It was impossible! The foot was dislocated, and turned up in front like an old shoe.

In an instant Taher was once more on foot, and the sharp sword slashed the remaining leg.
The great bull-elephant could not move! The first cut with the sword had utterly disabled it; the second was its deathblow.

The arteries of the leg were divided, and the blood spouted in jets from the wounds.
I wished to terminate its misery by a bullet behind the ear, but Taher Sherrif begged me not to fire, as the elephant would quickly bleed to death without pain, and an unnecessary shot might attract the Base, who would steal the flesh and ivory during our absence.

We were obliged to return immediately to our far distant camp, and the hunters resolved to accompany their camels to the spot on the following day.

We turned our horses' heads, and rode directly toward home, which we did not reach until nearly midnight, having ridden upward of sixty miles during the day.
The hunting of Taher Sherrif and his brothers was superlatively beautiful; with an immense amount of dash there was a cool, sportsman-like manner in their mode of attack that far excelled the impetuous and reckless onset of Abou Do.