88 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



terrified yells. Suddenly, I heard groans of pain, and 

 making my way in the direction of the sound, came 

 across one of my carriers' servants lying prone in 

 the grass. A careful examination failed to disclose 

 any trace of a wound, so I administered a cupful of 

 brandy as a restorative, and, to my great relief, the 

 poor fellow had soon sufficiently recovered to explain 

 succinctly what had occurred. It seems that he had 

 been loitering along some distance behind the 

 carriers, when, without any warning, a buffalo, 

 having evidently scented us and bent on making 

 himself scarce, had charged madly through the bush, 

 and seeing a human being, had deliberately turned 

 and tossed him. Fortunately, the animal's horn had 

 passed between the man's legs without goring him, 

 and though badly bruised and shaken, he was not 

 seriously injured, so leaving him in charge of some 

 of my men who had followed on my heels, I set out, 

 accompanied by my trusty tracker, Chingondo, on 

 the spoor of the buffalo. 



For about half-an-hour, we followed the animal's 

 tracks through the tall reeds and razor-bladed grass 

 which grew thickly along the river banks, plunging 

 at times knee deep in patches of slimy marsh infested 

 with pythons, and all the while keeping a course 

 roughly parallel with the dry bed of the Mbarangandu. 

 All at once, we came up with him, and, catching a 

 brief glimpse of his dull black hide, moving swiftly 



