Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-10-04


plant began to scream with fe2r and fury,
and, attracted by his cries, the other two
came charging up. | felt for my rifle; it
was not there. Then / remembered that |
had rested it on fork of the bough in order
to fire, and doubtless there it remained. My
position now was very unpleasant. Ibid not
dare to try and climb the tree again, which,
shaken as | was, would have been a task Of
some difficulty, because the elephants would
certainly see me, and Gobo, who had chung
to bough, was still aloft with the other rifle.
| / could not run, because there was no shelter
near. Under these circumstances did the
only thing feasible-clambered round the
trunk as softly as possible, and, keeping one
eye on the elephants, whispered to Gobo to
bring down the rife, and awaited the de
velopment Of the situation. | knew that il
the elephants did not see me, which, luckily,
they were too engaged to do, they would not
smell me, for / was up wind. Gobo, how
ever, either did not, or, preferring the safety
of the tree, would not hear me. He said the
former, but believed the latter, for | knew
that he was not enough of sportsman to
really enjoy shooting elephants by moon.
light in the open. So there was behind my
tree, dismayed. unarmed, but highly inter
ested, for was witnessing a remarkable per-
Torrance.
"When the two other bulls arrived the
wounded elephant on the ground ceased to
scream, but began TO make a low moaning
noise and gently touch the wound near his
shoulder, from which the blood was literally
spouting out. The other two seemed 10 un-
derstand; at any rate, they did this: Kneel-
ing down on either side, they got their trunks
and tusks underneath him, and, aided
by his own efforts, with one great lift got
him Oh his feet. Then, leaning against him
on either side to support him, they marched
Off at u walk in the direction of the Villages
1t was pitiful sight, and even then it made
me feel a brute.
Presently from walk, as the wounded
elephant gathered himself together a little
they broke into trot, and after that | could
| follow them no longer with my eyes, for the
] second black cloud came up over the moon
sThe ,dltor would have been inclined to think
/ that il relating this incident Mr. Quatermain
was mailing Himself interesting at the expense Of
the exact truth, did it not happen that similar
| incident has come within his own knowledge
Enron.
! and put her out rs an extinguisher prts out
a dip ! say with my eyes, but my ears still
/ gave me a very fair notion of what was go
4 ing on When the cloud came up the three
! terrified animals were heading directly for
| the kraal, probably because the way was
| open and the path easy. | fancy that they
| got confused in the darkness, for when they
came to the kraal fence they did not turn
aside, but crashed through IT, Then there
were times, as the Irish servant girl says in
the American book Having taken the
| fbau thought hat tbav ffbf
as well take the huts also, so they just
ran right over them One hive shaped hut
was turned straight over on to its top, and
when | arrived on the scene the people who
had been sleeping there were bumbling about
inside like bees disturbed at night, while two
more were crushed fiat, and third had all
| its side torn out Oddly enough, however,
nobody was hurt, though several people had
a narrow escape of being trodden TO death.
son arrival found the old headman in a
state painfully like that favored by Greek
art, dancing about in front of his ruined
abodes as vigorously as though he had just
been stung by a scorpion.
81 asked him what allied him, and he burst
out into a food of abuse He called me wiz
ard, a sham, fraud, a bringer Of bad luck
bad promised TO kin the elephants, and
had so arranged things that the elephants
had nearly killed him, etc.
'This, still snarting, or rather aching, as
was from that most terrific bump, was too
much for my feelings, so just made rush
at my friend and, getting him by the ear, ]
banged his head against the doorway Of his
own hut, which was all there was left Of it.
"'You wicked old scoundrel, said, you
dare TO complain about your own srihing in
conveniences, when you gave me a rotten
beam to sit on, and thereby delivered me to
the fury Of the elephant (bumpl bumpl
bumpD, when yonr own wife (bumpD has
just been dragged out Of her hut tbumpD
like a snail from its she'll and thrown by the
Earthshaker into tree (bumpl bumpD
Mercy, my father, mercyr gasped the
old fellow. Truly have done amiss-my
heart tells me So
(" 4 should hope it did, you old villain
Dump.
mercy, great white man. thought the |
log was sound. But what says the unequaled |
chiefs the old woman, my wife, indeed |
deada All, if she is dead all may yet prove |
to have been for the very BEST; and he |
clasped his hands and looked up piously to
heaven, in which the moon was once more
shining brightly.
Il let go his ear and burst out laughing |
the whole scene and his devout aspirations |
for the decease of the partner of his joys, or
rather woes, were so intensely ridiculous.
"'No, you old iniquity, answered; 4
left her in the top of thorn tree, screaming
like a thousand bluejays. The elephant put
her there
"'Alasl alasr he said, surely the back of
the OK is shaped to the burden Doubtless,
my father, she will come down when she is
tired and without troubling himself fur
ther about the matter he began TO blow at
the smoldering embers of the fire.
"And, as matter of fact, she did appear
a few minutes later, considerably scratched
and startled, but none the worse.
after that | made my way to my little
camp, which, fortunately, the elephants had
NOT walked over, and, wrapping myself up in
a blanket, was soon fast asleep.
"And SO ended my first round with those
three elephants.
CHAPTER w.
THE LAST ROUND.
"On the morrow woke up full of painful