The leaves of the bushes were wet with dew, and we were obliged to cover up all the gun-locks to prevent any of them missing fire.

We crept for about a quarter of a mile upon this track, when the sudden snapping of a branch a hundred paces in advance plainly showed that we were up with the game.
This is the exciting moment in elephant-shooting, and every breath is held for a second intimation of the exact position of the herd.

A deep, guttural sound, like the rolling of very distant thunder, is heard, accompanied by the rustling and cracking of the branches as they rub their tough sides against the trees.

Our advance had been so stealthy that they were perfectly undisturbed.

Silently and carefully we crept up, and in a few minutes I distinguished two immense heads exactly facing us at about ten paces distant.