"Hush, Pete!" cried Archie excitedly.

"What for, sir? Afraid he will understand what we are saying?"

"Hush, I say!"

"All right, sir," said Peter, speaking in a whisper. "But he does keep c.o.c.king up his ears and listening."

"Yes," said Archie; "I was in doubt before, but I am sure now. It's some one keeps on hailing us from behind. Drive him on faster, for I am sure we are pursued."

"What! make him gallop, sir? Why, it would chuck you off directly."

"No; I think I could keep on. We must try and leave whoever it is behind. I couldn't bear for us to be taken again."

"We ain't a-going to be, sir, so long as we have these 'ere toothpicks to fight with."

"That's a last resource. Try to hurry the beast."

"He won't hurry, sir. 'Tisn't as if I'd got one of them anchors, as they call them; and even if I had, poor old chap! I shouldn't have the heart to stick it into him as the mahouts do."

"It wouldn't hurt him more than spurring does a horse, with such a thick skin."

"But I ain't got one of them boat-hooky tools. Look here, sir; hand me that there kris. Ain't poisoned, is it?"

"The Doctor says they are not."

"Let's have it, then, sir.--Why, what game do you call this?"

For at that moment, before any experiment could be tried with the goad, a faint, unmistakable hail was heard from far behind, running as it were along deep, verdant tunnels, and Rajah, after flapping his ears heavily, uttered a low, deep sigh, stopped short, and began to tear down green branches from overhead and convey them to his mouth.

"Oh, this won't do!" cried Peter angrily.--"Get on, sir--get on!"

The elephant uttered what sounded to be a sigh and raised one huge leg as if about to step out, but only planted it down again in the same deep hole, went through the same evolution with another leg, subsided again, and went on crunching the abundant succulent herbage.

"It's no good, Pete," said Archie bitterly. "They are in full chase.

The elephant recognises the cry, and you will never get him to stir."

"An obstinate beggar!" grumbled Peter. "Makes me feel as if I could stick that there spike right into him, though he is fanning my poor, hot legs with these flappers of his. Well, Mister Archie, I suppose it's no use to fight against him. He has got the pull of us, and there's only one thing for us to do now."

"What's that, Pete?"

"Act like Bri'ish soldiers, sir," said the lad through his set teeth.

"Hold the fort, and fight."

At that moment the cry was more audible, and the elephant gave his ears a quicker flap and said, _Phoonk_!

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

PETER'S RAJAH.

"Ain't it been a mistake, sir?" said Peter Pegg. "We ought to have risked it both of us together, stirred him up with the spears or the point of that kris, and made him go on."

"No mistake, Pete. He would have turned savage, and dragged you off as easily as he lifted you up, then knocked you down with his trunk and perhaps trampled you into the mud."

"Perhaps you are right, sir; and it wouldn't have been very pleasant.

But hark! There's a helephant coming, and you can hear the _suck, suck, suck_ of his feet in the mud plainer and plainer. I wish whoever they are upon it would holloa again. I want to know how many that helephant's got on board."

"I think only one," said Archie.

"Oh, well, we are not going to give up to one, sir. I was afraid--I mean, 'spected--there'd be a howdah full, all with their spears and krises, and a mahout as well. Have you got any orders to give me, sir, about dismounting?"

"No; we must do the best we can from where we sit. What could we do if we got down into this narrow path full of mud-holes?"

"Nothing at all, sir," replied Peter. "I think just the same as you do.

The helephant's getting very close now, so keep telling me what you see from up there, for I can see next to nothing where I'm sitting. Now, sir," whispered the lad, "can't you see him yet?"

"No; the path bends round."

"But you must see directly, sir.--Here, you keep quiet, Rajah, and leave them boughs alone."

"I can see now, Pete," said Archie eagerly. "It's the smallest elephant, with a tiger pad on its back."

"Yes, sir; but who's on it?"

"Only one man--the mahout, in a turban."

"Oh, him! That little, squatty driver! I can finish him off with one on the nose."

"No; I think--yes, it is the mahout who rode into camp at the review."

"What! him, sir? That's Rajah's own mahout--I mean, Rajah's his helephant. That's why he stopped. _Phee--ew_!" whistled the lad.

"Why, he's a friend of mine. I say, sir, we are not so bad off as I thought."

"You've met him before, then, Pete?"

"Course I did, sir--day of the sham-fight. But I didn't know he was up yonder. He must have been there all the time, though he didn't show up.

That little, squatty chap used to do all the work of taking the helephants to water, while he stopped back, too big to do any of that dirty work, and ready to ride when he was wanted."

It seemed plain enough now that when the big elephant was missing, his mahout had come in search of the huge brute himself, and directly after the small elephant he was now riding bore him close up, b.u.t.ting its head against Rajah's hind-quarters and uttering a squealing, muttering sound, while, without turning his head, Rajah seemed to answer, and went on breaking off succulent boughs of leaf.a.ge, to go on munching as if quite content.

But, heard directly above the gruntings and mutterings of the two elephants, the fierce-looking little mahout raised himself as high as he could in his seat and burst into a furious tirade in his own tongue, not a word of which could be grasped by his hearers, but its general tenor seemed to be a series of angry questions as to how dare these two English infidels take away his elephant, and bidding them get down directly.

"Can you understand all that, Mister Archie?" said Peter as the man paused to take breath.

"No," was the reply. "Can you?"

"No, sir; but it's all plain enough. Now, will you drop upon him?"