AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



CHAPTER I 



A NARROW ESCAPE FROM AFRICAN BLACKS 



FROM childhood the ambition of Mr. S. 

 had been to become an adventurer. 

 Before he had attained manhood he left 

 England to cast his lot with that sturdy, cou- 

 rageous class of men who make a business of 

 trading with the natives and hunting elephants 

 in Africa. At the time that I met him he had 

 spent most of his life in South Africa, and a more 

 interesting person I have never seen. 



He was a man of few words, quiet and un- 

 assuming. While he undoubtedly knew more 

 about the African animals than any living man, 

 I never heard him contradict a fellow sports- 

 man. When told of some extraordinary expe- 

 rience that seemed questionable, and asked to 

 express his opinion, he always began by saying: 

 "My experience has been ..." 



