Without further delay, our adventurers took the back track towards the
hut, which was exactly that which the elephant had taken--as they could
tell by traces of the animal all along the route, which the experienced
eye of the shikaree had already discovered, and which he now pointed out
to his companions as they passed on. Here and there its great
footprints were visible in the turf, in places where the ground was
soft; and at other places where no tracks appeared, leaves and twigs
freshly strewn upon the earth, and also branches of considerable size
broken off from the trees, and borne for some distance before being
dropped, clearly indicated to Ossaroo the route which the rogue had
taken.
The shikaree had often followed the spoor of wild elephants through the
jungles of Bengal, and knew everything about their way of travelling.
He was therefore able to tell the others that the rogue had not been
browsing as he went--for the leaves and twigs showed no signs of his
teeth--but on the contrary, he had moved forward rapidly, and as if with
some special determination. The broken branches which they saw were
more likely to have been torn off out of spite at the ill-usage he had
received, and the disappointment at not having succeeded in his purposes
of vengeance.
It did not need for Ossaroo to caution his companions to circumspection.
They knew as well as he that an elephant enraged as this one was,
whether a _rogue_ elephant or an _honest_ one, was anything but a safe
customer to come in contact with; and that this particular rogue was
most particularly angry they had just had both ocular and auricular
evidence.
They went forward, therefore, with unusual caution, taking care to keep
both their eyes and ears on the alert, and at the same time moving in
perfect silence, or conversing only in whispers.
The path upon which they were returning was not that by which they had
gone forth. The reconnoissance of the cliffs had carried them a good
distance around the edge of the valley; but now they were following the
track taken by the elephant, which, as already ascertained by Ossaroo,
led almost in a direct line to the hut.
As they drew nearer to their rude habitation, they saw indications that
the enemy was still before them. As they knew that in the immediate
neighbourhood of the hot-spring, and consequently of the hut itself,
there were no large trees or other place of safety to which they might
retreat in case of being again attacked, they began to advance with
increased caution. From the direction in which they were approaching,
the hovel could not be seen until they should get within less than two
hundred yards of it. There was a belt of rather tall jungle to be
passed through, and then it would be in sight.
Through this jungle they commenced advancing; and there, to their no
slight uneasiness, they also observed fresh traces of the elephant.
They were now certain that he had passed through it before them, still
going direct for the hut.
What on earth can he want there? was the query that once more suggested
itself to the minds of all three. It certainly looked as if he had
proceeded there in search of _them_! As if, missing them from the scene
of the encounter, he believed they had returned home, and was following
up their acquaintance.
From what they had observed, they could not help attributing to the
great quadruped the possession of an intelligence something more than
natural; and this, though it may have been only an absurd fancy on their
part, had the effect of begetting within their minds a very painful
feeling of apprehension. What they saw on coming out on the other side
of the jungle not only strengthened this feeling of apprehension, but
increased it all at once to a positive terror.
The hut, which should now have been before their eyes, and at a distance
of not quite two hundred paces, _was no longer there_! The ruins of it
alone were visible. The large boulders with which its walls had been
built, the beams and thatch that had composed its roof, the grass
couches upon which they had slept, the rude improvised utensils and
other articles which had served them for furniture, were all strewed far
and wide over the ground; and not the semblance of a house, or even
hovel, remained to show that the spot had been occupied by a human
habitation!
Yes--in what had been their rude dwelling our adventurers beheld only a
ruder ruin--scarce one stone standing upon, another!
They beheld all this with feelings of fear--ay, something stronger--with
awe. The Pagan worshipper of Brahma or Vishnu was no longer alone in
his superstitious imaginings. His young Christian companions were
almost equally victims to a belief in the supernatural. They
comprehended well enough what had caused the destruction of the house.
Though the author of that mischief was nowhere to be seen, they knew it
was the elephant. There was no alternative but to accept that
explanation; and it was not the act itself that was awing them, but the
contemplation of the human-like, or rather demon-like, intelligence that
had guided the animal thither, and instructed it to this act of
retribution, perhaps only preliminary to a still greater one.
Though the work of devastation could not have been completed many
minutes before their arrival, the elephant appeared to have gone away
from the ground. At east, it was not to be seen anywhere near the spot;
and it is needless to say that it was carefully looked for. Dreading
its dangerous proximity, they had kept under cover of the bushes while
contemplating the ruin from a distance; and it was not until after a
considerable interval had elapsed that they ventured forward over the
open space to ascertain the full extent of the damage.
This they at length did, and found that it was _total_ destruction. So
far as the hut was concerned, not a vestige of construction remained--
walls and roof had been alike levelled with the ground. But what was a
greater source of chagrin to the now homeless plant-hunters, was that
their little store of ammunition--the gunpowder, which during all the
period of their imprisonment they had been carefully hoarding--was
spilled among the rubbish, and of course irrecoverable. It had been
deposited in a large gourd-shell prepared for the purpose; and this,
among other similar chattels, the enraged quadruped had crushed under
its feet. Their cured provisions had also been turned out from their
place of deposit, and trampled into the dust of the earth. But this,
though also a chagrin, was one of less bitterness. Other provisions
might be obtained--not now so easily, since the powder was destroyed--
but the latter they could not replace.