144 STILL HUNTING AT THE FOUNTAIN. 



shadows like hills, came three elephants. They advanced 

 fearlessly, and, on reaching the fountain, lowered their 

 long trunks, and began, almost simultaneously, to suck up 

 the refreshing liquid. Each of us selected an animal, and 

 watching an opportunity, when the heart was exposed, 

 fired. Scarcely had the report shocked the air into echoes, 

 when the three elephants turned and fled. But the two 

 at which we had fired, lagged, and as they fell far behind 

 the unscathed animal, we knew that they had received 

 wounds which in time would lay them low. 



It was not our purpose to give chase. Congratulating 

 each other on the night's sport, we loaded, and waited to see 

 what kind of a beast would become the next victim. 

 Carollus, the Hottentot, had informed us that, when the 

 moon rose early, the lion deferred its hour of watering, 

 until a short time before day-break, and, therefore, we 

 were not particularly disappointed in not seeing any of 

 these grim monarchs approach. The elephants had not 

 disappeared more than an hour, when the tramp of a herd 

 of animals broke on our ears, and looking up, we saw 

 about twenty gnoos approaching at a trot. Near the 

 fountain, they paused, as if suspicious of danger ; but, 

 one of them leading the way, the others followed to the 

 water, and began to drink. We cared nothing for this 

 game, and therefore reserved our fire for better that 

 might have been alarmed by the report. Before the gnoos 



