3o6 THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 



were within 200 yards he swung sharp to the right, 

 pushed aside the screen of leaves, and disappeared. 



We approached circumspectly. He might continue 

 on directly into the forest; or, again, he might turn 

 around and come out again. We glided silently along 

 the fringe, peering with all our mights. Suddenly 

 Kongoni motioned us forward. Through a little open- 

 ing in the leaves we saw the top of his back, twenty- 

 five yards away. As we looked, he swung slowly 

 and faded into the forest. 



Now we at least knew definitely which way he was 

 going. As quickly as we could we made our way to 

 where we had last seen him. This was no easy job, for 

 the cover was almost impenetrable. In order to get on 

 noiselessly, we had to lift separately each branch and 

 twig, to push individually each clump of leaves or in- 

 terlacement of switches. We had to duck and squirm 

 and twist and push very gently. A single sharply 

 broken stick would serve to give him the alarm, in 

 which case he would either make off and we would not 

 see him again, or — more likely — he would look us up, 

 in which case we would see more of him than we wanted. 



In spite of the thickness of the growth the elephant 

 himself went silently through it. That phenomenon — 

 the stillness of an elephant's leisurely progression — is 

 hard to get accustomed to. He will brush through 

 thickets so dense that the branches make an apparently 

 impenetrable screen and the closest listening will hardly 



