8 AN ELEPHANT HUNT IN CEYLON 



yards of the wounded elephant. If he had 

 attacked us we should certainly have been 

 lost. There could be no doubt whatever about 

 that. 



The ground was slippery, covered every- 

 where with thorn bushes, so that we could not 

 step a couple of paces aside from the elephant 

 track. There were no large trees. All the 

 time there was this hidden, threatening danger 

 behind the wall of undergrowth. As a matter 

 of fact, we were nearly caught. 



One of the Englishmen had just pushed 

 aside the curtain of climbing growth — when 

 I suddenly noticed that he was making me 

 violent signs. I jumped forward, and quickly 

 motioned back to Finckenstein. ... In front 

 of us, twenty paces away, stood the grey giant, 

 ready for the attack, his huge ears stretched 

 out, his trunk rolled upwards. 



In another moment he would have been 

 on us. 



As by agreement we opened fire, and bullets 

 fairly hailed on him. 



He turned and decamped. 



