ng, his snout upraised, trying to locate us, and
declining to budge. At length he gave us up as hopeless, and trotted
away slowly. We let him go, and when we thought he had quite departed,
we approached to examine B.'s trophy.

Whereupon the other craftily returned; and charged us, snorting like
an engine blowing off steam. This was a genuine premeditated charge,
as opposed to a blind rush, and it is offered as a good example of the
sort.

The rhinoceros had come fairly close before we got into action. He
headed straight for F. and myself, with B. a little to one side. Things
happened very quickly. F. and I each planted a heavy bullet in his head;
while B. sent a lighter Winchester bullet into the ribs. The rhino went
down in a heap eleven yards away, and one of us promptly shot him in the
spine to finish him.

Personally I was entirely concentrated in the matter at hand-as is
always the way in crises requiring action-and got very few impressions
from anything outside. Nevertheless I imagined, subconsciously that I
had heard four shots. F. and B. disclaimed more than one apiece, so I
concluded myself mistaken, exchanged my heavy rifle with Fundi for the
lighter Winchester, and we started for camp, leaving all the boys
to attend to the dead rhinos. At camp I threw down the lever of my
Winchester-and drew out an exploded shell!

Here was a double crime on Fundi's part. In the first place, he
had fired the gun, a thing no bearer is supposed ever to do in any
circumstances short of the disarmament and actual mauling of his master.
Naturally this is so, for the white man must be able in an emergency to
depend ABSOLUTELY on his second gun being loaded and ready for his need.
In the second place, Fundi had given me an empty rifle to carry home.
Such a weapon is worse than none in case of trouble; at least I could
have gone up a tree in the latter case. I would have looked sweet
snapping that old cartridge at anything dangerous!

Therefore after supper we stationed ourselves in a row before the fire,
seated in our canvas chairs, and with due formality sent word that we
wanted all the gunbearers. They came and stood before us. Memba Sasa
erect, military, compact, looking us straight in the eye; Mavrouki
slightly bent forward, his face alive with the little crafty,
calculating smile peculiar to him; Simba, tall and suave, standing with
much social ease; and Fundi, a trifle frightened, but uncertain as to
whether or not he h