h foot was placed,
in order to avoid such a contingency.

Upon reaching the corner of the tree Hans signalled to Victor that they
would fire at the same time, and without delay; for the elephants were
getting uneasy, and were uttering short sharp cries, which seemed
signals of danger. The great bull of the herd, whose polished white
teeth protruded far out of his mouth, stood broadside to the hunters;
but his watchful manner and uneasy movements indicated that he might at
any moment turn and retreat, or at least alter his position; so Hans,
taking aim between the eye and the ear, fired, whilst Victor, aiming at
his fore-leg just above the knee, fired at the same instant. The aim of
Hans was true, and his bullet found its way through a mass of bone to
the elephant's brain, for it fell dead to the shot, and there was,
therefore, no need for the second bullet. The instant the sound of the
guns was heard, the remaining elephants retreated over the bushy ground
with a headlong, reckless speed. Trees that stood in the way were
knocked down, the noise of their being broken sounding like the crack of
a rifle. There are few things which give one a greater idea of animal
power than the headlong rush of a troop of elephants through a forest.
The elephant is usually a quiet animal, and when it moves through the
bush it proceeds with scarcely any noise, its feet being well suited for
walking quietly. When alarmed, however, it rushes forward almost
blindly, for its great weight causes it to move onwards in nearly a
straight line, rapid turns being almost impossible. Thus if a tree
stand in its way, and is of moderate size only, the elephant runs
against it, and breaks it off. On several occasions we have had
opportunities of measuring the diameter of the stems of trees thus
broken off, and we have found many which were eight inches in diameter.
The noise caused by a number of such trees being snapped in two, one
after the other may be readily imagined.

As soon as Hans saw the elephant fall, he said, "Bring up the horses,
Victor; I'll cut off the tail, in case any one comes this way."

Hans had completed his work before Victor had reached him with the
horses; so, having reloaded his gun, he ran back to meet Victor. The
two then mounted their horses, and rode after the remaining elephants,
which by this time had gained a long start; but elephants which have led
a quiet, unhunted life for a considerable time soon get too fat