May be Nalla in this supreme hour reviewed the different stages of his life, from the day when, while still a mere calf, he was captured by tamed elephants trained to make prisoners of wild ones, until when in his fiftieth year he became the protector and breadwinner of the Tamby family.
Lydia had been his particular pet. He loved her with the whole strength of his big heart, and her sudden disappearance had been a rude shock to his already failing health. The tender-hearted creature mourned for his darling and could not be comforted.
By eight o'clock it was broad daylight. But such a day! The sky hung low and threatening. The heavy clouds were of a sullen gray color. The snow seemed ready to resume falling in greater quantity. Nadine, Cæsar, and Abel did not leave the side of their big friend. Nadine tenderly patted the limp trunk, while she said, soothingly:
"Don't lose heart, Nalla! It is day again, and Cæsar will go to the town to get assistance for you. We will save you, Nalla. You often saved us in critical times, and we are not going to let you die. You are our best friend. You are not only our chief resource in the gaining of our daily bread, but you are, above all, our old and tried comrade, truest and most devoted friend. You are, moreover, our best hope for the recovery of Lydia—our dear little Lydia, my good Nalla, the little Lydia of whom you are so fond. You will live, won't you, Nalla, to love us, and be loved by us in return?"
Nalla remained motionless through all Nadine's tender appeals, yet he seemed to understand every word she uttered. His sorrowful little eyes were turned towards the children to tell them that he understood, and that he was extremely sorry to cause them so much anxiety.
Presently his huge body began to shake with violent tremors. It was plain that severe pangs tortured him, and he presented a pitiable spectacle as he lay there upon the wild waste of snow, to all appearances beyond the reach of assistance.
He could breathe now only with great difficulty, and he made pathetic efforts to raise his head in order to obtain the air he needed. At last the poor creature gathered strength to lift his trunk, and pass it around the three children, who were sitting beside him, thus drawing them one by one nearer to himself. There he held them for some minutes as though seeking to have them realize how much he was suffering, and how deeply he was attached to them. Poor Nalla! he whose cradle bed had been the warm sod of the land of sunshine, now had for sick-bed a snowdrift!
Suddenly Cæsar sprang to his feet.
"Nadine!" he said, "I believe that the cold is making Nalla worse, and that he is likely to die here. Can't we do something to get him warm?"
"Yes—yes," replied Nadine. "We must try and make him warm. But how shall we do it?"