Копи царя Соломона
Solomon’s Road
Presently,however,thehigherlayersofmistclearedalittle,andrevealed,attheendofalongslopeofsnow,apatchofgreengrass, somefivehundredyardsbeneathus,throughwhichastreamwasrunning. Norwasthisall. Bythestream,baskinginthebrightsun,stoodandlayagroupoffromtentofifteenlargeantelopes —atthatdistancewecouldnotseeofwhatspecies.
Thesightfilleduswithanunreasoningjoy. Ifonlywecouldgetit,therewasfoodinplenty. Butthequestionwashowtodoso. Thebeastswerefullysixhundredyardsoff,averylongshot,andonenottobedependedonwhenourliveshungontheresults.
Rapidlywediscussedtheadvisabilityoftryingtostalkthegame,butintheenddismisseditreluctantly. Tobeginwith,thewindwasnotfavourable,andfurther,wemustcertainlybeperceived,howevercarefulwewere,againsttheblindingbackgroundofsnow,whichweshouldbeobligedtotraverse.
"Well,wemusthaveatryfromwhereweare,"saidSirHenry."Whichshallitbe,Quatermain,therepeatingriflesortheexpresses?"
Hereagainwasaquestion. TheWinchesterrepeaters—ofwhichwehadtwo,UmbopacarryingpoorVentvögel’saswellashisown—weresighteduptoathousandyards,whereastheexpresseswereonlysightedtothreehundredandfifty,beyondwhichdistanceshootingwiththemwasmoreorlessguess-work. Ontheotherhand,iftheydidhit,theexpressbullets,being"expanding,"weremuchmorelikelytobringthegamedown.
