himyah's mistake. 187 



we proceeded for about a quarter of an hour, both 

 diverging nearly in a right line from each other, 

 the rest of our party all this time sitting close to 

 the ground, in the place where we started from. 

 We moved in opposite directions, until we had 

 placed a distance of at least half a mile between us, 

 before we began to bend again towards the sides of 

 the herd, and as I had to get within eighty yards 

 of them, before I could fire with any hope of suc- 

 cess, whilst Himyah's long matchlock would carry 

 pointblank at least two hundred yards, he arrived 

 at a point favourable for a shot, long before I did. 

 My yellow Arab dress was exactly the colour of the 

 deer, and the short barrel of my carbine projecting 

 over my head, as I carried it conveniently upon my 

 shoulder, made no bad representation of a horn, 

 especially when seen in profile, and in fact I in- 

 tended taking advantage, of all these favourable 

 circumstances, to aid me in my approach on our 

 timid game. Just as my heart was beating thick, 

 with the hopes and expectancy of a successful shot, 

 and I had begun actually to laugh in my sleeve, at 

 the simplicity of the deceived animals, all at once I 

 was astonished by the sharp phit of a ball, as it 

 passed close to my head, followed by a report, that 

 for a moment seemed to paralyze the startled deer, 

 but which, before I could recover from my own sur- 

 prise, placed a long distance between me and them. 

 The astonishment of Himyah may be supposed 

 when he saw me bound to my feet. His first idea 



