Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-13

you'll" 1t was his customary contemptuous man
ner with Drew. Once the young man had red
dened at that manner but now, in the quiet
finality Of his resolution he could afford an
unreSentful calm.
1t was surprising to find that he felt no
stirring animuS against Sloane now, no goad
of pulsing hatred. It was as though the man
were already dead. His child would nevermore
sob himself TO sleep In terror. And Peggy
would be forever free, and this horror would
become only the memory Of q nightmare TO
her young spirit. Drew was following a dead
man.
ON they went The ravine led into a swampy.
tangled forest, and here the elephant
had circled, cutting across his old tracks. By
good luck they found the fresher trail, and
followed that. They were not long now be-
hind the elephant.
The forest grew denser, closing in about them.
The air was gray green, with only occasional
shifts Of sunlight striking through the tops Of
the high trees. Fallen trunks and rank moist
undergrowth, and q network of clinging vines.
entangling parasite roots, and cord-like Llama
made the place impenetTable save where the
great beast had crashed his way along. Even
on his trial there was difficulty
Thick boughs that had given way before the
elephants monumental bulk had sprung back
and interIocked again. Bushes that he had
trampled over had leaped resiliently up. Fallen
trunks Of giant trees, over which he had step
ped made them scramble underneath through
the heavy mud. The twilight air felt cool, but
perspiration started at every effort; the wet
clay chung to their feet like pulling hands. E.
They were very near the elephant now. They
came to places where the sap was still dripping
from branches he had broken OF to feed upon.
where the spiders were racing agitatedly in the
torn webs.
From force of habit they tested the air with
wet fingers, but the direction Of the wind could
make no possible difference to their approach.
They had to follow in the track. It was very
still in the forest, utterly silent save for the
squelching Of their heavy boots in the mud,
and the slapping Of the branches against their
khaki clothes, and the occasional thwack of .
bough on their pith helmets. No other living
thing seemed in that solitude. Not even the
monkeys called from their tree-tops, though the
infrequent spring Of q released bough some.
times told where one had taken upward flight.
And then they heard low, reverberating
rumble which told them the elephant was at
hand. Suddenly the tracker made a gesture
and slipped instantly aside, vanishing behind q
tree-bole. He had pointed to the right where
the path curved.
They stared with all their eyes, guns at their
shoulders. Sloane was to have the first shot,
making the elephant his, but the others were to
pour in their lead after he had fired At close
quarters man may need all the guns at hand.
Something stirred. High up between green
branches they caught . glimpse of a dark patch,
and then the bulge Of huge forehead pushed
slowly forward over a clump of slender trees
BOomh reared SlOane's gum and again,
boom! The silence was shattered with the
thunder Of It. The forest became a fury and
confushOn-treeS crashed and bushes cracked
as If cyclone had seized hold upon them,