ii THE FIGHT WITH THE FOUR 21 



that that pinch seemed to revive me at once, and 

 give me energy calmly to review the situation. 

 As it was drawing towards evening, a time when 

 all wild animals wend their way to the rivers and 

 pools to quench their thirst, we calculated that 

 our quarry, thoroughly tired by the long chase, 

 would probably be making for water at a leisurely 

 pace. Tightening our belts, and indulging in 

 another pinch of snuff to freshen our jaded 

 senses, we rose and started off once more, resolved 

 to make one final, desperate effort to bag some of 

 the herd, Simba reverently raising his face heaven- 

 wards and imploring : ' Jondie neusimungo nepa 

 sese oui dembo ! ' (Please, God, give us these 

 elephants.) 



After another period of arduous tracking, we 

 discovered that they had left the bush and 

 taken to a comparatively open country, so, 

 breaking into a steady but somewhat feeble trot, 

 we managed, about an hour afterwards, to come 

 up with them, just in time to see them, in 

 single file, slowly entering a patch of long grass. 

 As the sun was rapidly sinking and darkness 

 would be upon us in less than an hour, it 

 was now a case of neck or nothing, so strain- 

 ing every muscle, we dashed after them, excite- 

 ment and the cool, crisp air of evening pouring 

 new life into our veins. What a devil-may-care 



