380 UGANDA [ch. xiii 



and at a great pace, his feet swishing through the long 

 grass ; and a formidable monster he looked. At forty 

 yards I fired the right barrel of the Holland into his 

 head, and, though I missed the brain, the shock dazed 

 him and brought him to an instant halt. Immediately 

 Kermit put a bullet from the Winchester into his head ; 

 as he wheeled I gave him the second barrel between the 

 neck and shoulder, through his ear ; and Kermit gave 

 him three more shots before he slewed round and dis- 

 appeared. There were not many minutes of daylight 

 left, and we followed hard on his trail, Kongoni leading. 

 At first there was only an occasional gout of dark blood, 

 but soon we found splashes of red froth from the lungs ; 

 then we came to where he had fallen, and then we 

 heard him crasliing among the branches in thick jungle 

 to the right. In we went after him, through the gather- 

 ing gloom, Kongoni leading and I close behind, with 

 the rifle ready for instant action ; for, though his strength 

 was evidently fast failuig, he was also evidently in a 

 savage temper, anxious to wreak his vengeance before 

 he died. On we went, following the bloody trail through 

 dim, cavernous windings in the dark, vine-covered 

 jungle ; we heard him smash the branches but a few 

 yards ahead, and fall and rise ; and, stealing forward, 

 Kermit and I slipped up to within a dozen feet of him 

 as he stood on the other side of some small twisted trees 

 hung with a mat of creepers. I put a bullet into his 

 heart ; Kermit fired. Each of us fired again on the in- 

 stant ; the mighty bull threw up his trunk, crashed over 

 backward, and lay dead on his side among the bushes. 

 A fine sight he was, a sight to gladden any hunter's 

 heart, as he lay in the twilight, a giant in death. 



At once we trotted back to camp, reaching it as 

 darkness fell ; and next morning all of us came out to 



