ATTACKED BY RHINO 



one knee and covered the animal on the left with 

 my rifle. Clark was a few feet away on my right. 



Not wanting to shoot if I could avoid doing so, 

 as I had no big game licence, I waited for Clark, who 

 had one, to fire and turn the creatures ; but when the 

 latter were within nine or ten yards, coming at top 

 speed in a cloud of dust, he shouted to me to shoot. 

 I pulled the trigger, and the next moment was conscious 

 of a great horn right over me. My bullet took the 

 animal in the shoulder, coming out by the spine, a 

 certain proof that I must have been well below him. 

 He swerved and fell so close to me that his nose almost 

 touched my knee. 



My thoughts went now to the second rhino, which, 

 somehow, seemed to have disappeared in a cloud of 

 dust. I ran round the tree and collided with him with 

 such force that his hefty shoulder sent me flying^ 

 As I scrambled to my feet I saw that he was 

 going as hard as he could in one direction, whilst 

 Clark had apparently made up his mind to go 

 in another. I shouted to the American that it was 

 all over, and he stopped. When the dust had 

 cleared off — there was a regular cloud round that 

 tree — I discovered the rhino I had shot lying some 

 thirty yards away, although I had never seen him 

 go off. 



As for the spearmen, I have no recollection of 

 noticing them during those few moments of wild 



99 



