wood; the remaining chips were picked up, and all traces
of the work completely obliterated. This done, the hunters withdraw
from the spot.

They did not go far; but choosing a large bushy tree to leeward, all
three climbed up into it, and sat concealed among its branches.

The field-cornet held his long "roer" in readiness, and so did Hendrik
his rifle. In case the ingenious trap of Swartboy should fail, they
intended to use their guns, but not otherwise.

It was now quite noon, and the day had turned into one of the hottest.
But for the shade afforded by the leaves, they would have felt it very
distressing. Swartboy prognosticated favourably from this. The great
heat would be more likely than anything else to send the elephant to his
favourite sleeping-place under the cool shady cover of the cameel-doorn.

It was now quite noon. He could not be long in coming, thought they.

Sure enough he came, and soon, too.

They had not been twenty minutes on their perch, when they heard a
strange, rumbling noise, which they knew proceeded from the stomach of
an elephant. The next moment they saw one emerge from the jungle, and
walk, with sweeping step, straight up to the tree. He seemed to have no
suspicion of any danger; but placed himself at once alongside the trunk
of the acacia--in the very position and on the side Swartboy had said he
would take. From his spoor the Bushman knew he had been in the habit of
so standing.

His head was turned from the hunters, but not so much as to prevent them
from seeing a pair of splendid tusks,--six feet long at the least.

While gazing in admiration at these rich trophies, they saw the animal
point his proboscis upward, and discharge a vast shower of water into
the leaves, which afterwards fell dripping in bright globules over his
body!

Swartboy said that he drew the water from his stomach. Although
closet-naturalists deny this, it must have been so; for shortly after,
he repeated the act again and again--the quantity of water at each
discharge being as great as before. It was plain that his trunk, large
as it was, could not have contained it all.

He seemed to enjoy this "shower-bath;" and the hunters did not wonder at
it, for they themselves, suffering at the time from heat and thirst,
would have relished something of a similar kind. As the crystal drops
fell back from the acacia leaves, the huge animal was heard to utter a
low grunt expressive of gratification. Th