The quarters for the first night were arranged on a woody height.
As soon as it had become dark a great many campfires flashed forth, around which the negroes roasted dried meat and ate cakes made of manioc roots, which they took out of the pots with their fingers. After they had appeased their hunger and thirst they talked over matters with one another, speculating as to where “Bwana Kubwa” was going to lead them, and what they would receive for their services. Some sang as they squatted on the ground like Turks and stared into the fire, but they all talked so long and so loudly that at last Stasch was obliged to command silence so that Nell could sleep.
The night was very cool, but the next morning when the first rays of sunlight lighted up the scene the air became warm. At sunrise the small travelers beheld a peculiar sight. They were just approaching a lake about two hundred kilometers long, or what might be called a large puddle, which had been formed in a mountain valley by the rain, when Stasch, who was sitting alongside of the girl on King and surveying his surroundings through the telescope, suddenly cried:
“Nell, look! See the elephants going to the water!”
Half a kilometer away could be seen a herd of five beasts slowly advancing single file toward the small lake.
“But these are strange looking elephants,” said Stasch, who was still regarding them very attentively. “They are not so large as King, and have much smaller ears, and as for tusks, I don’t see any at all.”
Meanwhile the elephants went into the water, but they did not pause on the bank like King usually did, and did not bathe themselves with their trunks, but steadily advancing, they went deeper and deeper into the water, so that at last only their black backs, resembling pieces of rock, stood out over the surface of the water.
“What’s that? They are diving!” cried Stasch.
The caravan was slowly approaching the bank, and at last reached it. Stasch ordered a halt, and gazed with the greatest surprise, first at Nell, then at the lake. There was nothing to be seen of the elephants except five dots looking like red flowers riding above the surface of the water and rocking gently to and fro.
“They are standing on the bottom, and these are the ends of their trunks,” exclaimed Stasch, scarcely believing his own eyes. Then he called to Kali: