244 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



crashing of brush resounded in my ears as I 

 turned sharply to the right, threw myself flat 

 on the ground, and lay there, panting and 

 trembling. 



"On she came and must have passed within 

 ten feet of my hiding-place, but I dared not 

 look up, for to show my pale face or move 

 might have attracted her attention. 



"She rushed through the thicket and trum- 

 peted loudly at the other side, while my heart 

 hammered away as though it would break 

 through my ribs. From what I knew of the 

 habits of elephants, there was little possibility 

 of her leaving the locality until she had either 

 killed me or had demolished that clump of bushes 

 in her efforts to find me. 



"One thing was sure, the bushes were only 

 fit for temporary shelter, and it was a matter 

 of only a few minutes before I should be com- 

 pelled to leave them. A solitary tree growing 

 on the brink of the Nile seemed to be my only 

 hope, but one experience with a tree as an 

 ' elephant escape' had not proven particularly 

 satisfactory, still there was no choice. 



"These thoughts were suddenly dispelled 

 by another commotion in the brush; the 'old 



