Or so tusks on him,
singularly straight, and another had one big curved tusk and one
broken one.
Some of them lay right down like pigs in the deeper
part of the swamp, some drew up trunkfuls of water and syringed
themselves and each other, and every one of them indulged in a good
rub against a tree. Presently when they had had enough of it they
all strolled off up wind, through the bush in Indian file, now and
then breaking off a branch, but leaving singularly little dead water
for their tonnage and breadth of beam. When they had gone I rose
up, turned round to find the men, and trod on Kiva's back then and
there, full and fair, and fell sideways down the steep hillside
until I fetched up among some roots.
It seems Kiva had come on, after his meal, before the others, and
seeing the elephants, and being a born hunter, had crawled like me
down to look at them. He had not expected to find me there, he
said. I do not believe he gave a thought of any sort to me in the
presence of these fascinating creatures, and so he got himself
trodden on. I suggested to him we should pile the baggage, and go
and have an elephant hunt. He shook his head reluctantly, saying
"Kor, kor," like a depressed rook, and explained we were not strong
enough; there were only three Fans - the Ajumba, and Ngouta did not
count - and moreover that we had not brought sufficient ammunition
owing to the baggage having to be carried, and the ammunition that
we had must be saved for other game than elephant, for we might meet
war before we met the Rembwe River.
We had by now joined the rest of the party, and were all soon
squattering about on our own account in the elephant bath. It was
shocking bad going - like a ploughed field exaggerated by a terrific
nightmare. It pretty nearly pulled all the legs off me, and to this
hour I cannot tell you if it is best to put your foot into a
footmark - a young pond, I mean - about the size of the bottom of a
Madeira work arm-chair, or whether you should poise yourself on the
rim of the same, and stride forward to its other bank boldly and
hopefully. The footmarks and the places where the elephants had
been rolling were by now filled with water, and the mud underneath
was in places hard and slippery. In spite of my determination to
preserve an awesome and unmoved calm while among these dangerous
savages, I had to give way and laugh explosively; to see the portly,
powerful Pagan suddenly convert himself into a quadruped, while Gray
Shirt poised himself on one heel and waved his other leg in the air
to advertise to the assembled nations that he was about to sit down,
was irresistible.
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