334 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
no sign of the ferocious courage which marks the leopard 
under such circumstances; for the hyena is as cowardly 
as it is savage^ although its size and the tremendous power 
of its jaws ought to make it as formidable as the fierce 
spotted cat. 
The day after this incident we came on a herd of giraffe. 
It was Kermifs turn for a giraffe; and just as the herd got 
under way he wounded the big bulk Away went the tall 
creatures^ their tails twisting and curling, as they can¬ 
tered' along over the rough veldt and among the thorn- 
bushes, at that gait of theirs which looks so leisurely and 
which yet enables them to cover so much ground. After 
them we tore, Kermit and Tarlton in the lead; and a fine 
chase we had. It was not until we had gone two or three 
miles that the bull lagged behind the herd. I was riding 
the tranquil sorrel, not a speedy horse; and by this time my 
weight was telling on him. Kermit and his horse had 
already turned a somersault, having gone into an ant-bear 
hole, which the tall grass concealed; but they were up and 
off in an instant. All of Tranquillity’s enthusiasm had 
vanished, and only by constant thumping with heels and 
gun butt could I keep him at a slow hand gallop, and in 
sight of the leaders. We came to a slight rise, where the 
rank grass grew high and thick; and Tranquillity put both 
his forelegs into an ant-bear hole, and with obvious relief 
rolled gently over on his side. It was not really a tumble; 
he hailed the ant-bear burrow as offering a way out of a 
chase in which he had grown to take less than no interest. 
Besides, he really was winded, and when we got up I could 
barely get him into a canter; and I saw no more of the run. 
Meanwhile Kermit and Tarlton raced alongside the wounded 
