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Many villagers in the Pinjih Valley lived in fear of the
rhinoceros because it had killed three men; so one day Sir
George Maxwell and two assistants decided to kill it. One of the
assistants was Malias, a local Malay. The other was Pak Senik, a
'pawang'; that is, a man who ___1___
spirits and ask for their help. The next day, they entered the
forest. They couldn't find any
___2___ of the rhinoceros,
so they postponed the hunt. A few days later, Maxwell received ___3___
that the tracks of a rhinoceros had been seen across a path
about six kilometers from the entrance of the jungle. So early
next morning, he set off with his men to follow the trail. They
thought they would have a hard time finding the animal because
the tracks showed that the rhinoceros ___4___
without even stopping for food. They were therefore surprised
when they came upon the creature lying full length in a
mud-bath. The rhinoceros must have heard the sound of the
approaching men because it got out of the pool and moved away. ___5___,
they followed the rhinoceros through thick forest. At one point
Maxwell managed to have a shot at the animal but succeeded only
in wounding it.
___6___
prevented them from continuing the hunt. The next day, they had
a difficult time picking up the trail; the ground was ___7___,
and there were very few marks left. By one o'clock they found
the animal, but again Maxwell was only able to wound it. The
animal ran away into some ___8___
and it was impossible for the men to follow. All of them were
very disappointed. Pak Senik believed that the animal was ___9___
a hill called Changkat Larang. So they decided to spend the
night in the village.
At sunrise the next morning, they went up the path leading to
the hill. Soon they ___10___
to the place where the animal had spent the night. Maxwell heard
the rhinoceros moving ahead. He therefore left the trail to go
another way in order to overtake and cut the animal off. |
