io6 
SOMALILAND 
my Express, I descended the hill into the crater covered with 
thick bush. When at the bottom, we could not see more than 
10 yards ahead of us in the most open places. However, by 
tracking we soon found the oryx quite close to us, and I 
began to walk over the stony ground in tennis shoes and on 
tiptoe towards them. Not a sound could be heard. I was 
getting very near them, and was in the act of stretching 
out my hand for my rifle, when, on crouching cat-like round 
a bush, I suddenly became aware of an enormous head and 
horns about 3 feet from my face, and realized that I had 
literally walked into the face of a huge rhinoceros, which 
was standing under a bush within an arm’s length of me, 
perfectly rigid. My shikari, who was carrying my rifle 
behind and a little to the left of me, stood with open 
mouth, as if petrified. I gave one glance at his horror- 
stricken face, and another at the ugly ‘ mug ’ of the ‘rhino,’ 
and then backed slowly away from the huge beast round a 
bush. When I turned round to grasp my rifle, I caught 
a glimpse of my shikari running hard away on tiptoe 
through the bushes with my rifle, gesticulating and point- 
ing back towards the rhinoceros. This made me turn 
round again, when I beheld the rhinoceros slowly advancing 
upon me without a sound, having evidently got my wind 
when I was almost touching him. It was now my turn to 
run, and my name was ‘ Walker ’ until I had reached my 
men and snatched up my big rifle, when I again went to 
the attack ; but look as I did all over, I failed to see him or 
his tracks anywhere, and at length stood and rubbed my eyes, 
to see if I w^as dreaming or had seen a phantom. On open- 
ing my eyes again, I sighted the same two oryx close to me, 
and had again begun to stalk them, when my shikari suddenly 
stopped, and, looking as if he had seen a ghost, whispered, 
‘ The rhino T There, sure enough, about 20 yards off, stood 
the rhinoceros, which seemed to haunt us like a huge 
demon. Before I could attempt to raise my rifle, I felt 
myself violently clutched by the arm, and dragged off at a 
great pace by my now utterly terrified shikari, in spite of 
