me" in the woods, but
nevertheless he did.

It so happened that Jack Norton and Billy Wiggins, a couple of boys not
more than fourteen years of age, were engaged on a little hunt that
same afternoon. The teachers had sent such bad reports home about them
that their parents inflicted the most awful kind of punishment; they
did not permit them to attend the circus, to which they had been
looking forward for weeks. The father of Billy was specially stern,
and forbade his hopeful to take his gun, when he joined Jack on a
little hunting ramble in the woods. Mr. Norton felt some slight
compunctions, when he noted how patiently his boy accepted his fate,
and relented to that degree that he permitted him to take his rifle,
though he knew there was little chance of his securing any game.

The boys had walked about a mile, and, coming to a fallen tree, sat
down to rest awhile, for the day was warm and the gun which they had
taken turns in carrying, was heavy.

"I guess this hunt ain't agoin' to amount to much," sighed Jack, as he
leaned the rifle against the prostrate trunk, on which they were seated.

"Why not?" asked Billy.

"'Cause there ain't nothin' to hunt; I heerd Budge Jones say that when
he was a boy, these woods used to be full of bears and deers and tigers
and lions and giraffes and that sort of thing."

"Yes, and the folks were so mean they killed 'em all, but I've the
idea, Jack, that maybe some of the lions or tigers has hid somewhere in
the woods and we might find 'em."

"Golly! I don't know whether I'd want to find 'em or not," replied
Jack, looking about him, with a scared expression.

"Why not? Hain't you got a gun?"

"Yes, but while I was killin' one the others might chaw me all to
pieces; but if there was only one, I wouldn't care, if he was an
elephant as big as a barn----"

"My gracious! there he comes!"

A terrific crashing of the undergrowth caused both lads to glance
affrightedly behind them, and there, sure enough, was Vladdok, the
fearful elephant, almost upon them. They started to run, their courses
so diverging that the beast was forced to select one and let the other
alone for the moment. He fixed upon Billy Wiggins, who had taken
barely twenty steps, when the trunk of the beast inclosed his waist and
he was lifted, as if he was a feather from the ground, and the next
instant he felt himself whizzing through space.

A marvelous providence saved him. Instead of dashing him again