Popular Adventure Tales

by Mayne Reid

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  THE DEATH OF THE ELEPHANT.

  The battle between these two large quadrupeds did not continue for morethan ten minutes. During that time the hunters made no advance towardsattacking either of them--so much absorbed were they in watching thenovel contest. It was only after the rhinoceros had retreated, and theelephant returned to the water, that they once more began to deliberateon some plan of assaulting this mightiest of African animals. Hans nowlaid hold of his gun and joined them.

  The elephant, after looking about for his enemy, had got back, and wasstanding knee-deep in the lake. He appeared restless and highly excited.His tail was continually in motion, and at intervals he uttered apiercing melancholy scream--far different to the usual trumpet-likebellow of his voice. He lifted his huge limbs, and then plunged themback again to the bottom, until the foam gathered upon the water withhis continued churning.

  But the oddest of his actions was the manner in which he employed hislong tubular trunk. With this he sucked up vast volumes of water, andthen pointing it backwards ejected the fluid over his back andshoulders, as if from an immense syringe. This shower-bath he keptrepeating time after time, though it was evident he was not at his ease.

  They all knew he was angry. Swartboy said it would be exceedinglydangerous to be seen by him at that moment, without having a horse togallop out of his way. On this account every one of them had concealedthemselves behind the trunk of the nwana-tree, Von Bloom peeping pastone side, and Hendrik the other, in order to watch his movements.

  Notwithstanding the danger, they at length resolved to attack him. Theybelieved that if they did not do so soon, he would walk off, and leavethem supperless--for they had hoped to sup upon a slice of his trunk.Time, therefore, had grown precious, and they resolved to attack himwithout further ado.

  They intended to creep as near as was safe. All three would firetogether, and then lie close in the bushes until they saw the effect oftheir shots.

  Without farther parley, Von Bloom, Hans, and Hendrik, leaving the tree,crept through the bushes towards the western end of the lake. It was nota continuous thicket, but only an assemblage of copses and clumps, sothat they required to steal very cautiously from one to the other. VonBloom led the way, while the boys kept in his tracks, following himclosely.

  After some five minutes spent in this way, they got under cover of alittle clump near the water's edge, and near enough to the giganticgame. Upon their hands and knees they now approached the verge of theunderwood; and, having parted the leaves, looked through. The mightyquadruped was right under their eyes, within twenty yards of them!

  He was still busy plunging about, and blowing volumes of water over hisbody. He gave no sign that he had any suspicion of their presence. Theycould take time, therefore, in choosing a part of his huge body at whichto aim their pieces.

  When first seen from their new position, he was standing stern towardsthem. Von Bloom did not think it a good time to fire, as they could notgive him a deadly wound in that situation. They waited, therefore, untilhe might turn his side, before they should deliver their volley. Theykept their eyes all the while steadily fixed on him.

  He ceased at length to "churn" with his feet, and no longer raised waterin his trunk; and now the hunters perceived that the lake was red for aspace around him! It was his blood that had reddened it.

  They no longer doubted that he had been wounded by the rhinoceros; butwhether the wound was a bad one they could not tell. It was in his side,and as yet they could only see his broad stern from the position inwhich he still continued to stand. But they waited with confidence--asthey knew that in turning to get out of the water, he would have topresent his side towards them.

  For several minutes he kept the same position; but they noticed that histail no longer switched about, and that his attitude was loose anddrooping. Now and then he turned his proboscis to the spot where he hadreceived the thrust of the kobaoba's horn. It was evident that the woundwas distressing him, and this became more apparent by the loud painfulbreathing the creature uttered through his trunk.

  The three began to grow impatient. Hendrik asked leave to creep round toanother point, and give him a shot that would turn him round.

  Just at that moment the elephant made a motion, as though he was aboutto come out of the water.

  He had got fairly round--his head and fore-part were over dry land--thethree guns were pointed--the eyes of the three hunters were about toglance through the sights of their pieces, when all at once he was seento rock and stagger,--and then roll over! With a loud plash, his vastbody subsided into the water, sending great waves to every corner of thelake.

  The hunters uncocked their guns, and, springing from their ambush,rushed forward to the bank. They saw at a glance that the elephant wasdead. They saw the wound upon his side,--the hole made by the horn ofthe rhinoceros. It was not very large, but the terrible weapon hadpenetrated far into his body, into his very vitals. No wonder, then, atthe result it had produced--the death of the mightiest of quadrupeds.

  As soon as it became known that the elephant was dead, everybody wasseen rushing forward to the spot. Little Trueey and Jan were called fromtheir hiding-place--for they had both been hidden in the wagon--andTotty, too, went down with the rest. Swartboy was one of the first uponthe spot, carrying an axe and a large knife--for Swartboy had designsupon the carcass--while Hans and Hendrik both threw off their jackets toassist in the butchering operations.

