he snake, suddenly moved. He looked at
me and bounded off with a piercing, chattering yell towards the
nearest tree. The spirit of terror that had held him hypnotized
so long was broken at last, for he had seen someone who could
kill the snake.

The moment the monkey bounded off, the snake stung the elephant's
toe nails, those horny plates around his feet. This is a vital
spot, as the arteries come very near the surface. Knowing this,
Kari raised his foot. Evidently he was not hurt, but I was not
sure how long he could stand on three legs. I was also afraid
that he would fall and bring his trunk near the snake, and any
snake can poison an elephant by stinging the end of his trunk. I
hit the snake on the head with my stick, but instead of striking
his head, the stick slipped down that ebony column which was
still standing erect. Fortunately, in order to avert the next
blow, the snake fell on his side. That very instant the up-raised
foot of the elephant was on his head.

[Illustration: THAT VERY INSTANT THE UP-RAISED FOOT OF THE
ELEPHANT WAS ON HIS HEAD]

Kari walked away and pawed the sand with his feet to cleanse
them. I thought of calling to Kopee who had taken refuge on a
tree-top, but I was so anxious to know whether the elephant's
foot was hurt or not, that I followed him about until he let me
look at it. I was relieved to see that the skin of his foot had
not been broken.

Then I called to the monkey to come down from the tree. He shook
his head. I knew he was so ashamed of being afraid that he
preferred to be alone in the privacy of the tree in order to
gather his forces together.

The sun was beginning to sink. The jungle was not very far off
and I was certain that the breeze blowing across the river had
taken the scent of human beings into the depths of the forest.

The twilight came swiftly. The bars of gold and light vibrated
over the tawny waters, and darkness fell like a black sword,
cutting the day from the night. The voices of the birds from the
tree-tops, here and there died down, and as if to enhance the
silence, insect voices came from under the grass. I got on my
elephant's back and sat there quietly, for as the evening Silence
goes by, each man must make his prayer. As the Silence walked on,
I could see the grass waving in zig-zag curves across the river.
It was always making half the figure eight in the undergrowth of
the jungle.

Gradually all grew still and then over the river came the