cows were seen advancing with thundering strides, until I
thought they were on the top of us.
“ Look o u t! look o u t! ” was the warning which again
and again came from Fred’s lusty lungs.
A rapid glance towards the right gave the alarming
view of a grey mass of heads breaking through the high
grass, and bearing down upon us like a cohort in mad
alarm. Expecting to turn their course, I yelled as loudly
as possible, and when they came within a few yards
was relieved to see them swerve to one side and sweep
past.
Not caring to lose another chance, I tried C.L.K. again.
Knowing the lightness of my bullets I aimed for the ear
shot, and let fly right and left, bringing down, wonderful to
say, a fine cow stone dead with the first shot, and the bullets
half-hollowed!
Sport on many occasions was utterly spoiled by the
sticking of the empty cases; but the disappointment in
this case was excessively annoying, for the lost bull was the
finest African elephant I had seen. The tusks appeared to
be very long.
* Master can’t get to Chiromo on the Kuo river to-night.
I t is very far,” quoth Fred.
“We must, F re d ; for I promised M. Giraud I would be
there to-night.”
The hottest hour of the day was upon us, and we were at
least two miles from the canoe. I had no fear of the Man-
ganja people, who had shown much appreciation of my
efforts on their behalf during the previous night. A little
cloth to each would urge them to do wonders. But not a
moment was to be lost. Hurrying on under indescribable
heat we reached the river, with our bodies bathed in perspiration.
All plans were matured by this time. The Manganja
people worked well. By four o’clock in the afternoon the
tusks and trunk of the elephant were on board the Leviathan,
and we were again skimming down in the run of the silver
stream.
The day’s adventures, however, were not yet over. We
found the hippos in a defiant and daring humour. Passing
through herd after herd, some of the monsters would rise
half out of the water close to us, and facing the canoe
would plunge as though bent upon swimming under the
fragile craft. Eight and left, front and rear, the threatening
animals surged and dived.
A l l a t : o n c e a c r a s h i n g n o i s e w a s h e a r d a m o n g t h e r e e d s
w h i c h f r i n g e d t h e r i v e r ’s b a n k s , p a s t w h i c h w e w e r e s l o w l y
g l i d i n g .
I heard Fred shouting : i Shoot, master, shoot! ” and at
the same moment there came plunging with furious force,
from amidst the yielding dark green walls, one of the
biggest of the mighty monsters of the river.
The boys braced their long bamboos simultaneously to
stop our “ way,” but the depth of water defeated their
efforts. As I fired, the hippo nearly struck the bow. Then
quick as lightning he dived, the canoe passing over him,
so that for a moment I felt as though we were passing over
a torpedo. Little more than a second elapsed before he
was up again, this time alongside, erecting his ugly head
high out of the water.
Another shot, with better direction than the first, was
followed by a tremendous splashing of water, which frothed
and seethed as though it was in a boiling cauldron, and
amidst the trembling confusion we saw the last of the
formidable brute. ,
This herd consisted of about ten hippos, all playing and