58 THE ELEPHANT 



crash of a breaking branch. I estimated that 

 the elephants must still be some few hundreds 

 of yards away, and this proved to be the case, 

 for, gazing intently along the line of forest trees, I 

 suddenly saw two or three advance into the open 

 and enter the belt of high rushes which fringed 

 the water. These were followed by others in 

 twos and threes, until between twenty and thirty 

 elephants, looking surprisingly small in the 

 deceptive moonbeams, had plunged into the 

 papyrus and reeds, in which they were practically 

 engulfed. I immediately struck off into the trees 

 to make the necessary detour to approach them, 

 but as I did so heard the unmistakable sounds 

 of still more members of the herd in the forest, 

 where they had lagged behind. I therefore con- 

 cealed myself in the shelter of some brushwood 

 and awaited events. From the noises borne 

 towards me by the steady night wind it was 

 apparent that they were slowly approaching, — 

 that is to say, they were feeding leisurely towards 

 me in a way that would bring them across my 

 front. Gradually the huge beasts drew nearer, 

 until their internal stomach rumblings were per- 

 fectly audible, as was also the hoarse rattling noise 

 made when they blew through their trunks. 

 At length, a little to my right front, the move- 

 ment in the grass and rushes became more marked 

 and a black, sinuous, snaky-looking trunk ap- 

 peared over the concealing herbage, followed by 

 another and another. The loud sucking noise 

 made by the withdrawal of their immense feet 

 from a depth of many inches of adhesive mud grew 



