Thus we waited the rest of the afternoon. The sun dipped at last
toward the west, a faint irregular breeze wandered down from the
hills, certain birds awoke and uttered their clear calls, an
unsuspected kongoni stepped from the shade of a tree over the way
and began to crop the grass, the shadows were lengthening through
the trees. Then ahead of us an uneasiness ran through the herd.
We in the grass could hear the mutterings and grumblings of many
great animals. Suddenly F. snapped his fingers, stooped low and
darted forward. We scrambled to our feet and followed.
Across a short open space we ran, bent double to the shelter of a
big ant hill. Peering over the top of this we found ourselves
within sixty yards of a long compact column of the great black
beasts, moving forward orderly to the left, the points of the
cow's horns, curved up and in, tossing slowly as the animals
walked. On the flank of the herd was a big gray bull.
It had been agreed that B. was to have the shot. Therefore he
opened fire with his 405 Winchester, a weapon altogether too
light for this sort of work. At the shot the herd dashed forward
to an open grass meadow a few rods away, wheeled and faced back
in a compact mass, their noses thrust up and out in their typical
fashion, trying with all their senses to locate the cause of the
disturbance.
Taking advantage both of the scattered cover, and the half light
of the shadows we slipped forward as rapidly and as unobtrusively
as we could to the edge of the grass meadow. Here we came to a
stand eighty yards from the buffaloes. They stood compactly like
a herd of cattle, staring, tossing their heads, moving slightly,
their wild eyes searching for us. I saw several good bulls, but
always they moved where it was impossible to shoot without danger
of getting the wrong beast. Finally my chance came; I planted a
pair of Holland bullets in the shoulder of one of them.
The herd broke away to the right, sweeping past us at close
range. My bull ran thirty yards with them, then went down stone
dead. When we examined him we found the hole made by B.'s
Winchester bullet; so that quite unintentionally and by accident
I had fired at the same beast. This was lucky. The trophy, by
hunter's law, of course, belonged to B.
Therefore F. and I alone followed on after the herd. It was now
coming on dusk. Within a hundred yards we began to see scattered
beasts. The formation of the herd had broken. Some had gone on in
flight, while others in small scattered groups would stop to
stare back, and would then move slowly on for a few paces before
stopping again.
