88 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
terrified yells. Suddenly, I heard groans of pain, and 
making my way in the direction of the sound, came 
across one of my carriers’ servants lying prone in 
the grass. A careful examination failed to disclose 
any trace of a wound, so I administered a cupful of 
brandy as a restorative, and, to my great relief, the 
poor fellow had soon sufficiently recovered to explain 
succinctly what had occurred. It seems that he had 
been loitering along some distance behind the 
carriers, when, without any warning, a buffalo, 
having evidently scented us and bent on making 
himself scarce, had charged madly through the bush, 
and seeing a human being, had deliberately turned 
and tossed him. Fortunately, the animal’s horn had 
passed between the man’s legs without goring him, 
and though badly bruised and shaken, he was not 
seriously injured, so leaving him in charge of some 
of my men who had followed on my heels, I set out, 
accompanied by my trusty tracker, Chingondo, on 
the spoor of the buffalo. 
For about half-an-hour, we followed the animal’s 
tracks through the tall reeds and razor-bladed grass 
which grew thickly along the river banks, plunging 
at times knee deep in patches of slimy marsh infested 
with pythons, and all the while keeping a course 
roughly parallel with the dry bed of the Mbarangandu. 
All at once, w 6 came up with him, and catching a 
brief glimpse of his dull black hide, moving swiftly 
