94 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



up a new position on an unusually large ant-hill, 

 several hundred yards to the left, and awaited 

 developments. 



"At last the long-looked-for time arrived, for 

 the tusker was on the outskirts of the herd, 

 and the wind was favourable. We circled to his 

 side and stealthily drew near my gun bearer, 

 tracker, and myself while the other boys re- 

 mained in the rear. 



"The tall grass prevented us from even 

 catching a glimpse of the beasts, but it was 

 easy to locate them by the noise they made 

 while feeding. My gun bearer assured me that 

 the brute I wanted was one of three not more 

 than fifty yards away. 



"We held to the elephant trails, as no one 

 could penetrate that jungle of grass and travel 

 silently. Next to silence we had to watch the 

 vind, for, once the animals caught our scent, 

 they would either dash away or charge, prob- 

 ably the latter. 



"So far our plans had worked out admirably; 

 the elephants, unconscious of our presence, were 

 still tearing up the grass directly in our front, 

 while my boys and myself proceeded inch by 

 inch and strained our eyes to catch sight of 



