564 1fcin0s of tbe 1Rofc t IRifle, anfc Gun 



which was covered with blood ; his trunk was stretched 

 to its full length to catch me, and was now within 

 two feet of my back ; he was gaining on me, although 

 I was running at a tremendous pace. I could not 

 screw an inch more speed out of my legs, and I 

 kept on with the brute gaining on me at every stride. 

 He was within a foot of me, and I had not heard a 

 shot fired and not a soul had come to the rescue. 

 The sudden thought struck me that my brother could 

 not possibly overtake the elephant at the pace at 

 which we were going, and I immediately doubled 

 short to my left into the open plain and back towards 

 the guns. The * rogue ' overshot me. I met my brother 

 close to his tail, which position he had with difficulty 

 maintained ; but he could not get a shot, and the 

 elephant turned into the jungle and disappeared just 

 as I escaped him by a sharp turn. This was a close 

 shave ; had not the ground been perfectly level I 

 must have been caught to a certainty, and, even as 

 it was, he would have had me in another stride had 

 I not turned from my straight course." 



But an even closer shave, in fact, the closest Sir 

 Samuel ever had, was the following, which happened 

 after the party had already bagged nine elephants : 



" I had one barrel still loaded, and I was pushing my 

 way through the tangled grass towards the spot where 

 the dead elephants lay together, when I suddenly heard 

 Wallace shriek out, ' Look out, sir ! Look out ! an 

 elephant's coming!' 



I turned round in a moment ; and close past Wallace, 

 from the very spot where the last dead elephant lay, 



