The Argo Goes West

6, Giant boar hunting in Calydon, part 3

Before the daredevil hunters set off, the pastor prayed to God for their safety.

At first, everyone moved as a group. After that, some people became a party and left the group. However, no one knew where the prey was, and each was just guessing. Most people followed the Englishman because he wore a safari jacket and looked confident and an authority on hunting. A englsiman himself knew this, and deliberately said in a loud voice to the black boy, "It's by the water. Animals like water. Elephant and rhinoceros."

Everyone agreed.

"Are there wild boars in Africa?"

A man with round glasses asked the Englishman a question. His face was square and wide, and his round glasses looked very small. The flannel shirt was stained with soot, but the button was fastened to the top. The man did not carry a gun, instead carrying a large backpack."Of course there are," replied the Englishman. "I often see warthogs. But I've heard of a bushy one that's twice as big, about eight feet tall."

"Well, it's big."

"I'd love to meet you, but I haven't had the chance yet."

"There's something over there," said the black boy, pointing into the distance.

The Englishman looked in that direction through binoculars with brass ports and said to the black boy, "You're right."

The black boy looked happy when he was praised.

The Englishman said proudly to the people around him. "Orpheus has admirable eyesight. He is of the great hunter's lineage in Africa."

They all moved to that place. There was a pit about four feet long, dotted with pits of the same shape and size."What is this?" someone said."Footprints," the Englishman taught. Everyone was amazed. "Are those wild boar tracks?""Maybe," said the Englishman, crouching on the ground and examining the tracks. "It's almost four times bigger than the elephant footprints I've hunted in Africa."

Bonnie wondered how big the giant boar was. One elephant that Bonnie knows is Jumbo, who was a favorite on Barnum's show. The size of the jumbo was said to have been over 10 feet. Four times 10 feet is 40 feet! Bonnie was horrified to discover that the prey was as big as a whale.

The Englishman stood up and looked ahead of the trail.

"If we follow these footprints, we can meet our prey."

One of the hunters yelled, "Let's go!"

The Englishman nodded, but as if suddenly remembered, he took out a watch from his jacket breast pocket and looked at the time.

"It's time for tea. Orpheus, let's have tea here."

A black boy assembled a folding safari chair and the Englishman sat down. While the Englishman smoked his cigar, the black boy boiled water and brewed tea, pouring it into a Victorian-decorated teacup. In the middle of the wilderness, an Englishman and a black boy have a tea party. When Bonnie and the others were stunned and looked at it, an Englishman called out, "How about you?"However, no one accepted the invitation. They didn't know the manners of a fancy English tea party.

Bonnie and the others decided to take a break and rest. A card game has also started. There was a man who kept winning games. He wore a gaudy jacquard vest under his black top. As Bonnie looked at him in admiration, Slim whispered in her ear. "He's probably a professional gambler."

One of the players asked a gambler who skillfully dealt cards. "You're not cheating, are you?"

"No," replied the gambler with a straight face. "If you have any doubts, check the cuffs and pockets."

In card games, there is an unspoken rule that if a person suspects the other person and investigates, and nothing comes up, the other person can shoot that person. However, the man was reluctant to give up and once again reminded the gambler, "Aren't you really doing it?"

"Not doing."

"Well, you are very lucky."

"No luck."

"How can you keep winning if you're not lucky?"

"I know."

"What?"

"The future."

The gambler smiled mischievously.

The other person thought he was being teased and said in an angry way. "If you know the future, tell me my future."

"Okay," answered the gambler, looking at his opponent's face. but,

"I'm sorry. I can't see anything."

"Bullshit!"

The other men laughed mockingly, but the gambler said nothing. Instead, he murmured to himself: I can't see it because you don't have a future.

Some were too impatient to keep up with the rest.

"We'll go first. Anyone going with us?"

Several people answered the call.

Bonnie wondered what to do. The Englishman and the black boy still had plenty of time to continue the tea party. Some people joined defection party and left the group. Among them was a man who was told by a gambler that he could not see the future.

Bonnie, Slim, the man with round glasses, and the gamblers remained. Seeing the leaving group, the Englishman said, "Stupid. They are heading upwind."

"Is it bad to be upwind?" asked the man with round glasses.

"Of course. Predators attack their prey from downwind."

"Is the predator a wild boar?"

"Yes."

"Wild boars are prey. We're the ones who hunt them."

"Even the prey doesn't want to die, so they fight back. At that time, the positions of the hunter and the hunted are reversed. The prey becomes the predator, and the predator becomes the prey. In any case, if you don't want to die, take a position downwind. That's the cardinal rule of hunting."