f he had lost his best pair of
legs.

"In a very singular manner was he rendered thus helpless. In his
struggle with the other bull, one of his fore-legs had, somehow or
other, got passed over his horn; and there it stuck--not only depriving
him of the use of the limb itself, but holding his head so close to the
ground that he was quite unable to stir from the spot!

"At first I designed helping him out of his difficulty, and letting him
go. On second thoughts, I remembered the story of the husbandman and
the frozen snake, which quite changed my intention.

"I next thought of killing him for venison; but having no bullet, I did
not like to beat him to death with my gun. Besides the aard-vark was my
load to camp, and I knew that the jackals would eat the bull up before
we could go back for him. I thought it probable he would be safer left
as he was--as these ravenous brutes, seeing him alive, might not so
readily approach him.

"So I left him with his `head under his arm,' in hopes that we may find
him there to-morrow."

So ended Hans's narrative of his day's adventures.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

THE ELEPHANT'S SLEEPING-ROOST.

The field-cornet was far from satisfied with his day's work. His first
attempt at elephant-hunting had proved a failure. Might it not be
always so?

Notwithstanding the interest with which he listened to Hans's narrative
of the day's adventures, he felt uneasy in his mind when he reflected
upon his own.

The elephant had escaped so easily. Their bullets seemed to have
injured him not the least. They had only served to render him furious,
and dangerous. Though both had hit him in places where their wounds
should have been mortal, no such effect was produced. The elephant
seemed to go off as unscathed, as if they had fired only boiled peas at
him!

Would it be always so?

True, they had given him but two shots. Two, if well directed, may
bring down a cow-elephant and sometimes a bull, but oftener it requires
ten times two before a strong old bull can be made to "bite the dust."

But would _any_ elephant wait until they could load and fire a
sufficient number of shots?

That was an undecided point with our tyro elephant-hunters. If _not_,
then they would be helpless indeed. It would be a tedious business
spooring the game afoot, after it had once been fired upon. In such
cases the elephant usually travels many miles before halting again; and
only mounted men can wit