THE KADIR CUP 205 



belt I have described, and posted the other guns 

 on their elephants across the gorge lower down. 

 He himself, with his usual unselfishness, took the 

 elephant line and beat down towards us. He 

 warned me there was probably a wild elephant in 

 the beat. 



I climbed by a ladder into my post, a straight 

 stemmed tree about as thick as the calf of my leg 

 with a forked branch some ten feet up. It was the 

 best tree available, but so slender that I could 

 neither put up a machan, nor take my second rifle 

 and camera. 



Soon after the beat began the elephant came out 

 of the cover and stood splashing himself in a pool 

 in the stream, a big tusker with one large white 

 tusk. He presently came on ; but instead of taking 

 the short-cut at the base, came down the fringe of 

 trees towards me. He came very slowly, and 

 looked magnificent. He was " must," for the glands 

 on his face were streaming. There was a curious fas- 

 cination to me in his slow and solemn movements. 



He came up to my tree and stood there under it. 

 I had to draw up my legs not to touch him. I held 

 the .400 like a revolver with my right hand fingers 

 on both triggers a foot off the back of his head. 



Unless I killed him stone dead one touch of his 

 body would flip me out of the tree like a stone 

 from a catapult. If I did kill him Sir John would 

 probably hang me. 



The elephant stayed quiet for a couple of minutes 

 and played with the ladder which was still against 

 the tree. He put his trunk on some leather where 

 a break had been bound. He sniffed this and threw 

 it down. A little later he walked quietly down 

 the beat. We never saw the tiger. 



