CHAPTER XII 



A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO 



DURING my stay at Tsavo I made many little 

 excursions into the surrounding country, and used 

 to go off on a short shooting and exploring expe- 

 dition whenever I had the opportunity. I was 

 especially anxious to bag a hippopotamus, so I 

 made up my mind to try my luck on the banks of 

 the Sabaki. Unfortunately, I possessed no heavy 

 rifle, which is almost a necessity for hippo shooting, 

 but it occurred to me to supply the deficiency by 

 manufacturing a few cartridges for my smooth-bore. 

 In these I had double charges of powder and a 

 hardened bullet made of lead mixed with about 

 an eighth part of tin. I well remember the anxiety 

 with which I fired the first round of my home-made 

 ammunition. As I more than half expected that 

 the barrel would burst, I lashed the gun in the fork 

 of a tree, tied a piece of string a hundred feet long- 

 to the trigger, and then taking shelter behind a 



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