there trees, and the elephants in passing had broken off many
boughs, which, stripped of their leaves, lay upon the ground they had
traversed.

Tony and the other hunter, whose name was Blacking, a sobriquet gained
from the extreme swarthiness of his skin, scouted ahead, and presently
held up their hands to those following them to advance quietly. The
trees were very thick here, and Mr Harvey and the boys dismounted and
led their horses to the spot where the hunters had halted. They were
standing at the edge of a large circular clearing, three quarters of a
mile in diameter; it had probably at one time been the site of a native
village, for there were signs of cultivation, and a number of scattered
heads of maize rose here and there, the descendants of a bygone mealy
plantation. Feeding upon these were a herd of some twenty elephants; of
these the greater portion were females or young ones, but there were
three fine males--one, a beast of unusual size.

"That is the master of the herd," Mr Harvey said, "a savage-looking old
customer; he has a splendid pair of tusks, although the tip of one," he
added, gazing at the elephant through his field-glass, "is broken off.
I think that for the present we will leave him alone, and direct our
attention to the other two males. I will take Tom and Jumbo with me;
you, Dick, shall have Tony and Blacking. Three of the natives shall go
with each party, but you must not rely upon them much; and, remember,
the one fatal spot is the forehead. Fasten your horses up here, and
leave two of the natives in charge. Let the other six go round to the
opposite side of the clearing and advance slowly from that direction,
showing themselves occasionally, so as to draw the attention of the herd
towards them. The elephants will probably move leisurely in this
direction. Take your station behind trees, moving your position
carefully as they approach, so as to place yourselves as near as
possible in the line of the elephant you have fixed on. We will take up
our station a hundred yards to the right of where we are standing; do
you go as far to the left. The natives will take the horses into a
thicket some distance in the rear. Whichever of the two young male
elephants comes nearest to you is your mark, ours is the other. If they
keep near each other, we shall probably meet again here."

The two parties moved off to the places assigned to them, and the
natives whose duty it was to drive th