This Gave Us Hope, As The
Elephants No Longer Had The Advantage Of The Wind, And We Pushed On As
Fast As We Could Go.
It was about half an hour before dusk, and our patience and hopes were
alike exhausted, when we suddenly once more heard the wh-r-r-r of the
elephants winding us within a hundred yards.
It was our last chance, and
with redoubled speed we rushed after them.
Suddenly we broke from the high jungle in which we had been for the last
two hours, and found ourselves in a chena jungle of two years' growth,
about five feet high, but so thick and thorny that it resembled one vast
blackthorn hedge, through which no man could move except in the track of
the retreating elephants.
To my delight, on entering this low jungle, I saw the female at about
forty yards' distance, making off at a great pace. I had a light
double-barrelled gun in my hand, and, in the hopes of checking her pace,
I fired a flying shot at her ear. She had been hunted so long that she
was well inclined to fight, and she immediately slackened her speed so
much that in a few instants I was at her tail, so close that I could
have slapped her. Still she ploughed her way through the thick thorns,
and not being able to pass her owing to the barrier of jungle, I could
only follow close at her heels and take my chance of a shot.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 76 of 343
Words from 20095 to 20351
of 91283
