We now observed that the herd had separated; the bull had gone off in
one direction, and the female with her half-grown poonchy in another.
Following the latter, we again pushed on at a quick run, as the
elephants had evidently gone off at a great pace and were far in
advance. For about half an hour we had continued the pursuit at the same
speed, when we suddenly heard the warning wh-r-r-r-r as the elephants
winded us at a distance of 200 yards, and the crash instantly following
this sound told us too plainly that the game was fearfully on the alert,
and gave us little hopes of overtaking them, as they were travelling
directly down wind.

Speed was our only chance, and again we rushed forward in hot pursuit
through the tangled briars, which yielded to our weight, although we
were almost stripped of clothes. Another half hour passed, and we had
heard no further signs of the game. We stopped to breathe, and we
listened attentively for the slightest sound. A sudden crash in the
jungle at a great distance assured us that we were once more discovered.
The chase seemed hopeless; the heat was most oppressive; and we had been
running for the last hour at a killing pace through a most distressing
country. Once more, however, we started off, determined to keep up the
pursuit as long as daylight would permit. It was now 5 P.M., and we had
one hour left before darkness would set in. The wind had entirely
ceased, leaving a perfect calm; the air was thick and heavy, and the
heat was thus rendered doubly fatiguing. We noticed, however, that the
track of the elephants had doubled back instead of continuing in the
direct line that we had followed so long. This gave us hope, as the
elephants no longer had the advantage of the wind, and we pushed on as
fast as we could go.

It was about half an hour before dusk, and our patience and hopes were