At last the sun rose and lighted up the jungle, the scattered groves,
and the forest. The lions disappeared with the first ray of dawn. Stasch
made Kali build a fire and ordered Mea to take Nell’s things out of the
leather bag, in which they were packed, to dry them and change the
girl’s clothes as quickly as possible. He took the rifle and carefully
went over the camp to see what ravages had been made by the storm and
the bloodthirsty beasts.
Just behind the hedge, only the stakes of which remained, lay the first
horse, nearly half devoured; some hundred feet further, a second, hardly
begun; and next to it the third, with its stomach torn open and its head
smashed in. They all presented a terrible sight, for in their open,
glassy eyes could be seen their terror at approaching death, and their
wide-open jaws displayed their strong teeth. The ground was stamped down
and the cavities formed pools of blood. Stasch was so enraged that at
the moment he almost wished that the disheveled head of one of the
nocturnal robbers, tired out after the feast, would appear behind one of
the bushes, so that he might send a bullet through it. But he was
obliged to postpone his revenge at present, for he had other things to
attend to.
The remaining horses had to be caught. The boy supposed that like Saba,
whose carcass was nowhere to be seen, they might have hidden somewhere
in the woods. The hope that the faithful fellow-sufferer had not fallen
a prey to the wild animals made Stasch feel so happy that he took
courage once more, and the finding of the donkey naturally increased his
joy. It so happened that clever longears had not even taken the trouble
to run far away. He had simply crept into a nook made by the ant-hill
and the large tree outside the hedge, and there, with head and sides
protected, he had awaited events, in readiness at any moment to repulse
the attack by vigorously kicking out his hind legs. But the lions had
apparently not noticed him, so when the sun rose and the danger was over
he felt the necessity of lying down and taking a good rest after all the
tragical events of the night.
While circling the camp Stasch at last found the impress of horses’
hoofs in the moistened earth. The tracks pointed toward the woods and
then turned off toward the gorge. That was fortunate, for it would not
be difficult to capture horses in the narrow pass. A little further on
in the grass was found a foot-chain, which one of the horses had
succeeded in breaking off during its flight. This horse must have run
away so far that for the present he would have to be considered lost. To
offset this, Stasch discovered the other two behind a low rock, not in
the ravine, but on its borders. One of them was rolling on the ground,
the other grazing in the fresh green grass. Both looked very tired, as
though they had run a long distance. But daylight had driven all fear
from their hearts, and they greeted Stasch by neighing in a short,
friendly way. The horse which was rolling on the ground sprang to his
feet, which enabled the boy to see that he also had succeeded in
breaking loose from his foot-chains, but fortunately he had preferred
remaining with his friend to running away aimlessly.
Stasch left both of them under the cliff and advanced to the edge of the
ravine to make sure whether it were possible to continue the journey. He
now saw that the heavy downpour had been so severe that the rain had run
off and the ground was nearly dry. And soon his attention was attracted
by a grayish-white article, which had been caught in the vines
overhanging the opposite side of the cliff. This proved to be the roof
of the tent, which had been blown off and caught on the bushes; it had
taken such a strong hold that the rain could not wash it away. After
all, the tent offered a better shelter for Nell than the hut made of
branches of trees put together hastily, and Stasch was much pleased at
finding this article, which he had thought was lost.
Now his joy increased when out of a higher crevice in the cliff hidden
by lianas Saba came running toward him, holding in his teeth an animal
whose head and tail hung out of either side of his jaws. The huge dog
climbed down in a minute and laid at Stasch’s feet a striped hyena, with
broken back and one foot bitten off; then he began to wag his tail and
to bark cheerfully as if to say: “I must acknowledge that I took to my
heels before the lion, but even you crouched like birds on the tree. And
besides, you see, I have not passed the night without accomplishing
something.”
And he was so proud of himself that Stasch scarcely liked to make him
leave the ill-smelling carcass behind, instead of bringing it to Nell.
When they both returned they found a large fire in the bivouac, water
boiling in the pots, and the meal being cooked. Nell had put on dry
clothing, but she looked so pale and ill that Stasch was startled and
took her hand, to make sure whether or not she was feverish.
