him off with one
on the nose."

"No; I think--yes, it is the mahout who rode into camp at the review."

"What! him, sir? That's Rajah's own mahout--I mean, Rajah's his
helephant. That's why he stopped. _Phee--ew_!" whistled the lad.
"Why, he's a friend of mine. I say, sir, we are not so bad off as I
thought."

"You've met him before, then, Pete?"

"Course I did, sir--day of the sham-fight. But I didn't know he was up
yonder. He must have been there all the time, though he didn't show up.
That little, squatty chap used to do all the work of taking the
helephants to water, while he stopped back, too big to do any of that
dirty work, and ready to ride when he was wanted."

It seemed plain enough now that when the big elephant was missing, his
mahout had come in search of the huge brute himself, and directly after
the small elephant he was now riding bore him close up, butting its head
against Rajah's hind-quarters and uttering a squealing, muttering sound,
while, without turning his head, Rajah seemed to answer, and went on
breaking off succulent boughs of leafage, to go on munching as if quite
content.

But, heard directly above the gruntings and mutterings of the two
elephants, the fierce-looking little mahout raised himself as high as he
could in his seat and burst into a furious tirade in his own tongue, not
a word of which could be grasped by his hearers, but its general tenor
seemed to be a series of angry questions as to how dare these two
English infidels take away his elephant, and bidding them get down
directly.

"Can you understand all that, Mister Archie?" said Peter as the man
paused to take breath.

"No," was the reply. "Can you?"

"No, sir; but it's all plain enough. Now, will you drop upon him?"

"I think you had better."

"So do I," said Peter, changing his position so that he could stand up
on Rajah's neck, steadying himself by one of the pendent boughs, and
resting the butt of one of the spears upon the animal's neck.

He had just finished this when the mahout, who had evidently prepared
himself for his journey by donning his turban and his showy yellow baju
and sarong, recommenced his torrent of abuse.

"Yah!" roared Peter as loudly as he could. "Hold your row, you ugly,
snub-nosed, thick-lipped, little cock-bantam of a man!"

The mahout stopped short and sat staring in wonder, with his mouth wide
open and the corners of his lips ruddy with the juice of the betel-nut
he had b