The Young Colonists: A Story of the Zulu and Boer WarsHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
The Young Colonists: A Story of the Zulu and Boer Wars
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Transvaal (South Africa) -- History -- War of 1880-1881 -- Juvenile fiction; Zulu War, 1879 -- Juvenile fiction
Then with a gun in each hand Dick ran out of the tent again. The
elephant was now but a hundred yards away. Dick climbed into a waggon
standing in the line on which he was coming, knelt down in the bottom
and rested the muzzle on the side, standing up and waving his arm before
he did so, so as to attract the attention of the elephant. The great
beast saw him, and trumpeting loudly came straight down at him; Dick
knelt, as steady as a rock, with the sight of the gun upon the
elephant's forehead.
When he was within twenty yards Dick drew the trigger, and, without
waiting to see the result, snatched up and levelled the second gun. The
elephant had staggered as he was hit, and then, as with a great effort,
he pulled himself together and again moved forward, but with a stumbling
and hesitating step; taking steady aim again, Dick fired when the
elephant's trunk was within a yard of the muzzle of his gun, and then
springing to his feet, leapt on the opposite side of the waggon and took
to his heels.
After running a few steps, he glanced back over his shoulder, and then
ceased running; the elephant was no longer in sight above the waggon,
but had fallen an inert mass by its side.
"All right, Tom!" Dick shouted loudly; "I have done for him."
Before going to look at the fallen elephant Dick went to the spot where
stood the piled muskets of the natives who had fled; dropping a ramrod
into them, he found that two were loaded, and taking these in his hands
he advanced towards the elephant. The precaution was needless; the
great beast lay dead; the two heavy balls had struck within an inch or
two of each other, and penetrated the brain. The first would have been
fatal, and the elephant was about to fall when Dick had fired the second
time.
Gradually the drivers and other natives returned to camp with shouts of
triumph. These, however, Dick speedily silenced by a volley of abuse
for their cowardice in running away and leaving Tom to his fate. A few
minutes later Mr Harvey galloped in at full speed, closely followed by
the swift footed Blacking.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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