3 io THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 



the long grass. All of a sudden one popped up its 

 head unexpectedly about fifty yards away. One of 

 my companions immediately levelled his rifle at it, 

 but from where I was I could see better than 

 he that the head was a poor one, and so called 

 out to him not to fire. The warning came too 

 late, however, for at that moment he pulled the 

 trigger. It was rather a difficult shot, too, as the 

 body of the animal could not be seen very well owing 

 to the height of the grass ; still, as the head 

 instantly disappeared we hoped for the best and ran 

 up to the place, but no trace of the eland could be 

 found. Accordingly we pushed on again and after a 

 little rested for a short time under the shade of some 

 trees. We had gone about three miles after 

 resuming our search for game, when one of the 

 porters remembered that he had left the water-bottle 

 he was carrying at the trees where we had halted, so 

 he was sent back for it with strict injunctions to 

 make haste and to rejoin us as quickly as possible. 

 Curiously enough, this trifling incident proved quite 

 providential ; for the porter (whose name was 

 Sabaki), after recovering the water-bottle, found 

 himself unable to trace us through the jungle and 

 accordingly struck home for camp. On his way 

 back he actually stumbled over the dead body of the 

 eland which I had shot the previous day and which 

 the search party I had sent out in the morning had 



