8> 



The Arrival of the Herd 5 



make any other sound more distinct. Thus 

 it was that a movement became audible in 

 the distance, at first so slight as to be indis- 

 tinguishable ; it was as if foliage was being 

 quietly brushed aside, as if the dew-laden grass 

 was being crushed by a gentle yet irresistible 

 force. Standing on the summit of the hill, one 

 looked down on a pass between the mountains, 



a curved 

 saddle that 

 invited to 

 an easier 



passage 

 from valley 

 to valley. 



Over this low pass the waves 

 of mist eddied to and fro, 

 just as if each valley in turn 

 filled with cloud and over- 

 flowed into the next. 



From the depths below a 

 herd of elephants were ascend- 

 ing the pass in single file and 

 in silence. The leader, an 



