48 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
long training, instantly handed me my 1075 mm., 
but it was well-nigh impossible for me to place a 
decisive shot, for, from where we stood, the only 
portion of Kom-Kom visible was his uplifted trunk, 
ceaselessly moving to and fro above the dense 
vegetation, apparently sniffing for our scent. 
Luckily, the Mighty One was to windward of us, 
and, as if uncertain of our whereabouts, turned and 
advanced slowly in our direction. Even now, I was 
quite unable to see him clearly, so judging the 
probable location of his forehead, I fired once more, 
but the bullet, instead of stopping or turning him, 
only served to rouse his anger, and, trumpeting 
shrilly, he dashed furiously in our direction. 
Hastily driving another cartridge out of the 
magazine into the breech, I fired full in his face, 
but as he came thundering on with lowered head, 
the bullet crashed into his skull several inches above 
the right eye. An instant afterwards he was upon 
us and I was hurled violently to the ground, 
slightly to the left, and half buried under a mass of 
broken branches and torn vegetation. It was a 
miracle that I wasn’t trampled! The impetus of 
Kom-Korn’s attack carried him about seven yards 
beyond where I lay, and at that distance he came 
to a standstill and began sniffing the air for a whiff 
of my scent, while I, concealed beneath the heap of 
debris, could clearly see every movement he made. 
k 
