"No, no," cried Glyn. "I'm going to get off now."

"No; you must wait till I am up there behind you, and then as you get down I'll slide into your place."

"But you will have to tell him to lift up his ears, for he's nipping my legs hard, and they feel as if they were going to hold me down."

"It will be all right," said Singh impatiently, and throwing his right leg over, he came down upon the elephant's neck; while before the boys could grasp what was about to happen, the animal rose and began to turn round, slinging the ma.s.sive iron peg over the palisade; and then, as he began to move off and the chain tightened, he drew with him eight or ten feet of the ornamental woodwork.

"Oh, what will the Doctor say?" cried Singh piteously.

"That he'll stop your pocket-allowance to pay for it. Here, I say, old chap, do, do something to steer him."

"But I haven't got a--"

"Here, try a pin," cried Glyn, making-believe to pull one out of the bottom corner of his waistcoat.

"But that won't go through his skin."

"No, I suppose not. He'll think you are tickling him. Here, shall I try my knife?"

"No, no, no! It will make him mad."

"But we must do something," cried Glyn, who couldn't sit still for laughing. "Can't you turn his head? We are mowing and harrowing all these flower-beds with this wood-stack he's dragging at his heels. Ah, that's better!" continued Glyn, as, finding the impediment rather unpleasant, the animal turned off at right angles and reached out with its trunk to remove the obstacles attached to its leg.

"Why, we are anch.o.r.ed! Oh, now he's off again. Why, where's he going?"

"I think he's going to make for the hedge where he came through first, in the cricket-field."

"But we couldn't get through there with all this garden-fence. It would catch in the hedge, and we should be dragging that too all through the town."

"Oh, I don't know," cried Singh.

"Let's scramble down and try to stop him. If you take hold of one leg I'll hang on by his tail if I can reach it.--Ah, that's better!"

For the elephant suddenly came to a standstill about a third of the way across the playground.

"Here, he's stopping for something. I wish we were near a baker's shop."

But the elephant had not stopped for nothing but only to balance itself upon three legs while it kicked out with the fourth, making a loud crashing and jangling noise, which was repeated till the length of wooden palisade was broken into splinters. But the chain and picket-peg were as firmly attached as ever, and were dragged steadily across the remaining portion of the playground right for the hedge, which now stood before the boys, displaying not only the demolished reparations, but a good-sized gap as well.

It seemed as if their steed meant to pa.s.s straight through, and he did so. The great iron peg got across a couple of tough old stumps of the hawthorn bushes and drew him up short, but only for a few moments; the huge beast putting forth its strength and dragging them out by the roots, after which it turned off to the left, to go on straight through the still sleeping town, making its way in the calmest manner for the show-field at the back of the princ.i.p.al hotel. Here it stopped at last close to the loosened earth from which it had originally wrenched the picket; and then, raising its trunk, blew such a blast that it produced a chaotic burst of sounds from the quadrangle of cages and dens, each creature after its kind joining in the chorus, and rousing and bringing every keeper and labourer attached to the menagerie upon the scene, the last to arrive, eager and smiling, but before anything was done, being the proprietor himself, who came up cheering and waving hat and handkerchief in the air.

"Think of that now!" he cried. "I say, young gentlemen, it all points to it, you see, and you needn't tell me; the old Rajah saw what was right. He only went to fetch you, and you've come to stay."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

"HALT! RIGHT FACE!"

The yellow silk handkerchief was brought a great deal into use by Mr Ramball to dab his head; and once Glyn nudged his schoolfellow's elbow and suggested that the proprietor was going to cry with disappointment from being told that he was labouring under a very grave mistake.

Soon after the two boys slipped away so as to make for the school and excuse themselves for being out of bounds and going out unseen so early in the morning.

They "slipped away" at Ramball's request. "Just walk up and down with me a few times," he said, "till we get on the other side of the caravans. No, not yet," he said. "I have sent one of the men for a big basket of carrots. They are nice and sweet, and his highness likes them. Once get him busy on them and he won't notice you going."

A big two-handled basket made its appearance a few minutes later, piled up with the orange-red vegetables, and carried by a couple of Ramball's men.

"Just give him two or three yourselves, gentlemen," said the proprietor, "and start him on them. Then get behind him and walk right away straight from his tail. You may do anything of that sort, as I dare say you know, without his seeing. Elephants are very stupid beasts about what goes on behind their backs."

The two boys did as requested, and as soon as the elephant was busy they strolled off with its owner, who was very eager to shake hands with them again and beg of them to come to his place.

"Here, I have had enough of this," cried Glyn as soon as they were out of the great field, "and I never thought of it before. What time is it?"

"I don't know," said Singh. "I have left my watch on the dressing-table."

Just then the striking of the church clock fell upon their ears, and Singh began to count aloud, while Glyn expressed his belief that it must be seven.

"Why, all the chaps will be out when we get back," he said.

"Eight!" said Singh loudly.

"Nonsense! You have muddled it," cried Glyn.

"Nine!" cried Singh.

"Rubbish!"

"It is. Look at the shops all open, and the people about."

"Well; but the time couldn't have gone like that," cried Glyn. "Here, what are we going to say? If you are right--why, breakfast's over ever so long ago, and the fellows are all going in to cla.s.s. But you can't be right."

"Well, there's the clock," said Singh contemptuously. "Look for yourself."

The hands and Roman numerals of the great church clock had only lately been re-gilded, and they seemed to twinkle and blink and point derisively in the bright morning sunshine.

"Oh, I say," cried Glyn, "who could have thought it! Bother old Ramball and his beasts! Feeding his elephant! I wish somebody would feed me!

Why, we shall get no breakfast."

"Oh yes, we shall," cried Singh confidently. "Why, you forget we are in the infirmary still, and Mrs Hamton won't let us go without our breakfast. But come along; let's trot back round by the shortest way."

They started the military double directly, and were about half-way back to the school when, as they turned a corner to get into the main road, a sharp military voice shouted:

"Halt! Right face!"

"Father!" cried Glyn.

"Morning," cried the Colonel, as he shook hands warmly with both. "You two invalids having your const.i.tutional? Well, you ought to be taken off the sick-list now. I have just been having my walk before breakfast. I came past the Doctor's, but could not see anything of either of you."

"Going in to breakfast, father?" said Glyn.