96 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol, XIII, 
and I felt that I was in for “ beans” of sorts, but providentially the beast 
changed his mind atthe last moment, swerved off to the right of me, and 
disappeared in the grass. I felt positive about my first shot and fairly so 
about my second, and so didnot think he would go far, but it was impossible 
to see a dozen yards ahead owing to the height of the grass, and the only 
thing to be done, therefore, was to pick up the track again, I accordingly 
proceeded to collect the rest of my party and found the two of them hiding 
behind a big tussock of grass and endeavouring to squeeze themselves into 
mother earth, like acouple of wounded quail. When we had first come in 
view of the Rhino, the boy Mahomed was behind me and had no weapon 
with him, so that he had every right to make himself scarce, but I thought 
Abdi might have waited to give me the “ Paradox,” and altogether I was not 
in the best of tempers, but after giving him a piece of my mind, in terms 
more forcible than polite, I hastened to resume the trail. But, alas, there was 
not a vestige of blood, and the beast had gone clean away. It was two 
mortal hours before we got in touch again, and during that time my boys 
were continually impressing on me that there was no blood and that we should 
never see the Rhino again : but having no doubt whatever in my own mind 
about his being wounded, these insinuations only served to nettle me and 
put me on my mettle, and made me the more determined not to stop without 
another interview ; and so we trudged silently along. It was 2 o'clock 
before we came up with him again, Mahomed Midgan being on the trail at 
the time and I close on his heels, in the same heavy grass and bush jungle 
as before. There had been no sign to show that we were getting near 
and the trail apparently went straight forward, when, as we came up level 
with a small gap in the grass, to the left of our yeneral direction, we sud- 
denly saw the Rhino sianding there, waiting for us, He charged out instant- 
ly, passing within afew feet of me and making for the Midgan, who on 
seeing him had darted away to the right. Neglecting, from force of habit, I 
think, my comrade’s recent counsel about the vulnerability of the Rhino’s 
belly, I gave the latter a bullet in the shoulder as he passed me, and this 
caused him to pull up and turn his attention to me, but he had just given me 
time te dodge behind a friendly sapling, and evidently lost sight of me, for 
he began tearing round in circles, as if he knew not whom to devour. 
While employed in these gyrations he raised such clouds of dust 
from the ioose red loamy soil under foot, that it was impossible to 
see him at all distinctly, but during one lucid moment I did manage 
to make him out dimly and got in another shot; and then the 
devil must have possessed me, for I again aimed at the shoulder. 
This time he did stumble, but was up again in a moment,and I lost 
sight of him in a whirlwind of blinding dust. Suddenly there was 
a report from Mahomed’s direction, and a moment later I heard the 
Rhino ratile past through the grass behind me, in the direction from which 
