white Rhinoceros 



having come across the object of our expedition. 

 I had taken out half a dozen porters with axes, 

 for use in the event of our falling in with a 

 rhino ; they all followed us, marching some half 

 a mile in the rear. Just as I had fired at a cob 

 for the larder, one of them rushed up and begged 

 me to return, as he had just seen a hippo fast 

 asleep under a tree. I thought this very odd, as 

 no self-respecting hippo would think of leaving 

 his watery fastness for at least an hour or more, 

 but on close inquiry I gathered that the supposed 

 hippo had a very long horn on his nose. 



A rhino, of course, and probably the identical 

 animal we were in search of! It's perfectly mar- 

 vellous how little the indispensable but ignorant 

 porter knows about any animal he may see. It 

 was ten minutes ago, he said, but it had only just 

 occurred to him to run and tell us ! 



Back I went, "hard all." The porter who had 

 brouofht the news, and who returned with me to 

 locate the tree, grew greener and greener about 

 the gills, till at length he indicated the place 

 where the animal lay. He then sank speechless 

 behind an ant-heap in evident terror. 



It was rapidly getting dark, but we hadn't 

 moved many steps before my orderly pointed out 

 what looked like a bush ; but it moved. This 

 was, as I had expected, a veritable white rhino, 

 with two beautiful horns, advancing on the posi- 

 tion I at once took up behind a stout tree. I 



275 