“Nell, what is the matter?” asked he.
“Nothing, Stasch; I am only very sleepy.”
“I believe it, after such a night! Thank goodness, you have cold hands.
Oh, what a night that was! Of course you must be sleepy—I am sleepy,
too. But don’t you feel well?”
“I have a slight headache.”
Stasch laid his hand on her forehead. The little head was cold like the
hands, but that was a sign of unusual exhaustion and weakness, and so
the boy sighed and said:
“You must now have something hot to eat, and then you must lie down and
sleep until evening. At least the weather is good to-day, and not likely
to be as it was yesterday.”
But Nell gazed at him with terror.
“We surely are not going to spend the night here?”
“Not here, for the mangled horses are lying nearby; we will look for
some other tree, or else ride down into the gorge and build a better
fence than any in the world. You will sleep as quietly as at Port Said.”
But she folded her tiny hands and with tears in her eyes besought him to
ride on at once, for she said that in this awful place it would be
impossible for her to close her eyes and she would surely get sick.
She begged so earnestly, and as she looked into his eyes repeated over
and over again, “Stasch, please!” that at last he consented to do as she
wished.
“Then we will attempt to continue our journey through the gorge,” said
he, “for there it is shady. Only promise to tell me when your strength
gives out or when you feel weak.”
“It will not come to that! You can bind me to the saddle and I shall
have a good sleep.”
“No. I shall ride on the same horse with you. Kali and Mea will ride on
the others, and the donkey will carry the tent and the luggage.”
“Good! Good!”
“But as soon as breakfast is over you must take a little nap. Besides,
we can not start before noon, as there are many things to be done. The
horses must be caught, the tent folded, and the baggage repacked. We
shall have to leave some things behind, for we have only two horses
left. It will take a few hours to do all these things, and in the
meantime you will have a good sleep and feel stronger. It is going to be
a very warm day, but under the tree it will be shady.”
“And you—and Mea and Kali? I am so ashamed to be the only one to sleep
while you all have so much anxiety——”
“Never mind; after a while we can sleep. Don’t be worried on my account.
When in Port Said I frequently, during my examinations, passed entire
nights without sleep, but of course my father did not know it. My
friends took no rest either. But what a man can stand is of course out
of the question for a little fly like you. You have no idea how badly
you look to-day—as frail as glass. Your eyes and hair are all that
remain, and there is nothing left of your face.”
Although he said this jokingly, in his heart he was frightened, for in
broad daylight Nell really looked ill, and for the first time it
occurred to him that the poor child, if she continued to look like this,
not only might die, but was sure to die. At this thought his knees
trembled, for he suddenly felt that in case of her death he would have
no reason to live or to return to Port Said.
“For what would there be in life for me?” he continually thought.
He turned away for a minute, so that Nell should not see the look of
sadness and fear in his eyes, and then he went to the baggage, which was
piled up under the tree, took off the cloth which covered the
cartridge-case, opened it, and began to search for something.
It was there, in a little glass phial, that he kept the last quinine
powder and guarded it as the apple of his eye for a “dark hour”; that
is, in case Nell should take the fever. But now it was almost certain
that after such a night the first attack would come on, and so he
decided to take precautions against it. This he did with a heavy heart,
thinking of what might follow—and if he had not felt the impropriety of
a man and leader of a caravan weeping, he would surely have dissolved
into tears on parting with his last powder.
In order to hide his emotion he assumed a stern look, turned to the
girl, and said:
“Nell, I want you to take the rest of the quinine before you eat.”
“And if you get the fever?” she asked.
“Then I will shake myself. Take it, I say.”
She took it without further resistance; for since he had shot the
Sudanese she was a little afraid of him, notwithstanding the attention
and kindness he showed her. Then they all sat down to breakfast; and
after the toils of the night thoroughly enjoyed a plate of good soup.
Nell fell asleep as soon as the meal was finished and slept some hours.
