184 TALES OF A NOMAD. 



moments in my life, and in dreams produced by indiges- 

 tion that elephant still plays a prominent part. At last 

 he gave a blast, and wheeling round went back in the 

 direction whence he had come. He was evidently in a 

 sort of " Come on, I am ready for you " mood, but 

 did not wish to commence hostilities unless provoked. 

 It is needless to say that I felt very thankful at the 

 result 



The part I played was not a particularly brilliant one, 

 still I think that any fair-minded man will acquit me of 

 poltroonery, for after all a man comes out to kill the 

 game and not to be killed by them. The conditions too 

 were distinctly unequal. I could not have killed him 

 as he stood in that position with head elevated, and he 

 certainly would have killed me unless I had jumped into 

 the river after firing. I should have escaped, but then 

 a fine animal would have been wounded for no reason- 

 able end. He might also have taken it into his head to 

 smash my elephant gun. 



I regretted the loss of his tusks, for they were a good 

 pair, and projected quite three feet and a half from the 

 jaw. 



We heard the elephants moving away in the jungle. 

 The main object, however, of this chapter is to describe 

 the manner in which I killed my largest tusker, so I 

 must crave the reader's pardon for these digressions. 



I had long heard of an immense elephant, and had 

 seen his spoor, but had never succeeded in coming 

 across him. That elephant came between me and my 

 night's rest. I was always dreaming of him ; but some- 

 how or other, in these visions, the lock of the rifle seemed 

 to be out of order, or something intervened to prevent 

 the realisation of my desire to kill him. I became 



