cially for the former: however, after a race of about a
mile I found myself gaining so rapidly that in a few
moments I was riding on his left flank within three
yards of him, and holding the rifle with one hand like
a pistol I shot him dead through the shoulder. This
little double rifle is an exceedingly handy weapon;—-
it was made for me about nine years ago by Thomas
Fletcher, gunmaker of Gloucester, and is of most perfect
workmanship. I have shot with it most kinds of
large game : although the bore O O ' J o is so small as No. 24,
I have bagged with it rhinoceros, hippopotamus, lions,
buffaloes, and all the heavy game except elephants
and giraffes; upon the latter I have never happened
to try it. Weighing only eight pounds and three-
quarters it is most convenient to carry on horseback,
and although I have had frequent accidents through my
horse falling in full gallop, the stock is perfectly sound
to this day. The best proof of thorough honest workmanship
is, that in many years of hard work it has
never been out of order, nor has it ever been in a gunmaker’s
hands.
The operation of cutting the waterbuck into four
quarters, and then stringing them on to a strip of its
own hide, was quickly performed, and with Richarn’s
assistance I slung it across my saddle, and led my
horse, thus heavily laden, towards the path. After some
difficulty in crossing muddy hollows and gullies in the
otherwise dried marsh,we at length succeeded in finding
the tracks of the party that had gone on ahead.
We had been steering from Ellyria due east towards
the high peak of “ Gebel Lafeet,” that rose exactly
above one of the principal towns of Latooka. With
this fine beacon now apparently just before us, we had
no difficulty in finding our way. The country was
now more open, and the ground sandy and interspersed
with the hegleek trees, which gave it the appearance
of a vast orchard of large pear trees. The t; hegleek ”
is peculiarly rich in potash; so. much so that the ashes
of the burnt wood will blister the tongue. I t bears a
fruit about the size and shape of a d a t e t h i s is very
sweet and aromatic in flavour, and is also so rich in
potash that it is used as a substitute for soap.
After an hour’s walk always on the tracks of the
party, we saw a large Latooka town in the distance,
and upon a nearer approach we discovered crowds of
people collected under two enormous trees. Presently
guns fired, the drums beat, and as we drew nearer we
perceived the. Turkish flags leading a crowd of about a
hundred men, who approached us with the usual salutes,
every man firing off ball cartridge as fast as he could
reload. My men were already with this lot of ragamuffins,
and this was the ivory or slave trading party
v o l . i . o