Meanwhile Stasch, Kali, and Mea prepared the caravan for the journey,
brought the top part of the tent from the ravine, saddled the horses,
put the pack on the donkey, and hid under the roots of shrubs everything
they were unable to take with them. They were almost overcome with sleep
while performing these duties, so Stasch arranged that they should take
turns in having a short nap, fearing that otherwise they might go to
sleep during the journey.
It was about two o’clock when they set out again. Stasch held Nell in
front of him on the saddle and Kali rode with Mea on the second horse.
They did not ride straight into the gorge, but kept between its upper
side and the forest. The new jungle had grown considerably during this
last night of rain, but the ground under the new grass was black and
still bore traces of fire. It was easy to surmise that either Smain had
passed that way with his men, or that a fire, caused by lightning, had
swept over the dried jungle, and, having at last struck the wet forest,
had wound itself through the rather narrow course between it and the
ravine. Therefore Stasch tried to see whether traces of Smain’s
encampment or imprints of his horses’ hoofs could be found on this
route, and to his great joy he was convinced that nothing of the kind
was to be seen. Kali, who understood such things, insisted that the fire
must have been driven there by the wind more than ten days ago.
“That proves,” said Stasch, “that Smain is already heaven knows where
with his Mahdists—and that we can not possibly fall into his hands.”
He and Nell now began to look at the vegetation with some curiosity, for
they had never been in a tropical forest before. They rode along close
to the edge, so as to be in the shade. The ground was damp and soft, and
covered with dark green grass, moss, and ferns. Here and there lay old
rotten tree-trunks covered with a carpet of beautiful orchids,[17] with
cups colored like variegated butterflies in the center of their buds.
Wherever the sun shone the earth glittered with other strange tiny
orchids,[18] whose two petals, rising from a third petal, remind one of
the head of a small animal with pointed ears. In many places the forest
consisted of the shrubs of wild jasmine,[19] forming garlands of thin,
pink-colored tendrils. The wet paths and crevices were covered with
ferns, forming an impenetrable thicket. This underbrush was low in some
places, broad in others, and sometimes it grew tall and was encircled by
a kind of safflower, which in that case reached to the lowest branches
of the tree, giving an effect of fine green lace. In the interior of the
woods there were different kinds of trees. Date and bread trees, fan
palms, sycamores, large varieties of groundsel, acacias, trees with
dark, shining, bright blood-red foliage grew close together, stem to
stem, with branches and twigs from which yellow and purple flowers shot
forth like torches. In many places the tree-trunks were completely
hidden, being covered from head to foot with creepers, which swayed from
one branch to the other, forming the capital letters “W” and “M,” and
resembling festoons, curtains, or portières. India-rubber lianas[20]
nearly smothered the trees with their thousands of tendrils, and turned
them into pyramids clothed in white flowers. Small lianas wound
themselves round the larger ones, and the jungle was in some places so
thickly matted that it almost formed a barrier through which neither
human being nor animal could penetrate. Only here and there, in places
where elephants, whose strength nothing can withstand, had forced a
passage, were there gaps in the thicket, which looked like deep, winding
corridors. The song of the birds, which make the European forests so
charming, was absolutely lacking. On the other hand, there came from the
tops of the trees the most peculiar sounds, resembling at times the
sharp scraping of a saw, the hollow beating of pots and pans, the
chattering of storks, the squeaking of an old rusty door, the clapping
of hands, the mewing of cats, and even the loud and animated
conversation of human beings. From time to time a swarm of gray, green,
or white parrots or a multitude of colored pepper-eaters, with their
gliding, wave-like motion, swung themselves in the trees. On the
snow-white background of the india-rubber vines there sometimes crept
like forest spirits little monkeys in mourning, perfectly black, with
the exception of their white tails, white stripes on their sides, and
strange-looking white whiskers encasing their coal-black faces.
The children gazed with admiration and surprise at the forest, which the
eyes of a white man had perhaps never seen before. Saba constantly ran
under the bushes and barked cheerfully. Little Nell felt strengthened by
the quinine, her breakfast, and her sleep. Her little face was fresh and
somewhat rosy, and her eyes had a happier expression. Every minute she
asked Stasch the names of the various trees and birds, and he answered
her as best he could. At last she said that she would like to get off
the horse and pick quantities of flowers.
