its own
sap, crushed out by his ponderous weight. And yet he might have been
seen all around for nearly a quarter of a mile's distance. There was no
timber within that distance that could have given concealment to an
animal so bulky as an elephant?

So thought Karl and Caspar; but Ossaroo was of a different opinion. The
bit of jungle through which they had passed would suffice to screen the
rogue, said he: adding at the same time a piece of intelligence derived
from his shikaree experience: that an elephant, large as it is, can hide
in a slight cover with wonderful cunning; that its sagacity enables it
to select the best place for concealment; and that, although it neither
crouches nor squats, it contrives, by keeping perfectly still--added to
the circumstance of its being a shapeless sort of mass--ofttimes to
elude the eye of the most vigilant hunter. Though Karl and Caspar could
scarcely credit him, Ossaroo expressed his belief, not only that the
elephant might be hid in the scant jungle they were talking about, but
that it actually _was_ there.

Unfortunately for them, Ossaroo's argument was too soon to be supported
by facts which left no doubt of its accuracy. As they stood scanning
the jungle with keen glances, and with ears acutely bent to catch every
sound that might issue from it, a movement was perceptible among the
tops of some tall saplings that grew near its centre. In the next
moment a brace of the beautiful argus pheasants rose on whirring wing,
at the same time giving forth their loud note of alarm.

The birds, forsaking the jungle, in their flight passed over the heads
of our adventurers, and by their cries caused such a clangour as to set
Fritz off into a prolonged fit of baying.

Whether it was that the enemy had been only lying in ambush, waiting for
a good opportunity to charge, or whether the voice of the dog--already
known and hated--had been just then heard by the elephant, stirring him
to a fresh thirst for vengeance, certain it is, that before a sentence
could be exchanged among the terrified trio, the long conical trunk and
broad massive shoulders were visible through the scanty jungle; and it
was plain to all that the monster was making towards them with that
deceptive shamble which, though only a walk, carries the huge quadruped
over the ground almost with the speed of a galloping horse.

For a moment our adventurers stood their ground--not, however, with any
idea of awaiting the