  And what during this time was Von Bloom about? Ha! That is a moreimportant question than you think for. That was an important hour--thehour of a great crisis in the life of the field-cornet.

  He was standing with folded arms on the bank of the lake, directly overthe spot where the elephant had fallen. He appeared to be wrapt insilent meditation, his eyes bent upon the huge carcass of the animal.No, not on the carcass. A close observer would have perceived that hiseyes did not wander over that mountain of thick skin and flesh, but wereresting upon a particular spot.

  Was it the wound in the animal's side? And was Von Bloom meditating howthe thrust had caused the death of such a huge creature?

  Neither one nor the other. His thoughts were upon a very different themefrom either.

  The elephant had fallen so that his head was clear of the water, andrested upon a little bank of sand; along which, his soft and limbertrunk lay extended to its full length. Curving like a pair of giganticscimeters from its base, were the yellow enamelled tusks; those ivoryarms that for years,--aye centuries, perhaps,--had served him to root upthe trees of the forest, and rout his antagonists in many a dreadencounter. Precious and beautiful trophies were they, but alas! theirworld-wide fame had cost no less than life to many thousands of hisrace.

  Shining in all their magnificence lay these mated crescents, gentlycurved and softly rounded. It was upon these that the eyes of thefield-cornet were bent!

  Aye, and bent too with an eagerness unusual in his glance. His lips werecompressed, his chest was visibly heaving. Oh! there was a world ofthoughts passing through the mind of Von Bloom at that moment.

  Were they painful thoughts? The expression of his face told thecontrary. The cloud that all that day sat perched upon his brow hadvanished. Not a trace of it remained, but in its place could be seen thelines of hope and joy, and these feelings at length found expression inwords.

  "It is the hand of Heaven!" he exclaimed aloud. "A fortune--a fortune!"

  "What is it, papa?" inquired little Trueey, who was near him; "what wereyou speaking about, dear papa?"

  And then all the others gathered around him, noticing his excitedmanner, and pleased at seeing him look so happy.

  "What is it, papa?" asked all together, while Swartboy and Totty stoodeager as the rest to hear the answer.

  In the pleasant excitement of his thoughts, the fond father could nolonger conceal from his children the secret of his new-born happiness.He would gratify them by disclosing it.

  Pointing to the long crescents he said,--<
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  "You see those beautiful tusks?"

  Yes, of course, they all did.

  "Well, do you know their value?"

  No. They knew they were worth something. They knew that it was fromelephants' tusks that ivory was obtained, or, more properly, thatelephants' tusks were ivory itself; and that it was used in themanufacture of hundreds of articles. In fact, little Trueey had abeautiful fan made out of it, which had been her mother's; and Jan hada knife with an ivory handle. Ivory was a very beautiful material, andcost very dear, they knew. All this they knew, but the value of the twotusks they could not guess at. They said so.

  "Well, my children," said Von Bloom, "as near as I can estimate them,they are worth twenty pounds each of English money."

  "Oh! oh! Such a grand sum!" cried all in a breath.

  "Yes," continued the field-cornet; "I should think each tusk is onehundred pounds in weight, and as ivory at present sells for fourshillings and sixpence the pound weight, these two would yield betweenforty and fifty pounds of sterling money."

  "Why, it would buy a full span of best oxen!" cried Hans.

  "Four good horses!" said Hendrik.

  "A whole flock of sheep!" added little Jan.

  "But whom can we sell them to?" asked Hendrik, after a pause. "We areaway from the settlements. Who is to give us either oxen, or horses, orsheep, for them? It would not be worth while to carry two tusks all theway----"

  "Not two, Hendrik," said his father interrupting him; "but twenty itmight,--aye, twice twenty, or three times that number. Now, do youunderstand what makes me so gay?"

  "Oh!" exclaimed Hendrik, as well as the others, who now began toperceive what their father was so joyed about, "you think we can obtainmore tusks in these parts?"

  "Precisely so. I think there are many elephants here. I feel certain ofit from the quantity of their spoor I have already noticed. We have ourguns, and fortunately, plenty of ammunition. We are all pretty fairshots--why can we not obtain more of these valuable trophies?"

  "But we shall," continued Von Bloom. "I know we shall, because Irecognise the hand of God in sending us this wealth in the midst of ourmisery--after we had lost everything. More will come by the guiding ofthe same hand. So be of good cheer, my children! We shall not want--weshall yet have plenty--we may be rich!"

  It was not that any of those young creatures cared much about beingrich, but because they saw their father so happy, that they broke outinto something more than a murmur of applause. It was, in fact, a cheer,in which both Totty and Swartboy joined. It rang over the little lake,and caused the birds about settling to roost to wonder what was goingon. There was no happier group in all Africa than stood at that momentupon the shore of that lonely little vley.