about, and trumpeting with her angriest power, as she
revengefully searched for her pursuers.
I had not had such a time of excitement for many years.
I pulled and tugged at the cartridges, but for a time all
such efforts were of no avail. Amidst the confusion, I
heard John roaring as though he were being torn limb from
limb. I had by this time succeeded in reloading, and, of
course, made off at my highest speed, for I really thought
that John was caught. On getting up I found that the
cow had charged him, and, John having run out of bullets,
had been obliged to take to his heels, in order to escape
from the infuriated monster.
A lively time had evidently been passed, for both John
and Sagwam looked dreadfully exhausted ; the former, too,
was quite crestfallen, because he had lost his elephant.
I had but one rifle with me, and a wounded elephant
still close by, but I pushed the weapon into John’s hands,
and away he went, at once, on the blood spoor. Hurrying
back to the camp, I snatched up 0. L. K., and returned to
the wounded elephant, which I found standing under the
shade of a large tree.
Just as I came within range, however, I heard the sharp
report of the eight-bore, and, before my eyes down went the
elephant with a heavy thud. As the animal was not dead,
I quickly ran up and gave the coup de grâce to end the
poor brute’s sufferings.
The elephant wounded by John had been soon overtaken
by that worthy when he got my rifle in his hands; and
after despatching it, he had gone towards that wounded by
me, firing the shot I had heard just as I arrived from the
camp with 0 . L. K. After cutting out the hearts, we returned
to the camp, situated two miles north of the Simbo
river, and there in dreams I, over and over again, went
AN ANXIOUS MOMENT.