ve never been able to make out, but I saw it stated the other day,
that in the duck decoys the man who is working the ducks holds a little
piece of burning turf before his mouth, and that if he does this they
cannot smell him, which looks as though it were the breath. Well,
whatever it was about me that attracted his attention, the rhinoceros
soon smelt me, for within half a minute after the puff of wind had
passed me he was on his legs, and turning round to get his head up wind.
There he stood for a few seconds and sniffed, and then he began to move,
first of all at a trot, then, as the scent grew stronger, at a furious
gallop. On he came, snorting like a runaway engine, with his tail stuck
straight up in the air; if he had seen me lie down there he could not
have made a better line. It was rather nervous work, I can tell you,
lying there waiting for his onslaught, for he looked like a mountain of
flesh. I determined, however, not to fire till I could plainly see his
eye, for I think that rule always gives one the right distance for big
game; so I rested my rifle on the ant-heap and waited for him, kneeling.
At last, when he was about forty yards away, I saw that the time had
come, and aiming straight for the middle of the chest I pulled.

"_Thud_ went the heavy bullet, and with a tremendous snort over rolled
the rhinoceros beneath its shock, just like a shot rabbit. But if I had
thought that he was done for I was mistaken, for in another second he
was up again, and coming at me as hard as ever, only with his head held
low. I waited till he was within ten yards, in the hope that he would
expose his chest, but he would do nothing of the sort; so I just had to
fire at his head with the left barrel, and take my chance. Well, as
luck would have it, of course the animal put its horn in the way of the
bullet, which cut clean through it about three inches above the root and
then glanced off into space.

"After that things got rather serious. My gun was empty and the
rhinoceros was rapidly arriving, so rapidly indeed that I came to the
conclusion that I had better make way for him. Accordingly I jumped
to my feet and ran to the right as hard as I could go. As I did so he
arrived full tilt, knocked my friendly ant-heap flat, and for the
third time that day went a most magnificent cropper. This gave me a few
seconds' start, and I ran down wind--my word, I did run! Unfortunately,
however, my modest retreat was observed, and the r