xxx A FEW THRILLS AT BANGALLA RIVER 267 



in an open space of about fifteen yards in diameter. 

 Three of them were facing away from us, the fourth 

 was stolidly gazing in our direction as if expecting 

 our approach, although we were to the lee of him. 

 Motioning my men to keep absolutely still, I slowly 

 raised my rifle, but the brute, seeing the movement, 

 advanced rapidly in my direction. When he was 

 within ten yards of me, I fired the first barrel, the 

 bullet striking him a little above the right eye, and 

 finding that this failed to stop him, I again pressed 

 the trigger and gave him the contents of the second 

 barrel knocking him clean over with a bullet right 

 between the eyes. Meanwhile, the others had 

 started in our direction and the foremost, charac- 

 terized by a complete absence of tusks, uttered a 

 shrill scream and charged us. I dropped my empty 

 rifle, seized another from my tracker, Ntawasie, and 

 blazed in the animal's face. He immediately turned 

 and, joined by his companions, smashed through the 

 bush at headlong speed, sundering the network of 

 impeding branches and creepers like so much 

 cobweb. 



I now turned my attention to the first elephant, 

 and finding that he was not dead, gave him his 

 quietus. Reloading my rifle, I went in pursuit of 

 those that had decamped, but in spite of the copious 

 blood spoor, dusk closed in before we could come 

 up with them and obliged us to retrace our weary 



