194 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



splashing of the water, the hippo's head would 

 suddenly appear among the canoes. I heard 

 the crunching of wood as canoe after canoe was 

 crushed to pieces in the vice-like jaws. Men 

 were falling or jumping into the river to escape 

 the maddened monster. The sun, striking the 

 polished blades of the spears, shot flashes of 

 dazzling light across the water. 



"I could not help admiring the wounded 

 brute which was fighting so courageously 

 against such tremendous odds. Its body so 

 bristled with swaying spears that it had the 

 appearance of a gigantic porcupine. 



"In the confusion, things happened fast and 

 furiously. All at once I discovered that the 

 hippo had disappeared; the blacks, paddling 

 back and forth and scanning the water eagerly, 

 were searching for their missing comrades. 

 How many were drowned or killed I do not 

 know. Several of the canoes had been smashed 

 into kindling-wood, and most of the men who 

 had occupied them had been taken into the 

 other boats with the wounded. 



"I noticed that the natives who had watched 

 the fight were leaving me and running along 

 the bank. Then I saw the floats some distance 



