Breathing a hope that they might not still be in the neighbourhood, I went on into the belt of scattered thorns.

For a long while I hunted about without seeing anything, except one duiker buck, which bounded off with a crash from the other side of a stone without giving me a chance.

At length, just as it grew dusk, I spied a Petie buck, a graceful little creature, scarcely bigger than a large hare, standing on a stone, about forty yards from me.

Under ordinary circumstances I should never have dreamed of firing at such a thing, especially with an elephant gun, but we were hungry.

So I sat down with my back against a rock, and aimed steadily at its head.