chap. ix. A CHARMED LIFE. 219 



recovering my footing, I found that all the elephants 

 had gained the jungle, except the one that I had been 

 following. He was about twenty yards from me, and 

 was just entering the jungle, but I got a splendid shot 

 at him behind the ear and rolled him over. 



It was very nearly dark, and we could not of course 

 follow the herd any farther; we therefore reloaded, and 

 turned towards the direction of the cave ; this was 

 plainly shown by a distant blaze of light from the 

 night-fires, which were already lit. We were walking 

 slowly along parallel to the jungle, into which the ele- 

 phants had retreated, when my man Wallace, who is a 

 capital gun-bearer, halloed out, ' Here comes an ele- 

 phant!' and in the dim twilight I could see an elephant 

 bowling at a great pace towards us, but close to the 

 jungle. He was forty yards from me, but my brother 

 fired at him and without effect. I took a quick shot 

 with a double-barrelled rifle, and he dropped imme- 

 diately. Hearing him roar as he lay in the high lemon 

 grass by the edge of the jungle, I ran down the gentle 

 slope to the spot, followed by my trusty gun-bearer 

 Wallace, as I knew the elephant was only stunned and 

 would soon recover. Upon arriving within a few feet 

 of the spot, pushing my way with difficulty through 

 the tangled lemon grass, I could not see where he lay, 

 as daylight had now vanished. I was vainly looking 

 about, when I suddenly heard a rush in the grass close 

 to me, and I saw the head and cocked cars of the 



