Then there was a crunch, crunch, crunch, as if pippins were being reduced to pulp, and more twigs were heard to snap.
“Let him hear the whip again, Jem,” shouted Mr Ramball.
“Oh, he won’t come for that, sir,” growled the man addressed; but he made the long cart-whip he carried crack loudly three times in obedience to the order; and as the fresh party drew as near to the orchard as they cared to go, after all had given a furtive glance round for a way to escape, the low grumbling muttering grew louder; while as the animal moved right into sight so did those who were watching him, and Slegge and his companions saw Glyn and Singh approach.
There was another movement on the part of the elephant, whose towering form came through the thickly growing orchard trees to one whose burden was of a deep rich-red, and here it stood bowing its head up and down, and slowly shaking it from side to side, while the trunk swung and turned and turned and swung here and there, till its owner had selected the fruit most pleasing to its little pig-like eye, when with serpent-like motion it rose in the air, and the end curled round the selected fruit, which was lowered and tucked out of sight on the instant.
“Now, look here, my lads,” cried the proprietor of the menagerie to his men, “I can’t have you all standing here gaping like a set of idiots as if you had never seen the brute before. Go in round behind him with your whips and drive him out.”
There was a murmur of grumbles from the men, that seemed to be echoed by the elephant, which went on swinging its head up and down as if it were balanced on a spring. But no one stirred.
“Do you hear me?” cried the proprietor, his highly pitched voice growing quite shrill. “Here, I shall have no end of damages to pay for what he’s doing. They’ll be putting it in the lawyers’ hands, and they’ll be charging me a shilling for every apple he eats.—Eh! what’s that? Not safe?”
“No; he’s got one of his nasty fits o’ temper on,” said the driver of the great van which had come to grief.
“Tchah! Nonsense! You are a coward, Jem.”
“Mebbe I am,” grumbled the man; “but, coward or no, he knocked me flat over on my back, and once is quite enough for one day.”