were coming towards him, he was not only surprised but annoyed. He was
in the middle of his aquatic performances for one thing, and he did
not like to have boats and men so close to him for another. However,
although he was irritated, he was not going to bother himself about
either the boats or the men as long as they let him alone.

But this was just the very thing the men in the boats had no intention
of doing, for they carried harpoons, and had come out for the express
purpose of killing as many hippopotami as they possibly could. So, as
Hippo rose to the surface, and before he had time to get over either
his surprise or annoyance, one of the men in the nearest boat suddenly
stood up, and, throwing a harpoon with terrific force, sent it right
into Hippo's shoulder.

For a moment Hippo was too astounded to do anything; then, as he
realized what had happened, he moved swiftly towards the boat. But
another harpoon was thrown from a second boat, and Hippo's attention
was taken off the first one only just in time. His thick skin broke
out into tiny red spots, called the "blood sweat," for he was now
pretty well excited. He had not thought much about his wife and little
one before, but now he knew they were in danger, and must be
protected. With one muscular movement of his big body--wonderfully
agile for so clumsy a creature--he swam towards the boat, and, before
the occupants realized what was going to happen, Hippo had seized the
boat in his great mouth and crushed one end of it into splinters. Two
of the men were killed instantly, and the others soon after, for Hippo
used his terrible mouth and teeth with appalling effect.

In a very few minutes all that remained of the boats and men--with the
exception of the first boat, which had promptly made off when Hippo