chap. vii. A NIGHT ATTACK UPON ELEPHANTS. 150 



within a short distance, and I could distinguish two or 

 three dark forms on the opposite bank. The shrill 

 and continual barking of spotted deer now approaching 

 nearer and nearer, the rustling in the jungle, and the 

 splashing in the water announced continual arrivals of 

 game to the lonely drinking-place. Notwithstanding 

 the immense quantity of animals that were congregated 

 together, we could not distinguish them plainly on 

 account of the dark background of jungle. Elk, deer, 

 buffaloes, and hogs were all bathing and drinking in 

 immense numbers, but there were no elephants. 



For some hours we watched the accumulation of 

 game ; there was not a breath of air, although the scud 

 was flying fast above us, occasionally throwing a veil 

 over the moon and casting a sudden obscurity on the 

 dim scene before us. Our gun-bearers were crouched 

 around us ; their dark skins matching with the ground 

 on which they squatted, they looked like so many 

 stumps of trees. It was nearly ten o'clock, and my 

 eyes ached with watching ; several times I found my- 

 self nodding as sleep took me by surprise ; so, leaving 

 a man to look out, we sat quietly down and discussed 

 a cold fowl that we had brought with us. 



We had just finished a pint bottle of cherry brandy 

 when I felt a gentle touch upon my shoulder, and our 

 look-out man whispered in my car the magic word 'alia' 

 (elephant), at the same time pointing in the direction 

 of the tank. The guns were all wrapped up in a 



