“Oh no; only for a few miles. Then we shall get to some open ground.”
“You’ve been along here before, then?”
“Oh yes, twice; but till you get through the jungle it is very dreary.”
Ned sat swaying and giving with the movements of the elephant, thinking what a terrible journey it would be for any one who had to walk, and looking back from time to time at the spearmen behind, who seemed to get along lightly enough, when he caught sight of one. Several, however, had climbed on to the rear elephant, while two had hold of the ropes of the one he rode.
All at once, just as if seen through a tunnel, there was a patch of light, and soon after the party emerged into an opening of a few acres in extent, where the sun had full power, and the growth of orchid and flowering tree lit up the scene with glowing colour. Here they heard the cries of birds, and were just in time to catch sight of the metallic green, gold, and purple of half a dozen peacocks before they hurried out of sight among the trees.
Murray obtained a few specimens of parrot and sunbird here, though, in their half-hour’s halt before the leading elephant was started, and once more plunged into the continuation of the green leafy tunnel, which by contrast seemed darker than the first part.
By degrees the way of progression grew so wearisome that Ned turned to his companions to find both fast asleep, and he turned again to gaze before him at the hind-quarters of his uncle’s elephant, feeling sour and ill-used and heartily sick of the tedious ride.
But all his ill-humour faded away an hour later when the elephants passed out of the tunnel once more into an undulating paradise of tree and flower, rising gradually higher and higher to hills that appeared to be of a lovely blue; and as if roused by the glow of the sun, both Frank and Tim started up.
“Oh, here we are, then, at last,” cried the latter. “Then, I suppose, the first thing is something to eat.”
He was quite right, for about a mile farther on toward the hills, the elephants were halted close to a stream, over whose glancing water a huge tree of the fig tribe spread its gigantic branches, and offered a most tempting refuge from the sun.