68 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. vi 
expect, and, in any case, we do not believe in the 
Mahometan creed. So now that they have eaten 
elephant meat, which, according to their creed, is 
unclean, if we must go to hell, they must go also. 
On the other hand, if they go to heaven, we shall 
go also, for since they have eaten unclean meat, as 
we do, we both stand on the same footing.’ 
This was no place for nice argument, even had I 
been in a position to hold forth on so abstruse a 
subject. Nor could I let Makanyanga see that I 
was at all amused, so making some hasty excuse, I 
quickly retired to the privacy of the bush and gave 
vent to the laugh which, in order to preserve my 
dignity, I had been painfully repressing for the last 
ten minutes. 
