g like rolls of unbleached linen set
upright--each with an inverted basin upon its end. These were the homes
of a very different species, the _Termes mordax_ of the entomologists;
though still another species of _Termes_ (_Termes atrox_) build their
nests in the same form.

"I did not stop then to examine these curious structures. I only speak
of them now, to give you an idea of the sort of place it was, so that
you may understand what followed.

"What with the cone-shaped hills and the cylinders, the plain was pretty
well covered. One or the other was met with every two hundred yards;
and I fancied with these for a shelter I should have but little
difficulty in getting within shot of the gnoos.

"I made a circuit to head them, and crept up behind a large cone-shaped
hill, near which the thick of the drove was feeding. When I peeped
through the turrets, to my chagrin, I saw that the cows and younger ones
had been drawn off beyond reach, and the two old bulls were, as before,
capering between me and the herd.

"I repeated the manoeuvre, and stalked in behind another large cone,
close to which the beasts were feeding. When I raised myself for a
shot, I was again disappointed. The herd had moved off as before, and
the brace of bulls still kept guard in the rear.

"I began to feel provoked. The conduct of the bulls annoyed me
exceedingly, and I really fancied that they knew it. Their manoeuvres
were of the oddest kind, and some of them appeared to be made for the
purpose of mocking me. At times they would charge up very close--their
heads set in a menacing attitude; and I must confess that with their
black shaggy fronts, their sharp horns, and glaring red eyes, they
looked anything but pleasant neighbours.

"I got so provoked with them at last, that I resolved they should bother
me no longer. If they would not permit me to shoot one of the others, I
was determined they themselves should not escape scot-free, but should
pay dearly for their temerity and insolence. I resolved to put a bullet
through one of them, at least.

"Just as I was about raising my gun to fire, I perceived that they had
placed themselves in attitude for a new fight. This they did by
dropping on their knees, and sliding forward until their heads came in
contact. They would then spring up, make a sudden bound forward, as if
to get uppermost, and trample one another with their hoofs. Failing in
this, both would rush past, until they w