He was an immense brute, being a fine specimen of a tank 'rogue.' This class are generally the worst description of rogue elephants, who seldom move far from the lakes, but infest the shores for many years.

Being quite alone, with the exception of two worthless gun-bearers, the plan of attack required some consideration.
The belt of trees in which I stood was the nearest piece of cover to the elephant, the main jungle being about a quarter of a mile from the shore of the lake.

In the event of a retreat being necessary, this cover would therefore be my point.

There was a large tamarind-tree growing alone upon the plain about a hundred and fifty paces from the water's edge, exactly in a line with the position of the elephant.

The mud plastered to a great height upon the stem showed this to be his favourite rubbing-post after bathing.
Having determined upon my plan of attack, I took the guns from the gun-bearers and sent the men up the tree, as I knew they would run away in the event of danger, and would most probably take the guns with them in their flight.