But the boy smiled and said:
“The ‘siafus’ would eat you up in a minute.”
“What’s that—‘siafus’? Is that something worse than a lion?”
“Worse and still not worse. They are ants that bite fearfully. The
branches are covered with them, and they fall like a shower of fire from
the trees and alight on one’s back. They crawl along the ground, too. If
you should try to get off your horse and go into the woods, you would
soon begin to hop about and scream like a little monkey. One might more
easily protect one’s self from a lion. Sometimes they come in large
swarms, and then everything gives way before them.”
“But you could surely prevent them doing you any harm!”
“I? Why certainly I could.”
“How?”
“With fire or boiling water.”
“You always know how to defend yourself,” she said, thoroughly
convinced.
Stasch felt very much flattered at these words, and so answered in a
cheerful voice:
“If you only keep well you can rely on me for the rest.”
“I have not even a headache now.”
“Thank heaven! Thank heaven!”
During this conversation they were riding on the border of the forest,
which was only divided from the narrow pass by a hedge. The sun was
still high in the heavens, and its scorching rays beat down on them, for
the weather was fine, and there was not a cloud above the horizon. The
horses were sweating profusely, and Nell began to complain of the heat.
And so Stasch, seeing a suitable place, turned into the gorge, the west
side of which was now completely shady. The water still left in the
hollows after the storm of the previous day was now fairly cold. Over
the heads of the little wanderers there continually flew—from one side
of the gorge to the other—pepper-eaters with purple heads, blue
breasts, and yellow wings, and the boy began to tell Nell what he had
read in books about their habits.
“You know,” he said, “there are pepper-eaters which, in the brooding
season, find a cavity in a tree, and the female then carries the eggs
there and sets on them, and the male closes the opening with clay so
that only the head of the female is visible, and not until the young
ones are hatched does he break the wall of clay with his large beak and
give the female her liberty again.”
“And what does she have to eat all this time?”
“The male feeds her. He flies about constantly and brings her various
kinds of berries.”
“And is she allowed to sleep?” asked Nell in a sleepy voice.
Stasch smiled.
“If Mrs. Pepper-eater is as sleepy as you are, then the male permits her
to go to sleep.”
In the coolness of the gorge the girl was suddenly overcome by
drowsiness, for her nap that morning had been too short, and she needed
more sleep. In fact, Stasch really had a great mind to follow her
example, but could not, because he had to hold fast to her for fear she
might fall, and besides he was very uncomfortably seated, riding astride
on the broad, flat saddle which Hatim and Seki Tamala had made in
Fashoda for the little girl. He hardly dared move, and he guided the
horse as slowly as possible so as not to wake her up.
And she leaned back, laid her small head on his shoulder, and fell sound
asleep. But she breathed so quietly and evenly that Stasch did not
regret having given her the last small quinine powder. On hearing her
deep breathing he felt that for the present the danger of fever was
over, and he began to make the following observations:
“The bed of the gorge leads continually up hill, and just at this
particular spot it is rather steep. We have climbed higher and higher,
and the ground is much drier than below. We must now search for a high
and well-sheltered place near a rapid stream, and settle down there,
give the little one a few weeks in which to recover, and perhaps we
shall be obliged to wait until the ‘massika’[21] is over. Few girls
would have borne up under a tenth part of these trials, and she must
take a good rest. After a night such as we have passed through any other
girl would have come right down with the fever, but she—how soundly she
sleeps! Thank God!”
These thoughts encouraged him, but though he spoke cheerfully to himself
while gazing on Nell’s head reposing on his shoulder, he was also
surprised at his emotions.
“It really is strange how fond I am of this little one. I have always
been fond of her, but now I care more and more.”
And as he did not know how to account for this he reflected as follows:
“This is probably due to the fact that we have undergone so many dangers
together, and also because she happens to be in my care.”
