As There Seemed No Likelihood Of
Getting A Shot At Him From Our Tree, I Made Up
My Mind To Stalk Him On Foot, So We Both Descended
From Our Perch And Made Our Way Slowly Through
The Trees In The Semi-Darkness.
There were
numbers of animals about, and I am sure that
neither of us felt very comfortable as we
Crept
along in the direction of the splashing hippo; for
my own part I fancied every moment that I saw
in front of me the form of a rhino or a lion ready
to charge down upon us out of the shadow of
the bush.
In this manner, with nerves strung to the
highest pitch, we reached the edge of the river
in safety, only to find that we were again baulked
by a small rush-covered island, on the other side
of which our quarry could be heard. There was
a good breeze blowing directly from him, however,
so I thought the best thing to do was to attempt
to get on to the island and to have a shot at
him from there. Mahina, too, was eager for the
fray, so we let ourselves quietly into the water,
which here was quite shallow and reached only
to our knees, and waded slowly across. On
peering cautiously through the reeds at the corner
of the island, I was surprised to find that I could
see nothing of the hippo; but I soon realised
that I was looking too far ahead, for on lowering
my eyes there he was, not twenty-five yards away,
lying down in the shallow water, only half covered
and practically facing us.
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