AN EXPLOEATION IN" THE FAR EAST. 433 



:amazing sight of an elephant ridden by a white man, 

 {[y over the fence with a shriek, and plunge into the 

 thick copse-wood of the little clearing, was the work of 

 a moment. But I could not do without a guide to 

 regain the road, and pushed in the elephant after them. 

 It was just for all the world like beating hog-deer out of 

 thick bush-cover, the naked black savages lying close in 

 the thickets till the elephant put her foot almost on the 

 top of them, when they bolted out and ran crouching 

 across to another patch. I thought we would never 

 catch one, until the man behind me slipped down the 

 elephant's tail and ran round, intercepting a lad in the 

 act of leaving the last of the underwood for the open 

 forest. When laid hold of he struggled a little, but 

 soon resigned himself, trembling in every limb, to his 

 fate. It was many minutes before we could get him to 

 speak at all, a blank shake of the head meeting every 

 question before he could have heard it. At last, after 

 much reassuring and comforting, with presents of 

 tobacco and the almighty rupee, and the withdrawal of 

 the elephant to a distance, he found a tongue, and that 

 in good broad Hindu, but only to declare that he knew 

 nothing of the road ; and, indeed, as we were making 

 for nothing more definite than a water-hole in the forest 

 rejoicing in the name of Boogloogee, I dare say the 

 poor youth spoke the truth. We insisted on his trying, 

 however, and at last he started, taking the way back to 

 the huts, and peering about among the bushes as if he 

 had lost something. Presently he put his hand to his 

 mouth and gave a succession of piercing yells, the last 

 of which was answered from the copse-wood, and in a 

 while a very old wrinkled little man crept out, holding 

 his hands across his shrivelled stomach to deprecate the 

 wrath of the riders on the elephantine gods of the forest. 



