154 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
if they ever pondered on the risks and hardships 
endured by those who sought the raw material. 
What a far cry from the delicate objet cCart in 
some dainty boudoir to the thirst-crazy hunter 
wandering in primeval forest! 
On, on we trudged, and as the sun sank on the 
horizon like a globe of cooling iron, a large ant-hill 
loomed ahead of us, and towards it we dragged 
ourselves with painful steps. On reaching it, Hyiah 
managed to crawl up it on hands and knees, and 
simply stretching forth his hand and muttering the 
one word ‘ Bwana/ lurched forward on his face, 
utterly exhausted. Coming up to where he lay, I 
saw wreaths of smoke ascending about half a mile 
away and knew they must be rising from the camp¬ 
fires of my men. Dropping the axe, I fired our 
usual signal, four rifle-shots in quick succession, and 
threw myself down beside my tracker. After a few 
minutes of keen suspense, I could distinguish the 
voices of my men who, on hearing the reports of 
my rifle, had at once set forth in search of us. Too 
weak to shout in reply, I fired three more shots to 
guide them to where we lay, and shortly afterwards, 
to our intense relief, my boy Konyaki and three 
carriers arrived on the scene, bearing a couple of 
small calabashes of water and a bottle of whisky. 
Never were whisky and water more welcome! 
Pouring a little of the spirit into the palm of my 
