CHAPTER XXXVI 
THE HUNTERS END 
There are so many risks, as well as privations, 
incidental to the life of an elephant hunter, that he 
has only to keep at the game long enough to meet 
with an untimely end, and that, as a rule, a violent 
one. Even should he survive the many dangers 
attendant on the calling, in the long run, he gener¬ 
ally undermines his constitution and lives on a mere 
wreck of his former self. Still, while the life lasts, 
it is one of the most glorious and exhilarating on 
earth, for again and again the chase resolves itself 
into an exciting duel ’twixt man and beast, and 
though the chances, even in dense jungle, are in 
favour of the man, occasions frequently arise when 
the latter’s life trembles in the balance. The hunter 
knows absolutely that if his rifle or cunning fails 
him in the least, he is as good as dead, and it is on 
this simple understanding that he joyfully sets out. 
The three little episodes which follow, will, I think, 
give the reader a glimpse into the tragic side of a 
309 
