A Thorough Rogue. 207 



bringing intelligence of a herd of elephants about four 

 miles distant. I was not in a state for shooting, but I 

 resolved to mount my steady old horse Jack and take 

 my chance of revenge for my mishap. The guns were 

 accordingly loaded, and we started. 



We had ridden through the Pai'k for about three 

 miles, and had just turned round the corner of a patch 

 of jungle, when we came suddenly upon a large rogue 

 elephant, who was standing in the open, facing us at 

 about seventy yards. The moment that he saw the 

 horses, he turned sharp round and retreated to a long 

 belt of fine open forest which was close behind him. 

 There was no resisting the invitation upon such favor- 

 able ground, and immediately dismounting we followed 

 him. I now found that my leg was nearly useless, and 

 I could only move at a snail's pace, and even then with 

 great pain. Upon reaching the forest, we found that 

 the rogue had decamped, not wishing to meet us in 

 such advantageous ground. We followed his tracks 

 for a few hundred yards through the forest till we sud- 

 denly emerged upon a large tract of high lemon grass. 

 Into this our cunning foe had retreated, and with my 

 decreased powers of locomotion I did not wish to pui'- 

 sue him further. I was at length persuaded by Banda 

 to make a trial, and we accordingly left the track and 

 pushed our way through the high grass to some rising 

 ground, from which we could look over the surface of 

 waving vegetation and find out the exact position of 

 the elephant. While forcing our way through the 

 dense mass I momentarily expected to hear the rush of 

 the rogue charging down upon us, and I was glad to 

 find myself at length safe in the position we had steered 

 for. 



