158 THE TROTTING RHINO 



glade, and my rifle was too light to be depended on 

 in case lie charged, and I had no time or oppor- 

 tunity to pick my shot as one must in order, in these 

 close quarters, to score on such formidable game 

 with any weapon less than a double ten or eight 

 bore. While I maintained my vigil at the lalang 

 edge, I sent Nagh up a tree to locate, if possible, the 

 quarry; but as he signed me a "no," I signalled 

 him with my hands to remain up the tree to watch 

 and listen. Then I completed another slow circle 

 of the glade, at about the gait and much after the 

 manner of a cat approaching a mouse. The sela- 

 dang was still there. And by this time the after- 

 noon was more than half spent. Then I heard a 

 movement among the canes in the glade ; it sounded 

 to me about in the middle jf the place, and Nagh's 

 signal indorsed my thought; but it lasted only a 

 few seconds. Evidently the beast had no imme- 

 diate intention of coming out ; and I was beginning 

 to want that seladang very badly. So as a prelim- 

 inary to venturing into the glade, I went up a tree 

 to learn the direction of the wind, if there was any, 

 and to discover what I could about the character 

 and shape of the glade. I found almost no air, 

 and that little blowing in my face; also I saw a 

 thick clump of cane standing up around a small 

 tree about fifty feet from my edge of the glade, 

 which altogether did not appear to be over a couple 