While meditating thus he held the child very carefully, with his right
hand in her belt, so that she could not fall out of the saddle. They
rode on slowly and silently, and Kali whispered in Stasch’s ear these
flattering words:
“The Great Man kills Gebhr, kills lion, and buffalo. Yah! Yah! The Great
Man will kill many lions. Plenty of meat! Plenty of meat! Yah! Yah!”
“Kali,” asked Stasch softly, “do the Wa-himas hunt lions, too?”
“Wa-hima afraid of lions, but Wa-hima dig deep trenches, and if a lion
falls into them during the night, why then Wa-hima laughs.”
“What would you do then?”
“Wa-hima throw many spears until the lion like a porcupine, then drag
him out of the trench and eat him. Lion good.” And, as was his custom,
he stroked his stomach.
This way of killing lions did not appeal strongly to Stasch, so he began
to question Kali as to what other kind of game was to be found in the
land of the Wa-hima; and so they talked more about antelopes, ostriches,
giraffes, and rhinoceroses until they heard the splashing of a
waterfall.
“What’s that?” cried Stasch. “In front of us is a stream and a
waterfall, too!”
Kali nodded his head as a sign that it was really so.
For a time they rode on, quickening their pace and listening intently to
the rushing of the water, which was heard more distinctly every minute.
“A waterfall!” repeated Stasch, who was much interested. But they had
scarcely passed through one or two bends in the gorge when they suddenly
perceived an insurmountable obstacle lying across their path.
Nell, who had been lulled to sleep by the regular motion of the horse,
awoke at once.
“Are we stopping to put up here for the night?” she asked.
“No; but look!” answered Stasch. “See, a rock is lying across the
gorge!”
“What can we do?”
“It is impossible to creep alongside of the rock, for it is very narrow
just here, and so we must turn back a little way and try to climb to the
top and go around it; but as there are still two hours before night-fall
we have plenty of time, and this will give the horses a chance to get
their wind. Do you hear the waterfall?”
“I hear it.”
“That’s where we’ll halt for the night.”
He then turned to Kali and ordered him to climb up the side of the
narrow pass to see whether the bottom of the gorge was blocked with more
obstacles. As for Stasch, he began to inspect the rock very carefully,
and after a while he exclaimed:
“It must have broken off and fallen down here very recently. Do you see
where it has broken off, Nell? See how fresh the break is. There is not
even moss or in fact any other kind of plant to be seen on it. I
understand now—I understand!”
And with his hand he pointed to a baobab-tree growing on the side of the
ravine, its enormous roots hanging down over the side of the cliff where
the rock had broken off.
“This root has forced its way through a crevice between the wall and the
rock and has grown so long and so thick that it has split the rock off.
That seems strange, for stone is harder than wood, but I do know that
such things happen in the mountains. A rock like this, which has
scarcely any hold, breaks off at the least jar.”
“But what could have jarred it so?”
“That’s difficult to say. Perhaps a previous storm, perhaps yesterday’s
rain.”
Saba had remained behind the caravan, but now he came running up, as if
some one were pulling him back by the tail, sniffed, squeezed himself
through the small passage between the hedge and the fallen rock, and
then immediately began to back out, his hair standing on end.
Stasch dismounted to see what had frightened the dog.
“Stasch, don’t go,” begged Nell; “perhaps there is a lion there.”
But the boy, who loved to boast of his wonderful deeds, and who since
the events of the day before had been greatly enraged against lions,
answered:
“That’s great! A lion—by day!”
But before he had time to approach the passage Kali’s voice was heard
from above the gorge.
“Bwana Kubwa! Bwana Kubwa!”
“What’s the matter?” cried Stasch.
In a moment the negro slid down the stalk of a creeper. It could easily
be seen from his face that he was the bearer of some great news.
“An elephant!” he exclaimed.
“An elephant?”
“Yes,” answered the young negro, gesticulating with his hands; “over
there rushing water and here cliffs. Elephant can not get out. The Great
Man kill elephant and Kali eat him—oh, eat! eat!”
This thought made him so happy that he began to jump around, to smack
his lips and slap his knees and to laugh like an idiot, at the same time
rolling his eyes and showing his white teeth.
