 skinned the animal, and taking the best of the meat, 

 hid the remainder, which he intended returning for 

 early next morning. 



The Kaffir having taken as much meat as he 

 could carry, we started homewards, having still a 

 longish march before us. As we descended a craggy 

 steep some way farther on, Igneese suddenly touched 

 me, and pointed to a deep thickly bushed hollow in 

 the kloof right below us ; I shortly made out a dark 

 form, half hidden by the brush some 300 yards 

 beneath. The duyker, for such it was, had for a 

 wonder not noticed our approach, and I had time 

 for a steady shot. What with the distance, the bad 

 mark offered — for the bok was more than half 

 hidden — and the difficulty of shooting almost 

 perpendicularly down hill, I missed, however. This 

 antelope {Cephalopus mergens) is common in the 

 Cape Colony, and may be found in bushy cover, and 

 especially in such deep dark bottoms as I have 

 described. It stands about two feet high, is of a 

 dark brown colour (white underneath), carries short, 

 straight, sharp horns, four inches long, and is found 

 either singly or in pairs. Its Dutch name, duyker — 

 that is, diver or ducker — aptly describes it, for it 



