150 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



females are much smaller than those of their mates). 

 Parched with thirst though we were, the temptation 

 to give chase was irresistible, and only a hunter 

 who has lived by his rifle knows the power of that 

 allurement. So we turned aside, trusting that the 

 hunt might be brief and fortunate, and assisted 

 in our decision by the knowledge that our quarry 

 would in all probability lead us to water, even 

 should we fail to get a shot at them. On both 

 counts, however, we were doomed to bitter dis- 

 appointment, for, after following them till about 

 eleven o'clock, we discovered, to our intense 

 chagrin, that they had joined a large herd of 

 females, a fact which renders killing them a 

 matter of great difficulty and increased danger. To 

 ' put the lid ' on matters, they got a whiff of our 

 tainted air and the whole herd decamped ! Where 

 the males had joined the females, we came across 

 some water-holes, and you can imagine our feelings 

 of disgust when we found that these were bone-dry ! 

 We had not partaken of food or drink since the 

 previous morning, and all day long we had been 

 marching under a merciless, blistering sun, during 

 the hottest month of the year, Hunger, however, 

 was a minor matter in comparison with thirst, and 

 even during the intense excitement of the hunt, at 

 the back of our minds there had been the persistent 

 craving for water. Water ! water ! water ! the 



