The elephants raised their heads, ceased their gambols, and, collecting themselves together in haste, formed in a mass at one spot in the clearing, and appeared to deliberate.
A momentary pause, a terrible suspense for the hunters, ensued. They were lost, condemned to death without the power of appeal, crushed in an instant, if the enemy resolved to charge and the living avalanche should burst forth in their direction.
Whilst they thus awaited the verdict of death or acquittal, the bravest hearts quailed. The three young men, despite all their courage, turned pale. Miss Poles clung to M. Delange, as if resolved to die with him. Madame de Guéran was, perhaps, the only one who trembled not.
The interpreter and soldiers were lying flat on the ground, making themselves as small as possible, so as to pass unseen, whilst Joseph, anthematizing the superfluous flesh which frustrated all attempts at invisibility, fell on his knees, with arms outstretched and eyes upraised to Heaven.
Suddenly, one of the elephants, the Nestor of the herd, the most experienced and most respected, forced a passage through the midst of his companions, and made off towards the forest. The others followed him.
The danger was disappearing, and M. de Morin triumphed.
Two of the beasts, however, of apparently energetic and independent character, declined to follow the example of their comrades. Possibly, they had already become acquainted with fire-arms, or had had some previous encounter with hunters, and wanted to pay off an outstanding score, to satiate a resuscitated longing for vengeance— who can tell? They not only declined to flee, but they looked round about attentively, whisking their trunks to and fro after a very menacing fashion, and giving utterance to shrill trumpetings.
They were two magnificent males, about ten feet high, and armed with gigantic tusks. After having looked all round the clearing, and at the moment when the Europeans, expecting to see them rush towards their hiding place, had taken a careful aim, and were preparing to fire, the huge beasts bent their steps towards a large mimosa, which grew about a hundred yards from the spot where the hunters were.
When they got to the foot of the tree they stopped, reaching up with their trunks, and endeavouring to crop the foliage. In this they could not succeed, for the mimosa was more than thirty feet high, and its branches only commenced to shoot out from its top.
Then were heard their screams of rage, echoed by cries of terror, which were uttered by one of those blacks who, half-an-hour previously, had announced the approach of the enemy and had fled in all directions. The unfortunate man had taken refuge in the mimosa, and the two elephants had just discovered him.