The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-09-12
CHAPTER ".
Continued.

He had been shot right through the
heart, or lungs, and down he fell with
q crash, stone dead.
But in escaping from Scylla had
run into the paws of Charybdis.
heard the elephant fall, and glanced
round. Straight in front of me, and
not fifteen PAGES away, were the other
two bulls.
They were staring about, and at that
moment they caught sight of me.
Then they came, the pair of them
came like thunderbolts, and from diff
ferent angles.
I had only time to snap my rifle to,
lift it and fire, almost at haphazard,
at the head of the nearest, the un-
wounded bull.
Now, as you know. in the case of the
AFRICAN elephant, whose skull is con-
Tex, and not concave, like that of the
Indian, this is always most risky and
very infrequently perfectly useless
shot.
The bullet loses itself in the masses
of bone, that is all.
But there is one little vital place, and
should the bullet happen to strike
there. it will follow the channel of the
nostrils-at least l suppose it is the
nostrils-and reach the brain.
Down came the great bull all of 4
heap, and rolled over on his side as
dead as q stone.
I swung round at that instant to face
the third, the monster bull with one
tuSk had wounded two days before.
He was already almost over me, and
in the dim moonlight seemed to tower
above me like house.
I lifted the rifle and pulled at his
neck.
It would not 60 off.
Then, in q flash, as it were. I remem-
bered that it was on the half-cock.
The lock of this barrel was little
weak, and a few days before, in firing
at a COW eland, the left barrel had
Jared off at the shock OF the discharge
of the right, knocking me backward
with the recoil; so after that / had
kept it on the half-cock till l actually
wanted to fire it.
I gave one desperate bound to the
right, and, my lame leg notwithstand-
ing, I believe that few men could have
made better jump.
At any rate it was none too soon, for
as jumped felt the wind made by
the tremC%;ous downward stroke of
the monsters trunk.
Then ran for it.
ran like the wind, still keeping hold
Of my gun, however.
My idea, so far as could be said to
have any fixed idea, was to bolt down
the pathway up which l had come,
like a rabbit down q burrow, trusting
that he would lose sight of me in the
uncertain light.
I sped across the glade.
Fortunately the bull, being wounded,
could not go full speed; but, wounded
or not, he could go quite as fast as I
could.
I was unable to gain an inch, and
away we went, with just about three
feet between our separate extremities.
We were at the other side now, and a
glanced served to show me that l had
miscaluculated and overshot the open
ing.
To reach it now was hopeless; I
should have blundered straight into the
elephant.
So / did the only thing I could do;
I swerved like coursed hare, and
started off round the edge Of the glade.
seeking for some opening into which
I could plunge.
This gave me moments start, for
the bull could not turn as quickly as
could, and l made the most of it.
But no opening could see; the bush
was like wall.
We were speeding round the edge of
the glade, and the elephant was COM
ingfup again.
Now he was within six feet, and now
as he trumpeted, or rather screamed,
/ could feel the fierce hot blast of his
breath strike upon my head.
Heavens! how it frightened me!
We were three. parts round the glade
now, and about fifty yards ahead was
the single large dead thorn tree against
which the bull had been leaning.
spurted for it; it was my last
chance of safety. But, squirt as l
would, it seemed hours before I got
there.
Putting out my hand, I swung round
the tree thus bringing myself face to
face with the elephant.
had not time to lift the rifle to fire.
I had barely time to cock it and run
sideways and backward, when he was
on to me.
Crash! he came, striking the tree
full with his forehead.
1t snapped like a carrot about forty
inches above the ground.
Fortunately was clear of the trunk,
but one of the dead branches struck
me on the chest as it went down and
swept me to the ground.
I fell upon my back, and the elephant
blundered past me as lay.
More by instinct than anything else
I lifted the barrel with one hand and
pulled the trigger.
1t exploded, and, as I afterward dis
covered, the bullet struck him in the
ribs
But the recoil of the heavy rife held
thus was very severe.
1t bent my arm up and sent the butt