A PHANTOM ^RHINO’ 107 
my struggles and curses in an undertone upon his head. 
Nothing would now induce him to return, as he kept saying : 
' Leave lone, sahib — leave lone. It am de debil — you no 
kill him !' I turned round, and, reluctantly followed by my 
other men (my shikari remaining behind with the pony), I 
again sought the phantom ^ rhino/ I soon discovered him 
musing under a thorn-bush some few yards below me. 
Taking careful aim for his shoulder, I was in the act of 
pressing the trigger, when he whisked round, and without 
a sound vanished into the bushes in an instant. This was 
more than my men could stand. On looking round, I 
perceived that the superstitious devils were all taking to 
their heels as if for life. I never saw the phantom ' rhino ’ 
again, and didn’t want to, for, although I am by no means 
superstitious as a rule, it was a curious fact that this 
animal, which I saw three times, never made the slightest 
sound, and we could find no spoor of him, perhaps owing to 
the rocky nature of the ground. We left the wild and 
uncanny spot, and reached camp as the sun was setting. 
