The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-01-26

showed every indication Of affection,
4 In q few moments I began to re,
gRin my confidence. I would try to
take the elephant home at any rate.
would not take the weapon which
Selim had used, and which had come
go a ending my days, called to
him: Come along, Ahmed" and star
ted homeward, and without the I6ast
hesitation Ahmed walked beside me,
as gentle and harmless in appearance
as a pet dog.
What CONSERVATION there was when
l appeared at the house with the ele-
plant! Ahmed stood in the yard be
side ne while I told my story, and
caresged me with his trunk and even
ritied my pockets of the pieces of cake
| had taken for him that morning and
had forgotten.
We'll, what are we going to donow?"
asked Mr.. Franklin obviously. SIT is
very hard to find a good keeper, espe
cially at this season of the year, and
that bridge must be built at once"
volunteered TO go to town and find
a keeper, and 1 vas eur there would
be no trouble about it. But 1 soon
found that elephant keepers were
rare, and that the fame Of Ahmed had
gone forth, and none of them would
undertake the care of an elephant that
had rebelled and came so near killing
his last keeper.
There's only one way to manage it,"
I said that night when I went home.
II will take Ahmed down to morrow
and make him build the bridge"
There was a general shout of horror,
and nobody had never heard of such
a thing, and I did not know what
l "a undertaking, and I would be
cure to be killed. / waited till the
storm had subsidized, and then l told
them that 1 would try it anyway, and
if I did not succeed, why, then, some
other plan must be devised.
IL must be confessed that l looked at
Ahmed the next morning with a good
deal Of trepidation. He certainly was
very large. l had my pockets full of
biscuits which ImeanE to use as sops
for Cerberus all through the morning,
but he found them without delay and
ate them all at a mouthful, and then
we took way down to the bridge,
several members Of the family follow,
ing at a distance, for they were very
doubtful as to the result of the exper-
iment.
But we went down to the timbers that
were TO go into the bridge, and l showed
Ahmed which n l wanted out, won
dering if he would understand me. He
did. Without the least delay he lifted
the log, and then we journeyed down
to the stream, and I showed him where
the log was to go. We got on famously
and heard a faint cheer from the bank,
where the doubters we're in hiding
Ahmed and I we're building the bridge
as pleasantly as though we had done
nothing all our lives but build bridges,
Surely, it was a great change-an
/ III "a wy AKA AA44COCCAGA SCAlO8
costume, turning elephant trainer and
builder Of bridges in the island of
CeyIon, but that is what had happened.
I wonder if any Of my old friends
could ever believe this. And yet it had
all come about in the most natural
way for I had merely shown the ami
NAL a little kindness, and so had won
his love.
A few days later. greatly to my joy,
a man appeared whom Ahmed conde
scended to accept as his trainer, and l
turned my pet over to him, noting
with joy that he waslikely to be treated
kindly.
Our work in Ceylon was finished. It
had been rainy weather and the roads
were unfit for the horses, so it was ar
ranged that we should go to town on
the elephant. Ahmed greeted me with
effusion when I went out to mount,
and was evidently over Eyed to see me
again, for l had carefully kept out of
his sight since the coming Of his new
keeper. And SO we went away in true
oriental style, mounted on Ahmed. At
the town a carriage was awaiting US tt
take us to the seaport.
There was a moments delay while
some packages we're stored inside, and
we were attending to these when sud
denly something reached past my
brother and touched my face. 1t was
Ahmed's trunk. He had folio we'd me
My brother started; the driver, who
was busily engaged in arranging the
bundles, dropped them with q shrek