His hope was, in the first instance, justified; for the station-master at Salisbury, learning of the Consul's early departure that morning, and beginning to doubt the wisdom of inflicting the elephant on so important a personage as Lady Melton, had come up to the Court himself to see how things were going, and had been horrified beyond measure at the exaggerated reports of the lodgekeeper as to the havoc the beast had created. He was therefore unfeignedly relieved at Scarsdale's arrival; a relief, however, which instantly gave way to stubborn opposition at the first hint of putting the animal again in his charge.
Elephants were not in his line, he pointed out, and he had no desire to transport them about the country. Couldn't think of acting without receiving advices from the main offices of the railway company in London, an affair of several days; wouldn't assume charge of the creature during the interval on any account; and shouldn't stir a step in the matter till the wrecked van had been paid for.
This ended the affair, as far as Scarsdale was concerned. He had no intention of paying damages for the Consul's elephant, but he wished to deliver it and the Consul's wife at Christchurch as soon as possible. If this could not be accomplished one way, it must be another. There were plenty of horses and carriages to be had; indeed, the landau and pair which had brought them from Salisbury was still at the gates. The roads were good, the distance to Christchurch was not excessive—say thirty miles—and the elephant could walk. It merely remained to find a leader or driver, and they could start at once on their journey across country.
All this he explained to his fair companion, and she readily acquiesced.
"The only problem to be solved, then, is where to find a mahout," he said in conclusion.
She threw him an inquiring glance; but he felt it was asking too much, and said so.
"If it were any other country, I'd ride the beast myself to oblige you; but in England, and as a representative of one of the first families of the county, I couldn't. The prejudices of the locality would never recover from the shock, and I should not be able to show my face in the streets of Salisbury. But perhaps we can find a substitute. Is there any one here," he went on, addressing the little group of men, "who understands an elephant?"
"Tom, 'e knows the bloomin' beasts," said a member of the company; and Tom, groom to her ladyship, and cockney every inch of him, was pushed forward for inspection.
One glance at the trim form, concealed though it was by stable costume, was sufficient to assure Scarsdale that he had found his man.
"You have been a soldier," he said, "and in India?"