CHAPTER XXXVI 

 THE HUNTER'S END 



THERE are so many risks, as well as privations, 

 incidental to the life of an elephant hunter, that he 

 has only to keep at the game long enough to meet 

 with an untimely end, and that, as a rule, a violent 

 one. Even should he survive the many dangers 

 attendant on the calling, in the long run, he gener- 

 ally undermines his constitution and lives on a mere 

 wreck of his former self. Still, while the life lasts, 

 it is one of the most glorious and exhilarating on 

 earth, for again and again the chase resolves itself 

 into an exciting duel 'twixt man and beast, and 

 though the chances, even in dense jungle, are in 

 favour of the man, occasions frequently arise when 

 the latter's life trembles in the balance. The hunter 

 knows absolutely that if his rifle or cunning fails 

 him in the least, he is as good as dead, and it is on 

 this simple understanding that he joyfully sets out. 

 The three little episodes which follow, will, I think, 

 give the reader a glimpse into the tragic side of a 



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