120 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



there rings out on the night the startled cry of 

 ' Moto ! Moto ! ' (Fire ! Fire !). Out rush the 

 unsuspecting inhabitants to assist in extinguishing 

 the flames, and as they emerge from their doors, 

 spears and knives flash, rifles crack, and dark 

 bodies fall heavily into the dust, writhe and 

 quiver and finally lie still. Realizing in a frenzy 

 of dread that they are the victims of another 

 raid, the unhappy villagers raise the shrill and 

 fear-instilling cry of ' Nkondo ! Nkondo!' (War! 

 War!). A wild panic now ensues; terror-stricken 

 natives run hither and thither, shrieking ; those who 

 have escaped the immediate attentions of the raiders 

 and have not lost their presence of mind in this dire 

 extremity, dash swiftly into the pori (forest), and 

 get away from the scene of butchery under cover 

 of the friendly darkness. Groans of pain and 

 piteous cries of entreaty fill the air and mingle 

 with hoarse shouts and fierce oaths where, here 

 and there, a villager, brought to bay and determined 

 to sell life dearly, fights tooth and nail until 

 overcome by superior numbers. And amidst all 

 this hubbub can be heard the low, moaning cry 

 of the native who is mortally hurt and in his 

 dying moments invokes the aid of the woman 

 who gave him birth 'A mio ! A mio ! ' (My 

 mother ! My mother !) a cry that will haunt those 

 who have heard it throughout a lifetime. 



