35 8 A Sportswoman in India 



Meanwhile Captain Z., who had been hard at work 

 all day, enlarged upon the proceedings up to the 

 present moment. To begin with, a herd of wild 

 elephants had been found and located, and might be 

 said to be, with probable truth, within four miles of 

 the tea party. About four hundred natives had been 

 collected, and under the superintendence of Captain Z. 

 and two or three friends of his, the herd had been 

 driven into a thick patch of jungle ; by about twelve 

 o'clock that day they were all safely in cover. 



The natives, meanwhile, had spread out into a huge 

 circle surrounding the herd a circle covering five or 

 six miles of ground ; and about two o'clock in the 

 afternoon the word was passed that the herd was safely 

 in the centre. 



Then began the very considerable task of putting up 

 a fence of bamboo round the whole of the circle, strong 

 enough to prevent the great game from breaking 

 through. It was no easy feat to accomplish ; there was 

 but an insufficient supply of tools, time was precious, 

 and the men had to work with their finger-nails and 

 pointed sticks. Captain Z. could spare only a few 

 moments, and tea over, he was off to see how the work 

 was progressing, taking his four visitors with him. A 

 few minutes' walk brought them to the sound of picks 

 and axes and much chattering, leading on to a scene 

 where the natives, working really hard for once in their 

 lives, were throwing up a bank and erecting a stockade 

 as though they thoroughly entered into the excitement 

 of the undertaking. 



