chap. xii. A JUNGLE TRIP. 321 



elephant just as he arrived upon the brink of the 

 chasm. He was fifty paces off, but I hit him in the 

 temple with the four-ounce, and rolled him down the 

 precipitous bank into the river. Here he lay groan- 

 ing ; so, taking the little gun, with one barrel still 

 loaded, I extinguished him from the top of the bank. 



Oh, for half-a-dozen loaded guns ! I was now un- 

 loaded, and the fun began in real earnest. The herd 

 pushed for a particular passage down the steep bank. 

 It was like a rush at the door of the Opera ; they jostled 

 each other in a confused m£Ue, and crossed the river 

 with the greatest difficulty. By some bad luck Palliser 

 and Wortley only killed one as the herd was crossing 

 the river, but they immediately disappeared in pursuit, 

 as the elephants, having effected their passage, re- 

 treated in thick jungle on the other side. 



I was obliged to halt to load, which I did as 

 quickly as possible. While I was ramming the balls 

 down, I heard several shots fired in quick succession, 

 and when loaded, I ran on with my gun-bearers to- 

 wards the spot. 



It was bad, thorny jungle, interspersed with nume- 

 rous small glades of fine turf. 



Upon arriving in one of these glades, about a 

 quarter of a mile beyond the river, I saw a crowd of 

 gun-bearers standing around some person lying upon 

 the ground. Neither Palliser nor Wortley were to be 

 seen, and for an instant a chill ran through me, as 



