branches, which caused us to conceal ourselves hurriedly behind the bole
of a big yellow-wood.

Reconnoitring from this coign of vantage, we found that the animal, or
animals, by which the sounds were made were still invisible; we
therefore continued with the utmost caution to follow up the spoor of
the elephant which we were tracking, dodging from one tree to another,
pausing behind each as we reached it to take another observation, and
being careful to make no sound as we threaded our way through the
underscrub, until we finally reached a spot where, peering out from
behind the trunk of a big baobab, we were able to catch an occasional
glimpse of an enormous grey mass moving slowly among the trees, while
the sound of swishing and snapping branches, the crackling of the
undergrowth as the creature moved from time to time, and an occasional
low grunt of satisfaction told us how near we were to our quarry.
Luckily, too, for us, the wind was in exactly the right direction--that
is to say, it was blowing from the elephant toward us, so that instead
of him scenting us we caught an occasional whiff of the peculiar odour
which emanated from him. The extreme deliberation with which the animal
moved proved conclusively that thus far he had not the slightest
suspicion of our presence, but unfortunately the foliage was so dense
that it was only occasionally that we could get even a partial glimpse
of him, and then it was of such a character that I could not tell with
certainty what part of his body I was looking at; therefore, after a
very brief and low-whispered consultation with Piet, I decided to make a
rather wide circuit toward the part of the forest for which the creature
was heading, and, having chosen a favourable spot, patiently to await
his approach.

This we accordingly did, the fallen trunk of a tree half-buried in dense
undergrowth affording us a perfectly ideal ambush; and we had scarcely
settled ourselves comfortably therein when a violent swaying of the
underbrush warned us that our quarry was approaching. The next instant
the scrub parted right and left, the points of two enormous tusks
protruded from the swaying tangle of leaves and creepers, and in the
drawing of a breath the head and fore quarters of the biggest bull
elephant I had ever seen came into view. For a moment the huge beast
stood looking about him, and then his immense trunk swung upward, the
point twined itself tightly about an unusually leafy