第24部分(第3/7 頁)

to　sleep　in　due　course。　At　dawn　I　poked　my　head　between　the　curtains　of　the　waggon；　and　in　the　dense　mist　that　rolled　around　us　saw　a　great　herd　of　blesbuck　feeding　all　about　the　waggon。　I　woke　the　Judge；　and　reaching　down　our　rifles；　we　opened　fire。　He　missed　his　blesbuck　but　I　killed　two　at　one　shot；　a　thing　I　had　never　done　before。　Truth　pels　me　to　add　that　the　Judge　claimed　one　of　them；　but　on　that　point　I　was　unable　to　accept　his　learned　decision。

On　one　of　these　journeys　I　nearly　came　to　a　bad　end。　On　a　certain　morning　before　breakfast　I　wounded　a　bull　wildebeest；　breaking　one　of　its　hind　hocks；　and　mounting　a　famous　hunting　horse　that　I　had；　named　Moresco；　started　to　ride　it　down。　But　that　wildebeest　would　not　be　ridden　down；　at　least　for　a　very　long　while。　Being　thin；　notwithstanding　its　injury　it　went　like　the　wind；　and　finally　led　me　into　a　vast　pany　of　its　fellows：　I　think　there　must　have　been　three　or　four　hundred　of　them。　When　once　he　began　to　gallop　game；　Moresco　was　a　horse　that　could　not　be　held；　the　only　thing　to　do　was　to　let　him　have　his　head。　Into　that　herd　he　plunged；　keeping　his　eye　fixed　upon　the　wounded　beast；　which　in　the　end　he　cut　out　from　among　them。

On　we　went　again　and　got　into　a　great　patch　of　ant…bear　holes。　Some　he　dodged；　some　he　jumped；　but　at　length　went　up　to　his　chest　in　one　of　them；　throwing　me　on　to　his　neck。　Recovering　himself　with　marvellous　activity；　he　literally　jerked　me　back　into　the　saddle　with　a　toss　of　his　head；　and　we　proceeded　in　our　wild　career。　The　end　of　it　was　that　at　last　the　bull　was　ridden　to　a　standstill；　but　I　could　not　pull　up　Moresco　to　get　a　shot　at　it。　He　went　at　the　beast　as　though　he　were　going　to　eat　it。　The　bull　charged　us；　and　Moresco　only　avoided　disaster　by　sitting　down　on　his　tail。　As