TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 241 
an opposite direction. Sometimes a bit of thorn 
would hold me lovingly, and all my blandishments 
could not make it let me go. I only obtained freedom 
with leaving a piece of my coat as tribute. Vulturine 
guinea-fowl ran at the sight of us, raising their naked 
necks and setting off at great speed to make safety. 
They are beautiful birds, and the prismatic colours 
of the feathers show up against the green of the armo 
very distinctly. Doves cooed above us, but I could 
not catch a glimpse of one. As we neared the middle 
of the oasis we came on a few scattered half-eaten 
bones — a dead lesser koodoo. He had furnished a 
meal for a lion, doubtless, and later for one of his own 
people. One or two varieties of antelope are very 
fond of nibbling dry white bones. 
We took a turn to the right, and on the instant a 
beautiful lesser koodoo took a gigantic leap over an 
in-the-way bunch of aloe scrub. He disappeared 
into a thicket and I stood motionless listening. So 
I suspect did my koodoo. All was still, but only for 
a moment. The amateur Cook’s Guide got entangled 
somehow or other with a trailing creeper, and to my 
complete horror and amazement let off my .500 Ex- 
press which he was carrying. He must have been 
holding it in very unskilled fashion. The bullet 
missed my head by a couple of inches. I felt the 
whiz of it and heard it ricochet into the trees. I was 
so unnerved I sat down and thought things out. My 
hunter was quite oblivious to any shock I might have 
received, because the stock of the rifle had hit him 
hard somewhere — I was too vexed to inquire the 
Q 