Stasch did not understand at first why Kali said that the elephant could
not escape from the gorge, so to make sure of what had happened he
mounted his horse, and giving Nell into Mea’s care, so that he could
have both hands free in case it were necessary to shoot, he ordered Kali
to mount behind him; then they all turned back and began to look for a
place where they could climb up. On the way, Stasch asked how the
elephant could have got in there, and from Kali’s answer he surmised
what had really happened.
Apparently the elephant had sought refuge from the flames during the
forest fire, and on his way knocked against the rock, which, being
insecure, had fallen down and cut off all means of his return. On
running further he had come to the end of the narrow pass and found
himself on the edge of the abyss, through which the stream flowed, and
was thus hemmed in.
After a short time they discovered a way out of the gorge, but as it was
rather steep, it was necessary to dismount and lead the horses. As the
negro assured them that the stream was not far off, they continued to
walk on until they reached the top. At last they came to a high strip of
land, which was bordered on the one side by the stream and on the other
by the ravine, and then looking down into the depth, they saw the
elephant on the flat ground.
The huge animal lay on its stomach, and Stasch was very much astonished
that he did not jump up when he caught sight of them, for, as Saba made
a dash for the edge of the narrow pass and began to bark, the beast only
moved his enormous ears once, and raising his trunk, immediately let it
fall again.
The children held each other’s hands tight, and looked at him a long
while in silence, until Kali said:
“He hunger, die.”
In fact, the elephant had become so thin that the whole length of his
backbone stood out like a comb; his sides were hollow, and beneath his
hide, notwithstanding its thickness, his ribs could be plainly seen, and
it was easy to conjecture that the reason he did not get up was because
his strength was exhausted.
The gorge, fairly broad at the entrance, changed into a small pocket,
closed in on both sides by perpendicular cliffs, at the bottom of which
grew a few trees. These trees had been broken off, their bark was torn
off and not a leaf remained. Nearly all the vines that had overhung the
cliffs had been eaten and the grass throughout the entire pocket had
been uprooted and eaten, even to the very last blade.
After Stasch had taken in the whole situation he began to narrate to
Nell what he had seen, but as he thought that the huge animal was doomed
to die, he spoke very softly, as if afraid of darkening the last hours
of his life.
“Yes, he is really dying of hunger. Probably he has been a prisoner here
for the last two weeks, since the time when the forest fire burned up
the old jungle. He has eaten up everything that was eatable, and now he
is being slowly tormented to death, for he can see bread-fruit trees and
acacias growing above him, but is unable to reach them.”
And once more they looked down in silence for a while at the elephant,
who every now and then turned his small, dying eyes toward them, and
each time a sound like a sob escaped from his throat.
“Really,” the boy said, “it would be a mercy to put an end to his
suffering.”
At these words he raised the rifle to his shoulder, but Nell caught him
by the coat, and standing right in front of him, used all her force to
drag him away from the edge of the ravine.
“Stasch, don’t do it! Give him something to eat! He is so thin! I will
not let you shoot him! I will not, I will not!”
And stamping still more emphatically with her foot, she continued to
pull him away. He looked at her in surprise, but on seeing tears in her
eyes, said:
“But, Nell——”
“I will not allow it. I will not let him be killed! If you kill him, I
shall get the fever!”
This threat sufficed to make Stasch abandon his murderous intentions in
regard to this elephant and others as well. In fact, he remained silent
for a while, as he did not know what to answer the child; then he said:
“Well, all right! All right! I tell you, it is all right! Nell! let me
go!”
And Nell at once embraced him and a smile shone out of her tear-stained
little eyes. Her only care now was to give the elephant some food as
soon as possible. Kali and Mea were very much surprised on hearing that
“Bwana Kubwa” was not only not going to shoot the elephant, but that
they must straightway pick the fruit of the bread-tree, the pods of the
acacia, and various herbs, leaves and grass, as much as they could
collect. Gebhr’s double-bladed Sudanese sword greatly aided Kali in
accomplishing this task, for without it the work would have been by no
means easy. But Nell did not want to wait until they had finished, and
as soon as the first fruit fell from the breadfruit tree she grasped it
with both hands, carried it to the gorge, and repeated quickly to
herself, as if afraid that any one else should get there first:
“I! I! I!”
