d in
its emerald mantle of lush grass, dotted here and there with broad
clumps of bush, and upon the gently swelling contours of the distant
hills, blushing rosy red in the evening sunshine; and for a space of
perhaps ten minutes I stood spellbound, conscious of nothing but the
surpassing loveliness of God's handiwork as manifested in the scene
before me.

Then, suddenly, I was jerked back to a realisation of the more prosaic
side of things by an outburst of loud bellowing which seemed to proceed
from the farther side of a low ridge about a hundred yards ahead, and,
getting into motion again, I hurried forward to ascertain what was the
matter. For there was a note of mingled anger and terror in that
bellowing which told me plainly enough that some creature was in trouble
not far away. It was not one of my own oxen; they were all right in
plain view from where I stood, grazing contentedly close to the wagon in
charge of the umfaan 'Ngulubi: nor was it a domesticated ox of any kind,
for there was no farm anywhere within sight, and no wagon excepting my
own; moreover, the sound was too deep and powerful to issue from the
lungs of a domestic animal, the obvious inference therefore being that
the bellowing proceeded from a wild buffalo. And so indeed it proved,
for upon topping the intervening ridge I beheld a splendid buffalo bull
some fifty yards away standing breast-deep in the river, struggling
violently and uttering bellow after bellow, except when for a moment or
two the poor beast's head was dragged under water.

I saw at once what was the matter; the brute had wandered down to the
river to drink, as most animals do, at eventide, and, plunging rather
too deeply into the water, had been seized by the muzzle by a crocodile,
and was now, despite his frantic struggles, being slowly dragged into
deep water, where of course he would presently be drowned and become the
prey of the fierce saurian. Now the wild Cape buffalo is a distinctly
vicious creature, easily angered, and ready to fight upon the slightest
provocation; it is, indeed, with perhaps the exception of the
rhinoceros--and many who know both intimately would not even except the
latter--the most dangerous animal in Africa, and therefore to be let
carefully alone by people who are not looking for trouble: but in the
present case my sympathies were all with the buffalo, for the fight did
not seem to be a fair one; the advantage was all on the side of the
croco