180 



IN AFRICA 



gle file we moved on tiptoe along the trail. Then he 

 stopped and by his attitude said that the quest was 

 ended. The elephant was there. One by one we 

 edged forward, and there, thirty yards away, partly 

 hidden by slender bamboos, stood a motionless ele- 

 phant. He seemed to be the biggest one I had ever 



It Looked Like the Rear Elevation of a Barn 



seen. He was quartering, head away from us, and 

 we could not see his tusks. If they were big, we 

 were to shoot ; if not, we were to let him alone. As 

 we watched and waited for his head to turn we 

 noticed that his ears began to wave slowly back and 

 forth, like the gills of a fish as it breathes. The 

 head slowly and almost imperceptibly turned, and 



