Further Experiences with Elephant 



" You never know," he affirmed ; and the 

 words were scarcely out of his mouth when 

 a most appalling scream rent the air right behind 

 us, accompanied by a crashing and smashing of 

 jungle some short way off. 



" What's that ? " " An elephant . . . prob- 

 ably a cow . . . got our wind . . . coming for 

 us . . . there's a bull in the herd. . . . Do you 

 want it .■* " "Yes! . . . What are we to do?" 

 " Run ! . . . Don't shoot ! . . . so as not to 

 alarm the rest ! " 



" Run where ?" " Anywhere . . . get out of 

 her way . . . we'll separate . . . and then run 

 round her . . . in a circle ... so that losing 

 our wind she won't know where we are. . . . 

 Come on . . . run ! . . ." 



Run ! By Gad ! I've never legged it so fast 

 in all my puff ! Round bushes ; through grass ; 

 jumping over fallen trees ; making no end of a 

 row ; with one orderly alongside. 



I stopped for a moment. " Where is she ? " 

 and looked round, and from behind the nearest 

 bush saw a huge black nightmare, with great ears 

 sticking out on each side and trunk waving high 

 in the air — for all the world like an ancient three- 

 decker line-of-battleship of Nelson's day with 

 studding sails set — bearing down upon me, 

 screaming, smashing, and stamping along, a 

 veritable juggernaut on demoniacal mischief bent. 



" Now jump sideways," from my faithful 



269 



