TIGERLAND 



crash which followed would most certainly have hurled 

 him off the platform and left him at the mercy of the 

 furious beast below. As it was, he had the greatest 

 difficulty in maintaining his position, for, not satisfied with 

 the one attempt, the elephant returned again and again 

 to the charge, the tree bending to each blow, having, as 

 already mentioned, a somewhat slender trunk and being a 

 comparatively young and elastic tree. Had it not been so 

 it must assuredly have snapped under the heavy blows so 

 frequently repeated. 



In the meanwhile the young officer's position was indeed 

 a most perilous one, and his feelings may be better imagined 

 than described. He could not tell how long the elephant 

 would persist in his attacks nor how much longer the tree 

 would withstand them. Casting a hurried look down he 

 found that another misfortune had befallen him his rifle 

 had slipped from its place on the platform and had stuck 

 in some branches a little lower down, where he could not 

 reach it without relinquishing his hold of the bough. This 

 he dared not do, as the elephant, when not actually butting 

 at the tree, watched him intently, the slightest movement 

 on his part being immediately followed by an impetuous 

 charge. 



This extraordinary one-sided duel had been going on 

 for about ten minutes when the elephant, apparently tired 

 of his futile attempts to dislodge the sportsman, or to gain 

 time to concoct a fresh plan of attack, began to march 



slowly off. Seizing this opportunity, P let go his 



hold and, leaning over the platform, seized his rifle, but 

 the very slight noise he made in recovering it was sufficient 

 for the wily brute below, who turned in a second and 



charged more furiously than ever. Luckily, P had 



regained his position before the shock came, and was able, 

 though with difficulty, as he was now hampered by the 

 gun, to hold on. 



The elephant charged once more and then suddenly 

 changed its tactics. Putting up its trunk in search of 

 something to lay hold of, it saw the end of the thin rope 

 with which the platform had been secured to the branch. 

 This had slipped off in the struggle and was now dangling 

 down. The great brute promptly seized hold of it with 

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