272 



IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. 



with the horse and ponies. Just as they got to the 

 very thickest part of the jungle, where it was 

 practically impossible to move except at a snail's 

 pace, out charged the elephant from the bushes not 

 ten yards away ! As she had no rifle with her, she 



thought the best thing to 

 do was to crouch down on 

 the spot where she stood, 

 hoping that the brute 

 would not see her. My 

 Indian syce, Asa Ram, 

 stood close by, paralyzed 

 with fear, holding Aladdin 

 tightly by the reins as if 

 rooted to the ground. 

 The infuriated brute 

 caught sight of my beau- 

 tiful white Arab, and in- 

 stantly made a lunge, 

 knocked down the syce, 



"MY INDIAN SYCE, ASA RAM." ^ ^ ^ ^ deadat 



his feet, and drove his tusk deep into poor Alad- 

 din's side. 



At this moment, when the elephant was on the 

 look-out for fresh victims, Jerogi, the Kikuyu syce, 

 let the other ponies loose, and both he and they 

 bolted off as fast as possible into the bush, while 

 Abbudi, remembering the emphatic instructions that 



