Dick wanted no morning trumpet to call him; he was awake before
daylight, to lie thinking, his brain excited by the novelty of his
position and the thoughts of all he had to go through.
To put it plainly, he felt new and nervous; but he recalled the fact
that it was his own doing--it had been his ambition to get appointed to
the Flying Artillery. "And to-day," he said to himself, "I have to
begin to learn how to fly, and that means having some falls. Well, if I
do I won't holloa. I don't mean to show I'm hurt."
This was while he was having his apology for a tub, but it was most
enjoyable after a hot night, though awkward, and consisted in squatting
down in a shallow tin and pouring earthen jars of cold water over his
head, to run down his back.
"'Tis freshening," he muttered; "makes one feel ready for everything."
He was hard at work towelling when a trumpet sounded so peculiarly that
he laughed.
"What's the matter with the fellow?" he said. "That can't be the
_reveille_. Some one blowing for fun. How absurd!"
He hurried to the window as he realised what it was, and saw, looming up
in the dim light, the figure of a gigantic elephant slowly following a
man whose only garment was a strip of cotton cloth about his loins;
while directly after three more of the great animals passed by.
"Gun-elephants, I suppose," he said to himself.
The trumpet had not sounded when he finished dressing, so he hurried
down to have a breath of the fresh morning air, making his native
servant start up from where he was lying asleep, to stare at his sahib
who had left his couch so soon.
It was pleasantly cool out in the parade-ground, and Dick was hesitating
as to which direction he should take, when the sound of voices from
beyond the low range of stabling to his right, followed by a repetition
of the elephants trumpeting and the splashing of water, took his
attention.
"Taking them to drink," he muttered; and he made for an opening at the
end of the shed just as the morning bugle rang out loud and clear,
echoing from the different buildings near and rousing the sleepers
throughout the barracks.
"I have half-an-hour, though," thought Dick; and he went on through the
opening, to find himself in a paved courtyard, where the four elephants
were standing, and about a dozen nearly nude Hindus were slowly drawing
water from a well.
Just then the man who was in charge of the largest elephant marched up
to it, bearing a pail, uttered a few sharp orders in Hindustani, and the
huge beast slowly and ponderously went down on its knees and then laid
itself over on its side, grunting softly as it settled its head on the
pavement, stretched out its writhing trunk, and then lay blinking its
little, piggish eye, and gently flapping the big ear at liberty.
Another man came up with a bucket, and Dick became aware that he was to
be present at the morning toilet of the huge beast. This commenced at
once by the men throwing the water all over the great heaving flank; and
then, each armed with what looked like a piece of pumice-stone, the
bare-footed pair walked on to it, and, squatting down, began work, as a
maid at home would begin hearth-stoning a flight of steps.
The whole performance was most ludicrous--the elephant lying there
grunting as if with pleasure, lifting ear or leg at a word, and grunting
and uttering little, squealing and soft, whining noises, indicating
satisfaction, while showing that, in spite of the thickness of its skin,
it was sensitive here and there and ticklish to a degree.
One of the most absurd parts of the performance was the perfectly cool
way in which the men paddled about all over it, their feet seeming to
hold on well to the grey, indiarubber-like surface, and the elephant
evidently approving of the whole business.
Dick stood watching the scrubbing, deluging with water, and re-scrubbing
and showering till one side was done, and then stood as close up as he
could without getting wet, when the order was given for the great brute
to change sides, which it did by rolling itself over, the others
following suit, and patiently waiting for the other flank to be done.
"Morning, sir," said a voice behind, and Dick started round to see the
sergeant had followed him.
"Morning. It's not time yet, is it?"
"Wants about ten minutes, sir. I was on my way, but I saw you through
the gateway."
"I didn't know this was done. Are these gun-elephants?"
"Yes, sir. Oh, yes, it's done regularly: keeps them beautifully clean."
"They seem to like it."
"Oh, yes, sir; they grant and enjoy it like pigs being scratched. You
see, they're a deal worried by flies and things which lay their eggs in
their tender parts behind the ears and under their arms."
"Their arms?"
"Well, legs, sir. But look at 'em; they're more like arms, and their
hindlegs are more like ours. You look when they lie down. See that,
sir?"
The sergeant drew the young officer's attention to the big elephant
lifting up its foreleg for the stone to scour beneath, grunting the
while softly.
"He itches just there, sir."
"Seems like it," said Dick. "But what an enormous brute it is!"
"Yes, sir: 'bout one of the biggest I've seen. The Rajah of Soojeepur
up north yonder has some thumpers, but nothing bigger than this one."
"I didn't know you had elephants here," said Dick.
"We don't as a rule, sir, but these four have come up with a couple of
heavy guns. There's something up, I suppose."
"What--fighting?" said Dick eagerly.
The sergeant shook his head.
"Don't know, sir. We never know till the last minute, when the order
comes to move. May be to a bit of a scrimmage--perhaps only to hold
some place. But time's pretty well up, sir, and the men will be there
with the horse."
"I'm ready," said Dick, and he turned to go, but altered his mind, and
made so that he could walk round the elephants, going so close to the
first that he had been watching so long that, as he paused for a moment
close to its head and spoke to the great, blundering creature, it
responded by suddenly stretching out its trunk and taking a turn round
the lad's ankle, holding him fast.
"Hurrah walla pala larna fa," or something like it, cried the man,
jumping up from where he had squatted scouring what answered to the
elephant's armpit.
