him again. Then he
patted the huge beast affectionately and pointed to the empty stall in the
_peelkhana_; and Badshah, seeming to understand and appreciate his being
left unfettered, touched his white friend caressingly with his trunk and
walked obediently to his brick standing in the stable. The watching
_mahouts_ and coolies nodded and whispered to each other at this, but
Ramnath appeared to regard the relations between his elephant and the sahib
as perfectly natural.

Dermot shouldered his rifle and started off on the long and weary climb to
Ranga Duar. When he reached the parade ground he found the men of the
detachment falling out after their morning drill. His subaltern, Parker,
who was talking to the Indian officers of the Double Company, saw him and
came to meet him.

"Hullo, Major; I'm glad to see you back again," he said, saluting. "I
hardly expected to, after the extraordinary stories I've heard from the
_mahouts_."

"Really? What were they?" asked his senior officer, leading the way to his
bungalow.

"Well, the simplest was that Badshah had gone mad and bolted with you into
the jungle," replied the subaltern. "Another tale was that he knelt down
and worshipped you, and then asked you to go off with him on some
mysterious mission."

Dermot had resolved to say as little as possible about his experiences.
Europeans would not credit his story, and he had no desire to be regarded
as a phenomenal liar. Natives would believe it, for nothing is too
marvellous for them; but he had no wish that any one should know of the
existence of the Death Place, lest ivory-hunters should seek to penetrate
to it.

"Nonsense. Badshah wasn't mad," he replied. "It was just as I guessed when
you first told me of these fits of his--merely the jungle calling him."

"Yes, sir. But the weirdest tale of all was that you were seen leading an
army of elephants, just like a Hindu god, to invade Bhutan."

"Where did you hear that?" asked Dermot in surprise.

"Oh, the yarn came from the _mahouts_, who heard it from some of the forest
guards, who said they'd been told it by Bhuttias from the hills. You know
how natives spread stories. Wasn't it a silly tale?" And Parker laughed at
the thought of it.

"Yes, rather absurd," agreed the Major, forcing a smile. "Yes, natives are
really--Hello! who's done this?"

They had reached the garden of his bungalow. The little wooden gate-posts
at the entrance were smeared with red paint and hu