“Ah, you know you deserve it!” roared Peter. “Now then, give me that weapon—quick!”
The man raised his head a little and looked up at the lad, who was making a horrible grimace and rolling his eyes; and then seeming to fully grasp his meaning, he quickly drew kris and sheath from the folds of his sarong, and held them out to Peter, who snatched them away and handed them to Archie.
“Now then,” shouted Peter, “don’t you pretend you can’t understand plain English, because if you do I’ll—” He raised the spear on high and made as if to deliver a thrust, with the effect that the mahout uttered a shriek of fear and banged his forehead heavily down between his hands. “Now get up,” roared Peter; and the man raised his head and displayed a face and lips quivering with fear, shrinking sharply as the lad reached out and laid the blade of the spear upon the thinly covered shoulder. “Now, you understand: if you try to play any games you will get this. D’ye ’ear?”
The poor fellow uttered a few words in his own tongue, and raised his hands together towards Peter as if begging for mercy.
What followed took some considerable time and proved a difficult task, for the mahout was almost beside himself with fear; but as soon as he grasped Peter’s meaning he set to work excitedly, and with the cleverness born of experience he loosened the ropes of the tiger pad upon the lesser elephant, unlaced them, and with Peter’s assistance dragged it on to the back of the larger beast, Archie having changed his place to Rajah’s neck, where he sat facing the workers with a spear in each hand.
“Don’t look so good-tempered, sir,” Peter stopped for a few moments to say. “Squeege your eyes up, sir, and show your teeth, as if you meant to eat the little beggar.”
“Oh, nonsense!” replied Archie. “You have regularly mastered him now. The poor little wretch is half-dead with fright.”
“Yuss!” growled Peter, turning to give a savage look at his panting little companion. “He knows what Great Britons are, sir; and it’s lucky for him he does.—Now then,” he roared, “let’s get this job done.”
The mahout winced, and after a time the task of securing the big, comfortable pad was finished, and, in obedience to Peter, Archie took his seat upon it, while the mahout made a gesture as if asking whether he should go back now to his old seat on the lesser elephant, which all the time was following Rajah’s example and making a hearty meal of the succulent leaves.
“What does he mean by that, Mister Archie?” whispered Peter. “No, no, don’t tell me! I see;” and turning to the mahout, he roared out “No!” and pointed forward towards Rajah’s neck. “That’s your place,” he shouted; and the little fellow, grasping Peter’s meaning, crept past Archie and took his seat, settling himself, with a sigh, with his legs beneath the great beast’s ears.