But Stasch had no thought of depriving her of this pleasure; on the
contrary, he took hold of her belt, for fear that in her great
excitement she might fall over the edge of the cliff together with her
bread-fruit, and cried:
“Throw it down!”
The enormous fruit rolled over the steep precipice and fell at the feet
of the elephant, who immediately put out his trunk, picked it up and
crunched it as if eager to swallow it at once, and it disappeared
instantly.
“He has eaten it up!” cried Nell, overjoyed.
“I should say so!” answered Stasch, laughingly.
The elephant now put out his trunk toward them, as if asking for more,
and then could be heard his “Hrrumff!”
“He wants more yet!”
“I should think he did!” replied Stasch.
A second fruit now disappeared like the first, followed by a third,
fourth—tenth; then in rapid succession he ate acacia-pods, big bundles
of grass, and various kinds of leaves. Nell, would not permit any one to
replace her, and when at last her little hands became tired, she still
pushed more food down to him with her feet. The elephant continued
eating, and it was only now and then, between mouthfuls, that he raised
his trunk and gave forth a thundering “Hrrumff,” to denote that he
wanted more, and, as Nell felt certain, to show his gratitude.
At last Kali and Mea got tired of this work, which they had performed
very faithfully, and they silently hoped that “Bwana Kubwa” would fatten
the elephant and kill him later. At last “Bwana Kubwa” told them to
stop, for the sun had now sunk quite low and it was time to begin the
construction of the hedge. Luckily it was not very difficult, for two
sides of the three-cornered strips of land were inaccessible, so that
only the third one needed to be fenced in, and plenty of acacias with
their terrible thorns grew nearby.
Nell did not move an inch from the gorge, and crouching on its edge,
with her legs tightly crossed, she informed Stasch, who was some
distance away, what the elephant was doing—and her thin little voice
continually rang out:
“He is feeling around with his trunk!” or “He is moving his ears. He has
enormous ears!”
Then at last: “Stasch! Stasch! He is getting up! Oh!”
Stasch approached quickly and took Nell by the hand. In truth, the
elephant had really gotten up, and only now could the children see his
enormous size. They had occasionally seen large elephants being taken in
ships through the Suez Canal on their way from India to Europe, but not
one of them could compare with this colossus in size, for he really
looked like a large slate-colored, four-footed rock. He differed from
those they had seen in having enormous tusks five feet or more long,
and, as Nell had already said, fabulously large ears. His front legs
were very long, but comparatively thin, which was probably due to his
having fasted so many days.
“Oh, what a Liliputian!” cried Stasch; “if he were to take a good
stretch and throw out his trunk to its full length he could catch hold
of your little foot.”
But the giant neither thought of stretching himself nor of catching any
one by the foot. With uncertain steps he advanced toward the entrance to
the gorge and looked for a while down into the ravine, at the bottom of
which the waters whirled; then he turned toward the side nearest the
waterfall, sat down on his stomach, put out his trunk into the water,
dipped it down deep, and began to drink.
“It was lucky for him,” said Stasch, “that he could reach down into the
water with his trunk. Otherwise he would have died.”
The elephant drank so long that the girl became alarmed.
“Stasch, will he not harm himself?” said she.
“I don’t know,” he answered smilingly; “but as you have taken him under
your special care you should warn him now.”
And so Nell bent over the side and called:
“Enough, dear elephant, enough!”
And the “dear elephant,” as if he understood what was meant, immediately
stopped drinking, and at once began to spray himself with the water,
first his legs, then his back, and lastly his two sides.
In the meanwhile it began to get dark, and so Stasch guided the little
girl back to the hedge, where supper was already awaiting them.
