side.

"It was already evening when, having cut as much of the best meat as
we could carry from the bull, and tied a red handkerchief and some
tufts of grass to his spiral horns, which, by the way, must have been
nearly five feet in length, in the hope of keeping the jackals and
aasvögels (vultures) from him, we finally got back to camp, to find
Pharaoh, who was getting rather anxious at our absence, ready to greet
us with the pleasing intelligence that another ox was sick. But even
this dreadful bit of intelligence could not dash Harry's spirits; the
fact of the matter being, incredible as it may appear, I do verily
believe that in his heart of hearts he set down the death of the
koodoo to the credit of his own skill. Now, though the lad was a
pretty shot enough, this of course was ridiculous, and I told him so
plainly.

"By the time that we had finished our supper of koodoo steaks (which
would have been better if the koodoo had been a little younger), it
was time to get ready for Jim-Jim's murderess. Accordingly we
determined again to expose the unfortunate sick ox, that was now
absolutely on its last legs, being indeed scarcely able to stand. All
the afternoon Pharaoh told us it had been walking round and round in a
circle as cattle in the last stage of redwater generally do. Now it
had come to a standstill, and was swaying to and fro with its head
hanging down. So we tied him up to the stump of the tree as on the
previous night, knowing that if the lioness did not kill him he would
be dead by morning. Indeed I was afraid that he would die at once, in
which case he would be of but little use as a bait, for the lion is a
sportsmanlike animal, and unless he is very hungry generally prefers
to kill his own dinner, though when that is once killed he will come