The glass was no sooner
raised to my eye than I started at the unexpected apparition.
There was
no mistaking him; he had appeared as
though by magic--an elephant of the most extraordinary size that I have
ever seen. He was not still for an instant, but was stalking quickly up
and down the edge of the lake as though in great agitation. This
restlessness is one of the chief characteristics of a bad rogue. I
watched him for a few minutes, until he at length took to the water, and
after blowing several streams over his shoulders, he advanced to the
middle of the tank, where he commenced feeding upon the lotus leaves and
sedges.
It was a calm afternoon, and not a breath of air was stirring; and
fearing lest the noise of the coolies, who were arranging the
encampment, should disturb him, I hastened back. I soon restored quiet,
and ordering the horses to be led into the jungle lest he should
discover them, I made the people conceal themselves; and taking my two
Moormen gun-bearers, who were trusty fellows that I had frequently shot
with, I crept cautiously back to my former position, and took my station
behind the large tree farthest from the point which commanded the
favourite rubbing-post and within fifty yards of it. From this place I
attentively watched his movements. He was wandering about in the water,
alternately feeding and bathing, and there was a peculiar devilry in his
movements that marked him as a rogue of the first class.
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