CHAPTER LXXII. 



AN INTERLOPER. 



"HEN Mr. Godkin pronounced the bull elephant only two feet less in height 

 than Jumbo you may be sure that the animal was a remarkable one. 

 The first thought of the excellent gentleman was that of the value of such 

 a prize to me. 



The suspicion that the herd were on their way to water was confirmed, for it 

 reached a pool before going a quarter of a mile. 



It was just such a place as delights those animals, being about an acre in extent, 

 fed by a little stream, and with a similar outlet. The pond was shallow at the 

 sides, but quite deep in the middle. 



The bulky beasts waded slowly in, brandishing their trunks over their heads 

 and trumpeting with pleasure, for the contact of the comparatively cool water must 

 have been delightful. Indeed, Dick envied them, and felt as though, had he known 

 of the pool so near, he would have been tempted to take a plunge himself. 



He had noticed on his way thither that a couple of the beasts followed a well- 

 marked path, the rest crashing through the jungle on both sides of it. This showed 

 that other animals were in the habit of visiting the place, as the hunters would have 

 known had they come upon the trail anywhere in the jungle. 



The bull, who took the post of honor at the head of his family, walked slowly 

 out into the pond, his enormous body gradually sinking lower, like the submerging 

 of some wreck, until he was half covered. Then he paused and swung his head 

 around to see how the rest were making out. 



Mr. Godkin and Dick had taken positions where they could watch everything 

 without exposing themselves to detection. 



The six members of his family were not holding back, but pushed into the water 

 with more eagerness than the old bull had shown. As if he desired to impress 

 more becoming dignity upon them, he filled his trunk with water, and, aiming at 

 the front of the nearest elephant, let fly. 



The aim was accurate, and the brute was in the condition of an innocent spec- 

 tator at a fire, who has the hose suddenly turned in his face. The water struck his 

 massive forehead with a splash and force that sent the spray flying in every direction. 



But he liked it and had his own remedy. Drawing in several gallons of the 

 fluid, he dispatched it in the direction of their lord and master, hitting him squarely 

 in the eyes and compelling him to scatter his own supply of moisture impartially 

 over the pool. The fun became fast and furious. Dick and Mr. Godkin, in their 

 hiding-place, laughed like a couple of school-boys at the sight of what suggested to 

 them the antics of the same number of American lads just let out for play. 



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