XV 
RETURN TO LAKE RUDOLPH 
355 
concurred in the desirability of such procedure. We then 
retired to one of the chimney-like ant-heaps so common here, 
standing a little back from the edge of the thick scrub, from the 
shoulder of which we were able to observe the elephants, and 
waited. As they had not been very much alarmed, and were 
quite unconscious of our presence, I hoped they might move by 
and by into a more favourable position. Soon they began to 
move about, and I could see that one was considerably larger 
than the other ; but both seemed, from the glimpses we got, to 
have equally good, though not exceptionally massive, tusks. 
At last, after moving backwards and forwards several times 
inside their retreat and exercising our patience a good deal, 
they approached the limit of the brake on our side, and finally 
came just outside and walked along skirting its edge. I 
refrained from shooting while they moved, but got near and 
followed along parallel with them, until, before they had gone 
far, my patience was rewarded by a good chance. They stood ; 
and I got up to the base of an ant-heap from whence I could get 
a good clear shot. I gave the larger a bullet in the centre of the 
right shoulder, and as they were making off I disabled his 
mate with a shot into his hip, crippling him. The first ran 
back to near their original position, and stood for a minute ; 
but while we looked, it started to run full speed in our direc¬ 
tion, and suddenly fell over, in mid career, rolling on to its 
back with its feet kicking up into the air. Even then, as we 
were congratulating each other, it got up again and stood. 
What had happened was undoubtedly (I have seen the same 
thing in other cases) that my shot had fractured the bone high 
up ; so that, though it did not break at once, it caused the 
limb to snap when it was running, thus bringing about its 
sudden collapse. Both were now at my mercy, and I was not 
long in giving them their quietus. The first probably needed 
none, but the .303 bullet makes such a tiny wound that it takes 
some time to kill a big bull, even though in a mortal spot. 
They both had fine tusks, which I estimated to be a full load 
