CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
THE WILD-ASSES OF AFRICA.
Notwithstanding the success of the day's hunt the mind of Von Bloom was not at rest.

They had "bagged" their game, it was true, but in what manner?
Their success was a mere accident, and gave them no earnest of what might be expected in the future.

They might go long before finding another "sleeping-tree" of the elephants, and repeating their easy capture.
Such were the not very pleasant reflections of the field-cornet, on the evening after returning from their successful hunt.
But still less pleasant were they, two weeks later, at the retrospect of many an unsuccessful chase from which they had returned--when, after twelve days spent in "jaging" the elephant, they had added only a single pair of tusks to the collection, and these the tusks of a cow-elephant, scarce two feet in length, and of little value! The reflection was not the less painful, that nearly every day they had fallen in with elephants, and had obtained a shot or two at these animals.

That did not mend the matter a bit.

On the contrary, it taught the hunter how easily they could run away from him, as they invariably did.