TREED BY AN ELEPHANT 243 



that Kongoni in his excitement had left some- 

 where in the brush, it might be possible to bring 

 our troubles to an abrupt termination. The 

 black rascal was to blame for our predicament 

 and it would serve him right if the elephant 

 gave him a chastising. 



"Where was he now? Was he pinned help- 

 lessly beneath the limbs, or was he simply lying 

 there in the hope that he would escape punish- 

 ment and the infuriated beast would make me 

 the target for her revenge? 



"If he reasoned thus, he reasoned wisely, for 

 on looking back over my shoulder I saw the ele- 

 phant charging after me, her trunk curled up 

 between her tusks and her great ears extended 

 on both sides of her villainous-looking head. 



"There had been no chance for me to recover 

 the rifle that had been left at the foot of the 

 tree, neither was there time to search for the 

 gun in the bushes; in fact, should I succeed in 

 reaching the shelter before she could overtake 

 me, under the circumstances it was all that 

 could be hoped for. 



"Luck favoured me, and darting in with head 

 bent low and arms thrust out in the position 

 of a diver, I bolted through the tangle. The 



