een heard by
one of the koris, had he been listening. The other could not possibly
have heard it; for before the sound could have reached him, a poisoned
arrow was sticking through his ears. The barb had passed through, and
the shaft remained in his head, piercing it crosswise!

Of course the bird dropped dead upon the grass, less astonished than his
antagonist.

The latter at first imagined he had done it, and began to strut very
triumphantly around his fallen foe.

But his eye now fell upon the arrow sticking through the head of the
latter. He knew nothing about that. He had not done that! What the
deuce----

Perhaps if he had been allowed another moment's reflection, he would
have taken to his heels; but before he could make up his mind about the
matter, there was another "twang" of the bowstring another arrow
whistled through the air, and another kori lay stretched upon the grass!

Swartboy now rushed forward, and took possession of the game; which
proved to be a pair of young cocks, in prime condition for roasting.

Having hung the birds over a high branch, so as to secure them from
jackals and hyenas, the hunters continued on; and shortly after, having
re-entered the channel of the stream, continued to follow it downward.

CHAPTER XXVI.

UPON THE SPOOR.

They had not gone above an hundred yards farther, when they came to one
of the pools, already spoken of. It was a tolerably large one; and the
mud around its edges bore the hoof-prints of numerous animals. This the
hunters saw from a distance, but on reaching the spot, Swartboy, a
little in the advance, turned suddenly round, and, with rolling orbs and
quivering lips, clicked out the words,--

"Mein baas! mein baas! da klow! spoor ob da groot olifant!"

There was no danger of mistaking the spoor of the elephant for that of
any other creature. There, sure enough, were the great round
tracks--full twenty-four inches in length, and nearly as wide--deeply
imprinted in the mud by the enormous weight of the animal's body. Each
formed an immense hole, large enough to have set a gate-post in.

The hunters contemplated the spoor with emotions of pleasure--the more
so that the tracks had been recently made. This was evident. The
displaced mud had not yet crusted, but looked damp and fresh. It had
been stirred within the hour.

Only one elephant had visited the pool that night. There were many old
tracks, but only one fresh spoor,--and that of an old