Both children were in the best of humor—Nell, because she had saved the
elephant’s life, and Stasch, because he saw her small eyes gleaming like
stars and her happy little face looking fresher and healthier than it
had since their departure from Khartum. What also added to the
satisfaction of the boy was that he had promised himself a quiet and
good night’s rest. The strip of land, inaccessible on two sides, ensured
them from attack from those directions, and on the third side Kali and
Mea had erected such a high hedge out of prickly acacias and branches of
passiflora[22] that there was no possibility of any beast of prey being
able to break through the barrier. Besides the weather was fine, and
soon after sunset the sky was studded with stars. It was very pleasant
to be cooled off by being in the proximity of the waterfall, and to
breathe the heavy fragrance of the jungle and the freshly broken off
branches.
“The ‘fly’ will not get the fever here!” thought Stasch joyfully.
They began to talk about the elephant, for Nell could speak of nothing
else, and she continually expressed her admiration for his huge size,
his trunk, and his tusks, which really were enormous. At last she said:
“How wise he is, Stasch, isn’t he?”
“As wise as Solomon,” replied Stasch. “But how did you find that out?”
“Because, when I asked him to stop drinking, he immediately complied
with my request.”
“If he had never taken lessons in the English language before, and
understands what you said to him, then indeed it is quite remarkable.”
Nell perceived that Stasch was making fun of her, so she fondled him
like a little kitten, and said:
“Say what you like, but I’m certain that he is very wise, and that he
can be readily tamed at once.”
“Whether readily and at once I’m not sure, but he can be tamed. The
African elephant is wilder than the Asiatic, but I believe that
Hannibal, for instance, used African beasts.”
“Who was Hannibal?”
Stasch looked indulgently and pityingly at her.
“Of course,” he said, “at your age you are not expected to
know—Hannibal was a great leader of the Carthaginian army, which used
elephants in the war with the Romans, and as Carthage was in Africa, he
was obliged to use African elephants.”
The conversation was interrupted by a tremendous trumpeting of the
elephant, which, after having satisfied his hunger and thirst,
began—either from joy or longing to be free—to signal with his trunk.
Saba sat up and began to bark, and Stasch said:
“See what you have done? Now he is calling his friends. A nice story if
a whole herd were to approach.”
“He will tell the others that we were good to him,” answered Nell
hastily.
But Stasch, who really was not at all worried (because he reckoned that,
even if several were to come along, the light of the fire would frighten
them away), laughed defiantly and said:
“Well, well! But if elephants should appear, you will not cry for fear;
oh, no!—your eyes would only perspire as they have done twice before!”
And he began to imitate her:
“I’m not crying, only my eyes perspire so!”
When Nell saw that he was joking she concluded that they were in no
danger.
“If we tame him,” she said, “then my eyes will not perspire any more,
even if ten lions should roar.”
“Why?”
“Because he will protect us.”
Stasch quieted Saba, who had continued to bark in answer to the
elephant’s trumpeting, then thought a while and continued:
“But, Nell, there is one thing that you did not think of. We shall not
stay here forever; we must ride on further. I do not say immediately—on
the contrary. This place is very convenient and healthy, so I have
decided to remain here one week—perhaps two—for you and I and in fact
all of us need a good rest. Well, all right! As long as we stay here we
will feed the elephant, although this is an enormous task for us all. He
is imprisoned, and we can not take him with us. But how will this end?
We shall go away and he will stay here and starve once more, until he
succumbs. And of course we will grieve even more than we would now.”
Nell felt very sad, and for a time sat there silently, apparently not
knowing what answer to make to these very sensible remarks, but soon she
raised her head, and pushing aside the lock of hair which always fell
over her forehead into her eyes, she turned her eyes confidently toward
the boy.
“I know,” she said, “that you could get him out of the gorge if you only
wanted to.”
“Yes?”
But she put out a finger, touched Stasch’s hand, and repeated:
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
The small and clever little lady knew quite well that the boy would be
flattered by her confidence in him and that from now on he would
earnestly consider how to release the elephant.
-----
Footnote 17:
Auselia Africana.
Footnote 18:
Lissohibso.
Footnote 19:
Jasminum trifoliatum.
Footnote 20:
Landolphia florida.
Footnote 21:
The spring rainy season.
Footnote 22:
Odenia globosa.