"Phoonk! phoonk!" came in reply, the elephant seeming to be quite
content with its capture.
"Tell him to let go," cried the sergeant: and the man began to jump and
dance and stamp upon the elephant's ribs, yelling and calling it all the
ill-names he could in his own tongue, and threatening what he would do
with the goad the next time he was mounted behind the creature's ears.
But the great brute lay quite still, flapping its free ear up and down,
rumbling like a young thunderstorm, and blinking at Dick, with the
serpent-like coil about his leg.
"Oh, son of a wicked, squinting mother, am I to come and pull thy ugly,
great tusks out by the roots?" shrieked the Hindu.
"Woomble! woomble!" went the elephant; and the sergeant stepped forward
to give Dick his support.
"Woomph!" roared the animal angrily, and the sergeant started back.
"I don't think he wants to hurt me," said Dick; "it only feels tight."
"I don't know, sir," said the sergeant. "I don't know what to make of
these brutes. They're not like horses."
"Not a bit," said Dick, with rather a forced smile, for his position was
awkward, and he began to think of what might happen if the elephant held
on and suddenly rose to its feet.
"Why don't you make him leave go?" cried the sergeant angrily.
"Thy servant is trying, sahib," whimpered the man, who jumped on the
elephant again, but only brought forth a grunt.
"Shout at him; he understands you."
"Yes, sahib; but he is in one of his bad tempers this morning."
The man stepped forward and stamped with one foot on the beast's neck,
and then kicked at his ear.
"That does no good. Where's your spiked hook?"
"It is not here, O sahib," whimpered the man, who then burst out with a
furious tirade of vituperation; but the offending beast only twitched
its contemptible little tail and winked good-humouredly at Dick.
"Oh, vile, pig-headed brother of a mugger!" shrieked the man, while all
his fellows stopped short and watched the encounter; "am I to curse thee
till thou dost shrivel up into a chicken maggot? Am I to cease cleaning
thy dirty hide, and leave thee to be eaten up by wicked flies?"
The elephant "chuntered," as a north-country man might say, and its
meaning seemed to be, "Oh, yes, if you like."
"Will you let go of the young sahib's leg, oh first cousin of ten
thousand demons?" shrieked the man.
"Poomph!" growled the elephant; and the Hindu started on another tack,
while a couple of his fellows, bearing buckets of water, came nearer.
"Oh, sweet son of a beautiful little mother, beloved eater of cane and
sugar-grass, handsome pet of the ivory teeth! unclasp the young sahib's
leg, and thy mahout will paint thee in red and blue stripes with
vermilion and indigo. He will gild thy tusks with gold, and put a
velvet cloth with silken ropes on thy soft, mountain-like back, so that
the elephants of the Rajah of Soojeepur shall be jealous, and run away
maddened to the jungle when thou goest thy way."
"Pooroon! pooroon!" grumbled the great beast.
"What! Not when thy beloved mahout promises thee that?" cried the
mahout, sliding off the flesh-mountain to bend down and lift up the
great flap of an ear and whisper gently, "Sweet gums shall be thine, and
bananas, great melons and cucumbers."
"Whoo--oomph!"
There was a kind of flesh-quake, the Hindu was thrown sideways, the
trunk had been uncoiled, and the monster heaved up its huge bulk and
stood over Dick, who had not moved, swaying its great head from side to
side, and bringing its splendid great tusks within an inch or two every
time it swept them by.
"Let the young sahib run before the evil-born beast with a miserable
tail slays him by putting him under his foot!" cried the man.
"He won't hurt me," said Dick gently. "Will you, old chap? There, I
haven't got anything for you."
Dick raised his hand and rubbed the monster's corrugated trunk, moving
gently out of its way as it came forward to where the men who looked on
had set down their buckets of water, and now fled hastily.
"Why, he's thirsty," said Dick.
So it proved, for the elephant reached out its trunk, which looked like
a gigantic leech, curved its end down into the nearest pail, sucked up a
third of the contents, withdrew it, turned it under into its mouth, shot
the water down its throat, and went on repeating the process till both
the pails were empty, when it raised its trunk in the air, blew a wild,
weird blast, and then turned to Dick again, touched him softly with its
trunk, and then stood gravely swaying its head from side to side.
"Hah!" ejaculated the sergeant; and Dick turned sharply from watching
the elephant, for his companion's exclamation seemed to be echoed.
"Good-morning," said Dick. "I didn't know you were there, Mr Wyatt."
"I didn't dare to stir," replied that gentleman. "Why, Darrell, my lad,
I've been standing there ever so long, with my heart in my mouth."
"Oh, I don't think there was anything to mind."
"I don't know. These beasts can be very awkward sometimes, and kill
their mahouts. I say, didn't you feel frightened?"
"N-o, I don't think so; only a bit helpless. It was so curious."
"They have such power," said Wyatt.
"So I suppose," said Dick quietly: "but it was so curious to watch and
listen to that mahout, sometimes scolding and sometimes petting the
great elephant to let go. I hadn't time to feel frightened. But it was
awkward."
"Yes," said Wyatt dryly, "very awkward. Been worse, though, if he had
dragged you closer and set one of his feet upon you."
"Yes," replied Dick thoughtfully; "an animal like that must be very
heavy."
Wyatt looked at the sergeant, and the sergeant raised his shaggy
eyebrows a little as he returned the meaning look; and by that time they
had reached the big entrance-door of the long, light building used as a
riding-school.