Ill ON SAFARI 37 



fired several more bullets into the beast, wishing I 

 had a heavier rifle to put it out of pain more 

 speedily. It was with no little joy therefore that 

 just at this moment I saw S. come rushing- up with 

 his heavy rifle, with which he quickly gave the 

 brute its quietus. 



Hardly had I time to comment on his opportune 

 arrival when out of the scrub rushed another rhino, 

 and came for us like a steam engine ! S. very 

 quickly and calmly planted a '450 bullet somewhere 

 in his anatomy which gave him a sudden distaste 

 for our society, so he quickly turned off and 

 disappeared in the direction of the Athi river. I 

 then found time to ask S. how it was he managed 

 to appear just at the right moment, and he told me 

 he had been hunting close by and on hearing my 

 shots rushed up to see what was happening. 



We then went and looked at the dead rhino, and 

 found it was a female well stricken in years. It was 

 too late to do anything with it, so we determined 

 to let it remain where it was for the night. Early 

 next morning we took a number of porters and 

 sallied forth to cut it up for camp meat. On 

 nearing the spot where it lay we noticed about 

 a score of Wakamba, with long knives and quaint 

 antediluvian little axes, speeding along a parallel 

 track, all intent on securing a rhino steak. It was 

 well that we had made an early start, for had these 



