Hippopotamus 



had not been bruised and cut when firing a 

 heavy rifle like a '577 with one hand. I should 

 not care to do the same again in cold blood the 

 rifle recoils quite enough when used against the 

 shoulder and when held with both hands. The 

 next morning I went up to see if we had hit the 

 lion, or if any blood spoor was to be found, but 

 could find nothing. It struck me, though, as 

 more wonderful than ever how any beast could 

 have come up through the grass and thus avoided 

 the fire. It may have come along the bank of 

 the river, but even there the grass was burnt to 

 within a foot of the edge. There remained only 

 the narrow tongue I have mentioned, and when 

 I looked at the place by daylight I decided that 

 that must have been the means of approach. 



We all had breakfast close by, but a little 

 lower down-river from the scene of last night's 

 adventure. I dressed the boy's arm and side 

 again, and was relieved to see that they looked 

 healthy, and not in the least inflamed round the 

 edges. He had slept well, too, he told Weddell, 

 which was a marvel. 



We resumed our voyage after breakfast, 

 arriving at Fontesvilla without further mishap. 

 An event had happened on the previous night 

 here, too, which had thrown this small place 

 into a state of excitement. A hippo had wan- 

 dered from the river below the town and passed 

 several houses until he came to the railway 



143 



