Abou Do Was
Third; His Hair Flying In The Wind--His Heels Dashing Against The
Flanks Of His Horse, To
Which he shouted in his excitement to
urge him to the front, while he leant forward with his long
sword,
In the wild energy of the moment, as though hoping to
reach the game against all possibility. Now for the spurs! and as
these, vigorously applied, screwed an extra stride out of Tetel,
I soon found myself in the ruck of men, horses, and drawn swords.
There were seven of us,--and passing Abou Do, whose face wore an
expression of agony at finding that his horse was failing, I
quickly obtained a place between the two brothers, Taher and
Roder Sheriff. There had been a jealousy between the two parties
of aggageers, and each was striving to outdo the other; thus Abou
Do was driven almost to madness at the superiority of Taher's
horse, while the latter, who was the renowned hunter of the
tribe, was determined that his sword should be the first to taste
blood. I tried to pass the rhinoceros on my left, so as to fire
close into the shoulder my remaining barrel with my right hand,
but it was impossible to overtake the animals, who bounded along
with undiminished speed. With the greatest exertion of men and
horses we could only retain our position within about three or
four yards of their tails--just out of reach of the swords. The
only chance in the race was to hold the pace until the rhinoceros
should begin to flag. The horses were pressed to the utmost; but
we had already run about two miles, and the game showed no signs
of giving in. On they flew,--sometimes over open ground, then
through low bush, which tried the horses severely; then through
strips of open forest, until at length the party began to tail
off, and only a select few kept their places. We arrived at the
summit of a ridge, from which the ground sloped in a gentle
inclination for about a mile towards the river; at the foot of
this incline was thick thorny nabbuk jungle, for which
impenetrable covert the rhinoceros pressed at their utmost speed.
Never was there better ground for the finish of a race; the earth
was sandy, but firm, and as we saw the winning-post in the jungle
that must terminate the hunt, we redoubled our exertions to close
with the unflagging game. Suleiman's horse gave in--we had been
for about twenty minutes at a killing pace. Tetel, although not
a fast horse, was good for a distance, and he now proved his
power of endurance, as I was riding at least two stone heavier
than any of the party. Only four of the seven remained; and we
swept down the incline, Taher Sheriff still leading, and Abou Do
the last! His horse was done, but not the rider; for, springing
to the ground while at full speed, sword in hand, he forsook his
tired horse, and, preferring his own legs, he ran like an
antelope, and, for the first hundred yards, I thought he would
really pass us, and win the honour of first blow.
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