266 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



one another, I hastened after the elephants. But I 

 had not gone more than a hundred yards, when I 

 heard a rustling in the bush a short distance behind 

 me, and on turning, saw, to my surprise, my trackers 

 hurrying after me. 



My head tracker, Malingum, came up to me and 

 said : 



' Look here, bwana, it's much too risky to tackle 

 elephants in such dense bush, for if you get near 

 them, you will be quite unable to plant a decisive 

 shot, and should they get frightened and clear in 

 our direction, we run great risk of being trampled 

 to death, as it is well-nigh impossible to dodge aside 

 to avoid their rush in this mass of entangled vegeta- 

 tion. However, if you insist on going, we will 

 follow.' 



' Right you are ! Come on, we'll go through 

 with it,' I replied, feeling that this was no occasion 

 for leisurely discussion, and pushing on, drew 

 nearer and nearer to the quarry. 



As the elephants were now not more than thirty 

 yards distant, it behoved us to use the utmost 

 caution, and it was with every faculty alert, that we 

 gradually crept closer and closer to them along the 

 tunnel they had bored through the thicket. All at 

 once, Malingum, excitedly tapping me on the 

 shoulder, pointed a little to my right, and, looking 

 to where he indicated, I could see the herd standing 



