A LUCKY KILL. 165 



precautions, I have on returning from a day's hunting in 

 the jungle stripped myself and found more than thirty 

 leeches upon me gorged with blood. They get down 

 your neck, into your boots, under your armpits, and, in 

 fact, all over you, excepting in your hair. 



We went on and on, but could see no recent tracks of 

 elephant. At about eleven A.M. we had to begin mak- 

 ing use of the pocket compass, for the sun being nearly 

 overhead was no longer of any use as a guide to us in 

 our course. 



Shortly after one I halted for a rest. It was certain 

 that the elephants had not come anywhere in this direc- 

 tion, so it seemed to me probable that they had made a 

 sweep round to the southward, and returned in the direc- 

 tion whence they had originally come. 



It was, however, possible that we had made too wide 

 a cast, and that they were within the ground we had 

 traversed, so I determined to return by another route. 

 I intended to strike the river at a point considerably 

 below our encampment, and then to ascend it until we 

 reached home ; so, setting the new course by the com- 

 pass, we started back. The heat was intense, and took all 

 the energy out of us. Our want of success depressed our 

 spirits, and we stumbled along, taking hardly any notice 

 of spoor. I had very faint hopes of falling in with 

 elephants, and merely followed the hunter's maxim, 

 '' Never say die ". 



It was a little after three, and I judged that we must be 

 not very far from the river, when suddenly the leading 

 Dyak gave a whistle and pointed to the ground. On 

 going up my heart gave a bound, for there were the 

 quite fresh tracks of elephants. There were only two of 

 them, a bull of large size and a cow. 



