Phoonk! said the elephant; and he slowly turned himself as if upon a pivot, and extended his trunk to the coveted cake.
“Don’t say you are hurt, sir!” whispered Peter. “You can go on, can’t you? Oh, do say you can!”
“Yes, yes,” panted Archie confusedly; “I think I am all right.”
“Then here goes for it, sir. I don’t feel a bit sure, but I am going to try as soon as I have fed him a bit more. Don’t you bother about the prog. I am going to make him carry it as inside passengers. It will please him, and if he will carry us we will eat leaves or grass.—Come on, old man. Here you are! Ripe ’nanas, and one of them pumpkin things. What! rather have the pumpkin first?” he continued, as the great trunk curved slowly towards the golden-hued, melon-like fruit. “Can’t swallow that all at once, can you? And I don’t want to stop and cut it. What! you can? Oh, all right, then. I forgot you’d got grinders as big as meat-tins.—Good-bye, pumpkin.—Now, Mister Archie, I am not sure, but I think I can say what the mahout does when he wants him to kneel down. Then don’t you stop a moment, but climb up and get hold of them ropes that he has got round him, pull yourself up, and hold on. Ready?”
“Yes,” said Archie dreamily; but he was shaken up and confused by his fall.
“Now, Rajah, kneel down!” cried Peter, in the nearest approach he could recall to the Malay mahout’s command; and, to his great delight, the huge beast swayed from side to side and sank upon the earth, at the same time curving his trunk towards Peter as he raised his head.
“There you are,” cried Peter, as he passed a couple of the bananas he held ready, and the moment these had been grasped and the trunk lowered again, “Now then, up with you!” cried the lad; and planting a foot upon one of the corrugations of the wrinkling trunk, Archie began to scramble up, passing over the animal’s forehead, up between the extended ears and over the rugosities between head and neck.
He nearly slipped as he reached for one of the ropes that girdled the animal’s loins, but recovered himself, and, to Peter’s satisfaction, seated himself, holding on tightly by the howdah-stays.
“Here you are!” cried Peter again, and this time he handed a great lump of cake, which the elephant took contentedly.—“Now, Mister Archie, sir,” he cried, as he seized the two spears and handed them up, “take hold; I’ll carry one by-and-by.—Now, old chap,” he continued, “it’s my turn now. Up with you!” And once more his memory served him in giving some rendering of the mahout’s command, for in his slow, lumbering fashion the monster began to sway.
“Hold tight, sir, whatever you do,” cried Peter.