k shouted loudly; "I have done for him."

Before going to look at the fallen elephant Dick went to the spot where
stood the piled muskets of the natives who had fled; dropping a ramrod
into them, he found that two were loaded, and taking these in his hands
he advanced towards the elephant. The precaution was needless; the
great beast lay dead; the two heavy balls had struck within an inch or
two of each other, and penetrated the brain. The first would have been
fatal, and the elephant was about to fall when Dick had fired the second
time.

Gradually the drivers and other natives returned to camp with shouts of
triumph. These, however, Dick speedily silenced by a volley of abuse
for their cowardice in running away and leaving Tom to his fate. A few
minutes later Mr Harvey galloped in at full speed, closely followed by
the swift footed Blacking.

"Thank God, you are safe, my boys," Mr Harvey said, as he leapt from
his horse. "I have had a terrible fright. We followed the spoor to the
point where they had passed the night; here the trackers were much
puzzled by the fact that the great elephant, whose tracks were easily
distinguished from the others, seemed to have passed the night in
rushing furiously about. Numbers of young trees had been torn up by the
roots, and great branches twisted off the larger trees. They concluded
that he must have received some wound which had maddened him with pain.
We took up the track where the herd had moved on, but soon found that he
had separated himself from it, and had gone off at full speed by
himself. We set off in pursuit, observing a good deal of caution, for
if he had turned, as was likely enough, and had come upon us while in
such a frantic state, we should have had to bolt for our lives. I was
thinking only of this when I saw the hunters talking together and
gesticulating. I soon found out what was the matter. They told me that
if the elephant kept on in the line he was taking, it would assuredly
bring him in sight of the camp, if not straight upon it. As I had no
doubt that he would in that case attack it, I put spurs to my horse at
once, and dashed on at full speed in hopes of overtaking the elephant,
and turning it, before it came within sight of the camp. I became more
and more anxious as I neared the camp and found the elephant was still
before me; then I heard two shots close together, and I could hear no
others, and you may guess how relieved I was when I ca