enormous weight, rendered the efforts of the poor beast
vain: and as the boys gazed across, they saw the poor brute dragged down
upon its knees and chest, and the crocodile shuffling slowly back into
the water, an inch at a time.

"Oh, the poor, poor beast!" cried Dick piteously. "Oh, Jack, how
dreadful!"

"Poor old crocodile!" said Jack coolly, for he had now recovered
himself. "If he's going to eat all that buck for his dinner he'll
suffer from indigestion. I say, Dick, let's give him a couple of
pills."

As he spoke, Jack sank upon one knee in the reeds so as to rest his
rifle well, and catching at his brother's idea, Dick followed suit.

"Take a good, steady aim, Dick, right behind his eye, so as not to hit
the antelope: and when I say fire, pull trigger as softly as you can.
Take it coolly. Ready?"

"Yes."

"Fire!"

It was none too soon, for the antelope was being dragged along, growing
more helpless and its struggles more faint moment by moment, while the
body of the crocodile was disappearing backwards down the slope of the
point of land.

But that loathsome-looking head was still visible, dragging the
helpless, striving antelope, whose piteous rolling eyes could be plainly
seen by the boys.

The next instant, though, they had concentrated their gaze on the
gleaming orb of the crocodile, thrown all their power of nerve into that
aim, and, so as not to disturb their rifle-sights by the slightest
movement, softly drew trigger.

The reports of the rifles were almost simultaneous, and for a few
moments the boys could see nothing for smoke: but as the tiny cloud of
vapour lifted, they looked eagerly across.

There was nothing to be seen.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

AN INTERFERENCE WITH WASHING, AND THE RESULT.

"Oh," cried Jack, "we both missed, and he has drawn the poor thing in."

"I don't believe I missed," said Dick. "No: look, Jack!"

For at that moment they saw a movement amongst the undergrowth behind
where the antelope had been kneeling; and the poor beast, with bleeding
nostrils and starting eyes, staggered down to the water's edge, drank
with avidity, and then bounded back as another or the same crocodile
half leaped out of the water to catch it.

But the antelope, weak and exhausted though it was, escaped, and bounded
away into the dense reeds, while Jack as he coolly reloaded his
rifle-barrel said,--

"Nice place this, Dicky. Let's take our clothes off and have a bathe."

"