chap. v. ROGUES AGAIN. 89 



gether, and were the dread of the neighbourhood. 

 There were many tales of their ferocity and daring, 

 which at the time we gave little heed to. 



Crossing the tank in a large canoe, we arrived in 

 the open forest upon the opposite shore. It was a 

 mass of elephant tracks, which sank deep in the soft 

 earth. They were all so fresh and confused that 

 tracking was very difficult. However, we at length 

 fixed upon the tracks of a pair of elephants, and 

 followed them up. This was a work of considerable 

 time, but the distant cracking of a bough at length 

 attracted us to their position, and we shortly came up 

 with them, just as they had winded us and were 

 moving off. I fired an ineffectual shot at the temple 

 of one, which separated him from the other, after whom 

 we started in chase at full speed. Full speed soon 

 ended in a stand-still in such ground ; it was deep, 

 stiff clay, in which we sank over our ankles at every 

 step, and varied our struggles by occasionally flying 

 sprawling over the slippery roots of the trees. 



The elephants ran clean away from us, and the 

 elephant-catchers, who knew nothing of the rules for 

 carrying spare guns, entering into the excitement of 

 the chase, and free from the impediments of shoes, 

 ran lightly along the muddy ground, and were soon 

 out of sight as well as the elephants. Still we 

 struggled on, when, presently we heard a shout and 

 then a shot ; then another shout ; then the trumpet 



