The sun turned the scarcely moving, coarse grass to gold over which the green lacework of the trees seemed to be floating in the air.
A row of black thin spears appeared above the grass — a group of antelopes — the oryx — showed their horns and disappeared behind a line of bushes. The grass was still rather scanty, patches of bare, cracked earth showed on all sides since the rains had only just begun. On their left appeared a grove of trees whose feather-like leaves resembled palms but their trunks opened out into two branches at the top, like the spread fingers of a hand, and on these, in turn, other branches grew.
(The baobab — a tree typical of the African savanna.)
It was here that the hunters had seen the rhinoceroses on the previous day and, making a sign to the slaves to stay where they were, crawled cautiously towards the grove, and peered amongst the trees where it was dark after the bright sunlight outside. There were no animals there and the hunters led the slaves towards a dry watercourse densely overgrown with bushes. Here there was a spring which the rhinoceroses had turned into a mud-hole where they lay during the hottest hours of the day. The hunters came to an open space around which were three of the big umbrella-headed acacias. They were still about two thousand cubits from the dry watercourse when one of the Nubian guides at the head of the party stopped and threw out his arms in a signal to halt. It became so silent that the humming of insects could be plainly heard. Kidogo touched Pandion on the shoulder — he pointed to one side where Pandion saw something under the low, thorny trees that looked like two smooth blocks of stone. These were the awe-inspiring animals of the southern plains. At first the animals did not notice the hunters and continued lying on the ground with their backs towards them. The animals did not seem very big to Pandion, and one of them, a female, was much smaller than the other. The slaves did not know that the hunters, hoping for a generous reward, had picked out an exceptionally large male rhinoceros of the light-skinned variety* that was much bigger than its southern relatives, was higher in the shoulder, had a wide square jowl and light grey skin. The hunters decided to change the plan of attack so that the female would not intervene and spoil the hunt.
(In former times the white rhinoceros was considerably more common in Northern Sudan.)
The Lord of the Hunt and the Captain of the escort troops climbed up a tree, cursing the long thorns on its trunk. The soldiers hid behind bushes. The slaves joined forces in a single group, spread out in several lines and, together with the hunters, rushed across the open plain with deafening shouts, waving their ropes and giving themselves courage by shouting their war-cries. The two animals jumped to their feet with amazing speed. The huge male stood still for a second, his eyes fixed on the people approaching him, but the female, more frightened than he, ran away to one side. This was what the hunters had counted on and they ran swiftly away to the right to cut her off from her companion.
From the tree-top the Lord of the Hunt could see the gigantic body of the immobile rhinoceros, the black curve of ears peeked forward and separated by the high hill-like crown of the animal’s head. Behind his ears rose the high hump of its massive withers and in front of them gleamed the sharp end of its horn. It seemed to the Egyptian that the animal’s tiny eyes were looking down at the ground with a stupid and even offended look in them.
A minute later the rhinoceros turned and the Egyptian saw its long head, awkwardly curved in the middle, the steep slope of its withers, the ridge of bones protruding on its rump, its legs as thick as tree-trunks and its little tail sticking up in a warlike manner.
The huge shining horn, no less than two cubits long, situated on the animal’s nose, was very thick at the root and sharply pointed at the tip. Behind it was another horn, smaller than the first, also sharp, with a round wide base..
The hearts of the people running towards the rhinoceros beat furiously — close at hand it seemed a most fearful monster. The gigantic body was no less than eight cubits in length and its powerful withers towered a good four cubits above the ground. The rhinoceros snorted so loudly that every man heard it and then hurled itself at the oncoming people. With an agility unbelievable in so great a body the massive animal was an instant later in the middle of the crowd. Nobody had time to lift a rope. Pandion found himself some distance from the massive animal that rushed past like a whirlwind. He just had time to notice the animal’s distended nostrils surrounded by folds of skin, a torn right ear and flanks covered with little hillocks like growths of lichen. After that everything was mixed up in Pandion’s head. A shrill scream rang out across the plain, an awkwardly twisted human figure flew through the air. The rhinoceros made a wide path through the crowd of slaves and dashed past them into the open plain, leaving several prostrated bodies behind him, turned, and again hurled himself at the unfortunate people. This time human figures hung on to the rapidly moving mass of flesh. But the monster was made up of solid muscles and thick bones and clothed in a skin as hard as armour-plating and the men flew off in different directions. Again the rhinoceros began stamping the doomed slaves underfoot, crushing them and goring them with its horn. Pandion, who had run forward together with the others, was stopped by a dull, heavy blow and found himself on all fours. Wailing groans and piercing shrieks swept across the field and the air was filled with clouds of dust. The Lord of the Hunt, who had been shouting from his tree-top to encourage the slaves, was now silent as he looked in confusion at the battle. Not a single rope had been fastened to the animal and already some thirty men lay dead or wounded. The soldiers, pale and trembling, took cover behind the trees, praying to the gods of Tha-Quem for salvation. For the third time the rhinoceros attacked the people and although they gave way before him he managed to gore Remdus, the younger Etruscan, with his horn. With abrupt snorts the animal dashed furiously amongst the people, goring them and trampling them underfoot. Foam flew from the animal’s nostrils; his tiny eyes gleamed with rage.
With a furious howl Cavius hurled himself at the monster but his rope slipped off the horn; the Etruscan himself flew aside, bleeding — the rough hide of the rhinoceros had torn the skin from his shoulder and chest.
Cavius got to his feet with difficulty, roaring in helpless fury. Scared by the strength of the rhinoceros the people staggered back from him, the less brave of them Sliding behind the backs of their comrades.
It seemed that little more was required to make them scatter in all directions, abandoning their hopes of liberty.
Again the rhinoceros turned to attack the people, again the air was filled with howls. Kidogo stepped forward. The Negro’s nostrils were distended; he was filled with that fire of battle that is born of mortal d-anger when a man forgets everything except the necessity to fight, to fight for life. Leaping aside from the awful horn that threatened certain death, Kidogo ran after the animal and seized hold of its tail. Pandion, recovering from the terrible shaking he had received, picked up a net that was lying on the ground. At that moment he realized that he should be ahead of his comrades whose bodies had shielded him when he lay stupefied on the grass. Some faint memories flitted through his mind — the glade in Crete, the dangerous games with the bull. The rhinoceros was not much like a bull, but Pandion decided to use the same methods. Throwing the rolled-up net over his shoulder, he rushed at the rhinoceros. The animal had come to a halt, was pawing the ground with its hind-legs, churning up clouds of dust, and had thrown Kidogo far away. Two Libyans, understanding Pandion’s plan, attracted the animal’s attention to one side and, with a single bound, he reached the animal and pressed closely to its side. The rhinoceros turned like lightning, its rough hide tearing Pandion’s skin. Pandion felt a terrific pain, but, forgetting all else, hung on to the animal’s ear. In the way he had seen it done in Crete, Pandion threw his body across that of the animal and landed on his broad back. The rhinoceros twisted and turned. Pandion hung on for all he was worth. If I can only hold on, was” the one thought that repeated itself in his brain.