gh
and dry.

CHAPTER IX

THE EARTHQUAKE ELEPHANT

At the end of a minute's examination I began to suspect that King was
not quite dead, so I recalled the old life-saver's drill and got to work
on him. It took time. As King came more and more to his senses, and
vomited a bit, and began to behave in all ways like a living man again,
I had a chance to talk to the mahouts; and they were just like the
members of any other union, preferring conversation to alleged hard
labor any day of the week. They told me why the elephants were being
washed so early and we enjoyed a regular _conversazione_ on the beach.

It appeared the elephants were wanted to take part in a procession, and
for a while they let me guess what sort of a procession. But at last
they took compassion on my ignorance.

"_She_ has issued invitations to a party for princesses in _her panch
mahal_!"

Who was _she_? Everybody knew who _she_ was!

"The Princess Yasmini?" I suggested.

Whereat they all chuckled and made grimaces, and did everything except
acknowledge her name in public.

And then suddenly Athelstan King decided to sit up and spat some more
water out and tried to laugh. And they thought that was so exquisitely
funny that they all laughed too.

Then, when he had coughed a little more--

"We're going to attend that party!"

"Why?" I asked him.

"Two reasons." But he had to cough up more water before he could tell
them. "One: The Gray Mahatma will never rest until he knows we're dead,
or done for, and the safest place is close to the enemy; and, two: I
never will rest until I know the secret of that science of theirs!"

"How in thunder are we going to get back?" I objected.

"Ride!" he suggested.

"How--when--where?"

"Elephant--now--to her palace," he answered.

"They're not her elephants."

"So much the better! She'll think the Maharajah knows all about us.
She'll _have_ to accord us protection after that."

He asked a dozen more questions, and finally struggled to his feet.

"My friend," he said then to the chief mahout, "if you propose to take
us two _sahibs_ to _her_ palace, and be back at your master's stables in
time to get ready for the _Bibi-kana_, you'll have to hurry!"

"But I did not propose it!" the mahout answered.

"Nay, the gods proposed it. Which is your fastest elephant?"

"That great one yonder--Akbar. But who is giving orders? We are a
maharajah's servants."

"The gods are ordering all this bu