gan to climb
the cliff.

"When we reached the projecting angle all the loads were over, but
the tusks still had to be passed up, and owing to their weight and the
smoothness of their surface, this was a very difficult task. Of course
I ought to have abandoned the tusks; often and often have I since
reproached myself for not doing so. Indeed, I think that my obstinacy
about them was downright sinful, but I was always obstinate about such
things, and I could not bear the idea of leaving those splendid tusks
which had cost me so much pains and danger to come by. Well, it nearly
cost me my life also, and did cost poor Gobo his, as will be seen
shortly, to say nothing of the loss inflicted by my rifle on the enemy.
When I reached the projection I found that the men, with their usual
stupidity, were trying to hand up the tusks point first. Now the result
of this was that those above had nothing to grip except the round
polished surface of the ivory, and in the position in which they were,
this did not give them sufficient hold to enable them to lift the
weight. I told them to reverse the tusks and push them up, so that the
rough and hollow ends came to the hands of the men above. This they did,
and the first two were dragged up in safety.

"At this point, looking behind me, I saw the Matukus streaming up the
slope in a rough extended order, and not more than a hundred yards away.
Cocking the Winchester I turned and opened fire on them. I don't quite
know how many I missed, but I do know that I never shot better in my
life. I had to keep shifting myself from one enemy to the other, firing
almost without getting a sight, that is, by the eye alone, after the
fashion of the experts who break glass balls. But quick as the work was,
men fell thick, and by the time that I had emptied the carbine of its
twelve cartridges, for the moment the advance was checked. I rapidly
pushed in some more cartridges, and hardly had I done so when the enemy,
seeing that we were about to escape them altogether, came on once more
with a tremendous yell. By this time the two halves of the single tusk
of the great bull alone remained to be passed up. I fired and fired as
effectively as before, but notwithstanding all that I could do, some men
escaped my hail of bullets and began to ascend the cliff. Presently
my rifle was again empty. I slung it over my back, and, drawing my
revolver, turned to run for it, the attackers being now quite close. As
I did