and
at the same moment two of these determined brutes were upon us in full
charge. I never saw such a scrimmage. SAUVE QUI PEUT! There was no time
for more than one look behind. I dug the spurs into Aggahr's flanks, and
clasping him round the neck I ducked my head down to his shoulder, well
protected with my strong hunting-cap, and kept the spurs going as hard
as I could ply them, blindly trusting to Providence and my good horse.
Over big rocks, fallen trees, thick kittar thorns, and grass ten feet
high, with the two infernal animals in full chase only a few feet behind
me! I heard their abominable whiffing close to me, but so did my good
horse, and the good old hunter flew over obstacles in a way I should
have thought impossible, and he dashed straight under the hooked
thorn-bushes and doubled like a hare. The aggageers were all scattered;
Mahomet No. 2 was knocked over by a rhinoceros; all the men were
sprawling upon the rocks with their guns, and the party was entirely
discomfited.

Having passed the kittar thorn I turned, and, seeing that the beasts had
gone straight on, I brought Aggahr's head round and tried to give chase;
but it was perfectly impossible. It was only a wonder that the horse had
escaped in ground so difficult for riding. Although my clothes were of
the strongest and coarsest Arab cotton cloth, which seldom tore, but
simply lost a thread when caught in a thorn, I was nearly naked. My
blouse was reduced to shreds. As I wore sleeves only half way from
the shoulder to the elbow, my naked arms were streaming with blood.
Fortunately my hunting-cap was secured with a chin strap, and still more
fortunately I had grasped the horse's neck; otherwise I must have been
dragged out of the saddle by the hooked thorns. All the men were cut and
bruised, some having fallen upon their heads among the rocks, and others
had hurt their legs in falling in their endeavors to escape. Mahomet
No. 2, the horse-keeper, was more frightened than hurt, as he had been
knocked down by the shoulder and not by the horn of the rhinoceros, as
the animal had not noticed him; its attention was absorbed by the horse.

I determined to set fire to the whole country immediately, and
descending the hill toward the river to obtain a favorable wind, I put
my men in a line, extending over about a mile along the river's bed,
and they fired the grass in different places. With a loud roar the flame
leaped high in air and rushed forward with asto