I knew that he must soon catch me up.  But having some slight experience of this sort of thing, luckily for myself, I kept my head, and as I fled I managed to open my rifle, get the old cartridges out, and put in two fresh ones.  To do this I was obliged to steady my pace a little, and by the time that I had snapped the rifle to I heard the beast snorting and thundering away within a few paces of my back.  I stopped, and as I did so rapidly cocked the rifle and slued round upon my heel.  By this time the brute was within six or seven yards of me, but luckily his head was up.  I lifted the rifle and fired at him.  It was a snap shot, but the bullet struck him in the chest within three inches of the first, and found its way into his lungs.  It did not stop him, however, so all I could do was to bound to one side, which I did with surprising activity, and as he brushed past me to fire the other barrel into his side.  That did for him.  The ball passed in behind the shoulder and right through his heart.  He fell over on to his side, gave one more awful squeal—­a dozen pigs could not have made such a noise—­and promptly died, keeping his wicked eyes wide open all the time.

“As for me, I blew my nose, and going up to the rhinoceros sat on his head, and reflected that I had done a capital morning’s shooting.”

III—­THE FIRST ROUND

“After this, as it was now midday, and I had killed enough meat, we marched back triumphantly to camp, where I proceeded to concoct a stew of buffalo beef and compressed vegetables.  When this was ready we ate the stew, and then I took a nap.  About four o’clock, however, Gobo woke me up, and told me that the head man of one of Wambe’s kraals had arrived to see me.  I ordered him to be brought up, and presently he came, a little, wizened, talkative old man, with a waistcloth round his middle, and a greasy, frayed kaross made of the skins of rock rabbits over his shoulders.

“I told him to sit down, and then abused him roundly.  ’What did he mean,’ I asked, ’by disturbing me in this rude way?  How did he dare to cause a person of my quality and evident importance to be awakened in order to interview his entirely contemptible self?’

“I spoke thus because I knew that it would produce an impression on him.  Nobody, except a really great man, he would argue, would dare to speak to him in that fashion.  Most savages are desperate bullies at heart, and look on insolence as a sign of power.

“The old man instantly collapsed.  He was utterly overcome, he said; his heart was split in two, and well realized the extent of his misbehaviour.  But the occasion was very urgent.  He heard that a mighty hunter was in the neighbourhood, a beautiful white man, how beautiful he could not have imagined had he not seen (this to me!), and he came to beg his assistance.  The truth was, that three bull elephants such as no man ever saw had for years been