played upon the glistening bayonets brought down sparkling in front of the line of men. The bugles now rang out “Charge!” followed by the good old British cheer given by wildly excited men with all the power left in them, and they bore the bristling bayonets on, racing down upon the spectators in front, as if the mimic advance were real.
The trumpeting that greeted the charge was not defiant, for the elephants turned simultaneously as upon a pivot and set the example of making for the nearest points of the jungle; and to the charging men it seemed as if they formed part of some immensely extended human hay-making machine, whose glittering spikes were about to sweep off a living crowd which, excited and yelling wildly, had turned and fled for safety.
The gaily coloured men of the two Rajahs, perhaps feeling in doubt as to their duty to fetch back the elephants—perhaps not: they may have been influenced otherwise—had dashed off after the huge quadrupeds at once, but the crowd of ordinary spectators were in nowise behind. Shrieking, yelling, and angry with each other as they dashed away, they made for shelter at full speed, and when the charge was at an end and the bugles rang out, the evolution had been so well driven home that a complete transformation had been effected.
Where the great gathering had spread from side to side of the parade, there was the long, halting line of panting and powder-blackened men, who, in spite of their breathlessness, had followed up their British cheer with a tremendous petillating roar of laughter, which ran along the line from end to end and back again—a roar of laughter so loud that hardly a man knew that the band was now playing in full force “God save the Queen,” with an additional obbligato from the drums—that one known as the “big” threatening collapse from the vigorous action of the stick-wielder’s sturdy arms.
It was only a few of the men who were cognisant of the fact that the Major was lying down exhausted, and wiping his eyes.
“Who’s that?” he panted. “Who’s that—you, Maine?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh dear! Oh dear! I can’t stop it! It’s quite hysterical. Give me a water-bottle;” and then, after an application to the unstoppered mouth, “Oh dear! How they did run! I hope poor Dallas has seen it all. I wish he had been here. Hah! I’m better now. Why, Maine, we’ve swept them clean away. Are they collecting farther on?”
“No, sir; I can’t see a single soul.”
“Who’s that?” said the Major again.