icking up their ears a little when a louder smash of a branch
than usual was heard. It was getting rather exciting, as the elephants
were blowing and grumbling very distinctly; and by their moving about a
good deal they seemed meditating a march on to the open flat to drink.
Suddenly they all became silent, and the finest ear could not discover a
sound indicative of a large animal being near. I whispered to my
companion, and asked what he thought was the cause. We were not long
uncertain, for close under the bush we saw in the gloom two tall objects
moving, so there was no doubt that the elephants had come out of the
bush, and therefore could now walk silently. We whispered that we would
fire together, and both barrels as quickly as possible one after the
other. The two objects were little more than eighty yards from us, when
we quietly cocked our guns, and were going to deliver our fire.

As I was straining my eyes to catch a glimpse of the glittering ivories,
and thereby to judge the position of the elephant's shoulder, I fancied
that the step did not appear like an elephant's. The moon was not yet
up, consequently we could see but indistinctly. Somehow the thought
came across me that perhaps other sportsmen had also come out to try for
a shot, and I called immediately to F. "For God's sake don't fire--it
is a man on horseback." He said something about "nonsense, it can't
be." I called again, rather louder, for him not to fire; and as I did
so a roar of laughter came from one of the supposed elephants, find
"Sold, old fellow," was facetiously remarked by the other. I was very
angry at being thus disturbed, and still more so when I found out the
real state of the case. It seemed that, after we left the dinner-table,
the first glass of brandy and water (which generally supplies the place
of claret or port in Africa) had caused these two gentlemen to decide
that our night-ride was ridiculous; the second had proved us two
absolute donkeys; the third that we _ought_ to be sold. I don't know
how many, more or less, it had taken to decide the plan, which was, that
they would mount their horses, and ride out to where we were waiting,
and discover our hiding-place _without our knowing of their approach_,
and then commence imitating noises that were to make us think they were
elephants! Upon my assuring these gentlemen that a large troop of
elephants was really in the bush close by, they either could not or
would n