"I rode to the wagon just as quickly as I could," said I, "and got one of my large rifles; then I came out, and was accompanied, very reluctantly, by one of my men. I dismounted, gave my horse to the man, walked up to within twenty yards of the lion, who was busy satisfying his hunger, and gave him a shot through the heart."
"Well," said Jack, "you lost an ox and made a lion."
"That's time," I replied; "but the loss was much greater than the gain. A lion's skin doesn't equal the value of an ox, and I doubt if you would find any hunter who would be willing to make trades of that sort."
"No indeed," said Jack; "to lose one's traveling-equipment in an expedition like this is virtually to lose everything."
In this way I managed to break the ice and get the two men more amiable to each other. Perhaps I added a little fuel to the fire in both cases by praising the skill which Miss Boland had shown in her hunting-work that day. Then I changed to the subject of the young rhinoceros, and speculated as to what use she would be able to make of the beast. I remarked that I was afraid she would never be able to teach him drawing-room manners, as he did not seem to be adapted to a higher education. Harry said he could not see why the rhinoceros could not be educated up to the same point as the elephant, with the difference that he was not as large as the elephant, and consequently not capable of holding as much knowledge.
"Hold on, Harry!" said Jack; "that doesn't make any difference at all; it's a question of brain-capacity, and not of size. The dog is the equal of the elephant in intelligence, and you could make a hundred dogs out of one elephant—yes, a thousand of them—so far as size is concerned."
This led them into a discussion as to the respective intelligence of dogs and elephants. Harry took the side of the elephant, and Jack that of the dog, each claiming that the animal he favored was more intelligent than the other. I put in a word occasionally, the fellows forgot their differences and their loves, and altogether we had a very pleasant evening.
Our conversation would have been very enjoyable to a party of young folks, and I wish I could repeat the instances that were narrated of the display of unusual intelligence on the part of those two animals. Each of the champions told stories of performances which certainly bordered upon reason, and nearly every story was inexplicable on the ground of instinct only. Jack claimed that the intelligence of both beasts was distinctly human. Harry opposed him, and quoted the argument of some distinguished naturalist, who said that the line between human and animal intelligence was illustrated by means of fire. No animal, however intelligent, has yet been known to light a fire, or even to keep one going after it was lighted. On the other hand, the lowest of savages can produce fire, and also can keep it going.
Jack admitted the force of the point, and then conversation drifted to our schemes for the next day.
After discussing the whereabouts of the various kinds of game, we concluded that the best available place, with our present information, was the hippopotamus-ground. The hippos had not been disturbed very recently, and perhaps we could bag two or three without much trouble.