THE TERROR OF HUNSUR. 49 



must now advance more cautiously, as the river 

 was within half a mile, and that we might come 

 on the " rogue " at any moment. Up to this 

 moment, I don't know if any of us appreciated 

 the full extent of the danger we were running. 

 Following up a wounded must elephant on foot, 

 in dense cover such as we were in, meant that 

 if we did not drop the brute with the first shot, 

 one or more of us would in all probability pay for 

 our temerity with our lives. We had been on the 

 tramp two hours and we were all of us more or 

 less excited, so taking a sip of cold tea to steady 

 our nerves, we settled on a plan of operations. 

 F - and I, having the heaviest guns, were to 

 lead, the Kuramba trackers being a pace or two 



in advance of us. O and K were to 



follow about five paces behind, and the shikari and 

 Suliman were to bring up the rear at an interval 

 of ten paces. If we came on the elephant, the 

 advance party were to fire first and then move 

 aside. If the brute survived our fire, the second 

 battery would surely account for it. It never 

 entered our minds that anything living could with- 

 stand a discharge at close quarters of eight such 

 barrels as we carried. Having settled matters to 

 our satisfaction, off we set on the trail, moving 

 now very cautiously, the guides enjoining the 

 strictest silence. Every bush was carefully ex- 

 amined, every thicket scanned before an advance 

 was made ; frequent stops were made, and the 

 drops of blood carefully examined to see if they 

 were clotted or not, as by this the Kurambas could 



4 



