272 



IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA 



CHAP. 



with the horse ana ponies. Just as they got to the 

 very thickest part of the jungle, where it was 

 practically impossible to move except at a snail's 

 pace, out charged the elephant from the bushes not 

 ten yards away ! As she had no rifle with her, she 



thought the best thing to 

 do was to crouch down on 

 the spot where she stood, 

 hoping that the brute 

 would not see her. My 

 Indian syce, Asa Ram, 

 stood close by, paralysed 

 with fear, holding Aladdin 

 tightly by the reins as if 

 rooted to the ground. 

 The infuriated brute 

 caught sight of my beau- 

 tiful white Arab, and in- 

 stantly made a lunge, 

 knocked down the syce, 

 who lay as one dead at 

 his feet, and drove his tusk deep into poor 

 Aladdin's side. 



At this moment, when the elephant was on the 

 look-out for fresh victims, Jerogi, the Kikuyu syce, 

 let the other ponies loose, and both he and they 

 bolted off as fast as possible into the bush, while 



" MY INDIAN SYCE, ASA RAM." 



