It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when the explorers entered
the forest, followed by their escort of Nubians and Dinkas, who had
by that time turned up again. Several natives, foregoing all claim to
any share in the defunct elephants, volunteered to act as guides to
the white folk, hoping that the strangers would persevere both in
their successful hunting and their generosity in waiving their right
to the spoil. The forest extended for some ten leagues in a south-easterly
direction, and the marshy nature of the ground, though at
this particular time it was dry enough, had imparted considerable
luxuriance to the vegetation. The acacia, mimosa, tallan, tamarind
and sycamore trees attained a noticeable altitude, and the sterculia,
whose trunk tapers off gradually towards its top, reached a height of
a hundred feet. The intervals between these trees, for the most part
very large, were choked by papyrus tufts growing out of small pools
of water, remnants of the former marsh, by sturdy climbing plants, by
impenetrable patches of high grasses, and by the calamus with its
formidable spines.
The heat beneath this dense foliage was excessive, resembling that of
a hot-house, but the Europeans, lost in admiration of their
surroundings, forgot to complain. For a short time they followed the
course of a species of rivulet, clear as a spring, covered with a
delicate net-work of creepers, and bordered by clumps of the amomum,
with its scarlet fruit and yellow and white flower. The sun's rays
flickered on the foliage and flowers, and sparkled in the rivulet.
Suddenly the scene changed, and they came upon a clearing, rendered
as green as a field in Normandy by the water which disappeared
beneath it, and the leafy shade surrounding it on all sides. The
Europeans and their escort halted here to rest, whilst the negroes
disappeared in the thickets in search of elephant tracks.
After the lapse of half-an-hour, the scouts returned in a state of
great excitement. The majority of them, without paying any attention
to the strangers, fled in all directions towards the largest and
loftiest trees, up which they swarmed with remarkable agility.
Others, more mindful of their duty, ran to their guests, and told
them that a very numerous herd of elephants was making for the
clearing. Some said that there were a score of animals, male and
female; others put the number down at a hundred, and a few went as
far as to say that there were a thousand at least. This habit of
exaggeration amongst the Africans is very curious, and, without
having the faintest notion of arithmetic, they are wonderfully expert
in multiplication. Whilst making due allowance for their
exaggeration, it was nevertheless certain that a tolerably numerous
herd of elephants was approaching the spot selected for a halt.
"I propose," said Delange, "to leave the elephants to their own
devices, and to take to our heels with these people."
"What!" exclaimed Miss Poles, indignantly. "We have the chance of
looking upon a tableau possibly unique, and as soon as the curtain
rises, we are to leave our seats!"
"My dear Miss Poles," said Périères, "allow me to remark that we have
not visited Africa for the express purpose of hunting the elephant.
We have a rather more noble end than that in view, and we have no
right to waste our strength, or expose our lives, until that end has
been attained."
"Nobody mentioned a word about hunting," replied the obstinate
Englishwoman. "I labour under the impression that I am not quite a
fool, and I certainly never dreamt of opposing an army of elephants.
But we may, I imagine, remain here for a few moments without any
risk, and have a look at our visitors. If they seem disposed to
attack us, our horses will very soon carry us out of harm's way."
"It is all very well to say so," replied M. Périères, "but our horses
could never gallop through this underwood; to walk through it would
be as much as they could do just at present. The elephants, on the
contrary, do not care one jot for thickets, trees, or thorns, and
they would overtake us in a second, if they were to take it into
their heads to pursue us."
"Your remarks are so far true, my dear Périères," ^aid M. de Morin,
who up to this time had refrained from giving any opinion, "that I do
not intend to remount, having far more confidence in my own legs than
in those of my steed."
"You are determined to stay here, then?" asked M. Delange.
"Certainly, if Madame de Guéran does not order me to move away."
"I assure you," said the Baroness, "that I should very much like to
issue such an order, but it appears to me that it would be too late.
Our horses are no longer intent on cropping the grass of the
clearing. Their heads are all turned towards one point, their ears
are pricked, and they are trembling in every limb. Their instinct
tells them that a powerful enemy is advancing against them. See! they
are careering off in all directions."
And so it was. The horses left, according to the Arab custom, at
liberty in the clearing, were galloping off.
"There is still time to beat a retreat," said M. Delange. "You know I
am no coward, but in some cases courage is useless."
"Evidently so," added M. Périères.
Madame de Guéran raised her eyes to the last speaker, and in her look
there was something akin to reproach, as if she were annoyed with M.
Périères for siding with the Doctor and declining to face the danger.
She, doubtless, was in that frame of mind which renders women bold.
She was, perhaps, feeling the false position she occupied towards
these two men, both of whom adored her and were yearning to tell her
so, but whose protestations she was bound to repress. She was asking
herself whether the ordeal which she had imposed and they were
undergoing was not beyond both their strength and hers. Possibly she
went so far as to confess to herself that she was in imminent danger,
with a gloomy future before her. Would it not be better for them, for
her, and even for him whom she was anxious to rejoin, that the
situation should be brought to a head without further delay, at that
very moment, in the forest, on the spot where they now were? Why
brave fresh dangers to which they would succumb sooner or later? Was
it not better to die a sudden death in that lovely scene than to
waste away by inches from sickness and fatigue? At all events she
could die now with an easy conscience, without remorse of any sort;
could she answer for it that she would not in the immediate future
have some weakness wherewith to reproach herself, some fault to
deplore?
But all these thoughts we are, in our analytic character, ascribing
to her, and which had, no doubt, occurred to her at some time or
other, could scarcely have crossed her mind at this juncture, for she
had scarcely raised her eyes to M. Périères in silent reproach at his
desire to retreat, when that retreat became an impossibility, and the
current of her ideas was rudely diverted into another channel.
From the other side of the clearing, rather more than two hundred
yards from where the Europeans were standing, a loud, rushing noise
was heard. It resembled the hoarse murmur of a tempestuous sea, the
roaring of the waves, as impelled onwards by wind and tide they break
on the rocks and engulf themselves in some vast cave. A continuous
wail seemed to escape from the forest; the foliage, the very trees
appeared to groan; all nature trembled and quivered in the air;
flocks of birds, roused from their leafy nooks, flew screaming
upwards; a herd of buffaloes, hidden hitherto in the long grass,
sprang up with distended nostrils, and, snorting in alarm, took to
flight with an impetuous rush. At length the earth itself seemed to
tremble under the enormous weight it had to bear, and fifty
elephants, with heads up-reared above the brakes, laying low the
tallest plants, were seen to emerge into the open.