Glyn and Singh were there, of course, and responded to Ramball’s almost obsequious advances with good-humoured tolerance; but while he was with the Doctor the boys took notes together, laughing with a good deal of contempt at the poor miserable specimens—the tiger and two leopards—compared with those they had seen in their native beauty and grace of outline in the forests of Dour.
They met one friend there, though, chained by a leg to the massive iron peg, as he stood swinging his great head from side to side, and stretching out his enormous trunk for the contributions supplied by the boys.
They were welcomed most effusively by the great beast, which recognised them at once, and it was only by its attention being taken up by its keeper, the man who had driven the bottomless van, that the boys got away without being followed by their new friend, which had manifested a disposition to drag the peg out of the ground and follow them like a dog.
It was while the Doctor was delivering an impromptu disquisition upon the peculiarities of the one-horned rhinoceros and the slight resemblance given by the folds of its monstrous hide to the shell of a turtle, that Ramball followed the two boys and made signs to them to come to the other end of the great van-walled booth, when he asked them if they had considered his proposition.
“I never made such an offer before in my life, young gents. It’s a good ’un. Don’t you let it slide.”
But the boys were saved the pain of telling the man that it was quite out of the question by the coming up of the guest at the Doctor’s dinner, Professor Barclay, who was effusively civil to Glyn, and fastened himself upon Singh to talk of Indian matters and language till the visit came to an end.
Just before leaving, Ramball came up to them again, but he had to speak in the presence of the Doctor.
“I only wanted to ask the young gents, sir,” he said, “if they had made their choice of the two little somethings to keep in remembrance of what they did over the elephant.”
“Two little somethings?” said the Doctor loftily. “I am quite sure, sir, that my pupils do not wish to take any two little somethings as a gift from you.”
“No, no, sir, not what you call gifts; but just a couple of little trifles as I asked them to pick out.”