198 LARGE GAME. chap. iv. 



heavy body through the thickets, and shrill trumpeting. 

 The native who was with me halted and listened for a 

 few seconds, and then saying " Come on," darted like 

 lightning through the prickly cactus, and dodging in 

 and out through the thick bush, arrived in a few minutes 

 on the outside, and then ran at full speed along the edge, 

 until, as we neared the end of the jungle and came 

 opposite to a small break in it, he sprang behind a bush 

 and knelt down. 



Follow your leader's example, and ask the reason for 

 what he does afterwards, is a good hunting rule, and one 

 that, though at first I had half suspected that the man 

 was running away, I complied with now. My reward 

 was not long in coming; we had not been behind the 

 bush for more than a minute when the branches before us 

 opened, and the great quadruped, making little more 

 noise than the smallest antelope would have done, walked 

 out into the open, at last giving me an opportunity of 

 seeing that he was indeed worth the trouble we had 

 taken, and that his tusks, both in size and shape, were 

 first-class. He was not ten yards from us, and we both 

 instantly fired, bringing him down on the spot, but so 

 momentarily that I had barely time to get my second 

 barrel in before he disappeared among the bushes. 

 Leaving the hunter loading, I rushed off by myself to 

 try to cut it off should it break cover at this end of the 

 jungle, but quick as I was, it was too late, and I only 

 arrived in time to see him going away across the open 

 about eighty yards from me, at which distance I fired 

 both barrels at his stern. 



As there was no use in following him up in a hurry, I 



