With all the care possible, the youth extended his gun in front of him over the slope, but the herd took the alarm on the instant, though it seemed impossible that they should have seen or heard anything.

The leader raised his head, and whirling to one side, started at a swift gallop toward the other end of the valley, the rest of the animals being hardly a second behind him.
The peculiar panic and stampede of the creatures gave Jack Dudley the best possible target, though the shot was a long one.

He did not aim at the leader, but at a smaller animal that immediately followed him.

The bullet pierced the heart of the antelope, which made a frenzied leap high in air, staggered a few paces, and dropped to the ground without a particle of life.
"Hurrah!" exclaimed the delighted Jack, springing up and dashing down the side of the valley toward his prize; "I beat you, after all, Fred!" Not doubting that his comrade would speedily appear, Jack gave no further thought to him, but continued running until he reached the prize.

He had learned the art so rapidly that it took but a few minutes to cut all he could need for himself and friend.