"How did I know! 'Cos I seed, that's how, by the size of his hoofs and
the plain writin' that he'd only one tusk, same as my bull. That's how!
Friday I up and follered ag'in afore sunrise, and I tell yer I hadn't
gone mor'n half-an-hour before I diskivered that he were follerin' me.
Yes. I were standin' to listen, and I yeard the rumbling of his
stummick. I yeard it plain--and jes' crawled along so's not to crush so
much as a dry leaf. I yeard that rumble ag'in--but blow me if I could
see him, an' I crawled an' crawled, poking the big gun afore till the
sweat it run down my back. There was the spoor and there was the
rumble, but--there was no elephant. I began to feel shivery, and looked
over my shoulder like a man does in the dark, and--by gosh!--I seed that
red diamon' gleamin' out of the leaves behind me. An' jes' below it and
on each side were two other gleamin' objects--the eyes of the bull
hisself. Well, he giv' a scream, I rolled over--an' the next I yeard he
were thundering by, smashing down the trees and yelling out most
horrible. Abe Pike didn't stop there, I tell you. He jest sneaked off,
and when he yeard the bull stand--which was plain to hear from the
stillness--Abe he stopped to. I did that."
"Why didn't you go back and shoot him?"
"Sonny, you never had a railway engine runnin' arter you, did you?
Well, you try, and then settle with yourself whether your nerves would
be worth much for a spell. No, sir; I didn't go back to shoot him, but
I found the biggest yellow-wood and I climbed up. That's what I did,
and that bull he found out. Yes, sir, he picked up my scent and he
tree'd me. But, by gum, d'ye think he'd show hisself? No, gentlemen,
he jes' kep' away in the thick o' the bush, goin' roun' and roun' an'
stopping sometimes for a blow. Once I saw the sparkle of the diamon',
when he was doin' a spell o' listenin' and watchin', and I pulled
straight at it. I hit him hard, the ole cuss, an' he fetched a yell an'
went smashin' off. The sound o' him runnin' away did me good. I loaded
up and picked up the blood-trail, and was goin' so hot on that that I'm
blowed if I didn't a'most run inter him. I were slippin' along, and
from the corner of my eye I saw the point of his tusk on my left. The
ole chap had turned on his spoor; but his tusk saved me, for I dodged
roun' a big tree and brought the gun up. D'ye think he'd charge? He
jes' slipped back by inches and stole away as silent as a hare, whiles I
had my eyes gummed on the thick cover where he'd stood. He jes' slipped
away and made a circle to come on me from the rear. He did that, and if
I hadn't edged away to see better inter the cover he'd a nabbed me--for
bymby I saw he'd gone, and on follering on the spoor I seed where he'd
turned back. I tell you that gave me the creeps, and I made off for a
small krantz near by where there's a stream. I crawled inter a cave
there and went off ter sleep, because of the tiredness in my bones; and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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