THE ELEPHANT 211 



unable to see before, where they had again waited for a 

 time. At 12.30 we came to the top of another rise, and I 

 saw a large bit of forest and dense bush lying in the hollow 

 below us. My spirits began to rise, but before entering it 

 I sat down for another short rest, feeling quite sure that the 

 elephants were inside, as we had just found some dung that 

 was quite warm. As I sat smoking a pipe I heard the crack 

 of a branch being broken ring through the forest. Jumping up 

 and putting two or three cartridges both for the 4-bore and 

 8-bore into my pockets, we entered the dense bush, which was 

 some 15 to 20 ft. high, and soon afterwards heard the crack 

 of another branch right ahead of us. Thinking the elephants 

 might be scattered about feeding, and not wishing to run the 

 risk of any of them getting our wind, I sent one of my gun- 

 bearers up a tall thin tree to see if he could make out their 

 whereabouts. He soon spotted them, well to windward of us, 

 about 150 yards off, and on coming down from the tree 

 reported that they were all together, moving along slowly and 

 feeding as they went. Taking the 4-bore from the second gun- 

 bearer, I crept forward with my head gun-bearer carrying the 

 8-bore, and on coming to a place where the covert was rather 

 more open, I saw a large dark bush violently shaken some 

 70 yards ahead of us, and at the same time heard another 

 branch being torn off a tree more to my right. 



I then sent my gun-bearer through a small gap in the bush 

 on my right to see if he could sight the beast that had broken 

 the branch, and in a very few seconds he signalled to me 

 by snapping his fingers (the usual method of attracting atten- 

 tion). As I crept through the gap I saw two elephants about 

 70 yards off in a small open hollow, one standing stern end 

 on, the other, a grand beast, broadside on, but with only 

 his head showing from behind a big bush. As 70 yards is 

 too far for a head shot, T crept forward to within 40 yards 

 of him ; but at that moment he stepped out clear of the 

 bush, giving me a grand chance, of which I immediately 

 availed myself, and before he knew where he was he had 



