Chapter 15

 

Mhlongo lowered his field glasses and started the Jeep. He was looking for a rumored albino impala. He wanted to get it before the lions did. It would be easier to spot at night, when they hunt. Instead of the impala, he’d seen that crazy conservationist kid running around in the veldt carrying something.

Mhlongo drove a parallel road to where he’d seen Christopher, to get a closer look. He got out and scrambled up on a termite mound. He used the sight on his rifle to look, since it was better quality than his field glasses. He concentrated his gaze through the scope.

A slow grin spread across his face. The stupid kid had a gun. He was indeed stalking a herd of buffalo. This would be funny. What could the conservationist possibly want with a gun and a buffalo? He wasn’t hungry, certainly, with all that extra American fat.

Mhlongo watched as Christopher took aim and pulled the trigger. The report of the gun was loud and the recoil made the idiot kid lose his grip. The herd spooked and started running in several directions. A dominant male zeroed in on the American alone in the bush.

Mhlongo actually laughed out loud as the animal chased the kid until he scratched his way up a short acacia tree. Mhlongo didn’t know what the imbecile was trying to do, but this could be very useful.

He walked back to the Jeep to continue the search for the impala. The buffalo would keep Christopher out of the way for now.