“I was alone,” Wulli continued. “For a time, all was still; then sounded a dull thump, thump and the breaking of snow-crust. The sounds ceased abruptly and a great shadow settled over me. I looked up and saw——”
“The Mammoth!” shouted Pic.
“Even so—the Mammoth; and—and that is about all. I was saved. Nothing more of moment happened to us until we came here and met you.”
“But you left yourself in the pit,” Pic remonstrated. “It was too deep for you to climb. How did you get out?”
“The Mammoth; ask him.”
Hairi now took the center of the stage to put the finishing touch on his partner’s thrilling narrative.
“I pulled him out—like this.” Raising his trunk, the huge Elephant curled its flexible tip around the Rhino’s horn. Securing a firm grip, he settled back with his full weight and power. Wulli’s neck elongated like that of a turtle. The Mammoth’s trunk stretched taut like a tow-line. Neck and trunk held fast under the strain and in a moment, the Rhinoceros was being dragged over the ground.
“Pulled him out? You? How wonderful!” Pic was in truth astounded by this remarkable engineering feat. The Mammoth released his hold.
“Yes, I pulled him from the pit. And now, what next? I believe we have told about all there is to tell.”
“All but one thing,” Wulli reminded him. “The cave and—and, you know.”