Though both had hit him in places where their wounds should have been mortal, no such effect was produced.

The elephant seemed to go off as unscathed, as if they had fired only boiled peas at him! Would it be always so?
True, they had given him but two shots.

Two, if well directed, may bring down a cow-elephant and sometimes a bull, but oftener it requires ten times two before a strong old bull can be made to "bite the dust." But would _any_ elephant wait until they could load and fire a sufficient number of shots?
That was an undecided point with our tyro elephant-hunters.

If _not_, then they would be helpless indeed.

It would be a tedious business spooring the game afoot, after it had once been fired upon.