298 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
There were plenty of black-buck, and we were 
not long in finding a herd, in which were several 
good old buck, as black as night. Nothing could 
be more favourable than the character of the ground, 
for the natural habits of the cheetah. The surface 
was quite flat and firm, being a succession of glades 
more or less open, surrounded by scattered bush. 
A cheetah was now taken from its cage, and it at 
once leapt to the top, and sat with its master, who 
had released it from the hood. After an advance 
of about 200 yards, the wheels making no noise 
upon the level surface, we espied the herd of about 
twenty antelopes, and the cart at once halted until 
they had slowly moved from view. Again the cart 
moved forward for 70 or 80 paces, and two bucks 
were seen trotting away to the left, as they had 
caught a glimpse of the approaching cart. In 
an instant the cheetah was loosed ; for a moment 
it hesitated, and then bounded forward, although the 
two bucks had disappeared. We now observed 
that the cheetah not only slackened its pace, but 
it crept cautiously forward, as though looking for 
the lost game. 
We followed quietly upon horseback, and in a 
few seconds we saw the two bucks about 120 yards 
distant, standing with their attention fixed upon us. 
At the same instant the cheetah dashed forward 
with an extraordinary rush ; the two bucks, at the 
sight of their dreaded enemy, bounded away at their 
usual speed, with the cheetah following, until all 
animals were lost to view among the scattered bushes. 
