204 The Rijlc and Hound in Ceylcn. 



the whistle of a railway engine, he rushed upon me 

 through the high grass with a velocity that was per- 

 fectly wonderful. His eyes flashed as he came on, and 

 he had singled me out as his victim. 



I have often been in dangerous positions, but I never 

 felt so totally devoid of hope as I did in this instance. 

 The tangled grass rendered retreat impossible. I had 

 only one barrel loaded, and that was useless, as the up- 

 raised trunk protected his forehead. I felt myself 

 doomed ; the few thoughts that rush through men's 

 minds in such hopeless positions flew through mine, 

 and I resolved to wait for him till he was close upon 

 me before I fired, hoping that he might lower his trunk 

 and expose his forehead. 



He rushed along at the pace of a horse in full speed ; 

 in a few moments, as the grass flew to the right and 

 left before him, he was close upon me, but still his 

 trunk was raised and I would not fire. One second 

 more, and at this headlong pace he was within three 

 feet of me ; down slashed his trunk with the rapidity 

 of a whip-thong, and with a shrill scream of fury he 

 was upon me. 



I fired at that instant ; but in a twinkling of an eye 

 I was flying through the air like a ball from a bat. At 

 the moment of firing I had jumped to the left, but he 

 struck me with his tusk in full charge upon my right 

 thigh, and hurled me eight or ten paces from him. 

 That very moment he stopped, and, turning l'ound, he 

 beat the grass about with his trunk and commenced a 

 strict search for me. I heard him advancing close to 

 the spot where I lay as still as death, knowing that my 

 last chance lay in concealment. I heard the grass 

 rustling close to the spot where I lay ; closer and closer 



