iled. Therefore,
although my inclination was strongly to praise him, I did nothing of the
sort.

"A gunbearer carries the gun away from the branches," was my only
comment.

Shortly after occurred an incident by way of deeper test. We were all
riding rather idly along the easy slope below the foothills. The grass
was short, so we thought we could see easily everything there was to
be seen; but, as we passed some thirty yards from a small tree, an
unexpected and unnecessary rhinoceros rose from an equally unexpected
and unnecessary green hollow beneath the tree, and charged us. He made
straight for Billy. Her mule, panic-stricken, froze with terror in spite
of Billy's attack with a parasol. I spurred my own animal between her
and the charging brute, with some vague idea of slipping off the other
side as the rhino struck. F. and B. leaped from their own animals, and
F., with a little.28 calibre rifle, took a hasty shot at the big brute.
Now, of course a.28 calibre rifle would hardly injure a rhino, but the
bullet happened to catch his right shoulder just as he was about to come
down on his right foot. The shock tripped him up as neatly as though he
had been upset by a rope. At the same instant Billy's mule came to its
senses and bolted, whereupon I too jumped off. The whole thing took
about two finger snaps of time. At the instant I hit the ground, Fundi
passed the double rifle across the horse's back to me.

Note two things to the credit of Fundi: in the first place, he had not
bolted; in the second place, instead of running up to the left side of
my mount and perhaps colliding with and certainly confusing me, he had
come up on the right side and passed the rifle to me ACROSS the horse.
I do not know whether or not he had figured this out beforehand, but it
was cleverly done.

The rhinoceros rolled over and over, like a shot rabbit, kicked for a
moment, and came to his feet. We were now all ready for him, in battle
array, but he had evidently had enough. He turned at right angles and
trotted off, apparently-and probably-none the worse for the little
bullet in his shoulder.

Fundi now began acquiring things that he supposed befitting to his
dignity. The first of these matters was a faded fez, in which he stuck
a long feather. From that he progressed in worldly wealth. How he got
it all, on what credit, or with what hypnotic power, I do not know.
Probably he hypothecated his wages, certainly he had his five rupees.