DOWN THE NILE; THE GIANT ELAND 449 
I had no chance to fire. By mid-afternoon on each day it 
was evident that further following of the trail we were on 
was useless, and we plodded campward, tired and thirsty. 
Gradually the merciless glare softened; then the sun sank 
crimson behind a chain of fantastically carved mountains 
in the distance; and the hues of the after-glow were 
drowned in the silver light of the moon, which was near¬ 
ing the full. 
On the third day we found the spoor of a single bull by 
eight o’clock. Hour after hour went by while the gun- 
bearers, even more eager than weary, puzzled out the trail. 
At half past twelve we knew we were close on the beast, 
and immediately afterward caught a glimpse of it. Taking 
advantage of every patch of cover I crawled toward it on 
all-fours, my rifle too hot for me to touch the barrel, while 
the blistering heat of the baked ground hurt my hands. 
At a little over a hundred yards I knelt and aimed at the 
noble beast; I could now plainly see his huge bulk and 
great, massive horns, as he stood under a tree. The pointed 
bullet from the little Springfield hit a trifle too far back 
and up, but made such a rip that he never got ten yards 
from where he was standing; and great was my pride as 
I stood over him, and examined his horns, twisted almost 
like a koodoo’s, and admired his size, his finely modelled 
head and legs, and the beauty of his coat. 
Meanwhile, Kermit had killed two eland, a cow on the 
first day, and on the second a bull even better than, al¬ 
though not quite so old as, mine. Kermit could see game, 
and follow tracks, almost as well as his gun-bearers, and 
in a long chase could outrun them. On each day he struck 
the track of a herd of eland, and after a while left his gun- 
