320 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



reconnoitre, tearing up the turf with his hoofs, and 

 lashing his tail as if indignant that his sylvan re- 

 treat should be intruded uj^on. Whilst in this 

 position he offered me a fair view of his brawny 

 shoulder, and I planted a heavy cylindro-conical 

 bullet just behind it, which brought him to his 

 knees with a surly roar. Mad with pain he re- 

 gained his feet, and staggered forward on three 

 legs, when I gave him the contents of my second 

 barrel in nearly the same place, which rolled him 

 over. Chineah now handed me my other rifle, and 

 I quitted the cover ; when no sooner did he catch 

 sight of me than again' springing up, with a deep 

 tremulous roar, he charged headlong at me, tail on 

 end, his eyes flashing fire, and mouth covered with 

 blood and foam. I let him come to within six 

 paces of where I was standing, when I stopped his 

 mad career with a ball in the centre of his broad 

 massive forehead, which again made him bite the 

 dust : he gave a desperate plunge forward, and 

 rolled heavily over on his side dead. The others, 

 alarmed, were now tearing frantically over the plain, 

 so I slipped behind the cover of a bush to reload, 

 and again stealing forward, managed to bowl over 

 a cow and wound another badly, before the terrified 

 herd sought safety in flight by rallying in a body 

 and crashing through the dense bamboo-jungle 

 which clothed the side of the hill. After reloading, 

 I despatched the second cow with a bullet behind 

 the horns, as she was lying disabled by my first 



