184 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
upon the exposed ground; I therefore begged 
my two companions to wait, while I should 
endeavour quite alone to stalk the game. 
There were several large isolated trees 
growing in the marsh outside the jungle, at the 
base of the rising ground from which I now 
descended. I endeavoured to estimate the distance, 
which I computed to be about 220 yards from 
the farthest tree to the nearest of the animals. 
The difficulty would be to arrive at this tree 
without being perceived by the mehedehets, as 
they were somewhat scattered. Had there been 
only one, I might have advanced under cover of 
the tree by keeping the thick trunk in a direct 
line with my approach. At length, by dint of 
perseverance, sometimes crawling along the 
rutty surface, then lying flat to conceal myself 
in the grass about 18 inches high, whenever there 
was a danger of being observed, I managed at 
last to reach the farthest tree. I rested there for 
several minutes to become cool, and to wipe my 
eyes from the streams of perspiration, which 
nearly blinded me. At length I was cool 
enough to take the trial shot. The distance 
was a little over 200 yards. Taking a rest 
against the stem of a giant tree, I fired. The 
bull fell as though struck by lightning. His 
more distant companion went off at full speed, and 
was soon lost to view; but his nearest neighbour 
simply started for a few yards, and after having 
regarded the situation without discovering any 
