350 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AERICA chap. 



possible, to try and disable it, and fired at the near hind leg 

 just above the foot joint. No sooner had I pulled the trigger 

 than, as by inspiration, with an activity I had hardly thought 

 myself capable of now, I whipped round, and, half scrambling, 

 half running through the tunnel, was in an instant tearing down 

 the path in the instinctive endeavour to get out of the way, in 

 case it should come. It was lucky I lost no time ; for it 

 turned and came straight for me, my shot having failed, 

 evidently, to break its leg. Looking over my shoulder as I 

 ran I saw the huge beast coming at a run right along the path 

 behind me. Weakened as I was from my accident — my 

 wound but just healed over, and my right side still sore and 

 stiff — I felt unable to run hard ; but I made the best effort I 

 was capable of, and turned sharp to the right along the track 

 we had come. As I did so, I heard that awful shrill, harsh 

 trumpet behind me, so suggestive of impending swift anni- 

 hilation, which seems to come down upon one as the doom 

 of irresistible vengeance ; and, throwing my gun to one side to 

 be out of harm's way, I ducked behind some brushwood, 

 stumbling as I did so, and hid there for a minute till I found I 

 was safe. The elephant had turned to the left when coming 

 into the main path and gone off in the direction of the herd. 

 My men turned up as I was picking up the rifle, and we went 

 back to hunt for my hat. 



It appeared that on seeing what was happening from where 

 they had remained behind when I crawled through the tunnel, 

 they had been able to get out of sight into a [little opening in 

 the brake, which walled in the path on either side, while the 

 elephant passed in my wake. There was no blood on the spoor ; 

 but that is nothing remarkable with so small a bullet, and I still 

 hoped that we might eventually find the elephant — whether the 

 same or not — which I had first fired at. But though I sent back 

 more than once during the next few days in hopes the vultures 

 might show us the carcase, nothing was ever found. Of the rest 

 of the herd I could not get a view to give me any sort of a decent 



