70 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, chap. iv. 



had evidently gone off at a great pace and were far in 

 advance. For about half an hour we had continued 

 the pursuit at the same speed, when we suddenly heard 

 the warning wh-r-r-r-r as the elephants winded us at a 

 distance of 200 yards, and the crash instantly following 

 this sound told us too plainly that the game was fear- 

 fully on the alert, and gave us little hopes of overtak- 

 ing them, as they were travelling directly down wind. 

 Speed was our only chance, and again we rushed 

 forward in hot pursuit through the tangled briars, which 

 yielded to our weight, although we were almost 

 stripped of clothes. Another half hour passed, and we 

 had heard no further signs of the game. We stopped 

 to breathe, and we listened attentively for the slightest 

 sound. A sudden crash in the jungle at a great dis- 

 tance assured us that we were once more discovered. 

 The chase seemed hopeless ; the heat was most oppres- 

 sive ; and we had been running for the last hour at a 

 killing pace through a most distressing country. Once 

 more, however, we started off, determined to keep up 

 the pursuit as long as daylight would permit. It was 

 now 5 P.M., and we had one hour left before darkness 

 would set in. The wind had entirely ceased, leaving 

 a perfect calm ; the air was thick and heavy, and the 

 heat was thus rendered doubly fatiguing. We noticed, 

 however, that the track of the elephants had doubled 

 back instead of continuing in the direct line that we 

 had followed so long. This gave us hope, as the ele- 



