^20 THE ROGUE AT BAY. 



head-shot in such thick stuff. I therefore decided to give him the 4- bore 

 behind the shoulder, if I could only make out how he was standing ; but 

 there was a difficulty about this, as even his feet were hidden in the under- 

 growth, so that though we stooped and looked along the ground we could 

 get no clue to his position. As luck would have it, however, he at this 

 moment raised his trunk to reach a bough overhead. I saw his temple, and 

 seized my 12-bore, intending to reserve the 4-oz. in case the first shot did 

 not kill him ; but before I could draw a sight on him his head was again 

 hidden. Fearing that if I delayed any longer a slant of wind might dis- 

 cover us, I took the 4-oz. and fired at where I now knew his shoulder was. 

 The report and smoke from 10 drams in such thick cover were tremen- 

 dous. The elephant remained montionless for an instant after receiving 

 the shot, when, with a wild scream and tremendous crash away he went, 

 fortunately not in our direction, as there was nothing thick enough to 

 shelter us, and we might have been run over by accident. As soon as I 

 could reload the 4-bore we raced after him. The grass and bushes on both 

 sides of his track were covered with blood, and my hands, face, and gun 

 became sticky with it as we ran on through the grass. We had only gone 

 about two hundred yards when the Kurrabas stopped short, and with the one 

 word " 6inay " (elephant), vanished. There was the elephant sure enough, 

 standiug about twenty-five yards from us in an open space amongst grass 

 up to his shoulders, and facing us. The 4-bore had taken him about half- 

 way up the left shoulder, and his lungs must have been damaged, as blood 

 was gushing from his mouth ; this accounted for the state of the grass and 

 bushes we had passed through. He must have stopped through being 

 choked by the bleeding, and hearing us running behind him, had faced round 

 to receive us. As the Kurrabas vanished he came a few steps forward with 

 a grunt, and again stopped. 



He certainly was a sight to give a novice in elephant-shooting a " turn." 

 Blood was gushing from his mouth, covering his chest, fore-legs, and trunk. 

 His twinkling eye showed he meant mischief ; his head was held high ; 

 his trunk curled between his tusks ; and one foot was planted boldly in 

 advance, ready for a forward movement. I and my gun-bearers were still 

 within the cover and concealed ; so, taking immediate advantage of his halt 

 for a steady shot, I aimed between his eyes, and dropped him dead with the 

 4-bore. We found this bullet afterwards in his neck, it having gone through 

 the brain and about fifteen inches of muscle behind. 



Our delight at this speedy and fortunate termination to our hunt may 

 be imagined. I jumped on to the fallen monster's side, which was six feet 

 from the ground as he lay. We had certainly overthrown him by some 



